Auction

After Qin Ming and the other two left the Soul Fighting Arena, they arrived at one of Suotuo City's finest restaurants—the Seven Treasure Hotel.

As one of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's most widespread businesses across the continent, its environment, dishes, and service were unquestionably first-rate.

Naturally, so were its prices.

After lunch, Sha Sha dragged the two of them to the largest Commercial Street in the North District. They swept through Clothing Store after Clothing Store, while Qin Ming helplessly became Sha Sha's temporary dress-up doll.

By the time the three arrived at the Auction House that evening, Nuo Si was already carrying armfuls of bags and packages, swaying as he walked.

" I paid for everything, and I still have to carry it all. What kind of suffering is this?" Nuo Si was drenched in sweat. After an entire afternoon of Sha Sha's torment, he wished he could grow three heads and six arms.

"All right, all right, I'll help you carry some." Sha Sha took some of the shopping bags from Nuo Si. Most of what they had bought that afternoon was new clothing for Qin Ming.

Qin Ming did not have particularly high standards when it came to clothing. As far as he was concerned, anything wearable was fine. But faced with their enthusiasm, he could not simply refuse, and before he knew it, they had bought so much.

Fortunately, the Auction House offered luggage storage, so they did not have to carry everything around with them.

The Suotuo City Auction House was a five-story building more than twenty meters tall. Everyone who came here wore luxurious formal attire.

Four girls in Formal Dresses stood on each side of the Auction House entrance. They appeared to be around seventeen or eighteen years old.

When Qin Ming and the others approached, one of the attendants automatically stepped forward in small, quick steps and respectfully bowed to them. "Are the three of you here to attend the Suotuo City Auction House's once-every-five-years Auction Gala?"

Nuo Si nodded and took a gilded Invitation Letter from his robes. The Angel Emblem of Spirit Hall was printed in its center.

Several weeks ago, the Suotuo City Auction House had sent Invitation Letters to all the influential forces in the city. This one had originally been intended for Charlton.

But Charlton had no interest in the auction. When he heard that Qin Ming and the other two wanted to attend, he gave the Invitation Letter to Nuo Si.

The instant she saw the Invitation Letter, the attendant's pupils contracted sharply, and her demeanor became even more respectful.

"Esteemed guests, our Auction House has specially prepared a private room for you. Please follow me."

"Lead the way," Nuo Si said flatly.

"Yes."

The attendant then led the three of them to a room marked "Box Number Two."

After Nuo Si dismissed the young attendant, the three began looking over the private room. A faint fragrance permeated the entire space, refreshing anyone who caught a whiff of it.

A huge sofa stood against the wall. On the Low Table before it sat several plates of exquisite Pastries and a pot of steaming tea.

Directly opposite the sofa was an enormous Floor-to-ceiling Window stretching from the ceiling to the floor. From within the private room, they could see everything at a glance, from the Auction Platform at the center to the tier upon tier of Circular Seating.

Nuo Si dropped onto the sofa, poured himself a cup of tea, and drank it in one gulp, an intoxicated expression appearing on his face.

"Excellent tea. For this once-every-five-years Auction Gala, the Suotuo City Grand Auction House must have spent a fortune."

"Brother Nuo Si knows tea too?"

"I don't drink tea often, but good tea doesn't choose its drinker. The leaves in this pot probably came from some precious Plant-type Soul Beast. If Bishop Charlton were here, he would probably recognize it." Nuo Si shook his head as he explained to Qin Ming.

"Of course. We only got to sit in here because of Bishop Charlton." Sha Sha nodded in agreement.

"Do you think the things Barak City sent over for us to auction include several Royal Collection pieces? Could one of them be a Spirit Bone?" Sha Sha asked mysteriously.

"Spirit Bones? It's possible, I suppose. But they probably won't be particularly high-level. Either way, we can't afford them." Nuo Si answered casually.

Hearing the two discuss Spirit Bones, Qin Ming's thoughts drifted away. On Douluo Continent, Spirit Bones were known as the Treasure of the Blood River. Every one possessed strategic value, because Spirit Bones could be passed down continuously and become the foundation of a faction.

Even a thousand-year Spirit Bone was probably not worth much less than the Storage Soul Tool Charlton had given him.

The three did not speak after that. They sat on the sofa, sipping tea as they waited for the auction to begin.

People gradually took their seats in the Auction House, slowly filling the entire venue.

Seeing that most of the guests had arrived, the organizers sent the auctioneer onstage.

"Esteemed guests, I am the auctioneer for this event. It is my honor to host Suotuo City's once-every-five-years Auction Gala."

Qin Ming looked down toward the voice. The auctioneer was a woman in her twenties, dressed in an expensive formal gown and wearing a professional smile.

"A total of one hundred items will be displayed and auctioned at this event."

"I believe some well-informed people among you already know that Barak City has sent three Royal Collection pieces to Suotuo City and entrusted us with their auction. They will be our final three grand finale items."

"And one of them is a Spirit Bone!"

The auctioneer's words were like a stone cast into a still pond, stirring up towering waves.

Some people immediately notified the forces behind them to hurry and bring money.

"No way, there really is a Spirit Bone?" Nuo Si staggered, nearly dropping the teacup in his hand.

"This is our first time seeing a Spirit Bone. We may not be able to afford it, but we'll still get to broaden our horizons. Just for that, this trip tonight was worth it." Sha Sha wore an expression as though she had made a profit.

"Sister Sha Sha, you've never seen a Spirit Bone before?"

"Haha, what are you talking about, little brother Qin Ming? Something as precious as a Spirit Bone? A Nuo and I have only seen them in books." Sha Sha covered her mouth and laughed, taking Qin Ming's words as a joke.

Qin Ming merely smiled without saying anything.

However, Spirit Bones in Douluo Dalu I truly were exceptionally rare. Even Yue Guan, a Super Douluo, did not possess a single Spirit Bone across his entire body in the original work. That alone said enough.

After dropping the bombshell news of the Spirit Bone, the auctioneer saw that the atmosphere had been warmed up enough and began the auction for the first item.

"Our first item comes from a renowned painter of the Heaven Dou Empire..."

Several items in a row were Antiques and Paintings. These were the kinds of things great nobles liked to collect, since displaying them at home made them look prestigious.

Seeing that they were all things useless to Spirit Masters, Qin Ming did not pay much attention to them and instead closed his eyes to meditate.

Time passed quickly during meditation. Within a few short moments, the first ninety-seven items had been auctioned off.

Next came the main event, the moment many people in the venue had been waiting for.

"Now, please welcome our ninety-eighth item!" At the auctioneer's call, a staff member pushed up a cart covered with Red Cloth.

The auctioneer walked over to the cart and began introducing the item. "This is a rare Storage Soul Tool. It was obtained from ancient ruins in the early years by an offering of our Balak Kingdom."

The Red Cloth was then lifted, revealing an exquisitely crafted bracelet resting quietly inside a Gift Box. It was set with five Gemstones: white, green, black, gold, and yellow.

"A Storage Soul Tool, the Five Skandha Ring. Each Gemstone provides one cubic meter of storage space, for a total of five cubic meters across all five. The starting bid is one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins! Each increase must be no less than one thousand Gold Soul Coins!"