"Were you planning to go to the Star Luo Empire, to buy something at the Star Luo City Royal Auction House?" Lin Xueli eyed Lin Yao with a look of suspicion, leaving Lin Yao speechless.
Then he said gravely, "Dad, I'm not stupid. Of course I know that relations between our three empires are already very sensitive. If that thing didn't offer enough benefits, I definitely wouldn't go. But I do have my reasons for wanting it. Can't you trust me?"
Lin Xueli looked at Lin Yao's resolute expression, then rolled his eyes at him. "Are you sure you can use the thing you're talking about? That sinister carving knife?"
Lin Yao nodded and said, "It's only sinister because they don't know what they're looking at. In my hands, not only will it stop being sinister, it'll even extend the lives of everyone in our household. Just trust me."
Lin Xueli nodded, then said, "There's no need to rush. That thing only entered the Star Luo Empire recently, so its price will definitely be high at the first couple of auctions. As long as we spread some rumors about it and let it fail to sell a few times, the price will surely come down. Then you can pick it up for a rock-bottom price."
Lin Yao rolled his eyes, thinking that the real rock-bottom price wouldn't come until more than three years later, during the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament held in Star Luo.
Still, his father had a point. You had to save where you could and spend where you should. There was no harm in saving a little wherever possible, as long as it didn't stop him from getting the carving knife.
Lin Xueli was an official in the Dou Ling Empire. Though the empire's overall educational resources were a little lacking, he had still taught countless students, and his connections ran deep. Once he put his mind to it, the auction featuring the Ranked Carving Knife couldn't even fill its seats.
Naturally, no one was foolish enough to ignore all those bloody cases and bid on the knife. After it failed to sell several times, its price had dropped to 250,000 Gold Soul Coins.
That was already quite close to the 100,000 Gold Soul Coin starting price in the original story.
Lin Yao couldn't help but admire the power of the old fox once he got moving. He couldn't do a thing against a behemoth like Shrek Academy, but when it came to nudging the price of one or two auction items—especially an item with such obvious flaws—he had everything firmly in hand.
After that, with Lin Xueli leading the way, Lin Yao successfully acquired the Ranked Carving Knife. The moment he opened the box, a vicious aura burst from its red satin lining, stabbing toward his face like the edge of a real blade.
Lin Yao, however, wasn't afraid in the slightest. He instantly manifested his Ender Dragon Martial Soul and beat his wings. A surge of dragon might immediately scattered that evil power.
The fluctuations of dark power in Lin Yao's room had also alerted Ye Guyi. Without hesitation, she pushed open his door and rushed inside.
The evil aura from the Ranked Carving Knife was now locked in a struggle against the dragon might within Lin Yao's Martial Soul. Seeing this, Ye Guyi immediately activated her Holy Angel Martial Soul.
The Holy Angel's flames of light touched the dark, baleful aura and burst with a sizzling crackle, like water thrown into a pan of hot oil. Ye Guyi then faced off against the carving knife.
Under the tempering of holy fire, the evil aura belonging to the Evil Blade Spirit gradually weakened, while the sacred flames around Ye Guyi grew stronger and stronger. This was the absolute suppression of evil by holy power.
Lin Yao also urged his Ender Dragon Martial Soul from the side, doing everything he could to help Ye Guyi disperse the evil power and keep it from striking back and injuring her.
After an entire night, as dawn broke on the horizon, the Evil Blade Spirit had changed. The Holy Angel hadn't completely purified its evil aura; instead, it had stripped away the vicious power that made it devour anyone it encountered.
Now the Evil Blade Spirit was black and green. A little of its evil aura remained, but its essence was the soothing life force of the Gold of Life.
Ye Guyi was panting, a few drops of blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. Once the Evil Blade Spirit's ferocity had finally subsided, she dropped onto Lin Yao's bed.
"You really don't care if you live or die, do you? You dared bring something that evil into your home. Weren't you worried it would turn on all the ordinary people in your household and kill them?" Ye Guyi asked between breaths.
Lin Yao pointed around his room and said, "I set up a filter in here beforehand. You could sense it because your Martial Soul has an absolute advantage over evil and can hunt it down. To ordinary people, it would only feel a little chilly in here."
Only then did Ye Guyi take a good look around Lin Yao's room. Sure enough, he had installed a layer of special material that could isolate Soul Power. She took a deep breath and said, "You don't look like someone who's planning to study Soul Tools in earnest. Why were you so set on getting this carving knife?"
Lin Yao shook his head. "Not studying it now doesn't mean I won't study it later. There's a bargain right in front of me, so of course I'm going to take advantage of it first. This is a Ranked Carving Knife. You know what it's worth, don't you?"
Ye Guyi studied the Evil Blade Soul Devourer in Lin Yao's hand, then said, "If that's the case, you do have a point. Even if you only keep a Ranked Carving Knife as a collector's item, the price you paid was quite reasonable."
Lin Yao shrugged, then said to Ye Guyi, "Either way, thanks for your help this time."
Ye Guyi waved a hand and sprawled across Lin Yao's bed. "Oh, I've been eating and living for free at your place for over half a year. Helping you with this much is nothing. I'm just going to borrow your bed for a nap. I'm so tired I can't be bothered to go back to my room. If you want to sleep in mine, go ahead."
After saying that, Ye Guyi closed her eyes right there on Lin Yao's bed. Seeing her legs dangling over the edge, Lin Yao couldn't help but laugh. He reached out, picked her up, and laid her properly on the bed, resting her head on his pillow. Then he casually draped a blanket over her.
After that, Lin Yao began fiddling with the mostly purified Ranked Carving Knife.
The Ranked Carving Knife no longer had any sinister aura. Only a relatively pure trace of dark power remained, clinging to the Gold of Life and preventing it from fully revealing its original color.
Lin Yao ran his fingers along the blade, and a faint sting immediately prickled his skin...
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