Interception! (Please Bookmark)

"Treasure Appraisal Fair?"

Huo Yuhao looked at the invitation Wang Dong handed him.

It was an invitation folded from gilded cardstock. The three words "Treasure Appraisal Fair" were stamped conspicuously across the cover, while the corners bore the Treasure Gathering Pavilion's emblem embroidered in fine silver thread. His fingertips could feel the slightly raised patterns when he pressed against it. In short, it was exquisitely made.

Wang Dong flipped over and sat up, pushing the invitation closer to Huo Yuhao with an eager expression.

"I already asked around. This Treasure Appraisal Fair is specifically held for the core disciples of Shrek Academy. Every year, the major merchants in Shrek City gather a batch of good items and let the Academy pick through them first. Only the leftovers are put up for auction. The session we outer academy core disciples can attend may not have items as good as the ones for the inner academy seniors, but they're still all top-quality goods."

Huo Yuhao did not care much about good items. After all, what good item could possibly surpass the ones Xia Liang had on him?

However, Wang Dong was inviting him so enthusiastically, and Huo Yuhao could not bring himself to refuse. He agreed to go with him.

That night, after the two had eaten a core disciple's grand meal, they set off for the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, completely unaware of the shadow following behind them.

"Tonight, they're going to the Treasure Gathering Pavilion... Find an opportunity..."

Shrek City at night was livelier than Huo Yuhao had imagined. Though the crowd entering through the northern city gate had already dispersed, the shops lining both sides of the main road were still brilliantly lit. It was Huo Yuhao's first time truly entering this most prosperous city in the center of the continent.

"What, are you stunned? Who told you not to come out normally?"

Wang Dong tilted his head to glance at him and smiled.

"There are so many people."

Huo Yuhao withdrew his gaze and answered honestly. Between cultivation and researching soul tools, he truly had little time to go out.

"That's only natural. Shrek City has a total population of nearly five million, almost comparable to the imperial capitals of the major empires."

After following the route indicated on the map for about fifteen minutes, the Treasure Gathering Pavilion appeared at the end of their sight.

It was a massive building four stories tall, its exterior covered in magnificent golden decorations. Its facade was broad and grand, with four young women in long dresses standing on each side.

They wore pleasant smiles and stood with proper posture. Their skirts reached the ground, but their upper bodies exposed their fair shoulders and delicate collarbones, making them especially eye-catching beneath the warm yellow lights.

After showing their invitations, the two were led into the main hall by a girl in a white dress. Crystal chandeliers hung high overhead, illuminating the entire golden hall with dazzling brightness. Two rows of even younger girls in short golden dresses stood on either side. Slender and graceful, they bowed in unison when the two entered and said together, "Welcome, honored guests."

The girl in white quickly led them through the hall and up a golden staircase to the second floor. It was much quieter there. Display stands were arranged throughout the spacious area, each exhibit enclosed beneath enormous crystal glass covers. Light shone upon them from every angle, revealing every detail of their textures and luster.

Just as Huo Yuhao was about to take a closer look, the girl in white stopped ahead of them. Turning back with a smile, she reminded them that they could first have their credit limits assessed.

After all, only after confirming their limits could they shop without worry.

The two quickly filled out their forms at the counter.

"Mr. Wang, your credit limit is one million gold soul coins."

"Mr. Huo's credit limit is... unlimited. You may select one item from the Treasure Gathering Pavilion and take it away without paying any fee. If you wish to make purchases, you may enjoy a forty percent discount."

The receptionist spoke to Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. In truth, she was extremely nervous. This was also her first time seeing authorization of this level.

"Mm, thank you."

Huo Yuhao accepted the red card, which was patterned with streaks of gold.

The moment he received it, Huo Yuhao felt a warm sensation. Crimson Spirit Warm Jade.

As a soul engineer, Huo Yuhao knew more about ores than most ordinary soul masters. He easily recognized the material of this card.

A piece of Crimson Spirit Warm Jade of this size was worth at least several hundred gold soul coins.

The two wandered around the Treasure Appraisal Fair, but nothing caught either of their interest.

Within the Sea of Spirit, Xia Liang led Electrolux and the Ice Empress in opening up the Twilight Forest on hard mode.

"This is much easier to deal with than Evil God difficulty. Xia Liang, what did it drop?"

The group was in the Lich Tower's boss chamber.

At this difficulty, the Ice Empress and Electrolux were capable of fighting as well, so Xia Liang had them move around a bit. He treated it as rehabilitation training for the two and did not step in.

"Not bad. A Shield Scepter. It can resist nine ordinary attacks below god level."

Xia Liang took a yellow scepter from the chest. Empowered by the strength of this world, it could block ordinary attacks below god level. Soul attacks and the like did not count.

"That would be perfect for Yuhao."

The Ice Empress spoke. None of them needed it now. After all, with Xia Liang around, they would not die unless something unexpected happened.

"I thought it might drop the Zombie Scepter. That's the one I'm interested in."

Electrolux spoke with a trace of faint regret in his voice.

The Lich King could drop four scepters: the Dusk Scepter, Zombie Scepter, Vampiric Scepter, and Shield Scepter.

Naturally, the one Electrolux was most interested in was the Zombie Scepter. After all, his former title had been the Calamity of the Undead.

"We can just kill a few more."

Xia Liang opened the map, then suddenly thought of something and looked toward the Ice Empress.

"Where's Tianmeng?"

"He said he went mining. Didn't you say diamonds were easy to mine here?"

The Ice Empress answered. When Xia Liang had mentioned that diamonds were easy to find in this world, Tianmeng had gone off to mine them himself. She had no idea where he was now.

"Mm..."

At that moment, Tianmeng had just dug out of a mine tunnel and was gazing at the stars in the sky.

"Ah, two stacks of diamonds. This place really makes them easy to find."

Then Tianmeng spotted a pit ahead of him, with a well inside it.

"A mineshaft?"

Seeing the terrain ahead, Tianmeng's eyes lit up, and he hurried forward.

Diamonds, here I come!

"Mm?"

Huo Yuhao suddenly sensed that something had appeared in his little storage box. When he opened it, he found a yellow staff inside.

[After use, blocks up to 9 attacks]

Oh, a local specialty? Huo Yuhao immediately realized that it was a specialty of the Twilight Forest, since Xia Liang and the others were currently exploring that world.

"What's wrong?"

Wang Dong noticed something unusual about Huo Yuhao. Why had he suddenly become distracted?

"Nothing."

Just as Huo Yuhao was about to say something, he sensed a familiar spiritual fluctuation.

"Heavens... Earth... Those damned minotaurs! My diamonds..."

Huo Yuhao's spiritual body made a round through the Sea of Spirit and soon found Tianmeng lying in a corner.

"Brother Tianmeng? What happened?"

"N-Nothing. I'm just suddenly a little worried whether that fellow Xia Liang can protect Bingbing properly."

It was fortunate that spiritual bodies could not shed tears. Otherwise, Huo Yuhao would have seen Tianmeng weeping bitterly.

"Uh..."

Huo Yuhao did not know how to comment on that, but he felt that he should distract Tianmeng, or Tianmeng would be too upset.

"Brother Tianmeng, I'm appraising treasures. Can you come out and help me?"

"Appraising treasures? Leave it to me!"

The moment Tianmeng saw that Huo Yuhao needed him, he immediately became invigorated.

"Thanks, Brother Tianmeng."

With Tianmeng's help, Huo Yuhao naturally did not miss that ten-thousand-year whale gelatin. It was of little use to Huo Yuhao now, but since it was a bargain, he naturally had to take it.

After accompanying Wang Dong around for a while longer, neither of them remained interested.

Despite Wang Dong's reluctance, he accompanied Huo Yuhao in buying a few soul tools.

"Yuhao, let's go back and rest."

"Let's go."

As they walked back, Huo Yuhao clearly sensed a wave of killing intent after leaving the Treasure Gathering Pavilion.

"Yuhao, six of them. Five Soul Kings and one Soul Emperor."

Tianmeng's voice echoed through the Sea of Spirit, far more serious than usual.

"Thanks, Brother Tianmeng."

Once he knew the number and cultivation levels of the ambushers, Huo Yuhao knew that this situation was beyond what he could handle.

"I'll notify Xia Liang and the others."

Tianmeng began using his spiritual power to contact Xia Liang and the others in the Twilight Forest. As for Huo Yuhao's safety, he was not worried. If necessary, he could simply intervene himself. Dealing with a few Soul Kings and a Soul Emperor would be easy.

In the outside world, Huo Yuhao lightly touched Wang Dong's senses through their spiritual link.

After the connection was established, Wang Dong's steps paused for an almost imperceptible instant before returning to normal. There was not the slightest extra expression on his face, but the casualness in those blue-pink eyes had vanished.

The two slowly moved closer together and clasped each other's hands.

"Three."

"Two."

"One..."

Almost instantly, Huo Yuhao equipped his flying soul tool and shot away at an incredible speed.

"Mm?!"

The ambushing assassins clearly had not reacted in time and could only watch as the two escaped.

"Chase!"

The six ambushers came to their senses and burst from their hiding places. Soul rings lit up around them as all six pursued the fleeing pair with everything they had.

While escaping, Huo Yuhao raised a hand, and a ball of red light suddenly shot from it. The red light soared into the sky, rising straight to several hundred meters before exploding with a boom. It scattered into countless tiny red points of light across the air.

"Something's wrong! Is that... an inner academy disciple's distress signal? Kill them with everything you have, then leave immediately."

The leader of the assassins abruptly looked up, his pupils shrinking sharply. The instant his words fell, his soul power surged, all six soul rings blazing fiercely as he accelerated forward like a streak of light.