I Don't Like Taking Shortcuts
The Sea of Consciousness has been turned upside down.
The Snow Empress was furious.
"This is the Soul Bone of the Ice Jade Scorpion Clan, these despicable humans..." In her eyes, all the Soul Beast of the Far North were her children, so her anger at this moment was no less than that of the Ice Empress in the original work.
"This Soul Bone is approximately 70,000 years old and belongs to the Ice Jade Scorpion, one of the most powerful races in the Far North. It's the left arm bone. Although you already have the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone given to you by the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, but..."
Snow Empress paused.
"You mean... Soul Bone Synthesis?"
Lu Cheng's eyes narrowed slightly.
In the original work, Huo Gua actually completed this thing unintentionally with the help of Snow Empress, Ice Empress and others. For example, when fusing with Ice Empress's torso bone, he used the secret Soul Bone. However, because the energy of Ice Empress's torso bone was too strong and Ice Empress controlled it herself, there was no risk of failure.
Soul Bone Synthesis, as the name suggests, involves combining several Soul Bone through a special method to create a brand new Soul Bone, although there is a certain probability of wear and tear.
However, with Jiaojiao controlling the core of her body's life force—a 100,000-year-old torso bone—and Snow Empress's 700,000-year-old left leg bone, this Ice Jade Scorpion Soul Bone would likely not be able to act recklessly.
The success rate of fusion is still quite high.
After all, the Snow Empress was the head of the three kings of the Far North, the true ruler, and she still had some suppressive power over the Ice Jade Scorpion, which had existed for tens of thousands of years.
"Good."
Lu Cheng nodded slightly, but unlike in the original story, he did not remind Xu Jiujiu of this matter. Instead, he sat quietly in place, waiting for the auction to begin.
"A-Cheng, aren't you going to remind the auction house? This Ice Jade Scorpion Soul Bone can only be used by the owner of the Ice Jade Scorpion Martial Soul, or by someone with the Ultimate Ice," Snow Empress said, puzzled.
"Hehe, why bother? I prefer a fair and square auction," Lu Cheng said in his Sea of Consciousness.
Snow Empress smiled and shook her head, understanding the boy's meaning, so she said nothing more and her figure disappeared into the Sea of Consciousness.
"I presume you have all finished reading? Now, let's begin... Starting bid: 8.5 million Gold Soul Coin!"
Ten minutes passed in the blink of an eye.
On the screen, Xu Jiujiu smiled radiantly.
This is a huge deal. Although the starting bid was only over eight million, the final transaction amount was close to fifteen million.
Just the Ultimate Ice alone is enough to make countless ice-attribute Soul Master drool.
Nine million!
"Ten million!"
"Eleven million..."
Sure enough, as expected, the numbers on the screen scrolled wildly, showing no sign of stopping.
"Over twelve million, and it's still rising," Wang Yan exclaimed.
"Should we buy it?" Ma Xiaotao asked Lu Cheng with some curiosity.
"Of course I'll buy it," Lu Cheng said with a light laugh.
"But... the price to buy this Soul Bone is outrageous. Let's focus on participating in the competition," Wang Yan said hesitantly.
He was clearly the teacher in charge, yet he acted so humbly.
Since Zhang Lexuan arrived, he has been practically sidelined. The team captain Ma Xiaotao, and even Zhang Lexuan herself, all follow Lu Cheng's lead. This situation is simply too bizarre. If he didn't have to rely on Lu Cheng to win, he would have considered reporting this matter to the academy.
After all, he is a proper team leader, and he still needs to return to Shrek to continue living there.
For some reason, Lu Cheng now gives the impression that he wants to take advantage of everyone and then leave.
Wang Yan felt a little uneasy.
"..."
"Professor Wang Yan, how many years have you been teaching at the Foreign Languages Department?" Lu Cheng didn't answer directly, but asked softly.
Seven years.
Wang Yan's face turned bitter. "I graduated a bit late, barely reaching the Soul King level in my thirties, and I'm just over forty now."
"What do you think of Zhou Yi from the Foreign Languages Department?" Lu Cheng continued to ask.
"..."
Wang Yan was about to say that he was all show and no substance, a good-for-nothing who rose to power through his husband, but she hesitated and held back...
"Teacher Zhou Yi is excellent."
"Someone like Zhou Yi can hold a position as an outer court teacher, and even seems to have been promoted to a high-ranking position, while you've been around for years and are only at the junior level. Shrek Academy is rotten to the core..."
Lu Cheng said leisurely.
Wang Yan frowned slightly, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
Gongyang Mo and Ling Luochеn both remained calm. After all, Lu Cheng had said these words in front of Xuan Zi before he came. Although they were somewhat surprised, they did not think of any other meaning when Lu Cheng said them again.
"Fifteen million Gold Soul Coin."
Seeing that the number had risen to fourteen million, Lu Cheng calmly said that he would add one million Gold Soul Coin.
"..."
The room fell silent; the numbers stopped abruptly.
Fifteen million is by no means a small sum.
On the screen, Xu Jiujiu finally smiled and said, "Congratulations to room number three..."
"It's even more expensive than my Golden Earth Dragon King Soul Bone..." Wang Dong exclaimed softly.
"This is the Ice Jade Scorpion, the Ultimate Ice," Ling Luochеn Youyou from the side.
"Sister Luo Luochеn, it's not that I'm unwilling to give it to you, but if you want to refine and fuse this Ice Jade Scorpion Soul Bone, your own Martial Soul must also be of the Ultimate Ice attribute, otherwise, you will explode and die." Lu Cheng turned to look at Ling Luochеn and said sincerely.
"..." Ling Luochеn's face turned pale, and he broke out in a cold sweat. "There's actually such a saying?"
So, the method she read in the book for advancing to the Ultimate Ice Martial Soul doesn't seem to work either?
Now, it seems there's only one way to advance to the Ultimate Ice: dual...
Ling Luochеn took a deep breath, "Xiao Cheng, absorb it, of course I believe you..."
Lu Cheng raised an eyebrow. Why did he always feel that this icy beauty had a hint of flirtation in her light blue eyes, as if she wanted to devour him?
He shook his head, dismissing the strange thought.
With Ice Explosion Technique in hand, now it's time for the grand finale of this auction...
"Then the following items will surely satisfy all our distinguished guests."
Xu Jiujiu, he clapped his hands, signaling the waiter to bring over a small plate covered with a red cloth. It looked almost empty, as if it were a plate without any bulges.
"Please don't be impatient, everyone. This treasure, though only a tiny bit, is priceless..."
As she spoke, she gracefully lifted the red cloth, and the screen magnified the contents of the plate. It was a small, pale green crystal, crystal clear, and not even as big as a fingernail.
However, the extremely rich Life force emanating from it left Lu Cheng stunned and bewildered.
Gold of Life!!!
Although this small piece isn't large, and can't compare to Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife, it's still quite considerable.
"Indeed, I presume our distinguished guest has already guessed the origin of this thing. It is formed from the immense Life of the forest, and it generally only exists in the core area of Star Dou Great Forest —the essence of an entire forest."