Spirit Devouring Engraving Knife, Crown Prince Xu Tianran

Aside from pills like the Soul Ascension Pill and Mysterious Water Pill,

there were also rare Noble playthings such as Catwoman Serpentwoman, whose prices were equally high, with starting bids nearly always reaching one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins.

Most of the rest were Level 5 or 6 Soul Tools with tremendous destructive power, and their prices were exorbitant. The Evening Water Alliance had always relied on Arms Business as its primary source of income, while human trafficking and hiring assassins had instead become secondary industries.

That was only natural.

After all, was there any business in the world more profitable than Arms Business?

"The next item is the highlight of this auction. It is a treasure every Soul Engineer dreams of possessing. That's right, a Ranked Engraving Knife!"

Qiu He emerged from behind the stage carrying a small glass box. A thick red cloth covered the glass, concealing what lay inside.

The moment those words were spoken, everyone present perked up.

What did a Ranked Engraving Knife represent?

It was the personal engraving knife every Soul Engineer dreamed of, like the sword in a swordsman's hand. Without a good engraving knife, a Soul Engineer could never perform at the highest level.

Such peerless engraving knives were generally collected by top Soul Engineers, with two-thirds of them controlled by the Sun Moon Empire.

It was said that even Qian Duoduo, the Dean of Shrek's Soul Tool Department, did not possess a Ranked Engraving Knife.

"Hurry up and announce which engraving knife it is!"

"That's right, Auctioneer Qiu He, stop wasting words! I came here today specifically for this engraving knife!"

The audience was already impatient, all prepared to scrape together every last coin.

Qiu He smiled faintly. "Please do not rush, honored guests. Everyone knows that while our Golden Hall is open only within the Underground World, we have always valued integrity and quality control. Therefore, I must explain this item in full."

She lifted the red cloth from the glass box, revealing an ancient, unadorned engraving knife resting inside.

"If this were an ordinary Ranked Engraving Knife, everyone should understand that it would never appear at an auction. It would have long been reserved by those top Soul Engineers."

"Among Ranked Engraving Knives, it ranks ninety-ninth. In truth, given its mysterious material, it could have competed for a place in the top thirty. The only reason it ranks so low is because it is a cursed engraving knife."

Quite a few top Soul Engineers were present.

They were intimately familiar with Ranked Engraving Knives and immediately recognized the origins of this simple ancient knife.

"Is that the Spirit Devouring Engraving Knife?"

"That's right. This is the Spirit Devouring Engraving Knife. It has a history of Three Thousand Years. The person who created it was also an exceptionally brilliant Level 9 Soul Master. After his death, this engraving knife had over thirty Masters, and without exception, every one of them died a miserable death."

As she said this, Qiu He let out a seemingly casual sigh.

This Ranked Engraving Knife originally belonged to the Evening Water Alliance. In the years since that great Evil Soul Master had died, they had allowed quite a few Soul Engineers to try and see whether they could wield it.

Naturally, the answer was no.

"The starting bid is three hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins. Each increase must be no less than five thousand Gold Soul Coins."

The people who had been rubbing their hands in anticipation all fell silent.

So what if it was a Ranked Engraving Knife?

It could only be looked at, not used, at best serving as a collectible.

Soul Engineers had money, but they also spent money at a terrifying rate. Rare Metal alone was already enormously expensive. Spending three hundred thousand on a collectible was simply too extravagant.

As time gradually passed, not a single person in the auction house placed a bid.

Qiu He sighed and was about to announce that the item had failed to sell when—

A clear, calm voice rang out from a corner of the venue.

"Three hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins."

Qiu He immediately perked up. Looking toward the raised sign in the corner, she said excitedly, "Excellent! Guest number 367 has bid three hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins. Is there any guest willing to offer a higher price?"

"Three hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, once. Thirty Gold Soul Coins, twice. Thirty Gold Soul Coins..."

"Three hundred and fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins."

An incongruous voice came from one of the circular VIP rooms floating above the auction house.

Zi Yao frowned and looked upstairs.

Logically speaking, no one should have competed with him for this bid. After all, the Spirit Devouring Engraving Knife had repeatedly failed to sell precisely because no one wanted it.

Inside VIP Room Number One,

Ju Zi, who looked like a girl, gazed at Xu Tianran in confusion and respectfully asked, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, why have you suddenly bid for this engraving knife? Its vicious reputation is well known throughout the Soul Engineer world. It cannot be used at all."

"Our Sun Moon Empire controls two-thirds of the Ranked Engraving Knives. That is a symbol of our strength. Since that is the case, spending three hundred thousand to reinforce our position is not a bad thing."

Xu Tianran smiled faintly.

"Besides, this person knows full well that the Spirit Devouring Engraving Knife kills its Master, yet he still wishes to bid for it. Perhaps there is a way to break the knife's curse? If not, it would still make a fine collectible for your Mirror Hall Master."

Not long ago, he had suffered an assassination attempt. His three legs hung empty as he sat in his wheelchair.

To fall overnight from a favored genius admired by countless people into a cripple, yet recover the bearing expected of a Crown Prince in such a short time—this showed that his scheming was far beyond that of ordinary people.

Had he not suffered that assassination attempt, he might have grown into an emperor of his generation.

Unfortunately, the birth of this generation's Child of Destiny, along with Tang San of the Heaven Dou Empire, had already doomed his chances of unifying the continent.

Ju Zi said nothing more from the side.

She understood that although Xu Tianran appeared carefree and broad-minded, he had merely buried all the negative feelings from his disability deep within his heart, making him increasingly volatile and unpredictable.

"Four hundred thousand."

Zi Yao raised the bid.

Electrolux within his mind had already been awakened by the aura of the Gold of Life and repeatedly urged him to secure it at all costs. It was an extraordinarily rare crystallization of a plane.

Zi Yao understood that as well.

Forget several hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins—even tens of millions would absolutely be worth it.

Xu Tianran calmly raised a new sign.

"Five hundred thousand!"

Their contest immediately drew the attention of all the spectators. No one had expected that a "notorious" cursed blade would trigger such fierce competition, with its price even reaching five hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins!

"Six hundred thousand!"

Zi Yao immediately raised the bid again, though his voice carried a trace of displeasure.

The Ice Empress and Snow Empress had not left him much cash. Human currency held no appeal for them, so they naturally had never bothered to collect it.

Part of these Gold Soul Coins had come from selling Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, while the other part was the three hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins Nan Shui Shui had given him as spending money before leaving.

He looked up toward the VIP rooms above, unable to understand who was deliberately opposing him.

"Seven hundred thousand!"

Xu Tianran continued raising his sign.

However, Ju Zi, who often stayed by his side, noticed a flash of anger in Xu Tianran's eyes before he hid it well.

Zi Yao frowned.

The cash he had on hand was no longer enough. He could only continue selling off Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to bid, and that would undoubtedly mean even greater losses. The auction house would only value them at their buyback price.

He truly had not expected it.

It was only a cursed engraving knife, yet some damned bastard was actually competing with him for it. Could it be that he also knew the engraving knife's secret?