Chapter 15 Talent: Prophet

Within the august precincts of the Heaven and Earth Bank, Aiden espied the newly arrived guest.

A middle-aged man strode with a gait that bespoke the puissance and grace of a prowling dragon or a stalking tiger. His argent-touched tresses were neatly arrayed, and his eyes, fierce as those of a primordial tiger, glimmered with a piercing luminosity. His entire being was suffused with a potent aura of vital essence.

This was a paragon of martial might.

He was as vigilant as a slumbering volcano on the verge of eruption. Beneath his outwardly placid façade, an undercurrent of unease and latent power simmered.

The appearance of Aiden drew the intense scrutiny of Radiant Sky, who fastened his tigerine orbs upon him, subjecting Aiden to a painstaking examination in an attempt to fathom his true essence.

Yet, Aiden's foundation remained an inscrutable enigma.

Indeed, within the hallowed confines of the Heaven and Earth Bank, none could pierce the veil of Aiden's mysterious nature.

"Who art thou, stranger?"

"How was I conveyed hither, to this arcane realm?"

"What, pray tell, is thine ulterior motive?"

Radiant Sky volleyed these queries in rapid succession, his brow furrowed with a welter of doubts.

Ensnared within this mysterious and eldritch place, a sense of disquietude gnawed at his vitals.

He, an elder of a preeminent and august fraternity, boasted a might that could rend the heavens and shake the earth. In the vast expanse of the Great Departure Land, he was counted among the titans of power, able to traverse any dominion with untrammeled freedom.

Save for this place, where he found himself ensnared and bereft of egress.

Aiden, seated regally upon his dais, regarded Radiant Sky and intoned, "This is the Heaven and Earth Bank, a realm of infinite possibilities and arcane mysteries."

"I am the master of this celestial institution."

"It was not I who summoned thee hither, but rather the yearnings of thine own innermost heart."

"Thus, thou shouldst interrogate thine heart as to its desires, not direct thy queries at me."

Aiden beheld Radiant Sky with a countenance of serene equanimity.

No matter how puissant thou mayest be, canst thou rival the likes of Aqing?

Miss Aqing, who had brushed the ethereal fringes of Immortality, yet within the Heaven and Earth Bank, she too was obliged to comport herself with due deference.

Aiden did not cosset Radiant Sky. He regarded him with an impartial and detached mien.

Radiant Sky regarded Aiden hesitantly and queried, "Was it that sanguine-hued talisman?"

"Aye, it is the summons of our Heaven and Earth Bank. Since it hath manifested unto thee, it must be that there is something within thine heart that thou dost covet with a burning ardor, and thus the blood-red pocket watch materialized." Aiden nodded in solemn affirmation.

"I have no need of aught, I aver!" Radiant Sky declared with vehement emphasis.

Aiden remained unruffled and simply gazed at him in stoic silence.

Seraphina, standing sentinel at the side, interjected, "This pocket watch hath intimated unto me that thou dost require divine sources, and thus it hath manifested."

Radiant Sky knitted his brows and fixed his gaze upon Aiden, demanding, "What manner of subterfuge dost thou play, sirrah?"

"A just and equitable exchange. We possess that which thou dost seek, yet thou too must render a commensurate price." Aiden replied with a measured and composed calm.

"The divine sources I require are of a magnitude beyond mortal ken. Dost thou truly possess such a bounty?" Radiant Sky scoffed with haughty disdain.

Aiden waved his hand with a dismissive air and said, "Since thou dost not credit my words, then thou mayest depart forthwith."

Aiden was disinclined to prolong this fruitless colloquy. Since Radiant Sky's ingress, he had been arrogant, vigilant, and skeptical, regarding Aiden as naught but a mountebank.

Aiden was preoccupied with matters of grave import. Having dispatched ten pocket watches, there were many who yearned to engage in trade.

Since Radiant Sky was unwilling, Aiden would not compel him. He was resolved to bid him adieu.

"Hold, master. The second guest hath arrived!" Seraphina exclaimed suddenly.

Even as her words resounded, a figure materialized out of the ether within the hall.

It was a young man, even more youthful than Aiden. His eyes were wide with wonderment as he beheld his surroundings, clutching a pocket watch in his trembling hand.

"Canst thou fulfill my heart's desire?" The young man inquired directly, unshackled by doubt.

Aiden bestowed a smile, veiled behind his mask, and regarded him, saying, "Be seated. Let us commune at leisure."

The young man took his place opposite Aiden, his countenance a tableau of panic and febrile anxiety.

"Tyrone Zhou, a mere stripling of sixteen summers, yet already possessing the exalted cultivation level of Asking Dao!" Aiden discerned the young man's fundamental particulars at a glance, and his heart was instantaneously suffused with astonishment.

Sixteen years of age, and already at the Asking Dao realm!

What a terrifying and prodigious talent!

Aiden, himself eighteen years of age, had yet to even surmount the initial hurdle of cultivation. In contrast, this young man had already scaled the lofty heights of the Asking Dao realm at sixteen.

He was of the same realm as the ancestor of the Lee family, Aiden's first trading partner.

The ancestor of the Lee family had attained three hundred years of age, but Tyrone Zhou had achieved this at but sixteen.

Seraphina promptly reported to Aiden, "Master, this young man possesses an invincible talent. He is a rare prophet. Truly, he is a prize worthy of acquisition!"

Aiden's eyes flashed with a glimmer of avidity, and he committed this to his mental ledger. He regarded Tyrone Zhou and said, "The Heaven and Earth Bank can broker exchanges for all things in this world. Reveal unto me thy heart's trading desire!"

Tyrone Zhou was evidently beleaguered by great tribulation. His body bore numerous wounds, his aspect was disheveled, and he was mired in the nadir of a personal abyss. Hearing Aiden's words, his visage contorted with rage and he said, "I seek vengeance. I would slay Milo Ming, the young master of the Heavenly Dao Sect. He butchered my entire clan in his lust for my betrothed. Had I not fled with alacrity, I would have perished."

"Thou art but at the Asking Dao realm. 'Tis manifest that this alone is insufficient to vanquish him. I can render assistance, but what price canst thou offer?" Aiden inquired softly.

"As long as thou canst enable me to slay Milo Ming of the Heavenly Dao Sect, I am willing to pay any price!" Tyrone Zhou's eyes blazed with a consuming hatred, and his tone was resolute.

Having borne witness to the slaughter of his entire clan, the young man's heart was consumed by the desire for vengeance.

Were it within his power to exact revenge, he would sacrifice his very life without demur.

Radiant Sky, who had been standing by, frowned at this spectacle.

He was an elder of the Heavenly Dao Sect. Naturally, he knew well the identity of Milo Ming.

He was the youngest son of the current leader of the Heavenly Dao Sect. Arrogant and overbearing, he was somewhat restrained within the confines of the sect, but once beyond its pale, he ran amok, and none dared to cross his path.

"I would fain see how thou proposest to enable this stripling to slay Milo Ming!" Radiant Sky sneered inwardly, resolving to observe.

As for the life and death of Milo Ming, what concern was it of his?

Radiant Sky and Milo Ming's father were already at loggerheads, and he cared not a whit for this affair.

Aiden paid him no heed. His attention was now riveted upon Tyrone Zhou's talent.

Prophet!

This was what Seraphina had informed Aiden. It was an exceedingly rare endowment.

"Prophet can perceive the past and the future, and swim unfettered in the ocean of time. When practicing a cultivation method, once embarked upon, progress is swifter than the wind, ceaseless and unrelenting. It is a talent of the highest order. Few, if any, can rival it." Seraphina solemnly apprised Aiden.

Aiden fixed his gaze upon Tyrone Zhou and murmured, "I can enable thee to slay Milo Ming of the Heavenly Dao Sect with thine own hand, assuage thy wrath, and ensure thy safe return. The price thou must pay is but one."

"What?" Tyrone Zhou asked eagerly. He beheld a glimmer of hope and was prepared to offer anything.

Radiant Sky knitted his brows and watched. He deemed Aiden's words to be empty bravado. The Heavenly Dao Sect was a behemoth of power. It was a preeminent major force in the Great Departure Land, a thing of dread and awe. It dwarfed the Sacred Land of Spiritual Void by several magnitudes.

Tyrone Zhou was but a youngling at the Asking Dao realm. How could he hope to infiltrate the Heavenly Dao Sect and exact revenge?

Aiden was unconcerned with Radiant Sky's thoughts. He extended his finger and declared, "I desire thy talent!"

At the same time, Seraphina produced a contract and proffered it to Tyrone Zhou.

Tyrone Zhou was dumbfounded and asked, "Just my talent?"

"Aye!" Aiden nodded. Tyrone Zhou was clearly oblivious to the true magnitude of his gift.