Yu Daoyun gazed at the poor girl and sighed inwardly. How pitiful.
The dignified sect master was so poor she didn't even plan to sell anything from the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record. Even selling the Purple Demon Eye alone would've brought in a hefty sum.
Yet Tang Ya had chosen to cling to the sorry excuse for a Tang Sect.
So Yu Daoyun called out, "Come with me. Tell me what you want, and I'll pay for it."
Xu Sanshi's eyes lit up at once. "All right, kid. You said it!"
"I'm talking to Tang Ya. What are you getting excited about?" Yu Daoyun rolled his eyes.
Xu Sanshi was so riled by the retort he wanted to curse. He felt utterly humiliated.
This kid had gone too far.
He was treating the women and not the men—as if the rest of them were outsiders!
Tang Ya's eyes sparkled as she asked with a smile, "Yu Daoyun, do you mean it? You're really willing to spend money on me?"
"It's just a little money."
Yu Daoyun raised his chin, clasped his hands behind his back, and strode into the auction.
At the same time, he added silently, It's not my money anyway. How much could a woman possibly spend?
Tang Ya immediately followed behind him, smiling as beautifully as a flower.
"Beibei, your girl..."
Xu Sanshi raised a hand, looking a little worried for his good friend.
Beibei waved his hand. "Let's go. We'll take a look too. As for Xiao Ya, that's her choice. I won't interfere."
With that, he went inside without looking back.
Beibei had taken quite a blow this time.
They shared the Blue Lightning bloodline, but Yu Daoyun had awakened the Golden Dragon Martial Soul. Again and again, he had overturned Beibei's understanding and left him far behind.
The seats inside the auction hall were neatly arranged, but only a little over a hundred people had come. No one wore a mask, since they were all students from Shrek Outer Court and Shrek Inner Court. Some had just returned from missions outside the academy as well.
Yu Daoyun glanced around and spotted several familiar faces.
Inner Court students Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, Yao Hao Xuan, Chen Zifeng, Xixi, and Ling Luochеn were there, along with some Outer Court teachers.
The auction really was quite the draw.
After a quick look around, Yu Daoyun took a seat near the front and waited for the auction to begin.
Tang Ya sat beside him, a smile still on her face.
Xu Sanshi and Beibei sat behind them, as quiet as sealed jars. They ate the food and fruit laid out by their seats.
An hour later, the lights in the auction hall gradually dimmed, and the hubbub died away.
Just then, the female auctioneer stepped out from the front of the hall. She wore a red gown and held her hands in front of her stomach as she walked forward.
The auctioneer smiled as she introduced herself. "Welcome to the auction at Starlight Auction House. I'm Qing Ya, an auctioneer from the headquarters. All items in today's auction are offered to Shrek Inner Court students at a twenty-percent discount."
"Our items have also been carefully selected. They're not ordinary goods."
"Without further ado, let's begin."
As soon as she finished speaking, an auction assistant pushed an item out from behind the curtain. Qing Ya lifted its cover and said, "Our first item is a thousand-year-old Ice Spirit Fruit. Bidding starts at one million Gold Soul Coins. Inner Court students may buy it on credit."
The moment the first item appeared, Yu Daoyun was instantly on edge.
It was something that could help with the seal. Talk about a pillow arriving just when you were sleepy. No wonder Mu En had told him to attend the auction.
The Star Luo Empire really did have everything—and was willing to sell anything.
Yu Daoyun immediately raised his bidding paddle. "One million two hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins."
Auctioneer Qing Ya looked over at once, a hint of admiration in her smile.
That was the peerless genius hailed as a once-in-several-centuries talent at Shrek.
Then Qing Ya asked, "Is there anyone willing to bid higher?"
Yao Hao Xuan raised his paddle. "One million five hundred thousand."
You don't even need this. Are you just bidding to mess with me? Yu Daoyun raised his paddle and called, "Two million."
His forceful bid made it seem as if money meant nothing to him.
Yao Hao Xuan hesitated. He was just about to bid again when he noticed Senior Sister Zhang Lexuan shoot him a sidelong glance from nearby. He immediately settled down.
Forget it. He didn't need it for now.
And so, Yu Daoyun won the thousand-year-old Ice Spirit Fruit for two million Gold Soul Coins.
Beside him, Tang Ya asked, "Why did you buy something like that? To suppress your bloodline?"
"It'll be useful," Yu Daoyun said lightly, then waited for the next item.
Qing Ya brought out another item. "This is a Level 4 Soul Tool made by Mingde Hall, called an Anti-Aircraft Gun. It can fire a beam attack in an instant and is used together with a Milk Bottle. Bidding starts at three hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins."
This item wasn't much use to Yu Daoyun.
He wasn't interested in Soul Tools, so he could only leave it to someone who was.
But Tang Ya's eyes sparkled beside him, filled with longing.
The Tang Sect had declined because of the advent of Soul Tools, and she was passionate about them. If she could combine Soul Tools with Hidden Weapons, perhaps the Tang Sect might have a chance to rise again.
Soul Tools made by Mingde Hall were the most advanced. Even the academy had to pay to buy them so they could take them apart and study them.
"Do you want it?"
Yu Daoyun turned to her and asked the question that cut straight to the heart of the matter.
Tang Ya nodded like a pecking chick, but she was too embarrassed to say anything. She didn't have that much money.
The Tang Sect was a sect in name only now; even its old grounds had been occupied by the Iron Blood Sect.
At that moment.
The appearance of a Soul Tool caught the attention of quite a few Soul Tool Department students, who began raising their bidding paddles and calling out prices.
Yu Daoyun raised his paddle without hesitation. "One million Gold Soul Coins."
The hall fell utterly silent. Everyone was stunned by the price.
Even a Level 4 Soul Tool made by Mingde Hall wasn't worth anywhere near one million Gold Soul Coins—unless it came with the Soul Tool blueprints.
This kid was such a spendthrift!
Just as expected, after Yu Daoyun called out such a high price, no one else bid against him. The Soul Tool naturally ended up in Tang Ya's hands.
Tang Ya was overjoyed, tears welling in her eyes.
He was the first boy to spend so much money on her. He was so generous!
Yu Daoyun had been rather unpleasant before, but now he was so handsome—and so charming. Maybe her rose-tinted glasses were tinted by his money.
"Yu Daoyun, you're such a good person," Tang Ya said sweetly.
Yu Daoyun's lips curled into a smile as he waited for the next item, feeling quite pleased with himself.
Tang Ya was exactly the kind of woman who had no brains and no ulterior motives.
Then several more items were brought out.
Auctioneer Qing Ya began explaining them one by one, then auctioning them off.
In the back, Xu Sanshi grew anxious. He called out loudly, "Beibei, what are you waiting for? Your girl's about to be swept away! How can you just sit there and do nothing?!"
Beibei looked dejected and sighed. "Xiao Ya and I haven't confessed our feelings to each other. Don't get the wrong idea, Sanshi. Besides, Tang Ya has the right to choose whoever she wants. I have no right to interfere."
Xu Sanshi cursed. "Damn it, you're just too decent! If it were me, I'd fight to win back my love even if it meant taking a beating!"
Beibei said, "If she isn't yours, no amount of begging will make her yours."
Xu Sanshi shouted, "Give me your card. I'll pay for you!"
Beibei smiled helplessly. "My family only gives me three hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins a month. Where would I get that kind of money? You think I'm Yu Daoyun?"
Xu Sanshi was instantly at a loss for words. His body gradually stiffened.
So Beibei was broke...
Before you continue