Shadow Cloak

Time flew by, and before long, the day of the auction arrived.

Li Qing packed his things. Well, he did not actually need much for an auction—the important thing was whether he had brought enough money.

As for murder and robbery, there was no point even thinking about it in Spirit City. Once you did something like that, if you were not strong enough, you would have to worry about whether you could make it out of Spirit City alive.

So the only way to obtain auction items was...

Money power!

He arrived at the agreed meeting place half an hour early—the entrance to Spirit Hall Academy—only to find that Yan was already waiting there. He had no idea how long the guy had been waiting.

Fifteen minutes later, Hu Liena arrived as well.

Hu Liena wore a silver gown, white high boots traced with golden lines, and a pair of stockings. The outfit made her look both valiant and elegant.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Hu Liena said apologetically.

"It's fine, it's fine. We only just got here!" Yan quickly waved his hand.

"Alright, don't fuss over such a small matter. The auction is about to begin, so let's go!"

The three of them then made their way to the Spirit City Auction House with practiced ease.

The Spirit City Auction House was built with tremendous grandeur. It was a circular structure, six hundred meters in diameter and a full hundred meters tall.

The auction house's outer walls were made of sturdy metal, gleaming brilliantly. Although the building itself was imposing and luxurious,

it still could not be considered the most luxurious or grand building in Spirit City. The Douluo Arena and other buildings around it were no less extravagant.

At the entrance stood six tall, graceful women with beautiful, highly attractive faces.

They all wore identical long gowns, their hands folded before them and professional smiles on their faces.

After the three presented their bidding qualification certificates, one of the women led them to the entrance of the auction center.

Back when Li Qing had first come to an auction, he had not even known that a bidding qualification certificate was required. But after coming several more times, he had become familiar with all matters related to the auction house.

Upon entering the auction center, Li Qing and the other two took seats in the outermost white section.

The auction center's seats were divided into five tiers by color. The closest to the central auction platform—the place where a host holding a hammer would soon stand—were the red seats.

Next came black, purple, yellow, and white. Just like the quality ranks of spirit ring colors, red was the highest grade. That meant those seated in the red auction section were very wealthy, and not merely wealthy—their status was extraordinary as well.

The white seats where Li Qing and the others sat were simply the most ordinary auction seats.

But Li Qing did not care about such superficial things.

Status? Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river—ever heard of it?

As time passed, more and more people entered the auction center. By the time the auction was about to begin, the center, which could hold fifteen hundred people, was completely packed.

Many people could not even get inside because there were no seats left.

Looking at the packed crowd around him, Li Qing could not help becoming curious about the items being auctioned today.

The last few times Li Qing had attended auctions, at most two-thirds of the auction center had been filled.

Judging by today's situation, there had to be something extraordinary among the auction items.

"Yan, do you know what items will be appearing at today's auction?" Li Qing asked.

Yan shook his head. "Brother Qing, I actually don't know what they'll be auctioning this time. I only heard the elders in my family say that there would be something good at this auction and told me to come take a look."

Li Qing nodded and said nothing more as the auction began.

A balding middle-aged man in a black formal suit stepped onto the auction platform. He was the host of this auction, Will.

Will picked up the amplifier on the auction platform, allowing everyone in the auction center to hear his voice.

"Ladies and gentlemen... Alright, without further ado, let us move on to the first item of today's auction!"

After a brief opening introduction, the first auction item was finally brought onto the platform by a female attendant.

Will lifted the red cloth covering the item, revealing it to everyone.

It was a white cloak, neatly folded inside a tray.

"The first item we are auctioning today is... the Shadow Cloak!" Will unfolded the cloak, fully displaying its appearance to the bidders.

"This cloak is a Soul Tool!"

The moment he said that, the crowd immediately erupted into chatter.

Soul Tools were already rare, and a cloak-type Soul Tool was even rarer.

Only after the crowd quieted down did Will continue with a smile.

"This cloak-type Soul Tool was found by our staff after untold hardships in a ruin. After verification, we have confirmed that this Soul Tool can make its user invisible!"

"The starting price for this item is twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins! Each bid increase must be no less than one thousand Gold Soul Coins!"

When old Will introduced the cloak's function, the venue erupted in even louder excitement than before.

However, a question slowly surfaced in Li Qing's mind.

Why was this cloak so cheap?

That was right—cheap!

At the previous auctions Li Qing had attended, Soul Tools had appeared as well. He remembered a Soul Tool similar to his Storage Belt, and even that Soul Tool had started at thirty thousand Gold Soul Coins. But now...

Twenty thousand?

How could a storage Soul Tool possibly be compared with an invisibility Soul Tool?

Therefore, this Soul Tool definitely had some problem that Li Qing did not know about!

"Mr. Will! I imagine this cloak has some drawback that you haven't mentioned, does it not?"

Just as Li Qing was pondering the answer, a woman's voice came from the red seats in front of him.

The moment he heard that voice, Li Qing knew who it was.

Lin Qianxin!

The dean of Spirit Hall Academy!

"Brother Qing, that voice... that's the dean!" Yan said excitedly.

"I know. Let's first hear what flaw this cloak has."

When Lin Qianxin spoke, the noise in the auction center ceased.

Everyone turned in unison to look at old Will on the auction platform.

Old Will smiled awkwardly. Lin Qianxin was right: this Shadow Cloak did indeed have a flaw, and a major one at that!

But an auction house had to make money!

As the host, he had to ignite the atmosphere at the venue, so he had played a little trick.

But just as before, such tricks could only deceive muddleheaded bidders. There were still quite a few sharp-eyed people present.

Old Will looked down at the audience and said, "This cloak does have the effect of invisibility. It can indeed make its user vanish from sight! However, Soul Masters can still sense the user's aura!"

After Will revealed the cloak's flaw, most of the hands that had been itching to bid fell still. Yet a gleam flashed through Li Qing's eyes!

Combined with his Unknowable Eye, this cloak was simply...

One word: perfect!