Eastsea City.
It was the second-largest coastal city in the Sun Moon Federation's East Sea region. It was also the second-largest city in the Skysea Alliance, an important port and a center for maritime transport and ocean-resource development.
Compared with Skysea City, where high-rises crowded together into a steel jungle, Eastsea City had a much longer history and placed greater emphasis on preserving its historical culture. As a result, the city had a rather old-fashioned appearance.
At Eastsea City's Soul Guidance Train Station, a blue Soul Guidance Train slowly pulled in.
It was a special train of the Skysea Alliance, running between all the cities in the alliance that had Soul Guidance Train stations.
Tang Wulin straightened his clothes and followed the crowd off the train.
Ever since his teacher had given him the Thousand Refinement Heavy Silver Ring, he had put all his luggage inside it. It was convenient, and he didn't have to worry about it being stolen.
Now he had come here alone, and he could rely only on himself. Of course, at least his teacher could still help him.
Thinking of that, Tang Wulin didn't feel quite so worried.
"Teacher, where should we go next?" Tang Wulin called to Long Yuan in his mind.
[There's still plenty of time before registration. Let's go straight to Eastsea City's auction house. It'll be better to break the seal inside you sooner rather than later.]
"Okay!"
Tang Wulin looked around and quickly spotted the law enforcement officers keeping order outside the station. He hurried over to them. "Hello, Uncle. Could you tell me where the auction hall in Eastsea City is?"
"The auction hall?" The officer paused. "What's a little kid like you going there for?"
"It's okay. I came to meet a friend. He said he'd wait for me there."
"I see." The officer nodded. "Our auction hall is run jointly with the museum. There's a special exhibition area for auction items inside, and auctions are held regularly. If you want to go to the museum, head over to the second platform. There's only one route for the Soul Guidance Bus there, so just get on that."
As he spoke, he pointed Tang Wulin in the right direction.
Tang Wulin nodded. "Thank you, Uncle."
The Soul Guidance Bus was quite fast, and the museum wasn't far away to begin with. Tang Wulin reached his destination in just over twenty minutes.
The East Sea Museum stood in the southern part of Eastsea City's center. It was a cluster of old-fashioned buildings, consisting of one main hall and two wings.
The main hall housed all kinds of cultural relics and memorials, as well as specimens of various rare, extinct Soul Beasts.
The wing on the left was the auction area. No admission ticket was needed to enter; the people stationed at the entrance were mostly there for show. Even though Tang Wulin had come alone, they only glanced at him and then let him pass.
According to the sign at the entrance, the first through fourth floors were all auction areas.
The higher the floor, the more precious the items inside.
[Let's go to the non-Soul Guidance section. The spirit items should be over there.]
Tang Wulin nodded. He wasn't sure whether he had enough money, but since he was already here, he might as well take a look. If he didn't have enough, he could just save up.
The display area was lined with transparent cases, each holding a treasure Tang Wulin had never even heard of. Even the cheapest items cost a hundred thousand Federal Coins.
Dragon Spirit Grass, ten-year-old spirit herb. Starting bid: 260,000 Federal Coins. Estimated sale price: 300,000 to 350,000 Federal Coins.
Crystal Peach, thirty-year-old spirit fruit. Nourishes the body and promotes health. Starting bid: 150,000 Federal Coins. Estimated sale price: 180,000 to 210,000 Federal Coins.
Looking at these absurdly expensive spirit items, Tang Wulin couldn't help but click his tongue.
After circling around for a while, he finally found what he was looking for.
Ice Crystal Fruit, thirty years old. Ice-attribute spirit fruit. Can strengthen an ice-attribute Martial Soul and raise Soul Power to a certain extent. Starting bid: 180,000 Federal Coins. Estimated sale price: 220,000 to 250,000 Federal Coins.
Red Flame Fruit, forty years old. Fire-attribute spirit fruit. Can strengthen a fire-attribute Martial Soul and raise Soul Power to a certain extent. Starting bid: 160,000 Federal Coins. Estimated sale price: 200,000 to 230,000 Federal Coins.
"Teacher, I found them. But aren't these two spirit fruits too young?"
[It's an auction, so the rarer things are bound to be on the upper floors. Besides, since these two spirit fruits are here, they probably have older ones as well.]
At that, Tang Wulin called over one of the nearby attendants.
"Sir, how may I help you?"
The attendant didn't act differently because of his age. She smiled warmly as she asked.
"Do you have century-old versions of these two spirit fruits?"
Tang Wulin pointed to the Ice Crystal Fruit and Red Flame Fruit in the display case.
The attendant's smile grew even brighter. "Of course, sir. These two spirit fruits are on the second floor, though. To go up, you'll need to pay a deposit of 100,000 Federal Coins or show proof that you're a level-three professional. The deposit is nonrefundable, so please keep that in mind."
So even if he only went up to look and didn't buy anything, he'd have to spend a hundred thousand?
Tang Wulin thought it was far too expensive, but he had no choice but to grit his teeth and pay.
After he paid, the attendant led him straight up to the second floor. There were more items there than on the first floor, and they were more varied. After a long series of twists and turns, they finally stopped in front of a display.
Inside were the very items Tang Wulin had come for: a century-old Ice Crystal Fruit and a century-old Red Flame Fruit.
The descriptions of their effects were the same as those on the first floor. Only the starting bids and estimated prices were different.
The estimated price of the former was 930,000 to 950,000, while the latter was 970,000 to 1,000,000.
"Can I buy them directly?"
The attendant shook her head apologetically. "I'm sorry, sir. The next auction for these two spirit fruits is in seven days, and they're still in the public notice period. Of course, according to the auction house's rules, you can buy them outright by paying twenty percent above the highest estimated price."
He'd have to pay a premium, too?
Tang Wulin's scalp prickled. But then he remembered how much money he had in his wallet, and decided to buy them anyway.
After searching around again, he found blood from a century-old dragon-type Soul Beast in another area.
Ten drops cost 1,200,000.
In the end, as Tang Wulin gazed at them with reluctance, 3,780,000 was deducted from his savings card. In return, he received two boxes and a small bottle.
He put all three items into the Thousand Refinement Heavy Silver Ring.
Even after leaving the auction hall, Tang Wulin still felt dazed.
"Teacher, this doesn't feel real."
He'd gone from being a plainly dressed kid who haggled over snacks to spending nearly four million in one fell swoop at a famous money pit like an auction hall.
[Heh, this is the world of Soul Masters. Ordinary people can't save up that kind of money in a lifetime, but Soul Masters can blow through it in a few words. You'll have to get used to it. You're a future Divine Craftsman, a genius of the forging world. What's money to you?]
"Phew—"
Tang Wulin took a deep breath, calming his still somewhat excited heart.