Auction

"Esteemed guests, I'm Huo, your auctioneer at Starlight Auction House. Our first lot today is a level-two defensive Soul Tool produced in the Empire. Bidding starts at two thousand Gold Soul Coins. Let the bidding begin."

From a private box, Xu Jiujiu watched Huo Yuhao auction off the Soul Tool he had made. She turned to the man beside her. "Elder Cheng, is Yuhao really that talented?"

The man beside Xu Jiujiu was Cheng Shitao, Huo Yuhao's Soul Tool teacher. Cheng Shitao watched Huo Yuhao onstage with a complicated look and nodded.

"Yuhao is the most gifted soul master I've ever met. In just a year and a half, he's become a level-two Soul Engineer."

He paused, then added, "And the only thing holding back his Soul Engineer rank now is his Soul Power. Once he obtains his second Spirit Ring, he can become a level-three Soul Engineer."

To be honest, the speed at which Huo Yuhao learned about Soul Tools put Cheng Shitao to shame as his teacher. In just eight months, Huo Yuhao had mastered all the theory and practical skills needed for level-two Soul Tools and successfully made one himself.

After that, he had taken just ten months to master the fundamentals of a level-three Soul Engineer. Cheng Shitao had never heard of such speed. Even in the Sun Moon Empire, an eight-year-old level-three Soul Engineer would have been unprecedented.

After hearing Cheng Shitao's confirmation, Xu Jiujiu looked at Huo Yuhao with pride and a touch of unease.

She had never imagined Huo Yuhao would be so gifted with Soul Tools too. But she worried that focusing too much on them might come at the expense of his cultivation.

Oh well. I'll talk to Yuhao after the auction.

Meanwhile, in a private box not far from Xu Jiujiu and the others, a young man with an unsteady gait and a leering face leaned over the box's display screen. His dead-fish eyes stayed fixed on Huo Yuhao at the auction podium.

For his stint as auctioneer today, Huo Yuhao wore a Starlight Auction House uniform. His short blue hair was neatly combed, and he had polished his pair of horns until they gleamed. Xu Jiujiu had carefully done up his face as well. He was not especially handsome, but the horns gave him a charm all his own.

There were only a dozen or so lots today, and the auction passed quickly. Though he often came to the auction house to help Xu Jiujiu manage things, he had never served as an auctioneer before.

He had taken the role today because the first lot was his own work. He wanted to see someone buy the Soul Tool he had made. It would give him a real sense of accomplishment.

"And that concludes today's auction. Thank you, everyone. We hope to see you again!"

After the auction, Huo Yuhao headed toward Xu Jiujiu's private box through the staff passage. Suddenly, a commotion came from the far end.

"Sir, this is a staff passage. You can't go this way."

"Cut the crap. Do I need you to tell me where I can walk?"

A sharp smack rang out, and a girl in an auction-house uniform fell to the floor in front of Huo Yuhao.

Standing over her was a young man in his twenties. He had a leering face and walked with an unsteady gait, as though he habitually indulged in excess.

Huo Yuhao helped the girl up, then turned to the young man and demanded, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

The young man ignored the question. Instead, he pulled a purple card from his pocket.

"Kid, I've taken a liking to you. Why not come with me? Stick with me and you'll live in luxury. You'll have a much brighter future than you would as an auctioneer here."

Huo Yuhao could only stare at the self-important young man in bewilderment. Did he not know who stood behind Starlight Auction House? How dared he cause trouble here? Plenty of privileged young nobles could gain entry, but it had been a long time since anyone had made a scene.

"Sir, I don't care who you are. Apologize to her, then take your things and leave."

The young man reacted as though Huo Yuhao had told the funniest joke in the world.

"Do you know who I am? You want me to apologize? My name is Yi Yin. She should be grateful I only hit her instead of killing her."

Yi Yin went on arrogantly, "When I was little, my father told me, 'You're Yipu's son. Kill as many of those commoners as you like. There's nothing to fear!'"

Yipu? Huo Yuhao had heard Xu Jiujiu mention the name before. Yipu was related to the White Tiger Duke, Dai Hao, by marriage.

At fifty-five, Yipu was a rank-eighty-seven assault-type Soul Douluo with a chance of becoming a Titled Douluo within ten years. Stationed at the Mingdou Defense Line, he had used his high cultivation and powerful connections to bully his fellow officers, withhold military supplies, and terrorize the region. To deal with him, Xu Jiawei had deliberately promoted him, transferring him from his stronghold at the Mingdou Defense Line to Star Luo City, where he could be put in his place.

Yi Yin must be Yipu's son. Judging by his behavior, bullying others was nothing new to him. Even after following Yipu to Star Luo City, he had not restrained himself in the slightest.

In fact, Yipu had warned his son when he was transferred to Star Luo City. The city was full of powerful nobles and soul master families. Their family lacked the standing to act as recklessly as they had in Yuming City.

For the first few months, Yi Yin had forced himself to behave. But before half a year was up, he could no longer suppress his true nature.

Huo Yuhao was not exceptionally good-looking, but the horns on his head were a visible trait of his Martial Soul. Some noble households in the Star Luo Empire kept people with such Martial Soul traits.

Yi Yin wanted to fit in with those nobles and their decadent, extravagant private lives. That was why he had set his sights on Huo Yuhao and intended to abduct him.

"Hah. So you came here to cause trouble?"

"So what if I did? My father is Knight Yipu, a noble of the Empire!"

Seeing that Yi Yin remained utterly fearless, Huo Yuhao stopped wasting words. He took out a communication Soul Tool and called for several guards to deal with him.

Xu Jiujiu had mentioned that His Majesty planned to deal with Yipu soon. Hadn't Yi Yin just handed them an excuse?

"Don't make me do this the hard way. You should be honored I took a liking to you."

Huo Yuhao looked at Yi Yin as though he were a clown, and it cut deep into Yi Yin's fragile pride.

Ever since childhood, the other children of military families at the front had mocked him for failing to inherit his father's talent. Back then, he could at least fight them or kill a few commoners outside Yuming City to vent his anger.

But after his father's transfer to Star Luo City, the people mocking him were the children of powerful nobles. He could not kill people at will here, leaving him nowhere to vent his rage.

And now even a lowly auctioneer dared to look down on him. Fury surged through him.