Star Odyssey

Chapter 3187: Respect

“Isn't that Second Life? How dare they show up here!”

“Shh! Don’t, you’re just asking to die! Second Life might be evil, but they're also very powerful. If they go after you, you're finished. Just mind your own business.”

“They also want to join this auction. Would anyone else dare to reveal their real identities here? If anyone takes something from this auction, they’re definitely going to be targeted.”

“Not necessarily. That all depends on who gets it. If it's the Heavens Sect, even if you gave Second Life ten times the courage, they wouldn't dare to cause any trouble.”

“That's easy to say, but Second Life also isn’t afraid of death.”

The five members of Second Life casually walked into the plaza. They seemed completely unaffected by the murmurs that surrounded them.

“Big Brother, aren’t we being a bit too high-profile? This isn’t how we usually do things.” Second Meng adjusted her glasses. She was wearing a black sweater and large glasses, which gave her a cute appearance that matched her name. However, those who actually knew her understood just how ruthless the woman was.

Second Gang grinned. “What’s there to be afraid of? Which of these weaklings would dare to challenge us? As long as Fifth Sister isn’t here, we’re fine.”

“Be more careful. The Heavens Sect is here.” Second Gu’s expression grew serious. Coming to the auction was quite the risk. Second Life had been quite intimidated by the Heavens Sect’s military declaration, but their desire to enter the Mirari Realm was even stronger.

Over the years, they had stolen many things and had learned many secrets. They knew far more about the Mirari Realm than most people and were well aware that the Mirari Realm was a miraculous place where they might find the means to break through again. If they could do that, then regardless of how vast the megaverse was or how powerful the Heavens Sect or Aeternus might be, no one would be able to stop Second Life.

Their goals had never once changed throughout their existence. They wanted to becthe most feared existence in the megaverse, regardless of how much blood stained their hands.

As for their position on things, they simply did not care. Humanity or Aeternus did not matter at all to them.

As for going to the auction in disguise, it was impossible for them to hide in front of so many people, and as soon as they appeared, it was guaranteed that they would be recognized. That was why they had decided to enter boldly, as they hoped to frighten people.

“Big Brother, this isn’t like you. Normally, you’d rather steal whatever’s up for auction after someone else buys it rather than show up at the auction itself.” Second Meng was still puzzled by this. After speaking, she glanced at the elegant man walking behind the rest of their group. Second Shan wore a monocle and liked to check his pocket watch when he had nothing to do.

“Fourth Brother, was this your idea?”

Second Shan looked up. “This is the only place where these items can be obtained. As soon as they’re taken away from here, they’ll be lost forever.”

“Why?” Second Meng was confused.

Second Shan glanced at her. “Just play along. You don’t need to ask so many questions.”

Second Meng bared her teeth.

Second Gu was looking around. There were too many eyes on them, and Second Life had no idea what kind of powerhouses might be lurking in the shadows of this auction. How many people had the Heavens Sect sent? Second Gu was eager to find out.

For so many years, Second Life had operated from the shadows. Second Gu dreamed of the day when they would make a nfor themselves and becfamous across the entire megaverse. Scaring pathetic parallel universes was no fun. He wanted to stand equal to the Heavens Sect and Aeternus; now that would be interesting. That was also why he had not hesitated to attend the auction.

There was no doubt that the auction would be dangerous, but Second Life had their own trump cards.

Within the crowd, Lu Yin heard the discussions all around him, and he observed the group of those people who were dressed overly casually. Second Life?

At that moment, Second Shan's eyes suddenly flared, and he put his pocket watch away while quietly warning, “There’s a real powerhouse here! Be careful.”

The expressions of Second Gu and the others changed, and they all took a step back to surround Second Shan. They had taken this particular action too many times in the past.

Second Gu glanced at Second Shan. There were beads of sweat dripping from the man’s forehead, his face was pale from sheer terror.

This was not the first tthat Second Shan had revealed such a reaction. He had had the exact sreaction when the parallel universes had asked the Sixverse Association for help and when Sovereign Lotus had arrived to attack Second Life. At that time, Second Shan had shown this exact sreaction, which had led them to abandon a treasure that they had coveted even in their dreams. Looking back, it was clear that they had made the right choice. If they had tried to steal the item, Second Life would have ceased to exist.

Seeing Second Shan display this sreaction again made Second Gu’s heart sink. “Fourth Brother...”

Second Gang’s smile also fell.

Second Meng’s expression becterrifyingly calm.

Second Shan took a few deep breaths and then quietly stated, “Big Brother, we should retreat. I saw things too simply. The Mirari Realm has drawn out sabsolute monsters.”

“Who?” Second Gu asked.

Second Shan shook his head. “I don’t know, but I just felt an incredible amount of danger, more than anything I’ve ever sensed before. It took my breath away. Big Brother, we should give up. We’ve underestimated those monsters; they don’t just have numbers.”

Second Gu was still unwilling to give up. “If we take a risk, can we still win?”

Second Shan firmly stated, “Big Brother, give up.”

Second Meng spoke up in a chillingly calm voice that was completely different from her earlier tone. “Listen to Fourth Brother, Big Brother. Give up. Let’s go.”

Second Gang nodded. “Let’s go.”

Second Gu closed his eyes. His frustration could be readily seen on his features. “The auction hasn’t even started, and yet we’re already giving up. Our Second Life has never faced such humiliation before... Forget it, let’s go.”

With that, the entire group turned and started walking towards the plaza’s exit.

King Luo Fu and the other hosts had been carefully watching Second Life, and the sight of the bandits turning towards the exit left people puzzled. Were they leaving already?

Most eyes in the crowd were staring at Second Life. People watched as the group moved towards the exit, but when they were just halfway there, the four people suddenly froze, and then moved in a different direction. Ultimately, they stopped in a corner of the plaza.

The people watching all felt bewildered. Just what was going on?

At this moment, Second Shan was overcby a growing sense of fear.

Just as Second Life had been about to leave the plaza, Second Shan had been overcby an greater feeling of danger than before. He had no idea where the danger originated from, or if it cfrom inside or outside the plaza. All the man knew was that the closer Second Life moved to the plaza’s exit, the greater the danger they faced.

The terror grew so great that the man had started trembling.

All he could do was move to a corner of the plaza. Ignoring anything else, at least they would remain safe until the auction ended.

“Is it really that bad?” Second Gu’s face was grim.

Second Shan spoke through his terror, “Big Brother, I’ve never felt this scared in my entire life! We absolutely cannot do anything! As soon as the auction starts, we need to leave.”

“This was a mistake. If I had known that it would be so dangerous, I wouldn’t have come. There might be more than one freak here.” Second Gu felt quite bitter.

Second Shan gritted his teeth. “This is my fault. I led you all here.”

“Fourth Brother, it’s not your fault. I asked you to find a way for us to get that thing. Our successes all these years have madearrogant, and I believed us to be strong enough to compete with those behemoths. The truth is, all of those organizations have freaks at the top,” Second Gu said with a sigh.

“You don’t need to say anything more. Let’s just stay quiet in this corner. As long as Fifth Sister is safe, we’ll be fine. Besides, no matter what happens, we aren’t weak.” Second Meng was calmer than all the others at this moment.

The plaza started to quiet down.

Lu Yin had been watching the group with interest. Had Second Life cto the auction just to play around? They had arrived, only to turn to leave, but then they had suddenly decided to stay. It was ridiculous to see.

A man and a woman arrived outside the plaza. They looked as ordinary as anyone else at the auction, and they entered the plaza without catching even Lu Yin’s notice.

The two made their way to a corner and quietly took their seats.

Soon, another person entered: Shan Gu. He entered the plaza and casually found a corner to have a seat.

He sat down precisely between Mr. Daheng and Second Life. While the two were quite far apart, Shan Gu had taken a position relatively close to both.

People ignored each other. Everyone attending the auction was restraining their auras as much as possible. No one would do anything before the items up for auction were brought out.

Tpassed, and the plaza continued to fill with people.

Second Life was clearly at the center of attention. There were people who wanted nothing more than to kill the four individuals as soon as they laid eyes on them, but no one dared to take action before the auction had started.

Tcontinued to pass, and eventually, the doors to the plaza closed. No one else was allowed to enter, as the auction was about to begin.

“Senior Arch-Elder Zen, I will take my leave to serve as the auction’s host,” Bai Ni explained, getting a nod from Arch-Elder Zen.

Bai Ni stepped off of the tall platform and moved to the bottom of the statue. His eyes swept over the entire plaza.

At this moment, the Bai Wu Universe was the focus of countless individuals. The success of this auction was crucial to the universe’s future hopes.

Bai Ni understood that the plaza was filled with a great number of powerhouses, many of whom he could not afford to offend. All he could do was pray that nothing terrible would happen.

“Thank you all for taking the tto attend this auction in my Bai Wu Universe. Everyone is aware of the auction’s final listing, but before that, we have a few other items up for sale that we hope will pique your interest.” Bai Ni then waved his hand, and a beautiful woman stepped out to begin the auction that was the focus of countless parallel universes.

Any item that qualified for such an auction could not be simple, and fierce competition sparked between people in the crowd. They did not bid with cultivation resources from their own universe, but rather with rare treasures. Essentially, the auction worked on a barter system. However, for the most powerful individuals present, the items up for sale were not worth their attention.

“The next item up for auction should be familiar to anyone from the Sixverse Association or the Origin Universe. It’s called a Root of Intelligence.” The beautiful woman flashed a brilliant smile as she announced the item up for sale.

Lu Yin went stiff as he stared at the auction stage. A Root of Intelligence? How could there be one at this auction?

There were few in the plaza who were familiar with Roots of Intelligence, but those few would not abandon such an opportunity.

Roots of Intelligence were priceless treasures even for peak powerhouses.

Lu Yin grew increasingly curious about how a Root of Intelligence had entered the auction.

As the auctioneer spoke, someone stepped out from behind her while holding a tray that held the Root of Intelligence.

“This Root of Intelligence is from the Daosource Sect era in the Origin Universe. More specifically, it was developed by Progenitor Hui, who was one of their Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. For cultivators, a Root of Intelligence can calm the mind and enable a level of focus and comprehension that exceeds what is normally possible, and it can even allow one to discover things that are usually impossible to detect. This is one of the Origin Universe’s greatest treasures. If anyone is interested, bidding will start now.”

The bidding started immediately.

On the platform up above the statue, Arch-Elder Zen said nothing and simply watched the auction proceed in silence.

Next to him, Bai Ni waved a hand, and a woman approached. She respectfully held out a tray. “Senior Arch-Elder Zen, this is a gift for you.”

Arch-Elder Zen looked at the tray in surprise, as he could see that it held a Root of Intelligence. “What is this?”

Bai Ni smiled. “Roots of Intelligence are from the Origin Universe. The seller happened to fight a war there during the Daosource Sect era, for the Fifth Mainland of course. They acquired these Roots of Intelligence but didn’t know how to use them, so they simply held onto them until now. When this auction was announced, two roots were delivered to us. We put one up for auction and reserved the other as a gift for you, as a sign of our respect.”