At daybreak the next morning, Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing left Shrek Academy and set out for Suotuo City.
After traveling for some time, the two finally reached Suotuo City's eastern gate.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Just as Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing were about to enter the city, the ground beneath their feet rumbled and shook.
Without a word to each other, Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing instinctively followed their senses and looked in the same direction.
There, they saw an enormous white bear.
The giant white bear was none other than Ice Bear King Xiaobai, whose cultivation had reached a hundred thousand years.
Ice Bear King Xiaobai's arrival stirred up a commotion. Passing pedestrians, soldiers guarding the gate, and merchant caravans all had people talking about him.
"I've never seen a bear that big before."
"A white bear? Could it be an ice bear found only in the Far North?"
"Judging by its size, that white bear must have at least five thousand years of cultivation, right?"
"Whoever tamed a bear that big must at least be a Soul Emperor!"
When Dai Mubai saw Ice Bear King Xiaobai, he naturally also saw the immensely powerful Snow Empress and Ice Empress sitting on his back.
"So beautiful."
The moment Dai Mubai saw the Ice and Snow Empresses, he was captivated by their beauty. As he instinctively spoke his assessment aloud, his gaze visibly turned dazed and infatuated.
Beside him, Zhu Zhuqing said nothing.
She watched Dai Mubai in silence.
If looks could kill, Dai Mubai would have died at Zhu Zhuqing's hands countless times by now.
Looking at other women right in front of his fiancée?
Looking was one thing, but he even praised them?
Dai Mubai, you've found yourself a way to die!
Clenching her fists and gritting her teeth, Zhu Zhuqing made up her mind. Once she was strong enough, she would make Dai Mubai pay!
Like Zhu Zhuqing, Ice Bear King Xiaobai had heard Dai Mubai's assessment of the Ice Empress and Snow Empress, and he turned to look at him.
As soon as Ice Bear King Xiaobai looked at Dai Mubai, he noticed the greed gradually emerging in his mismatched eyes.
Ice Bear King Xiaobai's face darkened with displeasure, and he immediately issued a stern warning.
"You blond brat, look at my mom again and see if I don't gouge out your eyes and eat them!"
Dai Mubai: "???!!!"
Zhu Zhuqing: "???!!!"
Everyone present: "???!!!"
Ice Bear King Xiaobai suddenly speaking human words caught everyone present off guard.
Many people, including Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing, froze on the spot as though struck by lightning.
Before Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, or anyone else could react, the Snow Empress spoke indifferently from Ice Bear King Xiaobai's back. "Xiaobai, ignore them. Let's go into the city, to the Lin Auction House."
"All right, Mom," Ice Bear King Xiaobai answered the Snow Empress respectfully.
With that, Ice Bear King Xiaobai carried the Snow Empress and Ice Empress into the city.
Looking at Ice Bear King Xiaobai's enormous body, not one of the trembling guards dared to stop him.
None of them wanted to be flattened into a meat patty.
Ice Bear King Xiaobai had been gone for quite a while before the deeply shocked Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing came to their senses.
The moment she recovered, Zhu Zhuqing parted her jade lips and murmured, "That white bear just spoke human words, so... so... so it's a...?"
"A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast." His eyes wide and the shock evident on his face, Dai Mubai spoke before Zhu Zhuqing could, uttering the words she had been about to say.
Gulp~
Dai Mubai swallowed.
Fear welled up in his heart.
With fear in his heart, Dai Mubai spoke carefully to Zhu Zhuqing. "Zhu Zhuqing, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast has entered Suotuo City. It's bound to become an extremely dangerous place of trouble. Let's go back to the academy now. I don't want to turn into bear dung."
Dai Mubai stared fixedly at Zhu Zhuqing, waiting for her answer, waiting for her to return to Shrek Academy with him.
Faced with Dai Mubai's suggestion, Zhu Zhuqing did not answer immediately. Her beautiful eyes turned in the direction Ice Bear King Xiaobai had gone.
Only after a long silence did Zhu Zhuqing answer Dai Mubai.
"Remember what that woman in white just said? She came into the city with the same destination as us: the Lin Auction House that sent you the invitation. A woman who can tame a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast is certainly no ordinary person. That also indirectly shows that what's written in the invitation is very likely true. If we obtain and use that Dark Demon Evil God Tiger Bloodline, our Martial Souls can evolve!"
"Only if our Martial Souls evolve can we stand against your elder brother and my elder sister."
"Without enough strength, when the competition comes, both of us will still have only death awaiting us."
"Dai Mubai, stop running. We can't escape... the fate that belongs to us."
"If you won't go, fine. Give me the invitation. I'll go to the Lin Auction House."
With that, Zhu Zhuqing held out her right hand to Dai Mubai, asking him for the invitation.
This time, it was Dai Mubai's turn to fall silent.
In the end, Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing entered Suotuo City.
Their destination was naturally the Lin Auction House.
When Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing arrived at the Lin Auction House, an unexpected sight met their eyes.
In front of the Lin Auction House, exquisite and magnificent yet imposing and dignified, two groups stood facing off.
One group?
The Snow Empress, the Ice Empress, and Ice Bear King Xiaobai.
The other group?
Bibi Dong, Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan, and Ghost Douluo Gui Mei.
That was right. Not only had Bibi Dong come to Suotuo City to attend the Lin Auction House's auction, she had also brought her capable subordinates, Yue Guan and Gui Mei.
Besides the two groups facing off, Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing also noticed a wooden sign hanging on the Lin Auction House's doors.
There was writing on the sign.
The handwriting was identical to that on the invitation.
[Doors open promptly at eight in the morning.]
[The auction begins at ten past eight.]
Ice Bear King Xiaobai had only just arrived at the Lin Auction House's doors with the Ice Empress and Snow Empress when Bibi Dong came along with Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan and Ghost Douluo Gui Mei.
Bibi Dong and her companions were all nine-ring Titled Douluo.
They saw at a glance that Ice Bear King Xiaobai was a Soul Beast whose cultivation had reached a hundred thousand years.
Bibi Dong, who possessed two Martial Souls and was a Twin Martial Souls possessor, still needed a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring for her Second Martial Soul. Naturally, she set her sights on Ice Bear King Xiaobai, and the two sides began their confrontation.
Bibi Dong looked at Ice Bear King Xiaobai and spoke with a smile.
"I've seen plenty of bold Soul Beasts, but this is the first time I've seen one as audacious as you!"
"You dare come to our human world in broad daylight? You beast really don't take us Soul Masters seriously!"
"Very well. Today, this place will be your burial ground, beast. As it happens, my Second Martial Soul still needs Soul Rings, so I'll grant you a place among them!"
Boom!!!
As Bibi Dong finished speaking, powerful Soul Power erupted from her body, and brilliant, dazzling Soul Rings immediately rose from beneath her feet, each vying to be first.
The First Soul Ring was yellow, a hundred-year ring.
The Third Soul Ring was purple, a thousand-year ring.
The Fifth Soul Ring was black, a ten-thousand-year ring.
The Ninth Soul Ring was red, a hundred-thousand-year ring!
After the nine Soul Rings surrounded Bibi Dong, a spider appeared behind her. It was enormous, and a dense breath of death lingered around its body. It was Bibi Dong's First Martial Soul, the top-tier Beast Martial Soul, the Death Spider Emperor!
Ice Bear King Xiaobai paid Bibi Dong no attention.
It wasn't that Ice Bear King Xiaobai looked down on Bibi Dong. When the sky fell, the tall would hold it up. With his mom present, it wasn't his place to speak.
Looking at Bibi Dong, the Snow Empress was about to say something when a laugh filled with interest rang out before she could speak.
"I really didn't expect that, besides Brother Yu and me, His Holiness the Pope would also come to Suotuo City to attend the Lin Auction House's auction. What a fateful meeting."
Whoosh!
Whoosh, whoosh!
Whoosh!
Four sounds of something cutting through the air rang out.
Four figures appeared in the sky.
Three rode a sword, while one walked through the air.
The three riding the sword were Ning Fengzhi, Bone Douluo Gu Rong, and Sword Douluo Chen Xin.
The one walking through the air was Thunder Douluo Yu Yuanzhen of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
After glancing at Ice Bear King Xiaobai, Ning Fengzhi said to Bibi Dong, "Your Holiness, as the saying goes, all who see it get a share."
Clearly, like Bibi Dong, Ning Fengzhi had also set his sights on Ice Bear King Xiaobai.
Seeing one powerful Soul Master after another set their sights on her adopted son Xiaobai and even treat him as something already in their grasp, the Snow Empress, dressed in white and breathtakingly beautiful, grew displeased. Her beautiful brows knitted, and she parted her jade lips, speaking with slight anger and indifference.
"You humans are far too arrogant, aren't you? Do you really think Soul Masters are the rulers of the continent today?"
"In the past, we Soul Beasts were the rulers of the continent, and now, we Soul Beasts are still its rulers!"
"You want to lay a hand on my son?"
"Fine."
"Fight me first!"
Boom!!!
As the Snow Empress finished speaking, powerful Soul Power erupted violently from her body.
Extreme cold and the powerful pressure of a Soul Beast erupted along with it.
The moment the Soul Beast pressure emerged, the expressions of Bibi Dong, Ning Fengzhi, and the others changed drastically.
Just now, their attention had been entirely on Ice Bear King Xiaobai, and they had paid no attention to the Snow Empress, who had used Spiritual Power and Soul Power to transform herself into a human.
Now that they looked, the Snow Empress was actually a Soul Beast too, and far stronger than Ice Bear King Xiaobai!
Boom!!!
It wasn't over!
Right after the Snow Empress, the Ice Empress also displayed her formidable strength, revealing her identity as a Soul Beast.
What a joke. The object of her affection had stepped forward, so how could she, the Ice Empress, not do the same?
"Three Soul Beasts, and even the weakest is a hundred thousand years old. The heavens over the continent... are about to change!"
Watching the scene before him, Dai Mubai wore a look of disbelief, and his heart was filled with indescribable shock and horror.
Just then, a creaking sound rang out.
Bleary-eyed, Lin Yuan pushed open the doors of the Lin Auction House.
After glancing at the two sides facing off outside, Lin Yuan spoke.
"The Lin Auction House welcomes you all. This is an important area in front of the doors, so please do not fight here."