"Yuhao!" Xuan Zi didn't care that Ice Empress was glaring at him. He rushed to Huo Yuhao's side and helped him up.
Xuan Zi hurriedly drew Huo Yuhao into his arms and pressed a palm to his back, pouring his deep Soul Power into him without pause. Ma Xiaotao had already been burned to death. If Huo Yuhao also got hurt here, Xuan Zi truly wouldn't have the face to return to Shrek.
"Old dog Xuan, when the tournament is over, I'll pay Shrek a visit." Xiao Jinchen smiled faintly, then swept his gaze across the crowd. His voice, wrapped in Soul Power, carried to every corner of Star Luo Plaza. "Shrek! You're nothing but a paper tiger!"
After speaking, Xiao Jinchen ignored the spectators' stares and took Ice Empress by her delicate hand, leading her away.
"Ah! How can that detestable human hold Bingbing's hand?! You've earned your death!" Sky Dream Ice Silkworm writhed furiously in Huo Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness.
Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy's viewing area.
"No good! We have to report what happened here to the Sun Moon Empire right away." Elder Ma sprang to his feet and headed out, intending to send the news about Soul Hall back to the Sun Moon Empire.
As the last two matches ended, the round-robin stage finally came to a close.
With the round-robin stage over, Zhengtian Academy advanced undefeated. Although Shrek Academy had lost Ma Xiaotao, luck was on Shrek's side in the matches that followed: they drew Changning Academy, which Xiao Jinchen had once defeated in an instant.
On the competition stage, Ling Luochеn and Huo Yuhao joined forces, unleashing Ultimate Ice to its fullest. With just one move, Ice Radiance Ring, Ling Luochеn froze all seven members of Changning Academy into ice statues.
That swift, decisive instant victory swept away the gloom of Shrek's defeat and forcibly revived the team's flagging spirits.
Inside the Star Emperor Grand Hotel.
"Ah... A-Achen... don't... don't touch there..." Ice Empress's pretty face flushed red as she pressed down on Xiao Jinchen's hand, which had slipped beneath her skirt.
"Hehe~" Xiao Jinchen grinned mischievously. Just as he was about to continue—
"Knock! Knock! Knock!"
A sudden series of knocks broke the intimate atmosphere in the room.
Xiao Jinchen froze, then quickly pulled his hand back. Ice Empress's face was flushed as she hurriedly straightened her skirt and glared at him in embarrassment and annoyance.
"What the hell!"
Xiao Jinchen cursed inwardly and strode to the door, looking thoroughly displeased. He yanked it open.
"Who is it?"
A young woman stood outside. Her golden hair was tied in a high ponytail, and starlight seemed to shimmer in her blue eyes. Seeing Xiao Jinchen's sour expression, she was briefly taken aback, but quickly recovered.
She didn't get angry. Instead, she gave an elegant curtsy and said softly, "Sorry to disturb you. I'm Xu Jiu Jiu, a gold-level auctioneer at the Starlight Auction House."
Xu Jiu Jiu lifted her head and looked at Xiao Jinchen. "The Starlight Auction House is holding a top-tier auction tonight. We only hold one or two of these each year. I've come especially to invite you on the auction house's behalf."
"Xu Jiu Jiu? Isn't she Xu Jiawei's younger sister?"
Xiao Jinchen narrowed his eyes slightly, the corner of his mouth curving into a sly smile.
So Xu Jiawei wanted to make my acquaintance. He'd even sent his younger sister to invite me. This was practically inviting a wolf into his house!
He'd originally planned to storm in from outside and seize the Snow Empress Embryo, but now he could make his move from within.
And just as Xiao Jinchen had guessed, Xu Jiawei was indeed hoping to use this opportunity to gauge Soul Hall's attitude. If he could forge a good relationship with them, it would be a huge win.
After all, an organization with a Limit Douluo at its helm would bring immeasurable returns to anyone who formed an alliance with it.
"Fine." Xiao Jinchen nodded indifferently. "Since the Starlight Auction House invited me, I'm rather interested."
At that, Xu Jiu Jiu handed Xiao Jinchen two exquisite invitations edged in gold. "Then I won't disturb your rest."
"Achen, what's this?" Ice Empress asked curiously as she came up beside Xiao Jinchen and eyed the elegant invitation in his hand.
"This is an invitation to the Starlight Auction House." Xiao Jinchen handed Ice Empress one of them. "It's the same auction house we went to last time."
"The auction house? So are we going to steal something again?" Ice Empress asked eagerly.
"You guessed it." Xiao Jinchen affectionately ran a finger over Ice Empress's pert little nose and smiled warmly.
Xiao Jinchen had two main targets at the auction: first, the Snow Empress Embryo; second, the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone. In truth, only the Snow Empress Embryo was his main target. The Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone was just an extra.
After all, it was the Spirit Bone of someone from his wife's clan. No matter how he looked at it, he had to seize it. What Ice Empress chose to do with it afterward was up to her.
After grabbing a quick dinner with Ice Empress in Star Luo City, Xiao Jinchen took the invitation Xu Jiu Jiu had sent and headed to the Starlight Auction House.
This time, Xiao Jinchen and Ice Empress walked openly into the auction house. As soon as they showed their invitations, a young woman in a black dress greeted them warmly. "Good evening, honored guests. I'll be looking after you tonight. You can call me Ya Fei."
"Hm? That name sounds familiar," Xiao Jinchen thought.
"Show us the way," Xiao Jinchen said with a faint smile.
Before long, Ya Fei led the two of them to Room One in Auction Hall One at the Starlight Auction House.
The room behind Door One spanned two hundred square meters. It was lavishly furnished without sacrificing elegance, and a gleaming white wall stood out. The wide, soft leather sofa could easily seat twenty people.
Yet at present, only Xiao Jinchen and Ice Empress sat there, making the room seem even more spacious. All kinds of drinks and food had already been laid out on the table.
Not long after Xiao Jinchen and Ice Empress took their seats, a soft golden glow appeared in the private room without warning. They both instinctively looked up at the Soul Tool screen opposite them.
"Honored guests, the auction is about to begin."
As the golden light slowly faded, a gentle, pleasant female voice came through the screen. "Thank you all for attending this special auction at the Starlight Auction House. We've carefully selected nine rare treasures for tonight. They'll be presented in order from lowest to highest value. We hope they'll catch your eye."
As the images shifted, the screen grew clearer. At the center of a display platform shrouded in a light white mist stood a graceful figure in a red dress. It was Xu Jiu Jiu, who had personally delivered the invitations earlier.
"Our first item is an eighth-level close-combat Soul Tool, the Tyrant Tiger Soul-Refining Blade. This blade incorporates the right arm bone of a ten-thousand-year-old Tyrant Tiger and has the skill Tyrant Blade Slash engraved into it. It can boost the power of similar Soul Skills by fifty percent..."
Princess Jiu Jiu's introduction landed like a bombshell. After all, this Soul Tool had actually been made from a Soul Beast's Spirit Bone. To distract Ice Empress for the moment, Xiao Jinchen picked up some fruit from the table and fed it to her by hand.
However, though he didn't know whether Ice Empress would care about this sort of thing, he knew full well that when she saw the Ice Jade Scorpion's Spirit Bone later, the little princess was sure to blow up.