Lord: Sequence Master

"A major event…"

Standing at the edge of the Brilliant Royal Palace, Rosen gazed down at the thriving Brilliant Royal City, deep in thought.

From Daisy, he had learned about an upcoming upheaval in the Abyss.

To explain this event, one first had to understand the structure of the Abyss.

The entire Abyssal World consisted of 99 layers of Abyssal planes, all interconnected by the Abyssal Blood River.

However, according to legend, the Abyss originally only had nine layers.

With each awakening of the Abyssal Will over countless ages, a new Abyssal plane would form.

But once the Abyss reached 99 layers, the Abyssal Will fell into a deep, eternal slumber, never truly waking again.

Rosen was now certain—the Abyssal Will was none other than a Great Old One-level deity from the Ancient God Civilization.

And if his guess was correct, this Abyssal Will was likely one of the strongest among the Great Old Ones.

Although the number of Abyssal layers had stopped growing, the Abyss itself had never ceased expanding.

Every ten thousand years, the Abyss would generate a 100th layer.

However, since the Abyssal World could not sustain more than 99 layers, the new layer was always destroyed, its essence absorbed by the existing 99 layers.

Every time a new plane emerged, the 99 Abyssal Sovereigns would fight to claim as much of it as possible.

The more they seized, the stronger their respective domains would grow.

No one wanted equal distribution—after all, the power disparity among Abyssal Sovereigns was massive.

The strongest among them could rival the top Great Gods, while the weakest were merely ordinary deities.

However, even the weakest Abyssal Sovereign, as long as they remained within their own Abyssal plane, could unleash power comparable to a Great God.

It was a widely accepted fact that an Abyssal plane granted far greater empowerment to its Sovereign than a divine kingdom did to a deity.

This was why even the Great God-tier Abyssal Sovereigns did not dare to provoke the lower-ranked ones.

So long as a Sovereign stayed within their own Abyssal domain, even a stronger foe could, at best, mutually perish in battle.

Because of unequal power distribution, the 99 Abyssal Sovereigns had fought multiple internal wars in the past.

The division of the 100th layer directly affected the growth of Abyssal planes and the power development of Abyssal Sovereigns.

Thus, every time a new Abyssal plane was born, it became the catalyst for another war.

Eventually, the Abyssal Sovereigns realized that each war only resulted in mutual destruction, allowing divine beings from other races to exploit their weakened state.

Even the most belligerent among them no longer dared to wage full-scale war.

For the past several tens of thousands of years, the Abyss had seen no large-scale internal conflicts.

But competition still remained—just in a more controlled form.

A new agreement was established:

No Abyssal Sovereign was allowed to set foot in the newly born 100th layer.

Instead, they could only send their demonic legions to fight over it—with victory determining the distribution of the new plane.

Since only their armies perished, the cost of battle remained within acceptable limits.

In fact, from a certain perspective, this was beneficial to the Abyssal Sovereigns.

By sending their own demons to slaughter each other, they could eliminate potential threats before they ever had the chance to challenge their rule.

After all, an Abyssal Sovereign's position was not absolute.

In theory, any native Abyssal demon could challenge an Abyssal Sovereign and seize their throne.

During such a challenge, the current Sovereign would temporarily lose control over their domain.

Throughout history, there have been at least dozens of recorded cases where Abyssal Sovereigns were overthrown from below.

The newly born 100th Abyssal Plane contained a powerful World Source, an ideal nourishment for the World Tree's growth.

If Rosen could infiltrate the new plane and claim a share, the World Tree's growth would undoubtedly accelerate significantly.

However, doing so was extremely risky—it meant competing with the Abyssal Sovereigns for resources.

Rosen wasn't afraid of the Abyssal Sovereigns themselves—if he couldn't win, he could always escape.

His real concern was the Abyssal Will.

Even if the Sovereigns fought among themselves, the gains still remained within the Abyss.

But if he took the World Tree and ran off with the spoils, what if that stirred the Abyssal Will awake?

Yet, if he missed this opportunity, the World Tree's growth would likely stagnate for a long time.

"I have to go… but under the guise of an Abyssal Demon."

Rosen made up his mind and used the Death Queen's parasitic assimilation to merge into a Doomsday Apostle's body.

A Sequence 1 Shadow Demon identity was something that very few in the entire Main World could see through.

But which Abyssal Sovereign should he join?

If the Sovereign was too powerful, they wouldn't lack Sequence 1 combatants and wouldn't recruit strangers.

If the Sovereign was too weak, they wouldn't offer much advantage either.

After careful selection, Rosen realized that the best choice was still Phantom Sovereign.

After conducting a thorough investigation into the 99 Abyssal Sovereigns, he discovered a key detail—

Phantom Sovereign only truly trusted his own offspring.

For an event as important as the battle for the new Abyssal plane, the ones managing his forces were all his direct descendants.

Rosen planned to sneak in and reap the rewards as a hidden third party.

He had no intention of openly fighting from the start, only to end up swarmed by countless Abyssal demons.

But at the same time, he needed freedom to act.

That made Phantom Sovereign the perfect choice.

Unlike the other Abyssal Sovereigns, Phantom Sovereign had no attachment to his own Abyssal domain.

Most Sovereigns did everything in their power to strengthen their respective Abyssal planes.

Phantom Sovereign, on the other hand, did the exact opposite—

The 69th Abyssal Plane, which he ruled, was one of the weakest among the 99 layers.

He didn't even care about the newly forming Abyssal plane.

Every time a new plane emerged, he would simply sell off the entry rights.

Those Abyssal demons who refused to serve the other Sovereigns often purchased access from him.

This was precisely why Daisy's second personality was able to easily obtain information on the new plane.

Rosen returned to the 69th Abyssal Plane once more.

Phantom City had already regained its former prosperity and debauchery.

However, Rosen could clearly sense that security had been significantly tightened.

There were still a few months left before the new plane would emerge.

The sale of entry rights would take place in the final few days.

But to qualify for purchase, one first had to spend a large amount of divine crystals in Phantom City.

This was one of Phantom Sovereign's many ways of amassing wealth.

Rosen wandered through the city, purchasing a large number of Succubi and sending them to the Ancient God's True Realm.

That very night, a Succubus from Phantom City delivered an invitation to his inn.

A very cheap invitation—it was written on a piece of flayed demon skin.

For a dignified Abyssal Sovereign, Phantom Sovereign's greed was almost comically petty.

Rosen was now almost certain—

Phantom Sovereign wanted to leave the Abyss.

Not only that, but he was attempting to master the power of trade and wealth-related laws.

The Abyssal Sovereigns, despite their great power, were ultimately bound to the Abyss itself.

They could lord over their own planes, but if their true bodies left the Abyss, they would inevitably be hunted down and killed by the Great Gods of other races.

Over the endless ages, there had been many Abyssal Sovereigns who had abandoned the Abyss and attempted to ascend as true deities.

Phantom Sovereign did not want to strengthen the 69th Abyssal Plane—in fact, he was deliberately weakening it. This clearly meant he was no longer planning to remain an Abyssal Sovereign. With his vast and terrifying network of connections, if he could truly master the Laws of Wealth and Trade, he might actually succeed in leaving the Abyss and ascending as a true god. 

Time passed quickly, and months went by. During this period, more and more high-ranking Abyssal demons arrived in Phantom City. 

One morning, the invitation letter Rosen had left on the table of his inn room suddenly ignited on its own. The flames formed a portal—stepping through it, Rosen arrived at the slave auction hall of Phantom City. 

His seat was inside an exquisite private booth, decorated with unimaginable luxury. Clearly, the auction venue had undergone a massive transformation. With how stingy and greedy Phantom Sovereign was, how could he be willing to spend money on something like this? 

With this doubt in mind, Rosen sat down on a sofa crafted from unicorn fur and reached for an auction catalog on the nearby wine table. Opening the first page, he glanced over it and instantly drew a sharp breath in shock. The first auction item was actually a true divine-blooded Succubus, a direct descendant of Phantom Sovereign, grown to Sequence 1! 

Although Phantom Sovereign's offspring were scattered throughout the 69th Abyssal Plane, and he frequently sold his children as slaves across the Main World, those he sold were never true divine-blooded descendants—because they had not inherited the bloodline of an Abyssal Sovereign. 

But the true divine-blooded ones? They had always been the foundation of Phantom Sovereign's rule over the 69th Abyssal Plane. 

Rosen continued flipping through the auction catalog. Every single auction item was a divine-blooded descendant. A total of seventeen divine-blooded Succubi—the weakest at Sequence 3, the strongest at Sequence 1—all listed with starting bids and sent to auction. 

Moreover, in the detailed description of each auction item, a special note was added: these divine-blooded Succubi possessed extraordinary supernatural sequences that could significantly increase the chances of True Gods conceiving divine offspring. This further inflated their value. 

Rosen narrowed his eyes in thought. Once the battle over the new Abyssal plane ended, Phantom Sovereign might be planning to leave the Abyss entirely. In fact, it was highly likely that he would abandon the Succubus race altogether, completely severing all ties with the Abyssal World. At that point, he would reinvent himself—and the Main World might suddenly gain a new True God. 

Thus, this time, Phantom Sovereign was planning to sell off every last trace of his Abyss-related assets. 

At that moment, in the dark and eerie auction hall, a tall, well-dressed human in a black tailcoat appeared out of nowhere. His sharp gaze, filled with the shrewdness of a merchant, swept over the hall as if he could see through the private booths and observe every guest inside. 

"I am the God of Commerce. Welcome, everyone, to the Myriad Races Auction, personally hosted by me." 

The man's voice rang out clearly. "This is the second venue of the Myriad Races Auction. Across the Main World, a total of nine venues are conducting auctions simultaneously. The auction will officially begin in one hour." 

At the same time, eight additional auction catalogs appeared on the wine table in Rosen's booth. He casually picked one up and began flipping through it. Not long after, he had scanned through all nine catalogs. 

Each of the nine venues specialized in different auction items. 

Phantom City's second venue, where Rosen was, focused on auctioning slaves. The first venue auctioned rare and priceless treasures of immense value to both gods and True Gods. 

The remaining seven auction venues each specialized in different unique commodities. Some were located in the Dragon Realm, some in the Celestial Realm, others in the Mechanoid Territories, and even one in the Eternal Continent. The nine auction venues were spread across the nine most powerful factions of the Main World. 

For the past few months, Rosen had been busy gathering intelligence on the 100th layer of the Abyss. Meanwhile, the AI lifeform within his Godslayer Eye had continued collecting information across various networks. Yet, despite all its efforts, there had been no trace of the Myriad Races Auction. This suggested that the auction had only been revealed to the public today. 

Phantom Sovereign had done an excellent job keeping it a secret. It seemed he was genuinely determined to claim the Law of Commerce. 

The so-called God of Commerce on stage was likely Phantom Sovereign's new identity for the future. 

But after thoroughly going through all nine auction catalogs, Rosen found no mention of entry qualifications for the newly formed Abyssal layer. 

Could it be that the entry qualifications would only be auctioned after the Myriad Races Auction concluded? Given that the nine venues would likely hold synchronized auctions, he should be able to bid on other venues' items from the second auction hall. Perhaps entry qualifications were something only Abyssal demons needed, so they hadn't been included in the catalog? 

With these doubts in mind, Rosen's Bronze Dragon avatar in the Mysterious Study Room began painting a prophecy. 

Rosen disliked frequently relying on prophetic paintings. Knowing the future at all times wasn't necessarily a good thing. He only used them when he sensed danger or needed insight into upcoming events. Otherwise, if he depended on them for every little decision, not only would it take away the thrill of the unknown, but he might even misinterpret a vision and end up leading himself into a trap. The future should always be a reference, not an absolute guide. 

As he examined the contents of the prophetic painting, Rosen suddenly regretted not checking earlier. 

He had assumed that obtaining entry through Phantom Sovereign would be the safest and least troublesome option. But ironically, it was the exact opposite—this time, Phantom Sovereign wasn't planning to sell entry qualifications at all. 

Because all the entry qualifications had already been sold to the other Abyssal Sovereigns. 

Phantom Sovereign had fully prepared to sever ties with the Abyss and become the God of Commerce. He had already sold off all his interests in the 69th Abyssal layer and the new Abyssal plane. In the prophetic painting, Phantom Sovereign had successfully ascended as the God of Commerce. 

The Main World had produced Gods of Wealth before, but never a God of Commerce. 

Becoming the God of Commerce and mastering the Law of Trade required the ability to host large-scale divine-level transactions. However, at higher tiers, both treasures and resources became increasingly rare. 

For deities, trade was usually limited to small-scale bartering. No deity would willingly exchange high-value treasures at a commercial establishment in return for divine crystals. Because of this, trade organizations couldn't collect enough divine-tier goods to hold large-scale transactions at a True God level—thus, they were never able to establish control over the divine-level Law of Commerce. 

No wonder Phantom Sovereign had been desperately hoarding wealth—he had personally gathered a significant number of divine-tier auction items. Then, using his extensive network, he had organized the Myriad Races Auction. While in the Abyss, the Abyssal Sovereigns wouldn't easily venture into other layers, meaning that most of the attendees in the Abyss were Sequence 1 beings hoping to enter the new plane. However, at the other auction venues, the attendees were likely all demigods and True Gods. 

Phantom Sovereign's goal of becoming the God of Commerce wasn't an issue—but as the God of Commerce, he was now interfering with Rosen's own plans.

In truth, the Main World already had trading channels for divine-tier transactions. 

The Main God Temple was the largest trading network in the entire Main World.

However, the Main God Temple charged service fees. Given the astronomical value of divine and True God-tier treasures, few deities were willing to pay the extra costs. As a result, most divine-tier transactions occurred through private negotiations after initial contact was made via the Main God Temple. 

That being said, for those below the level of deities, the Main God Temple was the preferred platform for long-distance trade between different races in the Main World. 

Because of the Main God Temple, Rosen had made an absolute fortune over the years. 

Without it, how else could he have sold thousands of Sequence 3 angel portraits? Where would he have gotten the money and materials? The resources he found through treasure hunting were barely enough to sustain the World Tree, but the Main God Temple was his greatest source of wealth. 

Once Phantom Sovereign became the God of Commerce, he would inevitably control cross-racial trade across the Main World. 

If he set lower transaction fees than the Main God Temple, who would still use the temple for trading? 

If Phantom Sovereign wanted to become the God of Wealth, Rosen wouldn't interfere, as that didn't threaten his interests. 

But becoming the God of Commerce? That was something that depended on whether Rosen agreed or not. 

Almost instantly, all the major fate-bound figures in the Main World received an announcement from the Main God Network. 

The announcement had three key points: first, all transactions conducted through the Main God Temple by Sequence 1 and above would be exempt from service fees; second, transaction fees for demigod-level trades would be reduced; and third, participants could only choose between the Main God Temple or the Myriad Races Auction, not both. 

Anyone with a sharp mind immediately realized two things. 

First, the Main God Network and the Main God Temple, which had remained masterless and automatically operated for countless years, now had an owner. 

Second, whoever controlled the Main God Network was now directly targeting the Myriad Races Auction to prevent the birth of the God of Commerce. 

Even if the God of Commerce did come into being, at most, he would only facilitate trade below the divine level. 

If Phantom Sovereign had the ability to sustain long-term deity-level transactions, then this wouldn't have been a mere Myriad Races Auction—it would have been the Myriad Races Trade Exchange. But because divine-tier resources and treasures were too rare, an auction was the only viable model, not open trade between various deities and True Gods. 

On the other hand, with transaction fees eliminated, the Main God Temple provided a far superior platform for divine-tier trade. 

Unlike the Main God Temple, the God of Commerce couldn't afford to remove transaction fees—because the Law of Commerce itself wouldn't allow prolonged loss-making transactions. 

As a result, deities and True Gods who had no connection to Phantom Sovereign, as well as those who hadn't even heard of the Myriad Races Auction, almost immediately chose the Main God Network. Many had already entered the Main God Temple to test out the new trading conditions. 

Meanwhile, those deities and True Gods who had already entered the Myriad Races Auction began leaving in droves. 

Forced to choose between the two, they naturally preferred the Main God Temple. 

At that moment, standing atop the auction stage, Phantom Sovereign had no idea what had just happened. He only knew that the deities and True Gods he had invited to participate—those who were meant to help him grasp the Law of Commerce—were inexplicably withdrawing in large numbers. 

Thanks to his vast network, Phantom Sovereign quickly figured out what was going on. 

He had been just one step away from mastering the Law of Commerce and ascending as a True God, only to have the path cut off at the final moment. 

He wished he could rip apart the mastermind behind the Main God Network, but there was nothing he could do. 

The Main God Network originated from an ancient existence on the level of Great True Gods. In fact, it was entirely possible that the current controller of the Main God Network was a Great True God. 

Phantom Sovereign could only swallow his fury and resign himself to staying in the Abyss as a mere Abyssal Sovereign.