Progress

Once Hao returned to Glory City, he decided to check the archive at the auction house, hoping to find something like a register for captured demon beasts and maybe also where to find them.

So far, Hao hadn't found something similar in the library of the holy Orchid Institute so he had pondered a couple of ideas on how he could find another sort of register from where he could get the knowledge he craved, and the auction house seemed the best bet to him.

He had also considered either the alchemy association, due to them occasionally hunting for rare ingredients, which may or may not include demon beast parts, or the inscription association, something he knew Glory city must have in order to defend against the demon beast waves, who required demon beast blood to draw said inscriptions to begin with.

In the end though Hao had decided on the auction house, because both the alchemy association and the inscription association could actually have formulated a contract with the auction house to circumvent the expenditure of unnecessary resources.

Passing through the main street in the middle of Glory city, Hao realised that he would have to pass through the main traffic if he wanted to take this route, something he didn't really want to do but in the end resigned himself to. After all, what was a little suffering if he could come out smarter in the end?

Luckily, it didn't take him all that long before he reached the auction house, which was thankfully kept free of the crowd bustling through the main street by the stationed guards, so without hesitation Hao went inside.

The building, which didn't look like much from the outside though looked rather spectacular from the inside. If Hao had to venture a guess it was all in order to please and assure the visitors that only valuable goods were being sold in this place.

The floor was made out of exquisite marble, not unlike the one inside the city lord's mansion, while both expensive looking portraits and finely woven carpets decorated the walls.

That however was only the entry hall, obvious due to the different counters where you could either trade in your goods or receive those you purchased in an auction.

If Hao had to make a guess he would probably come to the conclusion that the actual auctions were being held further inside in the auction house, in a place where many people at once had room to fit in, which this entrance hall not really had.

Walking over to one of the free counters, Hao was met by a friendly smiling woman, one of the employees no doubt, who immediately focused onto him once he got close enough to speak to her.

"Welcome, how may I be of assistance?" The woman asked in a pleasant voice, seemingly virtue personified, but Hao was way to old and wise to fall for that façade, hence he ignored her false smile and got right to the point of his visit.

"Greetings, I would like to know if there is some kind of archive to peruse about demon beasts brought in for sale, and their possible place of capture." Hao said and was glad to find the woman nodding in the positive.

"Certainly, there is. If you would follow me, I'll show you to the register. Though, you will have to pay a small fee in order to peruse its contents. The fee amounts to 500 demon spirit coins. Would you still like to peruse the archive?" The employee asked, still keeping her fake smile plastered onto her face.

"Yes, now if you would be so kind as to show me the way, I would be grateful." Hao replied back, though this time his answer was received with a smile that was a little more strained due to his nonsensical tone, but Hao didn't give a damn. He had better things to do than spend his time exchanging superfluous pleasantries with a woman he cared about as much as he could throw her.

"As you wish. Please, this way." She replied in turn and didn't waste any more time leading him into a nearby room, which was being guarded by another pair of guards, decked out in dark blue uniforms, after which she led him over to a rather large tome.

"This is the register. As you can see, it contains quite a lot of information. Now, before I can let you peruse the tome I will have to charge the fee." She said and the next second already held the demanded sum of spirit coins in her hands while Hao had already marched over towards the tome and began going through it.

Without another word, the employee left the room, leaving Hao alone with his studies.

'Alright, it seems this tome is both arranged in the usual cultivation ranks, ranging from bronze to legend, while also being separated into elements. Nice! Alright, first things first. I don't give a rat's ass about the rank. I wouldn't even mind if it was a freshly born demon beast. The only thing I'm looking for is its element and general form. I've got no use for a bird for example. The best would be a demon beast in humanoid form, everything else is optional.

Hmm, this one looks alright by its description. Abyssal demon Ape? Heh, I doubt I'll ever get used to those ridiculous names these people give those beasts, but whatever. Hmm, not good enough. It may have an enhancement ability but those are useless if you aren't a pure body cultivator. At least in this case…

No, no, no, no… goodness, there are a lot of useless demon beasts out there. Ahh! Now this one looks promising. Looks a little bit like a minotaur, if you disregard its rather long, whip like tail. Though, its horns are more like those of a stag, even though they still have their bull like thickness.

Yes, this one will do nicely. Though, it bothers me a little that they have no recorded abilities…Hmm, whatever. I'll see for myself and then decide if I want that one or not.

Now, where do I have to look for that spirit. Huh, no known place of origin. Fantastic…

Better look for an alternative while I'm still here then.' Hao thought while reading through the register. He noted down a few more spirits, one of them having the form of a tiger on two legs, known for their mercilessness, which had appealed to Hao immediately, speaking of an inner fire the spirit must possess. That one would be an acceptable companion as well, but he would still try to find the minotaur like spirit first. And if he couldn't find it, so be it.

Closing the register with a soft thumping noise of replaced air, Hao stood up and walked back out of the auction house, and while marching back towards the holy Orchid institute's library, going over once more what he had found.

Both the minotaur like demon beast and the tiger like beast had humanoid forms, possessed mental traits Hao regarded as important indicators of their possible development, while also possessing a strong alignment to fire, which would only grow with time under Hao's guidance and administration.

Hell, both the minotaur and tiger demon beasts had such strong fire alignments that their bodies, even when younger, occasionally began to burn from within, which was one of the reasons why those two were so damn rare! If the demon spirit beast didn't possess enough strength of spirit upon birth, said inner fire would consume the beasts, burning into to ashes.

Fire was a merciless element, and if you weren't constantly in control it would burn you, which was one of the reasons why Hao loved the element so, he had always craved the challenge and constant danger of loosing control. Though, at some point his control had become so good that he had been in no danger but still, the thought was what counted to him.

Entering the library, he straight up went to his usual spot where he had even left quite a few books for reading them later. He had realised that very few of the school children actually visited the library, something he simply couldn't really understand as he had always craved knowing more, but it suited him just fine. That way he had less competition for the books he could peruse.

Though, he was surprised to find that his small table was already occupied by a familiar silhouette he hadn't seen since their last meeting two days ago.

"Good evening, Ning'er. What brings you here?" Hao asked her while he approached the table. Though, he soon discovered that the sunny disposition he had left Ning'er two days ago with had disappeared and been replaced by another frown.

Sighing softly, Hao reached out with his Reishi and soon discovered the reason for said frown. Though, keeping his own small smile on his face to slightly lighten up her complexion and mood, Hao sat himself opposite of the girl and waited for her to begin her story, even though he knew it already. It always helped to talk about your worries and Hao had nothing more important to do today so he was okay with making some time for the girl before him. Though, he hoped her worries would come to an end some day. He was no babysitter after all, no matter how much he enjoyed her easy going company.