After the Lord of the Abyss Awakens - Chapter 52.1

Meanwhile.

Febi slammed his hand on the sofa armrest, his eyes wide with anger. His magic power erupted, crackling like electricity around him.

“Whose cats are they, how dare they take first place!”

The servant fell to his knees in fear and explained, “They are the cats of the magician Yi Xiusi. This person entered four cats in the competition.”

Febi was about to rage, but was confused by “four cats”. He asked in surprise, “He brought four cats by himself?!”

The servant respectfully replied, “It was permitted by King Levin.”

Febi became enraged. He grabbed the servant’s collar and shouted, “So it was Levin’s doing. Is he trying to openly challenge our Jupius family? He dares to compete with us for first place?”

The servant hurriedly said, “This lowly one doesn’t know. Maybe… maybe that’s the case.”

“It must be!”

Febi clenched his fists, his features twisted like a demon as he cursed, “I don’t know how he found helpers, but he’s gotten cocky. He even dares to go against us now. That useless fool needs to be taught a lesson!”

“Yes…”

The servant was at a loss for words.

Febi stared at the four cats below, each in a different pose. A cruel thought crossed his mind, his eyes flashing with murderous intent.

At the same time.

After completing the first round of the competition, the four cats were secretly arguing amongst themselves.

“Buer, you cheated, didn’t you? You stepped on my tail before we even started running.”

Aelioge angrily accused his companion of being cunning, his cat eyes glowing with anger.

The little ragdoll chuckled and waved her paw, saying, “No one said we had to run fairly. Besides, you used magic power. For such a small competition, you actually used magic power. You’re the one who cheated!”

Aelioge’s anger grew. He flicked his tail and said, “The rules didn’t forbid it. What’s wrong with me using it? I could even use my authority!”

Beelzebub next to them snorted and said with a sidelong glance, “How childish. It’s just a small competition, what’s there to argue about?”

Aelioge and Buer turned their heads simultaneously, cursing in their minds that this guy had the nerve to speak after getting a head start.

“You’re the one with the strongest desire to win!”

The three cats engaged in an intense eye battle.

In comparison, Inpos was speechless. These three had all used tricks from the start. Was I the only honest cat?!

But when Inpos turned his head and saw his father’s smile, he felt that everything could be forgiven.

Because at this moment, they were all their father’s pride!

Was there anything more important than making Father happy? No!

The gray cat waved to the young man on the platform. Its intelligent and adorable gesture attracted the affection of many cat lovers in the audience.

“Oh my, it loves its owner so much. I can’t imagine how happy its owner must be to have it.”

Someone couldn’t help but say, “All four are so cute. The little ragdoll is my dream cat…”

The four cats formed their own domain in the arena. Other cats trembled and dared not approach, even though they were larger in size, higher in apparent rank, and looked more fierce, yet they were so wary of the four little ones.

Millard, who was in control of the arena, was stunned for several seconds. However, no matter how he looked, the level displayed above these four cats’ heads was only in the thirties.

He thought to himself, could they have hidden their levels? Well, the rules didn’t specifically state that levels couldn’t be hidden. But still… Could it be an illusion magic? But what kind of illusion magic could deceive his eyes?

The great magician Millard, who had seen and experienced much, prided himself on not being easily surprised. However, today he was truly dumbfounded.

He had never seen such shocking cats before, and there were four of them! And they all belonged to the same owner.

How on earth did their owner raise them?

Millard was utterly perplexed, unable to react for a moment.

Perhaps the only one who didn’t find anything strange was Xiu Si, with his extremely thick filter.

At this moment, Xiu Si deeply regretted one thing.

That was not having a camera! If he could make a camera, he could have recorded the adorable poses of his children.

As a second-best option, it would have been good if he knew image magic.

He was completely unaware that Levin beside him was already dumbfounded, as if his mind had been shocked by a terrifying reality. He couldn’t react for a long time, his eyes wide open, mouth agape, his whole body frozen in place.

Levin’s mind was filled with thoughts like “Ah, could Mr. Yi Xiusi be the number one ranked human? How could he be so close when I thought he was far away? I’m going crazy, really going crazy. Don’t think I’m exaggerating, I really didn’t expect this.” His brain was about to explode, and he couldn’t say a word.

Seeing the foolish look on the silly king’s face, the little black bird in the system box found it amusing and couldn’t resist coming out to play.

If it weren’t for its inherent cognitive shield, Millard down in the arena would have recognized it at a glance as the little bird by the Lord of the Abyss’s side!

The little black bird puffed up its cheeks, perched on Xiu Si’s shoulder, watching the show with its bean-sized eyes.

As soon as it appeared, the light in the arena dimmed a shade, but no one noticed anything unusual.

It chirped, “It’s my first time watching the Abyss Lord’s fights up close!”

When Levin saw it, he again wore an expression as if he had seen a terrible monster.

The cats were already so terrifying, surely the bird must be terrifying too.

Just how many pets did Mr. Yi Xiusi have?

Levin’s mind was in turmoil.

The scene was filled with discussions.

At this point, according to the competition procedure, the host should announce the start of the next round. The venue was an artificial mountain, with success defined as climbing to the top within 3 minutes, with no limit on the number of qualifiers. The rules were very simple.

This time, everyone’s expectations were at their peak.

The result exceeded expectations, with the four cats once again taking a clear first place!

The host’s eyes widened, his mouth agape. No one could clearly see how they had run.

There were level 70, 80, and even 90 experts present, but even with their full concentration and activated skills, they couldn’t discern the cats’ climbing routes, only seeing a few afterimages.

Was this an illusion? It must be an illusion, right? How could they, with their keen eyesight, fail to see the climbing routes of a few small cats?

Everyone looked towards Millard. As a great magician, he should be able to see the truth of the matter.

But Millard was also completely baffled. He clearly couldn’t see the formation of any magic arrays. How could it possibly be some kind of illusion magic?

Although illusion magic wasn’t his field of research, it shouldn’t be so advanced that even he couldn’t see through it.

Millard could only say that these four cats were beyond common sense, truly divine cats.

No, they were cat gods!

Their owner… just who exactly was Mr. Yi Xiusi?

Millard turned his head again, only to see Levin sitting in his chair, hands covering his face, head lowered with downcast eyes, his expression hidden in darkness.

What was going on?

Millard wondered if this was King Levin’s plan. Had he deliberately invited Mr. Yi Xiusi to participate in the competition, intending for Mr. Yi Xiusi’s pet cats to shock everyone?

Wait, wasn’t the purpose of this competition to find the “number one ranked”? Why would you let your own people take first place?

Millard was full of confusion, in reality only a thin membrane away from the truth.

At this moment, the communication space of the four cats was in an uproar.

“I said to keep a low profile, but you all ran so fast. What are you trying to do?”

Aelioge protested strongly.

Beelzebub coldly said, “You have the nerve to say that? You clearly ran the fastest.”

Buer dissented, “That’s right, that’s right. He even used magic power to suppress me. So unfair!”

Aelioge replied matter-of-factly, “I was just afraid other cats might steal first place. Besides, Buer, you used magic power to suppress me first.”

Buer widened her cat eyes, “Ah! You couldn’t possibly have discovered it was me.”

Aelioge: “Hehe.”

The usually silent Inpos couldn’t hold back anymore, “You’re all equally bad. Stop arguing!”

The three cats were slightly stunned and turned to look at Inpos simultaneously.

Inpos pouted and said, “Hmph, the older you get, the more childish you become.”

Excluding the little black and white bird, Inpos, ranked 22nd, was indeed the little brother compared to them.

Being lectured by their little brother.

The three cats fell silent, contemplating. They indeed needed to keep a lower profile and not cause trouble for their father.

Moreover, if things got too exaggerated, even their father might suspect they were hiding their true strength.

They all looked towards Xiu Si on the platform, finding him still wearing that “my children are so amazing” smile.

They were stunned, all thinking the same thing: their gentle and pure father, his eyes once again blinded by his filter. What should they do about this slight unease in their hearts?

The four cats exchanged glances, thinking they really should keep a low profile in the upcoming rounds.

Then came the third round, the fourth round, the fifth round… The host’s voice announcing the results grew more shocked each time.

Although their performance seemed ordinary, they were still in first place!

What kind of owner could raise such amazing cats? It was unbelievable.

The entire venue was in an uproar, many hearts completely melted.

“The little ragdoll is so cute, come to mommy for a hug!”

“That silver-haired one is so cool. Wait, did it just glare at me? Ah, why did my pure gold watch suddenly explode!”

“I’m taking the gray cat home!”

Ordinary citizens and nobles discussed enthusiastically.

However, the high-level experts exchanged glances, thinking, as magical beasts, these cats must be high-level, right? Let alone their strength, their intelligence alone must be at least level 60, maybe even 70?

“What breed of cats are these exactly? They don’t look like powerful magical beast breeds. Could they be an improved breed?”

“… Incredible, are they really cats?”

They had come to watch a casual competition, never expecting to witness such a situation.

A nobleman associated with the military said, “Wait, their owner was specially recommended by King Levin… Could it be that the king deliberately organized this competition?”

“For what purpose?”

Some people couldn’t help but ponder, suspecting that the king might not be as simple as he appeared on the surface, but had ulterior motives.

Someone seemed to realize something, turning their gaze towards Febi’s platform, silently musing, “Could the king be targeting the Jupius family?”

People’s expressions suddenly turned strange. Everyone knew that Febi was the most avid pet lover in the city, and would never miss such a competition.

Could this be a roundabout way of attacking? Did King Levin really have such a scheming mind?

On the other hand, Febi grew increasingly angry, fuming to the point where smoke seemed to be coming out of his head. For the first time in his life, he felt so irritated and furious that he nearly stomped a hole in the floor.

“Who knows where these stray cats came from, how dare they challenge the authority of our Jupius family!”

With ten minutes of rest time before the next round, he turned his gaze to the servant beside him. Gritting his teeth, his eyes vicious, without needing to say much, the servant understood his meaning.

—Don’t let them appear again. Kill them.

The servant immediately accepted the order, arranging it with other subordinates, strictly emphasizing that it must be done without anyone knowing.

“Just make it look like food poisoning, resolve it quickly.”

The man in black nodded immediately, then vanished.

Meanwhile, on the platform.

Levin still hadn’t recovered, his gaze fixed on the ground, occasionally trembling as he stole glances at Xiu Si.

Xiu Si’s expression was calm, looking as if he had merely come to watch the competition, without a trace of abnormality.

That kind of aura or presence of being “number one in the world” couldn’t be seen on him. You would only think he was a person with a gentle demeanor, seemingly easy to get along with and approachable. In fact, wasn’t that true?

But watching the four cats continuously take first place, Levin’s impression grew stronger. In his heart, he was more than 50% certain that Mr. Yi Xiusi was that terrifying existence who had shockingly parachuted into first place in the world.

How else could he raise such… astonishing kittens?

Running a bookstore, fond of studying magic, loving to raise cats, cats mischievous enough to mess with the God of Ranking’s camera, driving the whole world crazy.

All these pieces of information pointed to the person in front of him!

But Levin was also confused, completely at a loss. Should he suddenly go over and ask Yi Xiusi — “Are you the number one ranked human?”

Hey hey, wouldn’t that be too impolite? What if he was hiding in the Great Empire of Oedipus to do magic research, precisely to avoid being disturbed by others? If you abruptly go and expose his identity, how would he view you?

Although Levin didn’t think Mr. Yi Xiusi was the type to get angry over such a thing, but what if? What if that happened to be Mr. Yi Xiusi’s sore spot? He might not do anything to you, but he might just turn and leave.

—I might as well not stay in this Great Empire of Oedipus!

He recalled what the Prime Minister had said about learning to get along with the strong. That’s right, as a king, he should be more diplomatic than anyone else in the country!

Levin’s eyes burned with the fire of determination. He clenched his fists under his sleeves, his expression extremely serious, as if facing a critical moment of life and death.

Perhaps his small movements on the side were too obvious, as Xiu Si curiously glanced in his direction.

Levin instantly froze, cold sweat running down his back.

“Is something wrong?”

Xiu Si looked at him, thinking he might be feeling unwell.

Levin was inwardly panicked, fearing he might expose that he knew the other’s identity. He forced a smile and said, “I’m just too shocked. I never imagined Mr. Yi Xiusi’s children would be so amazing.”

His words hit Xiu Si’s sweet spot. No parent can resist someone praising their children.

Xiu Si was naturally proud. In his view, his children were over eight thousand years old and had always survived in such a terrifying place as the Abyss. What was strange about them being a little different?

If anything, up until now, his children had behaved too ordinarily, which didn’t quite match their age. They were adorable in daily life, but Xiu Si also partly hoped to see his children become more formidable. Well… maybe “formidable” wasn’t the right word.

Of course, on the surface, Xiu Si still had to be modest about his children. He smiled faintly and said, “It’s all the result of their hard work.”