Chapter 356: The Presence Of The Ancients
"Are we late?" An ancient voice echoed across the entire city.
"Old man, even you came? I thought you’d long turned into bones under your grave." Another voice laughed, its sound shaking the Azure Phoenix City.
"Hmph, the former Emperor of the Trevan Empire, huh? I thought you were dead."
One by one, the ancient voices appeared, and along with them, their wills descended from the sky and entered the palace where the auction was being held.
Each of them entered the VIP room that bore their name. Even though they were nothing more than pure strands of will, their presence caused the space-time around them to bend.
Reality itself was giving warnings of collapse, as if the world could fall apart at any moment.
Everyone present — including Daniel, Kyros, Andreas, and Ilaris — felt their very existence begin to crumble. They couldn’t withstand even the pressure of these pure wills.
"Let’s hope that old man from the House of Ten Thousand Treasures doesn’t get mad that we came uninvited, haha." One of the ancient wills spoke mockingly.
The other ancient wills said nothing. They could feel that, deep within this palace, there was a will equal in strength to their own, watching them with a smirk.
And as they suspected, an immensely powerful aura emerged from deep within the palace and instantly suppressed all of their auras.
"My friends, it’s been a long time, but there are many young ones here. You should keep your auras to yourselves."
"Haha, whatever you say, old friend," the ancient will from the Valenberg family replied calmly.
All the ancient wills withdrew their auras. Space-time, which had been on the verge of total destruction, returned to normal and repaired itself.
Even the cracks that had formed in reality were restored. Everyone present could finally breathe a sigh of relief, and deep in their hearts, they silently thanked the ancient being who had saved them.
"But old man, wouldn’t it have been better to tell us before putting something like this up for auction?" the ancient will from the Elthanor Empire suddenly asked.
"That wouldn’t have been as exciting, right?"
"Haha, you’re right — it’s a kind of entertainment too. Anyway, where were we? What was the last bid?" The ancient will glanced toward the representative his family had sent.
"My Lord — the last bid was 203 Chaos Crystals," the Elthanor Empire’s representative said, cold sweat running down his body as his whole being trembled from fear and respect.
How could he not be afraid? The one before him was one of the previous emperors of the Elthanor Empire — one of the most powerful beings in the world.
Someone who truly stood at the very peak of the world. Even though this was just a pure will and not his real body, it was still enough to turn ordinary Heavenly Climbers completely into ashes.
"203? Let’s not waste time. I’ll pay 500 Chaos Crystals."
"Haha, old man, do you really think that little empire of yours is still at its peak? The Valenberg family is willing to pay 700 Chaos Crystals."
"Hmph! The Sea God Palace is willing to pay 1,000 Chaos Crystals."
A battle of wealth erupted between these ancient giants. No one else dared to say a word, and many didn’t even dare to breathe.
Just being lucky enough to hear the voices of such beings was a blessing enough for an entire lifetime.
"Pathetic fools. The Lionheart family is willing to pay 1,200 Chaos Crystals." The ancient voice came from the Lionheart family’s VIP room.
Hearing that voice made even the other ancient wills fall silent for a moment. They knew who had come from the Lionheart family — someone whose seniority was even more ancient than theirs.
"Old friend, I’m glad to see you again. But my Celestial Phoenix royal clan needs this egg. We are willing to pay 2,000 Chaos Crystals." This time, it was a female ancient voice, like a heavenly melody, coming from a VIP room that had been silent until now.
Once again, a murmur spread among the crowd. Even the phoenixes were here! The phoenix race was considered just as legendary as dragons.
Although they appeared in public more often, they were still counted among the strongest races after dragons, and definitely among the top five races in the world.
And now, even they had joined the auction. It was clear nothing here would proceed quietly.
"My God, grandfather is here?" At that moment, Andreas, who had barely managed to calm himself, muttered in shock.
"The one who spoke for your family is your grandfather?" Daniel asked in surprise.
"Well, sort of. He’s one of the ancestors of my bloodline, and we call him grandfather."
"I see. Still, I didn’t expect beings like this to suddenly appear." Daniel nodded and sighed.
For the third time in his life, he felt the meaning of weakness — and this time, in front of some of the most powerful beings in the entire world, he truly understood just how powerless he was.
And the crazy part was, these were just strands of their wills, not their real bodies. How terrifying would it be if they came in person?
Even just the presence of these wills was enough to make his existence collapse. He was certain that if their real bodies arrived, not even his extra lives could bring him back.
"Are these people demigods?" Ilaris asked with a trembling voice. Unlike the other two, she was still trapped in fear and couldn’t think straight.
Daniel didn’t answer, because he didn’t know either. Both of them looked to Andreas, hoping for an answer.
He was sure of one thing — whatever these beings were, they were far more powerful than Heavenly Climbers or even Awakened of national rank.
He had seen the strength of national-rank Awakened. While they were indeed powerful, in front of these beings they were no different from ants.
"Well, no — but they’re also not Heavenly Climbers."
"Then what exactly is their rank of power?" Daniel and Ilaris both asked in confusion.