Round Robin and the Ranking Engraving Knife

The weather on the first day of the round-robin tournament was not great; the sky was a leaden, gloomy gray, though fortunately, it had not yet started to rain.

Shrek Academy's group was the first to compete, and more than half of the seventy-six teams were present to watch. Shrek drew a one-on-one format, and after Xu Sanshi won three consecutive matches and forced his opponents to concede, the entire arena was in an uproar once again.

"What do you think of that position-swapping skill?" Xiao Hongchen leaned over and whispered to Huo Yuhao.

"It's a bit troublesome during team battles," Huo Yuhao said, leaning back in his chair to think. "For instance, if I'm focused on providing Spiritual Detection for everyone, and he suddenly swaps me into the middle of the Shrek group, even if I can protect myself, I won't be able to focus on using Spiritual Detection Sharing. However, if I'm on the field, I might be able to predict the flow of his soul power."

"That's good then," Xiao Hongchen said. "Just make sure your reaction is fast when the time comes."

After another few groups finished their rounds, it was their turn. Ma Rulong went up to draw the ball, and it came out as a two-two-three format.

"Your luck is worrying, Brother Ma," Xiao Hongchen said, looking at the small ball he held up. "Drawing a two-two-three in the first round? You should go change your luck."

"Is the two-two-three format disadvantageous for us?" Huo Yuhao asked curiously.

"Not really," Meng Hongchen said from the side. "It's just a bit troublesome, and our opponents are more panicked than we are... My brother just wants to tease Brother Ma a bit."

The facts were as Meng Hongchen said. The two-two-three format only required winning two matches to avoid the three-man battle, and their opponents this time were a little-known soul engineer academy from Star Luo.

In the first round, Mi Jia and Lin Xi teamed up and blasted their opponents off the stage. In the second round, Xiao Xiafeng teamed up with another starting member, Chen Fei; although it took some time due to the desperate resistance they faced, they eventually finished the match successfully.

During the match, Huo Yuhao spotted Wang Yan from afar. Wang Yan had already sent the Shrek contestants back to the hotel, and at this moment, he was watching the Sun Moon starting members on the stage, his brows furrowed so tightly they almost knotted together.

The four starting members had barely revealed their true strength, which must have been giving Wang Yan a massive headache.

On the other side, Yu Rufeng looked flushed with excitement, draping his arms around two of the members walking down: "Well done! Lads, let's go check out the auction house tonight to relax."

"Teacher Yu, do we really need to go to a soul tool auction?" Lin Xi asked, twisting his head as his shoulders were held tightly. "The soul tools sold here in Star Luo City are far inferior to what comes straight out of Mingde Hall."

"That's why we're just going for the spectacle," Yu Rufeng said. "If we happen to find a defensive soul tool above level seven, we'll just consider it a recovery for Mingde Hall. The reserve members can also broaden their horizons; aside from Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, none of these kids have ever been to an event like this."

As nightfall just began to shroud the sky over Star Luo City, the lights in the city flickered on one after another, vying with the starry sky for brilliance.

The group walked up to a building that didn't look very large, and Huo Yuhao looked up in curiosity. The days spent participating in the tournament had truly opened his eyes to many things.

A golden hammer emblem hung on the door plaque. Looking inside, a red carpet stretched straight down; the auction house was actually built underground.

The starting members seemed to be here for the first time as well, as the previous tournament hadn't been held in Star Luo City. The scale of the auction houses in Heavenly Soul and Dou Spirit was still a step below Star Luo's.

Descending twenty meters, Yu Rufeng took a token from the receptionist and signaled for everyone to follow the girl in the red dress nearby.

Soon, they passed through an ancient wooden door. Once they stepped inside, the scene before them changed abruptly, and their vision was filled with golden radiance.

Before them lay a wide, magnificent corridor; the luxury of the decor exceeded even the Star Emperor Hotel. As they continued deeper, the hostess explained the scale of this auction. Hearing that only soul tools below level six were being auctioned today, the members who had hoped to recover level seven soul tools for Mingde Hall looked a bit disappointed.

"Please come in, this is Auction Hall No. 12." The hostess gently waved her slender arm, guiding everyone into the auction hall.

Following the requirements, they put on masks and sat in the back row. It was Huo Yuhao's first time sitting in such a comfortable chair, and he couldn't help but let out a small sigh of admiration.

At this moment, a woman in a purple dress walked out onto the stage, her appearance dignified and beautiful. She walked to the auction podium and bowed to everyone:

"Good evening, distinguished guests. I am Qing Ya, a purple-level auctioneer from Starlight Auction House, and I will be presiding over this auction today."

Following this, one item after another began to be displayed. They were all level three to five soul tools, and although each had its own ingenuity, they still couldn't catch the eyes of those from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy. On the contrary, someone in the first row across from them was frequently bidding high prices to acquire them. Huo Yuhao couldn't resist using Spiritual Detection to check, and it turned out to be Wang Yan.

"Shrek has actually started to value soul tools," Huo Yuhao whispered to his teammates. Under Spiritual Detection, the masks in the auction house were as good as non-existent.

"It doesn't matter," Yu Rufeng said. "It would be strange if they hadn't seen or couldn't make things of this level, but we have seen too many."

It wasn't until the second-to-last item that Qing Ya brought out a level four Milk Bottle. Huo Yuhao was already very familiar with this type of recharging soul tool; he had used similar technology when passing his Level 1 Soul Engineer exam and crafting his own Spirit Slashing Blade.

"Should we let them buy it?" Seeing Wang Yan about to bid a high price again, Huo Yuhao hesitated. The strategic value of a Milk Bottle was still quite high, and the three Douluo empires were all thirsty for such soul tools.

"Hmm... although it won't have much impact if they buy it, it wouldn't hurt to mess with their mindset."

Saying this, Yu Rufeng raised his paddle: "Twenty-eight thousand Gold Soul Coins."

Wang Yan had offered twenty-five thousand Gold Soul Coins; generally speaking, jumping straight to twenty-eight thousand was already a significant markup.

Wang Yan hesitated for a moment before calling out: "Thirty thousand Gold Soul Coins."

"That's enough," Yu Rufeng stopped bidding. "Disgusting him out of five thousand Gold Soul Coins is fine, but this thing isn't worth that much. They definitely have an unlimited credit voucher from Shrek, and Shrek has already mastered the technology for this, so there's no need to truly compete with them."

The auctioneer's gavel fell three times, and the Milk Bottle went to Shrek for ten thousand Gold Soul Coins above its actual value.

Finally, the last item was pushed to the center. Qing Ya's complexion was also very flushed under the lights, clearly showing some excitement. As she used an increasingly high-pitched voice to heat up the atmosphere, her jade fingers were already placed on the red cloth covering the item.

"Everyone, please look."

As Qing Ya's bell-like voice faded, the red cloth covering the item was suddenly whipped away.

The members from the Sun Moon Empire recognized this item at a glance—it was an engraving knife. Its size was quite small, about half a foot long and only as thick as a finger. It was ancient, pitch-black, and had special patterns engraved upon it. As it lay quietly on the display stand, it seemed to possess a somber aura.

The members immediately began to whisper among themselves, while Qing Ya on stage began introducing the origins of this engraving knife to the bidders. When she mentioned that it was a ranked engraving knife, almost everyone's eyes lit up with joy, and some were already fanatically shouting for Qing Ya to start the auction immediately.

But when she introduced the background of this cursed blade, the enthusiasm of most people was dampened once again. Through Spiritual Detection, Huo Yuhao saw the reserve member named He Caitou whisper something to Wang Yan, after which both of them shook their heads.

"Spirit-Devouring Engraving Knife, starting bid is one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, with each increment no less than five thousand Gold Soul Coins. Distinguished guests, you may begin bidding," Qing Ya said with a smile.

"Teacher Yu, Elder Ma, I want this. I will definitely help out in the lab more when I get back and work hard to pay the school back for this. If that doesn't work, I can even sell grilled fish."

Huo Yuhao spoke up. He said several sentences in a row just to get the two teachers to agree to buy this engraving knife.

"You don't need to worry about the money, and the school doesn't need you to pay it back," Yu Rufeng said. "If Mingde Hall couldn't even provide one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins for an important student, it would be a joke. We've spent far more than this on Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen alone."

"However, what use do you have for this carving knife? You can't even use it; are you just planning to keep it as a collection?"

Huo Yuhao said with a firm tone, "Of course not for a collection. I have a way to use it."

"You say you have a way... this is no joking matter, Yuhao."

"Teacher, he truly can," Chi Qiu spoke up. Huo Yuhao glanced at her with slight surprise, but another thought popped into his mind instead: Qiu'er looks quite elegant even while wearing a white mask.

Chi Qiu winked at him, and Huo Yuhao finally realized. She knew exactly who resided within his Sea of Consciousness.

This carving knife was, of course, specifically requested by Electrolux.

Back when their attributes were being channeled, Chi Qiu had sensed the power attribute of Electrolux, and upon this carving knife, she felt a similar nature, leading her to guess it was the old man's request.

Beyond that, she even sensed that the material of this carving knife was somewhat similar to the material used at the bottom of the Lake of Life to recuperate the Silver Dragon King.

"You two really are miraculous little ones. Can I trust you? What if something goes wrong?" Yu Rufeng asked, still uneasy.

"When I repair it, please have you and Elder Ma stand by to protect me. If anything happens, just seal it immediately."