The Auction: Claiming the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone!

The Star Luo Imperial Auction.

The Shrek Academy party sat in the VIP section, waiting for the auction to begin.

Xuan Zi gnawed on a chicken leg and spoke.

"Chi Hong, you little rascal. You actually tricked your teacher into giving you unlimited purchasing authority. Hmph. I won't go back on my word, since you've been doing well, but you'd better show some restraint. Shrek Academy's funds aren't yours to squander."

Xuan Zi glared at Chi Hong, making it clear he expected him to spend twenty million or so at most.

Chi Hong grinned.

"Don't worry. I'll only buy what I need. I won't waste money."

Only then did Xuan Zi nod in relief. Wang Yan wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "If there's anything you don't understand about the items, ask me. I can give you some advice."

"No need yet."

Chi Hong turned him down.

The auction had already begun, and Imperial Princess Xu Jiujiu introduced each item from the stage.

Anything offered at this top-tier auction was exceptionally valuable.

But even after a long while, Chi Hong had not bid on a single item.

Watching the starting prices climb with each new item, Wang Yan swallowed.

"Chi Hong, haven't you seen anything suitable? If not, your three purchases for this auction will go unused."

Chi Hong remained calm.

"Of course I have. It just hasn't come up yet."

Xuan Zi seemed to have guessed what Chi Hong was thinking. He frowned. "Don't tell me you're planning to buy the final three items."

He had a growing sense of dread. This Star Luo Empire auction seemed far grander than previous ones, and several items priced in the tens of millions had already appeared.

As it turned out, his instincts were right.

Xu Jiujiu's clear, melodious voice rang out.

"This is the left arm bone of a seventy-thousand-year Ice Jade Scorpion. It contains an exceptionally powerful Soul Skill: Ice Explosion Technique..."

"The starting bid is ten million Gold Soul Coins."

Xuan Zi's face darkened. He already knew there was no avoiding a bill in the tens of millions.

"There it is. Shrek Academy bids fifteen million!"

Chi Hong called out loudly enough for the entire auction hall to hear. Everyone could tell that Shrek was determined to claim the bone.

Shrek had made bids in earlier rounds, but none of its bidders had made themselves as memorable as Chi Hong.

So no one contested the Soul Bone. They were willing to show Shrek Academy some respect.

"Shrek Academy's name really is useful."

Chi Hong smiled.

He had not expected to claim a seventy-thousand-year Soul Bone with so little effort.

Being able to bid freely without spending his own money felt fantastic.

"Chi Hong! Well done! The Ice Explosion Technique in that Soul Bone is one of the Ice Jade Scorpions' finest innate Soul Skills. Even I don't have it. If I did, I could compete for the title of ruler of the Far North!"

The Ice Empress's voice rang out in excitement.

"I know you're amazing, Bingbing. I bought this Soul Bone especially for you."

Chi Hong teased her.

"Hmph. What do you mean, for me? We're one and the same. If I grow stronger, you benefit too."

That was what the Ice Empress said.

But the notification gave her away.

[Ice Empress's affinity +5. Current affinity: 75 (Friendly)]

Sure enough, even with a Soul Beast, spending money and giving gifts sent affection soaring.

If she was slow to warm up, though, only time could deepen their bond.

Chi Hong reflected on that, then looked toward the next auction item.

Xu Jiujiu gave a mysterious smile.

"Everyone, our grand finale today is a treasure unlike anything seen before."

She activated the large screen above the auction stage. A translucent, pale-gold shield appeared, trapping a stream of white vapor inside. The vapor occasionally took on a hazy human shape and hurled itself about. It looked a little like a tiny embryo.

The audience stared in confusion. Almost none of them had seen anything like it.

Xu Jiujiu did not keep them guessing.

"Everyone, this stream of vapor came from a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. After reaching a bottleneck, it chose to cultivate anew as a human. During its transformation, a powerful expert captured it and imprisoned it inside the God-Sealing Platform, a Class Nine Soul Tool."

"In other words, this vapor is an embryo that had not yet taken form when the Soul Beast began its transformation into a human."

"At the very least, this treasure can yield a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring and a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone. But if the embryo can be fully refined, it may even grant a second Martial Soul!"

The entire hall erupted.

A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring and a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone!

Or an additional, second Martial Soul!

Every possibility was enough to send the Soul Masters into a frenzy.

Almost every faction in the audience with money to spare was ready to spend lavishly for a chance to claim the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast embryo.

Everyone except Shrek Academy.

Xuan Zi found the chicken leg in his hand suddenly hard to swallow.

He was in a foul mood.

Never had he regretted more deeply the negligence that had left Shrek Academy's main team gravely injured.

Because the moment Xu Jiujiu introduced the item, he knew Chi Hong would never let it go.

Shrek Academy's funds were in danger!

Chi Hong asked,

"Bingbing, do you know what's inside that embryo?"

The Ice Empress replied coolly,

"How would I know? Are you planning to buy it and make it your second Soul Beast Soul Ring? That could work, but turning it back into a Soul Beast would be very difficult. You need to be prepared."

Seeing that the Ice Empress thought little of the embryo, Chi Hong smiled. "That's the Snow Empress's Soul Beast embryo."

Those words shattered the Ice Empress's composure. "What? How could humans have captured the Snow Empress? That's impossible!"

Chi Hong continued,

"Why not? The Snow Empress is nearing her seven-hundred-thousand-year limit. It makes sense that she'd choose to cultivate anew as a human to escape her heavenly tribulation. She was just unlucky enough to be discovered. Besides, doesn't that aura feel familiar?"

"Snow Empress... is that you?"

The Ice Empress stared at the stream of vapor battering the God-Sealing Shield. Pain and fury surged through her.

The Snow Empress was a seven-hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast, the mighty ruler of the Far North. Yet she had been reduced to a human prisoner, and might even become a human's Martial Soul.

The thought nearly made the Ice Empress's emotions explode.

She could not allow it. She would not tolerate it.

Holding back boundless fury, the Ice Empress spoke in a trembling voice.

"Chi Hong, please. You have to bring the Snow Empress back. Please."

Chi Hong smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry. Shrek Academy's reputation is worth quite a bit."

Feeling Chi Hong's delight and confidence, the Ice Empress gradually calmed down.

At some point, she had come to trust this human completely. She no longer felt as she had at first, when she could not bear the sight of his face.

[Ice Empress's affinity +7. Current affinity: 82 (Close)]

"Thank you, my... trainer."

The Ice Empress spoke so softly that Chi Hong did not hear her.

His attention was already fixed on the bids coming from below.

"The bidding starts at one hundred million. Each raise must be at least one million."

"Douling Academy bids one hundred and one million!"

"Zhengtian Academy bids one hundred and three million!"

"Sun Moon Imperial Academy bids one hundred and ten million!"

Xiao Hongchen sat high in a VIP box, looking down on the crowd.

A confident smile curled his lips.

That Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast embryo would be his!