Fishing—Let's See Who Takes the Bait First

The atmosphere in Private Room No. 2 had completely spiraled out of control.

"Damn it, who is it?" Xiao Hongchen slammed his palm onto the sofa armrest, cracking the carved golden nanmu wood. His teeth ground audibly. "No matter who it is, Elder Ma, raise the bid! Add ten million directly!"

Elder Ma, seated in the main position, wore an equally grim expression. Yet he did not hesitate, raising his hand to enter a number on the Soul Guidance Screen.

"Two hundred and ten million."

The moment the number jumped on the screen, Yan Jingzhe smiled in Private Room No. 1. There was no need to guess who had raised the price. Apart from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, no other force in the entire auction house could keep up so readily at the two-hundred-million level. Then he would play along with them.

"Two hundred and twenty million."

"Two hundred and thirty million."

"Two hundred and ninety million."

"Three hundred million."

A minute later, the two dazzling golden words "Sold" appeared on the large screen. Xu Jiujiu confirmed with a smile in her voice, "Three hundred million Gold Soul Coins, sold. Congratulations to the distinguished guest in Private Room No. 1."

In Private Room No. 2, Xiao Hongchen spat out a mouthful of blood. Refusing to accept it, he said, "There's an inside deal—there's definitely an inside deal! They must have prepared funds in advance! Elder Ma, investigate it. Find out which faction bought it. Then leak the information. Even if we can't destroy them, we'll make them sick of it."

Elder Ma, seated in the main position, nodded helplessly. In terms of money, Illustrious Virtue Hall had plenty, but distant water could not put out an immediate fire.

Inside Private Room No. 1.

Yan Jingzhe lowered the hand resting on the Soul Guidance Screen. The looks in the surrounding students' eyes had completely changed.

Xiao Xiao's mouth hung open for a long while without closing. Wang Dong did not even notice two grapes falling from his hand onto the table. Dai Yueheng remained silent for several seconds before softly exhaling.

"Dean Yan is truly generous. Three hundred million Gold Soul Coins, and he didn't even blink!" Everyone had been stunned by Yan Jingzhe's extravagant bid. Three hundred million—even for Shrek, it would hurt to take out that much.

"We got the item. Now let's see which forces will reach out for it afterward." Yan Jingzhe narrowed his eyes and chuckled.

Ever since advancing to Limit Douluo, he had not truly made a move even once. This was the perfect chance to fish for a wave of prey and display the majesty of the Light Douluo.

As for whether that would seem too cruel?

If anyone was to blame, it was their own greed. If they were not greedy, could they blame someone else for fishing?

"Dean Yan, should we send someone back to Shrek Academy to arrange an escort?" Wang Yan suggested after understanding his intent. "I certainly trust your strength, but I'm afraid someone might disregard all propriety on the way back and make a move against the children."

"Mm, that makes sense. Wang Yan, make the arrangements." Yan Jingzhe was confident he could protect them, but as Wang Yan had said, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Wang Yan answered and hurried out of the private room.

Seeing Wang Yan leave, Yan Jingzhe also rose and headed for the door. "Let's go. The auction is over; we should return to the hotel. You also need to prepare for tomorrow's match."

The Shrek group followed him out.

After returning to the hotel, Yan Jingzhe brought Huo Yuhao to his room.

Yan Jingzhe handed the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Soul Bone he had bought at the Starlight Auction to Huo Yuhao. "Yuhao, this Soul Bone is highly compatible with you. Absorb it here. I'll protect you."

"Thank you, Master. If anyone dares disrespect Master in the future, I will never let them go." Huo Yuhao accepted the Ice Jade Scorpion Soul Bone emotionally and swore an oath. Master spent more than thirty million on this, and he gave it to me without even blinking. Master is simply too good to me.

"What are you thanking me for? You are my disciple, so naturally I must consider what is best for you!" Yan Jingzhe said with a smile. "As for helping your master, there's no rush. Cultivate properly first. Once your cultivation is accomplished in the future, it won't be too late to help me then."

"Alright, Master. Your disciple will definitely cultivate diligently." Huo Yuhao smiled, his face brimming with confidence.

"Alright, quickly absorb the Soul Bone. You still have a match tomorrow." Yan Jingzhe waved a hand, signaling Huo Yuhao to begin absorbing it.

Early the next morning, when dawn had only just begun to break, Star Luo Square was already packed with people.

Yan Jingzhe stood by a window in the hotel corridor and looked into the distance. The moving heads in the far-off square formed a dense, dark mass, even more crowded than in previous days. The Star Luo Empire seemed to have allowed in more spectators today. The entire square was packed so tightly that not even water could pass through, and people filled even the passageways at the edges. The clamor surged in through the windows, clearly audible despite the distance.

The competitors' resting area, however, had grown noticeably deserted. Most participating teams had already been eliminated. The remaining sixteen teams were representatives of the strongest academies on the continent. There would be four matches today and another four tomorrow, followed by individual matches between the same opposing teams, which would also take two days. After all four days of competition, the round of sixteen to eight would begin. After each round of elimination matches, there would be one day of rest before the next matches took place.

In the Shrek Team's resting area, Wang Yan stood before everyone, holding a densely written intelligence report. "Today's opponent is the Dou Ling Imperial Advanced Soul Master Academy, the top academy of the Dou Ling Empire. Their team has five Soul Kings and two Soul Ancestors. Their captain's martial soul is the Solitary Bamboo Sword, and he is Rank 57."

He put down the report and glanced at the students before him. "Today's lineup will be all the main team members except Ma Xiaotao, plus Huo Yuhao. We will ensure a stable advance into the top eight. Any objections?"

"No," everyone answered.

As the match time drew closer, the atmosphere among the spectators grew increasingly fervent.

This was an elimination round, and the round of sixteen at that. Losing meant withdrawing from this tournament, while every victory meant a great leap forward in the rankings. Without question, every academy that had come to compete would fight with everything they had under such circumstances.

Having watched so many matches, the spectators had naturally become better at appreciating them. The fiercest clashes were about to begin—how could they not want to see them? There were more spectators in Star Luo Square today than usual, all of them having squeezed in through various connections and channels for the sake of watching an exciting confrontation. Especially this morning, Shrek Academy would take the field once again, and their opponent was one of the previous tournament's top four. That made it all the more attention-grabbing.

"Round of sixteen, first match: Shrek Advanced Soul Master Academy versus Dou Ling Imperial Advanced Soul Master Academy. Competitors from both sides, enter the waiting area and prepare for the match."

The referee's voice had barely faded on the competition stage when the cheers from the audience rose wave after wave. The atmosphere was instantly pushed to its peak, to the point that even the troops responsible for maintaining order were fully on alert for any unexpected incidents.

Yan Jingzhe stood among the spectators, with not a trace of emotion visible in his eyes. A mere Dou Ling Academy was not worthy of his concern.