Elder Qi was momentarily stunned when he heard Dai Zong's words, and then he fell into a deep thought.

He wasn't senile, so he naturally understood what his young master meant.

"I don't know him well, but the time I've spent with him told me that he's not a foolish person. He went to the Asura Civilization voluntarily, which means he's not afraid of them. If he's not even afraid of the Asura Civilization..." Dai Zong trailed off and chuckled. "That would be really interesting."

Elder Qi said in a serious tone, "But besides our Junlin Civilization, I haven't heard of any other civilizations that can contend with the Asura Civilization..."

Dai Zong said softly, "Elder Qi, the universe is vast."

Elder Qi remained silent. Dai Zong slowly stood up and said, "Before encountering the Arcanist Civilization, I never paid attention to outsiders. I considered myself the strongest out there, and I've been doing as I pleased.

"After my encounter with the Arcanist Civilization, however, Elder Qi, do you know what mindset do I have right now?"

Elder Qi looked at Dai Zong.

Dai Zong smiled self-deprecatingly, saying, "That in the eyes of some people, we're nothing more than ants..."

Elder Qi hesitated for a moment and then said, "Young Master, that young man is indeed not simple, but I don't think he comes from some Tier Four civilization..."

Ignoring Elder Qi, Dai Zong asked, "Elder Qi, what do you think of me?"

Elder Qi immediately answered, "Naturally, you are a rare prodigy."

"In the face of the Arcanist Civilization, I was cautious, careful, and even humble, but he wasn't like that at all. He even dared to negotiate."

Elder Qi was stunned; he hadn't noticed such details.

"The mysterious figure from the Arcanist Civilization wasn't angry. On the contrary, he bargained with him and eventually gave him a blood-red coffin..." Dai Zong shook his head. "People of that level would never be so amiable to ordinary people. Just like that man in black who didn't even get to make a deal with that mysterious figure."

Elder Qi sighed softly and muttered with shame, "Young Master is truly meticulous. I am far inferior compared to you."

"I really want that blood-red coffin, but it is unwise to make an enemy out of him. I believe that his identity and the forces behind him will eventually come to light," said Dai Zong.

Elder Qi laughed. "Young Master, if the forces behind him are just ordinary, then we'll have missed a tremendous opportunity..."

Dai Zong closed his eyes. "Then, it would be my defeat, then."

***

The spacetime in a distant starry region trembled for a while before cracking open.

Ye Guan and Yi Nian slowly emerged from the spacetime rift.

Upon walking out of the rift, Ye Guan looked around and muttered, "The Asura Civilization..."

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Yi Nian looked around thoughtfully.

"Huh?" Ye Guan exclaimed. He tapped the air with his right hand, and the spacetime in front of him rippled like water.

Ye Guan said in a deep voice, "This starry region is fake."

Yi Nian smiled slightly without saying a word, showing no surprise.

Ye Guan closed his eyes again and observed the starry region.

Soon, the starry region began to clear up. They were indeed inside a fake starry region!

Just then, the spacetime ahead of them trembled, and an elderly man slowly walked out of the rift.

The elderly man frowned upon seeing Ye Guan and Yi Nian.

Ye Guan took out the badge that the Supreme Scholar had given to him.

Upon seeing the badge, the elderly man was stunned. However, he recovered quickly and asked respectfully, "What are your orders?"

Ye Guan smiled and said, "Can you inform the Supreme Scholar that I, Ye Guan, have come to visit?"

"Of course, please follow me," said the elderly man. He turned around and pressed down with his palm. A myriad of spacetime tunnels manifested in the blink of an eye. There were so many of them that Ye Guan estimated that there were at least a million spacetime tunnels in front of them!

"What's going on?" Ye Guan asked, sounding astonished.

"Only one of these spacetime tunnels leads to the Asura starry region," the elderly man explained, "The rest are fake starry regions that we created to hide from the Tianxing Civilization."

Yi Nian glanced at the elderly man without saying anything.

"Have you encountered the Tianxing Civilization?" Ye Guan asked curiously.

"No, but several civilizations on par with our Asura civilization have already been destroyed by the Tianxing Civilization."

Ye Guan opened his mouth to reply when the elderly man led him and Yi Nian into one of the tunnels.

The flashing lights coming from the spacetime tunnel made Ye Guan feel dizzy, but the dizziness didn't last that long.

When Ye Guan opened his eyes again. He found that they were standing on a flatland.

A thousand meters ahead of them stood numerous majestic statues. These statues, resembling humans, were a thousand meters tall, with their lower halves buried in the ground; their arms were like pillars with a spear in one hand.

There were tens of thousands of them, and they were neatly arranged in two rows. A stone-paved road in between them led to a grand ancient-looking city in the distance.

The towering statue of a man was above the city. It seemed to be ten thousand meters tall at first glance, and it featured six arms and nine heads. The statue overlooked the entire city, making everyone feel a bit oppressed beneath its gaze.

Ye Guan was both shocked and curious at the sight. He had come here to quench his curiosity about other civilizations, and it seemed that he'd get to do that to his heart's fill today.

The elderly man respectfully ushered, "Young Master, please."

With that, the elderly man led Ye Guan toward the distant ancient city.

As they passed by the statues, Ye Guan felt as if something was scrutinizing him.

Frowning, Ye Guan was about to ask questions when the elderly man suddenly said, "Everyone, this is a friend of the Supreme Scholar. Do not be disrespectful."

The scrutinizing gazes vanished in an instant.

The elderly man turned to Ye Guan and bowed slightly. "I apologize, honored guest. They did not know that you were a friend of the Supreme Scholar. Please forgive them."

Ye Guan smiled and said, "It's fine."

The elderly man nodded and led Ye Guan forward once again.

Ye Guan glanced at the statues and asked, "What are these statues?"

The elderly man smiled and explained, "The Asura Divine Guards, responsible for guarding the Asura capital. They are in a dormant state and will only awaken once our Asura Civilization faces a crisis. Of course, both the Asura King and the Supreme Scholar can forcibly awaken them."

Ye Guan's curiosity was piqued. "What is the status of the Supreme Scholar in your Asura Civilization?"

The elderly man hesitated for a moment, then answered, "Very high."

"Be specific."

The elderly man said in a deep voice, "Second only to the clan leader of the Asura Clan, but even the clan leader cannot force her to do her bidding."

"I understand."

The three talked until they entered the city. Upon walking into the city, Ye Guan looked around and saw that the city was full of towering buildings and bustling crowds. It was indeed a prosperous city.

Yi Nian looked around with curiosity in her eyes.

"Give me a moment," Ye Guan said. He then pulled Yi Nian to a nearby street vendor.

The vendor was selling a variety of ancient items, and a cracked mirror caught Ye Guan's attention.

The vendor was a middle-aged man with a sour expression. He looked like everyone in the world owed him money.

Ye Guan pointed at the mirror and asked, "How much for this?"

The middle-aged man looked at Ye Guan and spat, "One Ancestral Vein!"

Just as Ye Guan was about to speak, the elderly man beside him took out a storage ring and handed it to the middle-aged man.

Then, he smiled faintly as he presented the mirror to Ye Guan. "Young Master, here's your mirror."

Ye Guan hurriedly took out an Ancestral Vein and handed it to the elderly man, but the elderly man repeatedly shook his head. "Young Master, no need, no need."

Ye Guan insisted and placed the storage ring into the elderly's hand. He knew that the elderly man was trying to please him because he had a connection with the Supreme Scholar, but he didn't want to owe anyone here.

Ye Guan was so insistent that the elderly man could only accept the ring.

Ye Guan stored the mirror in the tiny pagoda and asked,

"Master Pagoda, is there anything special about this mirror?"

"Let me study it first."

Ye Guan nodded slightly.

"Alright."

Just then, Yi Nian squatted down, and her eyes were fixed on a small wooden figurine.

Ye Guan followed Yi Nian's gaze to the small wooden figurine. It was only the size of a palm, and there was a blood-red dot on its forehead.

"Are you interested in that?" asked Ye Guan.

Yi Nian nodded slightly. She reached out for the figurine, but the middle-aged man suddenly said, "If you're not buying, then don't touch it."

Ye Guan asked, "How much is it?"

"Ten Ancestral Veins!"

Ye Guan frowned. He examined the figurine closely but did not find anything special about it.

Ye Guan turned to Yi Nian.

Yi Nian smiled lightly and pulled him away.

"Wait!" the middle-aged man exclaimed.

Ye Guan turned to look at the middle-aged man.

"How much are you willing to pay?" asked the middle-aged man.

Ye Guan turned to Yi Nian.

Yi Nian merely shook her head.

Ye Guan smiled. Clearly, Yi Nian was only briefly curious and wasn't

that

interested in the figurine.

"We don't need it," replied Ye Guan to the middle-aged man. Then, he pulled Yi Nian with him and turned around to leave.

Boom!

A terrifying aura abruptly erupted from the middle-aged man, enveloping Ye Guan in the blink of an eye.

Ye Guan froze.

The middle-aged man glared at Ye Guan with cold eyes and threatened, "Are you playing with me?"

"My friend, a transaction requires mutual consent. If I no longer want to buy it, can you really force me to buy it?"

The middle-aged man's eyes narrowed, "You asked for the price, so you have to buy."

Ye Guan frowned. "Are you an idiot?"

The middle-aged man was furious, but before he could do anything, the elderly man next to Ye Guan raised his hand and pressed down.

Boom!

A terrifying energy obliterated the middle-aged man.

The elderly man collected the middle-aged man's storage ring, and then he picked up the wooden figurine. He extended it respectfully to both Ye Guan and Yi Nian.

"Young Master Ye," said the elderly man with a light smile.

Ye Guan looked at the smiling elder and asked, "How should I call you?"

The elderly man hurriedly replied, "My name is Qiu Shi; I'm a guardian at the border. You can say that I'm a gatekeeper..."

"Sir, you're pretty talented. Your job as a gatekeeper is a waste of your talents. It seems that I have to talk about that with the Supreme Scholar..."

The elderly man immediately bowed deeply, and his voice trembled as he said, "Thank you, Young Master! And... I have a granddaughter; she's

really

beautiful..."

Ye Guan. "???"

Coca and Corlumbus's Thoughts

"Naturally, you are a prodigy, rare in the world." - What a suck up, ew.

Also, one.. And then ten Ancestral Vein for those items? Guess its not just my world that is facing inflation