The Second Auction Item: Zhuge Crossbow!

As soon as he finished speaking, the auction hall fell silent for a moment before immediately erupting into a buzzing wave of discussion.

"It doesn't need to be activated by a Martial Soul?"

"A killing weapon? What is that?"

"Could it be one of those huge ballistae used by the military? They brought one here for auction?"

"You've got to be kidding. That thing may be powerful, but it's cumbersome. How could it possibly kill a Soul Master so easily?"

Voices of doubt, speculation, and disbelief rose one after another.

In a corner, Flender froze slightly and subconsciously glanced at Tang San beside him.

This kid had used quite a few little gadgets on Zhao Wuji during the entrance exam!

Yet Tang San's expression remained calm, as though he had not heard the discussions around him.

Even so, he could not help but sigh inwardly.

This world's understanding of mechanisms and tools was pitifully lacking!

His Zhuge Crossbow was not even considered a true killing weapon among Tang Sect's hidden weapons.

If he were to bring out even more advanced hidden weapons for auction someday, would their eyes not pop right out of their heads?

Xiao Wu gently tugged at Tang San's sleeve, leaned closer, and asked in a low voice.

"Brother, are you really going to auction that off?"

"You spent so long making it."

Tang San turned his head and reached out to lightly scrape Xiao Wu's pert nose with a finger.

"When you went shopping with Ning Rongrong last night, your eyes were practically glued to those pretty accessories. You didn't buy anything because you couldn't bear to spend the money. I saw it all."

Xiao Wu's cheeks instantly flushed crimson as she stubbornly muttered.

"Hmph, that's not true. I... I have money!"

Tang San merely chuckled twice without saying anything more, though his eyes were filled with tenderness.

On the auction stage, Li An remained composed in the face of the commotion below.

He slowly shook his head, and when he spoke again, his voice carried the sentiment of a seasoned veteran.

"To be honest with you all, I, Li An, have worked at the Suotuo City Auction House for decades. I have handled no fewer than eight hundred, if not a thousand, rare treasures."

"But an auction item this unusual is something I have only seen once in my life."

Even so, someone below was clearly already growing impatient and called out to urge him on.

"Manager Li, stop keeping us in suspense and bring it out already!"

"That's right! What exactly is it?"

Li An chuckled and stopped teasing the crowd.

He raised his hand and clapped.

Very soon, two burly attendants laboriously carried a thick iron plate onto the stage.

Behind the iron plate was a struggling, roaring Hundred Year Soul Beast. Judging by its hide and bristles, it appeared to be an Ironclad Boar renowned for its brute force.

The iron plate and the Soul Beast were heavily set upright in the center of the auction stage, producing a dull thud.

Everyone's attention was drawn over, and no one understood what this was for.

At that moment, the Space Soul Tool ring on Li An's hand flashed.

A jet-black box, strangely shaped and only a little over a foot long, appeared in his hand.

The box's surface was smooth and without any patterns, yet it gave off a cold metallic texture.

Li An paused, then raised the black box high for the entire audience to see.

"Everyone, look. This item is called the Zhuge Crossbow!"

His voice was clear and forceful.

"This crossbow is forged from Profound Iron and contains sixteen crossbow bolts made from Profound Iron and Iron Essence!"

"Every bolt has been tempered with the deadly venom of a Hundred Year Mandara Snake!"

"These sixteen poisoned bolts can be fired simultaneously in an instant!"

Li An then emphasized his next words.

"According to our testing, within a distance of fifty meters, its instantaneous explosive power poses a tremendous threat to the defensive Soul Skills of a four-ring assault-type Soul Ancestor!"

"What?!"

"Sixteen bolts at once?"

"It can even break through a Soul Ancestor's defenses?"

"They're poisoned? Hundred Year Mandara Snake venom isn't weak at all!"

Cries of shock and discussion instantly erupted like a pot boiling over.

Many Soul Masters wore expressions of utter disbelief.

It did not need Soul Power to activate, yet it could pose such an enormous threat to a Soul Ancestor?

How was that possible?!

However, Li An's next words exploded like thunder.

"And that isn't even its most terrifying aspect."

Looking at the shocked expressions of the crowd below, he spoke word by word.

"If the distance is close enough, say within ten meters, and the target is completely unprepared..."

"Even a Soul King might not be able to retreat unscathed, even if they urgently used Soul Power to protect their body!"

"Most importantly, it is not a Soul Tool!"

"Activating it does not consume any Soul Power!"

Boom!

The entire venue completely erupted!

If they had merely been shocked before, then now their understanding had been utterly overturned!

No Soul Power required! Able to threaten a Soul King at close range!

This was no longer merely a weapon. It was a terrifying killing weapon capable of changing the balance of a battle!

On the second floor, inside Red Box 3.

Bang!

With a loud crash, Zhang Chen slammed his palm onto the table and shot to his feet!

His eyes widened as he stared fixedly at the black box on the auction stage, his breathing growing heavy.

"There's actually something like this!"

"I must have it!"

At that moment, monstrous waves had already risen within his heart.

If... if every ordinary soldier under his command could be equipped with a Zhuge Crossbow like this...

Would that not mean he would suddenly have hundreds or thousands of people who needed no Soul Power to threaten Soul Ancestors and could even ambush Soul Kings?!

The boost to an army's combat strength would be simply unimaginable!

On the auction stage, Li An seemed to have expected this reaction long ago.

Ignoring the endless discussions below, he carried the Zhuge Crossbow and slowly walked to a spot about ten meters in front of the thick iron plate and the Hundred Year Ironclad Boar.

"Words alone prove nothing. Seeing is believing."

"Everyone, watch carefully."

He raised the Zhuge Crossbow and aimed it at the Ironclad Boar behind the iron plate.

It was as if everyone had stopped breathing, their gazes fixed on the movements of his hands.

The next moment, Li An pulled the trigger.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh—!

A rapid series of sharp whistles tore through the air!

Sixteen streaks of black light shot forth like black lightning!

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft...

A teeth-grating sound of penetration rang out.

Everyone clearly saw that the sixteen dark crossbow bolts easily pierced through the iron plate, which was at least two fingers thick!

Then, without losing momentum, they all sank into the body of the Hundred Year Ironclad Boar behind it!

"Aoo—!"

The Ironclad Boar let out an incomparably miserable shriek. Its massive body convulsed violently a few times before its limbs went limp and it crashed to the ground, never making another sound.

Blood mixed with black venom trickled from the holes in its body and the pierced iron plate.

The entire auction hall fell into dead silence.

Everyone was stunned by the bloody, shocking sight before them.

Piercing through an iron plate! Instantly killing a Hundred Year Soul Beast!

The power of this Zhuge Crossbow seemed even more terrifying than Li An had described!

Inside the Field Master's Office, Ning Liu was also somewhat astonished.

He had never seen such a hidden weapon, one capable of unleashing such power purely through mechanical force, not even in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect or the auction houses of Heaven Dou City!

But after the surprise came an even deeper excitement.

The Profound Orchid Ring had triggered Ten Thousandfold Return and yielded the Spirit Charm Star Luo Ring.

This Zhuge Crossbow...

If it sold successfully, what heaven-defying item would the system return to him?

On the auction stage, Li An walked over to the dead Ironclad Boar.

He reached out and pulled the sixteen Profound Iron crossbow bolts from the Soul Beast's corpse one by one.

Each bolt brought out a spray of black blood as it was pulled free.

Then, before everyone's eyes, he reloaded the bolts into the Zhuge Crossbow's box with practiced movements.

This undoubtedly demonstrated that the item was not disposable and could be repeatedly reloaded.

After finishing, Li An returned to the center of the auction stage and raised the Zhuge Crossbow in his hand.

"The Zhuge Crossbow contains sixteen poisoned Profound Iron bolts and can be repeatedly reloaded."

"Oh, and the owner has also specially provided an additional sixteen poisoned Profound Iron bolts, as well as some Hundred Year Mandara Snake venom!"

"The starting bid is One Thousand Gold Soul Coins!"

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

Almost the instant Li An finished speaking, the scene spun completely out of control!

"One thousand one hundred Gold Soul Coins!"

"One thousand two hundred! I'm taking this thing!"

"You're taking it? Keep dreaming! I bid one thousand five hundred!"

"Hmph, one thousand six hundred Gold Soul Coins!"

One person after another in the hall abruptly raised their bidding plaques and shouted out prices at the tops of their lungs. The increases were no longer in increments of ten, but surged madly in units of hundreds!

At that moment, the atmosphere in the entire auction hall was completely ignited, plunging into a state of near frenzy!