Upon hearing the introduction, the Powerhouses all turned to look at Ender, even those who had ignored King Raging Waves.
"What? King Verdant End?!"
"He is the King Verdant End who has been circulating recently."
"According to the clan's instructions, King Verdant End has a very significant background; one can only befriend him, not offend him."
"How is King Verdant End with King Raging Waves? Could their relationship be good?"
The Powerhouses all sized up Ender, each with their own thoughts, but unanimously wanting to befriend him.
These Powerhouses were all King-level Immortal, and their thought speed was astonishingly fast. In an instant, they stood up with a "whoosh" and greeted Ender.
"Hello, King Verdant End."
"King Verdant End."
"Welcome, King Verdant End, to our community."
Some King-level Immortal practitioners, whose information was not well-circulated, saw all the Powerhouses stand up and immediately understood that this newly joined King Verdant End was not simple, so they quickly stood up.
Seeing that even the Powerhouses who wouldn't give him Face now stood up to greet Ender, giving him plenty of Face, King Raging Waves was inwardly annoyed.
"A bunch of opportunists!"
He recalled that when he first joined the Hong Alliance and attended a gathering, the Powerhouses merely raised their cups in welcome, nowhere near as grand as the current scene with everyone standing to greet him.
The treatment he had not received was now being enjoyed by a junior who had become an Immortal less than ten thousand years ago. The resentment that King Raging Waves had somewhat calmed surged back into his heart.
Ender saw the Powerhouses stand up to greet him and responded with a friendly smile and nod.
"King Verdant End," King Raging Waves then said, "Let's go over there."
Hearing this, Ender followed King Raging Waves's gaze and saw many alien Powerhouses gathered there, subtly forming a circle.
"King Verdant End and King Raging Waves's relationship seems quite good."
"Is King Verdant End going to join the circle led by King Raging Waves?"
"With King Verdant End joining, King Raging Waves's circle…"
The Powerhouses who had been observing Ender and King Raging Waves closely heard what King Raging Waves said and secretly speculated.
Ender noticed that when King Raging Waves extended the invitation, many Powerhouses around felt nervous, and he immediately had a few guesses.
"King Raging Waves, you go ahead. I'll chat with my human King-level Immortal first." Ender said, looking towards a table where five human Powerhouses were seated.
"Alright, I'll go first then." King Raging Waves forced a smile and walked towards the area where the many alien Powerhouses had formed a circle.
After a few steps, the smile on his Face faded, and a hint of gloom appeared in his eyes, though it wasn't too obvious on his Face.
"You want to scheme against me? Do you really think I don't know anything?"
Glancing at King Raging Waves's departing back, Ender sneered inwardly and walked towards the table where the five human Powerhouses were seated.
"King Verdant End."
"Hello, King Verdant End."
Along the way, many alien Powerhouses greeted him. Ender nodded with a friendly smile, picked up a glass of fruit wine from the bar counter where drinks were stored, and then arrived at the table of the five human Powerhouses.
"Gentlemen, do you mind if I sit here?" Ender asked with a smile.
"Haha, King Verdant End, as fellow humans, why be so polite?"
"Right, no need to be polite, sit down."
The five human Powerhouses said with smiles.
Ender sat down and glanced at the star marks on the armguards of the five human Powerhouses; three of them had 'two stars' and two had 'three stars'.
A 'three-star' single-horned male in black battle armor spoke, "Let me introduce myself, I am King Star-Conquering."
"King Fiery Hell."
"King Blinding Flight."
The five human Powerhouses introduced themselves one by one.
Ender glanced at King Raging Waves and the positions of the other two human Powerhouses and asked, "May I ask, why aren't you with them?"
"King Verdant End, you're new to the Hong Alliance, so some unwritten rules might not be clear to you."
King Blinding Flight smiled and explained, "Look at them, don't you subtly feel that they've formed a circle and have a barrier with other circles or lone individuals?"
"Hmm." Ender nodded slightly.
"Where there are Powerhouses, there will naturally be conflicts." King Blinding Flight smiled and explained, "Our community is almost full, with nearly ten thousand King-level Immortal."
"These nearly ten thousand King-level Immortal come from different clans. As time passes, because they will almost always be in the same community, they naturally form various forces, each forming their own groups."
"Generally speaking, once assigned to a community, it's almost fixed, unless one's Hong Alliance star rating reaches 'four stars' to enter the inner city."
King Blinding Flight paused, then continued, "So many Powerhouses have been here for hundreds of millions of years. Naturally, Powerhouses in the same community have closer relationships, forming various forces to support and trade with each other."
"Some of these groups have over a thousand King-level Immortals, while smaller ones also have several hundred King-level Immortals. Only a very small number are lone individuals."
King Blinding Flight said this, then sneered, "Like King Raging Waves and the other two King-level Immortal, they are leaders of a force."
"As expected…" Ender nodded slightly, thinking to himself, "King Raging Waves wants me to join his force, which is why he's so enthusiastic."
"Like us few, we are unwilling to join or create a force." King Star-Conquering smiled and said, "Even if we don't join any force, they still wouldn't dare to provoke us."
"They don't dare to provoke us, but they won't be nice to other lone individuals. If it were in the real world, there might even be life-threatening danger."
King Fiery Hell slightly raised his head, indicating, "Like them, whose clans are ordinary in strength, or even weak, it would be very difficult for them not to join a force."
Ender followed his gaze and saw several King-level Immortal practitioners of various forms drinking in a secluded corner.
"Even if they join a force, it won't be much better, after all, their clans are too weak to support them, placing them at the bottom among the many clans in the Hong Alliance."
King Blinding Flight said softly, "Without the support of a powerful clan, and being only an ordinary 'two-star' member, it's almost impossible to trade within a force without being exploited."
"Look at those few King-level Immortal practitioners who once had conflicts with King Raging Waves's force."
Ender looked over upon hearing this and saw the few King-level Immortal practitioners who had not given King Raging Waves Face, and who hadn't even greeted him when he arrived, now chatting and drinking in the center of the crowd.
"Although they haven't joined any force, they maintain friendly relations with multiple forces and occasionally conduct transactions."
King Blinding Flight said, "Their clans behind them are not weak, and they themselves are 'three-star' members, giving them the confidence not to give King Raging Waves Face and not lacking the resources of King Raging Waves's force."
"So, clan strength is very important. Without a powerful clan as a backing, even a 'three-star' member would have to group together for warmth."
King Star-Conquering asked, "King Verdant End, are you planning to join a force, or be a lone individual like us?"
"I'll be a lone individual for now; it's more comfortable that way." Ender replied with a smile. "Indeed, joining a force is not as free as being a lone individual." King Fiery Hell nodded, "Anyway, we are humans, so other forces wouldn't dare to provoke us."
Hearing this, Ender smiled slightly. He could hear the pride and honor of being human in King Fiery Hell's words, which clearly represented the glory of humanity.
"King Verdant End, do you want to go explore Hong Alliance Virtual City? I'm familiar with this place." King Fiery Hell asked enthusiastically.
"Sure." Ender nodded slightly. He was just thinking of exploring Hong Alliance Virtual City, and having someone familiar lead the way was perfect.
King Star-Conquering reminded, "King Fiery Hell, don't drag King Verdant End into gambling."
"Don't worry, I'm quite clear about that." King Fiery Hell replied, "Besides, I'm not addicted to gambling. I stop after winning or losing ten million Mixed units. More often, I play 'Arrangement Four (4D Lottery)'."
Ender followed King Fiery Hell out of the open-air gathering area and walked towards Hong Alliance Virtual City.
…
In Hong Alliance Virtual City, the lowest-level residents are all King-level Immortal Powerhouses. A city where countless Powerhouses gather is naturally very developed, and scenes that are usually rare are commonplace here.
Large spaceship trading.
Plant life, metal life trading.
Powerhouse employment services.
Special item appraisal services.
Large auction houses.
New gambling-related services.
Ender saw a peculiar seven-story palace ahead, with three human characters "Pu Ya Palace" on it.
King Fiery Hell introduced, "This is the only gambling entertainment venue in the Hong Alliance, 'Pu Ya Palace'."
"As Powerhouses, most are adventurous, and with such long lives, there isn't much to do. Gambling in Pu Ya Palace is a form of entertainment. Wait, let me buy a ticket number."
Led by King Fiery Hell, Ender entered Pu Ya Palace and saw a large number of Powerhouses.
This huge palace, spanning several kilometers in length and width, was indeed very lively.
"This round of 'Arrangement Four', last three ticket numbers." The Pu Ya Palace attendant called out.
"I want to buy one!" King Fiery Hell stepped forward and bought a ticket number for ten thousand Mixed units.
Soon.
"Open!"
"Open!"
The other two tickets were also sold, and then came the much-anticipated lottery drawing. Powerhouses from various clans were shouting loudly, occasionally bursting into laughter.
"Number 88!" The attendant called out the winning number loudly.
"Didn't win again."
King Fiery Hell glanced at the ticket number in his hand, ignoring the venting and jeering Powerhouses. "King Verdant End, let's go to the next place."
"Mm." Ender nodded slightly.
He knew that for gambling games like 'Arrangement Four', Pu Ya Palace didn't make money; instead, it was more like a game to attract popularity.
After all, the treasure it offered, valued at '100 million mixed units units', often exceeded 100 million Mixed units in actual value. It was equivalent to ten thousand Powerhouses pooling money to buy a treasure, and then one lucky person among those ten thousand would get the treasure alone.
Investing ten thousand to gain 100 million, of course, there were more losers.
However, for these Powerhouses, playing such games was more about venting and trying their luck.
"'Arrangement Four' is a small game. The real gambling games have much higher stakes than 'Arrangement Four', with some Powerhouses betting hundreds of billions or even trillions of Mixed units in a single game."
As they walked out, King Fiery Hell introduced, "Pu Ya Palace once opened a gambling game several thousand years ago, betting on which of our human era's three Prodigy-level Geniuses would achieve higher accomplishments after a million years. The amount of money involved was unimaginable!"
"They can gamble on that too?" Seeing a gamble involving himself, Ender was a bit surprised, "Isn't Pu Ya Palace afraid of losing money?"
"They only set up gambles and take a cut; they never participate in the gamble itself."
King Fiery Hell sighed, "Pu Ya Palace is the only casino in the entire Hong Alliance Virtual City. Although it also has to pay taxes to the Hong Alliance, it's purely a no-cost business."
"It's impossible to apply to the Hong Alliance to build a casino; there's only one casino slot, and it belongs to Pu Ya Palace."
"It is rumored that the backer of this Pu Ya Palace is a certain Hall Master in the Hong Alliance Hall, and some even say that several Hall Masters jointly established this Pu Ya Palace."
The two walked on the street, and King Fiery Hell looked at the massive shops in the distance. "There are quantity restrictions on shops for various businesses. These shops must at least have a Universe Venerable as a backer to be built, so wanting to earn huge profits within the Hong Alliance isn't something everyone has the opportunity to do."
"Of course, where there's winning, there's losing."
"Except for Pu Ya Palace and a few other unique places, many shops, although limited in number, are not exclusive to one, and there is still competition."
"Haha…"
King Fiery Hell laughed, "Although we King-level Immortals cannot open shops, we don't need money to live in the Hong Alliance. As long as we don't actively gamble or shop, we naturally don't need to spend. But shops, as long as they are open, need to continuously pay various taxes to the Hong Alliance."
"Ahead is 'Universe Treasure Hall', the best among the many goods shops. It is said to be opened by a human Hall Master in the Hong Alliance."
King Fiery Hell led the way, "Let's go in and browse together. Maybe you'll find something you need."
…
Universe Treasure Hall had two floors, each comparable in area to Pu Ya Palace.
It should be noted that the Hong Alliance is very economical with land. The residences of King-level Immortal are only so big, so a shop several kilometers long and wide is incredibly large, capable of displaying an exaggerated number of treasures!
Ender entered Universe Treasure Hall and saw countless treasures densely displayed, extending to the end of his vision.
And next to each treasure was a blueprint, with videos, pictures, and text information detailing the origin, special features, and selling price of the treasures.
King Fiery Hell smiled and said, "How is it? Are there enough treasures here?"
"Indeed, many." Ender nodded slightly.
King Fiery Hell introduced, "Universe Treasure Hall is the best shop within the Hong Alliance. The first floor has countless treasures."
"The second floor has even more countless precious treasures. Some can be purchased with Mixed units, while others are forbidden from being bought with money and must be exchanged for other treasures, through a bartering method."
King Fiery Hell explained, "As you know, some special treasures in the Universe are extremely rare, and some are even unique. It's very difficult to set an accurate price for them."
"A unique treasure might be useless to some Powerhouses, but to others, it's priceless. Its value cannot be accurately estimated, which makes bartering the mainstream."
"Mm." Ender nodded and did not continue to look.
Currently, he was not short of treasures; on the contrary, he had quite a few treasure Materials to sell, so he simply browsed for a bit and then left Universe Treasure Hall.
When Ender finished exploring Hong Alliance Virtual City and parted ways with King Fiery Hell shortly after returning to their community, he was kindly stopped by an alien King-level Immortal practitioner…