Jiang Shengyu simply smiled and shrugged, keeping his thoughts to himself. He had his own plan—for the Soul-Devouring Blade, it had to be Jiang Qingtong who won the bid.
Xiao Hongchen had no idea what scheme Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong were up to. He continued bidding, "Three hundred thousand gold soul coins!"
"Four hundred thousand gold soul coins!"
"Five hundred thousand!"
"Six hundred thousand!"
"..."
In the back-and-forth bidding war between Xiao Hongchen and Jiang Qingtong, the price of the Soul-Devouring Blade soared from its starting price of 100,000 gold soul coins to a staggering two million!
Even the auction staff couldn't stay silent any longer and came forward to warn both bidders not to engage in malicious bidding practices—otherwise, they risked being blacklisted.
Just as Xiao Hongchen was about to rise to argue, Jiang Shengyu pressed down on his shoulder and said, "That's enough. Let her have it."
Xiao Hongchen looked at Jiang Shengyu in confusion. But when he saw the calm expression in his eyes, he immediately understood what this was all about. Taking a deep breath, he nodded and said, "Alright! I'll be the bigger man and let it go!"
Since Jiang Shengyu had spoken, Huo Yuhao didn't protest either. Though, in his spiritual sea, Electrolux softly muttered, "Interesting." Perhaps referring to Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong?
With Jiang Qingtong winning the bid for the Soul-Devouring Blade at two million gold soul coins, the auction came to an end. Jiang Shengyu stood up immediately, gesturing for Xiao Hongchen and Huo Yuhao to leave with him.
Out in the corridor, Jiang Qingtong and the Shrek Academy group were waiting—and blocked their path.
"What now? Snatched the item we were after, and now you're here to flaunt it?" Xiao Hongchen strode forward before anyone else could speak, his voice cold.
"I didn't…" Jiang Qingtong's voice was slightly aggrieved. She looked at Xiao Hongchen, nervously fidgeting with the edge of her sleeve.
Even Jiang Shengyu had to admit—his own acting skills really were top-tier sometimes.
Bei Bei stepped forward, about to raise a hand to comfort her, but Jiang Shengyu cut in sharply, "Put your hand down!"
Bei Bei paused awkwardly mid-motion. He furrowed his brows and lowered his hand, clearly at a loss for words.
Jiang Shengyu looked straight at Jiang Qingtong. "You've already won the Soul-Devouring Blade. Why are you still here? Aren't you going to pay?"
"I… I don't have the money." Jiang Qingtong looked pitifully at Jiang Shengyu. "It was too expensive. I couldn't use the academy's funds either… So, brother, could you pay for me?"
"No money?"
Jiang Shengyu acted furious. "Then why the hell did you bid on it?!"
"Because I wanted to give it to you! It was a list-ranked engraving blade from the Sun Moon Empire. Buying it and bringing it back would be a good thing, right? I could afford a few hundred thousand—but he kept raising the price!" she complained, pointing an accusing finger at Xiao Hongchen.
Xiao Hongchen raised both hands, feigning innocence. "How is that my fault?"
"Who else should I blame?" Jiang Qingtong glared at him, then turned back to Jiang Shengyu. "Brother, you wouldn't want your own little sister to be detained by the auction house, would you?"
Looking pitiful and helpless, she stood there clutching her hands. But Jiang Shengyu merely led Xiao Hongchen and Huo Yuhao forward. As they passed the Shrek Academy group, he casually tossed her a card and said, "The password is your birthday. After you pay, there should be plenty left. Keep the rest for yourself."
He didn't even look back—just like a domineering CEO walking off coolly.
Jiang Qingtong caught the card and called out after him with a bright smile, "Brother, you really are the best!"
Wang Yan furrowed his brows as he watched them leave. His eyes lingered on the card in Jiang Qingtong's hand. After a moment of hesitation, he asked, "Qingtong, about your relationship with your brother…"
Jiang Qingtong replied, "Even though my brother said those things the other day, he's always cared for me the most. Ever since our parents passed, he's the only one who's always been there for me. Even if we had disagreements, he'll still support me."
Wang Yan listened and slowly nodded, deep in thought.
Jiang Qingtong used the card to pay for the Soul-Devouring Blade. After two million gold soul coins were deducted, the card's remaining balance still showed ten million.
Everyone from Shrek Academy was stunned by the sheer amount of wealth. Among them, not a single person—not even Bei Bei, the great-grandson of Mu En—could casually produce that much money.
And Jiang Shengyu had just tossed the card over like it was nothing!
"Qingtong… just how rich is your brother, really?" Xiao Xiao asked, dizzy from staring at all those zeroes.
Even Jiang Nannan, usually calm and composed, couldn't hide the shock in her heart. She couldn't help but find it all somewhat laughable. She had to work so hard and sacrifice so much just to obtain a few resources—yet this card casually handed over contained more wealth than she might earn in a lifetime.
Jiang Qingtong thought for a moment and said, "I'm not sure how much exactly, but… he's just very rich."
Mingde Hall's soul tools were sold across the entire continent. Every day, profits poured in—and they simply couldn't spend it fast enough.
Wang Yan said, "The auction house will package the Soul-Devouring Blade and send it to the hotel. It's getting late—let's head back."
Everyone nodded and followed him back.
Meanwhile, Jiang Shengyu and the others were still strolling through the streets after leaving the auction house.
"So?" Xiao Hongchen asked Jiang Shengyu and Huo Yuhao, "How was that? My performance back there—smooth, right?"
Jiang Shengyu sighed helplessly. "If someone didn't know better, they'd think you were the lead actor."
"Don't worry, I won't steal your spotlight! One look at you and I knew you and Qingtong were putting on another show," Xiao Hongchen said with a smile as he patted Jiang Shengyu on the shoulder.
Then he asked, "But this time, the act seemed like it was meant to soften things between you and Qingtong. What's that about?"
"To make the people from Shrek think there's still a chance they could sway me to their side."
Jiang Shengyu explained, "Unless something unexpected happens, once this tournament ends, Shrek Academy will propose an exchange student program with the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy. I suspect they'll request us specifically."
Xiao Hongchen fell silent, digesting the implication. After a long moment, he muttered, "Your brain… really never stops scheming, does it?"
Jiang Shengyu just waved it off with a grin. "Keep it low-key, low-key."
Back at the hotel, Wang Yan personally sought out Xuan Zi and reported what had just occurred at the auction. Then he said, "From the looks of it, even if Qingtong were to abandon the Sun Moon Empire and join Shrek, Jiang Shengyu wouldn't actually sever ties with her. Their sibling bond is clearly stronger than we expected."
"With Qingtong as a bridge," Xuan Zi replied with satisfaction, "our chances of persuading Jiang Shengyu to abandon the dark and embrace the light just got a lot better."
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