Damien and Ruyue made their way past the crowds of people lining the stone roads of the underground cavern as they headed to the auction site.
Unlike when they first arrived at this hidden convention, the site had been fully erected, and the pavilion could be seen from many meters away, even with the hubbub of people crowding the streets.
When they arrived in front of the building, they were greeted by a line so long they couldn't see the end of it. Only then did they realize that the crowds they had waded past were all waiting in said line.
However, they didn't have to pay attention to such details. Xian Lin had contacted them a day ago and had given them an invitation to the auction meant for the Twilight Blood Sect. Although they normally should have gotten only one of these, Xian Lin had pulled his weight to make sure the duo also got a spot.
As such, they swiftly bypassed the line and found one of the many attendants on the first floor of the two-story building that had been built in this area.
"Hello, if you are planning to participate in the auction, you must wait in the line you saw on your way here." The attendant said with a slight hint of contempt in his expression.
Evidently, there were plenty of people who had tried to bypass the line and bribe their way in, and the attendant made it clear he believed Damien and Ruyue fell in this category.
After all, their looks with their disguises on were generally average, perfectly middle of the pack. There was nothing in particular that stood out about the duo as even the aura of their elemental affinities was hidden.
The only detail that could raise a brow was the logo of the Twilight Blood Sect that was patched onto their robes, but obviously, the attendant didn't care for any of these things.
Or rather, he didn't even bother to check. His identity was that of a devil worshipper, regardless of the politeness he showed for the sake of the event. He had long since stopped caring about affiliations to sects that would be destroyed as soon as his Lords took control of the world.
Damien was well acquainted with the so-called "auction house" scenario, where plenty of trouble and unneeded attention could follow him, but he had no desire to partake in such annoyances.
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Rather than face slap this attendant who was probably sick of the shit the many idiots wandering these halls had put him through, Damien chose to be civil.
He silently withdrew a thin sheet of parchment from his spatial ring. It was coarse to the touch and had a sort of aura that no ordinary paper could contain. This material was specially constructed for the sake of this event so that nobody could force their way in with fake invitations.
The attendant swiftly grabbed the paper that Damien handed to him and perused its contents before a slight smile crept up his face.
"Ah! I see the esteemed guests have been invited by our leaders to attend this auction. Forgive my insolence earlier, but it is necessary to stay on guard in case anyone tries anything funny. Anyway, ignore my pointless drivel, I'll show you to your private room."
Even the way the attendant addressed the duo had become more formal, but neither of them cared. Rather, Damien was focused on another detail.
Yes, a private room. Each sect that was invited was given its own private room to use during the auction. It would both conceal their identities and show their standing to the average cultivators that took up the ten thousand normal seats in the pavilion.
But to Damien, the former condition was most important. He didn't know exactly how much money he'd spend today, but he guaranteed it'd be in the millions of spirit stones.
This kind of wealth was something even he wasn't used to carrying around, as even his total wealth in Apeiron only amounted to several hundred thousand.
He didn't even trust himself to hold such wealth, which is why Ruyue had been in charge of the money during the trip.
While he was shuddering at the thought of throwing away what was essentially millions or even billions of dollars, the attendant had led the duo to their private room.
"If there is anything esteemed guests need, please be sure to press the button on the left side to call an attendant to the room. They will be sure to fulfill your requests. As for the button on the right, you may use it when you are ready to bid."
The attendant retreated while closing the door to the private room, and Damien and Ruyue were able to take a glance at the space they were given.
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Similar to the hotel room Xian Lin had taken them to a month ago, this room was also equipped with many formations.
From what Damien could gather, there was one for soundproofing and another to conceal what was happening in the room. It seemed the latter formation would work in tandem with the glass he saw previously to totally isolate the space.
Now that he thought about it, Damien realized that he hadn't really put much thought into formations or runic arts at all. He hadn't encountered any during his stay in Apeiron, so he never bothered to learn.
However, they seemed overly abundant on the Cloud Plane. Damien had plenty of books collecting dust in his subspace inventory that he got way back when he was in the dungeon.
When he left Kurt's subspace, he took almost everything with him. He was sure there were books about formations within the pile since even alchemy seemed to have a small section.
Making up his mind to at least gain basic knowledge of runic arts, Damien made his way to the two-seated sofa in front of the glass looking down on the auction stage.
Without saying a word, Ruyue joined him.
The two of them watched in awkward silence as the guests continued to pile in, quickly filling out the seats of the action.
Damien was feeling especially constricted in the weird atmosphere. Witnessing the kinds of activities the devil worshippers were partaking in seemed to take a hit on Ruyue's psyche.
She had been mostly silent ever since they entered the convention; but her aura had become noticeably frosty over the past month.
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Truth be told, Damien would have been similar if it was his first time witnessing such things. But, they were doing the same thing on earth.
Experimentation, human trafficking, killing of innocents, these kinds of sins were just a part of the tally Damien could make in his head.
And the fact that they were happening on multiple planets was even worse. He didn't like it at all, but it wasn't his place to say anything.
He was a 3rd class, in this world's terms a Core Formation realm expert. If he went to earth, he could dominate as a god. If he went to Apeiron, he could become a premier existence just under the level of an emperor.
But here? Here he was merely a spec of dust. One of many.
He had come to realize that not all beings were created equal, regardless of strength. He remembered his days on Apeiron when he was just a 2nd class who hadn't even ascended to this level, but he could still kill mid-level 3rd classes:
He remembered the old men from the Burning Sun Sect that he had met. Even if they were a cut above the rest, they weren't anything he couldn't handle with his level of strength.
But here in the Central Continent, he would always come across beings that changed his perception. Long Chen, Ruyue, Tian Yang, even Xian Lin. Time and time again, he was forced to realize that his genius wasn't as insane as he originally thought it was.
Perhaps he was indeed a genius worth celebrating. He was most definitely at the head of the pack, but it wasn't by much. He wasn't anything heaven-defying.
In his observation, he realized how much environment could affect strength regardless of level. He realized that with the purity of mana on the Central Continent and the vast amount of fortuitous encounters one could have here, the 3rd class existences of Apeiron wouldn't be able to match up.
And as he thought this far, there was one question that took precedence above the rest.
How were Rose and Elena able to match this level even though they hadn't had access to the same benefits as the rest?