The guard glanced at Tang San's attire.
He frowned.
Then he said perfunctorily,
"The entrance fee is one thousand Gold Soul Coins."
"Or show me your VIP pass."
One thousand Gold Soul Coins!
Tang San's eyelid twitched.
He probably didn't even have five hundred Gold Soul Coins on him altogether.
He had been captured by Dragon Duke and Snake Matriarch earlier.
Although he had escaped,
quite a few things in his Storage Soul Tool had been looted. It had been a crushing loss.
"I... I have an important item to consign for auction. Could you make an exception?"
Tang San spoke in a deep voice, trying to sound confident.
"Rules are rules." The guard's expression remained blank. "If you don't have the money, please leave."
Anger and humiliation surged in Tang San's heart.
Just as he clenched his fists, considering whether he should reveal a Hidden Weapon to intimidate the guard,
or simply leave, a gentle, even voice came from beside him:
"Oh? Little brother Ji Feng, what a coincidence. Are you here for the auction too?"
Ning Fengzhi had arrived with Sword Douluo Chen Xin and Bone Douluo Gu Rong.
They had just stepped down from a carriage that was understated but exceedingly luxurious.
They happened to spot Ji Feng at the entrance.
Ning Fengzhi smiled warmly,
as if he hadn't noticed the standoff at the door.
He invited Ji Feng, "Why don't we go in together?"
Ji Feng understood.
He knew Ning Fengzhi was showing him goodwill.
And putting on a show for the people around them.
He went along with it, inclining his head slightly. "Then I'm much obliged, Sect Master Ning."
With that, he was about to enter with Ning Fengzhi and the others.
"Wait!"
Tang San couldn't help speaking up. He pointed at Ji Feng. "Why doesn't he have to pay the entrance fee?"
The guard looked at Tang San as if he were an idiot.
His voice was openly contemptuous.
"This gentleman is a friend of Sect Master Ning of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."
"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is one of the highest-ranking VIPs in the entire Heaven Dou Empire."
"Of course he doesn't have to pay. Who do you think you are? You think you have the right to question us?"
"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect..."
Tang San's body shook as he stared at Ji Feng in disbelief.
Then he looked at the extraordinary Ning Fengzhi and the other two.
The black-robed man who had stolen his Soul Ring and made him suffer
actually knew the sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?
And was being treated with such courtesy?!
The crushing disparity,
combined with the fury of being publicly insulted by the guard,
made Tang San's vision go black. His face turned ashen in an instant.
His chest heaved violently, yet he couldn't utter a word.
He clenched his fists tightly,
his nails nearly digging into his flesh.
He screamed furiously in his heart.
You dog-eyed fool who looks down on people!
You've earned yourself a death sentence!
And that man in black...
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect... Fine!
I'll remember all of you!
Ji Feng gave Tang San a casual glance.
His gaze was calm and unruffled,
yet Tang San found it more grating than any taunt.
Then Ji Feng followed Ning Fengzhi and the others,
and entered the auction house without hindrance.
Tang San was left alone at the entrance,
bearing the surrounding gazes, each impossible to read.
The inside of the auction house was even more impressive.
The enormous circular auction hall had several tiers.
The display stage stood at the center, surrounded by densely packed seats.
Above them were a series of luxurious private boxes.
Ning Fengzhi took Ji Feng straight to the best-positioned,
most spacious top-tier VIP box.
From there, they could look down over the entire auction hall.
The auction began soon after.
The earlier lots were decent enough,
including Soul Bones, rare medicinal herbs, and Soul Tool fragments.
But none of them caused much of a stir.
Ji Feng remained calm and unhurried. Most of his attention was on observing the crowd.
He spotted Tang San in an ordinary seat on the lower level.
Tang San had finally made it inside too, sitting bolt upright.
His gaze occasionally swept across the display stage, carrying a subtle confidence and anticipation.
Looks like he's here to sell his Hidden Weapons. Ji Feng understood.
Sure enough, after a few rounds of bidding,
the auctioneer raised his voice,
with a clear note of incitement.
"Next up is one of the important lots of today's auction."
"A marvelously crafted offensive Soul Tool."
"The Silent Sleeve Arrow!"
The lights focused on the display stage.
The Sleeve Arrow Ji Feng had seen at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was brought out.
The auctioneer detailed its silent firing mechanism,
its ability to fire repeatedly, and its strong piercing power.
Tang San sat up even straighter.
The corner of his mouth even curled into an irrepressibly smug smile.
He shot a provocative glance toward the VIP boxes above.
Although he couldn't see the people inside, he knew
that the man in black and the people from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect were there.
He would show them what true mechanical artistry looked like!
The Tang Sect Hidden Weapons are ever-changing. How could ordinary Soul Tools compare? Tang San thought proudly.
The bidding for the Silent Sleeve Arrow began.
The price rose steadily, and it was eventually bought by a mid-ranking noble for ten thousand Gold Soul Coins.
For a low-grade Hidden Weapon,
that was already a very good price.
A satisfied smile appeared on Tang San's face.
However, before he could even catch his breath,
the auctioneer called out in an even more impassioned voice, "Everyone! Please be quiet!"
"Next comes the true showstopper of today's auction!"
"An unprecedented series of attribute Soul Tools, provided by a mysterious grandmaster!"
The entire auction hall fell silent, all eyes turning toward the stage.
"First item: [Blood-Sucking Scythe]!"
A dark-red curved blade appeared on the display stage.
Beneath the lights, its blood-like patterns seemed to flow.
"Our auction house's chief appraiser has examined and confirmed"
"that this Soul Tool possesses an exceptionally rare effect."
"Physical damage dealt by its wielder"
"can be converted, at a rate of eight percent,"
"into restored vitality!"
"That is, eight percent life drain!"
"Whoa—!"
The entire auction hall erupted!
Convert damage into vitality?
What did that mean?
It meant a tremendous leap in the wielder's endurance!
For Soul Masters who often had to hunt Soul Beasts
and risk their lives in battle, this was practically a divine weapon!
Inside the private box,
Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin, and Gu Rong's gazes
immediately converged on the [Blood-Sucking Scythe].
They looked astonished and intensely interested.
All three thought at once of
Ji Feng, hunched over his work in the sect's workshop just a few days earlier...
"This item... Could it be..."
Ning Fengzhi looked at Ji Feng.
Ji Feng only smiled faintly, neither confirming nor denying it.
In the seats below,
the smile on Tang San's face froze.
Eight percent life drain?
He instinctively refused to believe it!
How could a Soul Tool on the Douluo Continent
have an effect so contrary to common sense?
It had to be an exaggeration.
Or else it came with some serious side effect!
He curled his lip and muttered, "All hype."
However, the bidding frenzy had already begun!
The price started at five thousand Gold Soul Coins.
It soared past twenty thousand, then thirty thousand... and finally,
it was bought for the astronomical price of forty-eight thousand Gold Soul Coins by the head of a frenzied Soul Grandmaster family!
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