The cart slowly rolled onto the auction stage from one side. Unlike the previous lots, this cart was not only larger, but the cloth covering it had also been changed to a dazzling, vivid red.
Everything at the Starlight Auction House was associated with color. Gold was the most prestigious, followed by red—the same color as a Hundred-thousand-year soul ring. This alone showed how extraordinary this mysterious grand gift was.
Before long, it was pushed to the center of the stage beside Auctioneer Qing Ya. Judging by the shape beneath the cloth, this lot seemed fairly large.
Qing Ya did not keep everyone in suspense for long. After saying a few words to warm up the crowd, she lifted the covering.
The instant the cloth was removed, everyone's gaze was drawn toward it as if by unspoken agreement.
The dazzling brilliance or peerless radiance everyone had anticipated did not appear. What appeared was merely an item so ordinary it could not have been more ordinary—something every Soul Engineer knew well and could not do without.
The item itself was very small, about half a foot long and only as thick as a finger. It tapered from wide to narrow from bottom to top, ending in an exceptionally sharp-looking point. Below it was a blade roughly half an inch wide. The whole thing was ancient and black, with faint patterns engraved across its surface. It exuded a subtle, archaic aura, yet also carried a somewhat gloomy air.
Quite a few bidders let out dissatisfied sighs. Clearly, they did not feel this mysterious grand gift had brought them any surprise. Yet a small number of pupils rapidly contracted. The appearance of this item had shocked them.
Tang Wulin's reaction, however, was rather different.
He focused on the small knife onstage, his brows