"Speaking of which..." Huo Yuhao suddenly thought of something. He asked the Ice Emperor within his Sea of Consciousness: "Does the Snow Emperor not know the Ice Explosion soul skill either?"
The Ice Emperor shook her head decisively and gave a bitter smile. "In the dark, fate's providence maintains a balance. If the Snow Emperor knew Ice Explosion, her 'Great Coldness Without Snow' technique would truly be invincible. Even the position of head of the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts wouldn't have fallen to Di Tian."
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but frown.
Fate, balance...
Balancing what? Preventing soul beasts from becoming too powerful? Or preventing any soul beast other than the Dragon Clan...
Huo Yuhao suddenly understood. Combining this with the "glorious" deeds of that Dragon God, it wasn't hard to guess why the Snow Emperor didn't know Ice Explosion.
A light flashed in his eyes, and a mental thought accurately landed in Xu Jiujiu's mind.
The spiritual power of the Spirit Abyss Realm was enough to ignore the thick walls. Huo Yuhao had already fully conveyed his intentions to Xu Jiujiu.
A flicker of shock crossed her eyes. She subconsciously glanced toward the private booth where Shrek Academy was located, but her excellent upbringing prevented her from losing her composure; she simply made a gesture to the people beside her.
In less than a minute, Princess Jiujiu's voice rang out again from the large screen: "Since this auction item is so precious, the auction house has decided to extend the viewing time by another twenty minutes to allow our distinguished guests to consider carefully."
A price exceeding ten million was no longer something Wang Yan could decide, so Zhang Lexuan was left to make the call.
After careful consideration, Zhang Lexuan spoke to the longingly expectant Ling Luochen and Huo Yuhao: "There is only one soul bone, but this soul bone is more compatible with Yuhao's second martial soul. Therefore, I intend to bid for this soul bone and give it to Yuhao to absorb."
Zhang Lexuan's prestige among the inner court disciples was unmatched. Although Ling Luochen could not hide her disappointment, she still nodded in agreement: "I understand."
But at that moment, Huo Yuhao spoke up. "No, there's a bit of a problem with this soul bone. I expect the person in charge will be coming over in a moment."
Qing Ya's delicate brows furrowed slightly. She said, "Guest, that is impossible. Every item in our auction house undergoes strict inspection and testing. There will absolutely be no problems. Which item are you saying has a problem?"
Huo Yuhao smiled. "It's this Ice Jade Scorpion left arm bone."
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Qing Ya was startled. After exchanging glances with the two girls in gold dresses, she walked over and opened the door.
"Your Highness!"
The person who entered was the Starlight Auction House's chief auctioneer, Princess Jiujiu, wearing a long red dress.
Seeing her, everyone couldn't help but stand up. Her status as a princess was there, and this was the Star Net Empire. Naturally, everyone had to show proper respect.
Seeing her up close, the princess's beauty was even more staggering. Her nearly perfect, charming face gave everyone a sense of dizziness—especially Xu Sanshi, whose breathing suddenly became rapid. He even glanced at Jiang Nannan from time to time, as if making a comparison.
Xu Jiujiu didn't have time for pleasantries. After bowing slightly to the crowd, she looked at Huo Yuhao.
"Yuhao, is what you said true?"
...Fine, she really did come looking for Huo Yuhao. For some reason, they weren't even surprised anymore.
Huo Yuhao nodded and turned to look at the Shrek group. "Teacher Lexuan, Teacher Wang, this is my personal action and has nothing to do with Shrek. Please excuse me for a moment."
He walked straight over. "Princess Jiujiu, if it's convenient, let's chat privately."
Xu Jiujiu was more than happy to have some time alone with Huo Yuhao, so she quickly left with him.
Lan Xuanyu gave a lukewarm snort, his face full of disdain. "What a guy with no sense of collectivism."
Ma Xiaotao cold-snorted, "What does that have to do with you?!"
Lan Xuanyu, refusing to be outdone, stood up. "What? People aren't allowed to speak anymore?"
Seeing the tension rising between the two sides, Wang Yan quickly stood between them to separate them. "Alright, alright, both of you quiet down. There are still outsiders here."
...
Inside VIP Room No. 1.
Xu Jiujiu dangled her purple high heels from her toes, murmuring to herself: "So that's how it is. This is the pride of the Ice Jade Scorpion clan—it can only be absorbed by a soul master with Ultimate Ice..."
The Star Net royalty didn't know exactly what his second martial soul was, only that it had Water and Lightning attributes, so Xu Jiujiu was likely judging whether his words were trustworthy.
Huo Yuhao wasn't in a hurry; he knew he could offer a high price later anyway.
Checking the time on the wall, there were nearly ten minutes left—enough time. Xu Jiujiu's beautiful face wore an intriguing smile. "So, little brother Yuhao, you want this soul bone? Have you considered that by doing this, aren't you telling me your second martial soul is Ultimate Ice?"
Huo Yuhao shrugged indifferently. "Doesn't this also prove that the Empire's investment in us, mother and son, is worth it?"
Sorry, but it's not just the Ultimate Ice attribute.
Xu Jiujiu gazed calmly at Huo Yuhao. "Fine! I believe you. However, if I give the soul bone directly to you, the Empire might lose tens of millions in assets. You know the national treasury isn't that abundant right now."
Huo Yuhao reached into his belt and pulled out a box made of cold jade, pushing it toward Xu Jiujiu. "That's why I plan to exchange something with the Empire. For example, this."
Xu Jiujiu opened the box skeptically. A surging chill rushed toward her. Inside was a blue-and-white left leg bone.
In terms of appearance alone, this left leg bone wasn't as good as the Ice Jade Scorpion left arm bone, but the chill upon it was mixed with the whistling sound of wind.
"This is..."
"A 50,000-year-old Gale Snow Leopard left leg bone. Its absorption restrictions aren't that large. Even you, Princess, whose attributes don't quite match, can absorb this soul bone."
Huo Yuhao continued: "When it comes to identifying treasures, the Princess is an expert. I don't need to say much. In terms of rarity, it's certainly not as good as the Ice Jade Scorpion left arm bone, but in terms of practicality, it's definitely stronger."
Xu Jiujiu nodded silently, not prying into how he came across such a high-quality soul bone.
Geniuses all have their secrets. The best way to maintain a relationship is to not over-investigate someone's privacy; Xu Jiujiu knew this well.
Closing the cold jade box, Xu Jiujiu said solemnly: "Fine, I can make the call on this deal. Once the auction ends, the Ice Jade Scorpion left arm bone will be delivered to your hands. We will trade item for item."
The corners of Huo Yuhao's mouth curled into a satisfied arc. He tucked away the box. "The Princess is indeed generous. However, please do not go through Shrek's channels."
"Oh..." Xu Jiujiu looked at Huo Yuhao's blue eyes with interest. "It seems Shrek isn't as great as the legends say, if they've pushed a great genius like you to the point of being unwilling to stay."
Huo Yuhao just smiled and didn't reply. He stood up. "The Princess still needs to continue hosting the auction. I won't disturb you further. Farewell."
Xu Jiujiu gave a soft laugh. "The final auction item can be said to be unprecedented, and likely never to be seen again. Little brother Yuhao can look forward to it."
Huo Yuhao grew interested. "Oh? Then can the Princess give me a spoiler as to what it is?"
Xu Jiujiu just smiled and shook her head. "It might not be as useful for a great genius like brother Yuhao. If brother Yuhao is willing, you can also participate in the bidding. Of course, we'll still accept the soul bone as payment."
"Haha, then I'll look forward to it."
By the time Huo Yuhao returned to the room, the auction had already begun.
The starting price for the Ice Jade Scorpion left arm bone was as high as twenty million gold soul coins, with each bid increase no less than one hundred thousand. Such a high price truly left Meng Hongchen a bit dazed.
She gritted her teeth and followed for several rounds, and the price of this soul bone soared to forty million...
The figure of exactly forty million gold soul coins appeared vividly on the soul tool screen, causing Meng Hongchen to instantly lose heart. She gritted her teeth unwillingly, grabbed a nearby throw pillow, and punched it hard several times.
Clearly, the figure of forty million had exceeded the psychological price point of most people, as well as the actual value of this soul bone.
Xiao Hongchen couldn't bear to see his sister so depressed. He stroked her long burgundy hair. "Just endure it. Let's wait for that final auction item."
After a minute passed, the deal was closed.
"Eldest Senior Sister." Ling Luochen took the initiative to speak, a rare occurrence. Her expression was clearly one of reluctance.
To say Ling Luochen wasn't tempted by the Ice Explosion soul skill would be impossible.
Left with no choice, Huo Yuhao had to tell Ling Luochen about the characteristics of the Ice Jade Scorpion clan and inform her of the Starlight Auction House's "left-hand to right-hand" maneuvering.
Ling Luochen was actually quite open-minded. Her gaze toward Huo Yuhao softened considerably. "I shouldn't force this. It's just that if you have time, we can cultivate together a few times."
Hearing this, not only Ma Xiaotao, but even Zhang Lexuan's eyes darkened several shades.
You, the "thick-browed and big-eyed" Ling Luochen—you were the one who said I was an old cow eating tender grass, and now you're also rushing to find Yuhao?!
How shameless!
Before Huo Yuhao could say anything, golden light emerged from the soul tool screen. The scene changed again, and Xu Jiujiu's elegant and noble figure once again appeared before everyone's eyes.
At the same time, Xu Jiujiu had changed into an even more elegant golden gown. Her long purple hair fell gracefully, contrasting with her fair and delicate skin, making her look even more charming.
As a top-tier auctioneer, this princess truly knew how to grasp people's hearts! With just a change of outfit, she had everyone anticipating the next item.
Qing Ya looked at Xu Jiujiu with admiration. "Xu Jiujiu is the only Gold-level auctioneer in our auction house. The requirement for a Gold-level auctioneer is that an item worth more than a hundred million gold soul coins appears in their auction."
"What?!"
"A hundred million!!"
In other words... for the next auction, a value exceeding a hundred million was a certainty!
Even the usually calm Lan Xuanyu couldn't help but blurt out the question.
In his era, these gold and silver coins no longer existed; they used standardized paper Federal Coins.
But one could imagine that solid gold soul coins were definitely worth much more than Federal Coins...
Even in his time, a hundred million was not a small amount. In Lan Xuanyu's memory, only Tang Wulin (when he was still Tang Le) would have a turnover exceeding a hundred million during his concerts. At other times, such astronomical prices were rare.
This made Lan Xuanyu curious about what this thing actually was... after all, the history he studied didn't perfectly record all of Huo Yuhao's experiences.
"Distinguished guests have surely noticed that Jiujiu's attire is a mark of respect for this item. Frankly, even I am exceptionally nervous right now. In a sense, this item can no longer be measured by money."
Xu Jiujiu placed her hand over her high chest. Her tone carried a bit more temptation, a bit more seriousness and solemnity.
In reality, those who could come to the Starlight Auction House VIP hall were all major figures with significant backgrounds. Among them were many well-informed people, and the Starlight Auction House had leaked some information beforehand to allow buyers to bring enough money.
Some among them knew more or less about the origin of this final item, such as those from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy.
Xu Jiujiu continued: "Everyone must have been looking forward to the mysterious veil of the grand finale item. Please look, everyone!"
As she spoke, Xu Jiujiu moved with lotus-like steps to the center of the auction stage. She reached out, and suddenly, a white tray appeared in her hand.
On the tray was a wooden stand, inlaid with at least a hundred various colored gemstones.
On this small wooden stand, a cluster of ice-blue beads fluctuated slightly, faintly taking the shape of a turtle.
"I believe everyone will be puzzled seeing this soul tool. In fact, the focus is not the soul tool, but this ice-blue bead."
"Whether you bid for this item or not, everyone here today is blessed with good fortune. Because the bead you see before your eyes is a 100,000-year-old Soul Beast that, upon reaching its bottleneck, chose to cultivate into human form. During the transformation process, it was captured by a powerful master and imprisoned within a Rank 9 soul tool, the Sealing God Altar."
"In other words, this is the unformed embryo of a soul beast during its human cultivation. Such a sight—not to mention you all—I dare say that in our entire Douluo Continent, there are likely very few who have seen it."
Hearing Princess Jiujiu say this, the entire room fell silent. Including Zhang Lexuan, everyone's eyes showed looks of horror.
Although Huo Yuhao's mouth was also wide with shock, frankly, the surprise in his heart wasn't that great; he just agreed that someone's luck was remarkably good.
After all, he had personally seen a soul beast transform—and a peak powerhouse like the Snow Emperor at that—though it was recorded through the passive ability of his Spirit Eye.
"What we have here is a transforming 100,000-year-old Soul Beast embryo! Moreover, the sealing effect contained in this Rank 9 soul tool, the Sealing God Altar, allows this soul beast to be directly absorbed by someone along with its soul ring and soul bone. As long as a soul master can rely on the Sealing God Altar to completely absorb this embryo, it is very likely to provide the absorber with a martial soul! As such, Jiujiu doesn't need to say more about its value, right?"
...Silence.
But the breathing of every person who came to the auction was becoming increasingly heavy.
Even Lan Xuanyu couldn't help but start daydreaming. If he could successfully absorb this embryo, he might also possess twin martial souls, which could temporarily avoid the predicament of him not having the Dragon God bloodline and build a foundation for future development.
What a pity. If Teacher Nana... no, if Mom were also here, he could ask her to step in and seize this treasure...
"Jiujiu can tell everyone that the 100,000-year-old Soul Beast inside is one of the three overlords of the ocean, the king of the near seas—the Demon Spirit Great White Shark! Many of our distinguished guests are powerful soul masters and naturally understand the power of the Demon Spirit Great White Shark species."
"!!!"
An ominous premonition suddenly appeared in Lan Xuanyu's heart, but Xu Jiujiu's next words truly felt like a bolt from the blue.
"Furthermore, it is an extremely rare royalty of the Demon Spirit Great White Shark that mutated with the Ice attribute!"