Chapter 174 (Chapter 173) The Unattainable

The auction hall was completely silent, and many creatures in the lower part of the hall were trying their best to minimize their presence.

The terrace where Chun Yuqing was located was empty, with no services activated. In the vast space, she sat alone in a wheelchair, which was parked in the center of the outermost part of the terrace. At this moment, Chun Yuqing turned her head to examine this "Director Yan" from the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs.

After the Holy War, all races signed a treaty under the constraints of the laws, with the Bureau of Heterodox Affairs and the Heavenly Mandate Platform working together to maintain balance. The powerful figures of each race were almost all in seclusion, and were not allowed to interfere in the world situation.

Currently, those who are active in the main family are either the younger generation of each family or support-type individuals whose abilities are not inclined towards combat and who have never intervened in the holy war.

Yanju doesn't seem to belong to either of these two categories.

Chun Yuqing never believed that laws could have such great power until she suddenly aged overnight.

The power she gained from countless brushes with death became illusory and fleeting, difficult to control, leading her to never doubt the judgment of the laws again.

So, this Director Yan. With a wave of her hand, the blazing sun falls; with her words, the law comes to life. Why is she able to openly join the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs, interfere in the world's affairs, and yet the laws have never punished her?

Just then, Chun Yuqing suddenly started coughing again. The weather changes quickly in late summer and early autumn, and she always falls seriously ill during the seasonal transition.

However, the recent changes in the situation have left her with no time to rest properly.

The main reason she remained in her position as the city lord of Mingchuntai even after being punished by the laws was that none of the younger generation in Mingchuntai could control the situation.

Once Chun Yuqing steps down, it's uncertain whether Mingchuntai can retain its position as one of the Twelve Cities and Nine Towers.

In the ensuing silence, Director Yan spoke again, repeating his words in a light yet authoritative voice: "Continue."

What's on the auction table is clearly a deity provided by the Director General of the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs.

Given Director Yan's strength and status, he would not speak recklessly.

So the deities are real, and the auction is real too. Profit is what drives people.

After Director Yan's second "Continue," some creatures in the auction hall finally began to stir, raising their bidding paddles in a scattered manner.

Gui Wujiu glanced over, his tone remaining calm and even: "One hundred billion."

Many of the bidding signs in the hall were immediately removed.

Chun Yuqing pressed her lips to suppress a cough, took a breath, and then slowly said, "In that case, before the gods set the price and the deal is finalized, Mingchuntai will apply to activate the Holy Covenant Court."

“Perfect timing, everyone is here.” Chun Yuqing’s gaze swept across the terrace and finally landed on Director Yan, who was not far from her.

Director Yan sat calmly on the sofa, her uniform jacket from the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs buttoned all the way up, neat and restrained. Her long legs were crossed, her heels lightly tapping the carpet, her fingertips silently tapping the sofa armrests, the rhythm steady, yet inexplicably suffocating.

After all, she was in control at that moment.

As expected, Director Yan did not object.

Or rather, this is why Director Yan, despite facing punishment from the laws, insisted on imprisoning a deity and auctioning him off in a grand manner.

The headquarters of the Bureau of Dissidents has been making a series of moves recently. This is because the headquarters has lost control of its branch offices, and real power now rests with the nobility in all the branch offices.

Waiting for Director Yan to personally find out the mistakes and punish them one by one, just like in Lingkong City, and then reorganize the city, would obviously be troublesome and time-consuming.

The Holy Covenant Court is different. Once the Holy Covenant Court is activated, all the rulers of the twelve cities and nine towers of the Eastern Human Race and the seven territories of the Western Human Race must attend and jointly formulate a new treaty.

The Bureau of Heterogeneous Affairs has no right to open the Covenant Court without authorization; the activation authority lies with the human capital city, and each activation requires more than half of the votes in favor.

Alternatively, we can all sit down and have a proper talk.

Either she actively involves the gods and accepts judgment by the laws, or she personally supports a brand new, obedient main city.

There was no other choice.

After Chun Yuqing finished speaking, Grand Duke Lorenz, who had been silently observing the situation, was the first to speak up: "The territory of Kersei agrees."

Following closely behind was a woman with a gentle demeanor who was leaning against the balcony railing not far away. She raised her hand and said, "Wine City agrees."

...

Remarkably, there were no dissenting votes.

The auction had been suspended, or rather, terminated, and the creatures below gradually dispersed. The Holy Covenant Court was, after all, a meeting of the human race. Yan Ju's decision to begin reforms also began with the human race.

Chun Yuqing reached out her hand and slowly turned the wheels of her wheelchair, leaving the terrace alone.

Her wheelchair wasn't some alchemical creation or magical artifact; it was just an ordinary piece of wood. The surface was smooth, and the seams were exquisitely finished.

But that's all. No runes or formations were added.

Because the raw material for the wheelchair was her natal sword.

The once sharp sword, unknown to all living beings in the underworld, which she used to cut through countless crises, was ultimately punished by the laws because of her, turning into a pile of broken, withered wood.

The wheelchair rolled across the carpet, silently.

As Chun Yuqing left the terrace, she suddenly turned her head and her gaze met that of Yan Ju, who was also walking out of the adjacent terrace.

Yanju has a very typical Eastern appearance: black hair, black eyes, and a tall figure. The corridor lights shone on her, highlighting the depth of her features.

It resembles the Guixu Sea in the dead of winter, dark, calm, yet unfathomably deep.

At this moment, she lowered her eyes and looked at Chun Yuqing.

Chun Yuqing smiled slightly: "Director Yan, you've achieved your goal. Perhaps you have some free time now? Let's have a chat?"

---

Things happened too suddenly. Ever since the old man next door, whom Duke Lorenz had pointed out as the one who called out "Chun Yuqing," spoke, everything started racing in a direction that Yan Shi had no idea about at all.

The problem with this terrace is that since the curtain wall was closed, there's been no cover whatsoever.

As a result, Yan Shi had no time to secretly take out his phone to see what these people were talking about.

She could understand each word individually, but when put together, it was a noun she had never heard of before.

Yan Shi could only express his attitude through silence.

What made her even more desperate was that, after all these people had finished speaking, the auction was suspended, the curtain wall of the terrace was closed, and Yan Shi finally figured out through spiritual insight who Chun Yuqing was not far from her, and what the Holy Covenant Court was.

Yan Shi had just stepped off the terrace when he encountered Chun Yuqing, whom he had only learned about through spiritual means.

The city lord of Mingchun Terrace, a "sword maiden" in the underworld who entered the Dao through killing, and one of the instigators of the Holy War.

Yan Shi: Save! Save! Save! Save!

At this moment, Chun Yuqing slowly turned his wheelchair around, his gaze falling directly on her.

Yan Shi almost instinctively took a step back.

[Sword Maiden has sent you a chat request]

Before Yan Shi could figure out how to refuse, Chun Yuqing spoke softly, "So Claire was hiding with you."

Yan Shi: ?

Does Chun Yuqing know the true name of the deity who controls history and records it?

Moreover, according to this theory, Claire stayed in the Death Throne as a reclusive comic artist because she was being a smart aleck and avoiding her enemies.

Chun Yuqing couldn't discern anything from Yan Ju's face. After a pause, she continued, her tone tinged with emotion: "Among the gods, she is the one who can hide the most."

There was no one in the corridor at the moment. Chun Yuqing's voice swayed: "The invitation specifies the authority, so I guess it should be."

"While the authority of history and records could not make her a master of martial arts, it did grant her some privileges, allowing her to glimpse a few strands of truth from the long river of history."

"The laws are the fairest, and the most ruthless. The power of the gods is too transcendent, yet all gods will eventually fall."

As she spoke, Chun Yuqing's gaze sharpened slightly as she looked into the depths of Yan Shi's eyes. "Even if she is not a god, all the gifts from the Mother Goddess have already come with a price."

"For example, ageless witches possess the gift of immortality bestowed upon them by the Mother Goddess, yet they are also forever losing it. Disasters are always more likely to occur around them because the laws do not allow them to remain."

"That little girl in the Vilnexus is probably the last ageless witch in the world. She still willingly remains imprisoned in the tower until the end of her life."

Chun Yuqing's voice seemed to drift in the night wind. She tilted her head slightly and looked at Yan Shi, "All living things are always trapped by what they cannot have."

She sighed softly, finally looking directly at Yan Shi with a deep, enigmatic gaze. "So, Director Yan, what is it that you cannot have?"

Or rather, Director Yan, what price did you pay?

"What I cannot have?"

The new treaty most needed in the Underworld is to ban riddle people.

Chun Yuqing, standing before her, had a calm gaze, seemingly indifferent, but in reality, he seemed determined to block the path if he didn't get an answer.

The night wind blew into the corridor through the open windows, and the chill seeped into my collar.

Yan Shi glanced at Chun Yuqing, whose condition was clearly unsuitable for being exposed to the wind, and sighed inwardly.

She herself respects the elderly and cares for the young, and her conscience couldn't quite bear to let an elderly person stand in the cold wind in the corridor with the windows wide open in the middle of the night.

Mainly, she herself felt a bit cold.

Yan Shi's thoughts gradually shifted to another, more important matter:

I really want to have a late-night snack.

But Chun Yuqing clearly had no intention of giving her what she wanted, patiently and relentlessly waiting for Yan Shi's answer.

Yan Shi racked her brains for three seconds and realized that she had to give an answer, otherwise she might not be able to leave tonight.

So, with a stiff face, she spoke with difficulty:

"I."

Chun Yuqing's brow twitched slightly, clearly indicating that she was genuinely puzzled.

She had initially thought that Director Yan would avoid answering, or perhaps vaguely change the subject. She was even mentally prepared for him to turn around and leave.

But to her utter surprise, Director Yan gave her the answer so directly.

There was no concealment, no pretense.

Simple and straightforward.

There's no need to lie about this kind of question.

Therefore, what Yanju could not obtain was actually herself.

Chun Yuqing slightly raised her eyes and quietly looked at her.

Yan Shi had already composed himself and, after deeming himself to have dealt with Chun Yuqing, turned and left.

The terrace door behind her remained open, and the wind rushed in through the gaps, making her silhouette appear distant and indifferent.

It was as if she had never truly belonged to this world.

Chun Yuqing's gaze followed the direction Yan Ju had left, lingering there for a long time.

Only now did she suddenly remember a problem she had overlooked.

The items auctioned at the Gods' Auction were not directly provided by Director Yan.

The one who actually provided the items for auction was Yanlan.

So why isn't Yanlan by Director Yan's side?