Aggressive Bidding

"Enough! Sanshi, sit down!"

Wang Yan pulled Xu Sanshi back down.

Xu Sanshi said indignantly, "But Teacher, look at him..."

"Enough, enough. He's stating the facts. Sit down."

After calming Xu Sanshi down, Wang Yan continued bidding. "Thirty thousand Gold Soul Coins!"

After saying that, he looked at Lu Yuan.

"Friend, are you still raising the bid?"

Lu Yuan shook his head. "Forget it. This is already beyond my budget. I don't want it!"

Qing Ya swiftly brought down her hammer, afraid that something unexpected might happen.

"Thirty thousand Gold Soul Coins, going once... going three times! Sold!"

Huo Yuhao watched the sale result, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

He was indeed very interested in that charging Soul Tool, but he had made the academy spend so much.

Thanks to the academy, thanks to Teacher Wang...

Huo Yuhao's eyes reddened as gratitude filled his heart.

He would never be able to repay Shrek's kindness!

At that moment, Qing Ya announced, "Distinguished guests, our mysterious grand finale is about to appear. This is also tonight's final auction item."

A maid slowly pushed a cart covered in red cloth onto the auction stage from the side.

Huo Yuhao shook his head and used Spiritual Detection to take a look.

He suddenly sensed an indescribably sharp aura.

That sharpness nearly pierced through his Spiritual Detection in an instant, as though it would pierce his spirit along with it.

Frightened, Huo Yuhao quickly dispersed his Soul Skill.

Onstage, Auctioneer Qing Ya had already begun her introduction.

"Everyone... blah blah... blah blah..."

"Everyone, please look!"

Qing Ya lifted the red covering, revealing the object beneath it.

It was a display case. The item inside was very small, about half a foot long and only as thick as a finger.

From bottom to top, it gradually narrowed. Its uppermost end was an extremely sharp-looking point, while below it was a blade roughly half an inch wide.

"The Soul-Eating Engraving Knife. The starting bid is one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, with each increase no less than five thousand Gold Soul Coins. Distinguished guests, bidding may begin."

Below the stage, Huo Yuhao looked at the engraving knife, and his heart stirred.

Deep in his heart, he felt an intense longing for the Soul-Eating Engraving Knife, but... the knife's story made him hesitate.

Seeing Huo Yuhao's expression, He Caitou said softly, "Yuhao, this knife is far too strange. Forget it."

Huo Yuhao bit his lip, caught in a dilemma.

He felt that he needed this knife, but... how was he supposed to solve its problem?

Just then, Lu Yuan's voice rang out.

"One hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins!"

The moment those words came out, they exploded in Huo Yuhao's heart like thunder.

He abruptly raised his head and looked over.

Him? Him again!

Huo Yuhao clenched his fists until they creaked.

Meng Hongchen was somewhat surprised when she heard Lu Yuan's bid. "Lu Yuan, aren't you not becoming a Soul Engineer? Why are you buying an engraving knife?"

"And... this engraving knife is too strange. You'd better not buy it."

Lu Yuan shook his head. "Meng, the stranger something is, the more valuable it tends to be. Maybe once its secret is solved someday, it will become an invaluable treasure?"

Meng Hongchen sighed. "But isn't this too risky? If you like engraving knives, you could have told me!"

"I... I could give you mine..."

"Hm?"

Xiao Hongchen, who had been speechless until then, abruptly raised his head and looked at Meng Hongchen and Lu Yuan.

Wait... when did you two?!

Flames seemed to burst from Xiao Hongchen's eyes as he glared viciously at Lu Yuan.

Well, well, Lu Yuan!

I treated you like a brother, yet you... you wanted to become my brother-in-law?!

Lu Yuan smiled. "Thank you for your kindness, Miss Meng, but there's no need."

"As the saying goes, the bigger the storm, the pricier the fish. Since this engraving knife is so dangerous, its corresponding value must naturally be considerable. It's worth trying."

"Besides, even if I don't use it, it would still be nice to keep as a collectible!"

Meng Hongchen sighed helplessly. "All right, then..."

She secretly glanced at Lu Yuan before adding, "If... you want to learn how to make Soul Tools, I can teach you..."

"?!"

Xiao Hongchen's eyes widened.

Again?

Gu Qiu'er was also quite displeased and lifted her foot to stomp on Lu Yuan's.

Without changing expression, Lu Yuan said, "Then thank you, Meng!"

After struggling for a while, Huo Yuhao finally made up his mind.

"Teacher Wang, I want that engraving knife!"

Wang Yan frowned slightly. "Yuhao, don't act rashly. This concerns your life and your future. I can't let anything happen to you."

After pondering briefly, Huo Yuhao said, "Teacher Wang, how about this? Let's buy it first."

"After we return to the academy, I'll have Teacher Fan Yu supervise me while we find a way to remove the curse on this Soul-Eating Fierce Blade. I'll use it after that."

"This..."

Wang Yan hesitated, but in the end, the thought of getting a bargain won out.

After all, this was a Ranked Carving Knife!

He called out, "One hundred and ten thousand Gold Soul Coins!"

Lu Yuan raised the bid. "Two hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins!"

Hearing Lu Yuan's bid, Huo Yuhao and the others widened their eyes.

How could this person bid like that? He had directly doubled the price?

Huo Yuhao looked eagerly at Wang Yan.

Wang Yan gritted his teeth and shouted, "Two hundred and ten thousand Gold Soul Coins!"

"Three hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins!"

Lu Yuan raised the bid again.

The Soul-Eating Engraving Knife was essentially a piece of Life Gold. If he could buy a piece of Life Gold for only a few hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, he would undoubtedly be making an enormous profit.

Even if this piece of Life Gold was only a small fragment, the energy it contained was still extraordinarily vast.

Huo Yuhao finally hardened his resolve. He stood and pointed at Lu Yuan as he shouted, "You're artificially inflating the price! You're bidding maliciously!"

Lu Yuan snorted. "Why come to an auction if you have no money? Poor bastard!"

"Y-you!"

Why didn't you say that when you were bidding on the Milk Bottle just now?!

Huo Yuhao's eyes turned bloodshot. He panted like a bull, his finger trembling as he pointed at Lu Yuan, yet he could not say a word.

"Junior Brother, forget it!"

Bei Bei grabbed Huo Yuhao and pulled him back into his seat.

Huo Yuhao stared at Lu Yuan, his eyes filled with resentment and fury.

Lu Yuan's words, "poor bastard," stabbed deeply into his heart.

What he hated most were those high-and-mighty noble heirs who looked down on others just because they had money and power.

Qing Ya had already prepared for the item to go unsold, but Lu Yuan and Wang Yan gave her a pleasant surprise.

Three hundred thousand was already a fine price. Qing Ya was very satisfied and quickly brought down the hammer, afraid Lu Yuan might change his mind.

"Three hundred thousand, going once... sold!"

With the final auction item sold, the auction concluded successfully.

Lu Yuan went backstage to settle the bill and collect his items.

He placed the engraving knife into his Storage Soul Tool and headed outside.

Old Ma, Xiao Hongchen, Xiao Xiao, and the others were waiting for him.

Old Ma said, "Got the item? Let's go."

The group headed toward the Star Emperor Grand Hotel.

After returning to his hotel room, Lu Yuan opened the gate to the Void Realm.

Within the Void Realm, Electrolux, who had remained silent until then, floated out upon seeing Lu Yuan open the door.

"Young friend, have you encountered some trouble?"

Lu Yuan smiled. "Compared to when we first met, Elder Yi, you seem to be in much better condition now."

Electrolux nodded. "Thanks to your Life Gold, young friend! The nourishment of life force has helped me recover considerably."

"Elder Yi, take a look at this."

Lu Yuan took out the Soul-Eating Engraving Knife.

Electrolux raised an eyebrow.

Another piece of Life Gold?

This kid's luck was rather good!