Snow Empress Embryo

Starlight Auction, Private Room No. 1.

Yan Jingzhe sat on the sofa, his gaze fixed on the mass of airflow on the screen without much change, though the fingers holding his teacup tightened slightly.

"Snow Empress Embryo."

An embryo intercepted when the ruler of the Far North, a seven-hundred-thousand-year ferocious beast, was rebuilding herself into human form.

In the original story, this item had ultimately fallen into the hands of the Sun Moon Empire before Huo Yuhao later seized it. But this time, Yan Jingzhe had no intention of letting it fall into anyone's hands. He wanted the Snow Empress to become his second martial soul and strengthen his foundation before ascending to godhood.

Although the original story had said that forced fusion would inevitably cause backlash in the future, leading to spiritual conflict and enormous risk.

But who said he had to force the fusion? Couldn't he reason things out properly with the Snow Empress? Once he explained the plan, he refused to believe that, with an opportunity to become a god before her, the Snow Empress would still choose mutual destruction.

Besides, he had already spoken with Electrolux. Once the advanced Soul Spirit Method was complete, the Snow Empress would become his first Soul Spirit.

For now, all he needed to do was get his hands on the embryo first.

He set down his teacup, his gaze falling on that mass of white airflow as he narrowed his eyes slightly.

Private Room No. 2.

"Elder Ma, we must win this embryo," Xiao Hongchen, captain of the Sun Moon Team's reserve squad, said with bloodshot eyes. As the grandson of Jing Hongchen, master of the Sun Moon Empire's Illustrious Virtue Hall, and the most talented member of the younger generation in Sun Moon, if he could obtain this embryo and create a second martial soul, then even if his future achievements did not surpass Elder Kong's, he could at least stand on equal footing with him. How could he not be excited?

"After all, that's Elder Kong—the father of Soul Engineers, the number one figure in the Sun Moon Empire, an absolute pillar of support."

"Mhm, this old man understands." Elder Ma's expression was solemn as he sat in the seat of honor. "Also, we didn't bring much funding with us. We may need to sell some Soul Guidance Devices to the Star Luo Empire."

"Sell them. Sell everything. Other than the Soul Guidance Devices I need for the competition, sell everything else I have," Xiao Hongchen said through gritted teeth.

After saying that, he bowed deeply to Elder Ma and the other members of the Sun Moon Team.

"Elder Ma, fellow students, please lend me your strength. Later, any losses you suffer will be reimbursed by my Hongchen Family at double—no, triple the amount."

Everyone exchanged glances. Ma Rulong, captain of the main team, said, "Don't worry, Junior Xiao Hongchen. Whether for the Sun Moon Empire or for your future, we'll give you our full support."

"Brother, don't worry. We'll definitely win it," his younger sister Meng Hongchen said confidently from the side.

Once Elder Ma saw that everyone had reached an agreement, he waved a hand and took out all the Soul Guidance Devices he did not need from his storage ring. Seeing this, the others also began taking out their own Soul Guidance Devices.

There were countless fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-grade Soul Guidance Devices, and most importantly, Elder Ma took out ten eighth-grade Soul Guidance Devices. Once sold, these should bring in two hundred million Gold Soul Coins. Added to the one hundred million Gold Soul Coins they had brought with them, they would have a total of three hundred million Gold Soul Coins.

They were confident that as long as no one had known in advance that the auction would feature this Soul Beast embryo and prepared funds beforehand, the embryo would surely be theirs.

The other factions also began finding ways to raise money.

Thirty minutes of viewing time was long enough for many people to gather funds in a short period.

The starting price of the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast embryo was as high as one hundred million Gold Soul Coins. Princess Jiujiu declared that this starting price had set a record for the Starlight Auction House.

The bidding that followed could only be described as brutal. At the beginning, three parties actually joined the competition, and the price continued to rise, quickly reaching one hundred and thirty million Gold Soul Coins. Once it reached that figure, the pace of bidding began to slow. After all, this was not a sum that an ordinary faction could produce.

Then, the number abruptly changed. "One hundred and fifty million!" One party had actually raised the bid by a full twenty million.

In Private Room No. 2, Xiao Hongchen stood before the Soul Guidance Screen with both fists clenched. "Let's see who can still compete with me this time."

Elder Ma frowned deeply. "Xiao Hongchen, wasn't that increase too much? Twenty million Gold Soul Coins in one go, this..."

Xiao Hongchen shook his head and sneered. "The point is to scare them so they won't dare bid. If we drag it out slowly, the price could very well go even higher."

"Mhm, that makes sense." Elder Ma nodded and said no more.

Private Room No. 3.

"Bastard. Let me find out who made that bid, and I'll kill him." There were only two people in this VIP room, both appearing to be in their forties. The speaker was tall and powerfully built. Most strikingly, his right arm was exceptionally thick, at least twice the size of his left arm. His entire body even radiated an aura akin to that of a primordial ferocious beast.

The other man was short and thin, but his head was unusually large, making him resemble a big-headed doll. The few sparse strands of hair on his head were yellow, yet whenever his eyes opened and closed, sharp light flashed from them like blazing lamps.

Those bearing such traits were members of the Body Sect.

"I think we'll find out who it is. If we can't bring this item back to the young master, then at the very least, we need to know where to snatch it back from."

As he spoke, the big-headed man narrowed his eyes. The air throughout the VIP room immediately began to distort violently. It was like the rippling patterns one saw above flames when one's mind was hazy. Everything in the room seemed to become illusory along with it.

After being struck by the force, the female auctioneer at the side trembled all over. Her eyes soon turned vacant, and she stood there blankly without moving.

The big-headed man leaned back onto the sofa, beckoned to the female auctioneer, and said, "You. Go out now. Whoever wins it later, investigate them."

"Yes." The female auctioneer actually answered respectfully before turning and leaving.

"Hmph." The big-headed man sneered. "I'd like to see who's so blind that they dare steal something the Body Sect has set its sights on."

"Sure enough, they were all frightened off by me." In Private Room No. 2, Xiao Hongchen snorted coldly and turned to Elder Ma. "Elder Ma, this treasure is an absolute hot potato. The auction house will certainly guarantee our safety during the handover. Once the transaction is complete, immediately take it back to our academy and give it to my great-grandfather. Once it enters the Illustrious Virtue Hall, let's see who still dares set their sights on it."

Elder Ma nodded. "That is exactly what we should do. We must remain as low-profile as possible. Auction items worth over one hundred million are rarely seen even in the continent's history. I'll return through Illustrious Virtue Hall's secret channels in Star Luo City."

Suddenly, the number on the large screen changed.

"Two hundred million."

Private Room No. 1.

Yan Jingzhe had finally made his move, directly raising the bid by fifty million. It was simply outrageous.

This left Huo Yuhao, who stood nearby, dumbfounded. He had truly never expected his master to be this wealthy. That was a full two hundred million Gold Soul Coins...

The others were equally stunned speechless.