Ji Chen sighed. "That's why the Peak Warrior Battle is on a much higher level than the Genius Battle. There's no especially precise way to measure the difference, but the Trial Tower can give you a rough idea.
"That's also why the Sacred Hall created the trial spaces.
"The Universe Level Trial Tower is at least one tower more difficult than the Star Level Trial Tower—and possibly even more!
"For example, if you can clear the fifth Star Level Trial Tower, after advancing to Universe Level, you'll probably only be able to clear the fourth Universe Level Trial Tower at most.
"You reached the fifth floor of the sixth tower in the Star Level trial space. If you tried the Universe Level trial space now, you might only be able to reach the fourth floor of the fifth tower at most!
"Generally, for a Mental Master Controller, clearing the third floor of the fifth Trial Tower means they're very likely to rank in the top thousand of the Peak Warrior Battle!
"If you clear the fifth floor of the fifth Universe Level Trial Tower, you'll have a very good chance of making the top hundred and entering the Dragon Remains Secret Realm.
"As for me, I cleared the sixth floor of the fifth Universe Level Trial Tower. Among the 1008 Universe Kingdoms, I can rank in the top twenty at the very least!"
Jiang Luo understood. By that measure, the difficulty of reaching the fifth floor of the sixth Star Level Trial Tower earlier was equivalent to clearing the fourth floor of the fifth Universe Level Trial Tower?
By that estimate, he should be strong enough to make the top hundred in the final round of the Strong Ones Battle and enter the Giant Axe Arena's third secret realm, the Dragon Remains Secret Realm.
That was a considerable difference from being able to enter the Giant Axe Secret Realm directly eighty years later.
But that had been his strength before he obtained the Soldier Secret Technique.
Besides, there were still nearly two years before the Strong Ones Battle. He had time to improve.
Even in the Peak Warrior Battle, he was confident he could enter the Giant Axe Secret Realm.
"I hope I can find an Exotic Fire treasure that satisfies me at the mid-level auction."
He cultivated the Burning Technique from the Battle Through the Heavens Universe, which let him directly improve his comprehension of the Law of Fire by fusing with Exotic Fire treasures containing the Fire Origin Law!
Unfortunately, treasures like that were incredibly hard to come by.
Over the years, he had attended several Gulun Auctions without seeing any.
After becoming a nominal disciple of the Gulun Kingdom Lord, he had also asked King Shaluo about it.
The Universe Kingdom Treasury did contain materials like that, but they couldn't be bought with Universe Coins. He needed to exchange his contribution points to the Universe Kingdom for them.
That was a rule set by the Gulun Kingdom Lord. Even King Shaluo couldn't break it.
The mid-level auction, held once every hundred years, took place in a special plane within the Virtual Universe.
Only people with a four-star account or higher at the Cosmic First Bank or the Cosmic Galaxy Bank could receive an invitation.
They could enter the special plane using the invitation.
"Awwooo~~~"
Dragons and dazzling, winged birds flew through the air.
At a glance, countless kinds of strange beasts could be seen circling a massive volcano.
Jiang Luo rode a Seven-Colored Avian as it carried him into the volcano's mouth.
The crater looked like a bowl, with countless openings carved into the rock walls around it.
The bird carried him into one of them.
Jiang Luo's view suddenly opened up.
Beyond the opening lay an independent plane.
It had mountains and rivers, and even groups of strange beasts.
The Seven-Colored Avian spoke in a pleasant voice. "Dear guest, you have a five-star account, so you may enter a private-box plane.
"You have control over this plane and can change its environment however you like."
Jiang Luo clicked his tongue in admiration.
As expected of a mid-level auction. Even the private boxes were independent planes.
Of course, this seemed to be a privilege reserved for five-star account holders.
In other words, it was a perk for Marquis Immortals.
With a thought, Jiang Luo made the entire space shift. It became a starry sky.
He now stood on the surface of a star.
Jiang Luo took a deep breath, feeling a sense of comfort that seemed to come from his soul.
That was another effect of absorbing the Flame Star Behemoth's bloodline.
If he could, he would have happily lived inside a star.
A huge screen appeared before him, showing the auction grounds around the volcano's crater.
"If you have any questions about an item, I can answer them for you," the Seven-Colored Avian said in a gentle voice. "If you wish to bid on something, just tell me."
Jiang Luo asked curiously, "How many people are attending this auction?"
The Seven-Colored Avian lowered its head. "The Virtual Universe Company's mid-level auctions are open to all Cosmic Humans with four-star accounts or higher.
"Each auction attracts an average of more than ten million attendees. The largest one had 62.73 million people."
Jiang Luo was startled. "The number varies that much?"
"The number of attendees mainly depends on what rare treasures are being auctioned that time."
The Seven-Colored Avian spoke gently. "Before each mid-level auction, the Virtual Universe Company announces some of the most valuable items that will be offered, so everyone can prepare.
"Although the truly precious treasures are usually reserved for high-level auctions, some sellers don't mind accepting Universe Coins, so they put their treasures up at mid-level auctions.
"Others may need to sell quickly and can't wait for the high-level auction, which is held only once every era..."
Jiang Luo nodded.
The Virtual Universe Company held auctions to get the highest possible bids for the items.
If a particularly precious treasure was going to be auctioned, revealing the news in advance would give bidders more time to prepare.
After all, once they had enough funds, moving them around still took time.
One day later.
"Everyone!"
A figure with three pairs of long black wings appeared on the auction platform in the volcano's crater.
Even through the screen, Jiang Luo could feel the terrifying aura radiating from the winged man.
He was probably an exceptionally powerful Immortal God!
"Welcome to this year's Cosmic Human Auction." The winged man's voice was cold. "I hereby declare the auction open!"
"The first batch of ten thousand different items has appeared on the screens before you. Please browse through them. If you have any questions, consult the intelligent assistant beside you.
"The bidding period for the first batch will last three days!
"After three days, bidding will close. The highest bidder for each item will win!"
Jiang Luo couldn't help marveling. Compared to a low-level auction, the mid-level auction, which mainly catered to Immortal Gods, was much more streamlined.
The items were offered in batches. The winged man didn't describe them in detail or try to stir up the crowd.
Jiang Luo then looked through the ten thousand items displayed on the screen.
"Good grief, one hundred XTH122-series E9 Laser Guns?"
"Fifty World Rings with an internal diameter of a hundred billion kilometers..."
"A Biological Spaceship fused with a Nuoweika Tree Spirit..."
"An Immortal armor..."
"A planet made entirely of Cyan Glaze Stone?"
"A special legacy believed to predate the Great Destruction?!"
Jiang Luo read through the item descriptions, occasionally asking the Seven-Colored Avian for more information.
He had thought the 12 million Hunyuan Units in his account would be more than he could spend.
He hadn't even finished browsing the first ten thousand items, and he'd already changed his mind.
Compared with the low-level Gulun Universe Kingdom auction, the mid-level auction had made a huge leap in both the value and variety of its items!
If he could think of it, he could find it here.
The sheer variety dazzled him.
"Hm?" Jiang Luo's gaze suddenly sharpened as it settled on one item.
A larva of the rare cosmic life-form known as the Green Line Devouring Insect!
More importantly, it was alive!
The Green Line Devouring Insect was even rarer than the Mosha Clan.
There was actually a complete, living Green Line Devouring Insect larva here!
The Seven-Colored Avian followed Jiang Luo's gaze and introduced it in a gentle voice. "The Green Line Devouring Insect is a rare cosmic life-form, even rarer than the twelve peak bloodlines of the Starry Sky Behemoths.
"The Green Line Devouring Insect is a flesh-and-blood life-form with a life level roughly ten times that of a human. It possesses the Innate Secret Technique to create millions of clones.
"It can take root on planets and control living puppets. It's a terrifying life-form that's extremely difficult to find and kill.
"Because mature Green Line Devouring Insects usually hide their true bodies somewhere difficult to find, the ones that appear in the outside world are almost always living puppets under their control..."
Before you continue