Starstone Glimmer and Hidden Killing Intent

The second finale item was presented soon after. It was a piece of Sinking Silver, yet entirely unlike ordinary Sinking Silver. Its surface gleamed with a strange purplish-gold luster that slowly flowed beneath the lights, like the breathing of some living creature. The magnified image on the soul screen revealed an almost perfect spiral structure within the metal, every line of its grain corresponding to some profound law of heaven and earth.

"Spirit-Forged Sinking Silver!" The female auctioneer's voice carried an almost reverent solemnity.

"Personally forged by a Saint Craftsman-level blacksmith who wishes to remain anonymous. Using Thousandfold-Forged Sinking Silver as its foundation, the blacksmith infused it with their own soul power and essence blood, causing a qualitative transformation. Spirit Forging gives metal a spirit. This piece of Sinking Silver has already developed the beginnings of a metal spirit and can form a bloodline resonance with a soul master! The starting bid is fifty million Federation Credits!"

Yun Zhiyu's gaze finally showed a flicker of genuine emotion.

Of course she knew what Spirit-Forged Sinking Silver meant. Grandpa Feng and Master Zhen Hua had personally taught her through countless Spirit Forgings. Every time, she had infused her own soul power, spiritual power, and even a portion of her life essence into the metal, allowing it to transform from an inanimate object into something almost alive.

Within the system space, the Spirit-Forged metals she had crafted herself—even quite a few Fusion-Forged metals—were piled like mountains. Yet at this East Sea City auction, a single piece of Spirit-Forged Sinking Silver could cause such a stir. It gave her a clearer understanding of the Douluo Federation's forging standards.

"Sister Yun," Tang Wulin said, his voice trembling slightly. A blacksmith's instincts filled him with an almost greedy desire for that piece of Sinking Silver. "Is that... Spirit Forging?"

"Yes." Yun Zhiyu nodded faintly. "But it isn't pure enough. The blacksmith's soul power was too mixed, and the metal spirit's gestation is only seventy percent complete. If it were me..." She paused and did not continue, but the meaning in her eyes was already obvious.

Bidding erupted wildly throughout the hall. The starting price of fifty million was already astronomical to most people, yet several elderly men in luxurious robes and guests from the Earth-Class VIP Rooms fought fiercely over it. The price quickly rose to sixty million, seventy million, then eighty million, finally stopping at eighty-five million, claimed by a young nobleman from East Sea City with gritted teeth.

Yun Zhiyu did not bid. Her gaze rested on the Spirit-Forged Sinking Silver, and a trace of regret flashed through her eyes before her usual indifference returned. There was no shortage of better pieces in the system space. There was no need for her to compete with others over a defective product here.

When the third finale item appeared, her expression changed completely.

It was a stone.

At least, it looked like a stone on the surface. It was about the size of a fist, dark gray throughout, and as rough as a reef that had been battered by seawater for a thousand years. It had no luster, no energy fluctuations, and even the magnified image on the soul screen showed no unusual patterns.

Yet the instant Yun Zhiyu saw it, her pupils contracted sharply. Beneath her contact lenses, her purplish-gold vertical pupils shrank to needlepoints without her control. The Xuanyuan Sword in her dantian let out a low hum, as though some long-slumbering instinct had suddenly awakened.

She "saw" it—beneath that rough stone shell lay a nearly berserk energy, like a stellar fragment compressed to the utmost limit, slowly rotating and burning in the darkness as it waited for the right opportunity to erupt.

"Sky Star Stone." The female auctioneer's voice carried a trace of barely concealed confusion. Clearly, even she did not quite understand the value of this item. "It was discovered in an ancient ruin somewhere within the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest. Its precise use is unknown, but the appraisers of our pavilion have confirmed that it contains a special energy related to Stellar Force. The starting bid is one million Federation Credits."

A wave of subdued discussion rose in the hall. Compared to the previous two finale items, the Sky Star Stone's starting price was almost laughably low. Moreover, the words "use unknown" were enough to deter most buyers. Stellar Force? What was that? No such attribute had ever been heard of in the cultivation system of soul masters.

"Class monitor," Xie Xie leaned closer, obvious confusion in his dark green pupils. "What is this stone... for?"

Yun Zhiyu did not answer immediately.

Her gaze fell upon the Sky Star Stone, and complicated emotions surged in her eyes—surprise, remembrance, and an almost tender longing. Stellar Force.

It was indeed rarely known within Douluo Continent's mainstream cultivation system, but in a corner of Shrek Academy, there was a girl who had built her path upon this power, step by step, toward her own pinnacle.

Ye Xinglan.

That sword fanatic cultivating in Shrek Academy's Inner Court. That genius girl whose martial soul was the Star God's Sword and whose soul power originated from Stellar Force.

Yun Zhiyu remembered the last time she had seen her. The girl had been seeing her off before the island of Sea God's Pavilion, surrounded by flecks of starlight like a statue embraced by the Milky Way. Her Star God's Sword lay across her knees, its star patterns flickering in the night as they echoed some star high above.

Xinglan's star power. Yun Zhiyu silently murmured, the corner of her lips rising into a small arc. This Sky Star Stone might help her break through that bottleneck.

Her thoughts drifted involuntarily farther away.

Back in Sea God's Pavilion, her younger sister Yun Zhishu was probably reading beneath the shelter of the Tree of Life, her swaying braid draped over her shoulder, her gentle eyes and brows—identical to their mother's—focused on the pages. Her junior sister Na'er might be practicing with her spear by the sea, the Silver Dragon Spear carving cold arcs through the morning light, while the clear, lake-like eyes so entirely unlike Gu Yue's reflected the waves of the Eastern Sea.

Yuan En was probably fighting Xu Lizhi over food again. That inheritor of the Titan Giant Ape martial soul always acted mature and steady, yet revealed her true nature before delicacies. And Xu Lizhi, that chubby food-type soul master, was likely clutching a basket of freshly steamed buns while Yuan En chased him around the courtyard, an eternally optimistic smile still on his face.

Those scenes flashed through her mind one by one, like old photographs softened by time and tinted with warm yellow. The curve on Yun Zhiyu's lips became more pronounced. The usual aloofness was gone from that smile, replaced by a nearly gentle longing.

"One million."

Her voice carried through the amplifier, as calm as if she were naming an insignificant figure. But this time, the hall did not react with shock. Instead, there was a nearly bewildered silence. One million Federation Credits for a stone of "unknown use"? Had the guest in Sky-Class Room One gone mad today?

The female auctioneer's voice visibly faltered. "Sky—Sky-Class Room One bids one million! Is—is there a higher bid?"

Dead silence filled the area below. A few subdued discussions came from the Earth-Class VIP Rooms, but no one raised a paddle. For a stone whose purpose was unknown, one million was already a crazy premium. Continuing further would be the behavior of a true gambler.

"One million, going once. One million, going twice. One million, going three times—sold!"

As the hammer fell, Yun Zhiyu slowly exhaled, as though returning to reality from some distant train of thought. Her gaze remained on the Sky Star Stone. The longing in her eyes had not completely faded, but it was covered by something more complicated—anticipation, planning, and the satisfaction of finally having done something for them.

"Class monitor," Xie Xie said cautiously, "what exactly is this stone...?"

"It is useful," Yun Zhiyu replied blandly without further explanation. "Not to you."

Gu Yue sat beside her, her hair shining softly beneath the dimming lights. Her gaze briefly met Yun Zhiyu's, and understanding flickered deep in her black eyes, as though she had seen through something but chose not to expose it. She merely tilted her head slightly and passed Yun Zhiyu a cup of warm spirit tea, her movements as natural as though she had repeated them countless times.

The auction slowly came to an end with the sale of the Sky Star Stone. The female auctioneer bowed in farewell, while guests throughout the hall rose in twos and threes to leave. Their discussions drifted in every direction like dandelion seeds scattered by the wind.

The lights in the Sky-Class VIP Room gradually went out, and the dark glass became transparent again, shutting out the clamor below.

Yun Zhiyu leaned back in her seat, her fingertips gently rubbing the dark-gold bracelet. The treasures in her system space still silently gave off their respective radiance, but at that moment, the rough Sky Star Stone occupied all her thoughts.

She imagined Ye Xinglan's expression upon receiving this gift. That face, always as cold and serene as the moon, might show a trace of surprise, a trace of emotion, and that tacit recognition of equals possessed only by geniuses.

"Let's go." She rose, her voice returning to its usual indifference. "We're heading back."

Gu Yue followed at her side, her figure glowing with moonlike softness beneath the corridor lights. Wu Nianbing held the soul-guided insulated case containing the Thousand-Year Ice Spirit Fruit, the Frostmark on the Icebound Frost Sword intertwining with the chill within the box in a strange resonance. Tang Wulin carefully carried the crystal that sealed the Thousand-Year Sea Dragon Marrow.

Xie Xie, Zhang Yangzi, Wang Jinxi, and Wei Xiaofeng followed behind them. The four boys' bickering echoed through the empty corridor like an off-key street tune.

The soul-guided elevator descended soundlessly, leaving the Sky-Class VIP Room at the top floor behind. Yun Zhiyu looked at the burning star relief on the ceiling of the carriage, the faint curve still lingering at her lips.

Xinglan, Zhishu, Na'er, Yuan En, Li Zhi...

She silently recited those names, like stars scattered across the galaxy of her memories. Each one shone in its own way, each one brilliant, yet in some profound dimension, they were connected to her by bloodline and resonated with her soul power.

The Sky Star Stone pulsed faintly within her storage space, as though offering some distant response.

The auction's clamor finally faded completely away. East Sea City's night poured through the crack of the elevator doors, carrying a hint of chill, a hint of clarity, and countless possibilities for tomorrow that had yet to unfold.

East Sea City's dusk was like spilled ink, spreading from the horizon deep into the streets and alleys. The clamor after the auction was left behind, and the lights of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion vanished completely after they turned the third corner. Only a few old streetlamps cast dim yellow halos overhead, stretching the shadows of the eight of them into uneven lengths like some abstract shadow play.

Yun Zhiyu walked at the front, neither hurried nor slow, her bracelet faintly visible beneath her sleeve. The Thousand-Year Ice Spirit Fruit, Thousand-Year Sea Dragon Marrow, Sky Star Stone, and several rare metals from the Eastern Sea had all been stored in her Star Ring.

On the surface, only several flimsy auction receipts remained. But the world of soul masters never judged reality by appearances, and certain sharp-nosed hunters could always smell the scent of wealth upon their prey.

"Class monitor," Xie Xie moved closer, his brown-gold hair blown into a messy puff by the evening wind. Excitement from the auction still lingered in his dark green pupils. "When you threw out that one million just now, the people below looked like their eyeballs were about to fall out."

"Shut up." Zhang Yangzi kicked him from behind. The gloomy aura of his Shadow Martial Soul gave him an instinctive vigilance toward danger. "Save that kind of talk for when we get back to the dorm."

Wei Xiaofeng walked along the edge of the group. The aura of his Azure Shadow Serpent martial soul made him more accustomed to shadows. Suddenly, his steps halted, and his narrow eyes narrowed slightly, like the vertical pupils of some reptile abruptly emerging in the dark. "Someone's following us."

Yun Zhiyu did not pause in the slightest. She merely tapped lightly against her Star Ring with her fingertips. Her Purple Demon Eyes had already finished cultivating during dusk. Beneath her contact lenses, her purplish-gold vertical pupils took in everything around them—including the figures sneaking through the shadows of buildings thirty zhang behind them.

"Three three-rings and three two-rings," she said as calmly as if describing the weather. "They followed us out of the auction house."

Gu Yue's silver hair swayed gently in the evening wind. Elemental aura formed a ripple around her that was nearly impossible to see with the naked eye. She did not turn around, merely curling her fingers slightly as the wind element condensed in her palm into a nearly transparent edge.

Wu Nianbing's fingers settled on the hilt of the Icebound Frost Sword. Frostmark flickered across the blade, reflecting her suddenly stern face. Little Golden Light, Tang Wulin's soul spirit, twisted uneasily on his shoulder, its emerald eyes glimmering in the dusk. Wang Jinxi's Bone Dragon King martial soul released itself for an instant, dark-gold scales spreading from the back of his hand to his wrist before he forcibly suppressed them.

"Should we split up or stay together?" Zhang Yangzi lowered his voice. The aura of his Shadow Martial Soul flowed around him like a mass of ink about to dissolve.

"The side street." Yun Zhiyu's gaze settled on the winding alley ahead. Tall abandoned factories stood on both sides, their walls covered in withered ivy. "Lead them there."

She did not explain why, and the members of Zero Class did not need an explanation. Months of working together had already formed a tacit understanding between them—when Yun Zhiyu made a decision, they carried it out.

The moment the eight figures disappeared into the alley, the trackers behind them stopped hiding as well. Six waves of soul power suddenly erupted like six soul-guided lamps lighting at once, making the dusk-shrouded alley flicker between light and shadow.

"Friends, hold it right there."

The leader was a middle-aged man with a face full of flesh, a Three-Ring Soul Elder whose martial soul was a Ghost-Head Saber. Dark-red soul power rippled around the blade like congealed blood. Behind him stood two companions who were also three-rings. One was thin and tall as a bamboo pole, his martial soul a Green Snake Staff. The other was short and fat as a winter melon, earth-yellow soul power surrounding him, clearly indicating some kind of defensive martial soul. Behind them were three two-ring Grand Soul Masters, somewhat younger, their eyes burning with greed mixed with nervousness like fledgling hyenas surrounding a lion for the first time.