Ning Fengzhi, who was still thinking about matching his daughter with Yu Tianlong, spoke up when he heard this:
"They lost hearts of their own long ago, and they have even less say over their own destinies. All they can do is obey. Beautiful as they are, they have no souls of their own."
"Besides, beautiful though they are, the auction house only uses them to attract customers, hoping some man with sperm on the brain will buy them. Your big brother sent them away because he was worried about you."
Yu Tianlong was utterly speechless.
"Uncle Ning, I'm only eight! What are you all talking about?!"
Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin, and 'Xue Qinghe' exchanged glances, then laughed together, as though recalling some wonderful memories.
"Eight isn't so young anymore..."
Yu Tianlong genuinely had nothing to say to that. Two shameless old men!
"But seriously, we were worried you'd fall for them. After all, these attendants have no skills to make a living beyond serving men."
"Even if you bought them, with their looks, they could only end up as decorative vases by your side. Their fate might be even more miserable."
"They have no souls, no worlds of their own. What's more, each one costs a hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, ten times more than even the highest-class prostitute. It's simply not worth it!"
Yu Tianlong understood, of course, but who said he wanted to buy them? He wasn't in the habit of putting a lock on a shared bicycle.
Only those two dirty-minded men, Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin, saw everything through a lewd lens!
"All right, enough about this. I really didn't mean anything like that, and I'm not upset."
"Anyway, what good things are up for auction this time?"
Whenever something good went up for auction, the auction house would usually advertise it beforehand. He hadn't been in Heaven Dou City for long, so it was perfectly normal that he didn't know.
Ning Fengzhi immediately perked up at his question.
"The finale this time is a Thousand-Year Soul Bone!"
"It's also the most impressive auction lot in the past three years!"
Hearing this, Yu Tianlong looked at the Storage Soul Tools Ning Fengzhi and Emperor Xue Ye had given him yesterday.
There were two Hundred-Year Soul Bones inside. He should have let Cho'Gath devour them yesterday, but he had fought Liu Erlong and suffered considerable injuries, so he hadn't.
Just sensing the Soul Power contained in the Hundred-Year Soul Bones inside the Storage Soul Tools was enough to stir Yu Tianlong's desire.
And now another Thousand-Year Soul Bone had appeared at the auction.
How could he not covet it?
Perhaps sensing Yu Tianlong's longing, everyone laughed.
Only Ning Rongrong stared blankly at the adults before her, completely unaware of what they were laughing about.
She lowered her little head and thought for a while, but still couldn't figure it out.
Finally, she turned her gaze toward Yu Tianlong, the only person her age present.
"Brother Long, do you know what they're laughing about?"
Yu Tianlong knew, of course, but how could he bring himself to say it?
"Rongrong, don't mind them. Maybe they just like laughing!"
Although Ning Rongrong didn't understand, she didn't say anything more.
Instead, she went over to the table at the side and began eating.
At this point, there weren't many bidders in the auction center. They sat scattered about, filling only around a fifth of the seats.
A Soul Tool resembling a belt was being auctioned onstage, and the price had already reached forty thousand Gold Soul Coins.
Beside each seat were dedicated bidding buttons, with four different buttons marked one hundred, one thousand, ten thousand, and one hundred thousand, representing the amount added with each bid.
Ning Fengzhi and the others gradually stopped laughing.
"Xiaolong, if there's anything you want to buy, just tell me. Your Uncle Ning may not have much else, but he has money!"
Ning Fengzhi wasn't lying. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect operated many businesses throughout the Douluo Continent. Coupled with its reputation as the world's foremost support-type sect, few dared provoke it.
Seeing this, Yu Tianlong didn't stand on ceremony and simply nodded.
"Then thank you, Uncle Ning!"
By now, the Soul Tool onstage had sold for forty-three thousand Gold Soul Coins.
Holding an amplifier, the host onstage smiled at the bidders and said:
"Next, we will be auctioning a rare treasure. Interested guests, please pay attention, especially our male guests."
As the host said this, a smile that any man would understand appeared on his face.
Noticing something unusual, Yu Tianlong also looked toward the stage.
The host regained his professional composure.
He loudly introduced the next auction lot.
"The next item is something every male Soul Master present can use. Of course, women can use it too, though the effects aren't as pronounced as they are for men!"
The host's brief remark caught everyone's attention.
Yu Tianlong also picked up on the key word.
Male?!
What did that mean?
While Yu Tianlong was puzzling over it, the host smiled and continued:
"I'm not deceiving you. This is something countless men can only dream of obtaining!"
Yu Tianlong looked at Ning Fengzhi and Qian Renxue and asked in confusion:
"Uncle Ning, Big Brother, do you know what it is?"
Ning Fengzhi naturally knew. One reason he had come was to introduce his daughter to Yu Tianlong; the other was for this item.
But how could he bring himself to say it in front of his daughter and Yu Tianlong?
So he firmly shook his head, and everyone gave him openly disbelieving smiles.
The evasiveness in Ning Fengzhi's eyes had betrayed his thoughts.
This only piqued Yu Tianlong's curiosity. Just what sort of thing could tempt even Ning Fengzhi, whose wealth rivaled the world's?
Seeing that he had built up the atmosphere sufficiently, the host clapped his hands.
A beautiful maid immediately walked up from below the stage, carrying a tray.
A red cloth covered it.
Just then, someone in another red VIP box, who clearly knew something, slammed the table with a thunderous bang.
"Hurry up and tell us what it is! If you dare stall and keep me in suspense again, you're dead!"
The host jumped in fright.
Not a single person seated in the red VIP boxes was someone a mere host like him could afford to offend!
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he thought:
Being an auction host really isn't easy!
He stopped keeping them in suspense. He didn't want his head separated from his body over such a trivial matter!
He hurriedly lifted the red cloth covering the tray.
A huge golden crystal immediately appeared before everyone's eyes.
When Yu Tianlong saw the crystal, he found it strangely familiar, as though he had seen it somewhere before!
Very soon, Yu Tianlong remembered.
He recognized this thing!
Wasn't this whale rubber, this world's famous aphrodisiac?
Why was there such a huge piece?!
Whale rubber was a special substance produced in the brains of whale-type Soul Beasts.
It had an excellent nourishing effect on Soul Masters, strengthening their bodies and increasing the strain their muscles and bones could withstand.
In a certain sense, it was a rare treasure for Soul Masters.
Of course, people at this point in the timeline didn't yet know whale rubber had other uses. They simply used it as a muzzle compensator.
At that thought, Yu Tianlong's eyes instantly burned with desire. If I ate this, my physical body could advance another step, couldn't it?
Then I'd be able to absorb even older Soul Rings!