Life at Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy was not all blades and bloodshed for the Seven Heroes of Sword Pavilion. Under Jing Hongchen's deliberate arrangements, they also had to involve themselves in matters concerning the empire's upper echelons. It was both training and a symbol of status.
That day, an exquisitely crafted invitation bearing faint Soul Power Fluctuations was delivered to Ji Juechen. The invitation depicted Dragon City's signature coiling-dragon architecture in mithril. When opened, lines of shimmering words emerged:
"Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy and the esteemed members of Sword Pavilion are cordially invited to attend Dragon City's annual grand auction of Soul Tool treasures. Numerous rare soul bones, ancient Soul Tool fragments, rare metals, and even... unimaginable surprises will be presented. We await your honored presence."
The signature belonged to the Dragon City Auction House, a neutral organization renowned throughout the continent's Soul Master and Soul Engineer circles.
Ji Juechen brushed a fingertip over the invitation, and the system immediately responded:
[Item Analysis: High-grade Soul Tool invitation containing miniature positioning and identity-verification arrays.] [Information Extracted: Dragon City Auction, Level: Top-tier. Historical auction items have included Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones and Rank 8 Soul Tool blueprints. This event's keyword: "unimaginable surprises." A finale item of extremely high value is suspected.] [Risk Assessment: Moderate. Dragon City is neutral territory, but high-value items easily spark conflict. Potential Threats include, but are not limited to: the Holy Spirit Cult, the Body Sect, and imperial forces from all sides.]
"Dragon City Auction?" Jing Ziyan leaned over for a look, blowing out a smoke ring with interest. "I hear they have plenty of good stuff. I'm almost out of tobacco, so we can see if they have a suitable Soul Tool pipe."
A glint flashed