Not long after Evan Chu returned to the inn, a middle-aged man dressed in a blue robe embroidered with tiny stars came looking for him.
For Star-Treasure Pavilion, tracking Evan Chu’s movements was easier than squashing an ant. He’d already experienced just how powerful Star-Treasure Pavilion’s intelligence network really was.
From another angle, only Star-Treasure Pavilion could spread its influence across the entire Star-River Dominion—something even the Five Great Sacred Lands had never achieved.
"Senior brother, someone’s looking for you outside. It’s a deacon from Star-Treasure Pavilion."
"Mm, let him in."
The middle-aged man couldn’t understand why such a simple delivery required a deacon like himself to handle it personally. Even if the recipient was a Purple-Gold Guest, this was something ordinary staff could do. Unless the branch master’s Starstone recording held some truly important information?
But the more he thought about it, the less sense it made. The branch master had clearly said it was just some basic intelligence.
What baffled him even more was that the branch master had specifically ordered him to treat Evan Chu with utmost respect—not a single word of offense allowed.
The deacon was thoroughly puzzled—since when did a Throne of the Dragon-Chen Legion rate this kind of face?
"Throne Chu, by order of the branch master, I’ve come to deliver intelligence recorded on Starstone. You may review it at your convenience—if anything’s unclear, just ask me."
"Alright, let me take a look first."
Evan Chu took the Starstone with the recorded intelligence, infused his divine sense, and started reading through the information inside.
Moments later, Evan Chu’s brows furrowed deeply.
"I didn’t expect so many powerhouses to show up for this auction. Trying to snatch the Starry Void Sigil from their hands definitely won’t be easy.
Even if I manage to buy it, then what? Who knows what these people are planning—murder and robbery aren’t out of the question… After all, none of them are exactly upstanding types."
The intelligence recorded in the Starstone shocked Evan Chu. It listed eight major factions sending experts for the Starry Void Sigil—each one far richer and stronger than Evan and his Dragon-Chen Legion.
Of these eight, Evan had only heard of three, and never tangled with any of them. The other five were completely new names, but the dossiers made it clear—each was more formidable than the last.
"The Ouyang Family of East-Forest Star-Region, the Baili Family of Spirit-Void Star-Region, the Wanshi Family of Purple-Soul Star-Region—these three are the strongest world-level forces, and they’ve all sent Holy Emperor realm experts. They’re our top enemies! Looks like, if I survive this, I might not even need to go to Pearlstream—I’ll have the chance to break through to mid Saint Lord right here."
Evan Chu’s gaze grew grave, his voice dropping low.
The deacon responded, "Before the branch master left, he specifically instructed me to remind you about the one most easily overlooked. I don’t know what he meant, but I trust Throne Chu will understand once you hear it."
Sure enough, when Evan Chu heard the deacon’s words, something clicked in his mind—the one most easily overlooked?
He browsed through the intelligence again, and finally spotted another issue. The three world-level families mentioned above didn’t belong to any dynasty or major power—they clawed their way up from small star-regions, building their wealth and strength off a few peak figures. Now, each family’s power and resources rivaled some dynasties!
Of course, that didn’t mean they could truly replace a dynasty—they lacked the most crucial trial worlds and pocket realms that form a dynasty’s foundation.
Still, while those three families were powerful, the deacon’s warning clearly wasn’t about them. Looking closer, Evan spotted four more dynastic envoys coming to compete.
These four dynasties belonged to the southeastern Star-River Dominion, meaning they weren’t part of the Phantomstar, Luoshin, or Frostbane camps.
Their home star-regions weren’t far from Yellow-Blade Star-Region, and since the nearby small star-regions’ star-mines were their turf, they got wind of the auction early.
But aside from these seven forces, there really was one group Evan had almost missed entirely.
The Savage Brotherhood!
The Savage Brotherhood started from nothing, recruiting wanted criminals and roaming bandits from every dynasty. Their members’ cultivation levels were all over the place, but they shared one trait—ruthlessness.
In terms of raw strength, the Savage Brotherhood couldn’t match the four dynastic envoy armies or the three great families, and in wealth, they were even poorer than Evan Chu.
But when it came to bloodlust and greed, no one could match them! In other words, if Evan Chu actually managed to win the Starry Void Sigil, the other families and dynasties might hesitate or plot, but the Savage Brotherhood would definitely try to snatch it!
Honestly, the Savage Brotherhood was here to rob, not buy! Why spend money when you can steal? Besides, they’d never attended an auction before—why show up now? Clearly, their first thought on seeing a treasure was always to snatch, not to purchase.
"The Savage Brotherhood! They’re a real headache—when it comes to pure combat strength, with five Holy Emperor realm experts, they could wipe out ten Dragon-Chen Legions!"
Evan Chu glanced at the deacon. "Go back and tell your branch master—I understand his warning. Consider me in his debt."
"Yes, Throne Chu."
The deacon left, still polite on the surface, but inwardly he couldn’t help but grumble: A debt? What’s a favor from a mid Saint Lord worth to a branch master who’s a Holy Emperor? Ridiculous!
What he didn’t know was that it was precisely this promise, this debt, that would one day save Hong Lin’s life.
"Eight major powers converging, plus Malcolm Mo and his three—just counting the ones with Holy Emperor realm experts, there are nine factions! This time… the Starry Void Sigil won’t be nearly as easy to claim as I thought."
This wasn’t Evan Chu’s first auction, but this time was different—in the past, he’d only worried about how to buy the treasure. Now, he had to worry about how to keep it from being stolen.
The Starry Void Sigil wasn’t some ordinary treasure—just buying it would spread word across the whole Starry Sky Dominion, and once it was in hand, even more people would come to seize it!
Unless Evan Chu handed the Starry Void Sigil over to the Frostbane Dynasty, there was no way he could protect it alone.