Auction Begins!

Li An's head buzzed.

He reached out and accepted the soft nightgown. Its texture was delicate, yet it did nothing to ease the absurdity he felt inside.

Then, the Space Soul Tool ring on his hand flashed and stored the nightgown away.

After thinking it over again and again, he gritted his teeth and finally spoke.

"Field Master."

"Today's auction has gathered the heads of Suotuo City's Four Major Powers."

"The Martial Soul Hall Branch Master, the Garrison Commander, the City Lord, and the Field Master of the Great Soul Arena."

He listed them one by one.

"Are you sure you want to put this up for auction?"

He stared at Ning Liu, his eyes filled with gravity.

"Field Master, I'm only saying this for your sake."

"This auction concerns the reputation of the Seven Treasures Auction House, and even more so, the honor of you Ning family descendants."

"Using a... a nightgown as the finale?"

Li An knew the consequences of saying such things.

The other party was the Field Master, after all. Even dismissing him would not be difficult.

All he had to do was report a name to the sect, and they could send someone else in his place.

But...

But he felt that Ning Liu was being far too confident, even somewhat... reckless.

Auctioning off a nightgown? And making it the finale?

That was practically pushing the Seven Treasures Auction House into a fire pit.

He was going all out!

The fact that he had restrained himself from mentioning the words "pink rabbit ears" was already the utmost self-control.

Ning Liu was momentarily stunned when he heard that.

Looking at Li An's flushed face and the worry and loyalty in his eyes, Ning Liu felt a little more approving.

He was a good man.

He dared to speak bluntly and offer honest counsel, rather than being the sort of subordinate who only knew how to flatter.

Still, replacing it was out of the question.

"They've all come?"

Ning Liu waved a hand, his tone calm, as though he did not care about Li An's advice.

"That's perfect."

"Since everyone who should come is here, there's even less reason to worry that it won't sell."

As his words fell, he even revealed a trace of confidence.

"Don't worry about it. Go to the Auction House first."

"Maybe while we haven't started yet, someone else will bring something over to auction."

Hearing Ning Liu's words did nothing to lessen Li An's worry, but Ning Liu had already made his decision. All Li An could do was carry it out!

"It's about time."

As Ning Liu spoke, he rose to his feet and headed out of the room.

"I'm going to the Field Master's Office at the Auction House."

Li An stood where he was, watching Ning Liu's retreating back with a dazed expression.

He truly had no idea how this auction would end.

He started walking and followed after him with heavy steps.

At the same time, the Auction House was bustling with noise.

The enormous auction hall was packed to the brim.

Flender brought Tang San, Xiao Wu, Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ma Hongjun with him, but they could not find seats next to one another and could only sit separately.

But that was fine too.

Anyone with something they wanted to auction could hurry over and submit it now.

Then, Flender looked around, surprise appearing on his face.

This turnout really was impressive.

Nearly every important figure in Suotuo City was here.

He turned to look at the students. Only Tang San was seated relatively close to him.

Tang San was also reminded of something by the scene before him and made a decision.

The next moment, Flender hurried away in a rush.

Tang San also stood and headed toward the Auction House's backstage area.

A short while later.

Ning Liu was already seated in the Field Master's Office on the second floor of the Auction House.

Looking at the crowded auction hall below, he was quite satisfied.

Then, he pressed the Sound Transmitter before him.

"Manager Li, you may begin!"

His voice traveled through the Sound Transmitter and reached Li An backstage.

Li An answered.

"Yes, Field Master."

Then, he took a deep breath and adjusted his state of mind.

Just now, he had received word that someone had brought in two more decent auction items to be added at the last minute.

He could not help thinking that, at the very least, most of the items were good.

Even if the final item failed to impress, it would not be too embarrassing.

Li An straightened his clothes and walked toward the auction platform.

The lights first went dark, then brightened once more. Li An stood upon the auction platform with a professional smile on his face.

The clamor in the auction hall gradually subsided as well.

"Distinguished guests, esteemed Soul Master friends."

"Welcome to the Seven Treasures Auction House."

His voice spread throughout the hall through an Amplifying Soul Tool.

"This auction is the first auction held by the Seven Treasures Auction House since Field Master Ning assumed his post."

"We have invested tremendous effort in contacting all parties and preparing unprecedentedly splendid auction items for everyone."

Li An paused, then raised his voice.

"I believe that today's auction will definitely be spectacular!"

"Now, I announce that the auction has officially begun!"

"Please bring out the first auction item!"

As his words fell, two attendants carried a tray onto the auction platform.

Resting quietly on the tray was an ancient-looking box.

Li An walked up to the tray and opened the box.

Inside was a ring.

The ring was simply designed, its surface engraved with ancient patterns.

"Everyone, the first auction item is a Space Soul Tool!"

Li An's voice carried a hint of excitement.

"This Space Soul Tool is called the Profound Orchid Ring."

"It was forged primarily from rare Mystic Blue Jade and Space Stone."

"According to our research, it was crafted by an ancient Soul Tool Master."

After saying that, he paused again before continuing.

"The storage space within it has been verified by the professional appraisers of our Seven Treasures Auction House to reach an astonishing..."

"Twenty-eight cubic meters!"

The entire hall fell silent for several seconds.

Then, a wave of murmurs and exclamations erupted.

Space Soul Tools were already extraordinarily precious.

Forget ordinary people—even many ordinary Soul Masters had never even seen one.

In Suotuo City, aside from the leaders of the major powers and the heads of major shops and guilds, anyone who possessed a Space Soul Tool was at least a Soul Ancestor-level expert!

And their storage spaces usually held only a few cubic meters!

Even the Space Soul Tool ring worn by the Martial Soul Hall Branch Master only had eighteen cubic meters of space!

Twenty-eight cubic meters?

What kind of concept was that?!

A space two meters wide, seven meters long, and two meters high!

In the second-floor VIP seating area, Wu Chen and Liu Shaobing exchanged a glance.

The very first auction item was already so precious. It seemed the Seven Treasures Auction House had truly spared no expense this time.

Wu Chen grinned.

"Manager Li is a steady man. He really wasn't exaggerating."

Liu Shaobing's expression also became much more solemn.

This Space Soul Tool held extraordinary significance for the City Lord's Mansion.

For experts of the same realm, it was often not strength that they compared, but prestige!

The size of a Space Soul Tool was enough to be linked to the strength of one's power and one's personal standing!

Among the leaders of the Four Major Powers, Liu Shaobing's storage ring had the smallest space, only twelve cubic meters!

The City Lord's Mansion was often headed by imperial relatives personally appointed by the Heaven Dou Empire's royal family!

Yet it had the smallest and weakest one?!

The Martial Soul Hall Branch Master and the Garrison Commander also wore varying expressions.

Over at Shrek Academy, Flender, Tang San, Xiao Wu, and the others also revealed astonished expressions.

Tang San was particularly surprised.

He knew about Space Soul Tools, and he even had one himself.

Yu Xiaogang had given it to him. It had a full twenty-four cubic meters of space, and he had named it Twenty-Four Bridges Bright Moon Night!

Before this, he had not known how precious this Space Soul Tool was!

Now, seeing everyone's reactions, he finally understood!

Watching the reactions below the stage, Li An felt somewhat reassured.

At the very least, this first auction item had successfully ignited the atmosphere.

He cleared his throat and continued.

"This twenty-eight-cubic-meter Profound Orchid Ring has a starting price of..."

He paused.

"One Thousand Gold Soul Coins!"

"Each bid must increase by no less than ten Gold Soul Coins!"