The silence of the masked person was almost deafening to Sage, but at the same time he took it as a sign that there was room for negotiation. If this person was attached to a large power then his offer would be silly and they would immediately reject him. There was a chance they were remaining silent in order to keep their affiliation hidden, but there wasn’t much need for that given their anonymity. If they were from a great power, then why go to so much trouble to hide?

Perhaps they were from a second or third rate power that aimed to expand someday. They could be clueless as to the strength of the Lang Clan and not know if getting his backing was useful enough, or maybe they were fearful of being absorbed into a bigger group. Alliance by marriage was always a dangerous game because it could lead to such a situation. Creating a way to draw two groups together, and coming up with more and more schemes to put them into tighter partnerships until they eventually merge into one. Sometimes this was a wonderful result with two like-minded organizations joining their strength. Yet, more often than not, one of the two would remain in charge and absorb the other, taking their strength and uprooting those of the other group that didn’t agree with them.

“I assure you, no matter how large or small your group is, the Lang Clan can accept them. We’ve only recently become a first rate power in the Dou Kingdom, but I can assure you nobody will shake our position anymore. We value loyalty above all else, which is the only condition for our deal. We will offer you as many oaths and guarantees of protection, retention of independence and voices in the clan, but your people must also swear oaths of loyalty.”

The masked person slowly nodded and then held up a hand, “I understand. I will bring this proposal back to my side. Is that all?”

Sage didn’t get a solid answer, but he could glean a few more clues. It was likely they wanted to go and gather information about his clan. This person might also be merely a messenger for the group and have no power to make such a decision. Of course, given that they were chosen to meet with him they had to have some authority, but also not too much. If Sage were in charge he would probably send a high level spy or espionage agent. Someone who could be trusted to make a few decisions, but not too important to the group. Also if something happened and they were lost you would want an operative that wouldn’t spill any details.

“If your side does not wish to join us, we can also offer good terms on any of the unique products you can offer. We will offer especially lucrative amounts for mated pairs and the appropriate resources to rebuild their living conditions.”

A large and established group would not wish to sell the things he just asked for. They would prefer to do the breeding themselves and some were even crazy enough to only sell one gender of any beasts or insects they raised. It would be much better business to maintain a monopoly on production. Of course, that was only if they were large and powerful enough. If the Hidden Domain had multiple unique creatures then they might be tempted to sell one of the lesser ones to the Lang Clan. A smaller group would have limited energy and they would wish to focus their own efforts on breeding the most lucrative of their options while the others would be wasted. Sage hoped they could be tempted for the right price.

The masked person nodded again, “I will also take this offer back to my side.”

Sage could only sigh once more, using the sound to declare his reluctance to end the meeting so inconclusively.

“The Lang Clan shall await your visit, eager to hear your terms. We will guarantee your anonymity regardless of whether you wear those tools or not.”

After making more of his bold claims he dispelled the Windscreen and stepped out of the private room. He didn’t wait to speak with the auction employees, making his way out of the building and leaving Red Knife City in short order. He traveled directly towards the border between the Holy Flame Province and Green Plateau Province. Along the way he sent a message to Yating about the deal he’d just offered. He’d only been able to find a single set of twinned Messaging Jades at the same quality as the one he’d gotten from Peak Master Zhen. They were very expensive and hard to get, so he’d given it to the new Lang Clan Head. The Messaging Jades he had for his wives and children had only the range of a single province. Worse yet, if he could get more of the twinned jades, he would first give one to Ruanfu and Elder Manji before his wives or other kids. His family was all together at the Lang Clan so as long as he could contact one of them, they could pass the message to the others. It would be far more beneficial to be able to keep in contact with his other close allies.

Who am I kidding? I'd probably give the twinned jade for Manji and Ruanfu to Yating. If I had them all I’d have to be the psychic switchboard. Better to let Yating handle that job.

On the plus side, after his time at the Holy Flame Sect he now had the capability to craft his own Messaging Jades. On the downside he now realized that while the twinned Messaging Jades with unlimited range did not require a Nascent Soul to craft, they required extremely rare and precious materials to build. The research team on the Inner World was already experimenting with different methods to use Messaging Jades to create an information network. Using the upgrades they’d made to the War Table as well as the Movie Projector projects he’d started in Lionheart Town, they were already working on a sort of broadcasting station. Sage didn’t dare to start releasing such technology into the outside world yet, but he was free to experiment freely on the Inner World. If things ever got out of hand there was no one who could stop him from taking it back. He’d seen enough Sci-Fi on Earth to know about the dangers of Time Travel, and bringing technology from one period to another could lead to unforeseen problems.

At this time, Sage crossed the border into the Green Plateau Province and advanced towards Daggerguard City. Since they’d just had the auction in Red Knife City, then the next big auction would be held in Daggerguard City, but he would have to wait a full year for that. Of course, that wasn’t actually his reason for coming here. In fact he wasn’t even sure if he would stay here long enough to wait for that. Instead he had other business to attend to and that required him coming to the Cult of the Woodlord territory.

He stopped outside the gates of a large manor and walked up to guards, “I’d like to speak to the City Lord.”