The Abyssal Garden: No Room for the Idle

There was trouble.

He would have bled profusely, cut into pieces and recycled in a dumpsite.

"Still checking."

"There are unknown energy fluctuations causing ripples that destabilize the current."

Then,

The holographic screens scattered throughout the Stars Hall also flickered, as did everyone's wrist projections!

The crowd was stunned.

"What's going on?"

"Was there an accident?"

"Or is it part of the show?"

Nancy and Su Qi's eyes slightly narrowed as they both looked up towards the high dome of the Stars Hall.

Nancy sensed the presence, his strength was only Seventh Rank, but he was still the most powerful being present, surpassing even the Spirit Prince's descendants; however, he still had to nod and bow, not daring to slack in the slightest.

After all,

Strength? Strength was useless.

In the grand scheme... power, and one's background mattered.

Meanwhile, Su Qi had looked up because he saw a question mark.

"[Strength is opening a spatial portal, causing ripples]"

"It's... the arrival of some of the Spirit Princes' Heirs!" Without any hesitation, Nancy immediately informed the backstage.

He also signaled for the program to pause.

All holographic screens in the Stars Hall transformed, displaying grand and majestic scenes to everyone.

Above the Stars Hall, rune pathways were constantly forming.

The next moment,

A figure slowly stepped out from the portal, its body covered in black runes, tall, filled with an abnormal and eerie presence, yet its eyes held a scrutinous gaze.

It looked around, "Seems I'm the first?"

The crowd fell silent!

Nancy took a deep breath.

"Let us welcome the Young Master Youhai Spirit King!"

The elites and visitors of various realms also wore a look of reverence, standing up, applauding, while those from powerful factions and the Spirit Prince's descendants... squinting, didn't move but their expressions held a hint of fear.

Though backed by Spirit Kings, they couldn't compare with these direct descendants.

Afterwards,

Two more rune pathways materialized, space ripples fluctuated.

Two figures also... stepped out of the portal!

One dressed in white clothes, wearing a light smile, but the look in his eyes was chilling.

The other was a youth with an expressionless face, observing everything calmly.

Young Master Youhai narrowed his eyes huskily, "Looks like you two are a step behind me..."

The calm youth tossed a pouch exuding energy, "I accept my loss."

"..."

The white-clothed Young Master showed a strange smile as his teeth clicked, "You can take it, but... unlike him, there aren't many who've taken things from me and ended well."

Young Master Youhai's eyes eyed him dangerously, a menacing aura swirling, "We'll see about that."

Nancy swallowed.

He could feel a strong tension between the three, the most problematic situation he foresaw.

See,

I told you, straight from Hell.

But,

He could only face it head-on.

He forced a smile, shouting,

"Let us welcome the Young Masters of Sunset Spirit King and Ash Spirit King!"

Many elites immediately began to applaud, and music also started to play.

"It's quite crowded, but seems a bit too noisy!"

The white-clothed Young Master Ash said with a soft laugh, "And... who among us three are you welcoming?"

The audience felt his laughter eerie, sending chills down their spines.

A dignitary from Night City gingerly, obsequiously smiled, "Well... welcome to all..."

"Ha!"

Young Master Ash, a chain glinting like cold light on his body, flew swiftly and pierced right through his shoulder, laughing:

"Sorry, I can only answer one question."

The noble's expression was one of terror and pain as he still thought of speaking out to make an impression on the other. But unexpectedly, the other acted so abruptly!

Why speak at all!

"Of course it's you...esteemed sir!" This obese noble, his prosthetic pierced yet also fused with flesh, chuckled nervously for the sake of his life.

Young Master Ash grinned, "It seems... you don't welcome the other two, do you?"

The noble's eyes widened in shock. Were there more explosions waiting in the chain?

He sweated profusely, his face streaming as he muttered, "This..."

But he dared not speak, as any answer would be pushing himself further into the fire pit.

"So hesitant?" Young Master Ash shook his head with a smile, "It seems... you were lying to me just now."

The noble was terrified, shaking in his boots and he quickly blurted out, "Sir, I wasn't lying...it's just..."

But he couldn't finish his sentence.

The chains of Ash Spirit King, like blood vessels, suddenly burst open, and the noble was brutally flung away, his shoulder exploding into a large hole, and he fell unconscious to the ground.

He murmured softly, "Insincere answers, I despise such people the most."

Countless people watched, dumbfounded and fearful, at this scene.

A powerful noble of Night City, a chairman with a vast economic empire, couldn't even fart in front of the adversary and was gravely injured.

And the reason was utterly absurd.

Nancy held the microphone, her palms sweating.

This person was that capricious entity, cruel and merciless, a killer across many worlds, yet no one dared to defy him.

Damn it.

Nancy couldn't even smooth things over, he was merely a somewhat famous lackey in the eyes of the other.

"Boring antics." Young Master Sunset, An Xinghe, calmly remarked as he settled into his seat, uninterested in these affairs.

"That's quite a vile taste," chuckled Young Master Dark Sea, who also indulged in killings to vent, straightforward and direct, not disgusting like this person.

Young Master Ash smiled and casually walked back to his seat.

The three true heirs of the Spirit Kings made their formal entrance.

Nancy took a deep breath and smiled, "Then, to welcome our distinguished young lords, a new program will now begin. Please enjoy."

Continuing the paused program was not an option; Night City now had to bring out the extravagant spectacle prepared for the lords to divert attention.

Ironically... that noble had put quite an effort into this luxurious event.

"So these are the heirs of the Spirit King? Quite an entrance indeed."

Su Qi mused to himself.

The power of these three young lords wasn't much different from that of Nancy's; all were Seventh Rank.

The void passage they used was opened with Spiritual Power Runes, nothing special.

Moreover,

They seemed to have bodyguards hidden around them, and their bodies were protected by the power of Totems ready to defend them.

If Young Master Ash... lost these protections, he would've been chopped into chips long ago.

"Relying on the background of the Spirit King and their status as young lords, they can kill in front of countless people, indicative of how terrifying their authority is." Su Qi observed everyone's expressions.

"And probably countless worlds are also under the protection of the Seven Spirit Kings' Shrine, making people scared and reverent, not daring to be angry nor to speak."

What's called protection is, to speak harshly, similar to collecting protection money together with the Black Emperor and Jile's Crowd... paying immense amounts of Sky Gold to secure the right to live.

After all,

Not cooperating would result in pollution invasion and falling into destruction.

Well,

All trail back to the Evil God.

"With his power alone, Evil God causes the hearts of those in the Present World to panic, destruction and death spread like a plague..."

Su Qi shook his head, "Such a sin."

At the moment, he glanced toward Nancy.

That guy now looked calm, but inside he was extremely nervous because he had totally lost control of the proceedings and didn't dare to speak rashly.

With the three Spirit King heirs causing such a commotion upon their arrival, who knew what unexpected events could happen next.

However,

Though the three heirs of the Spirit King currently focused on the holographic stage, the splendid spectacle, their auras were dangerously swirling undercurrents:

"What do you think?"

"Nothing but boring falsities."

"How about we have a chat then, I recently heard something interesting."

Dark Sea Young Master hoarsely laughed, looking at Ash Young Master, "I heard that not long ago, one of your territories in Lin Yuan Land… got wiped out, right?"

As soon as these words came out,

Ash Young Master's dangerous aura suddenly shifted, then his eyes narrowed with a smiling gleam, "What are you trying to... say?"