Only the two date-pit-like objects he kept turning in his hand made a crisp sound in the hall.
Nothing about the man stood out. He could even have passed for an ordinary commoner.
But anyone who had spent years traveling the Endless Sea, or had dealt with the Dragon Palaces of the Endless Sea Aquatic Clans,
would have recognized the pair of date-pit-like objects in his hand as something produced only by the Four Seas Dragon Palaces.
Perhaps the pair was nothing particularly rare within the Four Seas Dragon Palaces.
But for something unique to the Dragon Palaces to appear in a human cultivator's hand, to be toyed with so casually, already spoke volumes.
The man in the plain hemp robe was Du Yueji, leader of the Mountain Sea Merchant Alliance.
As leader of the Mountain Sea Merchant Alliance, backed by the Nine Sons of the Endless Sea, Du Yueji might not have possessed the strength to roam the Endless Sea unchecked.
But with the immense wealth the Mountain Sea Merchant Alliance had amassed over the ages, if he wanted something,
he had yet to encounter anything he could not obtain.
That held true even if what he wanted was something found only in a Dragon Palace of the Endless Sea.
If he offered enough, someone—human or demon—would find a way to put it in his hands.
Seated in the place of honor, Du Yueji toyed with the date pits and listened wearily to his subordinate's report.
Only when he occasionally heard something requiring his decision did he rouse himself, ponder it for a while, then answer with a nod or a shake of his head.
Just as Du Yueji thought this would be another thoroughly ordinary day, his subordinate's expression gradually turned grave.
"Alliance Leader, we have received answers