Upper World, Win Pavilion's headquarters.
Win Pavilion truly lived up to its reputation as a superpower in the Xuyu Universe Kingdom. The "bases" used for its headquarters were far more advanced than those of other organizations, never mind their weapons. D9-Grade Star Destroyer Cannons and D9-Grade Railguns were standard equipment at almost every base.
One thing to bear in mind: E-grade weapons were subject to such strict restrictions that even if you had one, you weren't allowed to bring it in. It was like a nuclear bomb: if you used one and so did I, wouldn't we both be doomed?
"Win Pavilion really is... obscenely wealthy!" Chen Beixun gazed out through the spaceship's 100% exterior virtual simulation.
When the Machine Race Spaceship carrying Chen Beixun and the other two came within a certain distance, the D9-Grade Railguns on Win Pavilion's base automatically activated and locked on to it. If the spaceship activated its stealth function, it might not be detected even if it flew right up to the base.
As a peak race, the Machine Race had truly outrageous technology. Naturally, the spaceships it built were top of the line.
Of course, the appearance of a Machine Race Spaceship drew envious looks from some people.
Just then...
"A Machine Race Spaceship?" The 584th scout at Win Pavilion's Base 25 stared at the Machine Race on the screen and cried out in alarm.
[Win Pavilion's defense and reconnaissance forces were combined into one team.]
His shout drew the people around him over.
"What?"
"Holy crap! It's a Machine Race Spaceship!"
Everyone started talking at once.
"All right, everyone. You've seen enough. Get back to your posts." A majestic voice rang out, making everyone present tremble.
"Yes."
"Sorry, Captain."
The crowd scattered.
"A Machine Race Spaceship..." The man known as the captain murmured. His eyes were full of shock. Though he was the reconnaissance team captain and held some standing in Win Pavilion, he still wasn't privy to this level of affairs.
Inside the docking port at Win Pavilion's Base 25.
A pyramid-shaped spaceship hovered in midair. A square hatch opened beneath it, and three people flew out. Chen Beixun was on the right, An Changyan in the middle, and Pavadode on the left.
"There are quite a lot of people," Chen Beixun said, looking down at the crowd arrayed below. "Are they here to welcome An Changyan?"
"Big families really are different. They make a grand entrance wherever they go." Chen Beixun sighed inwardly. A few hours earlier, An Changyan had gotten the Mysterious Stele back.
He was a little unhappy about it now. If An Changyan had been someone without a powerful background, Chen Beixun would have already taken the treasure by force.
"Your Highness." A man dressed in silver-white armor bowed and respectfully greeted An Changyan.
Chen Beixun had made quite a name for himself in the World Lord World with his Domain Lord Level 4 Demon Island Vine. Who wouldn't know him?
Pavadode's strength as a Domain Lord Level 1 was beyond question.
That left An Changyan, the one in the middle, in the prime position. It was easy to tell from their placement that he was the leader of the three. So the man in silver-white armor had greeted him first.
"Are you Lord Chen Beixun? I've heard so much about you!" The man in silver-white armor bowed respectfully to Chen Beixun as well.
"Young brother, you're quite famous," Pavadode sent to Chen Beixun.
Chen Beixun smiled, though the expression seemed a little forced, as if he'd had to squeeze it out.
An Changyan looked down at the crowd with some disdain.
Seeing this, Pavadode called out, "You can all leave."
The man in silver-white armor, who had been wondering how to curry favor with them, froze for a moment. Then he came to his senses and directed everyone to leave.
"What a drag," An Changyan said.
The three of them had come to collect some goods—or, more accurately, An Changyan's goods. As the grandson of a King-level Immortal, he had plenty of factions eager to curry favor with him. There was nothing wrong with this arrangement, after all; the goods weren't some highly destructive restricted weapons, so bringing them in would cause no harm.
The goods were to be collected at Warehouse No. 9 at Win Pavilion's Base 25.
Warehouse No. 9 at Win Pavilion's Base 25.
"Your Highness An Changyan, please place your hand on this metal plate..." said a handsome man. He held a Black Metal Plate in his hand.
An Changyan stretched out a slender hand and gently placed it on the plate. He gathered his mental power in his palm and slowly channeled it into the plate.
What a gorgeous guy, the handsome man thought to himself, unable to stop staring at An Changyan. There seemed to be something captivating about him.
His gaze shifted, and he accidentally met Pavadode's eyes. The man froze.
"Buddy, you're being a little creepy," Pavadode said with a teasing grin.
The man came back to his senses and realized how inappropriate he'd been. He hurriedly said, "Your Highness is so breathtakingly beautiful that I... I've never seen anyone like you in my life." Flustered, he fumbled through the transfer of the goods.
Pavadode chuckled a few times and said nothing more.
An Changyan remained calm and wasn't angry, but Chen Beixun's next words made him blaze with fury.
"Sir, you must have seen a lot of beautiful people to give such a spot-on assessment," Chen Beixun said with a mischievous grin.
"Damn it!" The man was close to tears, hoping An Changyan wouldn't get the wrong idea.
But...
"What do you mean?" An Changyan tilted his head and looked at Chen Beixun in confusion.
"Seen a lot of what...?" An Changyan furrowed his brow. After thinking for a few seconds, it suddenly clicked, and his mind exploded. "You're comparing me to other people?"
"I'm done for." Seeing the atmosphere grow more and more tense, the man sped up his work. At that moment, he wished he had eight octopus arms.
"What do you mean by that? I gave you such a generous reward, and this is how you treat me?" An Changyan sent to Chen Beixun.
"I was just curious," Chen Beixun replied, folding his arms.
The man bowed his head, on the verge of collapse, as if a colony of ants had brought down a thousand-mile dike.
An Changyan's gaze swept over the man. He felt a bone-chilling cold.
"Damn!" The man's mind went completely blank. Did I do something to you?! He looked at Chen Beixun, the thought flashing through his mind.
"Wait." The more he looked at Chen Beixun, the more familiar he seemed. Isn't he that guy's friend? He remembered when his family had destroyed another enemy family. He'd taken advantage of the chaos to capture an enemy.
That's him! He kept asking about Siyong, trying to buy his freedom and take his place! How did he reach Universe Level...? The man broke into a cold sweat, his body trembling uncontrollably.
Chen Beixun's eyes turned cold. "Remember now?" His lips twitched. His eyes reddened, and he unleashed a Soul Attack. An invisible force, carrying boundless fury, invaded the depths of the man's sea of consciousness.
In an instant—
The man's eyes went blank, and he collapsed heavily to the ground.
"What?" An Changyan's anger turned to shock. "Is he dead?"
"What happened?"
"Did he die of fright?"
"Am I... like my older sister? Can I scare people to death?"
Three questions flashed through An Changyan's mind in a row.
"I did it," Chen Beixun said calmly. He looked relaxed, as though he'd finally avenged a great wrong.
"Young brother... Did you have a grudge against him?" Pavadode looked down at the corpse.
Chen Beixun said nothing.
"Uh... It's fine. It's only some insignificant nobody who died," An Changyan said with a shrug. "It doesn't matter. Just say the guy was up to no good."
Chen Beixun smiled. "Thank you, Your Highness."
"Next time something like this happens, just tell me," An Changyan said, brushing a loose strand of hair away from his temple. "I'll handle it through my family."
Chen Beixun nodded.
An Changyan covered up the matter.
Soon, Win Pavilion sent over a new person in charge.
After collecting the goods, the three of them left, preparing to take a spaceship back to where they had started.
Inside a pyramid-shaped spaceship at the boundary between the Upper and Lower Worlds.
"Heng Divine Weapon?" Chen Beixun stared at the long white rod in his hands, which looked as if it had been made from ice crystals.
"Your Highness, this... this..." Chen Beixun was overcome with excitement.
An Changyan sat on the sofa, smiling at Chen Beixun. "This thing suits you. It took me a lot of effort to get it."
"Make good use of it!"
Chen Beixun nodded in thanks.