You Could Save One Person, but Not a Lifetime!

Within the "First Ring" of Heaven Dou City, a bowl-shaped building that seemed to have been placed upside down on the ground stood out arrogantly, contemptuous of everything around it.

Standing before the Heaven Dou Grand Auction House, Haiming craned his neck but still could not see its roof. It had to be at least fifty or sixty meters tall!

Compared to the auction house in Vast Sea City, the Heaven Dou Grand Auction House simply exuded class, grandeur, and prestige!

Its semicircular entrance was the same milky white as the building itself, so clean that not even a speck of dust could be seen.

Four tall young women stood before the entrance. They were dressed appropriately, not overly revealing, yet even with every inch of skin covered, they remained the center of everyone's attention.

"This Heaven Dou Grand Auction House is much larger than the auction house I saw in Vast Sea City."

Haiming gently waved his folding fan, a trace of admiration in his eyes.

At most, the Vast Sea City auction house had a diameter of two or three hundred meters, but the auction house before him was definitely several times—perhaps even dozens of times—larger!

"Hehe, let's go in."

Ning Fengzhi merely smiled and shook his head. How could the auction house in the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire be compared to the small auction houses elsewhere?

As one of the capital's landmarks, the Heaven Dou Grand Auction House held auctions around the clock. As long as one had an invitation, one could enter and leave at any time.

Payment and goods were exchanged fairly. Whenever someone wished to leave, they only needed to settle the payment and could take their purchase with them.

Violence was forbidden within the Heaven Dou Auction House. Two Soul Douluo were stationed there year-round, and they had dealt with countless petty troublemakers.

After entering the auction house, Ning Fengzhi handed Haiming a pure white half-mask. It was meant to conceal the bidders' identities and prevent them from being targeted, though it was not particularly useful.

Following Ning Fengzhi to the central entrance of the auction house, Haiming looked at the attendants at the doorway, whose appearance was enough to make anyone blush. He merely sighed softly, glanced at them twice, then shook his head and followed Ning Fengzhi into the auction hall.

"What is it?" Ning Fengzhi smiled faintly, a hint of satisfaction flashing through his eyes.

"Pretty shells without souls." Haiming sneered. "This is the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire. It should be the most prosperous place around, yet it feels inferior to some remote backwater."

Hearing Haiming's words, Chen Xin, who stood behind Ning Fengzhi, nodded slightly in agreement.

At their level, such petty darkness hardly amounted to anything.

If they tried to deal with it, they could never handle it all. If they ignored it, they would feel uncomfortable. They might as well pretend not to see it.

Ning Fengzhi's identity was rather special, and he disliked attracting attention, so he chose a white VIP seat in the outermost section. Once seated, his gaze fell upon the auction stage.

Haiming sat quietly as well, without looking at the maid beside him.

Having come from a red nation, he could not accept people being freely bought and sold as commodities, but he still lacked the power to change this world.

Onstage, the auctioneer was clearly eloquent. He praised an ordinary porcelain piece to the heavens, while some VIPs in the yellow section bid frantically like fools, leaving Haiming speechless.

Something worth only ten thousand Gold Soul Coins had somehow been bid up to fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins!

Sure enough, an auction house was a massive money pit!

"Is there anything you like?"

After several more items had been auctioned, Ning Fengzhi bid on a coral sculpture. Under Haiming's gaze, as though he were looking at an idiot, Ning Fengzhi asked the question.

"This thing is worth a few dozen Gold Soul Coins at most, and you bid twenty thousand? You really are rich!" Haiming twitched the corner of his mouth. "Obviously, the items being auctioned now are all mediocre. The main event should be tonight."

Whether it was because the quiet of night stirred people's hearts or for some other reason, nighttime was always the perfect time for something major.

"This sculpture can calm the mind and steady the spirit. It should contain something valuable." Ning Fengzhi withdrew his hand from the bidding button and casually explained.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Sect's greatest everyday skill was treasure appraisal!

If they bought things like fools, how could it still be called treasure hunting?

"Fengzhi!"

After Ning Fengzhi won the sculpture, a cart covered in cloth was pushed onto the stage. It was clearly a cage beneath the covering, and Chen Xin quietly called out beside Ning Fengzhi's ear.

Ning Fengzhi raised a hand and pressed it down, signaling Chen Xin not to act rashly.

"Haiming, what will you do next?"

Ning Fengzhi glanced at Haiming from the corner of his eye. Seeing that his expression remained calm, he could not help but ponder inwardly.

"Up next is an exceptionally rare auction item! Interested bidders, please take note—especially our female guests!" The auctioneer wore a knowing smile. His words left the male bidders below expressionless, while several female bidders looked expectant.

The auctioneer picked up a placard. "This item starts at fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins! Each bid must increase by no less than ten thousand Gold Soul Coins!"

Whoosh!

The auctioneer tore away the cloth, revealing a boy imprisoned within an iron cage!

Awoo!

As light streamed in from outside, the boy—whose entire body was covered only by a pair of coarse cloth shorts—fiercely lunged at the iron cage. His youthful face was full of savagery!

A pair of gray-blue ears twitched atop his head. His fair, tender face combined with that vicious expression, along with his exposed abs and muscular physique, brought delighted smiles to the faces of the "noble ladies" below!

"The reason this item has been priced so highly is because he is a rare wolf child!" The auctioneer's tone grew passionate. He casually grabbed a stick and struck the wolf child in the cage on the head, causing the boy to instinctively pounce toward him, only to be stopped by the iron bars.

"Raised by wolves, with a wolf martial soul awakened within him—and a mutation during awakening that gave him wolf ears, a wolf tail, and wolf-like strength! This is an absolutely perfect toy! Just imagine how happy you would be teasing such a little wolf pup while playing with him!"

The auctioneer's entire body trembled as though he had thought of something exciting. Then he coughed and raised his placard!

"The starting price is fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins! Each bid must increase by no less than ten thousand Gold Soul Coins!"

"Sixty thousand!"

"Seventy thousand!"

"Eighty thousand Gold Soul Coins!"

"I bid one hundred thousand!"

They said women and children were the easiest to make money from. Haiming watched expressionlessly as despair filled the boy's eyes, while the nobles below flushed red and continued shouting out bids!

There were even some men among them bidding!

"How does it feel?"

Ning Fengzhi rested his hand on the button and casually pressed it.

"Two hundred thousand!"

"How does it feel? What expression does Uncle Ning want to see on my face? Anger? The urge to destroy everything? To destroy this unfair world?" Haiming asked in return. "People were never born equal. I learned that long ago. Equality, justice, the rule of law... those are things that exist only in dreams. In reality, without strength, he can only be slaughtered by others!"

"So what I want now is strength. Nothing else."

Haiming stood up. Ning Fengzhi's bid had doubled the price outright, and no one dared continue bidding.

"Release him?"

"Release him."

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