"Your majesty, would you like to visit the auction happening tomorrow?" King Jin asked him around evening time when they were together in one of the many rooms, looking down at the glowing city.
"Auction?" Alex asked. "Anything interesting there?"
"Here's the list of what is being sold," the King said, handing over a talisman to Alex.
Alex looked through the talisman, going over the various things that were there for auction. After going through it all, he shook his head.
"There's nothing here that makes me want to buy it. I'll skip this one," Alex said.
"Hmm, well it's no Gold Kingdom's auction for sure, but I thought you would be impressed by these techniques at least," the man said.
"Those techniques aren't bad, but I have enough already," Alex said.
"Then how about going just to see your competition for the day after tomorrow?" the King asked. "Most of the people that will participate in the abyss will be going there. You can gauge your opponents if you go. Most will be doing the same anyway."
Alex gave that suggestion some thought but still, he had no interest in going to the auction. "I'll skip this one. I'll have the elders go in my stead. They can buy what they see as interesting," he said.
"Very well," the King gave up.
The next day, the group left the hotel and went to the auction house while Alex remained in the hotel, using his mask to train as much as he could to improve his spiritual sense.
At some point later during the day, the group returned and Elder Liang started telling Alex about all the different people that she saw, and from the sound of it there seemed to be many people in the auction house.
"Over 40 thousand? Are you sure? That sounds excessive," Alex said.
"I swear!" the elder quickly said. "That's what King Jin told us. There are nearly 40 thousand people taking part tomorrow. There's a chance you won't win, your majesty."
"I was never in it to win. I'm just going to learn and have fun," Alex replied.
Once the night was over and the day came, they left as a small group and went down the elevator. Their presence in the lobby was immediately met with a bunch of gasps and awes as most hadn't expected to see not just the King but also the King of the Southern Continent at this place.
"He looks so much younger in person."
"Is he really a player? It means he is very young, right?"
"Hmm, he's powerful, but also not. I wonder how he became a King with that sort of strength."
The crowd whispered what they wanted to do, so Alex and the rest ignored them as they went toward the teleportation platform that would take them over to the next island where the abyss was. It would open up at any second now, so they had to hurry.
Once they arrived at the platform, everyone got into the teleportation platform and went over to the next island. It was only the people from big sects and families that did so, while the regular folks simply flew over.
The Endless Shadow island was not very large. It was a kilometer across and was relatively small, but there was enough land for all of them to get to.
There were only a few buildings prepared, which once again were used by big sects and families. Regular folks simply stayed in the open land, waiting for others to come out.
Once Alex and the rest reached the island, they heard that there was an hour or two before it would open up for real, so they decided to stay in one of those buildings.
The building took over a big section on one of the corners of the island and was filled to the brim with people in it. There were multiple floors to the resting area, all of which were people in it.
Alex looked around at the people that stared at him as he walked. They all wore robes of different colors and designs, and he could barely recognize any of them. There were even people that bore the emblem of the Azure Imperium, making Alex realize that members of the legions were here to participate.
Alex and the rest finally arrived on one of the upper floors where there was an open lobby with few people in it.
"You should go here, your majesty," King Jin advised.
Alex looked at the lobby and realized only youths were in this place. "Is this where the young talents gather?" he asked.
"That is exactly so," the King replied.
"Your majesty," a voice called out from the side, catching Alex's attention.
Talia came up and greeted him. "You came late, your Majesty," she said. "I almost believed you would miss it."
"Isn't there still an hour left?" Alex asked.
"Well… yeah, but we usually come here at least half a day beforehand," Talia said. "Maybe it's just us then."
"Little Talia, take care of His Majesty, okay? We'll leave for now," the king said.
"Yes, your Majesty. I will serve him well," Talia said with a bow.
"We'll hopefully see you a month later than, your majesty," King Jin said and walked away, leaving Alex with Talia.
Once they all left, Alex turned to the girl. "Are these all the talents of the Eastern Continent or what?" he asked, looking at the many people, most of whom were also looking at him, albeit not directly.
"Yes, but only the ones that find any purpose in this secret realm," Talia answered. "Most talented individuals would have come here dozens of times by now, so there is little point in them coming here. But they are still talents though."
"Understandable," Alex said and quickly counted the number. "There are nearly 150 people here and it's not even all the talents of the Eastern Continent huh? This is truly surprising."
"If this surprises you, your majesty, then you should know that there are multiple such locations where the talents like to remain with their sect members."
"Also, many talents don't even come into the building. They stay outside for the most part since they usually come alone and don't want to socialize. There are in fact way more talents than what you see in here."
Alex shook his head after hearing that. "The Eastern Continent truly is amazing," he said with a sigh.
"Talia," a voice called out to her from the side. "Is this…"
A woman arrived next to them, wearing the same robe as Talia. It was someone from the Cloud Iron sect.
The woman was slightly older with heavily tanned skin and black hair that glittered with gold and gems. A thin sword was strapped to her waist that she didn't keep in her storage bag.
Alex recognized this girl.
"Fang Yimu, correct?" he asked.
The girl's face widened in surprise. "And you must be King Alex. It is a pleasure to not just meet Your Majesty, but to be recognized by you as well," she said with a bow.
"You were victorious the last time the Abyss opened up. I remember reading your claim that you would be one again this time as well," Alex said. "Do you still believe it?"
"Absolutely, Your Majesty."
