Shangguan Feiyu led Su Yu deep into the mansion until they were standing in front of a dilapidated wooden hut that looked quite ordinary.
There were waves of divine energies undulating in the surroundings of the wooden hut. It seemed like there were more than three deities protecting it.
An elderly man with a weather-beaten appearance was sitting in front of the wooden house with crossed legs.
Despite doing all he could to conceal his cultivation, the divine energy that he emitted occasionally was extremely pure. Su Yu felt that it was on par with the Merchant God and the Sheng Deity.
A powerful individual like that, no matter what tribe he was put into, he would rise as its king.
However, in the Shangguan mansion, he was only a gatekeeper.
Judging from the greatness of the Shangguan mansion, this wooden hut was of paramount importance.
“Get in. How much you can attain depends on your own luck,” Shangguan Feiyu said.
Su Yu nodded and entered silently.
When the door was shut, a barrier isolated the inside from the outside, and people on either side could no longer sense each other’s presence.
The weathered old man heaved a sigh. “Feiyu, can’t you give up on it still? You have asked all the prodigies of the Empire of Darkness to decipher the Heaven-fighting Portrayal.”
“Apart from Yongye Wuheng of the Imperial Sacred Faction, who managed to get a slight clue, the rest of them couldn’t find out a single thing. Why are you so persistent?”
Shangguan Feiyu looked at the door and gave a silent sigh. “I know, the descendants of the Heaven-fighting Divine Warrior have all perished, and there is probably no one left who’s able to decipher the Heaven-fighting Portrayal.”
“But I just can’t accept it. Back in the past, the Heaven-fighting Three Strokes of the Heaven-fighting Divine Warrior could penetrate the skies and lands, as well as reverse Yin and Yang. It was known as the greatest magical power of the God Realm.”
“It took me a great deal of effort to obtain the remaining portrayal that he left behind. How could I be happy if I gave up just like that?”
The old, worn man said, “Do not force anything to happen. Whatever is yours will come to you, and if it doesn’t, you won’t get it anyway.”
——
There was a whole unique world inside the wooden hut, which was, in fact, a vast, spacious hall inside.
The hall was empty, except for the numerous strange-looking patterns carved into the stone wall.
The patterns flowed incessantly. Su Yu’s gaze followed them, and he lost himself in them without realizing, so enchanted that he couldn’t pull himself away.
Luckily, the Divine Nine-Dragon Cauldron in his mind buzzed, jolting Su Yu from his trance.
“Ah! What deity left such a Divine Path?” Su Yu was very shocked. How could he possibly be so riveted after taking just one look?
Feeling strange, Su Yu contemplated for a while and used his Power of Time.
When the time he was experiencing sped up, the time outside him slowed down by a thousand times.
When he looked at the patterns again, Su Yu found, much to his awe, that they were still flowing even in the slowed time!!
This was despite the fact that time had been slowed down by a thousandfold!
When he fixed his gaze upon them, Su Yu finally found a clue.
They appeared to be patterns while they were, in fact, formed by numerous fast-flowing letters!
Countless letters were flowing all at once, giving people an illusion that they were patterns.
In fact, they were all just letters.
Now that time had been slowed down, the speed at which the letters were flowing had become slower too, enabling Su Yu to discern at least some of the letters.
“Under normal circumstances, no one could possibly see these words clearly, could they? What is Shangguan Feiyu’s intention of having me study these stone walls?”
Su Yu was speechless. These fast-flowing letters weren’t something that living creatures would ever be able to see with clarity. At least, it was quite impossible that someone in the God Realm today would be able to see those letters.
Doubtful, Su Yu jotted down each letter that flowed past rapidly.
Even with Time Acceleration, Su Yu faced difficulties in jotting them down, and it took him almost two hours to recognize a full sentence.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Su Yu finished jotting down the last pattern on the stone wall, and panted heavily while leaning against the wall, totally worn out.
“Huu, so tiring!” Su Yu puffed out. Clasping his jade pendant in his hand, Su Yu had a look of gladness on his face.
“However, it is worth all the effort. This turns out to be a chapter of great magical power named the ‘Heaven-fighting Three Strokes’. It is filled with the mightiest powers that the Heaven-fighting Divine Warrior had ever had in his lifetime.”
Thinking of that, Su Yu grinned from ear to ear. “What an incredible profit! I thought it was a Divine Path left by some ordinary deity. I never expected it to be a legacy of a past Divine Warrior!”
Although Su Yu didn’t know how much glory and victory the Heaven-fighting Divine Warrior had back in his day, he knew that the legacy he left behind couldn’t be ordinary. This ‘Heaven-fighting Three Strokes’ was probably a treasure!
“Tsk tsk, Shnagguan Feiyu let me in here in the hope that I could help him decipher this Heaven-fighting Portrayal, didn’t he? Before me, he has probably let many prodigies inside, and he let me try it this time hoping that I might get lucky!”
After some contemplation, Su Yu pocketed the jade pendant. He did not plan to hand his copy of the ‘Heaven-fighting Three Strokes’ to Shangguan Feiyu.
If he knew that Su Yu had acquired that formula, Su Yu was afraid that Shangguan Feiyu might kill him to keep it a secret.
“I’ll study this formula when I have the time,” Su Yu thought to himself.
Right at that moment, Bai Yunfei’s yelling sounded from outside. “Brother, the Tiannu Auction is about to begin, how about you follow us there to watch?”
Su Yu chortled. Bai Yunfei didn’t even know his name, yet he was inviting him to the auction. What was his intention?
Su Yu had probably roused their displeasure by taking the place of that girl named Tong Ling.
After some consideration, Su Yu stepped out of the wooden hut.
The elder guarding the door lifted his eyelids slightly and smiled. “How was the deciphering?”
Su Yu was about to reply that he had not deciphered anything when his heart tightened all of a sudden. That was a trap!
If Su Yu said that he hadn’t deciphered anything, he would be giving himself away.
“Old senior, what was General Shangguan’s intention of letting me study such strange patterns? The moment I went inside and saw the patterns, I have become giddy and confused, and I’ve only awakened now,” Su Yu said.
The elder had a calm look on his face as if he was not surprised at all. He gave Su Yu an approving look. “Not bad. The fact that you could wake up on your own means that you have quite a good proclivity to enlightenment.”
The majority of people would lose themselves in the patterns and wouldn’t be able to detach themselves, requiring external forces to jolt them awake.
Hardly anyone could awake on their own, and Su Yu was among the rare ones.
“Alright, you may go.”
Su Yu left with a baffled expression and met up with Bai Yunfei and the others.
“You had gone into the wooden hut too. What have you gained?” Bai Yunfei smiled, but his smile was stiff and forced.
Su Yu shrugged. “I was so confused, and have been dazed until now. You guys are heading for the auction house? My apologies, I’d like to train a little more, I’m afraid I can’t keep you company.”
“Training requires rest to make advancements. Let’s go.” Bai Yunfei did not listen to his protest. He tugged on Su Yu’s arm insistently.
Su Yu took a glance at the rest of them. They were all smiling, but their smiles were very awkward.
They didn’t even know how to pretend. It was like the words “I am going to make a fool of you” were written on their faces! Su Yu was speechless yet amused.
Finally, the group of people arrived at the Tiannu Auction House.
There were two hours left until the auction, and the entry to the auction was drawing to an end. However, there were still huge crowds of people queuing at the entrance, waiting to enter.
The entrance to the Tiannu Auction House had three divisions.
The first one was for ordinary guests, with the most number of people queuing.
The second was for important guests, with only a few dozens of people waiting there. Each one of them was someone of noble status wearing appropriate clothing, and among them were many deity-level powerful individuals.
The third entrance was rather strange. It was empty and desolate, and no one was queuing there at all.
However, the person in charge of this entrance was a middle-aged woman who had an aloof look on her face and an air of arrogance about her. She was leaning against the entrance as if nothing special was happening, and had never taken a proper look at any of the guests.
“Brother Su, right? Today we’ll let you have a taste of the royal life!” Bai Yunfei gracefully retrieved a white card.
The other three took out their own white cards respectively. They seemed casual and relaxed, with an air of supremacy.
“Brother Su, you have never seen such a card, have you?” Bai Yunfei asked.
Su Yu shook his head. “First time for me.”
Bai Yunfei patted his shoulder and said laughingly, “Doesn’t matter. This is called the Tiannu platinum card, a card earned only when you have spent a million God Realm gold coins at the Tiannu Auction House.”
“We have some privileges, such as watching the auctions in a VIP chamber, and not having to be crammed in the auction hall with those ordinary peasants. Besides, there’ll be people specially assigned to serve us.”
The other three shot disdainful looks at Su Yu as if calling him a clodhopper.
Su Yu smiled. He was unruffled.
“Eh, Brother Su, you haven’t applied for a card, have you?” Bai Yunfei asked in shock.
Su Yu replied, “No, I haven’t.”
Bai Yunfei laughed. “Haha, no worries. My platinum card gives me the privilege to bring one person in for free. You just have to follow us and watch how nobility like us do business.”
The line advanced slowly, and it was finally their turn.
The receptionist was a youthful girl with a delicate, pretty face. She greeted them graciously. “Welcome, Master Bai, Master Zheng, Master Qin, and Master Huang. May I know if this man is your squire?”
Bai Yunfei and the others exchanged a glance and secretively flashed cold, mocking smiles.
They made no explanation. In the eyes of outsiders, it seemed like they were acquiescing.
“Alright, please come in, sirs,” the young girl smiled sweetly. “As platinum card VIPs, you have the right to bring a squire inside. Whom should he be registered under?”
Bai Yunfei handed his platinum card over elegantly. “Register him under me, count him as my guest. If there is any trouble, I’ll be responsible.”
“Alright,” the young girl did as he said. She only had eyes for Bai Yunfei and his three companions and hadn’t really looked at Su Yu.
“The registration is done, please get inside, sirs,” the young girl said and opened the security check formation.
Anyone who got inside had to be scanned by the formation beforehand, to determine the authenticity of the platinum card.
Bai Yunfei and the other three entered, one after another. The four of them were all successful people of the younger generation, and with their inherited wealth, they drew the envy of many.
“Whoa, that’s the heir of the financial minister… Bai Yunfei, isn’t he?”
“And that one, the heir of the Principal of the Central Academy, Zheng Shaoliang!”
“Tsk tsk, I’m so envious. They didn’t even need to wait. They could take the platinum passage, which is much less crowded.”
“Right, did you see that they even brought a squire? Such luxury, how great would it be if they could bring me in?”
Bai Yunfei and his companions exchanged a glance and laughed. Their purpose today was to embarrass Su Yu.
At that moment, it was Su Yu’s turn to enter.
Right when he got near the formation, the alarm went off buzzing loudly!
A row of stark red words was clearly displayed, alongside the mechanical warning sounds.
“Wrong identity, passage prohibited!”
The female servant who was guarding the formation was slightly stunned, and the people who witnessed this were whispering to each other.
