The nearby people all fell silent in awe as they watched the scene in envy. Very few people were qualified to be greeted by the auction’s five hosts, and all of those individuals were extremely powerful.
In the past, these five hosts had even dared to reject a membership offer from the Sixverse Association.
Arch-Elder Zen smiled. "You’re all too kind."
Bai Ni responded enthusiastically, "This is only right. It is an honor for my Hundred Weapons Universe to receive a visit from the Heavens Sect. Please, Arch-Elder Zen."
The Progenitor nodded, and then, with further compliments from the group, he stepped into the plaza.
Someone muttered enviously, "Tch, what's the big deal? All of us need to queue up to get in."
Someone nearby gloatingly responded, "Brother, if you could also throw a military declaration that intimidates the entire megaverse, you’d get the same treatement."
"Bah, they were just lucky to unite so many parallel universes. If not for this shocking news from the Hundred Weapons Universe, we wouldn't have even known that so many parallel universes were connected."
"Who knew? Back then, I also thought that the entire megaverse was just the few known universes. I was even worried that the Sixverse Association might forcibly annex us. Now, it seems like I was overthinking things. There are plenty of parallel universes."
"There might be more than a few, but none of them can rival the Sixverse Association."
"True."
Neither of the two speaking were human. In fact, humans made up less than a tenth of the plaza’s occupants. Most of the cultivators here were astral beasts, which was a general term for non-human species, despite the significant differences between the various types of creatures.
No fewer than five fights had broken out outside the plaza, and all of them had been between astral beasts.
None of the skirmishes were enough to catch Arch-Elder Zen's attention, and none of the astral beasts had dared to fight in front of him. All of them regarded the Heavens Sect as a monstrous organization.
Far away, Mr. Daheng had also arrived. He kept his face hidden as he held out an invitation.
For someone with his strength and cultivation, personally receiving an invitation changed little, as such people had plenty of ways to obtain one.
Mr. Daheng watched as Arch-Elder Zen was ushered into the plaza, and the Arborean’s eyes then swept through the crowd before locking onto someone. That person met Mr. Daheng’s gaze and stared back.
It was Luo Shan.
The two had trained under the same master, and they could recognize each other with a glance.
Luo Shan frowned. He had done his best to disguise himself, but Daheng had still managed to instantly recognize him. There was nothing Luo Shan could do about it; his disguises were not able to fool Daheng, just as Daheng's couldn't fool Luo Shan.
No words were exchanged between the two as they silently entered the plaza.
More individuals were still arriving outside the plaza, and countless eyes stared at the plaza from further away. They belonged to people who did not dare to try to enter the plaza themselves, but who still wanted to see how many different universes’ powerhouses would attend this auction. Also, it was important to find out if anything significant happened during the event.
After all, with the Mirari Realm involved, even the Heavens Sect cared.
Lu Yin arrived, hidden by his mask. Not even the Three Pillars and Six Skies would be able to recognize him at this moment, let alone anyone else.
It's really busy.
He followed the crowd and slowly made his way into the dark-red plaza. He glanced around, and easily spotted both Mr. Daheng and Luo Shan, but neither of the two had any idea that Lu Yin was also present.
There were quite a few other experts present as well, but no one noteworthy.
Would Aeternus send anyone?
"There are five members of Second Life. The leader, Second Gu,[1] is a sequence powerhouse, and just a glance of him induces fear. He has mastered the Three Bone Techniques. It allows him to externally manifest his skeleton as an armor that he claims no one can penetrate.
"Their second member, Second Meng,[2] is another sequence powerhouse, and she’s able to copy other people's battle techniques. She's extremely difficult to deal with. Normally, Second Gu doesn’t even need to take action because Second Meng is enough to handle even their most difficult opponents.
"The third, Second Gang,[3] isn't a sequence powerhouse, but his physical strength is unmatched. No one has ever managed to break through his defenses, not once. There was once a powerful astral beast sequence powerhouse who fought against Second Life, but only Second Gang had to make a move. He alone was enough to wear the astral beast down and kill it. That fight made him famous.
"The fourth, Second Shan,[4] is considered the brains of Second Life. He’s quite clever and is able to quickly counter any crisis they encounter. Multiple parallel universes worked with people from your Sixverse Association once to surround and kill them all, and the Sixverse Association even sent Sovereign Lotus. The goal was to deal with all of them at once, and the plans were meticulous, but that the task force never even caught a glimpse of Second Life. Supposedly, Second Shan sensed danger and led the rest of them away.
"A great deal of time and preparations went into that attack, and it involved a number of universes. Even if there were traitors, they couldn’t have revealed the plans. Second Life only escaped because of Second Shan.
"As for the fifth member..." King Luo Fu glanced at the other four men, but all of them shook their heads at him.
"No one knows what the fifth member is capable of because she’s never had to take action. She’s never done anything at all."
Arch-Elder Zen’s eyes flickered. "Maybe she has, but you just didn’t realize it."
Bai Ni agreed, "We’ve had that same thought, but we’ve never been able to find any evidence of her actions. She’s very difficult to deal with."
"I didn't expect them all to come. They’re quite bold," Zhao Li marveled.
King Luo Fu glanced at Arch-Elder Zen, and then he looked back down at the plaza. "Aren't they afraid that this could be another ambush?"
"Since they’re here, they must have made preparations. Arch-Elder Zen, what do you think?" Bai Ni asked.
Arch-Elder Zen asked, "When Sovereign Lotus participated in the planned ambush, did she do so on her own, or with the authorization of the Sixverse Association?"
"With the Sixverse Association’s authorization," King Luo Fu confirmed. "At that time, the war with Aeternus was intense, and losing one of their top experts had a big impact on the Sixverse Association. Still, Sovereign Lotus came because Second Life is just too evil. While they have attacked Aeternus at times, Aeternus has never cared about them. They’ve killed far more humans and astral beasts than corpse kings."
"They're nothing but beasts!" Qing Du muttered darkly.
Arch-Elder Zen’s gaze swept the plaza. With the Dao Monarch present, he would definitely hear about Second Life. How to deal with them would be up to Lu Yin.
"Let's wait and see how things play out," Arch-Elder Zen said. He knew what the others were thinking; they wanted their auction to succeed, but they also wanted to eliminate Second Life. It was impossible to do so if they acted on their own, but if they received the help of experts from the Heavens Sect, such as the Three Suns and Six Rulers or the Eight Inner and Outer Paths, then they might be able to pull it off.
If the Heavens Sect sent people, they would not allow a failure. This could be considered the first battle that the Heavens Sect participated in after their military declaration, and failure would be too embarrassing.
Fortunately, the ones who would benefit would be the Hundred Weapons Universe. If Second Life died during the auction, the Hundred Weapons Universe’s prestige would spike. They had planned things out well.
The members of Second Life had already fully entered the plaza. Since King Luo Fu had been able to recognize them, then naturally, others could as well.
1. Gu = Bone. ☜
2. Meng = Cute. ☜
3. Gang = Steel/Firmness. ☜
4. Shan = Kindness. ☜
OMA's Thoughts
Translated By: OMA
Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox
TLC'ed By: OMA