The Bonus Included with the Eighth Lot!

As Doudou's voice fell, the hall below went silent for a moment before a wave of whispers broke out.

Most people looked bewildered. Clearly, they had not attended the previous auction and had no idea what had been sold then.

"A lot related to the previous auction?"

"What could it be?"

"Spirit medicine? A Soul Tool?"

"Don't tell me it has something to do with that girl's pink Bunny Ear Pajamas?"

"Did they capture that girl and put her up for sale?!"

"Hey, hey, hey, you're getting way off track!"

In an inconspicuous corner of the crowd, however, a smile appeared on Tang San's face.

He turned to Xiao Wu beside him and spoke softly.

"Xiao Wu, you'll soon know why I dared tell you not to worry."

"This is what I've been preparing these past few days!"

Xiao Wu tilted her head and looked at Tang San in confusion.

"What is it?"

Tang San merely smiled without answering directly, signaling for Xiao Wu to keep watching.

On the auction stage, seeing that the atmosphere had been built up enough, Doudou continued with a hint.

"Does everyone remember?"

"At the last auction, an unprecedented item appeared."

"It did not require Soul Power to activate."

"Yet it could kill Soul Masters."

"It even posed a certain threat to Soul Kings!"

The moment those words were spoken, someone in the audience immediately realized what she meant.

"It's the Zhuge Crossbow!"

Someone promptly shouted out the name.

The people beside him looked puzzled.

"What is a Zhuge Crossbow?"

Someone immediately explained enthusiastically.

"You don't know?"

"It was the divine weapon that appeared at the last auction."

"It was forged from Profound Iron and could hold sixteen Profound Iron arrows."

"Within fifty meters, it could break through the defensive soul skills of a four-ring Soul Ancestor."

"That thing is practically the nemesis of low- and mid-level Soul Masters."

Inside one private room were people dressed entirely in the standard uniforms of the Heaven Dou Empire's military.

Howard, the Garrison Commander of the Heaven Dou Empire's Balak Kingdom garrison, was in his forties and had a stern face.

He turned to Zhang Chen beside him.

"Zhang Chen, the Zhuge Crossbow you submitted last time was indeed extremely important."

Hearing his superior say this, Zhang Chen's face immediately lit up with delight.

"This subordinate only hopes that our brothers can improve their combat strength."

Howard nodded in approval.

However, regret appeared on his face the next moment.

"After testing it."

"I invited a master from the Blacksmith Association to dismantle it."

"Even he praised it endlessly."

"But..."

"In the end, we were unable to reproduce it."

Zhang Chen's expression darkened.

"Commander, this..."

"This subordinate truly did not know that this thing had anti-tampering measures!"

Howard did not directly respond to Zhang Chen's words.

He merely looked toward the Auction House and spoke calmly.

"How I wish we could obtain information about the owner of that auction item through the Seven Treasures Auction House."

"Unfortunately..."

"When it comes to business."

"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect truly leaves nothing to be desired."

"They simply will not give out customer information."

Howard's gaze locked tightly onto the auction stage.

"Could it be..."

"That another Zhuge Crossbow has appeared today, or perhaps a new weapon?"

On the auction stage, Doudou looked at the reaction below and knew the atmosphere had been built up enough.

The smile on her face grew even brighter.

"Distinguished guests."

"You guessed correctly."

"This lot."

"Is indeed related to the Zhuge Crossbow."

"But... it is not a Zhuge Crossbow."

"It is an entirely new weapon!"

A fresh wave of astonished cries came from the audience.

"What?"

"A completely new weapon?!"

"Could it be even more powerful than the Zhuge Crossbow?"

"That's impossible, isn't it?!"

Doudou's smile widened.

She gestured for an attendant to bring up a tray.

On the tray rested a palm-sized metal object.

It was completely black.

It looked rather unremarkable.

"This eighth lot."

"Is called Hidden Arrow!"

She picked up the metal object and displayed it in her hand.

"It is forged from refined iron, tempered a thousand times!"

"It is only palm-sized."

"Yet it conceals profound secrets!"

"With a light press, thirty-six steel needles, which can be coated in poison, shoot out instantly!"

"And."

"It can fire three times in succession!"

A chorus of sharp inhales rose from below.

"Thirty-six steel needles!"

"And it can fire repeatedly!"

Doudou continued her introduction.

After speaking, Doudou held it up, aimed it at the steel plate behind her, and lightly pressed a button on its side.

"Hiss!"

A soft sound rang out.

Thirty-six tiny steel needles shot out in an instant.

They were so fast that they were almost impossible to see.

At the same time the needles were fired, a cloud of pale yellow mist instantly spread out, concealing their trajectory.

Then, she pressed the button twice more, sending out two more volleys of steel needles and mist.

"Within a range of fifteen meters, it can penetrate a steel plate one centimeter thick."

"According to the assessment."

"The destructive power of this attack is sufficient to threaten Soul Masters at the three-ring Soul Elder level and below!"

As her words fell, cries of surprise erupted from the audience.

Some marveled at how compact and concealed it was.

Others were dissatisfied.

"What the heck!"

"The previous Zhuge Crossbow could threaten Soul Kings!"

"This one can only threaten Soul Elders!"

"It's far inferior!"

"They're not even in the same league!"

"It's not worth mentioning!"

Their voices were filled with obvious disappointment.

But others saw its value.

"Although it isn't as powerful as the Zhuge Crossbow, it's compact and easy to conceal!"

"It can be hidden in a sleeve and used to catch someone off guard!"

"And it can be coated in poison."

"That would be very useful in actual combat!"

In the private room, Commander Howard's eyes gleamed with delight.

"This is enough."

He stared intently at the Hidden Arrow on the auction stage.

For ordinary soldiers, this thing was practically a divine weapon.

His eyes were filled with fascination as he muttered to himself.

"The key is that it's smaller!"

"Easier to carry!"

"It can be equipped on a large scale!"

In another private room.

Inside the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's room, Ning Fengzhi's breathing changed as well.

He looked solemnly at the auction item.

The significance of this thing was enormous.

Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo beside him felt the same.

Bone Douluo spoke.

"If this thing can be mass-produced."

He paused.

"It would be immensely important to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!"

Sword Douluo Chen Xin nodded.

"That's right."

"With this."

"Ordinary disciples would also have the means to protect themselves."

"They could even threaten enemies who tried to ambush them."

A thoughtful look appeared on Ning Fengzhi's face.

"The key lies in mass production."

"If we can master its method of manufacture, its value would be immeasurable."

Doudou looked at the reactions below and knew everyone's appetites had been thoroughly whetted.

However, the smile on her face grew even more mysterious.

"And Doudou would like to remind all distinguished guests."

"Today's eighth lot is not so simple!"

She paused, once again keeping everyone in suspense.

"The owner has stated that they are not merely auctioning this one Hidden Arrow!"

"It also comes with a promise."

Everyone was astonished once more.

"There's more?"

"What promise?"

"Could it be the method of manufacture?"

"They can't possibly auction off the production method! How could they sell the method itself?!"

As they discussed, everyone pricked up their ears, afraid of missing a single word.

The smile on Doudou's face faded somewhat as she spoke again.

"The person who wins this item may contact its owner."

"The owner promises to personally produce one hundred finished products for them!"

The moment those words were spoken, the crowd erupted.

"What?!"

"They can ask the owner to make one hundred of them!"

"Heavens!"

"These terms are far too tempting!"

"It's like buying a sample, then getting one hundred finished products?!"

"This is far more tempting than merely buying a single sample."

"Exactly, the value is completely different now!"

"Even if it can't be mass-produced, one hundred pieces would still be enough to equip an entire family!"

"Did you hear that? This thing can also be poisoned!"

"In other words, it's not just a deadly weapon against low-level soul masters! With an especially potent poison, even very powerful soul masters could fall victim to it!"

"Of course."

"On the condition that you provide the materials yourselves!"

Doudou added.

However, no one seemed to care about that condition.

"Iron Essence isn't especially expensive, and it's such a small item. How much material could it possibly use?"

"Hmph, none of you noticed the most important part. This is an opportunity to come into contact with the mysterious owner! That alone is an immeasurable value!"

Doudou immediately announced the price.

"At the owner's request, and following the Auction House's appraisal, the starting bid for this auction item is One Hundred Thousand Gold Soul Coins!"

"Each bid increase must be no less than One Thousand Gold Soul Coins!"

This price was higher than that of any previous auction item!

Yet no one in the audience found it surprising.

For a single item capable of threatening a Soul Elder, selling for thousands of gold coins was entirely possible!

What was more, it came with a promise to produce one hundred more!

That was enough to drive many factions mad!