Chapter 976: The God-Slaying Shuttle

An auxiliary divine item! These types of items were somewhat unusual to begin with, and concealment and disguise ones were uncommon even by that criterion. And even among the rarest of the rare, this mask was truly unique. To think that it could replicate everything—of course, apart from innate abilities, bloodline power, and the likes—and block divine consciousness as well! With this, even before an Emperor, one could stand proud without fear of being detected.

Of course, this wasn't an

absolute

disguise. The Celestial Fox Demon Emperor conveniently failed to mention whether it could block the probing of fortune... which, in other words, it couldn't. Otherwise, such an item would have never seen the light of day again once he found it.

"The starting bid is three thousand amethystine coins, with each increment no less than one hundred amethystine coins. Let the bidding begin!"

Tang San was a little tempted, in all fairness. With this mask, combined with his own abilities, he could truly become anyone he wanted. In fact, before he reached the tenth order, this would have been the absolute cream of the crop for him; Sky Shatterer and the Radiant Dragon Spear he'd just won paled in comparison..

But now that his strength had reached this point, the Illusion God Mask wouldn't play as major a role as it would've played a few years back. Besides, winning such an artifact in public view would make it known that it was in his hands, and that could become the root of trouble in the future. So it wasn't necessary.

This auction item didn't draw too much heat either; the bidding rose slowly.

After all, while the Illusion God Mask was good, it couldn't possibly be a decisive factor in the Battle for the Throne. A divine item that didn't directly enhance combat power didn't have too much impact

"Thirty-eight hundred amethystine coins, VIP Room Eleven."

The bidding paused briefly. Clearly, this item wasn't one with overwhelming popularity, and the bid was quite high.

At that moment, Tang San felt a wave of warmth in his heart.

VIP Room Eleven—this was Mei Gongzi's room! Why would she want this item? Obviously, she didn't. She was bidding on it for him!

She was worried that he wouldn't be able to hide his identity well during the tournament, so when she saw this divine item, she decided it was perfect for him and immediately took action. Room Eleven hadn't made too many bids in the auction; the Shadowfiend Sword had been the most precious item they'd acquired, and even then it was only after Tang San drove up the price. And yet, for him, she didn't hesitate to bid high for a divine item that was of absolutely no use to her. How could Tang San not be moved?

"Thirty-nine hundred amethystine coins, VIP Room Five."

𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

The bidding continued.

But Mei Gongzi was clearly not backing down; she firmly raised the price to four thousand in one go.

A few scattered competitors still remained, but her determination was unwavering. In the end, VIP Room Eleven secured the Illusion God Mask for 4,800 amethystine coins.

The Celestial Fox Demon Emperor clearly felt that this first auction item hadn't drawn much excitement, in spite of the relatively high bid. Still smiling, he said, "It seems that most of you aren't very interested in concealing your identities. As it should be; those of you here should be proud of who you are. But being able to block divine sense probing is actually a very useful attribute. Well, in any case, now that it has found an owner, there's no more to be said about it. Let's move on to the second item. I'm sure there will be more interested bidders this time."

The tray brought out was about the same size as before. On that tray lay a shuttle-shaped object.[1] It was around thirty centimeters long and a deep golden color, with some darker patterns on it. At first glance, there was nothing particularly special about it.

"The God-Slaying Shuttle—I believe most of you should find this name quite familiar."

The Celestial Fox Demon Emperor spoke only this one sentence, and the hall instantly burst into a commotion.

Meanwhile, in VIP Room Eight, Tang San was a bit confused. As it turned out, he was not part of "most of you."

He turned to the Grand Elder. "What's the God-Slaying Shuttle? Why haven't I heard of it?"

The Grand Elder was momentarily stunned. "The God-Slaying Shuttle...

eh

? What do you mean, you don't know? Have you lost your...

oh

. Sorry."

Tang San nodded, frowning. "There are some things I still don't recall. Please explain."

The Grand Elder's expression was clearly excited. "The God-Slaying Shuttle is a great weapon. It was once hailed as the strongest divine item, although that's fairly debatable considering it's a single-use divine weapon. No one knows exactly how it was crafted; it's long been a mystery. But it appears that it can instantly unleash a destructive force equivalent to the full power of a top Emperor's strike, and focus that into a single point in order to pierce through anything in its path.

"The last time it appeared was about four thousand years ago. And when it appeared, it directly killed an Emperor, even though it was used by someone who wasn't even a god. It's said to have the power to pierce anything; no defense can stop it. From even older times, there are legends that it was once used by a top powerhouse to slay three dragons in one shot. Because of this, it's also called the Dragon-Slaying Shuttle. There are records of it across many races' histories. It's also taught in our clan's history studies, so you really shouldn't have forgotten!"

Tang San rolled his eyes internally. But at the same time, he felt a strange sensation. This divine weapon sounded awfully familiar—a lot like the concealed weapons of a certain sect he knew very well.

"How many of these God-Slaying Shuttles are there?"

The Grand Elder shook his head. "No one knows. Since they haven't appeared in four millennia, we all thought they were gone for good. To think there's still one left, and that it would appear in this auction... Truly incredible."

On the auction platform, the Celestial Fox Demon Emperor continued, "The God-Slaying Shuttle is a name that needs no introduction. Each time it has appeared in history, it has wrought unparalleled devastation. But some of its history you may not know. For instance, the part about its creator.

"So far as we know, it is possible that the creator of the God-Slaying Shuttle was not from this world. Some believe it was a visitor from beyond the heavens, and... it is possible that this visitor was human. Humans themselves are weak, but they have great wisdom and creativity; perhaps it all stems from that ancient otherworldly visitor. Now, whether or not it was truly made by an outsider, we cannot say for certain. But what I can confirm for you is that when it was used to kill three dragons many thousands of years ago, the one who used it was a human.

"The internal structure of the God-Slaying Shuttle is extraordinarily intricate. Even with divine consciousness, it is impossible to replicate. The second time it appeared, it killed an Emperor. This was the closest event to our time, though it was still four thousand years ago. The identity of the wielder remains unknown and unconfirmed. After that event, the Ancestral Court mobilized every race on the continent to search for any traces of the God-Slaying Shuttle and its wielder. Ultimately, they recovered this third God-Slaying Shuttle. But its wielder remains a mystery. We can confirm its authenticity because our ancestors used divine consciousness to carefully probe its energy, and its terrifying power is such that, among us Emperors, fewer than half could hope to survive its attack.

"You must be wondering—if it's so terrifying, why is it in this auction? Unfortunately, I must tell you that this God-Slaying Shuttle is damaged. In the past, when our ancestors probed it with divine consciousness, it seems they triggered some internal mechanism, rendering it unable to be used. All that remains is the vast and terrifying energy still locked within. We're offering it in this auction in the hope that whoever claims it might research it and find a way to restore its power. Should anyone succeed, the Ancestral Court is willing to buy it back at ten times the auction price."

What, it's broken? I swear... All this introduction, and it turns out it's a defective product!

1. Note that this is a weaver's shuttle, not a space shuttle or something like that. Well, a space shuttle is named after a weaver's shuttle, so there's also that fact. ☜