How Dare Anyone Snatch What I, Tai Tan, Have My Eye On? A Threat from the Tiandou Auction House!

"An artifact?"

Qian Renxue sprang to her feet.

"Teacher—are you telling the truth?"

Her sword had been forged by the previous generation's master craftsman, and its quality was already at the pinnacle of the continent.

But compared to an artifact, it was like night and day.

The only artifact she knew of was the Angel God Sword, passed down through the Qian Family.

It was enshrined in the deepest part of the Consecration Hall.

She had never even seen it!

Anything connected to the word "god" was definitely no ordinary thing.

"Have I ever lied to you?"

Ling Xiao rolled his eyes.

"You have! How could you not have?"

"You said you'd restore my cultivation, then went back on your word."

"You also lied and said you were a gentleman who wouldn't peek..."

Of course, Qian Renxue only thought those words to herself. She wouldn't dare say them out loud.

By now,

the bidding had reached fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins!

But the bids weren't rising by much, and fewer and fewer people were competing.

The host's expression turned slightly awkward. The bids hadn't even reached a tenth of what the item had cost back then...

"One hundred thousand!"

Just then, an offer from a private room on the second floor lifted his spirits.

"One hundred thousand! One hundred thousand! The mysterious guest on the second floor has offered one hundred thousand!"

"This is a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity, everyone! You absolutely mustn't let it pass you by!" he cried at the top of his lungs.

But no one in the audience responded. Instead, a low wave of snickering rose up.

"Heh, what kind of big fool would pay that much for a useless hunk of rock? Got money to burn, do you?"

The hall buzzed with whispers, all full of mockery.

In the eyes of most Soul Masters, the stone was indeed useless.

Soul Masters with Tool Martial Souls would rather devote all their energy to refining their own Martial Souls. Who had the time to study external objects?

Those with Beast Martial Souls were even more convinced that their own physical strength was what mattered most.

Very few of them would ever touch a weapon!

"One hundred and twenty thousand!"

Before the smiles had even faded from the crowd's faces, a coarse voice called out from another private room on the second floor.

"One hundred and fifty thousand!"

"Two hundred thousand!"

"Two hundred and fifty thousand!"

The occupants of private rooms A-2 and C-1 on the second floor had started a bidding war across the hall!

Everyone in the auction house looked up in unison, drawing sharp breaths.

"Whoa—what's going on? Could that stone really be special?"

The crowd broke into discussion.

But no matter how they looked at it, they couldn't see anything remarkable about that hunk of rock.

Money didn't grow on trees, after all. They weren't about to throw theirs away like that.

Inside a private room on the second floor,

"Who is that? How dare he go head-to-head with Father?"

Tainuo, built like an iron tower, looked so grim his face seemed ready to drip water.

"Could he be a plant hired by the auction house?"

Tai Tan, the Strength Clan's leader, sat in front of him. His rugged old face was equally overcast.

This piece of Star Gold had once appeared at the Blacksmith Association.

Back then, Tai Tan had been certain that he could forge an peerless artifact with it,

and make his name resound across the continent!

It would also propel the blacksmithing trade and his clan to the very top.

But at the time, he hadn't had enough standing to obtain it, nor had he been confident he could forge such a treasure.

Now his strength was sufficient,

and he had even obtained a simplified version of the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer from the Clear Sky Sect.

Just as he'd finally grown confident that he could fulfill his old dream, the Star Gold had long since vanished without a trace.

After finally learning that it would appear at the auction, he hadn't expected another competitor to barge in at the last minute.

He forced down his anger and grimly named a price that made his heart ache.

"Four hundred thousand!"

The price leaped by one hundred and fifty thousand at once. A chorus of sharp gasps rang out through the hall.

Countless eyes turned toward Room C-1, waiting to see how the other party would respond.

"Five hundred and fifty thousand."

Just as expected, the other party followed without hurry—and raised the price by another one hundred and fifty thousand.

That almost taunting bid

made Tai Tan smash the marble railing with a bang and leap to his feet.

"What ignorant brat doesn't know the limits of heaven and earth? How dare anyone snatch what I, Tai Tan, have my eye on?"

The terrifying aura of a Soul Douluo swept through the entire hall.

His powerful Soul Power surged across half the auction house and straight toward the other private room,

as if to tear down the screen and see which mighty figure was sitting inside.

The screen lifted at one corner, revealing the blurry outline of half a figure.

But before Tai Tan could make out who was sitting inside,

two furious shouts exploded from different directions at the same time!

"Outrageous! Tai Tan, you've gone too far!"

An old man with a long beard leaned on a cane, while a middle-aged man with eyes swollen like walnuts appeared in the auction hall, one after the other.

Neither man seemed as fierce as Tai Tan,

but the moment they stood there, their auras forcibly pushed back his Soul Power pressure.

"This is the Tiandou Auction House, not a place for the Strength Clan to run wild!"

"You know I've been searching for this stone. I'm the only one who can forge it!

In anyone else's hands, it's just a useless lump!"

Tai Tan's beard and hair bristled.

"Hardly anyone bid before I made an offer. The moment I did, someone deliberately drove up the price.

It's hard not to suspect that you're manipulating things behind the scenes!"

"My Tiandou Auction House values its reputation above all else. We would never resort to such despicable tactics and ruin our own name. Don't slander us!"

The long-bearded old man's beard trembled with anger. He thumped his cane heavily against the floor and pointed at Tai Tan as he rebuked him.

"Hmph, you can't be sure of that!"

Tainuo chimed in from the side.

"Unless you let us see who the hell is sitting in there!"

"I refuse to believe anyone besides my father can forge this stone!"

The two were acting so arrogantly that the middle-aged man with swollen eyes couldn't take it anymore. His expression darkened as he said,

"Tai Tan, are you truly set on making an enemy of the Tiandou Auction House?"

"Back when your Strength Clan moved to Heaven Dou City, our Tiandou Auction House helped you out!"

Tai Tan stared at the two men, his expression equally grim.

He heard the threat in their words.

They had been able to let the Strength Clan into Heaven Dou City back then. Now they could just as easily drive them out.

He didn't fear these two Soul Douluo, nor even the Tiandou Auction House.

But the tangled web of connections behind the Tiandou Auction House was something he couldn't afford to ignore.

He could disregard his own interests, but he couldn't ignore how the whole clan would put food on the table.

"Fine. For old times' sake, I won't pursue this any further."

"But there's no way I'm giving up!"

"I want to see how that brat can outbid me, Tai Tan!"

Tai Tan snorted and strode back to his room.

The oppressive force blanketing the hall finally lifted.

Everyone in the auction house breathed a long sigh of relief, like survivors emerging from a disaster.

They wanted to slip away,

but feared that standing up too hastily might catch the attention of another big shot. So they could only grit their teeth and stay in their seats,

their bottoms squirming as if they were sitting on needles.

"The auction will continue!"

The long-bearded old man also breathed a sigh of relief. He ordered the host to proceed, but didn't leave himself.

Leaning on his cane, he remained standing at one side of the hall.

The middle-aged man with swollen eyes also silently withdrew into the shadows.