Yueshu Auction House

As Xu Zihuang and Qing Mu conversed, they unknowingly entered Yueshu City's inner district, the city's most central and prosperous area.

Tall buildings stood everywhere, but compared to Ming City, where Xu Zihuang had lived for so long, this place lacked some of that cold metallic feel. The various retro, ornate structures gave it a quaint, antique charm.

Especially the enormous clock tower not far away, nearly a hundred meters tall. Judging from the marks left on its surface, it had to be at least several centuries old.

The bell tolled, startling a flock of white doves from the top of the tower.

Xu Zihuang came to a stop before an unusual circular building.

This round building occupied an enormous area, with a diameter of nearly five hundred meters and a maximum height exceeding eighty meters. Even within the inner city, few buildings could compare to it.

And this was in Yueshu City's inner district, where every inch of land was worth a fortune. That alone showed how powerful its backers were.

That was indeed the case. This was the Yueshu Auction House, whose owner was Yaoyang, Viscount of Yuennan and nominal ruler of the Yuenan Islands. It was also the meeting place Xu Zihuang and Wang Xiao had agreed upon earlier.

The Yueshu Auction House's entrance was also semicircular. Like the auction house itself, it was white and gold.

Several tall young women serving as greeters stood before the entrance. They had clearly been rigorously selected—not only were they all around 1.75 meters tall, but their figures were exceptionally well-proportioned. Though they could not be called breathtaking beauties, their lovely features and vibrant youthful energy were still quite alluring.

In addition, a squad of soldiers in white-and-gold armor stood on each side, holding spears. Xu Zihuang could clearly sense fluctuations of Soul Power from them.

These soldiers' Soul Power cultivation was about the same as his, all around Rank Twenty-something.

So these were the Yueshu City Guard Brother Yang had mentioned.

Xu Zihuang understood. As several greeters approached, he directly took out the Crescent White Jade Token he had used before from the Soul Guiding Ring on his left index finger.

The moment they saw the token, the expressions of several young women changed instantly. After whispering among themselves, one hurried into the auction house, while the others bowed slightly to Xu Zihuang and the rest in anxious respect.

"Please, follow us."

Upon entering the auction house's main hall, there was no dazzling display of gold and jade. The floor was made of creamy white marble, while the surrounding walls were decorated with all kinds of relief carvings. It looked clean, bright, and exceptionally elegant. Besides the reliefs, there were also display windows built into the walls, containing rare metals that were either crystal-clear or vividly colored, as well as quite a few finely crafted Soul Tools.

These were the lowest-grade auction items, unworthy of being displayed on the main stage, all priced below one thousand Gold Soul Coins.

Quite a few well-dressed bidders strutted about the hall, putting on airs as they commented on the items, as though it satisfied their vanity.

Just then, a rapid yet crisp set of footsteps came from the staircase at the far end of the hall.

A bewitching woman in a fitted purple gown stood at the staircase landing and swept her gaze around. In the end, her eyes settled on Xu Zihuang and his group, who had just entered the hall.

"Why has Manager Zhu come here in person?!"

Seeing her, the crowd broke into discussion, their faces full of astonishment.

Under the crowd's bewildered gazes, Manager Zhu gracefully walked up to Xu Zihuang.

Xu Zihuang had noticed from afar that Manager Zhu was far taller than the greeters at the entrance, standing nearly 1.8 meters tall. She did not appear to be over twenty-five. Her glossy black hair was pinned up on either side, her skin as flawless as the finest white porcelain, and her lovely face was dignified without losing its allure. The contrast was striking.

But what caught Xu Zihuang's attention most was that her autumn-water eyes were also a deep purple, just like his.

Manager Zhu gave Xu Zihuang a soul-stirring smile, then intimately rested her slender hand on his shoulder.

When Meng Lang, standing behind Xu Zihuang, saw Manager Zhu approach him, he instinctively became wary. The moment she reached out to touch Xu Zihuang's shoulder, he was ready to act.

It was not just wariness. He was also dissatisfied with Manager Zhu.

What status did the Young Master have? How could someone like her touch him so casually?

"Don't act rashly!" Qing Mu grabbed Meng Lang's right hand and stopped him through Soul Power transmission.

"This is Viscount of Yuennan's territory. Think about the relationship between Viscount of Yuennan and the Young Master."

Hearing this, Meng Lang's expression turned thoughtful, and his clenched right hand slowly relaxed.

Manager Zhu did not notice their little exchange. Her attention seemed to be completely focused on Xu Zihuang.

"The City Lord has been waiting for quite some time. I'll take you to him."

Xu Zihuang looked strangely at Manager Zhu, who was being overly intimate with him, and muttered to himself inwardly.

What exactly did Brother Yang tell her? And her relationship with Brother Yang probably isn't ordinary either.

With his Golden Eye Martial Soul, he could clearly see the subtle changes in the depths of Manager Zhu's eyes. Especially whenever Yaoyang, the City Lord, was mentioned, the deep affection in her gaze was impossible to conceal.

Xu Zihuang waved to Meng Lang and the others behind him, then silently followed Manager Zhu. Whenever he looked at her, she would give him a gentle smile.

It felt rather like she was extending affection to him because of her feelings for someone else.

Even after the group left, the bidders in the hall, who had been so high-spirited and opinionated, could not take their eyes off them for a long while.

"Which faction's disciple is that? He can actually make the City Lord receive him personally?"

"It isn't just a reception. Didn't you hear Manager Zhu say the City Lord had been waiting for him? Just who is this young master, to make the City Lord wait?"

"..."

They went up the golden sandalwood staircase at the far end of the hall and arrived at the second-floor lobby, where there were visibly fewer bidders.

Rows of extravagantly luxurious corridors extended from the second-floor lobby. The floors were covered entirely in carpets made from the pelts of various Soul Beasts, while precious flowers could be seen everywhere. There were even several sleep lotus Plant-type Soul Beasts that could soothe the mind, resting quietly in transparent crystal containers on either side.

Manager Zhu expertly led Xu Zihuang and the others to one of the corridors. As she explained, every corridor here connected to a private room.

However, there were only six top-tier private rooms.

Just as Manager Zhu stopped and was about to continue speaking with Xu Zihuang, the smile on her face suddenly froze. Raising her proud chin, she stared directly toward the entrance of the private-room corridor on the other side.

Xu Zihuang silently followed Manager Zhu's gaze. There stood two blue-haired girls whose features were sixty to seventy percent alike. The younger one looked only twelve or thirteen, while the older one was about the same age as Manager Zhu. Her gentle, watery blue eyes met Manager Zhu's without yielding. Her beauty was in no way inferior to Manager Zhu's, but unlike Manager Zhu's forceful presence, this blue-haired woman carried an air of delicate vulnerability.

"Sister Zhu." The blue-haired girl greeted Manager Zhu somewhat ingratiatingly.

"So it's Sister Shui. Forgive me for not keeping you company personally. I have important business to attend to—I need to bring an honored guest to see the City Lord. It seems someone wanted to see the City Lord today, yet still hasn't managed to do so, hasn't she?"

Manager Zhu's eyes turned slightly cold. Then, as if she had thought of something, she unusually took the initiative to respond. Yet a faintly inscrutable smile hung on her lips.

Xu Zihuang suddenly felt two burning gazes fall on him, leaving him somewhat speechless.