Underground Auction House

"Mingde Hall had plenty of scraps from decommissioned Soul Tools. If you wanted this sort of thing, I could apply to get some for you anytime."

Glancing at the metal fragments on the stall, Zhang Tiezhu could not help curling his lip.

These pieces of junk were nothing more than clutter even if someone gave them to him for free.

"Of course, my goods are beyond comparison to anything Mingde Hall has."

Upon hearing the words Mingde Hall, the stall owner's expression changed at once, surprise flashing clearly in his eyes. Yet he still retorted:

"The metal fragments on my stall have all seen blood on the battlefield. That is something those decommissioned Soul Tools from Mingde Hall could never compare to."

Zhang Tiezhu frowned, about to say something, when Xu Tianming suddenly spoke first.

"What do you mean, they've seen blood on the battlefield?"

"An excellent question, sir!"

The stall owner perked up. Raising his mutilated right arm, he smiled and said:

"This old man used to be a member of the border army. I lost this arm during a border conflict with the Star Luo Empire."

As he spoke, the stall owner pointed at the metal fragments by his feet.

"Most of these are souvenirs I collected from the border battlefield back then."

"Heh, you're not very honest, are you?"

Xu Tianming sized the stall owner up and down, then suddenly let out a cold laugh.

"The wound on your arm is so uneven that anyone can tell it was torn off alive by a Soul Beast."

"If you had been wounded at the border, the wound should have been extremely clean."

After all, Xu Tianming was the son of Dongyang City's lord, and he had traveled far and wide with Mu Ye over the years. He had seen all manner of people and affairs.

Xu Tianming could tell at a glance the difference between injuries suffered on a battlefield and injuries sustained while hunting Soul Beasts.

"I..."

The stall owner's face tightened in panic. He opened his mouth to explain, but Xu Tianming cut him off with a wave.

"Save those made-up stories for people who know nothing."

"How many of these metal fragments do you have? I'll take them all!"

What a joke. Electrolux had said these fragments carried the aura of a divine artifact.

How many divine artifacts even existed on the entire Douluo Continent?

During the era of the Peerless Tang Sect, only the Eternal Eye, which evolved after Huo Yuhao became a god, could be considered a true Super Divine Artifact.

"Easy enough, easy enough."

A smile bloomed across the stall owner's face like a chrysanthemum in full flower.

"I have plenty of these fragments, though most are at home."

"How about you wait a little while? I'll go home and fetch them for you."

"Fine."

Xu Tianming nodded and pointed at the metal fragments on the stall.

"But I'm taking these first. How much?"

"One hundred... eighty Gold Soul Coins. I'll give you the whole lot for that."

The stall owner rubbed his hands together, too guilty to meet Xu Tianming's eyes.

"Eighty Gold Soul Coins it is."

Xu Tianming did not haggle. He counted out eighty Gold Soul Coins from his Storage Soul Guidance Device and tossed them before the stall owner.

"Remember, I want goods identical to the ones on your stall."

"If the goods aren't right, I won't accept them."

The stall owner hurriedly picked up the bag of Gold Soul Coins. After weighing it twice, his smile grew even wider, and he nodded repeatedly.

"Rest assured, sir. They are guaranteed to be from the same batch."

"Mm."

Xu Tianming gave a slight nod and swept his hand over the stall. All the metal fragments were immediately stored in his Storage Soul Guidance Device.

"Take care, sir! Remember to come back soon!"

Amid the stall owner's flattering calls, Xu Tianming slowly turned and left.

"Those metal fragments just now... were all ordinary things, right?"

After walking for a while, Zhang Tiezhu finally could not help asking:

"Could that pile of junk really be worth a hundred Gold Soul Coins?"

Although prices in the Sun Moon Empire were higher than in the Three Douluo Kingdoms, a hundred Gold Soul Coins was still enough to cover an ordinary family's expenses for several years.

"The forging techniques used on those metal fragments seemed rather unusual, so I bought them back to study."

Xu Tianming shook his head with a smile.

Zhang Tiezhu devoted himself wholeheartedly to forging and researching Soul Tools, but he was no fool.

Seeing how vague Xu Tianming was being, he knew the other man did not want to tell the truth, so he did not press the matter further.

The streets of the black market were neither particularly long nor particularly short, and they soon reached the end.

Yet during that time, they had not encountered anything that interested either of them.

"Master Zhang, where's the auction you mentioned?"

After strolling around once, Xu Tianming finally could not help asking Zhang Tiezhu.

"What's the rush? Judging by the time, it probably hasn't started yet."

After checking the time, Zhang Tiezhu grabbed Xu Tianming and pulled him into an alley within the black market.

He felt around the wall for a moment, then pressed down on a protrusion in one spot.

At once, a pitch-black passageway appeared before them.

"Interesting."

Xu Tianming raised his brows as he looked at the completely dark passageway.

"Even in the Four-No-Management Region, some things cannot be done too openly."

Zhang Tiezhu pulled Xu Tianming into the passageway.

As the two entered, the entrance to the passageway closed behind them.

The passageway was extremely spacious, and the ground beneath their feet was very level. Faint light shone from the lighting fixtures embedded in the walls on either side.

"Since it's a Black Market Auction, it'll be better to wear these."

Zhang Tiezhu took two black robes that could conceal their entire bodies from his Storage Soul Guidance Device. He tossed one to Xu Tianming before putting on the other himself.

"This used to be part of Ming Capital's sewer system, but it was abandoned for some unknown reason."

"Later, the three major underground factions turned it into the site of an Underground Auction House. Apparently, underground passages from many parts of Ming Capital lead here."

Xu Tianming clicked his tongue in amazement as he looked around.

Who would have thought there was such a place beneath Ming Capital?

"Proof of entry!"

When the two reached a metal gate, two figures likewise shrouded in black robes sprang out from nowhere and blocked Xu Tianming and Zhang Tiezhu.

With Xu Tianming's spiritual power, he had discovered the two men long ago.

Thus, when they appeared, he showed no surprise.

Zhang Tiezhu was even more familiar with the process. He took out his Soul Engineer badge and pinned it to his chest.

"So it is an Eighth-Level Soul Engineer, sir. Please forgive our discourtesy."

Upon seeing the Eighth-Level Soul Engineer badge, the two apparent guards immediately became far more respectful.

There were only a few dozen Level 9 Soul Masters in the entire Sun Moon Empire. An Eighth-Level Soul Engineer was unquestionably part of the empire's upper class.

The metal gate opened, and Zhang Tiezhu and Xu Tianming stepped inside.

"Welcome, honored guests!"

The other side of the gate was so brightly lit that both men could not help narrowing their eyes.

A beautiful woman clad in nothing but a thin veil respectfully bowed to them.

"Welcome to the Ming Capital Underground Auction."