The Auction

"It's starting." Dugu Bo walked to the window and gazed at the brightly lit stage.

Qingxi moved the sofa right up to the window and sat down. Dugu Yan followed close behind, casually taking two roasted rabbits from the table. She handed one to Qingxi and started chewing on the other.

Watching the two of them act so casually, Dugu Bo shook his head, his eyes full of amusement.

If he hadn't known Miss Qing's identity, he would have thought she was an ordinary child.

Downstairs, a man wearing colorful sunglasses and a thick coat of hair gel clapped his hands lightly. "Let's welcome tonight's first lot: a young mermaid from the West Sea!"

The lights came on, and a huge cage rose from the floor. A golden-haired, blue-eyed girl, bare-chested and draped in transparent mermaid silk, was curled up in a corner. Her upper body was human, but she had fish gills for ears and a fish's tail instead of legs. Fear flickered in her green eyes, and a metal collar circled her neck. She looked utterly pitiful.

The man let his lecherous gaze roam over the mermaid's curvaceous figure, then announced the starting price. "As everyone knows, merfolk are extremely difficult marine Soul Beasts to capture. This mermaid is over a thousand years old. The bidding starts at ten thousand Gold Soul Coins, with increments of one hundred!"

"Ten thousand five hundred Gold Soul Coins."

"I'll pay twelve thousand. I've never tried a mermaid before." A man below let out a lecherous laugh.

"Twelve thousand one hundred. Who'd sleep with a mermaid? Only you, Wang Laoer, have such unusual tastes. I want her Soul Ring."

"Twelve thousand three hundred..."

"Do they auction off half-beast people here too?" Qingxi furrowed her brow slightly.

"Not just half-beast people..." Dugu Yan muttered from beside her.

"Miss, don't be fooled by this mermaid's appearance," Dugu Bo said. "Merfolk are skilled at using their songs to lure prey, making ships at sea lose their way and fishermen fall into the water. They're among the marine Soul Beasts most fond of eating people."

Qingxi nodded thoughtfully.

"Thirty thousand Gold Soul Coins." A lazy male voice sounded from the second floor.

"The second floor has bid thirty thousand Gold Soul Coins. Does anyone offer more?"

"That box on the second floor looks like it belongs to a prince."

"I didn't know Prince Xue Yan was into this sort of thing..."

Quiet murmurs rose from the crowd below, but no one else placed a bid.

"Thirty thousand Gold Soul Coins, going once... Going three times! Congratulations to our distinguished guest in the second-floor box on winning this top-quality mermaid. We'll have her delivered to your box shortly."

"Our second lot is a thousand-year-old Blood Sun Ginseng. The bidding starts at twelve thousand Gold Soul Coins..."

"Thirteen thousand..."

"Thirty thousand!" Dugu Bo called out.

He had come to the auction mainly to bid on rare medicinal herbs and plant them in his garden.

The second and third floors fell silent. It seemed that, apart from Prince Xue Yan, no one else was there.

In the end, as expected, Dugu Bo won the lot.

As one item after another went under the hammer, the auction soon reached its highlight. In the meantime, people on the second and third floors had also bid on several items.

Dugu Bo bought quite a few medicinal herbs, while Dugu Yan bid on a little human girl who had supposedly been offered by her family to pay off their debts.

As for Qingxi, she bought a piece of fine iron weighing a hundred or so pounds, nearly spending all the money she had.

"These next three items are tonight's grand finale, and they're incredibly precious. Don't blink, everyone!" The man clapped his hands. Iron railings made of Mysterious Iron suddenly rose around the auction stage, and three Soul Masters at the Soul Douluo level descended from above to stand around it.

A tray rose into view, the lights converging on a pale green porcelain bottle.

"What's with all the theatrics? What could it be?"

"I haven't heard anything about it! But judging by all this, it can't be ordinary." People in the hall whispered among themselves.

"Manager He, stop keeping us in suspense and get on with it." A low, hoarse voice rang out from the third floor, making everyone's blood run cold.

"People from Spirit Hall," Dugu Bo said, looking at their box and frowning slightly.

The corner of Qingxi's mouth lifted. Sitting upright on the chair, she watched the stage with an amused smile in her eyes. "It's starting."

"As everyone knows, a Martial Soul's inheritance favors the stronger bloodline of the two parents. But as time goes on, the bloodline gradually grows thinner, and it becomes harder to recapture its former glory. Tonight's first treasure is a single Evolution Pill, capable of awakening a Martial Soul's bloodline and breaking through its shackles!" The auctioneer spoke with fervor.

Everyone fell silent, exchanging glances, hardly daring to believe what they had just heard.

A burst of laughter came from the second floor. Prince Xue Yan sat with a beauty on either side of him and laughed. "As everyone knows, that's practically impossible. Did your auction house not even check the goods before putting them up for sale?"

"Exactly! That's pure fantasy..."

The commoners below began whispering among themselves.

"This pill's effects are truly extraordinary. There's only one in the world, so we can't verify its efficacy. But I believe a Martial Soul's instincts cannot be wrong." Manager He himself didn't believe it, but he still forced himself to press on.

The Duke had personally ordered this. It had to fetch a good price.

He stepped forward and uncorked the porcelain bottle. A faint fragrance drifted through the air. All at once, the Martial Souls of everyone present stirred, and some weaker Beast Spirits even manifested outright.

"There's no starting price. It goes to the highest bidder."

"I'll pay five hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins!" A wealthy merchant in the hall called out.

"Fifty million!" A refined voice sounded from the third floor. Ning Fengzhi gazed through the carved window at the green pill below, his eyes burning with excitement.

His thin lips parted, and he repeated, "Although we don't know whether this item is genuine, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is willing to offer fifty million Gold Soul Coins. I hope everyone here will do us the courtesy of stepping aside."

He was willing to gamble fifty million on the chance that it was real.

"It's the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect..." Most of those present immediately abandoned the idea of bidding.

No matter how interested they were in this treasure, they had to show some respect to the sect with the continent's foremost auxiliary-type Martial Soul.

"Fengzhi..." Bone Douluo began, then hesitated.

"Uncle Bone, if this item is real, perhaps Rongrong can break through the limit of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul and bring back the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. She's a genius of our clan, and the hope of taking the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to even greater heights." Ning Fengzhi's eyes burned brightly.

"Seventy million." Another voice rang out.

Dugu Yan's eyes lit up. "It's the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."

"This pill..." Dugu Bo looked at the green bottle, then considered its effects. His gaze drifted to the woman beside him.

"The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan? They're attending tonight's auction too?" Ning Fengzhi frowned slightly.

"Virtuous nephew Fengzhi, it's not that I, your uncle, want to steal it from you. When something's good, everyone wants it." A deep, resonant male voice came from the box opposite.

"It's Yu Luomian." Bone Douluo frowned.

"One hundred million." Ning Fengzhi spoke calmly. There was one thing the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had more than anything else: money.

He didn't believe Yu Luomian could keep bidding.

"Interesting. Even the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan has shown up..." In the darkened box, the man elegantly swirled the wine in his glass. A glint of amusement flashed in his eyes as he nodded toward Ghost Douluo, who was dressed in black armor.

Ghost Douluo understood and nodded. "Two hundred million Gold Soul Coins, plus a promise from Spirit Hall. As long as it doesn't endanger Spirit Hall, we'll do one thing for the seller, unconditionally."

"What..." The crowd erupted in an uproar.

"This..." Surprise flashed through Ning Fengzhi's eyes. He could certainly afford two hundred million, but an unconditional favor...

What if the seller wanted them to destroy the Heaven Dou Empire?

"Fengzhi..." Bone Douluo put a hand on Ning Fengzhi's shoulder and shook his head.

They couldn't make a promise like that.

"Spirit Hall, how domineering!" Yu Luomian crushed the cup in his hand in fury, stood up, and smashed the table beside him with one palm.

Qingxi frowned slightly. She took a few copper coins from her robe and tossed them onto the sofa, then did it several more times. Finally, she lifted her gaze toward Spirit Hall's box on the third floor.

"Interesting."

She closed her eyes, her divine sense spreading over the entire auction hall. In the dark box, she saw a golden-haired young man seated in the place of honor.