The Astral Phantom slumped to the ground. Her purple hair hung loose, obscuring her face.
Lan Jue watched her sprawled on the ground, a strange expression on his face.
Subduing her like this was a hundred times more difficult than killing her.
She hadn't expected it to work.
Lan Qing looked at Lan Jue and nodded.
Lan Jue smiled. "Brother, you've got yourself a good bodyguard."
Lan Qing walked over to the Astral Phantom. With a wave of his right hand he pulled her from the ground and slung her over his shoulder. "Hand over the vital crystals."
"I'm yours," the Astral Phantom said weakly. "Can't you give me a welcome gift?"
Lan Jue's face twitched when she heard this. This bastard was using his life to earn money!
Even at this point he was still greedy for vital crystals.
Smack!
Lan Qing lifted his hand and slapped the Astral Phantom's perky bottom. She yelped in pain.
Only then did the Life Crystals slowly fall from her body.
Lan Qing and the other Paragons nodded in acknowledgment. Then, in a flash of golden light, the Astral Phantom was gone.
An Liu watched him leave. She didn't know why, but she had a strange feeling in her heart. Especially when Lan Qing slapped the Astral Phantom across the face. She felt a little sour.
The Keeper's voice was soft. "Alright, that was just a small interlude. You may continue with your appraisal. All the vital crystals are here."
Capturing a Paragon was a small matter?
Most of them couldn't see what Lan Qing and the Astral Phantom had done in that pocket dimension.
But there was no doubt that Lan Qing had won, and the Astral Phantom had been captured.
The greatest assassin of all time.
Now in Lan Qing's hands.
How could this be any better?
For a moment.
The atmosphere in the hall became a little strange. Many appraisers looked at each other in dismay.
The battle just now had given them a great shock.
Although they couldn't personally feel the ripples of protogenia or the true power of the two Paragons, just watching was enough to shock them.
If it was said that they still had some thoughts of competing with Skyfire Avenue in the past, then this thought had now been completely extinguished.
It was simply impossible to resist!
The strength displayed by Skyfire Avenue was simply too powerful.
There was no way for them to contend against it.
In this situation, there was no doubt that Skyfire Avenue was the dominant force.
The following appraisal was carried out in this somewhat depressing atmosphere.
With the shock from the battle just now.
The people who still dared to have designs on this auction had basically all disappeared.
It didn't take long for news of Prometheus's ascension to become a Paragon to spread like wildfire.
Now all he had to do was wait for the Eastern Alliance to announce his title.
Directly advancing to the Heavenly Laws Embodiment Realm, what kind of shocking news was this?
Perhaps in the future he would become another Jueti.
One Paragon didn't represent the strength of the Eastern Alliance.
But the An Lun supersoldier was a different story.
Now that he was a Paragon, the Northern Alliance and Western Alliance wouldn't be able to do anything to him.
He'd captured the Astral Phantom.
Who else could do anything to the An Lun supersoldier?
The Northern Alliance and Western Alliance's military had no Paragon commanders!
They didn't have any Paragons under their command!
In the blink of an eye, the Eastern Alliance's influence soared.
Another harsh slap to the Western Alliance's face.
The Western Alliance, which had been planning something, had no choice but to give up.
Everyone's attention was drawn to the auction that was about to begin. The results of the appraisal were out.
There was no doubting the authenticity of the vital crystals. The information the appraisers brought back to the factions behind them showed that the purity of the crystals was far higher than anything they'd ever seen before.
Some of them were even of a higher level.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see what that meant.
This was the first time a higher level vital crystal had appeared in the human world. What could it do?
What was the difference between it and ordinary vital crystals? That was something that would require further research.
To study it, they had to have something to work with.
The exuvium process also required a great deal of vital crystals to conduct experiments.
Using crystals of different energy levels for different experiments would be a whole new field of study. First things first, they had to have something.
If the Eastern Alliance could bring out so many vital crystals for auction, they had to have some in stock. Research had to have begun.
The Northern Alliance and Western Alliance could see that the Eastern Alliance was using vital crystals to make a killing.
But it was a trap, and they had no choice but to jump into it.
These vital crystals were too important.
After the appraisal day was over, the various factions were more eager to bid for the crystals than before.
The more powerful factions, especially, were already rubbing their hands in glee.
Whoever had more Vital Crystals would be able to occupy a more important position in the great development of humanity in the future.
The Western Alliance and Northern Alliance knew they couldn't compete with the Eastern Alliance in terms of quantity and quality, but they were confident in their research. In their eyes, the Eastern Alliance had more than enough vital crystals, but the technological gap wasn't something they could overcome in a day or two. It was a matter of their industrial base.
So, they admitted.
Their research was lagging behind, but they weren't any slower than the Eastern Alliance.
That was why they were so eager to get their hands on the crystals.
It was in this atmosphere that the auction officially began.
The venue was still the Skyfire Museum.
They hadn't moved.
The auctioneer was none other than Skyfire Avenue's Chairman of the Skyfire Council, the Cosmagus!
Without a doubt, the auction was being held jointly by Skyfire Avenue and the Eastern Alliance. The Eastern Alliance had the full support of Skyfire Avenue.
Lan Jue wore a dark red suit with a black tie.
White shirt.
Brown handmade shoes.
A pure white handkerchief.
He looked sharp and dashing.
He came with Lan Qing.
At Lan Jue's request, Lan Qing had changed out of his military uniform and into a dark blue suit.
The two brothers looked similar, but their temperaments were completely different.
Lan Qing was wise and farsighted, Lan Jue was elegant and calm. As soon as the two entered the room, they attracted everyone's attention.
Most eyes, of course, fell on Lan Qing, who had just become a Paragon.
He'd defeated the Astral Phantom, and was now a Reflection of Heaven and Earth. Of the ten Paragons, he was guaranteed to be in the top four!
Jue Di ranked first among the ten Paragons, followed by the Terminator and the Epochrion, two Reflections of Heaven and Earth.
Other than those three, no one else had reached the second level.
Lan Qing's appearance had elevated him to a fourth Paragon.
Although he was a military man, he was now on Skyfire Avenue's side.
Skyfire Avenue had one more Paragon, and its overall strength had increased dramatically.
Skyfire Avenue was now officially known as a haven for Adepts.
The number of new Adepts joining Skyfire Avenue had continued to climb. Most of them were from the Eastern Alliance, but there were also some who had secretly come to the Eastern Alliance from the Western Alliance and Northern Alliance.
These Adepts had to go through a strict vetting process before they were allowed to join.
This was an important factor in increasing the overall strength of Skyfire Avenue.
The Major League and the two Citadels were aware of the situation.
But there was nothing they could do about it.
After all, their overall strength was too weak to compete with Skyfire Avenue.
How many Paragons did they have?
How many of them?
If it weren't for the fact that the West's and North's genetic and modification technologies were so attractive to low and mid-level Adepts, the situation would have been much worse.
Lan Jue and Lan Qing made their way to the front row of the auction house and took their seats.
At this moment, more bidders came in and took their seats.
Those who could sit in the first row were the leaders of the Eastern Alliance and Skyfire Avenue.
In addition to Lan Jue and Lan Qing, the three Paragons of Skyfire Avenue were the Gourmet, Clockmaker and Pauper.
The Wine Master was in charge of the auction.
The Bookworm and Keeper were not present, as they had to continue their research.
The high quality vital crystal they'd brought back was a pleasant surprise to them.
Just then, a man in a long black robe, even his head covered by a hood, approached the first row and took a seat on the other side.
His somewhat mysterious appearance also attracted the attention of the bidders.
He held a number plate in his hand, and was obviously a bidder.
Only the Northern Alliance and Western Alliance officials were allowed to sit in the first row. Even the Major League and the Citadels had been assigned to the second row.
The Terminator didn't say anything about it. He sat in the middle of the second row.
He'd been representing both the Major League and the Northern Alliance, but after yesterday's appraisal, the Northern Alliance had decided to split the bidding. The Major League would be independent.
That was why the Terminator was seated in the second row. The Pontiff's Citadel's Archangel, Metatron, and the Dark Citadel's Fallen Angel, Lucifer, sat on either side of him.
It was a strange sight to behold.
Who was this mysterious man in black, to be above the Major League, to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Western Alliance and Northern Alliance?
Many eyes fell upon the man, even the Terminator couldn't help but stare.
Lan Qing, who sat beside Lan Jue, spoke up. "Where's the Astral Phantom?"