A Ton of Rare Metal! Wouldn't They Be Sprayed Down with Soul Ray Guns for This?

Before them lay a resplendent hall of gold and jade. A massive chandelier hovered beneath the metal dome, illuminating the surroundings as brightly as day.

Quite a few people were already seated in the hundreds of widely spaced chairs throughout the hall, most of them draped in black cloaks.

Most of the remaining attendees wore masks as well.

"Respected Eighth-Level Soul Engineer, please follow me."

A fawning smile hung on the hostess's face. Her gauze could not conceal her body, which swayed enticingly with every movement.

Zhang Tiezhu said nothing and merely nodded to the hostess.

Although an Eighth-Level Soul Engineer held a high status, there were clearly people of even greater standing attending this auction.

The two of them were not assigned to the private rooms high up on the second floor, but were instead led to a spot toward the back with a fairly good view.

"This is truly eye-opening."

Adjusting his posture and sinking into the soft chair, Xu Tianming's gaze fell upon the maid waiting nearby.

"You may leave. We do not need anyone attending to us."

Xu Tianming waved a hand, signaling for the maid to leave.

"Yes, my lord."

The maid bowed slightly, exposing a large expanse of fair skin at her chest. Seeing that neither man reacted, she slowly retreated with some reluctance.

"You're quite something, kid."

Only after the maid had left did Zhang Tiezhu grin and wiggle his brows at Xu Tianming.

"These women have been raised by the Pingfan Alliance since childhood. When it comes to serving men, nowhere in the entire Ming Capital can compare to the women trained by the Pingfan Alliance."

"You're young and full of vigor, yet you were completely unmoved?"

Young men naturally admired beauty. For someone Xu Tianming's age to possess such status and yet remain so indifferent to feminine charms, Zhang Tiezhu truly found it admirable.

Just thinking of the three males among the first generation of the Shrek Seven Devils, who had all been regulars at brothels in their teens, ruled by their lower halves, said plenty.

"These girls are puppets without souls. They merely have attractive shells."

Tapping the chair's armrest with his fingers, Xu Tianming said leisurely,

"And women like that think they can move me? Mentor Zhang, do you take me for some beast that only knows how to rut?"

Xu Tianming did not have any Evil Fire that needed releasing.

Besides, how old was he?

In his previous life, he would still have been nearly a decade away from the legal marriage age.

"Heh, well said."

Zhang Tiezhu nodded in agreement.

"These women really are little different from puppets."

At this point, Zhang Tiezhu spoke with some emotion.

"If only I could one day create a Bionic Intelligent Soul Tool Puppet similar to a human."

"That should be able to change the fates of these girls to some extent."

???

Xu Tianming gave Zhang Tiezhu an odd look.

A freaking Bionic Intelligent Soul Tool Puppet!

He had not expected Zhang Tiezhu to harbor such lofty ambitions.

As the two chatted and laughed, the light throughout the hall suddenly dimmed.

In contrast, the display stage at the front of the hall grew much brighter.

A woman in a long red dress walked from behind the stage to its front.

She looked to be around twenty-five, with refined and beautiful features and none of the worldly sensuality carried by the other maids in the auction house.

A faint smile rested on her face, while the long dress perfectly outlined the curves of her fully mature figure.

"Welcome, honored guests, to this underground auction jointly hosted by the Pingfan Alliance and the Otto Chamber of Commerce. I am today's auctioneer, Xiaowei."

Her clear, pleasant voice immediately refreshed everyone's spirits.

"No Xishui Alliance?"

Xu Tianming frowned at those words.

"Who knows?"

Zhang Tiezhu shook his head unconcernedly.

"The Pingfan Alliance and the Otto Chamber of Commerce have always been at odds with the newly risen Xishui Alliance. Both of them want to join forces and squeeze the Xishui Alliance out of Ming Capital's underground sphere."

"It is perfectly normal that the Xishui Alliance was not notified about this auction."

Xu Tianming shook his head as well.

The Xishui Alliance. Ye Xishui.

The Holy Spirit Cult, formed of these Evil Spirit Masters, was even stronger than Shrek Academy, where Mu En was already nearing death.

How could these so-called underground factions dare provoke them so casually?

"I hope every guest will be able to purchase something they desire at this auction."

After giving a slight bow toward the audience, Xiaowei lightly struck the auction hammer.

With a soft chime, a glass display case rose from beneath the auction stage.

"That is... Star Pattern Steel?"

Xu Tianming had excellent eyesight and recognized the metal on the stage at once.

"Though this stuff is valuable, isn't it a little beneath the standard of an auction like this?"

Star Pattern Steel was a rare metal renowned for its hardness and was also one of the Sun Moon Empire's controlled metals.

However, its value was far inferior to the Soul Forging Secret Silver Xu Tianming had previously won from Xiao Hongchen.

"The first auction item is Star Pattern Steel. Those able to attend this auction presumably know its value."

Xiaowei's voice carried a hint of playfulness from the stage.

"However, our first auction item is not this single piece of Star Pattern Steel... but a full ton of Star Pattern Steel!"

Gasp!

A wave of sharp inhalations immediately swept through the audience.

Star Pattern Steel was indeed not a top-grade rare metal, but it was still rare metal nonetheless.

And a ton of it was truly an astonishing amount.

"The Pingfan Alliance and the Otto Chamber of Commerce guarantee that the average quality of all the Star Pattern Steel will meet the standard of the piece on display."

As soon as Xiaowei finished speaking, the entire auction house erupted into chatter.

"A ton of Star Pattern Steel... these people really are not afraid of dying."

Even Xu Tianming clicked his tongue slightly.

Star Pattern Steel was, after all, a controlled metal of the Sun Moon Empire.

Under Sun Moon Empire law, smuggling such a quantity of rare metal was enough to warrant being sprayed down with Soul Tool Machine Guns.

"What is so surprising about that? If these metals are smuggled into the Three Douluo Kingdoms or Shrek Academy, the profit can multiply several times over."

Zhang Tiezhu spoke with little concern.

"Even members of the imperial family are in the smuggling business, let alone underground factions that make their living from it."

Xu Tianming had simply seen too little of the world, and he was left speechless.

"Since this is the first auction item, the starting price is only ten million Gold Soul Coins. Honored guests, please place your bids."

Xiaowei announced brightly.

"A ton of Star Pattern Steel is worth more than fifty million. The Pingfan Alliance and the Otto Chamber of Commerce are certainly generous."

Zhang Tiezhu definitely could not afford it and could only watch these people bid.

Everyone present naturally knew the value of Star Pattern Steel, and the profit involved was enough to drive people mad.

An electronic screen appeared above the auction stage, while a number pad emerged on the armrest of Xu Tianming's chair at nearly the same moment.

Before Xu Tianming could even react, the numbers on the electronic screen above the stage had already begun rising rapidly.