Swallowing the Stars: The cheat system only comes when I'm almost a god?

Following the updates has never been so enjoyable.

More than a decade is but a fleeting moment for an immortal deity.

In the virtual universe, within Hongmeng City, the once-in-a-billion-years super auction grand event kicked off as scheduled.

Lin Yuan and several colleagues from the logistics department were heading to the auction entrance when a familiar figure came into view while they were strolling around the city.

"Chaos King, what a coincidence." A familiar voice sounded from behind them. Turning around, they saw the Dark Moon King smiling at them.

"Dark Moon King?" Lin Yuan was slightly surprised, then smiled and nodded. "You're here for the auction too?"

"Such a grand event, how could I miss it?" The Dark Moon King approached gracefully. "I've come to try my luck and see if I can find any interesting trinkets. Since you're all on the same path, why don't we join you?"

"We couldn't be happier." King Mingguang laughed heartily. "With King Darkmoon traveling with us, our team will be much more impressive."

Everyone took out their respective invitations.

The moment the exquisite keepsake appeared, it emitted a soft light that instantly enveloped them.

The space shifted, and in the next moment, the five of them found themselves on a vast continent suspended above an endless sea of ​​clouds.

In the center of the continent, a magnificent building made entirely of dark gold metal rises from the ground; this is the auction hall—the Wanbao Hall.

The plaza in front of the palace was already bustling with activity, as powerful figures from countless clans under the Hong Alliance gathered there.

They came in various forms; some wore magnificent armor, while others wore simple robes. Their auras were powerful, and at the very least, they were at the peak of the King level.

"Every time I see this scene, I am deeply impressed by the strength of my Hong Alliance," King Liuyun sighed softly.

"Indeed, hundreds of thousands of kings gathered together. Only the Hong Alliance, led by our human race, could achieve such a grand occasion," King Tiangong echoed, his tone filled with pride.

There were many entrances to the auction, and the crowds were dense. Lin Yuan and his group chose one of the entrances to queue.

Darkmoon Queen clearly had extensive connections within Hongmeng City; many kings from other races greeted her warmly upon seeing her.

"Lord Dark Moon King!"

"Dark Moon King, it's been a long time!"

"The Dark Moon King is more splendid than ever before!"

In contrast, far fewer powerful alien races knew Lin Yuan, as he lived a secluded life, focusing solely on cultivation.

Although Mingguang Wang, Liuyun Wang, and Tiangong Wang hold high positions within the Virtual Universe Company, their reputations are limited to specific circles on the broader stage of the Hongmeng Alliance.

Therefore, hushed discussions quickly arose within the group:

"It's the Dark Moon King! A big shot in the intelligence department!"

"Those people with her are... the heads of the logistics department at Virtual Universe Company, right? And who is that young man in black robes?"

"Chaos King Lin Yuan, the personal disciple of Venerable Flame Moon, an invincible powerhouse who has been granted the title of King!"

"So it was him. No wonder he was traveling with the Dark Moon King."

"Shh... Be careful what you say! This kind of person has a powerful background and unfathomable strength. Don't make any rash comments."

Lin Yuan ignored the surrounding discussions, remaining calm, while Dark Moon King maintained a polite smile, occasionally nodding to familiar powerful figures.

The group moved quickly, and it was soon their turn.

The intelligent life form at the entrance respectfully handed over the tokens: "Gentlemen, welcome to this year's Super Auction. These are your seating tokens."

Lin Yuan took the token; it was icy cold to the touch.

A small, semi-transparent screen was embedded in the token, clearly displaying his seat number—ZCN76489.

The Dark Moon King's is ZCN76490, while the three Bright Light Kings are arranged in adjacent rows.

Clearly, the system identified them as fellow travelers and assigned them consecutive seats.

Holding the tokens, the five people entered the Wanbao Hall, where the view suddenly opened up before them.

At the center of the circular plaza stands a massive black rock auction platform, while the plaza is surrounded by a dense array of towering thrones.

Each throne is ten meters high, enough to accommodate a massive alien warrior.

At this moment, more than half of the seats have been occupied, and hundreds of thousands of immortal gods have gathered together. The auras of peak and limit-level King-level experts are everywhere, and one can even vaguely sense the pressure of higher-level beings hidden among them.

"Truly... magnificent." The Heavenly Craftsman looked up and around, unable to help but exclaim again.

"Every time I come here, I feel insignificant." King Mingguang also put away his smile and became solemn.

They navigated the maze-like seating and soon found the five adjacent thrones, ZCN76488 to ZCN76492.

Once seated, the view is excellent, with a clear view of the central auction stage.

The waiting time wasn't boring; observing the various powerful figures around us was a pleasure in itself.

Lin Yuan's gaze swept across the distance, and near the front row, he saw a familiar figure—the Lava Venerable.

This person was speaking in hushed tones with several other alien venerables whose auras were equally unfathomable, but he had clearly noticed Lin Yuan's gaze and nodded in greeting from afar. Lin Yuan also nodded slightly in response.

Over the past tens of thousands of years, as the name of the Chaos King has once again resounded across the battlefields beyond the realm, the Lava Venerable has come to understand that what fell back then was merely an avatar, and thus the relationship between the two sides has improved again.

About half a day later, the lights in the entire auction hall suddenly dimmed, and all the noise seemed to be cut off by an invisible hand. The whole place fell silent, and everyone's eyes were focused on the central auction stage.

About half a day later, the lights in the entire auction hall suddenly dimmed, and all the noise seemed to be cut off by an invisible hand. The whole place fell silent, and everyone's eyes were focused on the central auction stage.

A graceful figure appeared on the stage. She had long, flowing purple hair, exquisite features, and wore a silver dress adorned with star patterns. She exuded a noble yet approachable aura.

"Distinguished guests!" Her voice, like a clear spring, reached the ears of every powerful individual. "Welcome to this year's Hongmeng Super Auction."

"First of all, let us thank the human race for building this magnificent bridge of communication and trade for us, and let us also wish that under the leadership of the human race, the Hongmeng will become more prosperous and powerful."

The opening remarks were concise and powerful, winning a round of applause from the audience.

With a professional smile, Star Dream King continued, "This auction attracted a record 326,041 distinguished guests, which is undoubtedly the best proof of the prosperity of our Hongmeng."

I am Star Dream King, and it is my honor to serve as the auctioneer for this grand event. I hope my service will satisfy you all.

She paused for a moment, then cut straight to the point without much small talk: "I'm sure all of you are eager to get started. As is our tradition, before the official auction begins, we will auction a special item to warm up the event."

As she spoke, a huge virtual screen beside her lit up.

What appeared on the screen was not a rare treasure, but the body of a huge creature that had fallen into a deep sleep.

It was a giant crane over thirty meters long, its entire body covered in blue and white feathers, and even in its slumber it still exuded the aura of a powerful king.

"Please take a look, everyone. This is the hot auction item for today—the divine body of Crane Cloud King, a high-level king among the demon race."

King Heyun is a genius of the White Crane Clan of the Demon Race. He is extremely fast and has fierce attacks. He has also made a name for himself in the battlefield outside the realm.

However, it was severely injured by a powerful human warrior, its divine body was greatly damaged, and it fell into a deep slumber, with less than 25% of its divine power remaining.

Star Dream King's gaze swept across the entire room: "After repeated confirmation by the authoritative appraisal masters of the Hongmeng Alliance, Crane Cloud King has not yet been enslaved by the soul. I believe everyone here understands what this means."

Her words were very persuasive: "Are you worried about the lack of strong protection for your community or important strongholds when you go out to explore?"

Do you long for a loyal, powerful, and top-tier assistant?

The opportunity is now before you. As long as you capture this divine body and enslave its soul, once its divine power is restored, you will have a soul servant of the highest rank of King.

It will be your strongest shield and your sharpest spear!

"The sleeping divine body of King Heyun, starting bid 150 billion Chaos Units, with each bid increment no less than 2 billion Chaos Units. The auction now begins!"

The moment Xingmeng Wang finished speaking, the numbers representing prices on the huge virtual screen began to jump wildly!

1600 billion!

1650 billion!

1700 billion!

1800 billion!

……

Prices skyrocketed, breaking the 200 billion mark in just a few moments, and showed no signs of stopping.

The atmosphere in the entire auction hall was instantly ignited, countless divine thoughts intertwined, and discussions arose again:

"A high-ranking king, and a demon race member skilled in speed—this is far superior to the Thorn-Tailed King that was auctioned last time."

"A starting bid of 150 billion? It's a bit expensive, but it's worth the price."

"If our clan had such servants to guard the secret realm, our safety would be greatly enhanced."

Looking at the familiar figure on the screen, Lin Yuan's eyes became somewhat strange, and he subconsciously looked at the Dark Moon King beside him.

The Dark Moon King seemed to sense his gaze, a slight smile playing on his lips: "What? Surprised?"

Lin Yuan nodded: "He was one of the batch of kings I sold to your intelligence department more than ten years ago."

"Not bad." Dark Moon King nodded slightly. "This is an old tradition."

During the pre-auction phase of each mega auction, the item up for auction is a divine body of a different race, a king-level being, which can be enslaved. The source of these bodies is always provided graciously by our intelligence department, but in the past, they've all been at the initial king-level.

Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow: "Then how come it's become higher level this time?"

"Thanks to the Chaos King, the department has a relatively large inventory recently." The Dark Moon King smiled and explained, "Moreover, the White Crane Clan has a relatively marginal position within the demon race, and they are not very valuable for extracting intelligence from, so we're using them to warm up the auction."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over the powerful alien races fiercely bidding, and lowered her voice: "Furthermore, this move also has a deeper meaning. Most of the most active bidders are from some of the relatively weaker races within the Hong Alliance."

Their entire race might only have one Universe Venerable in charge, and the number of King-level experts is also very limited. Therefore, they are more eager to recruit a King-level servant to protect their race.

Lin Yuan understood immediately, and at the same time, he instantly grasped the crux of the matter: "A pledge of allegiance?"

Just as the two were communicating telepathically, the price of Crane Cloud King had already soared to 2480 billion Mixed Yuan Units.

Although the bidding momentum has slowed slightly from the beginning, it remains deadlocked, with all parties clearly determined to win.

In the front row, quite a distance from Lin Yuan and the others, the Lava Venerable stared at the lifelike image of the giant crane on the screen, his eyes gleaming as he fell into deep thought.

"Crane Cloud King... High-level King..." he pondered in his heart, "Although I have been dedicated to cultivating the next generation since I broke through to the King level, in the past two billion years, apart from the two ancestors who were at the peak of the Marquis level in their early years, there have been no other strong people who have broken through to the initial level of the King level."

Now that I am the overlord of the universe, I will inevitably have to venture into more dangerous areas in the future to seek opportunities, and it is impossible for me to protect my people at all times.

"If we could have such a high-ranking servant, skilled in speed and a royal rank, stationed at our stronghold to oversee daily patrols and respond to emergencies, the safety of our tribe would be much more assured."

"Let's do it!" The Lava Venerable's eyes narrowed, and without further hesitation, he immediately entered his bid through his token.

The numbers on the virtual screen jumped dramatically: 2550 billion!

This offer temporarily surpassed the previous competitors, and the numbers on the screen paused for a few seconds.

"2550 billion? Is there a higher bid?" King Xingmeng stirred up the atmosphere at the right time. "A loyal high-ranking servant of a king is the best help in protecting the clan."

After a brief silence, another number lit up: 2580 billion!

The Lava Master frowned slightly and raised the bid again: 2600 billion!

The other party seemed to hesitate for a few seconds, then made another offer: 2620 billion!

Lava Venerable gritted his teeth and directly entered: 2660 billion Chaos Units!

This time, the numbers on the screen finally froze.

After a ten-second countdown to confirm that no one else was bidding, Star Dream King announced loudly:

"2660 billion mixed units! Third time! Sold!"

"Congratulations to the VIP with the number ZEN00017 for successfully bidding on the sleeping Crane King's divine body. May it awaken and become the most loyal guardian of your clan."

As Star Dream King finished speaking, the lights in the area where Lava Venerable was located flickered on, signifying a successful bid.

The Lava Venerable breathed a sigh of relief, but then felt a sharp pain in his flesh.

"Twenty-six billion... " he muttered to himself. "Although the human race just rewarded me with twenty treasure points, this is still too expensive. I hope that King Crane Cloud can really protect the race.

Having grown accustomed to meticulous budgeting, even now as a cosmic overlord, he finds it difficult to fully adapt to this extravagant lifestyle.

On the auction stage, Star Dream King's smile widened even further: "The warm-up session has concluded successfully. Now I declare—this year's Hongmeng Super Auction officially open!"