Millennium Profound Ice Grass

"Dear distinguished guests, our auction will begin shortly."

A gentle, pleasant female voice echoed through the hall, like a drop of ink falling into still water and slowly spreading.

All the lights in the hall dimmed as well. Darkness surged in from every direction, swallowing everything within it. Only the main stage at the front lit up, where a pure white beam descended from above, dividing the stage into light and shadow.

A beautiful woman in a dark red gown had already stepped onto the stage. She bowed slightly, saluting the bidders below.

Several assistant staff members entered the aisles afterward. Dressed in matching black uniforms, they moved with light steps, like ghosts slipping into the crowd. Each person was responsible for a section. Once bidding began, whenever someone in that section raised a paddle, they would point in that direction so the auctioneer could spot them more easily.

"First, on behalf of the Heaven Dou Royal Auction House, I welcome all our distinguished guests." The female auctioneer straightened, dispensing with excessive pleasantries. Her voice was especially clear in the darkness. "Now, please bring up our first item."

She walked behind a wooden stand trimmed in gilding, her smile neither too deep nor too shallow, as though she wore a mask.

A cart was pushed onto the main stage.

At the same time, the enormous white screen behind the stage lit up. The blinding light made the bidders in the front rows narrow their eyes slightly.

"Our first auction item today is an exceptionally rare spiritual fruit known as Profound Ice Grass." The auctioneer raised her voice, like a blade slowly being drawn. "As everyone knows, Profound Ice Grass is among the finest ice-element spiritual herbs and offers tremendous benefits to the cultivation of all ice-element Soul Masters."

"We went through great hardship to obtain this Millennium Profound Ice Grass. As today's opening item, I can tell all our distinguished guests quite frankly that it ranks first among all the spiritual fruits being auctioned today."

The red cloth was lifted.

In an instant, everyone's interest was piqued.

Beneath it was a jade-white box, its surface carved with intricate patterns that resembled some ancient seal.

A faint icy mist swirled within the box. It was not white, but tinged with an extremely pale blue, flowing beneath the lights as though it were breathing.

Inside, a small pale-blue blade of grass swayed gently.

It looked crystal-clear, radiating a faint halo, as though it had been carved from gemstone. The large screen clearly displayed its beauty, allowing every bidder present to see it distinctly.

Ziyang sat in the private room without rushing to call a bid.

Very soon, the first bidder spoke. "One million five hundred thousand!"

Ziyang's voice followed immediately. "Three million!"

He directly doubled the price.

"Three million five hundred thousand!"

"Seven million!"

Hearing such outrageous bidding, everyone fell silent. Everyone present had a price in mind for this millennium spiritual herb: ten million.

Yet the bid had surpassed half that amount in the blink of an eye. The other party was clearly someone who did not lack money.

At that moment, the auction hall fell silent, and everyone looked toward Private Room Number One of the Heaven Tier.

No one dared to continue bidding. Status, wealth, and power were displayed to the fullest at that moment.

In the end, Ziyang won the item for seven million Federation Credits.

It was a full three million cheaper than the ten million it had sold for in the original story.

Afterward, auction items came and went. Tang Wulin's Dragon Scale Fruit was bought by the Tang Sect for five million.

It left him upset for quite a while.

After that, two passes to the Intermediate Ascension Platform were placed on stage with a starting price of three hundred thousand. The bids came sparsely, and in the end, Wu Changkong won them for a total of two million six hundred thousand Federation Credits.

Ziyang never raised his paddle throughout the process. That thing was completely meaningless to him, like selling buckets to fishermen.

He could even take one out at will. If he truly had no original copy, he could simply use facial recognition.

The auctioneer's voice gradually took on a hint of fatigue. The next item was basically filler, and she only hoped it would not go unsold.

"As everyone knows, Starfall Iron is beyond price, while its precursor is a meteorite. Our next item is a magnificent meteorite."

Judging by its appearance, it was quite attractive.

It was just that before Starfall Iron was refined, its value was not particularly high.

Its only value was as a collectible.

The cart came up, and the red cloth was lifted.

It was a fist-sized stone, like a fragment of something, its surface displaying nine colors.

The light it gave off was luxurious, seeming to shine from within the stone itself. Fine strands of radiance intertwined in the air, forming a dazzling net.

At that moment, Austin Griffin jumped directly out of Ziyang's right palm.

He looked up at the gemstone, then looked at Ziyang.

The aura felt the same...

Greatness!

His head definitely was not hurting for no reason again.

Ziyang was speechless as he watched Austin Griffin emerge on his own. This guy could actually run out by himself now, just like the Duck God.

It seemed the Fist of Love had not given him enough yet.

"Starfall Stone, starting bid: one hundred thousand."

The hall was quiet. Some people actually wanted it, but Starfall Iron was what held the greatest value, and the refining technology was controlled by certain major powers.

The Soul Masters whispered among themselves, their gazes moving back and forth between the stone and the catalog with some hesitation.

Ziyang directly raised his paddle.

"One hundred thousand!"

No one followed. The murmurs gradually died down, like a school of fish scattering into deep water. The auctioneer waited three breaths before the gavel fell with a crisp sound.

"One hundred thousand, once... twice, three times! Sold!"

Ziyang leaned back in his chair, feeling the weight of the black card in his pocket. Spend money however he wanted—was this what it felt like to be kept by a rich woman?

Na'er leaned closer, the lingering nine-colored glow from the screen reflected in her silver eyes.

"What's the use of buying that?"

Ziyang watched as the staff took away the stone. It grew smaller and smaller in his field of vision before finally disappearing behind the curtain.

"I don't know, but it looks pretty good. The Thousand Refinement effect of Starfall Iron is penetration. No matter how poor its quality is, it's still worth far more than one hundred thousand Federation Credits."

Gu Yue nodded and glanced at Austin Griffin, who had run out. She could faintly sense the danger surrounding him.

As for the final three auction items, they were Battle Armor. They were said to be good things, but to most people, they were no different from scrap iron.

That was because Battle Armor was custom-designed for its wearer. Even if someone inherited the same martial soul, they still could not inherit it.

After forged metal was shaped, it would undergo Soul Guidance formation design according to mecha blueprints, followed by assembly and formation engraving. That was the work of a mecha manufacturer.

An outstanding piece of Battle Armor required both its designer and manufacturer to possess extraordinary ability.

Ziyang held both roles. He glanced at the final three items, components of One-Word Battle Armor, and considered them mediocre.

He was still thinking about the feasibility of his own engraving method.

Clearly, Ziyang's guess had been correct. It merely required the technology of Douluo Continent to catch up.

Soon, the auction came to an end, and Ziyang's group followed the attendant to collect the items that belonged to them.