Ancient Ice Crystal (Requesting Recommendation Votes)

The carriage rolled steadily along the streets. After about ten minutes, it turned from a street lined with rosebushes into a secluded path. Following the paths on either side of the fountain, it gradually moved forward until, at last, a vast complex of buildings came into Qin Ze's view.

The Nine Treasures Auction House did not have many floors, only four, yet it stood over thirty meters tall. From the outside, the entire building resembled a palace. Above the main entrance was a crystal shaped like the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, emitting a faint glow like the glimmer of an activated martial soul.

Before the building stood an endless stream of guests, along with ten sweet-faced receptionists. The Nine Treasures Auction House was holding a medium-sized auction today, attracting quite a few people.

The carriage stopped before the entrance. This drew a few glances, but carriages were nothing unusual; they had arrived by carriage themselves. They quickly looked away.

A Youth emerged from inside the building and hurried over to the carriage. He was responsible for guiding carriages to their designated locations.

"Let's go." Xiao Kuangdao stepped out of the carriage first, then spoke.

Qin Ze followed Xiao Kuangdao out. The moment the two of them stepped down, the Youth who had come to receive them respectfully said, "Guest, I need to take your carriage to the designated location."

"Mm." Xiao Kuangdao nodded.

Soon, under the Youth's guidance, the coachman left through another road.

Xiao Kuangdao led Qin Ze forward, though Qin Ze's gaze lingered on the receptionists for a few extra seconds.

It could not be helped. Their close-fitting clothes perfectly highlighted their figures, with fair cleavage faintly visible. Their allure was indeed devastating.

However, Qin Ze only took a brief look before shifting his gaze away. It was simply a man's instinct.

Xiao Kuangdao naturally noticed this and revealed a smile that only men understood.

"Welcome, honored guests!"

Whenever people attending the auction passed through the entrance, the receptionists warmly greeted them with sweet smiles.

Upon entering, a cool breeze drifted over, dispelling the heat outside.

Unlike the building's resplendent exterior, the interior of the auction house was far more restrained in style. Yet anyone who carefully took it in would be amazed. The floors were made of amber-colored marble, and the light emitted by the not overly bright Soul Tools gave the place a soft texture.

The walls were decorated with relief carvings. They lacked gaudy colors and perfectly complemented the amber marble floors. Together, they looked exceptionally elegant. Besides the reliefs, there were also display cases built against the walls, containing Soul Tools of various styles, as well as pills and spirit fruits.

Unlike the others heading toward the auction hall, Xiao Kuangdao directly led Qin Ze through another entrance, completely opposite the one leading to the auction hall.

His actions drew the attention of many people, and quite a few voiced their confusion.

"That's the Nine Treasures Auction House's private area. What is he going over there for?"

"Could he have taken the wrong way?"

"Hello, that is a private area for internal personnel of the Nine Treasures Auction House. Non-staff members are not permitted to enter."

Just as Xiao Kuangdao pushed open the door, an urgent voice rang out.

However, Xiao Kuangdao ignored him and directly threw out a token.

Qin Ze turned back to take a look. The speaker was a middle-aged man with a square face.

The middle-aged man looked doubtfully at the thrown token and reached out to catch it. He casually glanced at it, but the next second, his body stiffened abruptly.

The token looked fairly ordinary, but it was made from the exceedingly rare Soul Spirit Jade, a type of jade that greatly nourished the soul. A large character, "Xiao," was engraved on its front, while an exquisitely carved Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda adorned its back.

Others might not recognize this token, but Jiang Jincheng, the auction house's third-in-command, certainly did. Only elders of the sect possessed tokens like this.

That was not even the most frightening part. The surname on the token was what truly shocked him. There was only one guardian elder in the sect with the surname Xiao. The identity of the visitor was obvious.

"Elder Xiao has arrived!" Jiang Jincheng had never met Xiao Kuangdao, but he knew who the sect's major figures were, as well as the rule that the sect rotated the auction house staff every five years.

Jiang Jincheng carefully put away the token. He would have to return it later.

His actions confused some of the guests who had stopped to watch. The man had already gone inside, so why was he not stopping him? What was he doing holding that token?

"This auction house has changed so much. It has been nearly forty years since I last came here. Time truly passes quickly." Xiao Kuangdao spoke as he walked. He moved through the halls smoothly, clearly familiar with the place.

Qin Ze asked curiously, "Teacher, what was that thing you threw out just now?"

"Just a token. A token representing one's status," Xiao Kuangdao replied.

Upon hearing that, Qin Ze finally understood why the middle-aged man had frozen.

The place Xiao Kuangdao brought Qin Ze to was an office on the auction house's top floor. Although Xiao Kuangdao was stationed here, he did not handle its day-to-day operations. Different professions required different expertise, and the auction house naturally needed people who understood management. His greater reason for coming to Shrek City was to discuss cooperation with various forces. When a Level 97 Titled Douluo personally came to negotiate, everyone had to show him respect—especially when it was the notoriously fierce Mad Saber Douluo.

After passing through a long and luxurious corridor, the two took a Soul Tool elevator to the fourth floor.

Inside an office on the fourth floor, four people were seated and talking.

Three men and one woman.

Two of them were in charge of the auction house. As for the stationed elder, he had gone out and had not yet returned.

The other two sitting across from them had quite extraordinary backgrounds.

The man was an Elder dressed in white. The girl looked only around fifteen years old. Her long hair was red like flames, while her light pink eyes carried an intense charm. Together, they were stunning. Her slightly immature oval face already possessed traces of peerless beauty, but what drew even more attention was her incredibly voluptuous figure.

"Dean Yan, you wish to purchase the Ancient Ice Crystal directly?" The speaker was Xiao Wenliang, the auction house's top manager and a Level 74 Soul Saint.

"Yes. Shrek Academy currently has no treasures with an outstanding Ice Attribute, and I happen to need one urgently. I heard that you planned to auction off an Ancient Ice Crystal here, so I came." The Elder in white nodded.

Hearing this, the two auction house managers exchanged glances. Their eyes both fell on the girl beside the Elder in white.

This girl was a new-generation genius renowned throughout Shrek Academy. The Elder had likely come here for her sake.

"Since Dean Yan has spoken, selling it directly to you is possible. It's just that the price..." Xiao Wenliang hesitated as he spoke. He had the authority to directly sell items not yet included in the auction, but the price could not be set casually. After all, the ice crystal was a sect resource.

The Elder in white smiled. "I will pay three times the normal auction price."

"Three times." Xiao Wenliang's expression did not change, but inwardly, he was delighted. The Ancient Ice Crystal was indeed rare, but too few people could make use of it. There was usually little interest in it at auctions. Being able to sell it for three times the price was already exceptionally good.

Thanks to reader 20220305092110880 for 100 Qidian coins.

Thanks to reader 2021030175255649990 for one monthly vote.

Thanks to Zero's Eye for 100 book coins.