Senior Brother, You're Too Radical

The auction began, but the first items were all miscellaneous goods. It would still be some time before Xue Qinghe's Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud came up.

Mu Yuan was not bored either, casually watching the proceedings in the auction house.

During this time, a girl slave was sold for a high price. Aside from her exceptional beauty, she was also a soul master with decent talent.

Xue Qinghe watched the girl being bought by a noble and shook his head slightly.

"What a pity. This girl could have become a fine soul master. But commoner girls like her, bought by auction houses at a young age, have undergone slave training for too long. Though their awakened talent may be good, they have already lost their souls."

Xue Qinghe picked up the wineglass on the table. "A girl who could have become a soul master has instead become a slave for nobles' pleasure. If I were to govern, I would never allow such waste to occur."

Mu Yuan asked with interest, "What does Senior Brother Qinghe intend to do?"

After taking a sip of fruit wine, Xue Qinghe said, "Select talented commoners, provide them with basic cultivation resources, and train them into soldiers of the empire."

Mu Yuan stroked his chin. "Like Spirit Hall's model?"

Xue Qinghe paused briefly, but quickly recovered and openly admitted, "That's right. I believe Spirit Hall's model is indeed more advanced than the empire's system."

Mu Yuan sighed. "Senior Brother Qinghe, your idea is too radical. If you do that, you will certainly be obstructed by the empire's nobles."

As if asking casually, Xue Qinghe said, "If it truly comes to that, Xiao Yuan, would you be willing to help me?"

Mu Yuan thought for a moment. "Senior Brother Qinghe, have you considered another approach? Let every commoner obtain basic necessities through their own labor. Then commoners' children would not be sold away at such a young age, eliminating the problem at its root. Once they grow up and awaken Soul Power, the empire can subsidize their education."

Xue Qinghe was stunned for two seconds. He pondered Mu Yuan's words for a long time before asking, "Then what about the nobles?"

Mu Yuan said, "The nobles already possess wealth and privileges far beyond those of commoners. Isn't that enough?"

Xue Qinghe shook his head and said to Mu Yuan, "Xiao Yuan, and you called my ideas radical. I merely wanted to cultivate those talented slaves and turn them into a source of strength for the empire. Yet you want to abolish all slavery. Even in Spirit City, that would be impossible. As far as I know, even soul masters born as commoners need to buy commoner slaves to serve them. No one would support your idea."

Mu Yuan sighed as well. "Yes. No one would support me."

A new round of bidding began in the auction house.

Holding a loudspeaker, the host smiled at the bidders. "Next is Lot Number Seven. Like the previous lot, male guests should pay close attention."

As he spoke, the host lifted the covering from the item. It was a massive iron cage divided into left and right sections. On the left was a voluptuous young woman with fair skin, a curvaceous figure, and almost no clothing aside from scraps of cloth covering her vital areas.

Mu Yuan inadvertently glanced at the girl and vaguely felt that she looked familiar.

Looking to the right, he saw a burly man furiously pounding against the iron cage. However, only hoarse sounds came from his throat. He had likely been subjected to some kind of treatment.

Several crisscrossing scars covered the man's face, ruining his appearance, but Mu Yuan could still vaguely make out some familiar features.

"Could they be the siblings we encountered in the Star Dou Great Forest?"

Mu Yuan frowned slightly, uncertain.

The siblings they had encountered that day had been from an ordinary commoner family. The younger sister had an unremarkable face, sallow skin, and was somewhat plump. Yet the female slave before him had a seductive appearance and a fiery figure.

Still, judging by the man's features, he did resemble the older brother of those siblings.

Back then, the siblings had shown them the way and helped Meng Yiran hunt her third soul ring. In return, Mu Yuan had helped the two of them kill a hundred-year soul beast.

He remembered that the siblings had thanked him profusely at the time and said they would repay him in the future.

At that moment, the auction staff began introducing the lot.

"Esteemed guests, the starting bid for this item is one hundred and fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins. Perhaps you are wondering why its starting price is so high. Please take a look."

The auctioneer cracked his whip. The girl in the cage trembled, reacting instinctively as she summoned her Martial Soul. Two pairs of wings appeared behind her, and a yellow soul ring rose beneath her feet.

The auctioneer said, "Esteemed guests, do you see? Not only is she a soul master, she is also a precious soul master with a Flying Martial Soul. Such a rarity is—"

The atmosphere among the bidders below was immediately stirred up.

Mu Yuan was certain now. They were indeed those siblings.

He sighed. "The Heaven Dou Auction House truly has impressive methods. It can even capture ordinary soul masters and train them into slaves."

Xue Qinghe was taken aback. "What happened?"

Mu Yuan then explained the whole matter to Xue Qinghe.

After hearing it, Xue Qinghe was furious. "These nobles are becoming more and more excessive! They even dare capture ordinary soul masters. Xiao Yuan, don't worry. I will definitely give you an explanation for this matter!"

Mu Yuan shook his head. "There is no need. I happen to know these siblings, so I can simply save them. As for the dealings behind this, let's deal with them after Senior Brother Qinghe takes power."

Xue Qinghe also knew that such matters involved many parties behind the scenes and would be difficult to resolve completely. Since Mu Yuan had said so, he agreed.

On the stage, the auctioneer was still introducing the item.

"Esteemed guests, the finest aspect of this lot is that these two are brother and sister. The younger sister has already been trained and is proficient in all sorts of skills. She is still a virgin and is guaranteed to satisfy all esteemed guests. As for the older brother, we deliberately did not train him at all. Instead, we crippled his cultivation. Just imagine it—after purchasing these two, you may do whatever you wish to his younger sister right in front of this brother who loves her so dearly... Heh heh!"

At that, some of the guests below made sounds of understanding.

The man in the cage struggled to roar, but it was futile.

The bidding began, and the price soared all the way to two hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins.

An elderly noble wearing a mask and seated in the front row seemed especially interested in the lot. He raised the price repeatedly until it reached two hundred and thirty thousand Gold Soul Coins, causing the other bidders to fall silent.

Although the siblings were indeed rare, they were worth no more than that many Gold Soul Coins. Any higher, and it would not be worth it.

Mu Yuan then bid two hundred and fifty thousand.

The old man bid two hundred and sixty thousand.

Mu Yuan bid three hundred thousand.

The elderly noble glared angrily toward the private rooms.

Three hundred thousand had already far exceeded the value of the lot. Who was opposing him?

Fuming, the old man bid three hundred and fifty thousand.

Mu Yuan bid four hundred thousand.

The old man was so furious that he rose from his seat.

It was not as though he lacked a private room. He had merely sat in the front row outside so he could view the merchandise from closer up. He had not expected someone to target him so blatantly.

He wanted to see who dared oppose him.

His son was an imperial marshal who commanded a million troops. Within the Heaven Dou Empire, even Xue Ye had to show him some respect!