After Huo Yuhao saw Long Qiu'er and the Snow Emperor out of the hotel, Lan Xuanyu, who had been standing by the counter at some unknown point, stared at him with an unfriendly gaze.
"Student Huo Yuhao," Lan Xuanyu spoke, his voice thick with a warning tone, "I don't think I need to remind you that during the competition, it's best not to get too close to people of unknown origin. We wouldn't want to leak Shrek Academy's secrets or cause unnecessary misunderstandings..."
"Oh..." Huo Yuhao tilted his head slightly, looking at Lan Xuanyu as if he didn't quite understand. "But I'd like to ask—since when is it your turn to butt into my business? Are you running out here to bark before your injuries have even healed?"
"You..." Lan Xuanyu suppressed the urge to rush forward and risk his life against Huo Yuhao, instead asking the thing he wanted to know most.
"Who was that golden-haired girl!?"
Huo Yuhao treated him like a stray dog on the side of the road and ignored him, walking straight past Lan Xuanyu.
Lan Xuanyu subconsciously tried to dodge, but couldn't completely avoid him. Huo Yuhao's shoulder brushed against his chest, leaving a burning pain.
Watching Huo Yuhao's departing back, Lan Xuanyu bit his teeth in resentment.
...Endure, I must endure! Wait until I get the true Dragon God bloodline, then I'll settle the score with him!
...
Night fell.
After Huo Yuhao's group finished dinner, they took their invitations from the Starlight Auction House and arrived at the venue.
Wang Dong seemed to be having another "episode." Just like the last auction, he refused to touch a soul tool no matter what. This was despite the fact that he used to study in the Soul Tool Department, even if he did sleep through the entire thing...
So, the extra invitation fell into Lan Xuanyu's hands.
Qing Ya, dressed in a long black dress, was currently waiting at the entrance. Her slender figure looked exceptionally mature and charming under the night lights, and her gaze toward the Shrek party was filled with gentleness.
Xu Sanshi's eyes went wide. He lowered his voice and said to Bei Bei beside him, "Little Bei, doesn't she have a very mature charm?"
Bei Bei pushed Xu Sanshi away with a look of disgust. "Aren't you ashamed? Nannan is right here."
"Uh..." Xu Sanshi shot a fearful look at Jiang Nannan, but Jiang Nannan acted as if nothing had happened, casually walking with the main group.
Qing Ya walked forward a few steps to greet them, her face full of joy. "Welcome, honored guests!"
Wang Yan met her eyes and nodded with a slight smile. "Thank you for your hard work, Auctioneer Qing Ya."
Qing Ya gave Wang Yan a sweet smile. "My task today is to host the honored guests of Shrek Academy. Everyone, please follow me."
As she spoke, she nodded to Wang Yan again and led the way with a graceful, swaying gait.
Wang Yan didn't know what was happening, but looking at Qing Ya's hourglass figure, a feeling he had never experienced before lingered in his heart.
Under Qing Ya's lead, they continued inward. Guided by two young girls in long golden dresses, they passed through a pure white corridor and arrived at an extremely luxurious white room, estimated to be over two hundred square meters.
Two huge sapphire velvet sofas were placed on the left and right. On the jade table in front of them were various drinks, alcohol, and food. Even just looking at the fruit, Huo Yuhao hadn't seen a single one of them before.
Luckily I didn't eat dinner... Huo Yuhao wasn't polite; he grabbed the drinks and food on the table and began devouring them.
He had already condensed a blood essence vortex, and the food energy he consumed daily was massive. Since the offerings at a top-tier auction were undoubtedly free, it would be a waste not to eat.
After drinking a bottle of purple-blue juice he didn't recognize, Huo Yuhao actually felt full, but the deep blue blood essence vortex in his chest spun slightly, instantly digesting the energy.
Watching the feasting Huo Yuhao, Lan Xuanyu snorted with disdain, though he could only look at the delicious food with worry.
If he still had the Dragon God bloodline, he certainly wouldn't let this free food go to waste, but now...
Huo Yuhao continued his meal while Qing Ya and the two golden-dressed girls explained the rules and turned on the projection screen.
Zhang Lexuan handed a handkerchief to Huo Yuhao, who had already cleared half the table, and said with a hint of disgust, "No wonder you didn't eat dinner..."
"Ahem, these things are just a drop in the bucket compared to what's being auctioned..."
...
"Are you ready?"
Xu Jiawei stood nearby, looking at his younger sister who was already fully dressed, and asked in a low voice.
Xu Jiujiu gave a confident smile. "Of course, Brother. Don't worry!"
"Hmm... in terms of talent, the grandson of the Illustrious Virtue Hall Master, Xiao Hongchen, might not be equal to Huo Yuhao, but the pride in his personality is his greatest weakness! He certainly won't give up any path to becoming stronger."
Xu Jiawei had a smile of absolute control on his face. "Therefore, a 100,000 Year Soul Ring, a soul bone, or even a second martial soul—there is no way he will pass them up..."
Xu Jiujiu shook her head with a wry smile. "Brother, I've noticed that since you became Emperor, you've become more and more wicked..."
Xu Jiawei let out a heavy breath. "The situation forces my hand... I've already sent people to the Mingdu Mountains to transfer military power. Take your time; you must keep the Dai family members stalled here."
Xu Jiujiu nodded vigorously. "Don't worry, Brother!"
...
At that moment, the entire room was flooded with an extremely soft golden light. The soul tool screen became clear, and a wide platform appeared before everyone's eyes. In the center of the platform, a young girl in a long red dress walked out from a shimmering golden light.
The luxurious red dress draped over her snowy skin, highlighting her slender figure and giving her a perfect appearance. However, there was no auction stand or item on her platform yet.
Huo Yuhao rarely saw Xu Jiujiu in auctioneer clothing. Her current appearance was indeed different from the Star Net Princess persona seen in public; her smile was more sincere, showing she truly enjoyed her work.
"So beautiful..."
Xu Sanshi's voice was small, but it was still heard by those nearby.
Even the usually harmonious He Caitou moved his seat a bit further away from Xu Sanshi. Huo Yuhao gave Xu Sanshi a disgusted look—did this guy really have to act like he'd never seen a woman before every single day?
Realizing his gaffe, Xu Sanshi gave a careless chuckle and then sat upright with a straight face. This thick-skinned behavior was shameless to the extreme.
"Hello, honored guests. I am today's auctioneer, Jiujiu. It is my honor to host this top-tier auction. Your time is precious, so our auction begins now. Next, honored guests, please appreciate today's first item."
She gave a sweet smile, performed a complex yet elegant curtsy, and made an inviting gesture.
The scene shifted, and the entire wall-sized soul tool screen revealed an item.
A camera broadcast? Interesting... the soul tool technology from the Illustrious Virtue Hall side shouldn't be underestimated.
Huo Yuhao tapped his chin. Should I find time to visit the Sun Moon Empire?
"An 8th-tier melee soul tool from Illustrious Virtue Hall, the Tyrant Tiger Soul-Refining Blade... viewing time is five minutes."
Even the well-traveled Zhang Lexuan couldn't help but gasp. Starting with an 8th-tier! It seemed the Star Net Imperial Family was pulling out all the stops.
Illustrious Virtue Hall, the highest authority in Sun Moon Empire soul tool research, was already a synonym for quality in this era.
As if thinking of something, Lan Xuanyu gave a veiled look at Huo Yuhao's calm profile.
In his own era, the Tang Sect was able to become the sole power dominating Federation technology. It was no exaggeration to say it was all thanks to Huo Yuhao; it was he who laid the technological foundation that allowed the Tang Sect to dominate for eternity.
It wasn't until he came to this era that Lan Xuanyu truly understood how important Huo Yuhao was to the Tang family and the Tang Sect.
When the Grand Duke was alive, one didn't notice anything unusual; once he was gone, none could compare.
Lan Xuanyu clenched his fists with some resentment. Our Tang Sect, just what will it become...
Xu Jiujiu's elegant and pleasant voice rang out, "The Tyrant Tiger Soul-Refining Blade, starting price 600,000 gold soul coins, with each bid no less than 5,000. The bidding starts now. If no one raises the bid within one minute, the item is sold."
Ultimately, Student Dai Yueheng, sitting in the Star Net National Academy room, steeled his heart and bought the Tyrant Tiger Soul-Refining Blade for 1,650,000 gold soul coins.
The auction continued.
Under He Caitou's strong suggestion, Wang Yan bought the second item—twelve stationary soul tool shells. After that, Shrek didn't make another move. After all, they hadn't brought much money this time, and Shrek City didn't provide them with that much for squandering.
Surprisingly, all the soul tools in this auction were products of Illustrious Virtue Hall. It was hard to say whether Illustrious Virtue Hall's products were just that well-guaranteed or if the Sun Moon Empire's black market was simply too rampant.
Suddenly, Huo Yuhao felt that Emperor Xu Jiawei was not as simple as he had imagined.
He was using this method to shift focus, telling the Sun Moon Empire: If I can get Illustrious Virtue Hall products today, I can naturally get the heads of Illustrious Virtue Hall soul tool engineers tomorrow...
Shifting conflict to the enemy's interior—truly worthy of an Emperor!
Just as Huo Yuhao guessed, in the room where Xiao Hongchen and the others were, the leader, Elder Ma, was so angry he nearly threw his pipe.
In enemy territory, watching them use things smuggled from their own country's innovation center, while their own side had to follow behind and buy them back...
The feeling was simply too much.
Even that "chicken rib" Heaven-Opening Earth-Splitting Cannon was something they had to pay for, holding their noses as they chased it back for a price of seven million gold soul coins.
This made Huo Yuhao sincerely sigh that being rich was great!
Although he had some wealth, he didn't have that much, unless he ran off to become the Prince Consort for the Star Net Imperial Family...
When Princess Jiujiu's beautiful silhouette appeared on the big screen for the eighth time, her voice was even more melodious than before, carrying a hint of low-pitched allure.
"The next two items will be today's highlights. I believe all our guests will be interested. Make sure to seize the opportunity. Some good things are rarely seen—you might not even find a second one on the continent. For example, our eighth item. It is once again a soul bone, but it is unique. Please look."
With a flash of light, an enlarged left arm soul bone appeared on the soul tool screen.
The entire thing was emerald green, with an emerald glow flowing and undulating over it as if it contained liquid emerald inside.
Because it was magnified many times, its strangeness was even more apparent. On the emerald surface of the arm, there seemed to be tiny, individual crystal bodies, crystal clear, as if carved from gemstones.
In terms of appearance alone, it was even more dazzling than the Golden Radiance Left Arm Bone that Lan Xuanyu had traded to Wang Dong.
Huo Yuhao froze. "Huh?"
Inside his Sea of Consciousness, the Ice Emperor's roar also rang out.
"Bastard!"
Xu Jiujiu's rhythmic voice was not only pleasant but captivating, naturally drawing everyone's spirit into her description.
Increasing the purity of a Soul Master's ice attribute, greatly boosting left arm strength, and the solidified Ice Explosion technique—these were the three "merits" of this Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone.
"...As long as you are an Ice-attribute Soul Master, you will never regret owning it. Now, I will give our guests ten minutes to appreciate it."
After saying so much in one breath, Princess Jiujiu's voice faded, leaving everyone in a bit of a daze.
Even the usually cold-as-snow Ling Luochen had a flushed face, staring intently at the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone with her fists clenched.
Lan Xuanyu scoffed in his heart. Just an Ice Explosion, that's all. Back when Teacher Nana taught me water element application, she used Ice Explosion, and I can do it too. These guys actually need to waste a soul bone slot for it...
It wasn't even a rare soul skill. Before Xiuxiu's martial soul evolved into the Deep Blue Ice-Devouring Dragon, her Demon Spirit Great White Shark martial soul already had this soul skill. Was there really a need to be this excited?
Lan Xuanyu, naturally, had no intention of "appreciating" the soul bone. Seeing the object made him think of the person; he inevitably thought of his beloved wife, Bai Xiuxiu...
He had to become stronger so he could go to the dangerous ocean and reunite with Xiuxiu.
Meanwhile, inside the booth for the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Tool Engineer Academy...
Meng Hongchen had Xiao Hongchen in a chokehold, roaring without a hint of ladylike grace, "Buy it! Buy it!"
Xiao Hongchen reached out, unable to break free from Meng Hongchen's force, letting out wails for help to the people around them, but in the end, no one was willing to pay him any mind...
Elder Ma shook his head with a wry smile. "Little Meng, you should understand what our goal is this time. Stop fighting with your brother; I will do my best to bid for it for you."
Meng Hongchen released her brother, who was nearly strangled to death, and jumped in front of Elder Ma. "I really need this, please, Elder Ma! No matter how much it costs, I'll have Grandfather make up for it when we get back!"
...
"Though I might not necessarily be able to use it, it should be very useful for the Snow Emperor, right?"
At Huo Yuhao's words, the Ice Emperor was genuinely surprised.
"You can actually still think of the Snow Emperor! Yuhao, you aren't..."
Inside the Sea of Consciousness, Huo Yuhao made a "stop" gesture. "Stop, stop, don't overthink it. We are allies now; it's only right to help each other. Then it's settled—I'll go talk to the Star Net side."