After walking out of the royal castle, Liam directly headed over to the beast hall in the royal city. "Alright we are finally here, are you happy?"
Kyuuuu. The small fox jumped up and down in response.
Liam was in a good mood so he patted the little girl and headed inside, looking for Seraphina.
The beast hall in the royal city was completely different from the beast hall in the trade city. It was much bigger in capacity and the trainers here were also more experienced.
Moreover, this facility was very selective and only allowed players inside who were at least Level 25. So the crowd was naturally not there.
It only took a few seconds for Liam to find the trainer as one of the guards personally escorted him to the beast breeding grounds.
Many trainers were here and it looked like they were busy tending to all the beasts in the facility.
Typically only servants and other attendants took care of these odd jobs, but now the trainers themselves were doing it as they hoped to groom the beasts better for combat.
Seraphina was tending to a three-headed lion when Liam and Luna arrived next to her.
"Oh! It's you both again!" She calmly remarked, but suddenly her expression changed. "Lord Duke, please forgive me. I was busy just now and did not realize it was you."
You mean you just now noticed my title? Liam shrugged and nodded as he did not care about these things.
It was clear from the way she was looking at him that she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Considering his low level, financial status, and young age, it should have been impossible for him to become a Duke of the Kingdom and yet he still had the title.
"I have a few things to consult with you, I wonder if Master Seraphina could spare me some time?"
"Yes, of course. Lord Duke. Please come this way." She led Liam and Luna to a private room and once they were inside, she quickly picked up the little fox.
The cat-like furry and cuddly creature was just as adorable as always so as soon as she laid her eyes on the beast, she couldn't help herself.
But she again remembered that she was in the presence of a Duke and tried to quickly recover her composure.
"Cough. Cough. Congratulations, my Lord."
"It looks like your spirit beast pet is ready to evolve again. Although raising a spirit beast is very difficult, my Lord, you make it appear very simple. Aha ha ha."
The trainer revealed a big sweet smile, her behavior completely different from the last time they had met.
"Thank you." Liam nodded, but he side-stepped the flattery and took out the gemstone from his inventory space.
"Master Seraphina… While I was traveling, I happened to come across this particular item. I wonder if you can tell me something about this."
"Ah… this!" The loli instantly looked shocked. She reached out her hand and took the gemstone from Liam. Her entire body was trembling and her hand was visibly shaking.
"Is this…?" She looked up to see Liam in shock and awe. "How did you manage to obtain such an item? With this, we can… ah…! Wait for a second!"
She stood up and rushed out and started shouting loudly. "Master Erasmus. Master Rein. Come here fast."
Liam's brows knitted together, slightly frowning. He wondered what this loli was up to. But more than him, the fox looked aggrieved and glared at the young trainer with animosity.
Immediately two middle-aged men hurried over to their room. They were about to talk to Seraphina when they noticed Liam's presence and first greeted him.
"Quick, quick. Take a look at this first." Seraphina impatiently spoke to the two of them.
"What happened Master-" Before Rein could complete his sentence, he also gasped in shock, and abruptly stopped talking.
He picked up the gemstone from her, his hands trembling as well. "With this… with this, we can…"
Seraphina nodded her head solemnly as she understood exactly what the person wanted to say. She then turned towards Liam and bowed her head deeply.
At the rate she was going, her forehead might as well touch the ground. "Lord Duke. Please forgive me, but if possible… could you please sell us this gemstone?"
"Hmmm?" Liam cocked his head. Based on all of their reactions so far, he could roughly guess that this was where things were leaning towards.
"Please, my Lord. We are desperately in need of this. We will compensate you appropriately for this item." She hurriedly added.
"Leave all that aside. Can you first tell me what this is?"
"Ah. Yes, my Lord. Please forgive me. In my anxiousness, I forgot to explain things to you. This gemstone is an extremely precious item called the Nine-colored Divinity."
"This is something that is particularly helpful for beasts and once they absorb the essence of this gemstone, they are able to break through the shackles of their bloodline and become higher-order beasts."
"But please worry not. Several beasts can use this gemstone as long as the essence inside the stone is not exhausted."
"So we would only be purchasing this gemstone from you after little Luna makes her breakthrough."
"In the future, if you want any other beast companion to evolve as well, you can directly bring it to us and we will help the beast."
"There would be no extra fees for you. This is in addition to the compensation that we will provide for you now."
Without taking a breather, Seraphina tried her hardest to explain things to Liam hoping he would be generous and he as well listened patiently.
However, on the side, the small fox was about to lose it. There were literally raging flames in the fox's eyes.
Liam as well had noticed it and that was why he was letting the loli trainer speak as she wished. Sometimes when things were handed, their value wouldn't be appreciated enough.
So if the fox knew that the item was going to leave her hands, she might try harder and maximize the use of it.
Liam did not know much about beast training but he knew about greed and manipulation. There was a person from whom he had learned all of this in his last life.
Many people were born with above-average IQ but there was only a handful among billions who were truly dark and devious, born with a brain that could rival supercomputers.
This was also one of the reasons why he was not dealing with the Gu family just yet. Currently, this person should be in the Gu family.
However, he wouldn't be there for long and that would be the best time to wipe out that entire family from the face of the planet.
And as for that person, Liam did not plan to cross paths with him at all, at least until his strength was head and shoulders above everyone else.
Snapping out of his thoughts of the past, he returned his attention back to the present. "Alright." Liam calmly replied with a smile.
"I will consider everything that you said, but first I want to see the effect of this gemstone personally."
"If you help me with Luna's growth and evolution, then I can consider trading this gemstone with you."
Liam was very careful with his words. He only said that he would consider and never actually accepted the deal. Irrespectively, the other party was instantly elated.
"Yes, Lord Duke. I absolutely won't disappoint you. With my help, I can guarantee that Luna will be thrice, no five times more powerful than she is right now!"
"Okay. I appreciate your help. I don't have much time, so let's start? What do we need to do?"
"Yes, my Lord." Seraphina quickly sent away the other two beast trainers as it was usually rude to discuss someone else's pet in front of many people.
These things were confidential and many people wouldn't prefer it.
And considering that Liam was a Duke and also someone who held an item that she coveted badly, she absolutely did not want to lose his favor.
So only after sending them both out, Seraphina took the small fox angrily glaring at her, and placed the beast on her lap.
Immediately a warm glow enveloped her hand and she used this glow to examine the fox from top to bottom.
Hmmm? Is this a type of nature magic or divine magic? Liam silently pondered as he observed everything carefully, without missing a single move.
The treatment he received now was definitely different than the treatment he had received earlier when he had visited her for Luna's first evolution.
When someone wanted something from you, their actions were truly different. Liam chuckled inwardly in amusement.
A few seconds passed by quietly and the little loli still continued examining Luna. The fox as well calmly sat on her lap as if she realized what was going on.
As a spirit beast, even though she was very young, her intelligence was extremely high. So despite being angry, she sat down obediently and allowed the trainer to examine her.
A couple more minutes passed and finally, Seraphina opened her eyes. She was sweating slightly and her breathing was a bit ragged.
She also looked very tired as if she had expended a lot of energy.
"My Lord… I am done…"