Douluo: One Man Returns, Heaven-Defying Seal Smashes Tang San to Death

The Heavenly Dou Auction was a grand event in Heaven Dou City. A small auction was held every month, a medium-sized auction every three months, and a large auction only once a year.

With his VIP token, Lu Yu entered the venue with ease.

He wore no mask and made no effort to conceal his identity.

After all, there were only so many people with VIP status. As a temporary VIP, he stood out too much to hide.

The one guiding him was a lovely girl of seventeen or eighteen. Her figure was exceptionally voluptuous, her clothes revealing, and her eyes somewhat vacant and numb.

Lu Yu knew that these girls who served the guests had undergone special training at the auction house since childhood. They had long since become dead inside, with no hope left for life, completely reduced to walking corpses.

Other than serving men, these girls possessed no survival skills at all. Many of them did not even understand basic common sense.

The auction house even put clear price tags on them. So long as a guest was willing to pay one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, he could buy a girl.

To put it bluntly, these girls were no different from slaves.

As a VIP, Lu Yu was taken directly to a private room on the second floor of the auction house.

The private room was large. Aside from the girl assigned to serve him, Lu Yu was alone, making it feel rather empty.

Before the auction began, someone suddenly knocked on the door.

Lu Yu gestured for the girl to open it. She walked over and opened the door, but did not let the visitor enter. Instead, she said stiffly, "Sir, this is a VIP private room. You may not enter without the VIP's permission."

"Please inform little brother Lu Yu that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has come to visit," a gentle voice said from outside.

Hearing that, Lu Yu raised an eyebrow slightly before saying, "Let him in!"

The door opened, and a man wearing a mask and carrying an elegant, scholarly air walked in.

The man approached Lu Yu and said politely, "Empire's Number One Genius, I have long heard of your great name. Greetings."

Lu Yu narrowed his eyes, then suddenly smiled. "For Sect Master Ning to come see me in person, I am truly honored!"

The man froze for a moment, then asked in surprise, "You know me?"

Lu Yu shook his head with a smile. "No. I guessed. It seems I guessed right."

Lu Yu truly had guessed. This was the area reserved for VIP private rooms, and ordinary people, even nobles, were not qualified to enter.

The man had also said that he was from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Lu Yu had vaguely formed a suspicion, then tested him with his words and received confirmation.

This middle-aged man was the current Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect—Ning Fengzhi!

Ning Fengzhi had evidently pieced it together as well. He laughed heartily. "I never expected little brother Lu to be not only exceptionally talented, but also so meticulous in thought. The younger generation is truly formidable!"

As he spoke, Ning Fengzhi glanced at the sofa beneath Lu Yu's rear, as though to say...

Now that you know who I am, aren't you going to invite me to sit?

Yet Lu Yu seemed not to notice the hint at all. He got straight to the point. "May I ask what brings Sect Master Ning here?"

Ning Fengzhi's mouth twitched, but he was not about to lose his temper over something so trivial. He remained refined and courteous as he said:

"I know that little brother Lu is a student of Heaven Dou Royal Academy. I came today to ask whether, after graduation, you intend to join any faction?"

Lu Yu had long guessed Ning Fengzhi's purpose. The only reason he could attract the personal attention of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's master was his talent and potential!

For Ning Fengzhi to come recruit him personally was already giving him plenty of face.

Lu Yu shook his head. "I have always been a free spirit, accustomed to living without restraint."

Though he had not explicitly refused, his attitude was already clear.

Ning Fengzhi frowned, then said nothing more before taking his leave.

He had not directly offered generous terms, but the fact that he, the master of a great sect, had come in person already showed how highly the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect regarded Lu Yu.

Lu Yu's refusal left Ning Fengzhi somewhat regretful, but that was all.

What Lu Yu had not expected was that not long after Ning Fengzhi left, more people arrived outside his private room.

First came the major nobles of Heaven Dou City, followed by representatives of the Lower Four Sects among the Seven Great Sects of the Dou Empire. In the end, even the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan sent someone to recruit him.

Without exception, Lu Yu refused them all.

By the time Lu Yu had sent away every faction that had come to recruit him, the auction finally officially began!

As the annual large-scale auction, this event featured only twenty lots. Without exception, every one of them was a carefully selected treasure.

Any one of them could serve as the final lot of a medium-sized auction!

The first auction item was a sword.

It had been forged by Master Lou Gao, one of the continent's Three Divine Craftsmen. It was incomparably sharp and possessed impressive Soul Tool functions. Once Soul Power was infused into it, it received a ten percent amplification. The sword itself was also extraordinarily sturdy, capable of withstanding any attack below the level of a Title Douluo.

Though it only provided a ten percent Soul Power increase, it was still enough to be called a divine weapon beneath the Title Douluo level!

After all, in a battle between experts, an advantage of ten percent Soul Power was enough to decide victory.

Lu Yu had no interest in the sword. So-called divine weapons were merely mundane arms. No matter how strong it was, could it possibly surpass his Heaven-Defying Seal martial soul, which was suspected to be a primordial supreme treasure?

Lu Yu could not muster the slightest interest in the next nine auction items.

They were either rare treasures with special effects or Soul Tools with powerful functions. None of them held any value for him.

The effects of those rare treasures were similar to the golden-red fruit in Lu Yu's possession, but far weaker.

What Lu Yu needed were rare treasures rich in energy, which he could use directly to increase his cultivation.

He was neither an elemental Soul Master nor someone with a beast martial soul. These rare treasures, which either enhanced bloodlines or strengthened elemental abilities, would have negligible effects on him.

It was not until the tenth auction item that Lu Yu finally showed some interest.

The tenth item on the auction stage was not an object, but a person!

An elderly man with a head full of white hair!

At past Heavenly Dou Auctions, slaves were often sold publicly. Some were young girls, while others were strong, able-bodied men, but there had never been a precedent for auctioning off an old man.

Girls could be bought to warm one's bed, and some wealthy ladies were willing to bid on men, but what use was an old man?

Could this old man perhaps be an expert?

What a joke!

Even with the Heavenly Dou Empire's royal family backing it, the Heaven Dou Auction House could not possibly possess a method capable of absolutely controlling an expert!

Furthermore, unlike the slaves auctioned in the past, the old man was not locked in a cage. He simply stood beside the auctioneer, a faint smile still on his face.

This strange scene left everyone baffled.

The auctioneer cleared his throat and introduced him. "I believe everyone is very confused, so I will not keep you guessing!"

"The person beside me is not human!"

"He is a Soul Beast Transformation!"

Those words instantly sent the entire venue into an uproar!

What did a Soul Beast Transformation signify?

Only Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts could cultivate into human form. Everyone in the Soul Master world knew that!

For a moment, the eyes of every Soul Master in the auction house turned blazing hot.

A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!

If they could buy him, that meant obtaining a hundred-thousand-year soul ring and a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone!

Lu Yu was stunned as well. Through the floor-to-ceiling window of his private room, he stared at the old man on the auction stage with tightly furrowed brows.

He did not believe that the Heaven Dou Auction House could produce a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Even if it was a Soul Beast that had cultivated into human form, would the Heavenly Dou Empire really be willing to put it up for auction?

Just then, the auctioneer continued:

"Everyone, please do not get too excited. The gentleman beside me is not a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast Transformation!"

"He was once a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast, but by a fortunate coincidence, he transformed into a human. He cultivated bitterly for his entire life, yet still remained at the Soul King realm and is now nearing the end of his lifespan."

"He is willing to sell his soul ring and directly sacrifice himself to the buyer, all so he can leave some money behind for his descendants."

"I am sure all of you guests know that a Soul Beast sacrifice eliminates the spiritual shock involved in absorbing a soul ring, while also making the soul skill more compatible with the martial soul!"

"This old gentleman's true form is a Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, making him the perfect choice for a dark-attributed Soul Master's fifth soul ring!"

"The starting bid is one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins!"

At that, the atmosphere in the venue gradually cooled, and the guests calmed down.

Though they had never heard of a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast transforming into a human, since it was not a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, its value could not be mentioned in the same breath.

Most importantly...

It had cultivated as a human for its entire life yet remained only a Five-Ring Soul King, which meant...

This old man's cultivation before transforming had definitely not been high. It might even have been just over ten thousand years.

One hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins was already enough to hire some experts to help hunt a suitable Soul Beast. There was no need to waste money like this!

As for sacrifice?

What Soul Master at Level 50 would care about the spiritual shock of a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast?