Qian Daoliu's Attention, Golden Crocodile Douluo's Probe

The two walked one after the other, quickly exiting the Auction House's safe zone and arriving in a desolate valley. Golden Crocodile Douluo stopped in his tracks, his soul power erupting instantly. His golden crocodile martial soul manifested completely, and nine soul rings rotated around his body, four of which were black and particularly striking—the pressure of a level 98 Super Douluo bore down on Mo Chen like a mountain.

"Be careful, Your Excellency!" Golden Crocodile Douluo shouted, his right hand forming a claw, wreathed in golden soul power, as he lunged at Mo Chen. This claw strike appeared simple, yet it contained the cultivation of his entire life, enough to tear through the defenses of an ordinary Titled Douluo.

Mo Chen remained standing in place. Only when Golden Crocodile Douluo's claw was about to touch his chest did he slowly raise his right hand to gently block it. There was no earth-shattering collision, nor any roar of soul power. Golden Crocodile Douluo only felt his claw strike an immovable mountain; all his soul power was instantly neutralized, and his body was even pushed back several steps by a force that was gentle yet impossible to resist.

Golden Crocodile Douluo was shocked to his core. He could clearly feel that Mo Chen hadn't even used his full strength to block the strike, and the soul power fluctuations around him remained steady. He took a deep breath and launched another attack. This time, he used his seventh soul skill—Golden Crocodile Rending Heaven. Golden soul power condensed into a massive crocodile head, biting toward Mo Chen with an aura that seemed to devour everything.

A glimmer of light flashed in Mo Chen's eyes, and he finally released his soul power fluctuations. There was no martial soul manifestation, no appearance of soul rings, only a pure, vast surge of soul power pouring out like a tide. He waved his hand, and an invisible force slapped toward the golden crocodile head.

"Bang!" With a muffled sound, the golden crocodile head instantly disintegrated, and fragments of soul power scattered like fireworks. Golden Crocodile Douluo was shaken back repeatedly by this force, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

"You... are you a level 99 Peerless Douluo?" Golden Crocodile Douluo's voice trembled. He had lived for nearly a hundred years and had never seen such overwhelming power—this was definitely the legendary Peerless Douluo, and even stronger than he had imagined!

Mo Chen withdrew his soul power, his tone remaining indifferent: "Now, you should know whether the Auction House is someone to be trifled with. Go back and tell Qian Daoliu that if Martial Soul Hall wants to obtain treasures at the auction, they must follow the rules and bid with points. If you want to harbor ulterior motives, you will bear the consequences."

Golden Crocodile Douluo did not retort, nor did he attack again. He knew he was no match for Mo Chen; continuing to tangle with him would only invite humiliation. He took a deep look at Mo Chen and bowed: "Thank you for your mercy. I will report today's events to the Great Elder truthfully." With that, he turned into a streak of golden light and hurried back to Martial Soul Hall.

Watching the retreating back of Golden Crocodile Douluo, the smile on Mo Chen's lips vanished, and a hint of gravity flashed in his eyes. The strength of Martial Soul Hall far exceeded other factions, and Qian Daoliu was a level 99 Peerless Douluo. If they truly had a falling out, even if he and Ling Shuang joined forces, they might not necessarily win. However, Lin Yue had already formulated a contingency plan; as long as Martial Soul Hall wanted to obtain treasures from the Auction House, they wouldn't dare to act rashly.

Meanwhile, inside the Worship Hall of Martial Soul Hall, Golden Crocodile Douluo was kneeling before Qian Daoliu, reporting his encounter today with a pale face. When they heard that Mo Chen had easily blocked his attack and injured him without even using his martial soul, the several elders in the hall revealed expressions of shock.

"You mean that person is a level 99 Peerless Douluo? And his strength is even greater than yours?" Qian Daoliu's voice finally had a hint of fluctuation, and his eyes flashed with gravity. He hadn't expected that Lin Yue actually had a Peerless Douluo under his command, and not just one—according to intelligence, the Auction House had another powerhouse named Ling Shuang, whose strength was on par with Mo Chen.

"Yes," Golden Crocodile Douluo nodded. "Your subordinate concludes that the man's strength is at least at the peak of level 99, and he may even have touched the threshold of the god level. If we want to move against the Auction House, I fear we will have to pay a heavy price."

Qian Daoliu was silent for a long time. His gaze swept over the elders in the hall, and he said slowly: "It seems the previous judgment was correct; the Auction House is indeed not to be trifled with. Pass on my order: from this day forward, no faction of Martial Soul Hall is to provoke the Auction House. Everything must be based on point-based bidding. At the same time, increase the efforts to collect resources; we must save up enough points before the next auction."

"Great Elder, what about Bibi Dong..." an elder asked.

"I will speak to Bibi Dong myself," Qian Daoliu stood up. "If she wants to compete for opportunities for Martial Soul Hall, she must follow these rules."

Having said this, Qian Daoliu walked toward the Pope's Palace. He knew that although Bibi Dong was strong-willed, she would not be stubborn in the face of the overall interests of Martial Soul Hall. And right now, obtaining treasures from the Auction House to enhance the strength of Martial Soul Hall was the most important thing.

Inside the Pope's Palace, Bibi Dong was looking at the list of resources brought back from the Auction House. She was surprised to hear of Qian Daoliu's visit, but she still rose to welcome him. When she heard Qian Daoliu's order to "not provoke the Auction House for now," a flash of understanding crossed her eyes, and she nodded: "Great Elder, rest assured, I know the stakes. Martial Soul Hall's goal is to obtain treasures, not to make an enemy of a Peerless Douluo."

Qian Daoliu nodded with satisfaction: "Very good. For the next auction, I will have the Worship Hall contribute a portion of resources to help you bid for high-value treasures."

After seeing Qian Daoliu off, Bibi Dong walked to the window, her gaze fixed on the direction of the Auction House, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes. She had originally thought that the strength of Martial Soul Hall was enough to control everything, but she hadn't expected that a suddenly appearing Auction House could make even Qian Daoliu so cautious. And that man named Lin Yue, along with the Peerless Douluo under his command—how many more secrets were they hiding?

Meanwhile, in the top-floor pavilion of the Auction House, Lin Yue was looking at the "Faction Dynamics" on his system panel. When he saw the notification that "The Worship Hall of Martial Soul Hall has issued an order to 'forbid provoking the Auction House' and is increasing resource collection efforts," a faint smile curled his lips. Mo Chen's probe was very successful; this not only made Martial Soul Hall realize the strength of the Auction House but also paved the way for subsequent auctions.

He raised his hand to pull up the task list and added a side quest called "Martial Soul Hall Resource Collection," with the reward being "God-level Soul Tool Design Blueprint Fragment." Lin Yue knew that this task would be enough to make Martial Soul Hall collect resources even more frantically, and the Auction House would be the biggest beneficiary.

A seemingly simple probe had completely changed Martial Soul Hall's attitude toward the Auction House. And with the compromise of Martial Soul Hall, other factions were even less daring to provoke the Auction House easily, and the status of the Auction House became increasingly stable. Lin Yue knew that this was just the beginning—as more high-value auction items appeared, the power structure of the Douluo Continent would face even more drastic changes. And he, in the midst of this change, would step by step take control of the whole situation.