"Here is your money."

Compared to the previous money cards that I received back after the auction at the Bakari house, the one that Venna was passing to me now was slightly diffrent.

Instead of being made with some rare metals enhanced with runes responsible for keeping count of the number of coins stored inside, it looked like a blueish crystal cut down to look just like a credit card from the earth.

As soon as I dropped a droplet of blood on the top of it, it suddenly vibrated and its colours started to change. Like if the blue mist that shrouded its insides lost its source, turning the crystal to be completely transparent. Now, it looked just like a flat piece of a diamond!

"I'm sorry for my rashness back then. I hope you will understand my motives behind it."

Lowering her head a bit, Venna suddenly changed the atmosphere from lighthearted celebration to a tense one. I didn't even need a second to comprehend what she was speaking about.

"It was me who was immature there. I can't expect the entire, major sect to follow my whims after all."

So both my guess and worry were true. I found it highly unlikely for her to bring out this topic without any good reason. Either she learned about the discussion I had with the representatives of the other sects, or the room that I was living in was just as rigged as I expected.

Looking back, I couldn't help but curse my own carelessness. With the vague code that we were using when speaking about the matters related to my system, I allowed myself to relax a bit too much, speaking openly about my wish to abandon the idea of joining the sect.

The greatest problem now was to gauge which of the options was the real one.

While ultimately the reasons behind the decision were the same, depending on the source of her information, I would have to approach the matter differently. But I couldn't disrespect her capabilities anymore. Instead of trying to explain myself, it was better to take the initiative and go to the offensive!

"Speaking of which, with how the auction and that sour situation played out, I hope you don't mind that I'm already creating new opportunities to screw those fuckers over."

If I didn't know something, the easiest way around was to make the other party tell me everything that I wanted to know. By faking sincerity and supposedly letting her on the deeper meaning of my actions, no matter which idiocy of mine gave my plans away, she would fill the blanks by herself, only adding to the overall confusion.

I long lost any hope that any of the sects was capable of being spy-free. Looking at it now, I realised that everyone was playing the game where everyone knew everything while pretending to know nothing. I could even bet that in the core regions of each sect, the spies were bumping against each other, trying to reach their quarters and make reports to their superiors!

With how everyone was used to uncover hidden matters, the best and quickest way to confuse everyone was, to be frank, and open. while letting them drown in the sea of possible intentions and schemes that were supposed to be hidden underneath!

"Stop with the damn suspense. If you wanted to pique my interest, you did it."

If not for the fact that we were currently in the vault of the auction house, I would never allow myself to speak so freely. Sending some information into this tangled mess of corruption and espionage that those sects represented could only be done carefully. Doing this openly would only result in literally every intelligent person marking it down as misinformation!

"Don't act as if you don't know what I told back in my room. Why do you think I did it in the first place? You don't want to be the one sparking the flames? Sure. But don't bother me when I'm setting them up for a slip!"

There wasn't any finesse in my plan. It was only a crude attempt to direct her thoughts at some idea, that was fake from the very beginning.

With only a few days remaining before the end of the tournament, the date of my duel with Veriel was approaching fast as well. If I were to suddenly start making a stockpile of food and other resources without prior notice, everyone would know that I had some scheme in mind.

Only by making everyone believe it was only a ruse aimed to bait my enemies into the action, I could get a chance that unfriendly forces wouldn't try to hinder the process.

"I understand how much you hate them, but are you sure you can handle them? The moment that the sect master decides that the expenses of shielding you are higher than benefits of getting you in the sect, he will force us to ditch you away without even a moment of hesitation!"

After what she did, I could take her warning as an attempt to repay me. Unlucky for her, I was far beyond the point where she could do anything to change my decision!

"Speaking of benefits, I heard that your harvesting project already kickstarted with the investment of the other sects. Why didn't you rely on me to jumpstart it? Just between us, that project value is way higher than the auction house. Even if we both earned crazy amounts of money, compared to the potential to monopolize such an efficient source of the energy…"

"Because that would upset the balance too much. Dracons and Katenaris are already weakened by ditching their chances to take part in either of the projects. While I won't say that it was their decision alone that resulted in such outcome, if we corner them even stronger, the full-blown war that you fear so much would erupt at any moment."

Taking a deep sigh, I lowered my eyes to look at the card. Immersing my consciousness into it for a moment, I couldn't help but gawk at the enormous pile of the coins stacked neatly inside the pocket dimension.

"Changing the topic, I'm too tired to even try to assume, how much coins did I earn?"

"One hundred, twenty-two thousand. Just like in our deal, for everything that cost less than two thousand, we took twenty-five percent, for everything that went for a higher price, we took five hundred coins. Looking at it now, I should've kept the initial share of ten percent…"

It was obvious where she was coming from. No one could expect me to take out so many incredible treasures and just trade them down! This was something completely outside of their common sense!

For an unaffiliated cultivator, even single sword of mine was enough to change their position from an insignificant figure to a powerhouse. For sects, every single item that I brought was on the level of their elders most priced treasures, allowing them to suddenly double their treasures. Just this was enough to upset the balance, even if I had to wait quite a long time to see it coming to an effect.

Compared to the earthy understanding of a treasure, local people were as far from the rich hoarders as they could be. Paying insane amounts for a valuable sword wasn't a philanthropic move, but simply an investment into their future.

With better weapons, they would be able to venture deeper into the training grounds, getting a better shot at finding natural resources that would help them elevate their position even higher. With their fighting prowess amplified by the might of my weapons or other items, they could challenge far stronger beasts, using up their incredibly valuable remains to craft even more treasures.

"Okay then, I don't think I need to tell you what do I want you to do? Also, I need you to prepare the transport to the sect right after my duel with Veriel. Only by rushing things up like that I can force their hand!"