Soul Spirit Upheaval and Auction Turmoil

The soul-guided car traveled steadily along the intercity highway toward East Sea Academy, and the conversation inside gradually faded.

The last golden ray of the setting sun vanished beyond the horizon. The towering buildings outside the windows sank into the gray-blue dusk, while the occasional streetlamp flashed fleeting patches of light across the glass.

Yun Zhiyu leaned against her seat, her temple pressed to the cold window. Her consciousness drifted between wakefulness and haze. Even after Xuanyuan Sword had returned to her body, a tingling numbness lingered in her meridians from the surge of lightning-attribute soul power, as though countless tiny ants were crawling through her limbs and bones. She could not be bothered to dispel the discomfort, letting it slowly fade into the lingering cool warmth of Sensitive Plant's healing light.

Gu Yue sat beside her, breathing softly and evenly. Her hair swayed with the car's gentle jolts, the tips occasionally brushing Yun Zhiyu's shoulder badge and bringing a faint, almost imperceptible itch. Across from them, Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi were squeezed together, their heads tilted against each other and bobbing in sync with the car's motion like a pair of string-pulled puppets.

Xie Xie idly played with the Light Dragon Dagger. Its blade occasionally reflected a cold, starlike gleam in the dim cabin before disappearing into shadow again. Wei Xiaofeng and Wu Nianbing each rested with their eyes closed. The former's injured right arm lay across the armrest, the blue-purple bruising having faded to a pale greenish yellow after Sensitive Plant's treatment.

Tang Wulin sat diagonally across from Yun Zhiyu. The exhaustion after his Golden Dragon King Bloodline receded had sent him to sleep before the others. His head tilted to one side. After his Bluesilver Grass martial soul had withdrawn, the wound on his palm, torn open by the Golden Dragon Claw, had already scabbed over. The dark red scab stood out sharply against his pale skin. At first, his breathing was steady, accompanied by the faint nasal sound of any sleeping child.

Then, his breathing suddenly changed.

Its rhythm abruptly quickened, like a young beast being strangled, producing short, labored gasps. Then his body began to shake violently, and Bluesilver Grass burst uncontrollably from his palm. It thrashed wildly through the air, the originally dim blue aura on its leaves flashing on and off at a visible speed, like a candle sputtering in the wind—or the restless stirring of something about to break from its cocoon.

"Wulin!" Xie Xie noticed first. The chocolate in his hand clattered onto the metal table as he lunged to Tang Wulin's side, pressing both hands onto his violently trembling shoulders. "Wake up! What's wrong with you?"

The calm inside the cabin shattered in an instant.

Yun Zhiyu's eyes snapped open, her pupils contracting sharply in the dim light. She instinctively reached for Xuanyuan Sword, but her fingertips met only her empty palm—after her soul power had been depleted, summoning her martial soul had become slow and difficult. Gu Yue woke at the same time. Instinct made a faint swirl of wind gather at her fingertips as her eyes beneath her silver hair swept the surroundings warily.

"Don't touch him!" Wu Changkong's voice exploded from the front row, cold and sharp as a frost sword aura cleaving through chaos. He appeared beside Tang Wulin almost instantly, frost-white soul power gathering into a thin veil of icy mist over his palm as he lightly placed it against Tang Wulin's burning forehead.

Shen Yi followed close behind. Her Sensitive Plant martial soul blossomed at her fingertips, its pale pink healing light several times stronger than before as it fell over Tang Wulin like spring rain. Yet her brow furrowed tighter and tighter. Once the healing light entered Tang Wulin's body, it was like mud sinking into the sea, provoking none of the reaction it should have.

"It isn't an internal injury," Wu Changkong said in a lower voice. The Frost Sky Sword martial soul's enhanced perception allowed him to detect an unusual fluctuation.

"His soul power circulation is in complete disorder, but his meridians aren't damaged..."

"His soul spirit!" Shen Yi suddenly cried out. Sensitive Plant's light abruptly withdrew as she stared at the wildly dancing Bluesilver Grass in Tang Wulin's palm. Her gaze settled on the faint halo wrapped around the base of its leaves—the place where the soul spirit resided. It was flashing at an almost berserk frequency now, as if something inside were struggling, transforming.

Wu Changkong followed her gaze, and a flash of realization crossed his stern face.

"A defective little grass snake less than ten years old," he said, his usual indifference restored, though a trace of barely perceptible relief remained in his voice. "It killed a Century Horned Dragon and a Hundred-Year Human-Faced Demon Spider in the Ascension Platform. The soul spirit absorbed enough spiritual energy... It's evolving."

The tense atmosphere inside the cabin instantly loosened.

Xie Xie's hand froze above Tang Wulin's shoulder. The fear had not fully left his face, but his mouth had already curled into a relieved grin. "You scared me to death... I thought that Human-Faced Demon Spider's poison had seeped into him..."

"With courage like yours." Zhang Yangzi lifted his head from Wang Jinxi's shoulder, his hair flattened into a mess, his voice thick with sleep.

"One spider could scare you sick."

"What do you know?" Xie Xie rolled his eyes, but unlike usual, he did not snap back. He merely carefully straightened Tang Wulin's tilted head and let him lean against his own shoulder.

"That beast's venom splashed onto my pant leg and nearly burned two holes through my school uniform. If it had splashed onto skin..."

"Then you can start considering amputation," Wei Xiaofeng coolly added. Azure Shadow Serpent's sensitivity to toxins made him more aware than the others of the Human-Faced Demon Spider's terror.

Yun Zhiyu loosened the fist she had unconsciously clenched. Her nails had left four crescent-shaped red marks in her palm. She exhaled slowly and leaned back against her seat, though her gaze remained on Tang Wulin.

The Bluesilver Grass gradually calmed. The blue aura on its leaves still flickered, but no longer in that violent, erratic manner. Instead, it settled into a steady rhythm, like breathing.

"How long until he wakes?" she asked, her voice hoarse like sandpaper scraping.

"Hard to say!" Shen Yi withdrew Sensitive Plant and sat down beside Tang Wulin, lightly placing her fingers against his wrist.

"The evolution of a defective soul spirit is rare to begin with. His little grass snake absorbed far more spiritual energy than expected in the Ascension Platform. It could take an hour or two at the fastest. At worst... he may not wake until tomorrow."

"Then let him sleep!" Wu Changkong returned to the front row, Heavenfrost Sword's aura withdrawing into his body as the temperature inside the cabin rose slightly.

"Soul spirit evolution is an opportunity. It cannot be forced."

Everyone quieted down again, though this time no one truly fell asleep. Xie Xie maintained that slightly awkward posture, allowing Tang Wulin to lean against his shoulder. The Light Dragon Dagger had been returned to its sheath, his hands folded over his knees as his eyes occasionally swept over his companion's pale face.

Yun Zhiyu closed her eyes, trying to sink back into that half-dreaming state of rest. Yet the exhaustion lingering in her meridians and the shock from moments ago kept her nerves taut. Her awareness floated through the darkness like a fallen leaf spinning in a rushing stream.

Just then, a faint vibration came from her left wrist.

It was very light, like the fluttering wings of an insect, yet it carried a distinctive frequency with extraordinary penetration. Yun Zhiyu's brows faintly drew together as she slowly opened her eyes and lowered her head toward her wrist—

A silver-white bracelet encircled it. Its surface bore the muted texture of an ancient bronze artifact, without any unnecessary decoration. Only a faint dragon-shaped pattern was engraved along the inner side. Unlike the commonly seen soul-guided communicators, its design was so archaic it seemed almost clumsy, like an artifact that had stepped out of a museum. Yet anyone knowledgeable enough to inspect it closely would discover that beneath the seemingly rough metal surface lay soul-guided circuits of frightening precision, every line corresponding to the trajectory of some ancient formation.

Yun Zhiyu lightly tapped the bracelet's surface. A faint glow lit up from the dragon pattern, projecting a line of pale golden text into her palm: [Incoming call from Mu Chen].

Her fingertip swept through the light screen, connecting the call.

"Uncle-Master." She kept her voice low, as though afraid to disturb the cabin's quiet, but it still reached every awake person clearly.

The image of a middle-aged man appeared within the light screen. He wore plain gray work clothes, with small metal fragments clinging to his cuffs. He had clearly just stepped away from the forging platform. Unlike Zhen Hua's naturally imposing presence, Mu Chen's face held the gentle warmth unique to someone who had spent years beside a furnace. Laughter hid in the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, making him seem more like a friendly neighbor than the president of the Forging Masters Association.

"Zhiyu," Mu Chen's voice came through the light screen with a faint metallic resonance. "I didn't interrupt your rest, did I?"

"We're still in the car." Yun Zhiyu turned slightly and dimmed the light screen. "What is it, Uncle-Master?"

"Good news." Mu Chen rubbed his hands together, and traces of powder from some rare metal seemed to remain between his fingers. "East Sea Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion is holding an auction tomorrow afternoon. The scale is considerable, and there are several things that might be useful for children like you. The association prepared two invitations for you and Wulin—"

He paused, smiling meaningfully. "Each invitation can bring four people. Come by the association before tomorrow afternoon and pick them up."

Yun Zhiyu lightly rubbed the edge of her bracelet. The silver-white metal felt as warm and smooth as jade, a strange contrast to its hard, cold appearance.

"Wulin may not be able to go," she answered honestly. "His soul spirit is evolving. We don't know when he'll wake."

"His soul spirit is evolving?" Mu Chen raised his brows, then smiled in understanding. "That boy's little grass snake? Misfortune has turned into fortune, then. No matter. Take the invitations first. If he wakes early, you can go together. If he doesn't, choose a few reliable companions. There are two invitations and eight spots. Use your own judgment."

"Understood. Thank you, Uncle-Master."

"Why be so polite?" Mu Chen waved his hand, and ripples spread through his image on the screen. "Senior Brother told me to take good care of you."

The light screen went dark, and the silver dragon pattern returned to silence.

Before Yun Zhiyu could put away the bracelet, a face suddenly leaned in from the side, so close she could see the eager light dancing in his pupils.

"Class monitor!" Xie Xie lowered his voice as much as he could, though he could not conceal his excitement. He looked like a mouse that had stolen oil. "An auction? A Myriad Treasures Pavilion auction? Take us with you!"

Yun Zhiyu jumped in surprise and instinctively leaned back, nearly striking the cold car window with the back of her head. Gu Yue faintly frowned beside her, irritation flashing in her eyes beneath her silver hair, but she said nothing.

"Big Sis Yun, best class monitor, good class monitor..." Xie Xie's mouth seemed wound up and could not stop. Both hands clung to the seatback as he stretched over in an almost twisted posture.

"Class monitor, you're the best. Class monitor, you're beautiful and kind. Class monitor, you..."

"Stop!" Yun Zhiyu pressed a hand against his forehead and pushed his increasingly close face farther away. Her tone was as calm as if they were discussing tomorrow's weather. "Let me think about it."

"What is there to think about?" Xie Xie anxiously scratched his hair, the Light Dragon Dagger swinging at his waist. "A Myriad Treasures Pavilion auction! I heard that a ten-thousand-year soul bone appeared last time. Its starting price was eight million Federation Credits, and a mysterious buyer took it for twenty million! How many times in a lifetime do you get to witness something like that?"

"Do you have money?" Wei Xiaofeng quietly cut in from the side. Azure Shadow Serpent's sharp senses let him seize the heart of the matter precisely.

"Twenty million Federation Credits. Selling you wouldn't even get the fraction of it."

Xie Xie's expression stiffened for an instant, then he returned to his usual cheeky grin. "Looking doesn't cost anything! Besides, doesn't the class monitor have invitations? It would be good to broaden our horizons!"

As he spoke, his gaze suddenly settled on the silver-white bracelet around Yun Zhiyu's wrist. The faint glow from the call had already faded, but its distinct metallic texture still carried a shadowy sheen in the dim cabin light, like the eye of some sleeping beast quietly watching everything from the darkness.

Xie Xie narrowed his eyes. As an agility-attack soul master, his attention to detail allowed him to notice something unusual.

"Class monitor!" He leaned even closer, his nose nearly touching Yun Zhiyu's wrist. She slapped him away, but he did not mind, merely rubbing his forehead as he continued examining it.

"This bracelet of yours... looks even more advanced than Wulin's."

Yun Zhiyu's movements paused almost imperceptibly.

As Mu Chen's disciple, Tang Wulin had received a communication bracelet issued by the Forging Masters Association after joining it.

It was a relatively common standard soul-guided device on the market, with a silver-white metal shell and the hammer-shaped emblem of the Forging Masters Association etched across its surface. It was fully functional and worth roughly one hundred thousand Federation Credits. For a beginner forger, that was already an excellent benefit, and Mu Chen had specially arranged it for him.

But Yun Zhiyu's bracelet...

Xie Xie scratched his chin, trying hard to search his memories for a similar model. He came from the Xie Family, a family of mecha masters. It was not among the top families, but his horizons were still broader than those of most children.

He had seen many high-end soul-guided communicators sold on the market: the Douluo Federation's Flowing Cloud Series, the Douling Empire's Startrack Series, even the Bluesilver Series supplied exclusively within Shrek Academy. Not one could compare to the silver-white bracelet before him.

That archaic design, that restrained yet immensely penetrating soul power fluctuation, that sense of perfect compatibility as though it were linked to its wearer's bloodline...

"At least five hundred thousand Federation Credits?" Xie Xie ventured, his voice tinged with uncertain amazement. "Wulin's was an association benefit. But yours..."

"It was too."

Yun Zhiyu's calm voice cut in, as though she had anticipated it—or as though she were simply mentioning it offhand. Her eyes fell on her vague reflection in the car window, where the bracelet became a faint streak of light.

"I'm a little better at forging than Wulin," she said, her tone as casual as if she were stating a fact unrelated to herself. "Barely Thousandfold Forging, so the equipment is a little better too."

The cabin fell silent for a moment.

Then, aside from the unconscious Tang Wulin, the other six people inhaled sharply at once.

The sound was so perfectly synchronized that it seemed rehearsed, creating a brief swirl of air in the enclosed cabin.

Zhang Yangzi's jaw nearly smashed into Wang Jinxi's head. The impact woke Wang Jinxi, who opened his eyes in confusion and was stunned by the atmosphere before he could figure out what was happening. Wei Xiaofeng's pupils shrank to pinpoints. Azure Shadow Serpent's instincts made the words "Thousandfold Forging" provoke an almost reflexive shudder in him. Wu Nianbing's motion of wiping the Icebound Frost Sword froze halfway, Frostmark condensing into a strange ice flower across the blade.

Gu Yue did not gasp. Her eyes merely widened slightly before returning to their usual indifference. Yet the faint upward curve at the corner of her lips revealed a trace of knowing amusement.

In the front seats, Shen Yi and Wu Changkong's mouths twitched at the same time.

The twitch was slight, as though they had been lightly jolted by an electric current, and they immediately regained their usual composure. Yet anyone familiar with them could see the stormy waves hidden beneath that composure.

Wu Changkong sat with his hands behind his back, Heavenfrost Sword's aura perfectly contained. Only the fingertips resting on the armrest tapped twice, as if suppressing some emotion on the verge of erupting. His gaze met Shen Yi's briefly through the rearview mirror before both looked away.

Shen Yi simply turned around. Sensitive Plant silently bloomed at her fingertips for an instant before quickly withdrawing. Her gaze rested on Yun Zhiyu's silver-white bracelet, and a complicated smile flashed in her eyes.

Little Zhiyu...

She muttered inwardly without revealing anything on her face. Does she not even need a draft before lying? Not a flicker of expression, utterly calm, as though those words truly flowed naturally from her heart. Zhen Hua's personal disciple, at Peak Spirit Forging and Half-Step Fusion Forging... yet she calls it "barely Thousandfold Forging." That is not how one hides one's abilities. And that Tang Sect internal high-tech bracelet, the Dragonmark Series, personally requested by Pavilion Master Yun Ming for his daughter—fewer than ten are circulating on the market, priceless and unavailable, listed by the Federal Council as a strategic soul-guided device—and she calls it "worth five hundred thousand Federation Credits, an association benefit."

The corner of Shen Yi's mouth twitched again. This time, she could not hold it back. She lowered her head and pressed a fingertip to her lips, concealing the bitter smile that nearly spilled out.

This girl grew up in the Sea God's Pavilion. She learned nothing else, but she did learn that unchanging calm in the face of catastrophe perfectly. How did someone as upright and noble as Pavilion Master Yun Ming raise such a... crafty little daughter?

"Class monitor!" Xie Xie's voice broke the strange silence in the cabin. He seemed wholly unaware of the odd atmosphere—or perhaps simply could not spare attention for it. He clung to the seatback in an almost fawning posture.

"Please support me—"

Before he could finish, three gazes transformed into cold blades and pinned themselves squarely into his back.

Gu Yue sat beside Yun Zhiyu, without a trace of warmth in her eyes. She had not released her martial soul, but her exquisite control over the elements made the air inside the cabin suddenly drop two degrees. Her gaze was like a freezing wind from the Far North, making every hair on the back of Xie Xie's neck stand on end.

Wu Nianbing simply set down the Icebound Frost Sword and crossed her arms. Though Skyfrost Mist Shadow had not been activated, the bone-deep chill radiating from her carried more pressure than any soul skill. Her gaze landed on the hand Xie Xie had placed on the seatback, as though she were looking at a claw about to be severed.

The third gaze came from Zhang Yangzi. He had been half asleep, but Wang Jinxi's headbutt had fully awakened him. He now looked sideways at Xie Xie with near mockery, his mouth twisting into an exaggerated curve. "Shameless!"

The three words struck with force.

Xie Xie's voice came to an abrupt halt, like a duck being strangled. He stiffly turned his head and met Gu Yue and Wu Nianbing's pairs of icy eyes, then looked at Zhang Yangzi's expression, which plainly said, "I have never seen such a shameless person." His Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty.

"Just joking," he quickly said, raising both hands in surrender, the Light Dragon Dagger swaying at his waist. "Just joking. Don't mind me..."

His smile was as guilty as a mouse cornered by a cat. His mouth formed a stiff curve, while the light in his eyes flowed smoothly from fawning to fearful to ingratiating.

Watching from the side, Shen Yi finally could not hold back. She let out a soft snicker, light as a spring breeze brushing Sensitive Plant's leaves, carrying helpless affection.

She continued muttering inwardly. If Pavilion Master Yun Ming found out that his precious daughter had been publicly asked to "support" some brat... he would probably march from the Sea God's Pavilion with the Heaven-Piercing Divine Spear the next day and flatten the Xie Family's front gate. Pavilion Master Yun has always been famously protective at Shrek Academy. Now that he holds such a lofty position, his methods are even more unfathomable, but his devotion to family and care for little Zhiyu likely have not changed at all. Xie Xie, if you knew Zhiyu's real identity, you would probably flee East Sea City overnight in terror.

"Enough!" Wu Changkong's voice came from the front row, frosty and cold, yet possessing a strange calming power.

He turned around, his gaze sweeping through the cabin. Though his aura remained restrained, the pressure forged over years instantly calmed the restless atmosphere.

"You performed well today!" he said. His voice was not loud, but it reached every person clearly.

"This afternoon and tomorrow, you rest."

The cabin went quiet for a moment. Then cheers nearly lifted off the roof.

"Long live Teacher Wu!" Xie Xie jumped up first, nearly banging his head against the roof before Zhang Yangzi yanked him back into his seat. Wang Jinxi's drowsiness vanished completely, excitement blazing in his dark golden eyes.

A genuine smile rarely seen on Wei Xiaofeng lifted his mouth, and Azure Shadow Serpent's gloomy aura faded considerably. Wu Nianbing picked up the Icebound Frost Sword again, Frostmark flowing cheerfully along the blade as though celebrating the sudden vacation.

Gu Yue did not cheer. Her eyes merely curved slightly, like a crescent moon quietly rising into the night sky.

Yun Zhiyu leaned against her seat. The silver-white bracelet gave off a gentle sheen beneath the faint light filtering through the window. Watching her companions cheer and celebrate, the corner of her mouth unconsciously lifted into a tiny curve. It was faint, like a ripple quietly cracking across a frozen lake, gone in an instant.

During a gap in the cheering, Xie Xie did not forget to make faces at Yun Zhiyu. The meaning in his eyes could not have been clearer: Class monitor, the auction!

Yun Zhiyu met his gaze for three seconds before finally sighing helplessly. The sigh was soft, like the last melting snow drifting down in spring, carrying an indulgent resignation.

"...I'll take you."

Those four words made Xie Xie's smile instantly shine as brightly as the noon sun.

The soul-guided car continued through the night toward East Sea Academy. The cheering inside gradually faded, replaced by hushed voices rising and falling with anticipation.

Tang Wulin remained unconscious. The fluctuations of his soul spirit's evolution formed a faint blue halo around him, like a gentle cocoon wrapping him within a mysterious transformation.

Yun Zhiyu gazed at the deep night beyond the window, her bracelet giving off a faint spectral glow in the darkness. She thought of Uncle-Master Mu Chen's concern, and of the unknown auction tomorrow afternoon.

Myriad Treasures Pavilion...

She silently repeated the name in her heart, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the dragon pattern on the bracelet's surface. It seemed to retain a certain warmth, as though some slumbering power were awakening.

Tomorrow's East Sea City was bound to become interesting.