Once the atmosphere had been built up enough, Bai Ci swept aside the red cloth.
Beneath it was a transparent crystal box.
Inside the box lay the Deep Sea Flood Dragon Left Arm Bone.
A middle-aged man walked over to Bai Ci, picked up the box, and opened it.
In an instant, a terrifying pressure poured out, accompanied by the aura of the ocean.
"As our distinguished guests may have guessed, the final lot is an extremely rare Soul Bone!"
At Bai Ci's signal, the middle-aged man raised the box above his head.
Experienced Soul Masters could tell the Soul Bone's age at a glance.
"A Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone!"
Someone shouted, and the entire hall erupted.
A smile curled Bai Ci's lips. This was exactly the reaction she wanted.
"A twelve-thousand-year Deep Sea Flood Dragon Left Arm Bone! Bidding starts at one million Gold Soul Coins, and each increase must be at least fifty thousand. The auction is now open!"
This time, everyone's enthusiasm for bidding soared many times higher than before.
It was a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone. Even if they had to spend their entire fortunes, it would be worth it.
"One million, one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins!"
"One million, one hundred and fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins!"
"One million, two hundred thousand!"
"I'll pay one million, three hundred thousand!"
Before long, the price had climbed to one million, seven hundred thousand.
Mu Chen was delighted to see it, and so was the auction house.
After all, the higher the price, the more commission the auction house could collect.
Just then, a private room beside Mu Chen's called out an astonishing price.
"Two million Gold Soul Coins! The distinguished guest in private room number nine has bid two million! Does anyone wish to raise the bid?"
This was Ming Capital for you. Even an ordinary auction like this was full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers.
The thirty-thousand increase in one go made those who had been preparing to bid swallow their words.
Those who wanted to keep bidding began to hesitate.
Two million Gold Soul Coins was an astronomical sum.
Even those who could afford to raise the bid didn't dare do so lightly.
After all, the people in private room number nine had dared to raise the bid by three hundred thousand at once. They were clearly capable of going even higher.
So those who could still afford to push the price up a little all chose to give up.
"Two million Gold Soul Coins, once!"
"Two million Gold Soul Coins, twice!"
"Two million Gold Soul Coins, three times!"
The small wooden hammer fell. "Sold! Let's congratulate the distinguished guest in private room number nine on acquiring this Ten Thousand Year Deep Sea Flood Dragon Left Arm Bone!"
Two million was a result Mu Chen was quite satisfied with—five hundred thousand above the auction house's estimate of one million, five hundred thousand.
In the auction house's back office, Mu Chen went to collect his money and belongings.
The old man was there to receive him again.
He handed Mu Chen a bracelet. "Esteemed guest, your Soul Bone sold for the high price of two million Gold Soul Coins. After deducting the ten-percent commission and the five hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins for this bracelet, you have one million, three hundred thousand left. It's all in the bracelet."
Mu Chen took the bracelet and probed inside with his Soul Power. In its vast space lay several Gold Soul Cards and a pile of Gold Soul Coins like a small mountain.
It was a thoughtful arrangement by the auction house.
The Gold Soul Cards added up to one million, two hundred and ninety-five thousand Gold Soul Coins, and they had prepared another five thousand in cash for Mu Chen's everyday use.
"Thank you."
Mu Chen put on the bracelet and left the auction house.
After leaving, Mu Chen first went to a clothing store.
He spent some Gold Soul Coins on a decent outfit, and his whole bearing immediately stood out.
With his blue hair and blue eyes paired with blue-and-white clothes, he looked brimming with youthful energy.
Mu Chen planned to stay in Ming Capital for two days before heading to his next destination, Star Luo City.
There was still plenty of time before Shrek opened for the school year. Before going to Shrek, he planned to seize an opportunity for himself.
The Life Blade.
Or rather, at this point, it should have been called the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife.
It was a treasure made from the Life Blade, and it only cost one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins.
Mu Chen now had more than a million on him, so he could easily afford to buy it.
With a fortune of over a million in his pocket, Mu Chen practically had a spring in his step.
He went to a hotel, intending to feast first.
He'd been on the road for so many days, living on the dry rations Zhang Tao had given him before he left.
"Boss, a table for one."
"Boss, a table for two."
A white-haired boy spoke at almost the same time as Mu Chen, both of them slapping their money down on the counter.
The shopkeeper looked at them with some embarrassment. "Sirs, it's pretty packed at this hour. There's only one table for four left. How about you discuss it between yourselves?"
A white-haired girl stood behind the boy, shyly peeking at Mu Chen.
Meng Hongchen's heart was pounding.
In all her life, she had never seen anyone so handsome.
Though he was clearly a boy, beautiful was the only word for him.
Her lovestruck nature kicked in at once.
The shopkeeper had seen that both parties were dressed in fine clothes and didn't want to offend either side, so he'd left them to work it out among themselves.
"Brother, it's a table for four. Why don't we share it with them?"
Meng Hongchen tugged at the white-haired boy's sleeve.
Xiao Hongchen saw his sister acting lovestruck, then glanced at Mu Chen's unfairly handsome face and shook his head helplessly. "All right, we'll do as you say."
He turned to Mu Chen. "How about we make things easy for the shopkeeper and share the table? Dinner's on me."
"Since you're kind enough to treat me, I'll accept your offer."
He'd put it that way, and there was no reason to turn down a free meal.
With the waiter leading the way, Mu Chen and the Hongchen siblings went to the table for four.
Mu Chen casually took a seat on one side.
Xiao Hongchen sat opposite him.
Unexpectedly, Meng Hongchen didn't sit beside Xiao Hongchen. Instead, she took the seat next to Mu Chen.
She picked up the menu and leaned close to Mu Chen. "Here, see what you want to eat. Order whatever you like. My brother has plenty of money!"
Xiao Hongchen: "..."
The girl's fragrance lingered around Mu Chen's nose, making his heart beat a little faster.
Mu Chen nudged the menu back toward her. "Since you're treating, you should choose. It's my first time here, so I don't know what the local specialties are."
Hearing this, Meng Hongchen gave up on getting Mu Chen to order. "All right, then. I'll order a few specialties. I'm sure you'll like them!"
Meng Hongchen studied the menu, picked out several specialties based on her own tastes, then sent the waiter off to place the order.
While they waited for the food, Meng Hongchen started chatting with Mu Chen.
"What's your name?" She rested her chin in her hands and stared straight at Mu Chen, making him feel a little uncomfortable.
"My name is Mu Chen."
"I'm Meng Hongchen, and this is my brother, Xiao Hongchen," the white-haired girl said with a bright smile.
Mu Chen was a little surprised. He hadn't expected to run into the Hongchen siblings here.