My attributes are increasing infinitely Chapter 437: The Land of the Ancients
Previously on My attributes are increasing infinitely...
The tension hanging in the grand auction hall of the Dragon World felt as dense as a sharpened sword could slice through.
Ethan positioned himself at the stage's heart, his face showing no emotion, yet inside, he relished each second.
For the thousands assembled in this place, he appeared as a dealer of wonders, someone capable of trading divine strength for the proper sum.
Yet to Ethan, this went far beyond mere commerce.
It represented a complete biological conquest.
Each serum distributed, every method shared, carried a concealed intent.
He aimed for his own core, his bloodline itself, to course through the bloodstreams of all key races in this "cage."
The deities governing this realm viewed these mortals as their personal energy reserves, their sustenance.
Ethan planned to seize that sustenance from within.
When the moment arrived for him to rise above this world's limits, the "gods' people" would truly become his own.
"You toyed with my kin and my feelings," Ethan reflected, a cold, knife-like grin pulling at his mouth.
"Now, I'll toy with your whole reality."
Ethan cleared his throat, the noise resounding across the hushed venue.
"Ladies and gentlemen, without more delay, let's start the next part."
He delved into the spatial emptiness and drew forth three armaments.
They vibrated with a fearsome, steady thrum.
The Eternal Weapons.
In any other part of the cosmos, such items would spark a slaughter.
But today's assembly differed greatly.
The chairs held more than just Eternal Sovereigns.
They seated Source Authority level entities, the genuine powerhouses of the stars.
For these giants, the Eternal Weapons served as appealing playthings, but not the ultimate prize.
They sensed Ethan concealed something far more powerful.
Even so, the auction heated up among the minor overlords.
"Thirty billion origin coins!" yelled a envoy from the Star-Devourer clan.
"Thirty-five billion!" fired back a Golden Dragon elder.
Ultimately, every weapon fetched an immense 40 billion origin coins.
Ethan remained unfazed.
For him, this served only as a prelude.
"It looks like you're all eager for the main attractions," Ethan remarked, his tone slick and playful.
"But first, let's handle the serums."
"We'll commence selling the Bloodline Evolution Serums and Bloodline Awakening Serum."
The chamber burst into chaos.
The weaker species descended into madness.
To them, these serums offered more than strength.
They provided an opportunity to alter their fates, to escape being the universe's "prey."
Even the Origin Races, the superior ones who scorned all others, shifted forward in their chairs.
They possessed descendants with flawed or weakened lineages.
These serums promised the revival of their family's honor.
The coins flooded in like an endless virtual tide.
Ethan observed the figures rising, though his thoughts drifted to the upcoming piece.
"Now," Ethan declared, his words falling to a murmur that carried to every listener in the arena.
"Let's unveil the real reason you're here."
He extended his hand and revealed a violin.
It resembled no tool of battle.
Elegant in design, it was formed from substances that drank in surrounding illumination.
Yet as soon as it emerged, the Source Authority leaders sat up rigidly.
They detected the vibration.
This went beyond a simple instrument for music.
It acted as a channel for reality's essence.
Before anyone could voice a bid, everything halted.
A force, massive like a dying star's fall, bore down on all life within the Dragon World.
This wasn't mere bodily strain.
It manifested as a soul-crushing dominance so immense it seemed the cosmos itself shut its gaze.
The Source Authority leaders, the mightiest present, struggled to breathe, their legs giving way.
Ethan sensed it as well, but he stood firm.
His power had already entered the Grade 2 Absolute Continuum domain.
To him, this presence felt like a stiff wind, irritating yet harmless.
"An Absolute Continuum entity," Ethan pondered, his eyes sharpening.
"Equal to the One Above All."
Beyond the Dragon World's skies, an enormous silhouette eclipsed the suns.
A Void Ship, timeless and rough-hewn, fashioned from matter older than celestial bodies, lingered in the void.
Within the hall, a Demon Monarch started breathing rapidly.
His gaze widened in a dread surpassing mortality's end.
"No... impossible. Why are they appearing? Why emerge the Ancients at this time?"
Ethan linked minds.
"Yumiko, brief me. Who exactly are these 'Ancients'?"
[Master,] Yumiko's tone resounded in his head, [The Ancients count as irregularities.
They stem not from the deities who forged this cage.
Their genetic code predates the cage's creation.
They formed the first dwellers of this realm before the present gods sealed them in the Land of the Ancients.
They gain freedom from banishment only once per 100 million years.
They appear demon-like, yet they surpass that.
Multiple Absolute Continuum individuals exist among them.
They function as an independent empire inside confinement.]
Ethan glanced skyward.
"Why not break through outright?"
[They can't,] Yumiko clarified.
[This Origin World's rules bind tightly.
Even they need approval from an official authority here to touch the ground.]
A sudden roar thundered from above, shaking the skeletons of all gathered.
It arose not from vocal cords.
It sprang from emptiness.
"Tower Master Ethan Hunt. We request admission."
"Permit our involvement in your auction, and we'll provide access to the Land of the Ancients."
The Demon Monarchs present grew ashen.
"Ethan holds no ties to them? Isn't he their representative?" they murmured in fearful whispers.
Ethan responded without pause.
He stared upward, his sight cutting past the hall's ceiling and the vapors beyond.
"Sure," he answered steadily.
"Enter."
"No!" a demon lord cried out, dropping to the floor.
"Inviting them dooms us all!"
"None survive encounters with the Ancients!"
Ethan dismissed the panic.
Fear of beasts didn't grip him.
He traded in them.
The Void Ship lowered, touching down with quiet, ghostly poise before Ethan's tower.
Space warped and flickered near the vessel.
Seven forms emerged.
Six emanated might that dwarfed the regional leaders like infants.
Five Source Authority figures and one Absolute Continuum protector.
But the seventh captured all focus.
He appeared as a youth, lacking any sign of cultivation.
No energy, no evident force.
Still, the six powerhouses trailed two paces behind in total deference.
"Yumiko?" Ethan queried.
[That's the offspring of the Great Ruler of the Ancient Race, known to themselves as the Daemons.
He can't harness energy conventionally, but he's an undying entity whose intellect can model whole universes.
He serves as their planner, the core of their kind.]
The party stepped into the auction space.
The audience divided like parting waves.
"Welcome to Ethan Hunt Company," Ethan stated, holding position as the Daemons neared.
"VIP seats, or is the main area fine?"
The boy without cultivation paused and met Ethan's stare.
No haughtiness filled his look.
Just profound, probing interest.
"Brother," the boy uttered, his tone unexpectedly gentle.
"You're no demon, but your roots elude me."
"I'd prefer a private talk."
"After the auction," Ethan answered.
"Business comes first."
"Feel free to bid."
The boy inclined his head, then eyed the stage's offerings.
"Brother, trade me your bloodline refining technique."
"No coins from me."
"I'll offer a Free Pass."
"It grants entry for your followers to our domain and a shot at the Tower of the Ancients."
The hall drew a collective breath.
The Demon Monarch who'd wailed before lunged at the boy's feet.
"Sir! I beg! Take my fortune! Let me try the Tower!"
The Daemon boy spared him no glance.
As if the Monarch vanished.
Ethan cocked his head.
"The Tower of the Ancients? Any drawbacks?"
"None," the boy replied.
"Survive the trial, and you'll assuredly hit Source Authority."
"Among my Daemons, everyone reaches at least that rank."
"We're sovereigns by nature."
Ethan's curiosity fully ignited.
A species starting at Source Authority?
That posed a daunting idea, yet a treasure trove for genetic data.
"My technique," Ethan warned,
"suits this world's races."
"You Daemons differ at the core."
"Unclear if it'll suit your form."
Astonishment crossed the boy's features.
"You discern that?" he asked, then grinned.
It formed a wry, clever look.
"I understand."
"No intent to apply it."
"I aim to analyze it."