Conservatively Following the Auction Rules

Night.

"Brother Lu Yuan, where are we going?"

Xiao Xiao asked Lu Yuan curiously.

A day had already passed since the end of the first round, and the second round of the round-robin stage would begin tomorrow.

The Sun Moon Team's group would be competing tomorrow. Xiao Xiao and Gu Qiu'er, who had yet to take the field, were both itching to fight.

Lu Yuan smiled faintly and said, "I'm taking you somewhere. Just follow me. Old Ma and Meng Hongchen are going too."

Gu Qiu'er asked curiously, "Where are we going? Meng Hongchen and the others are going too?"

Lu Yuan said, "An auction. I don't think the earlier lots will be very interesting, though. Only the finale should be worth seeing, so we're going a little later."

"Getting out to relax will also help with your upcoming matches."

Gu Qiu'er rolled her eyes and said irritably, "Relax? Lu Yuan, how many days have we been relaxing already? My dragon bones are about to rust!"

Xiao Xiao snickered beside her. "Sister Qiu'er, how can a living creature's bones rust? You're not the Steel Dragon!"

Gu Qiu'er lightly smacked Xiao Xiao on the head. "It's a figure of speech! Why are you taking it so literally?"

"Who's Figure of Speech? Why are you hitting him?"

Xiao Xiao raised her head and gave Gu Qiu'er an honest grin.

"..."

Gu Qiu'er raised her little fist and gritted her teeth. "Xiao Xiao! I think you're asking for it!"

"Hehe~"

As the three chatted and laughed, they crossed several streets before stopping in front of a spire-roofed building.

This building was not particularly eye-catching. Compared to the tall buildings around it, it was not small, but it did not stand out either.

A sign hung above the main entrance, bearing the image of a hammer. Beneath the hammer seemed to be the pattern of a golden platform.

Starlight Auction Hall!

Lu Yuan said, "This is the place. Let's go in."

Gu Qiu'er looked at the building before her and said, "It looks so small. It's far worse than the one in Mingdu."

They had visited Mingdu's auction hall several times before.

The three walked inside. They discovered that while the auction hall did not seem large, its main structure was actually underground.

After entering the auction hall, they found a five-meter-wide staircase covered in red carpet stretching downward, with staff members guiding guests on both sides.

They continued downward until they reached a hall.

Meng Hongchen had been waiting there for quite some time. When she saw Lu Yuan and the other two enter, she crossed her arms and said irritably, "You finally made it. You took so long that I thought you weren't coming."

Lu Yuan waved a hand. "How could that be? Since I promised, I'd definitely come!"

Meng Hongchen curled her lips and took out three masks, handing them to Lu Yuan and the others.

"Put these on. The auction hall provides them to conceal the guests' appearances and avoid unnecessary trouble."

After putting on their masks, Meng Hongchen led Lu Yuan, Xiao Xiao, and Gu Qiu'er into Auction Hall Number Twelve.

After finding Old Ma, Xiao Hongchen, and the others, they sat down beside them.

When Xiao Hongchen saw Lu Yuan, he said, "Yo, I thought you weren't coming."

Lu Yuan shrugged. "Which lot are they on now? Is it almost time for the finale? I'm only interested in the finale."

"Probably soon."

"Did you buy anything?"

Old Ma shook his head. "They're all Soul Tools. Nothing interesting. We in the Sun Moon Empire don't lack these."

"Sigh, looks like we came for nothing this time. I thought Douluo Continent would have some good stuff."

Xiao Hongchen also said unhappily, "Hmph! They must be keeping all their good things hidden away!"

At that moment, Qing Ya, the auctioneer on stage, announced, "Next is today's second-to-last lot. After this item comes today's grand finale. I believe everyone will be very pleasantly surprised then."

An attendant wheeled out the second-to-last lot.

Qing Ya walked up to the cart and smiled. "This lot has an amusing name. It is called a Milk Bottle."

Lu Yuan had no interest in this Soul Tool.

After all, he already had a Level-Six Milk Bottle.

Getting on good terms with Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen had not been without benefits. This Level-Six Milk Bottle was something Lu Yuan had asked Meng Hongchen to obtain for him.

It had even come from Mingde Hall. Though he did not know who had made it, its quality was damn good!

But someone was sure to want it now!

Especially those Soul Masters from Douluo Continent who did not pay much attention to Soul Tools.

Lu Yuan was also puzzled about what these people were thinking.

They wanted the convenience brought by Soul Tools, yet looked down on Soul Tools at the same time.

After Qing Ya finished introducing the Milk Bottle's functions, she said, "I believe all distinguished guests are quite familiar with Milk Bottles, so I won't say more."

"Let the auction begin. The starting price is six thousand Gold Soul Coins, and each bid must increase by no less than one hundred Gold Soul Coins."

"Ten thousand!"

"Eleven thousand!"

Bids rang out one after another.

After explaining Milk Bottles to the students, Wang Yan also called out, "Twenty thousand!"

With a single high bid, he suppressed the enthusiasm of all the other bidders.

Someone said unwillingly, "Twenty-one thousand!"

Wang Yan raised the price again. "Twenty-five thousand Gold Soul Coins!"

No one followed this time. After all, the actual value of this Level-Four Milk Bottle was around twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins.

Qing Ya smiled and struck her hammer. "Any higher bids? Very well, twenty-five thousand once, twenty-five thousand twice..."

Just as everyone from Shrek Academy breathed a sigh of relief, a voice rang out.

"Twenty-five thousand one hundred Gold Soul Coins!"

Wang Yan: "???"

Qing Ya froze for a moment, her hammer stopping in midair as she looked toward the source of the voice.

Though she did not know who the other party was, judging from the clothing of those around him, they seemed to be from the Sun Moon Empire.

Since when did the Sun Moon Empire lack this kind of Soul Tool?

Or were they... simply here to cause trouble?

At that moment, Xu Jiuj jiu, who had been observing through a Soul Tool screen behind the scenes, blinked before the corners of her lips lifted slightly.

Others might not know who these people were, but how could she not?

Though she did not know why the Sun Moon Empire had suddenly clashed with Shrek Academy, it did not matter. This was a good thing anyway!

This was exactly the situation Star Luo Empire wanted to see!

However, the people from Shrek Academy were not pleased!

Xu Sanshi roared, "Damn it! How can there be people like this? He's maliciously driving up the price!"

Bei Bei frowned deeply and said in a low voice, "Did they recognize us? Are they trying to target us?"

Huo Yuhao asked in confusion, "Target us? Why?"

Wang Yan shook his head. He could not judge for the moment, but the children needed this Milk Bottle to assist them in battle.

"Twenty-six thousand Gold Soul Coins!"

"Twenty-six thousand one hundred Gold Soul Coins!"

Lu Yuan made another move.

In a fit of anger, Xu Sanshi slapped the table and rose to his feet. Pointing in Lu Yuan's direction, he shouted, "Hey! What the hell do you mean? You only add one hundred Gold Soul Coins every time. That's clearly malicious bidding!"

Lu Yuan spread his hands and said to Qing Ya on stage, "Isn't the minimum bid increase for this item one hundred Gold Soul Coins each time?"

"I'm merely conservatively following the auction rules. Is there a problem with that?"

"You!"

Xu Sanshi was left speechless by those words.

What did he mean by conservatively following the auction rules?

If he actually wanted it, shouldn't he be raising the bid by a lot?!