The Silver Dragon's Redemption! Xiao Wu's Dead End!

Qian Renxue bit her lips until they turned pale, forcibly suppressing all the resentment and bitterness surging within her heart.

At least... he was still alive.

That thought became her only solace.

Su Ling's bid was like hurling ice into boiling oil, instantly igniting the entire venue!

"One million? For a slave?"

"Mad... He's completely mad!"

"It's that Black Robe! The source of that aura earlier."

"What is his relationship with the Crown Prince?"

"There's inside information that the seller of the Soul Enlightenment Pill was a Black Robe who entered with the Crown Prince... Could it be him?!"

Countless gazes—shock, doubt, greed, wariness—focused tangibly upon Su Ling.

A sharp gleam flared in Dugu Bo's eyes.

Inside the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Private Room, Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo exchanged an incomparably grave look.

In a dark corner, Tang Hao's aura became even more dangerous and obscure.

The auctioneer was so excited that his voice cracked. "O-One million!"

"This distinguished guest has bid one million Gold Soul Coins!"

"Is there anyone with a higher bid?"

His gaze swept across the venue, deliberately lingering on Xue Beng and Yu Luomian's Private Rooms.

Xue Beng opened his mouth, looked at Su Ling's black-robed figure radiating an invisible murderous aura, then caught sight of his Imperial Brother Qian Renxue beside him. In the end, he shrank back like a deflated balloon, muttering curses under his breath.

Yu Luomian's expression darkened like still water. He knew the price had already far exceeded the Soul Beast's value, and he was even more wary of the imperial authority represented by that Private Room and the Mysterious Person's strength. He could only let out a heavy snort and say no more.

"One million, going once! One million, going twice! One million, going three times! Sold!"

The auction hammer came down hard, its sound carrying the trembling relief and wild joy of having survived a calamity.

"Congratulations to this distinguished guest for claiming tonight's grand finale treasure!"

When that cold, hoarse "one million" rang through the auction hall.

Gu Yuena, curled up in the corner of the cold iron cage, had long since had her purple eyes frozen by despair, utterly lifeless. Yet they suddenly trembled violently!

It was as though an invisible current had struck her. Her petite body shuddered uncontrollably!

That voice...

She abruptly raised her head, her silver hair sliding back to reveal a pale yet still breathtaking little face.

Ignoring the blinding auction lights and the nauseating stares below the stage, she stared with all her strength, almost greedily, toward the source of that voice—

The figure standing before the shattered crystal window, shrouded in a bloodstained black robe!

Though she could not see his face.

Though his aura was weak and chaotic.

That silhouette.

That unique tremor from the depths of her soul, unforgettable to the bone...

It was him!

It really was him!

...Shengyan!

It wasn't an illusion!

It wasn't a dream!

He had come!

He had come to save her!

An overwhelming ecstasy, enough to completely drown her, surged like a raging tsunami and instantly smashed through every dam of despair.

That silent, gray world seemed to have been forcibly flooded with boundless light by this figure.

The endless grievance within her erupted as well.

The fear of being abandoned, the pain of abuse, the humiliation of being displayed as merchandise...

All the suppressed negative emotions instantly found an outlet.

Crystal tears poured forth without warning like pearls from a broken string, instantly soaking her dirty little face and washing two clear tear tracks across it.

She bit down hard on her lower lip, holding herself back from crying aloud.

Yet those purple eyes, brimming with tears, did not blink as they fixed firmly, stubbornly, on Su Ling's direction.

Silently telling a thousand unspoken words.

Shengyan... I knew it... you wouldn't abandon me...

The corridor outside the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Private Room.

Taking advantage of the brief chaos during the auction intermission.

With a face full of terror, Ning Rongrong found Xiao Wu and Tang San, who had come outside for some air.

"Xiao Wu! Xiao Wu! Something terrible has happened!"

Her voice carried an obvious sob. Her face was deathly pale as she tightly seized Xiao Wu's wrist, her fingernails nearly digging into her flesh, her body still trembling faintly.

Xiao Wu was startled by her sudden behavior. Frowning, she asked, "Rongrong? What's wrong? What happened?"

Tang San immediately looked over alertly as well.

"I... I accidentally overheard something just now..."

Ning Rongrong panted rapidly. Tears welled up at once, desperately swirling in her eyes. She lowered her voice to an extremely soft tone, filled with fear and helplessness. "My father... my father, Sword Grandfather, and Bone Grandfather..."

"They... they discovered your identity!"

Xiao Wu's heart sank sharply, and a chill instantly shot up from the soles of her feet through her entire body. "W-what identity?"

"They... they said you're a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in Humanoid Form!"

Ning Rongrong's tears finally fell, making her look pitiful and helpless, full of the anguish and powerlessness of someone being "forced." "They... they plan to... after the auction ends... ambush and kill you..."

"They want you... want you to sacrifice yourself to me... to become my Fourth Soul Ring..."

As she cried, she desperately shook her head, as though she were a victim too.

"Waaah... Xiao Wu... I'm sorry... I really didn't know..."

"I tried my best to stop them... but Father..."

"He said it was for the sect, for my future..."

"I... I couldn't stop him..."

She skillfully removed herself from the matter entirely, playing the role of a weak girl who had learned terrible news, was powerless to resist, and could only warn her friend.

Xiao Wu felt as though she had been struck by lightning!

Her face instantly turned as pale as paper, and her body swayed uncontrollably.

Her identity had been exposed!

And it was no simple exposure—they had directly sentenced her to death!

Sacrifice?!

She stared in disbelief at this "best friend" before her, at that tear-streaked face filled with innocence.

An icy chill and an overwhelming sense of absurdity swept through her entire body.

"Rongrong... you..." Xiao Wu's voice trembled uncontrollably. She stared fixedly into Ning Rongrong's eyes, trying to find even the slightest trace of falsehood in them.

But in Ning Rongrong's gaze, there was only "sincere" pain and "helplessness."

"Your father loves you so much... why..."

"Why didn't you try to persuade him? Beg him with your life?"

"Tell him that we're best friends!"

Xiao Wu's voice suddenly rose, carrying a trace of desperate accusation.

Her instincts sharply warned her that Ning Rongrong was acting!

That hypocritical woman—she wanted her Soul Ring all along!

That Little Princess who looked so innocent and naive on the surface was actually so vicious inside!

"Xiao Wu! How could you say that about Rongrong?!"

Only then did Tang San suddenly react. His expression changed drastically as he stepped forward and instinctively shielded Ning Rongrong behind him, glaring furiously at Xiao Wu.

"Rongrong took such a huge risk to tell you, yet you can still doubt her?"

"She has no choice either! She's more upset than anyone!"

Tang San's mind was still frantically processing the earth-shattering revelation that Xiao Wu was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

But protecting Ning Rongrong and condemning Xiao Wu for "failing to appreciate kindness" had almost become his instinctive reaction at that moment.