Treasure Appraisal Convention, Benares Shows Her Might

A day later, after receiving Wang Yan's notice, Ling Mo learned that the matter of the God-rank Soul Ring had finally come to an end. After finishing today's classes, Ling Mo was walking back to his dormitory when a gilded red invitation delivered into his hands made him change direction.

It was an invitation to the Treasure Appraisal Convention. To be honest, Ling Mo had long forgotten that such an event existed in the original story. Receiving the invitation finally reminded him of this part of the plot.

The original story had not gone into much detail about the Treasure Appraisal Convention, but there was no harm in taking a look. What if there was something he liked, right?

Following the address on the back of the invitation, Ling Mo finally arrived at the convention's towering pavilion. After being introduced by a girl around seventeen or eighteen who was responsible for receiving guests, he followed her to undergo a credit assessment. It was not as though Ling Mo had no money. His years of hunting Spirit Beasts had earned him some savings. But the name Treasure Appraisal Convention alone made it clear that the spending here would rival an auction house's, so he did not refuse the girl's suggestion.

Yet after the assessment, the red card handed to Ling Mo still made him sigh. He had still underestimated the four ultimate attributes and the God-rank Soul Ring.

Upon learning that, like Huo Yuhao in the original story, he could take one item from each Treasure Appraisal Convention without paying, Ling Mo immediately began searching for the spirit bone from the original story—Golden Radiance.

Ling Mo had recalled this spirit bone when he received the invitation, but he had thought he would have no chance of obtaining it. Reality, however, always had plenty of surprises in store for him.

Golden Radiance had two functions in the original story. One was to amplify soul skills. And what were Ling Mo's soul skills? All kinds of Divine Keys and Herrscher forms! That amplification would be terrifying. The other function was of little use to Ling Mo: it could strengthen one's light attribute to a certain extent.

Ling Mo did not have a light attribute now, and he probably never would. If Herrschers had possessed light attributes, he would not have fought so bitterly during that era in Fire Forging Moth in his previous life. In that battle, Ling Mo had even lost to the Herrscher of the End. He could only guard the cryogenic pods containing humanity's last three thousand survivors and spend nearly fifty thousand long years alone.

That period was the most terrifying time of Ling Mo's life. Before transmigrating to the Honkai World, he had merely been an ordinary shut-in. The prolonged loneliness eventually drove him completely insane, and his brain's protective mechanism forcibly put him into a coma. Later, after sleeping for tens of thousands of years, Fu Hua emerged from her cryogenic pod and slowly woke him.

But after waking, Ling Mo's consciousness remained fragmented. In order to help him recover, Fu Hua used Yu Du Chen to seal his memories. Free from the interference of those chaotic memories, Ling Mo was finally able to sleep peacefully.

Unfortunately, Ling Mo slept for five thousand years. When he awoke, the world had already changed beyond recognition. With his memories sealed, he could only be coaxed by Kiana into going to St. Freya. There, Ling Mo met Fu Hua again, who had also lost her memories.

Ling Mo remembered that after both of them recovered their memories, he thanked Fu Hua for everything she had done for him. Fu Hua merely smiled and said, "You watched over me for fifty thousand years. What do these five thousand years I spent watching over you amount to? I should be the one thanking you."

At the time, Ling Mo had wanted to tell her, It's not the same. But his throat had choked up, and he had been unable to make a sound...

Back in the present, Ling Mo finally found the Golden Radiance spirit bone. Looks like I came early enough. Then that piece of Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Rubber should still be here too. Ling Mo pondered silently.

After using his privilege to obtain the spirit bone, Ling Mo paid for the Whale Rubber out of his own pocket. Having done all that, he continued wandering around the Treasure Appraisal Convention. Although he did not have much money left after buying the Whale Rubber, he had nothing better to do. Looking around was not bad either.

Ling Mo wandered here and there. He did not see any good items that caught his interest, but he did run into two acquaintances.

"Yo, Yuhao, you two came too? I knew an event like the Treasure Appraisal Convention couldn't possibly leave you out. Even if Yuhao didn't plan on coming, Wang Dong, you definitely would have dragged him here." The two were Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. Ling Mo thought to himself, You two came way too late. If you'd arrived earlier, I might not have taken those two items from you.

But what was taken was taken. Ling Mo would not give them back.

"You're right. I didn't want to come at first, but Wang Dong said we could buy on credit, so I came with her to see if there was anything useful." Upon hearing Ling Mo's voice, the two noticed him as well and greeted him.

"I was just planning to keep looking for anything interesting. I might as well go with you. Once you're done shopping, we can head back to the dormitory together." To be honest, Ling Mo wanted to see what Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong would buy this time.

Perhaps because of the world's corrective force, Huo Yuhao chose a set of Level 7 Soul Tool blueprints and a piece of rare metal, while Wang Dong bought a piece of Thousand-Year Whale Rubber for forty thousand Gold Soul Coins at Huo Yuhao's pleading. In the end, Huo Yuhao came away loaded, gaining even more than he had in the original story. Wang Dong, on the other hand, gained nothing after losing the spirit bone. In the end, she loudly complained that she had come for nothing and even ended up owing a debt for Huo Yuhao.

After finishing their shopping, the three walked out of Shrek City. Ling Mo stretched lazily and released Benares from Imaginary Space, holding her in his arms. Sensing Ling Mo's aura, Benares let out a pleased, drawn-out cry. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong stared in surprise at the suddenly appearing Benares. Huo Yuhao knew a little about her, since both he and Ling Mo had been present when the results of the Sea God's Pavilion Conference were announced, and he had heard Teacher Wang Yan mention that Ling Mo had acquired a young dragon as a pet.

Wang Dong, who knew nothing at all, looked at Benares's adorably foolish and silly appearance. A glint flashed through her eyes as she tried to speak calmly. "Ling Mo, where did you catch that dragon hatchling? It's pretty cute."

Seeing the eagerness in Wang Dong's eyes, Ling Mo remembered that Wang Dong was a girl and nearly laughed, but he held it in and answered, "Her? Her name is Benares. You can just call her Bella. I didn't catch her." He then explained Bella's origins to the two of them using the same story he had told Xuan Zi.

"So that's why you were late. It sounds even more bizarre than Yuhao's experience." After hearing Ling Mo's explanation, Wang Dong cried out in surprise. He still had not figured out what exactly had happened to Huo Yuhao during the holiday, yet now he had discovered someone with an even more absurd story.

Huo Yuhao's attention, however, was not on Ling Mo's experience. What he cared about was the God-rank Soul Ring Ling Mo had mentioned! His first soul ring was at the million-year level, and its color was also unlike any other. He had once asked Brother Sky Dream whether his Million-Year Spirit Ring was a God-rank Soul Ring, but the answer had been no.

"After we get back to the dormitory, can you let me take a look at your blue soul ring?" Huo Yuhao asked Ling Mo.

"Of course. I can't keep it hidden forever. One day, it'll be exposed anyway," Ling Mo answered readily.

Just as they were about to speed up and return to the dormitory sooner, Ling Mo suddenly felt Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection sharing. He was about to ask what was going on when he heard Huo Yuhao say in a low voice without changing expression, "Someone ahead is planning to ambush us. Shrek City is closer from here. When I count to three, we'll run toward Shrek City. Give it everything you've got and don't stop. Understand?"

Only then did Ling Mo remember that Huo Yuhao seemed to have been hunted down by someone after the Treasure Appraisal Convention. Damn it, if I'd known, I would have gone back by myself. Why the hell did I wander around with these two? Ling Mo thought to himself.

The three pretended to know nothing and continued forward. Through the Spiritual Detection, Ling Mo could sense the killing intent growing denser and denser. Huo Yuhao focused the detection in the direction it came from. As the range of the Spiritual Detection expanded, he finally found the enemies: six people in total. Their Soul Power was heavy and dense, clearly indicating that their cultivation levels were not low.

"One." Huo Yuhao began counting.

"Two..."

"Three! Run!"

Huo Yuhao let out a low roar, grabbed Wang Dong, and turned to flee. The reason he had not taken Ling Mo with them was not only because Wang Dong could use Hao Dong Power with him, but also because he knew Ling Mo was stronger than the two of them. Huo Yuhao still vividly remembered the speed Ling Mo had displayed during the freshman assessment, speed too fast for the naked eye to follow.

Naturally, Ling Mo would not foolishly stay behind. While he was not afraid of a Soul Emperor now, no one had said he could fight a group of Soul Emperors. Ling Mo could clearly sense that at least four of the six were Soul Emperor-level. Unless he revealed all his trump cards, his life would still be in danger. He decisively turned around and quickly followed Huo Yuhao.

At that moment, a red light shot into the sky from Huo Yuhao's body before exploding a hundred meters above the ground.

The six ambushers noticed the red signal as well. One of them roared in a low voice, "Didn't they say they were only core disciples of the outer courtyard? Why are they using an inner courtyard disciple's distress signal?!"

Another said, "Chase them! It'll be trouble if reinforcements arrive."

The six immediately gave chase. As they moved, they swiftly released their martial souls, and dozens of soul rings appeared around them. They were confident that with their cultivation, they could quickly catch up.

Up ahead, Huo Yuhao desperately accelerated while repeatedly using Soul Tools to interfere with the Soul Masters pursuing them. The effect was obvious. That Soul Emperor's speed had indeed slowed, but no matter how much he slowed, he was still a Soul Emperor! He was still a little faster than Huo Yuhao.

Seeing the distance between himself and that Soul Emperor steadily shrinking, Huo Yuhao gritted his teeth and prepared to use Hao Dong Power to unleash the Ice Empress Spirit Bone's Domain Skill and slow the enemy down. But just as Huo Yuhao was about to release the skill, an unexpected change occurred! A dragon's roar that resounded through the heavens erupted from Ling Mo's body. It was Benares!

Earlier, Huo Yuhao had not included Bella in the Spiritual Detection sharing. And as she enjoyed Ling Mo's embrace, she had not paid attention to whether there was danger nearby. As a result, she had no idea someone was preparing to ambush the three of them. While Ling Mo ran toward Shrek City at full speed, the pursuing Soul Masters drew closer and closer. Their intense, undisguised killing intent finally woke Bella.

Amid her furious roar, Benares's body continuously grew larger, quickly returning to her original towering form of over ten meters. The suddenly appearing Benares caught the attention of the six Soul Masters. One Soul Emperor shouted, "It's a Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Beast! Run! There is no chance of completing this mission now!"

But how could Benares possibly let off six people who had directed killing intent toward her master? "ROAR—!" Another furious dragon cry rang out. Using Ling Mo as a bridge, she connected to Imaginary Space. Purple lightning began to flash across Benares's body, and bolstered by the nearly limitless Honkai Energy within Imaginary Space, it instantly enveloped an area more than ten miles wide!

Faced with this enraged strike, all six Soul Masters immediately screamed and wailed as they plummeted toward the ground.

Yet Benares's fury had not subsided. A biting gale swept up, and a massive ice tornado rose from the ground in an instant. The six Soul Masters, who had lost all ability to resist, were ultimately frozen into ice sculptures and shattered amid the howling winds.

After doing all that, Benares shrank down again and flew into Ling Mo's arms. Rubbing against his body again and again, she seemed to be asking for praise.

Seeing Bella's silly, adorable appearance after the might she had displayed earlier, Ling Mo could only stroke the top of her head and smile helplessly. "All right, all right. I know you're amazing. When we get back, I'll give you the tastiest food."

Upon hearing that, Bella let out two happy, low cries and stopped wriggling around, quietly enjoying Ling Mo's affectionate caresses.

Huo Yuhao, now out of danger, came over to Ling Mo's side. Looking at Bella with her eyes narrowed in enjoyment, he could not hide his astonishment.

Wang Dong was far more direct. "Ling Mo, Bella is that strong? I heard that Soul Emperor call her a Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Beast just now. The academy actually allows you to take her around everywhere?"

How could they possibly allow it... Seeing the teachers and older students rushing over from the distance, Ling Mo silently considered how he should explain this later.