Chapter 664. Gathering of powerful groups.

When our girls opened their eyes, they were in an unknown, closed space. 

The first thing Yasenia did was check on her dears and look closely to see if they were injured. Since everybody was okay, her attention went to the room where she was forcefully transported. 

They had appeared in a large circular room with five hundred doors. Each with a number carved on them. 

The doors were all five meters tall, and their appearance, besides the number, was identical. The inspiring walls had beautiful images of different conflicts painted on them, and the ceiling was covered in a single image whose complexity would leave anyone who saw it in awe. 

The numbers on the door went from 1 to a few dozen, and there were doors with the same number. The largest number Yasenia spotted was 26. There were two doors with that number. 

After analyzing the numbers and positions and creating a three-dimensional map in her head to compare even their geometrical arrangements, Yasenia couldn't find any noticeable patterns. So, she shifted her attention to her nearby surroundings.

The room had thousands of people, but it was spacious enough to feel comfortable and free to move. There were only beast humans, with very few pure beasts in their human forms. 

Her spiritual sense spread around, trying to locate people she knew, and to her surprise, she found them. 

There were two groups and a few races that caught her attention. 

The two groups were the Beast Heir group and Sarah's group. 

The people who caught her attention were low-level Epoch Cores of the main powers. 

There seemed to be at least one representative for all the most powerful powers, meaning the top ten of the Thirty-Three Clans, the Nine Sects, and the Three Empires.

'Ho? Unlike those weaklings I fought previously, I can feel a bit of pressure from them.'

Even if two people were in the same realm or level, the strength gap could vary wildly. Tatyana, even as an exception, was a good example. Even as an Eight-level Unification Realm cultivator, she would probably be able to fight this entire room and either be victorious or manage to escape mostly unscathed after causing many fatalities. 

I digress.

While Yasenia was searching for people, those people also found her. 

Seeing the alluring dragoness standing there, Laurina and Sarah decided to approach.

Laurina arrived with a smile and threw herself into Yasenia's arms while her green hair and wings fluttered happily and her long green dragon tail wagged. "Little sister Yasenia!"

The two voluptuous bodies squished together, making Evelyn and a few others look fidgety. 

Yasenia's stern expression relaxed, and she looked down at Laurina with a smile. "How are you doing, big sister Laurina?" 

Laurina smiled proudly. "We have moved together and managed to kill a powerful beast! It was at least on the stronger side of the low-level Dantian Spiritualization realm."

Yasenia thought. 'Probably a level two or level three Legendary Core beast.' 

Sarah waved at her, looking at Laurina strangely. "Hello, Yasenia."

As a dragon, Yasenia was quite sensitive to emotions if she was paying attention, so she realized that Sarah's attitude was slightly off. She looked at the people around Sarah, but she saw no one missing. 

She shook her head internally and nodded at Sarah. "Hello. How are your gains?"

Sarah smiled. "We managed to kill a powerful Level three Legen…" Sarah paused. "I mean, a powerful low-level Epoch Core realm beast as well." 

Yasenia blinked two times. She caught her slip of the tongue. 'She knows about Universal classification for beasts? That treasure sure is versatile.' 

Yasenia didn't show anything on her face and smiled. "Very nice. It's good seeing my sect members growing."

Sarah nodded somewhat flatly, making Yasenia confused. 'Did she finally lose interest in me? Well, whatever. That would be for the best.' 

Yasenia asked after separating from Laurina. "Do any of you know how we arrived here? Or where are we?" 

They all shook their heads.

Yasenia paid particular attention to Sarah because she remembered the strange treasure she had guided toward the "hidden" reward in the Lost Town, where she had gained the [Primordial Energy Core].

She saw her flinch briefly before shaking her head like the rest, making the sharp dragoness doubtful. However, she couldn't tell her directly, and since Sarah's harem was here, there probably weren't any problems for now. 'I'll ask later if there is imminent danger.' 

Yasenia nodded and looked around. "It seems that there are no more people from the sect. Let's stay together for now."

Yasenia had a hunch that the key had something to do with this situation, but she kept silent for now like the rest.

Who knew if that key was a unique item to open a treasure room or something in this area? 

However, her thoughts were squashed when someone from the Holy Beast Empire, wearing royal robes, spoke. "I'm Thomas, Fourth Prince of the Holy Beast Empire. Was everyone here transported forcefully?" 

A beautiful woman with green hair and a natural aura spoke. "Fourth Prince, how about you reveal it first? As the most powerful power, you should set an example and lead us." 

The fourth prince squinted. "Grace, your Forest Sky Empire doesn't fall short either."

Yasenia squinted. 'It seems that I'm finally going to make contact with all the powers equally because the top seniors can't intervene. I will wait for a while and then intervene if it is proper. My current objective is to come out in the open and get known, so this is a good opportunity. With Mirrory, Valeria, and Mom, I will always have the upper hand.' 

Yasenia didn't hold back her thoughts and transmitted them to her girls so that they knew what she was thinking.

The seniors didn't speak, giving her a silent approval. 

Besides Thomas and Grace, another eight people came out with their own groups. All of them had at least twenty people, and each group had at least seven low-level Epoch Core realm cultivators. 

With their strength, Yasenia's group could be considered to have eight very powerful, low-level Epoch Core cultivators and three "monsters."

Of course, this was without considering the extra strength Sarah's and Laurina's group brought her. 

Thomas frowned. "Yu Lei, don't go overboard."

Yasenia focused on who he was speaking to and saw a beautiful woman with four green wings on her back that had lightning flashing occasionally. 'Jade Thunderbird woman.' 

Yu Lei smiled arrogantly. "What? You took the first step, and now we are asking for you to show us what triggered it. Isn't it common sense to show it if you take the initiative?"

Yasenia could see that cultivators had gathered around the three main groups. Our dragoness evaluated them, and a slight smile spread on her lips. 'Although they have numbers, I don't feel afraid.' 

Finally, an ethereal woman with a fishtail spoke, her voice cold and elegant. "Stop arguing. Isn't it clear that it was the key we got? The chance of an event like this one activating is low, as it only happened once before."

Yasenia saw the mermaid summoning a key like hers, but the color was different. 'Hm? A silver key? Do the keys have different levels? Is mine or hers better?'

Yasenia sniffed, and although many scents were mixed because of the many treasures people wore, treasures near that key's level were scarce. 'It smells much weaker than my key.' 

 Thomas was surprised, his vertical dragon pupils thinning. "Qiao Mei Lan."

Qiao Mei Lan, the mermaid, lifted one eyebrow. "What's wrong?" 

Thomas frowned. "You managed to get a silver-ranked key? How? That's only a rank below the most valuable golden rank. The trials to get it are-"

Qiao Mei Lan looked at him coldly and interrupted. "Do I need to tell you? Also, your mouth is quite loose."

Yasenia lifted the corner of her lips. 'Is he really a prince? Or is he arrogant enough to think that others besides the main powers can't get whatever this place gives?' 

The elder from the Devil Smashing Ape clan Yasenia saw previously was also here. He spoke. "Either way, we now need to wait for the voice of the revered one. Although there are reports, there is no information about how this place works." 

Qiao Mei Lan shook her head and sighed. 

Grace, the green-haired woman, looked around to see others, and her pupils suddenly shrunk.

Yasenia saw it firsthand because their pupils shrunk when she spotted her, so their eyes were locked into each other. Grace paused for a second and spoke. "Oh? It seems that the 'new first-ranked' power is also here." 

Her words emphasized the "new first rank" because there were people who took that kind of power as nouveau riches. Not strong enough to be intimidating and rich enough to be a target. 

They were especially appealing in places like this kind of realm since the top-level seniors were absent. 

Yasenia saw almost everyone in the room turn to look at her group, and her lips arched. "Lady Grace, it is an honor that you could recognize me."

Her words said so, but Yasenia's attitude remained unchanged. Relaxed and lightly smiling.

One man behind Grace frowned and shouted. "You are too rude! How dare you speak nonchalantly to the third princess!" 

Yasenia looked at Grace, not looking away, as if asking. 'Will you allow your subordinate to run his mouth?' 

However, since Grace intended to test Yasenia, she didn't stop him and just smiled.

The arc on Yasenia's lips lifted further up, showing a charming and seductive expression. Then, she spoke. "A pet behind the owner yapping is not pleasant. Could you please stay silent?" 

The room got silent, and Grace's smile fell. "Yasenia here is not a place to act arrogant."

Before Yasenia could speak, a man spoke with a smile. "Right. How about you come with me, beautiful? You smell delicious. I'll make sure, as an elder from the [Nine Peach Blossom Sect], to give your body ecstasy as you've never felt before."

Yasenia's eyes moved, and she spotted a Garuda, a man with an eagle head and a human male body. They were the other side of harpies, and like them, they had no clothes. 

Yasenia's smile disappeared, but she didn't have to speak since the people behind her were angry enough. A piercing cold voice spread from behind Yasenia. "First an annoying pet, now a disgusting worm. So much for the top-level powers of the continent; it just looks like a group of arrogant and uneducated people."

Cecile's words were strong enough to make almost everyone angry, and Yasenia spoke. "Can you all stop the useless teasing and testing? What are you expecting, me to go on a rampage out of anger or hurt pride? People around to be tempted and attack me? These attempts are so basic and pathetic that I might misunderstand you for juniors instead of seniors."

Yasenia looked at them with a sneer. "If you want to test my strength, come at me directly and stop trying to provoke me." Then, Yasenia's golden eyes glowed as [Empyrean Regal Dragon Authority] unfolded.

"However, be prepared to leave your life behind."

The wave of aura was strong enough to make the eyes scrutinizing her become serious.

Yet, unlike most people, Yasenia's looks were too much for some, so the Garuda from the Nine sect continued, unafraid. "Beauty, I'm giving you a face telling you that I want you to join me." He sneered. "If you don't come willingly, I might have to as the Patriarch. Even as an elder, I'm also a direct disciple of the Patriarch." 

A few other greedy women and men from similar groups also looked at Yasenia with similar expressions. 

An owl man smiled. "That's right. This brother, how about you also include us? Tasting an arrogant dragon might be quite interesting."

A snake woman also approached with a smirk. "The dragons in this group look delicious. Our group also wants to join the fun." 

Sarah and the five beast heirs frowned, preparing for battle. 

Yasenia looked around and sighed. Her eyes flashed with a hint of mischievousness, and she threw herself with puppy eyes into Tatyana's arms.

They were confused by Yasenia's actions and how the infuriated girls around Yasenia instantly changed their looks from anger to pity.

Yasenia pitifully blinked and pouted. "Mom, why did you make me so beautiful? Look at this: so many people want a bite of your daughter. They want to do evil things to me~."

Tatyana froze at Yasenia's cuteness for a second. 

Meanwhile, Laurina and the other four beast heir's faces changed from frowns to looks of pity. 'Right, Lady Death Empress is still here.' 

On the other hand, Sarah was startled when something registered in her head. 'Wait… That's her mother!? No, how is she here!? Didn't she slam a patriarch-level character into the ground with her pressure!?'

[That appears to be so. However, what slammed the Patriarch was a one-time use formation. The energy readings tell me that she is an Eight-level Unification Realm expert.] 

'Appears to be? So, you are not sure!?'

[Host. I'm unsure. But it should not be a lie. She might be a powerful Soul Cultivator. That would explain her ability to attack me in the past. I can't read anything from her besides superficial strength.]

Sarah remembered the "failure" condition of being unable to capture Yasenia, and her body erupted in chills. 'If I had accepted that mission, she probably would've killed me the first time we clashed together… No… didn't the mission say something about a fate worse than Death?'

Sarah screamed in her head. 'System! Why didn't you give me a time limit or something? Or why didn't you tell me that she is Yasenia's mother until now!?'

[Host. That woman is outside Fate. I knew that the person who was "Yasenia's Mother" was the failure condition. But I had no control in knowing when, where, or how she would appear. Hence the lack of a time limit. What do you want to do with that mission?]

'You are still asking!? Delete it! What if she discovers it!?'

[Host. It is impossible for her to discover the "frozen" missions. Are you sure you want to delete <Opening the Closed Heart of Celestial Dragoness?>. We've prepared to fight against her in any case. I think throwing away such a rare quest is wasteful because it might not trigger in the future even if you manage to capture Yasenia.]

'I'm sure! If I never met the mother, I wouldn't mind keeping it there, just in case. But with her present, if I accept it, the "failure condition" might instantly trigger. That's too dangerous!'

[Understood. Mission successfully eliminated.]

Sarah nodded. 'Moreover, I'm starting to like her less and less. No matter what I do, she doesn't respond like the others, and her affection level is impossible to check. She is too difficult to capture for a heroine I met in the early stages.'

Sarah stopped speaking with the system because the atmosphere around them changed. 

At that moment, Tatyana, who had frozen for a second observing the devastatingly adorable expression of her little treasure, snapped out of her thoughts and looked around.

Everyone's spines seemed to freeze as an unknown fear enveloped their bodies, as if a guillotine suddenly appeared hovering above their necks. 

The room's atmosphere thickened several notches, and the temperature plummeted. Yet, the increase in coldness seemed unnatural and not because of a drop in heat.

Tatyana's red eyes swept the groups who had been getting closer but now were frozen stiff in their places and spoke. 

"One more step, and you die."

Her tone was light, but everybody targeted by Tatyana felt like someone was grabbing their head and forcing them to lower it. 

The red-eyed woman with beauty equal to the dragoness suddenly appeared like a terrifying devil in their eyes.