In the blink of an eye, less than three days remained until the auction truly began. As the time approached, more and more powerhouses from every camp poured into the Yellow-Blade Star-Region. The nine major factions Evan Chu was watching most closely also arrived one after another, each at their own time.
By pure coincidence, the Mansfield Family delegation also checked into the same inn where Evan Chu was staying.
After Evan Chu split off his Light-element Law Avatar to investigate, he managed to pick up a few more pieces of information.
But every time he got close to a critical moment, the Saint Emperor-level experts inside would set up a barrier to prevent any leaks. So tonight, Evan Chu had a crazy idea: when those people went downstairs, he would sneak into their room ahead of time, activate his stealth, and wait for their next round of conversation.
Why call it a crazy move? Because the Mansfield Family only brought eight people this time, but their combat power was downright terrifying.
Three of them were early-stage Holy Emperors, four were old men at peak late Saint Venerable Realm, and the last was a young heir who only showed a cultivation of peak late Saint Lord Realm.
Evan Chu was shocked to discover that those four peak late Saint Venerable elders seemed to be little more than servants—they just sat in silence during the meeting and never spoke up. The real discussion was handled by the three Holy Emperor elders, and only at the very end, when it was time to make a decision, did they suddenly turn to the young heir at peak late Saint Lord Realm.
After careful analysis, Evan Chu concluded that the weakest heir was probably the actual leader of the Mansfield Family delegation—the one truly calling the shots wasn’t the three Holy Emperors, let alone the four old Saint Venerable retainers.
Thinking this through, Evan Chu’s interest only grew. After making quick arrangements, he sent his Light-element Law Avatar to stealthily slip into the Mansfield Family’s room.
With Evan Chu’s current cultivation, he stood no chance in a direct fight against Holy Emperors. But thanks to the unique properties of his Light-element Law Avatar, he could hide his presence so well that even a mid-stage Holy Emperor would probably struggle to detect him.
By now, Evan Chu’s Light-element Law Avatar was no longer as simple as before. After merging a trace of Heavenly-Dao insight into it, he’d gained mastery over even more mysterious elemental powers.
Now he could even extract the exact elemental law power he wanted from Stellar Power itself!
This kind of technique was downright unbelievable. Everyone knows you have to identify a star’s attribute before you can absorb its power—but does Stellar Power itself have attributes? Even if you asked a Holy Emperor, they probably couldn’t give you much of an answer.
But if you asked Evan Chu, he’d tell you straight up: yes, you can! Though even in his hands, there were some serious limits.
He’d sworn two Heavenly-Dao Witnessing Oaths before, and completed both. The resulting Dao insight fused into the Law Avatars for Light, Darkness, Fire, and Water. Right now, only those four elemental laws could extract elemental power directly from Stellar Power—the rest still had all kinds of restrictions.
After reaping the benefits of those Dao insights, Evan Chu tried several times to swear another Heavenly-Dao Witnessing Oath. But no matter what he did, it just wouldn’t work. After asking the four Hall Masters, he learned that ordinary oaths aren’t easily witnessed by the Heavenly Dao—only oaths that challenge your realm and validate your future achievements have any chance of being accepted.
Plus, any oath you swear has to pose a real challenge to your future—and you yourself have to genuinely have a shot at completing it.
In short, it was all a tangled mess—even Holy Emperors couldn’t see through all the mysteries involved.
The Light-element Law Avatar successfully infiltrated the Mansfield Family’s room. After the eight members finished their meal and entered one by one, Evan Chu’s nerves started to tighten.
"Just two more days until the auction starts. We’ve been discussing this for ages, and still nothing works. Are we really just going to let this opportunity slip away for nothing?"
"Exactly! The entrance to the Starry Abyss only appears once every ten million years. Our family’s experts have already entered and discovered a complete Star Core. Now all we need is the Starry Void Sigil to finish the final step!"
"With it, we could open a true Trial World of our own, just like the great dynasties!"
The three Holy Emperors spoke up one after another, and their words startled Evan Chu.
There’s a place in the Star-River Dominion called the Starry Abyss, where an entrance only appears once every ten million years! Inside, heaven-defying treasures called Star Cores exist. Every Trial World’s foundational star supposedly originated from a Star Core, and to transform a Star Core into a full Trial World requires a treasure like the Starry Void Sigil.
Evan Chu didn’t dwell on it—he forced himself to focus and listen carefully to the rest of their conversation.
"The Starry Abyss appears every ten million years, and each opening lasts three years. Across countless ages, fewer than a hundred people have ever entered.
But do you know how many have actually managed to activate a Star Core and open a true Trial World?"
The young heir in snowy white robes, holding a white folding fan, poured himself tea and asked the question as he drank.
"That... we old men don’t know. Does the Young Master have the answer?"
One of the elders turned to Mansfield Chen and asked.
Desmond Mansfield gave a faint smile, his willow-shaped brows—more beautiful and alluring than any woman's—arching gracefully as he spoke four words:
"Only three people."
"What?!"
The elders were visibly shaken. This truly startled them. No wonder the Three Thousand Great Worlds have lasted so long—turns out, awakening a Star Core and opening a Trial World is unimaginably difficult.
"Now you know how difficult it is, right? Honestly, this kind of thing isn’t worth losing sleep over. I understand you’ve been uneasy lately, with the moves the Ouyang and Baili Families have been making.
After all, their clans have experts who also entered the Starry Abyss, and now they've come with us to the Yellow-Blade Star-Region. Their purpose is obvious.
But do you really think they’ll succeed? I wouldn’t bet on it. To be honest, even I never expected real success here. The odds are just too slim. All we can do is give it our best shot—whether it works or not is up to fate. So all that worrying you’ve been doing these past days is really unnecessary."
The young heir’s words were so light and casual that the elders were left speechless. What could they say? Their cultivation might be higher, but as collateral relatives, when faced with a direct-line prodigy most favored by the clan, they could only ever be protectors, loyal retainers—never true equals.
Still, they were at least a notch above the four who stood silently to the side, never daring to raise their heads or utter a word.