Chapter 428: Reward
While Claude was stabilizing the torn fabric of space, a woman suddenly flew toward him.
Looking at this ’native,’ Claude narrowed his eyes. This woman’s body was almost completely transparent. It looked as if even a gust of wind would make her body dissipate.
"You have a Nobless Artifact" the woman said while staring at the sword in Claude’s hand.
Hearing the woman speak, Claude was surprised. She was actually using the common tongue of the universe!
Realms that haven’t made contact with other realms have their own languages. They don’t have the chance to learn the common tongue of the universe.
This could only mean a few things. Either this woman learned the common tongue from a non-native, or she herself was a non-native.
"Yes, you’re correct," Claude answered calmly. For people who didn’t harm him or others, he had always been respectful.
"You were not afraid of offending a Noble Mage. You are either consumed by a sense of justice without regard for your own life, or you have a powerful backing that is not afraid of a Noble Mage," the woman continued, and Claude knitted his brows.
"May I know what you want?" Claude inquired, but the woman didn’t answer him. Instead, she looked in a certain direction.
She looked at an empty space, but it was as if she was looking at a certain someone.
"Considering how severe the Savage Beast Realm’s rejection of your presence is, you are at least a Royal Mage. No, you are definitely a Sage Mage. I have a request for you," the woman said, but no one answered her.
"A Sage Mage? Is she talking about Master?" Claude thought. He wouldn’t be surprised if his Master had been secretly tailing him.
"You do not need to hide from me. I am here to make a deal with you. I am sure that I can satisfy even a Sage Mage with the reward I can provide," the woman continued to speak, and only then did something happen.
Space rippled, and an old man came out of it. It was none other than Sage Stormbringer, Claude’s Master!
"Master," Claude greeted politely, not showing an ounce of surprise at his Master’s presence.
"A mere soul fragment is claiming that she can satisfy a Sage Mage? Where is your confidence coming from?" Sage Stormbringer asked with interest.
With his cultivation, he could naturally see through the true state of this woman, who was none other than Elder Priss.
She was merely a soul fragment of an unknown being. Not to mention, she was about to dissipate soon.
How could such a near-death soul fragment possibly have a reward that would satisfy a Sage Mage?
"Please isolate the space here first. Make sure that nothing can leak outside, nor can anything invade from the outside. It must be as cut off as possible," Elder Priss said, and with an attitude of merely wanting to see what this woman had up her sleeve, Sage Stormbringer complied.
With a wave of his hand, space solidified, and the area was cut off from the outside world. To people outside, it looked like they were still there, but no sound or aura could leak out, nor could anything from the outside enter.
"Looking at your current state, you should only have a few thousand years left to live if you don’t break through and reach the seventh rank," Elder Priss said while staring at Sage Stormbringer as if she could see through him completely.
Hearing those words, Claude unconsciously looked at his Master. For someone like him who hadn’t even lived for fifty years, thousands of years of lifespan seemed long.
However, Claude also knew how long the lifespans of beings starting at the Noble Rank were.
It could be said that the increase was exponential!
While a Great Mage could live for roughly a thousand years, a Noble Mage’s lifespan, on the other hand, started at hundreds of thousands of years!
This was just for Noble Mages. The lifespans of Royal and Sage Mages were even more exaggerated.
Saying that a Sage Mage only had a little time left even with a few thousand years of lifespan was not wrong. Compared to their full lifespan, a few thousand years was indeed almost nothing.
"I am fine. You don’t need to worry. I have already lived a long life, and that in itself is a blessing," Sage Stormbringer comforted his disciple after seeing Claude’s expression.
He had long accepted his impending death. His lifespan was no concern to him. He just wanted to see his disciple gain enough power to protect himself before he died.
"I am already old and don’t have much time left to live, and you will also dissipate soon. I don’t like to beat around the bush anymore. Go straight to the point. What do you want, and what can you give me in return?"
While Sage Stormbringer was more benevolent compared to most people, he was also someone who had climbed over thousands of corpses. He knew how the world worked.
If you wanted something, you had to have the power to obtain it or the wealth to have someone else do it for you.
"Very well," Elder Priss agreed. She also knew her current state. It was indeed better for her to go straight to the point.
"What I want is simple. I have two people I want you to protect for at least a few thousand years. In exchange, I will give you hope of reaching the seventh rank," Elder Priss stated, and Sage Stormbringer’s body trembled.
He had long accepted his impending death, but was there really a Sage Mage in the world who wanted to die because of a depleted lifespan?
The amount of effort, hard work, and luck needed to become a Sage Mage was astronomical. It could be said that people could spend their entire lives trying to reach this realm and still fail.
The allure of the seventh rank was great to everyone, especially to Sage Stormbringer, who was nearing death.
However, he soon calmed down. Reaching the sixth realm alone already felt like climbing the heavens. What more could be said about the legendary seventh rank?
"Heh... Are you bluffing to save your people? Throughout the Southern Domain... No, even in the Northern, Eastern, and Western Domains, do you think there is even one seventh-rank being?"
"Even if you yourself are a seventh-rank mage, with the little lifespan I have remaining, do you really think that I can still reach the seventh rank in this lifetime?"
The seventh rank was a great temptation to everyone. But even a seventh-rank being could not guarantee that they could help other people reach that realm as well.
"In the four domains, there might be none, but what about the Central Domain?"
Hearing the words ’Central Domain’ was like a thunderclap that rang inside Sage Stormbringer’s head.
The Central Domain... that was a mythical place. It was said that, not to mention seventh-rank beings, there were even eighth- and ninth-rank beings living there!
However, it was currently treated as nothing more than a myth, as throughout the years, none had ever reached the Central Domain, nor had there been anyone from the Central Domain who appeared in any of the four domains.
"Even bluffing has its limits, right? The center of the four domains is shrouded by world-shattering lightning, toxic miasma, heavenly fire, void storms, and many other natural disasters. How could people possibly live there?"
"In that dangerous region, even a Sage Mage would die without a burial spot. Throughout history, there has been no shortage of Sages who died there. None of them managed to cross that region of death."
It was normal for Sage Stormbringer not to believe Elder Priss. After all, the Central Domain was currently nothing more than a myth in the four regions.
"I have confidence that I can make you believe that the Central Domain is real. If I fail to make you believe it, then you can choose not to comply with my request."
"Will you gamble with me or not?"
Sage Stormbringer stared at Elder Priss. Seeing her confident expression made him sink into deep thought, but in the end, he agreed.
Anyway, it was simply taking care of two people. They could serve as servants or friends to his disciple. Not to mention, with only two mouths to feed, Sage Stormbringer could even feed an entire realm on his own.
Although he didn’t believe that this woman was from the Central Domain, what if it were true?
It was like if he yawned three times today, he would have a 0.000001% chance of winning the lottery. It was something he could do easily, and despite the low probability, he could gain something from it. Why refuse, right?
"Fine. I will take them under my wing. At the very least, while I am still alive, I can help them live a comfortable life."
In the end, Sage Stormbringer agreed, and after that, Elder Priss seemed to have reached her limits.
Her body dissipated into motes of light, and they approached Sage Stormbringer.
He raised his brows, but thinking about how weak that woman was, he let the motes of light enter his forehead.