Auction House

After hearing this, Beibei gently patted Huo Yuhao and Lin Qianyi on the shoulders. "Junior Brother, Junior Sister, you may not yet understand our true strength. We each have hidden abilities. When the time comes, we'll definitely make you see us in a new light."

Xu Sanshi nodded in agreement. "That's right. We'll definitely bring everyone some surprises when the time comes."

After a while, everyone returned to their rooms and threw themselves into intense cultivation. Lin Qianyi could clearly feel her Soul Power strengthening bit by bit. This practical battle had truly benefited her greatly. In just one month, her Soul Power had actually risen by two ranks, reaching Rank 46.

After some more time passed, the three of them awoke from cultivation at almost the same moment. "My Soul Power has already reached Rank 46!" Lin Qianyi's eyes shone with excitement as she eagerly shared the good news. Jiang Nannan smiled and congratulated her. "Congratulations, Junior Sister." Xiao Xiao also added, "I'm about to break through Rank 30 too."

Wang Yan took the eight members of the Reserve Team somewhere. Beibei asked, "Teacher Wang, where are you taking us? There's only one day left before the second round. Shouldn't we be cultivating?" Outside the hotel was a bustling crowd. Wang Yan said, "Just follow me. You'll find out soon. I'm letting you relax." Lin Qianyi asked, "Relax?" Wang Yan lightly tapped her forehead and said, "You don't believe me?" After a while, they arrived at a very strange building with a hammer on top. Xu Sanshi said, "An auction house?" Wang Yan said, "That's right. You need some equipment too. There's a Soul Tool auction today."

Wang Yan led the eight members of the Reserve Team to a mysterious place. Beibei could not help asking, "Teacher Wang, where are you taking us? There's only one day left before the second round of the assessment. Shouldn't we be making the most of our time cultivating?" The moment they stepped out of the hotel, they were surrounded by a bustling crowd.

Wang Yan smiled faintly. "Just follow along. You'll naturally find out soon enough. I'm letting you relax." Lin Qianyi repeated doubtfully, "Relax?" Wang Yan lightly tapped her forehead. "What, you don't even trust me?" After walking a little farther, a strangely designed building appeared before them, with an enormous hammer model hanging from its roof.

"This... is an auction house?" Xu Sanshi was the first to react.

"That's right." Wang Yan nodded. "You also need some suitable equipment. There happens to be a Soul Tool auction here today, and it'll be a great help in your upcoming assessments."

Upon entering the auction house, they found it packed with people. The members of the Reserve Team found seats, and the auction items were displayed one after another. At that moment, a short blade appeared, radiating a blue-green glow. Blue-green feathers adorned its surface. Lin Qianyi's right hand twitched slightly, and the dull short blade she carried flashed with light.

"The starting price for this item is 150,000." Wang Yan saw through Lin Qianyi's thoughts, though she showed no reaction. He merely shook his head. "250,000!" Then came 260,000. Wang Yan raised the bid to 300,000 and successfully bought it. Lin Qianyi glanced at Wang Yan, unsure what to say.

As they entered the auction hall, the air was filled with voices. The members of the Reserve Team found a corner and took their seats. As one item after another was presented before the crowd, the atmosphere grew increasingly heated. Suddenly, a short blade appeared on the display platform. It emitted a deep blue-green glow, with several blue-green feathers decorating its surface, making it seem especially mysterious and captivating beneath the lights.

Lin Qianyi felt a faint itch in her right palm, as though some invisible force were drawing her in. The originally dull short blade suddenly gave off a faint glimmer, as if responding to her gaze.

"The starting bid for this rare treasure is 150,000." Wang Yan keenly caught the look in Lin Qianyi's eyes. Though she tried her best to conceal her thoughts, he still caught that fleeting moment of emotion.

He gently shook his head, as though warning himself not to act impulsively, but in the end he still called out, "250,000!" When the bid rose to 260,000, Wang Yan decisively raised it to 300,000 and secured the short blade in one stroke.

The group from Shrek Academy moved through the lively auction hall, carefully selecting Soul Tools that would be useful to them. Just then, a box wrapped layer upon layer in black cloth was slowly raised by an attendant. Even from far away, Lin Qianyi could faintly sense a pungent bloody aura seeping from within it.

Almost at the same time, she and Huo Yuhao, driven by curiosity and vigilance, tried to use their Purple Gold Demonic Eyes to inspect it. However, that powerful force seemed to notice their scrutiny and directly repelled both their gazes.

Lin Qianyi instinctively covered her eyes. Jiang Nannan hurriedly asked with concern, "Junior Sister, are you all right?" Still shaken, Lin Qianyi said, "The evil aura of this thing is far too heavy. It's almost impossible to look at directly."

Seeing the puzzled looks from the crowd, the host quickly explained, "Everyone, this item is called the Blood Devouring Spirit Blade. Its starting price is 100,000 Gold Soul Coins, and each increase must be no less than 5,000.

"It is said that this blade was forged by a bloodthirsty powerhouse. Anyone who possesses it will have their lifespan drastically shortened, losing at least ten years of life. It is exceedingly dangerous."

Just as everyone hesitated, Huo Yuhao suddenly spoke. "100,000!" The moment his words fell, the entire auction hall fell silent. Apart from Lin Qianyi, everyone else stared at the young Junior Brother in shock.

Beibei could not help asking, "Junior Brother, what are you..." Huo Yuhao calmly explained, "Teacher Wang, I just examined it with Spiritual Detection. It does have hidden dangers, but they are not impossible to resolve. If you can win it, I'm confident I can repair its flaws."

Wang Yan had originally wanted to refuse, but Huo Yuhao added, "Buy it first. If it really doesn't work, we can take it back and ask Teacher Fan Yu to help clear away the contamination." Although Wang Yan still had doubts, he could only nod helplessly and ultimately purchased the Blood Devouring Spirit Blade.

The first light of dawn had just fallen upon the center of Star Luo Square when the people of Shrek Academy arrived early, ready to face the challenge of the second round-robin match of the elimination tournament.

The three members led by Ma Xiaotao still needed time to recover and could not rejoin the team for the moment, so the Reserve Team had to take their place for these matches. Their opponents this time actually had a Soul King among them, which placed considerable pressure on everyone. However, Lin Qianyi's presence gave them a few more chances of victory.

Although she was only a Soul Ancestor, her martial soul and Soul Ring Configuration were top-tier: two Thousand-Year Soul Rings and two Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings. Her second martial soul also possessed an ultimate attribute and came with a Thousand-Year Soul Ring.