They ate, went to class, and then fought Class Two.
Class Two's lineup was average too: two agility attackers and one strength attacker. Xie Xie had promptly rubbed them into the ground.
The day before the finals, the academy was unusually generous and gave them the entire day off.
Early the next morning, Xie Xie and Tang Wulin had just reached the school gates when Gu Yue blocked them squarely.
"What are you two planning to do?" Gu Yue asked, hands on her hips, full of authority.
Xie Xie answered honestly, "We're going to the auction."
Gu Yue's eyes lit up at once. She stepped closer, blocking them even more firmly. "The auction? I want to go too!"
"...Sure." Xie Xie thought it over, then turned around, ready to slip away. "Then you go with Tang Wulin. I'll head back to the dorm and cultivate."
That would give him time to keep working on his Rasengan.
As soon as he finished speaking, Tang Wulin and Gu Yue exchanged a knowing glance. They each grabbed one of Xie Xie's arms and half-dragged, half-hauled him out of Eastsea Academy.
Xie Xie: "...?"
"Hey, wait!"
"Can't you two go by yourselves? Why do you have to drag me along—!"
Gu Yue said nothing. She just shoved a fireball in his face.
Xie Xie: "..."
"Honored guests, this way, please~"
The Eastsea Museum stood in the southern part of central Eastsea City. The entire building brimmed with futuristic technology, soaring so high its roof was out of sight.
But Xie Xie didn't take them to the main building. Instead, he turned into the annex on the museum's left.
Unlike the grand, modern main building, the annex had a more classical, elegant style.
This was the auction house's public exhibition area, open for visitors to enter and look around.
As soon as the three of them stepped inside, they saw a huge sign.
The first-floor exhibition area was divided into two main sections: the Soul Tool section and the non-Soul Tool section.
Xie Xie took them straight to the non-Soul Tool section, then followed the signs and led them to a rectangular room.
"Didn't you want to see spirit fruits? Here we are."
"Spirit fruits? What kind are you looking for?" Gu Yue asked curiously.
Tang Wulin's eyes flickered slightly. He said softly, "I'm not looking for anything. I was just curious, so I came to have a look."
The room was about three hundred square meters, with all kinds of spirit fruits and rare plants on display.
Before long, Xie Xie had led them to the Ice Crystal Fruit and the Red Flame Fruit.
The Ice Crystal Fruit was a pure, extreme icy blue. A layer of ice shards, thin as cicada wings, wrapped around its outer skin, while a lifelike snowflake pattern gleamed at its center, its six crystalline veins spread out in clear detail.
Faint Ice Mist curled slowly around the fruit. Even through the thick glass display case, they could feel the piercing chill wash over them.
The Red Flame Fruit beside it gave off the completely opposite sensation: blazing heat.
Its skin was a blend of warm gold and fiery red, surrounded by a hazy crimson glow.
Spiral flame patterns encircled its surface, the pattern at its center blooming like a scorching sun. Its vivid contrast with the Ice Crystal Fruit was somehow perfectly harmonious.
Tang Wulin glanced down at the notice beneath it and couldn't help frowning. "But... this isn't a hundred-year fruit."
"This is an auction house, an auction house!"
Xie Xie explained, "Anything over a hundred years old is no longer considered an ordinary spirit fruit. You have to go up to the second floor to see those."
"But we can't go up to the second floor."
Tang Wulin hurriedly asked, "Why not?"
"You have to pay a deposit. They're not letting you look for free." Xie Xie spread his hands. "To go up to the second floor, you have to pay a deposit of a hundred thousand, and you don't get it back~"
Tang Wulin had spent three months scrimping and saving, only to find he could afford nothing but the deposit. He was completely crushed.
Xie Xie folded his arms.
Sure, with his current status, he could go straight to the second or even third floor to look around, but—
How could he let Wulin off without feeling the pressure?
"Wulin, did something happen?" Gu Yue asked with some concern.
Tang Wulin was thinking about how to talk his way out of it when Xie Xie spoke first. "There's another way. Anyone with a level-three or higher profession can go up too."
"Any kind of level-three professional?" Tang Wulin's hope flared anew.
"Yeah, any kind." Xie Xie nodded. "For example, if you reach level three as a blacksmith, you can go up."
Old Tang, I've given you the way forward. You'd better work hard!
Tang Wulin's eyes instantly filled with determination. He had already made up his mind.
Still, the trip wasn't a waste. The three of them continued wandering around the first floor of the auction house and saw plenty of strange and interesting things.
Once he learned the price of Thousand Refinement metals, Tang Wulin had already quietly found a way to make money.
After leaving the auction house, the three of them returned to the academy for lunch.
After they finished eating, Tang Wulin said goodbye to the other two. "You go on ahead. I'm going to the Forging Room to take a look, then I'll head back to the academy."
"All right. Be careful on the way." Gu Yue smiled, her eyes curving as she waved.
Xie Xie stretched mightily and chimed in lazily, "Sure. Remember to bring me dinner tonight."
"No problem!" Tang Wulin said with a smile.
Just then, a sharp, sneering voice cut in from the side:
"Hey? Aren't you the three little trash fish from Class Five?"
Xie Xie and the others all turned around. A short distance away stood several Intermediate Division students who looked about their age.
The one who had just spoken was a boy with blue hair and a center part.
From the way the Intermediate Division students were gathered, it seemed the blue-haired boy was their leader.
Xie Xie looked at Tang Wulin, then at the blue-haired boy.
How to put it...
Did this guy share a character model with Sea God Tang San? That blue hair and conspicuous center part were just too iconic!
The center-parted boy kept his hands in his pockets and lifted his chin. His gaze was full of condescending contempt.
"I haven't had time to bother with you until now, so I came by to take a look today—and it seems you're even more... cuuute than I expected~"
He drew out the word "cute," stressing each syllable. The malice in his mockery practically overflowed.
"Pfft!" Xie Xie couldn't hold back a laugh.
The blue-haired boy's smug expression froze. His brow furrowed. "What are you laughing at?"
"Bro, before you mock someone, you'd better find out who they are."
Xie Xie slowly straightened and folded his arms across his chest. His tone was as calm as if he were talking about the weather, but a cold glint lingered in his eyes.
"My dad's a Two-Word Battle Armor master and a Mecha Pilot. I've also got the Xie Family's entire Mecha guard at my back."
"And you—"
Xie Xie's gaze suddenly turned sharp.
"Every word you say here, and the weight of the family behind you, had better be enough to back them up."
The moment his words fell, the air seemed to drop several degrees.
The blue-haired boy's face turned from green to white in an instant. His hand, clenched in his pocket, tightened unconsciously, and even his breathing faltered.
He came from a small family himself, so he knew exactly what the Xie Family meant in Eastsea City. He truly hadn't expected Xie Xie to flaunt his family connections so openly to intimidate him.
Looking at the boy's suddenly rigid expression, Xie Xie's only thought was:
What's the point of having connections if you don't use them? Saving them for the New Year?
Before you continue