Under Mu En's guidance, the two flew for an entire day before finally landing five li outside Star Luo City.
The no-fly decrees between nations were established rules. No one wanted to invite trouble over such matters.
After obediently landing and straightening their robes, grandfather and grandson headed toward Star Luo City.
Ten thousand years had passed, and the world had changed beyond recognition.
The Star Luo Empire, once ruled by the White Tiger Family, had long since changed hands.
The glory of the White Tiger Family had become a thing of the past.
At the gates of Star Luo City.
Mu En tossed over two silver coins. The city guards accepted them, glanced at the grandfather and grandson's attire and bearing, said nothing, and stepped aside to let them pass.
Mu Tianyi did not deliberately restrain his aura.
It was not because he wanted to show off. With a level ninety-nine Demon King Guard by his side, there was no need to keep a low profile.
The two found an inn near the city center and settled in. After briefly freshening up, they went out to wander around Star Luo City.
Mu Tianyi wanted the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife, and according to the records in the original work, the thing seemed to have repeatedly failed to sell at auction.
Mu Tianyi focused on finding out when Starlight Auction House would hold its next auction.
Star Luo City was enormous, even larger than Shrek City.
However, although the city itself was bigger than Shrek, the number of Soul Masters living within it was far lower.
Gathering information was not difficult.
Mu Tianyi found a teahouse by the street and sat down. Before he had finished half a pot of tea, he had coaxed the information out of the waiter.
Starlight Auction House's next auction was tonight.
As the saying went, arriving at the right time was better than arriving early.
That night.
The bright moon hung high overhead.
Starlight Auction House stood along the central axis of Star Luo City, occupying an immense area.
Mu Tianyi stood among the crowd, following the bustling stream of people inside.
Two rows of black-clad guards stood at the entrance, all Soul Grandmasters. The Soul Tools at their waists gleamed coldly beneath the sunlight.
Mu Tianyi and Mu En were assigned seats in a corner.
The hall gradually filled with people.
Mu Tianyi swept his gaze around. Every sort of person was present.
He withdrew his gaze and leaned back in his chair, wondering whether he would encounter that carving knife at this auction.
The lights on the stage came on.
A slender figure emerged from the side curtain, walking at an unhurried pace before stopping in the center of the auction platform.
The young woman appeared seventeen or eighteen. She wore a black floor-length dress, and her delicate features and brows carried an innate air of nobility.
Standing on the stage, she calmly swept her gaze across the hall, a perfectly measured smile resting on her lips. Only after the noise in the hall gradually subsided did she begin to speak.
"Welcome, honored guests, to Starlight Auction House."
Her voice was not loud, yet every person in the hall heard it clearly.
Mu Tianyi narrowed his eyes slightly.
Her voice was not being transmitted through an amplifying Soul Tool, but through Soul Power.
The cultivation of the young woman before him seemed rather high, at least at the Soul Ancestor level.
Having a Soul Ancestor serve as the auctioneer showed that, with the imperial family behind it, Starlight Auction House truly possessed considerable foundations.
"I am the host of tonight's auction, Xiao Qing." The young woman dipped slightly, the hem of her silver dress brushing gently over the floor. "There are seventeen auction items today, each one a fine treasure. I believe none of you will be disappointed."
Mu Tianyi leaned against the back of his chair, his fingers tapping idly against his thigh.
He did not care what the other sixteen items were. He only hoped the one he cared about was here.
"Let us bring out the first auction item—"
As Xiao Qing's voice fell, a tall woman emerged from the side curtain.
She wore a high-slit qipao, its slit nearly reaching the root of her thigh. With every step, the pale side of her leg appeared and vanished between the folds of the silk.
Pushing a small cart draped in red velvet, she walked gracefully to the center of the stage, her smile perfectly poised.
A red silk cloth covered the auction item, concealing its shape completely and leaving only a suggestive curve.
Xiao Qing stepped to the cart in high heels, her slender hand resting on the edge of the red silk, yet she did not immediately lift it.
She turned slightly. The neckline of her silver dress was already rather low, but with that turn, the side lighting sharply outlined the shadowed curve beneath her collarbones.
She tilted her head and glanced over the male guests below, the corners of her lips lifting slightly. Deliberately pausing for two beats, she finally spoke.
"Four thousand years ago, the Sun Moon Continent collided with the Douluo Continent. From then on, Soul Tool technology flourished across the continent."
"Four thousand years have passed, and Soul Tools have become part of everyone's daily lives."
"And for Soul Masters, a good Soul Tool is not only an extension of their combat strength, but also a trump card that can save their lives at a critical moment."
She paused, hooked a finger around one corner of the red silk, and slowly lifted it.
The red silk slid away inch by inch, revealing the true form of the auction item beneath:
A short blade of pure silver-white, no longer than an adult's forearm. Its lines were smooth yet sharp, and its blade was engraved with dense Soul Tool formation patterns that glinted with a cold sheen beneath the lights.
"Today's first auction item comes from the Sun Moon Empire." Xiao Qing fully removed the red silk, lifted the short blade in both hands, and turned slightly, as though displaying a work of art to the entire hall.
As she turned, she deliberately slowed her steps by half a beat. Her skirt fluttered lightly, revealing a section of pale calf and the thin red cord tied around her ankle.
"This is a seventh-level close-combat Soul Tool, the Silver Wing Wind-Breaking Blade."
"The blade is primarily forged from the wing bone of a ten-thousand-year Silver Wing Wyvern, supplemented with Dark Iron Refined Gold. It was handcrafted over three years by a seventh-level Soul Engineer of Mingde Hall. It cuts through iron as though it were mud, and when infused with Soul Power, it can unleash blade radiance with a killing range extending three chi."
She placed the short blade back onto the cart, bracing both hands against its edge as she leaned forward slightly.
That movement lowered the neckline of her silver dress a little further. The gazes below instantly gathered upon her, though they clearly were not looking at the blade in her hands.
"The opening bid is one hundred and twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins." Xiao Qing straightened, her fingertips lightly brushing over her collarbone as if it were an unconscious gesture. "Each bid increase must be no less than ten thousand. Now..."
She drew out the final word, her eyes shimmering.
"Begin."
The moment her words fell, several bidding plaques rose from the audience.
The price began at one hundred and twenty thousand, then surged upward by thirty thousand and fifty thousand at a time, without the slightest hesitation.
Seventh-level close-combat Soul Tools produced by the Sun Moon Empire rarely circulated on the market. Their appearance at an auction was itself a rare occurrence.
"One hundred and eighty thousand!"
"Two hundred and ten thousand!"
"Two hundred and fifty thousand!"
The price soared all the way up, quickly breaking through the three-hundred-thousand mark.
Xiao Qing stood on the stage, that perfectly measured smile never leaving her lips.
Between announcing bids, she would unconsciously tuck loose strands of hair behind her ear or slightly tilt her head to reveal her slender neck.
Every little movement perfectly whetted the appetites of the male guests below.
In the end, the price settled at three hundred and eighty thousand Gold Soul Coins.
"Three hundred and eighty thousand, first call, second call, third call—sold."
Xiao Qing brought down the auction hammer and dipped slightly toward the bidder. "Congratulations, honored guest. The Silver Wing Wind-Breaking Blade is yours."
Mu Tianyi sat in the corner and did not raise his bidding plaque even once.
The very first auction item was a seventh-level Soul Tool from Mingde Hall.
Mu Tianyi was somewhat curious about what else would appear next.
Before you continue