Keeping Ning Fengzhi on the Hook

Good grief, every other word was either Titled Douluo or Limit Douluo.

Had the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect fallen behind the times?

Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo exchanged a glance, just about to say something.

"Sorry, Sect Master Ning. I accidentally said some unnecessary things."

Xu Qianqian smiled awkwardly.

"No, it's fine." The words reached his lips, but upon hearing Xu Qianqian's voice, Ning Fengzhi could not help but drop the original topic and waved his hand.

"The next item is an exceptionally special and rare treasure, effective for Soul Ancestors and below. Those eager to improve their strength must not miss it."

The amplified voice from the stage drowned out the group's quiet murmurs, and everyone's gaze instinctively turned toward the source.

A woman in a slit dress pushed a small cart slowly to the center of the stage.

With a wave of her hand, she removed the red cloth from the cart, revealing an exquisite square box.

Inside lay an orange-yellow stone the size of a basketball.

"Huh? It's actually Stone Amber." Seeing the stone filled with an exceedingly terrifying amount of geo elemental energy, Xu Qianqian looked rather surprised.

"You know this stone, little friend?" Ning Fengzhi had unconsciously changed how he addressed her several times since earlier, though Xu Qianqian did not mind.

"It is a special creation formed from the condensation of heaven-and-earth energy. The energy it contains surpasses that of ordinary stones, but it is extremely difficult for ordinary Soul Masters to use for cultivation."

"A gathering of heaven-and-earth energy?" Ning Fengzhi fell into thought. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's treasure-appraising ability showed that the stone before him was an exceptionally rare treasure, but as for its exact use, that remained unclear.

After all, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's ability was treasure appraisal, not an identification guide.

They knew it was a treasure, but its purpose could only be investigated gradually.

Listening to the explanation of Stone Amber's uses from the stage, Ning Fengzhi's eye twitched, and the finger resting on the bidding button trembled.

Stone Amber could increase soul power. It could be boiled in water and drunk, or simply eaten directly—but then came the added remark that three Soul Masters had died after consuming this stone.

"The starting bid is 5,000 gold soul coins, with each increase no less than 1,000."

As the voice from the stage rang out, the bidding guests below fell silent.

It could raise soul power, but it could also kill someone if they were not careful, and the reason was still unknown. What was the point of taking something like that home?

Too tasteless to eat, too precious to discard.

"Hm?"

Ning Fengzhi looked at Xu Qianqian in surprise.

"Little friend, do you need this stone?"

Xu Qianqian had placed a bid, raising it by 5,000 gold soul coins in one go.

Five thousand gold soul coins meant nothing to Ning Fengzhi, but a child who looked to be around the same age as his daughter Ning Rongrong had raised the bid by five thousand for a stone.

Other than his own spendthrift daughter, there was actually someone else like that?

However, Ning Fengzhi was a wise man and quickly excluded Ning Rongrong from the comparison.

The girl before him had definitely not bid simply because she found the stone interesting.

"Yes, it's useful to me." Xu Qianqian nodded without elaborating.

Yet just as her words fell, the bid rose by another 2,000 gold soul coins. The bid had come from the red section.

"A show-off-and-face-slapping plot has appeared?" Xu Qianqian's delicate brows furrowed.

Xu Qianqian was determined to obtain the Stone Amber. Though she was not yet sure whether it would be useful, the amount of geo elemental energy within it rivaled the wind elemental energy in Hurricane Valley. Perhaps her martial soul needed it?

"20,000 gold soul coins." Xu Qianqian raised her bid again.

However, before long, the red section displayed another increase of 5,000 gold soul coins.

A stone that could be used for cultivation but might also be dangerous had actually reached 25,000 gold soul coins, something the stage host had not expected.

"The black section... has bid 30,000 gold soul coins! Any higher bids?"

Seeing the price soar once more, the host could not help shouting through the loudspeaker.

"Hmph! Who dares compete with our Elephant Armor Sect over a mere stone?"

Huyan Li stood up directly. With his height of over two meters and his massive, ton-heavy body of fat, every word he spoke made the entire stage rumble.

"I, Huyan Li, young sect master of the Elephant Armor Sect, will add another 20,000 gold soul coins."

In the blink of an eye, the price of the Stone Amber had soared to 50,000 gold soul coins.

Xu Qianqian ignored Huyan Li's intimidation. She raised the bid by another 50,000 gold soul coins in one go, showing her determination.

"You..."

Huyan Li also noticed that the person raising the price was the quiet-looking little girl in a mask. A child who would probably cry for a long time after taking one punch actually dared to keep bidding.

"Ah Li, sit down." An old man beside Huyan Li spoke. His body was far broader than Huyan Li's, and the soul power fluctuations emanating from him were extremely close to those of a Titled Douluo.

"Yes..." Huyan Li sat back down unwillingly.

The stage host was indeed quite pleased that a dangerous stone had sold for 100,000 gold soul coins.

He ordered someone to deliver the stone to the VIPs in the black area, while he worked the crowd and prepared the next auction item.

The Stone Amber was brought before Xu Qianqian. She merely reached out and touched it.

The basketball-sized Stone Amber vanished without a trace.

"A storage-type soul tool?"

There were not many storage soul tools on Douluo Continent. There did not seem to be any accessory on her hand that resembled a soul tool, but since this involved personal secrets, it was not appropriate to ask.

However, Ning Fengzhi had already begun quietly speculating about Xu Qianqian's identity. Perhaps she came from some reclusive clan.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was known as one of the Upper Three Sects, but that was only on the surface. There were surely some special sects hidden in the shadows.

The rankings of the Upper Three Sects and Lower Four Sects were determined by Spirit Hall, but not every sect was ranked according to its strength. Some sects had not participated at all.

For example, the Zhu Family of the Star Luo Empire. Though it was a family, the way it operated was not much different from a sect.

Then there was the extremely low-profile Star Crown Sect, which could represent the Star Luo Empire, whose character for "Star" was engraved upon Spirit Hall's tokens.

It possessed at least one Titled Douluo, a level of strength the Lower Four Sects could not compare to.

Ning Fengzhi was still pondering when the lively commotion from the stage pulled his thoughts back.

A furious wolf's howl rang out. A wolf-type soul beast, four to five meters long and covered in brownish-black fur, appeared before the stage.

As the auction host introduced it, Ning Fengzhi could not help but stare in astonishment.

"A card that summons soul beasts?"

After coming to the auction house so many times, this was his first time seeing such a thing.

"Fengzhi, bid for that card. Perhaps it can serve as a protective charm for Rongrong," Bone Douluo said.

Though its duration was only three months, having a thousand-year Gale Wolf King as a guard for three months was still quite good.

After all, the Soul Sage secretly protecting Rongrong at the academy certainly could not act whenever he pleased.

"Alright." Ning Fengzhi nodded. He was also quite curious about the card.

"Sect Master Ning, it seems you think highly of the item I brought to sell!" Xu Qianqian's gentle voice rang out.

"Your card?"

Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo both could not help turning their gazes toward Xu Qianqian.

Even Xue Qinghe, who had been lost in thought nearby, came back to his senses.