Bibi Dong's Daring Move

After flipping through the auction catalog, Bai Shu tossed the booklet aside with little interest.

It had to be said, the treasures of the Douluo Continent were truly meager. They were almost entirely composed of weapons, herbs, and materials from rare spirit beasts, which were little more than scrap metal to a powerhouse.

Since Bai Shu and Dugu Bo had arrived right on time, the auction began shortly after they took their seats. However, once the initial novelty wore off, Bai Shu immediately felt bored.

"Senior Dugu, we've brought such a massive influx of customers to this auction house, yet they try to fob us off with this junk. It's hardly professional," Bai Shu said lazily, leaning back against the soft sofa.

Dugu Bo replied, "Young Master, while these items may not catch your eye, they are rare treasures for low-to-mid-level Spirit Masters. Given the foundation of the Heaven Dou Auction House, I'm afraid they cannot produce anything more precious."

Just as Bai Shu thought the boredom would continue, the auctioneer's steady voice suddenly spiked, laced with an incredulous excitement.

"Distinguished guests, my deepest apologies! Due to a last-minute consignment from a VIP, we are adding a special item to the auction! The Heaven Dou Auction House guarantees with its reputation that the value of this item is absolutely no less than the grand finale of this event—the Ninth-Grade Purple Ganoderma! We beg for your indulgence!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire auction house erupted into a buzz of discussion.

Everyone knew what the grand finale was, and there were very few things on the continent that could be mentioned in the same breath as such a treasure.

Without making the audience wait too long, a seductive maid walked onto the stage with small, dainty steps, holding a sandalwood box with the utmost reverence.

The auctioneer knew the consequences of playing with suspense in front of so many big shots, so he took a deep breath and opened the box with a clean, decisive motion.

The moment the box opened, a surge of extremely pure spirit power rippled outward, instantly silencing the entire venue!

He carefully removed the item inside and placed it gently onto the scarlet velvet cloth.

In an instant, the eyes of the entire room were locked onto it. Countless Spirit Masters stood up from their seats with a "whoosh," their eyes burning with greed and fanaticism as they stared fixedly at the object.

Now they fully understood why the auctioneer had lost his composure—it was a spirit bone! And a spirit bone with a complete form and a high energy fluctuation at that!

"Ladies and gentlemen, you are not seeing things!" The auctioneer's voice trembled slightly with excitement as he roared with all his might: "This is indeed a spirit bone! Moreover, it is a top-tier spirit bone produced by a Wind-Chasing Beast with thirty thousand years of cultivation!"

"Its name is—the Wind-Chasing Left Leg Bone of Extreme Speed!"

The impassioned voice, accompanied by the sudden focus of brilliant spotlights, echoed throughout the auction hall, instantly igniting the emotions of everyone present!

Only Bai Shu, the moment he heard the name of the spirit bone, wore an incredibly strange expression, even unable to stop himself from raising a hand to cover his forehead.

He knew Bibi Dong was a romantic fool, but he never imagined she would do something this stupid.

If he remembered correctly, this spirit bone was supposed to be one of the prizes for the champions of the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament.

In other words, this was a Spirit Hall spirit bone, which should have been under Bibi Dong's control.

And the only ones who could have brought this spirit bone here to be auctioned were undoubtedly one, or perhaps both, of the Ju and Gui Douluo under Bibi Dong's command.

As for the reason? Bai Shu could guess it with his eyes closed: Bibi Dong must have been unable to bypass the Elder Hall to withdraw enough gold spirit coins, forcing her to resort to this desperate measure.

But to have two Title Douluo, who had served Spirit Hall diligently for decades without ever receiving a spirit bone, bring one here to be auctioned just to save a Level 29 piece of trash... wasn't this just forcing them to grow cold-hearted and pushing them toward betrayal?

"Old Xie."

Bai Shu didn't turn his head, merely uttering two words in a flat tone.

The next moment, the air behind him rippled imperceptibly, and a figure that seemed to merge with the shadows quietly emerged.

Dugu Bo caught a glimpse of this out of the corner of his eye, and the hair on his body stood on end; a chill shot straight from his tailbone to his crown! He hadn't even realized Xie Biyan was following them.

That was right—Xie Biyan had been protecting Bai Shu in the shadows the entire time. He had mastered the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect's concealment techniques, which were far beyond the perception of ordinary Title Douluo. Combined with the vast gap in their strength, even Dugu Bo, who had been with Bai Shu the whole time, had failed to detect him.

"Young Master." After appearing, Xie Biyan bowed slightly to Bai Shu before nodding to the self-doubting Dugu Bo.

"Can you detect who is in the other private rooms?" Bai Shu asked softly, his gaze still locked on the spirit bone below.

The aura around Xie Biyan fluctuated slightly. A moment later, he shook his head slowly: "Young Master, the walls of these rooms must have been reinforced with special minerals that isolate spirit power; I cannot detect the specific spirit power of the individuals inside. However, I can sense that there are no fewer than four rooms containing Title Douluo, and one of them even holds the aura of two Super Douluo."

"Two Super Douluo?" The smile on the corner of Bai Shu's mouth deepened. "It seems both Ju and Gui Douluo have come."

"Old Xie, keep an eye on those two. We'll go see them later." After saying this, Bai Shu returned his gaze to the arena.

"Understood." Xie Biyan bowed in acknowledgment.

Seeing Bai Shu turn his attention back to the auction stage, Dugu Bo finally recovered from his stiffness. He asked with some difficulty: "Young Master... Senior Xie... has he been here the whole time?"

Bai Shu nodded without turning his head: "That's right."

Xie Biyan seemed to perceive Dugu Bo's concerns and took the initiative to explain.

"I am the Young Master's Guardian. My duty is solely to protect the Young Master. Unless the Young Master commands otherwise, I will always guard his side."

Dugu Bo couldn't help but click his tongue in wonder. He couldn't imagine what kind of power stood behind Bai Shu to be able to cultivate such a loyal, top-tier powerhouse.

At the same time, a strong sense of crisis welled up in his heart. He was a latecomer who had yet to make any contributions but had already received so many benefits. If this continued, he feared he wouldn't even have the qualifications to stand by the Young Master's side!

Just as his thoughts raced, the bidding for the spirit bone below had already reached a fever pitch.

"Twelve million!"

"Twelve million three hundred thousand!"

"Fifteen million!" A deep, resonant voice from one of the VIP rooms raised the price by a whole tier, declaring the exit of the guests in the general seating area.

Sure enough, the following bidding was a battle of gods. Other rooms joined in one after another, each increment in the millions.

"Twenty-three million!" Another room reported an astonishingly high price, the old voice filled with a sense of absolute certainty.

Dugu Bo looked at the frantic scene below, then at the calm and composed Bai Shu beside him, and finally at the statue-like Xie Biyan behind them. He gritted his teeth, leaned over, and whispered into Bai Shu's ear: "Young Master, may I continue to liaise with Prince Xue Xing? With the help of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, the task you assigned me to find Spirit Douluo will surely be twice as effective with half the effort!"

Bai Shu glanced at Dugu Bo in surprise. "Xue Xing? You aren't in contact with him anymore?"

"Replying to the Young Master, Xue Xing's status is somewhat sensitive after all, so I took the initiative to cut ties with him once I pledged my loyalty to you."

Bai Shu waved his hand dismissively. "Contact him if you wish; I don't have so many rules for my subordinates."

"Thank you, Young Master!" Dugu Bo was overjoyed, feeling as though he had finally found a way to be of use.

Just then, the high price of "twenty-three million" seemed to have intimidated the other bidders, and the auctioneer began to call out.

Seeing that the time was right, Bai Shu picked up his teacup and took a light sip before joining the bidding. His voice was not loud, but bolstered by soul power, it carried clearly throughout the entire venue:

"Twenty-five million."