“Everyone, silence! ” Yang Zicang bellowed, his voice overwhelming the noise.

With a straight and upright posture, he straightened the hem of his cotton velvet coat, pressed his legs together in twill work pants, and solemnly bowed deeply to the figure of the Grand Duke:

“First, thank you for your generous gift.“

{May this friendship also not be forgotten by you. }

The Grand Duke nodded, and his robe fluttered without wind. He pulled a smile, his bright, full-moon-shaped eyes sharpening like blades above his brows, then dissipated like a wisp of twisting green smoke.

The Grand Duke’s departure was like a lit fuse; the venue erupted in a flurry of chatter once more.

Subsequently, everyone crowded around, shouting bids even louder, as if the auction had truly just begun.

Layer after layer of Moonlight was cast out. In an instant, seven levels of Moonlight soared past the sky-high number of three million, their limit merely defined by the total stock currently collected in their hands.

As for Wu Zheng’s treatment, regardless of what others promised, the Lorqui Marquis before him, who kept speaking excitedly, was nearly ready to swear he’d strip down to share his trousers with Wu Zheng.

Behind, Huan Bao’er’s fingers moved like lightning. In excitement and nervousness, her tongue unconsciously licked her red lips, her eyes gleaming with fervent light. As the platform provider, the higher the bids, the higher her company’s commission soared too.

—{Ah, how did the price get so high after just stepping away for a moment?! }

The disembodied voice of the Stygian Mirage overseer drifted over, {What, already three hundred and fifty thousand!? Argh! What’s happening?! }

{Brother! Friend! My lord! } bellowed Sir Dead Sea, hopping and skittering in vain behind Margrave Loki, who was completely blocking Yang Zicang from view.

{From now on, three million square kilometers of land to the south will be his to annex! We’ll only collect thirty percent as annual tribute—that’s our final offer, the most generous concession we can make! }

The Margrave’s tone was strained with anxiety. {This practically equals the authority of a landed Lord-Governor. Any more concessions, and the King himself might grow intolerant. The same will hold true in any other Moon’s Jurisdiction layer. }

“So be it.” Yang Zicang turned to Huan Bao’er and raised his hand.

These were, truly, the most advantageous and safest terms Wu Zheng could secure for now.

Once he truly matured, he would undoubtedly earn far more, Yang Zicang knew. If that light within him fully bloomed, Wu Zheng should be able to hold onto his identity across ages, much like the Grand Duke did, so his will didn’t shatter and fade through cycles of death.

Dong!

The auction gavel, struck by Huan Bao’er for the third time, landed heavily at the very front of the illusion-swathed arena.

{Transaction… struck! Three hundred fifty thousand single-spectrum moon-shards, one hundred seventy-two thousand three hundred fifty-eight single-spectrum flex-threads… And this authenticates: The Hyperion-class Sentinel, Jian Hunzhi Nem ‘Wu Zheng’ is granted, upon awakening his ‘Resonant Heart-Rhyme’ bloodline, the irrevocable rank of Command-Field Marshal of no less than Ten-thousand Corps of Articulated Bone-Warriors… He is also granted suite-ment and full mastery of no fewer than three whole, synergized single-spectrum Principality Wonders… And, from the Southern Principalities of Paramon Locius Lands, for all South Sea Tide-Mark Transit Paths, Gubernatorial and Exclusion Zone Arbitration status-power! }

Yang Zicang finally let out a long, unutterable sigh of relief, as though a burden of tons had finally been lifted from his will.

Such treatment, even if selling an adopted son, could be considered selling him to a good place.

After a few regretful sighs and reluctant congratulations, people gradually left. Some also took the opportunity to surround Marquis Locqi, hoping to use this rare chance to get to know each other.

｛The auction of the Super A-Grade Psionic Will has come to a successful conclusion.｝

Energy began to surge within the conference hall, and everyone knew that the manifestations here were about to come to an end.

{Congratulations once again, my lord. } A phantom representative from an adjacent layer approached Marquis Locqi, {I hope we have the opportunity to cooperate on mining and timber in the future. }

{I look forward to that day. }

In this final stretch of time, the Marquis selectively conducted some vaguely sketched and inscribed trades with several neighbors who had revealed their identities from the adjacent second and third layers of the lunar realm. The diagrams involved seemed akin to demonic runes, yet they possessed subtle differences, rather resembling the alchemical altar patterns YangZicang had seen on theKarl, the ship that would never sink.

These intricate patterns, made manifest as they were traced and delineated with their own fingers, twisted and undulated in the air as if pulled floating. Even with his memory magic runes, YangZicang could not grasp their true form, as the figures were inherently indistinct and blurry.

Space and time began to stretch in an instant.

Everything that had been standing still suddenly returned to normal; sounds, which had been drawn taut like a stretched-wire band across the quiet, slowing plain, now detonated as they vibrated turbulently back into existence.

The volatile and untamed power emitted by Wu Zheng exploded outwards, completely blasting the ashes covering the entire ground!

His flickering eyes traced along the previous mental thread, locking onto the base beneath that spire-like, colossal skeleton. The demon sword that dared to ensnare the “Undying King ” also still revealed that crimson eye spinning nimbly among dozens of false orbs.

And in the next instant, this raging aura shifted in a kaleidoscope of changes, beginning to tremble, as if its very foundation had become unstable.

{Father! }

Wu Zheng’s shocked gaze snapped towards Yang Zicang, his voice filled with unprecedented confusion and terror! On his chest, a dark red light point suddenly flared, and immediately, ripples of energy waves surging with a profound rhythm engulfed his entire body!

{Who… were those just now?! }

Yang Zicang looked at him with a hint of surprise. For Wu Zheng, the scene presented by this auction had probably lasted less than a second, yet he had already grasped it.

“Since you’ve seen it, you should be able to understand then. “

{I only sensed it, ah, in my body… what is this?! }

His gaze turned to his chest in shock, and then he remembered—there is often a circle of light that appears on the chest of the Undying King!

In that instant, an indescribable shock seized Wu Zheng’s mind, locking onto the interlaced light of dark red and snowy white unfolding on his own chest within the intricate glow. He heard a voice, equal to any other, arise within his heart.

｛The Luminous Mirror Soul Hall has answered your bloodline.｝

The brilliant radiance manifested upon Wu Zheng, causing his black hair, virtually formed from his spiritual power, to billow and float upwards.

The Demon Sword’s eyes instantly widened as it watched all of this unfold.

The skull head of the Beauty Demon Lord, coiled high above, moved a few times in a dazed manner, staring blankly in their direction with hollow eyes.

｛The Fallen Royal Court: The Blue-White Star has informed me that postal arrangements can be prepared.｝

Hearing this mental prompt relayed by the Royal Court, Yang Zicang’s heart was filled with complex, unreadable emotions.

“Since you’ve already seen it, you should understand what happened, right? Go, forget everything here. Live well over there. “

Wu Zheng turned his head to look at him. In the instant his mouth began to open, Yang Zicang gently lifted a finger. The entire body of the man before him, exuding a wild aura, became fleeting in an instant. Wu Zheng tried to grab hold, but it drifted away like wisps of green smoke.

This stream of green smoke swiftly coalesced into the tattered remains of half a page, seemingly scorched by water and burnt by fire. Indistinct, blurred characters upon it flashed chaotically at wildly shifting speed.

｛You have acquired “A Quarter Page of Saint Ares’ Memoir “.｝

“Saint Ares… ” Yang Zicang gazed at the small half-sheet of paper now drifting into his hand.

“Is that you, Asnar? Or… are you a special entity, remembered by the Holy Psychokinesis Field, who came to teach me that set of Explosive Wind Fist techniques? “

The paper on his finger trembled and struggled like a cicada. The moment Yang Zicang released it, it naturally manifested a virtual envelope encasing itself, whistled into the distance, flickered, and vanished.

｛I, the Great Quadrilateral, have acquired 3,500,000 Monochrome Luster. After deducting auction fees, the net amount received is 2,030,000.｝

｛I have acquired 1,723,458 Monochrome Cotton Threads. After deducting auction fees, the net amount received is 999,606.｝

The corner of Yang Zicang’s eye twitched…

BOOM! RUMBLE!

In that instant, the entire earth violently quaked! As if a slumbering titan had awakened!

Countless bones, half-sunken into the ground, began to tremble, stirring as if the dormant power within them had begun to stir awake.

{Mooo… I… ugh… argh… }

A deafening roar, as if emanating from the deepest Nine Abyss Pits, tore across the sky with tangible force!

Under this sound, the stout spinal chains upholding the sharp black bone spires snapped link by link like decayed cast iron.

Beneath it, countless fragments of bones, which had been bracing the base of the spires, frantically rolled away in all directions. All kinds of arms, ribs, and legs, along with countless densely packed hands from both humans and monsters, scattered like a tide, revealing a massive fiery pit below that exuded surging demonic energy.

It was only now that Yang Zicang could clearly see that the malevolent sword—which had previously only shown its tip—was actually just the foremost part, connecting the entire sword body through almost the entirety of the base deep underground!

Yang Zicang looked up. The once-beautiful “Beauty Demon Lord ” now hung above like a grotesque, enormous skull dangling like a lantern.

{I… I can speak again… That fool, has he given up guarding this place? Ha, hahaha, hahahaha! }

The voice of the Beauty Demon Lord was rough and clumsy.

{I truly can no longer sense its presence, haha, hahahaha. It proved unable to suppress me forever after all! I am free! I am free, hahaha, O Divine Eye Sword of Ten Thousand Visions! Hurry and help me recover! }

RUMBLE!

Yang Zicang’s body wobbled, unable to stand steady as the entire ground began to shatter. Dense clumps of bones crawled up from the earth; a patch of black clouds whirled rapidly overhead, and a palpable aura of sinister gloom spiraled down to shroud the demon lord’s skull.

With a single flicker of movement, Yang Zicang accelerated backward, leaping over a kilometer away to see the skull already enveloped by a mountain-like cocoon of energy. Within it came unceasing, gloomy chuckles.

The demonic sword slowly levitated toward the sky. Suddenly, a rotten skeletal arm reached out from the energy cocoon and grasped it. The instant it took hold, that hand was wreathed in thick black mist and began to swell.

{Undying King. }

The voice of the demonic sword suddenly sounded even brisker than before.

{Where has it gone? Will it come back? }

“What do you think? ” Yang Zicang straightened his body, and holding his head high, he frowned into the distance as he replied.

He was certain that even at this great distance, the magic sword could hear his response.

{Ho, it seems something interesting just happened. In this world without even a Soul Hall, he actually managed to awaken a bloodline. Let me think… so you’ve figured out a crack leading to the next layer of the Moon Realm, haven’t you? Enough time has passed that the world has rotted to the point of creating a crack to the next layer. }

A flicker of realization stirred in Yang Zicang’s eyes.

At first, he had wondered whether the magic sword, due to its unique nature, had sensed the events at the auction even more clearly than Wu Zheng.

But clearly, there were matters never discussed at that meeting.

The Moon Realm… was not a secret to it.

Yang Zicang’s thoughts raced, and in an instant, he drew a conclusion:

Did the Moon Realm exist even before civilization was born in this world?

And even these spirit artifact weapons, so similar to the Chrono Weapons, know of its existence—moreover, it possesses the method to transform this world into a Moon Realm!

“What exactly is going on with this world? Where did you learn all this? “

Yang Zicang took a step forward with his long, straight legs and lifted his chin slightly, fixing his gaze on the weapon.

“Is this information stored on that comet? “

Countless eyes on the magic sword, dangling in mid-air within the giant palm, stared intently at the shadow on the distant horizon.

{Hah, hoho. My lord, that’s a long story. }

Yang Zicang gave a faint, cold laugh.

“Buying time, are you? Hmph. Looks like you’re far from foolish. “

{You’ve found me out, hehe, } the demon sword’s voice turned shrill, {but so what? Ha, you’ve realized it too late! }

As its words fell, a dull thud echoed through the heavens.

From the vortex in the sky, a crimson bolt of lightning slammed violently into the suspended black membranous sphere.

The countless eyes on the demon sword instantly whirled like a kaleidoscope! The struck lightning ruptured across the membrane, with a fraction of it fissuring down the sword’s tip toward the ground, blasting a terrifying crater.

{Oh, foolish humans! }

The demon sword’s voice grew even more unhinged, much like the madness of most nightmares:

{The one being in this world who could suppress me—you let him slip away! Hahahaha! }

Boom!

Beneath the dark clouds, the murky firmament flashed once more. Five untamed bolts converged from the surrounding vortex clouds, detonating ferociously down upon the Beauty Demon Lord below.

The energy membrane burst asunder in an instant, and the newly born body within shattered into a myriad of tiny, scattered bones. But dark mist quickly writhed up from the arm gripping the demon sword, gathering to mend the damage.

Yang Zicang was amused in exasperation. In this evolved world, he—the venerated Undying King hailed by countless souls—was being mocked by this fiend. Seeing its utter exhilaration, the irony was unmistakable.

On the flip side, it also betrayed just how oppressive Wu Zheng’s mere presence had been to them.

“Do you think I can’t send you back to sleep again?“

{You? Ha, there’s no such thing as immortality in this world. Even if someone truly possessed a prolonged lifespan, it couldn’t be you. I can see it clearly—you don’t have that kind of aura at all. }

“Oh? With just those eyes of yours, how much can you truly perceive?“

BOOM! The third bolt of lightning ripped through the air and crashed down. The spiked bone from which it hung could no longer withstand the tempering of such immense energy, and it shattered with a roar, collapsing into pieces.

The giant sphere encasing the Beauty Demon Lord thudded onto the ground, bounced, and rolled slightly, before the hand drove the sword into the earth, anchoring its form steady.

The crimson lightning writhing across its surface surged chaotically, spreading through the dense metal bones scattered across the ground into the distance.

In the blink of an eye, the electric arcs slipped past Yang Zicang’s feet. Several bolts traced across the young man’s now shoulder-length hair, leaving him completely unharmed.

{Hmph? }

The demon sword’s voice grew heavy with gravity.

{Hah, how absurd. Just what are you? }

“You haven’t answered my question. How can you be so sure that I lack the means to subdue you?“

{The reason is simple: you haven’t resonated with a single seal from the Source of All Gods.Wu Xing, colored crystal, and alchemy—you possess none of the three marks. }

{Stop blabbering. I’ve grown up hearing the stories of the Undying King. Decades of insufferable noise—thankfully, those days passed quickly. }

Beauty Demon Lord’s massive silhouette rose from the ground, the vortex cloud layers in the sky shifting erratically, as if it had lost any desire to attack.

Yet the arcs of electricity flickering throughout seemed unwilling to accept defeat, continuing to gather relentlessly.

{Undead. }

The “Beauty King,” forty to fifty meters tall, stood upright like a bull-shaped monster. With a single step, it unleashed a heavy gust of wind, kicking up dust that shrouded its calves.

{Don’t you love being struck by others and instilling fear in them? Why aren’t you attacking? Is it because, aside from being cleaved, you’re good for nothing else?! }

It charged forward with excitement!

{Then try the might of this sword! Eye-shining God-King Sword! Destroy him, and the world will be ours!!! }

Whoosh~~~!

The “God King” magic sword was swung by the skeletal black giant in both claws, sweeping through a fierce arc. The blade roared, cleaving the air with a hum, then crashing down like a flaring flame toward the youth standing on the ground.

-｛Distributor May Valkyrie sighed at the pitiable diminishing of intelligence.｝

BOOM!

The long sword slashed from Yang Zicang’s shoulder into his body, the scorching magic blade pressing tightly against his ear.

Calmly, the youth turned his head to gaze at this sentient artifact beside him, studded with hundreds of eyes, large and small.

Every single eye on it fixed their gaze on him, like silk threads lost in a blank void.

“Satisfied? If you’re satisfied, then get up. “

{You! }

All the eyes on the demon sword instantly constricted in unison. The massive blade was jerked free from Yang Zicang’s body with a deliberate, scraping motion by the Beauty Demon Lord, leaving a sweeping gash several meters long on the ground as it withdrew.

That horrifying wound began to heal. Within just a few breaths, Yang Zicang had fully restored his appearance under the incredulous gazes of the two, his clothes seemingly untouched by the damage.

{No, the Undying King? Impossible! }

{What kind of monster are you! You bear no aura of the Soul Hall, no mark of the insignia. Where do you draw the power to withstand our attacks! }

Yang Zicang smiled with a hint of amusement. It seemed the time ahead wouldn’t be too dull. He wiped a hand across his shoulder, “You guess? “