The auctioneer's voice rang out, and the venue quieted down. Everyone turned to look at the auction stage. He Chen nodded slightly, signaling the staff to bring out the first auction item.
"Thank you all for coming to the Yanling Auction House. The first item in today's auction is the horn of a rare thousand-year-old soul beast, the Horned Horse. It can aid horned beast-type martial souls in cultivation. The starting price is three thousand gold soul coins..."
In the VIP section, Ming Tian and Yan watched the people below scrambling to bid. Ming Tian noticed that most bidders were wearing masks, clearly to avoid being recognized.
"These first few items aren't much to look at," Yan explained to Ming Tian. "They're just fillers. Most of them are either leftovers from previous auctions or things that haven't sold for a long time. If no one bids again, their price will drop significantly the next time."
Only now did Ming Tian realize the behind-the-scenes tricks of the auction. Trivial items quickly went under the hammer—some people even snagged cheap deals simply because no one else was bidding.
The real competition would come later.
Once the atmosphere had been sufficiently stirred up, He Chen exchanged a glance with his assistant, who then carefully brought out another item. This time, the assistant was extremely cautious. He Chen also quietly released his soul power to prevent any potential ambushes.
The release of a Soul Sage's soul power immediately quelled much of the restlessness in the crowd. Down below, even Meng Qianji and Duhun Si began to take things seriously.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the next item up for auction is a soul tool, commissioned by a renowned soul tool master. This master is in temporary financial need—otherwise, a treasure like this would never appear at our Yanling Auction House. In fact, our owner wanted to buy it himself, but the starting price was too high."
"Take a look!"
As he spoke, He Chen lifted the red cloth covering the soul tool, revealing a sparkling ring to everyone.
The ring looked quite ordinary, except for a star-like gem embedded in it, as though it held a galaxy within.
"This is a storage-type soul tool, called Interstellar Realm!"
"It is forged from a meteorite, and it has a storage space of a full one thousand cubic meters—equivalent to a small dimension. It can nurture various items inside. But more astonishingly, it has two special properties: one, it can store living beings; and two, time passes slower inside it. For example, you could place a block of ice inside, and a hundred years later, it still wouldn't have melted."
Gasps echoed from below. Even Ming Tian, Yan, and Yan Qingwan in the VIP section were so shocked they stood up.
"That's incredible! A storage-type soul tool is one of the rarest resources on the Douluo Continent. The largest I've ever seen only had fifty cubic meters—and it had no special features. But this one—these two features alone make it a true treasure. No wonder Father didn't buy it—the price must be outrageous."
"Storage soul tool..."
Ming Tian was deeply stirred. For him, this was immensely practical—no more carrying heavy bags, and important items could be safely stored inside.
Who wouldn't covet such a marvel? But Ming Tian knew this was beyond his reach. Not just because of the steep starting price—if he somehow got it, others would definitely covet it.
His strength was too low. He simply couldn't protect such a thing.
"What's wrong, Ming Tian? You're drooling over it too, huh?" Yan asked.
"Ah... yeah. Who wouldn't want to own something like that?"
"Exactly. I want it too. But treasures like that require not just money, but strength. Otherwise, you're just asking for trouble."
"Looks like this is the main highlight of today. Nothing else can top this."
"Brother Yan... um, do they have any cheaper, more practical storage soul tools? I just realized I kinda need one too..." Ming Tian asked, slightly embarrassed.
"Oh? You're interested in storage soul tools too? Makes sense. They're super convenient. And yes, there are cheaper ones on the market—lower capacity, about thirty cubic meters. I've got a fifty-cubic-meter one myself; got it as a birthday present when I turned six."
"How much do those cost?"
"About ten gold soul coins per cubic meter. So even the cheapest costs three hundred gold soul coins."
"Three hundred...?!"
Ming Tian hung his head. He only had ten gold soul coins—all hard-won from battle.
"Heh, don't worry! Since you're my brother, I've got your back. I've got a spare thirty-cubic-meter one lying around. I'll give it to you when we get back!"
"I can't accept that, Brother Yan. How could I let you just give it to me for free? Let me pay you back with my future commission."
"Oh, come on. If we go by commission, you'll owe us half a year's work—and how will you survive then?"
"Exactly!" Yan Qingwan chimed in. "Don't feel embarrassed. We're not pitying you. We're friends—true friends. That's why we share our good stuff with you."
"That's right! Good brothers don't split hairs. If you really feel bad, then give it your all in future soul battles! We'll conquer the entire Tianling Soul Battle Arena together!"
"Deal! Brother Yan, even if you didn't say it, I'd go all out!"
Ming Tian's eyes moistened. Their kindness only deepened his guilt—after all, their mother had been killed by people from his own Holy Spirit Sect.
"Let's see who ends up getting it. It must be ending soon."
Yan looked toward the center of the auction, and Ming Tian followed his gaze.
"Ten million gold soul coins! Ten million! Any more bids?"
He Chen called out loudly. Just a moment ago, the City Lord of Tianling had placed a bid of seven million.
Seeing that it was the City Lord bidding, most people didn't dare to raise the price.
Meng Qianji smiled. Just as the third strike of the gavel was about to fall, he raised his bidding paddle.
"Thirty million gold soul coins!"
Gasps filled the venue as everyone turned toward Meng Qianji.
"Whoa, whoa, thirty million? Are you insane?" Duhun Si blurted out.
"Hmph. I'm here to investigate the Yanling Auction House. I need to buy something flashy to show my strength and build rapport."
"As for the money, my elder brother got me an unlimited soul coin card from Prince Xuexing before I came."
Meng Qianji said casually, but a few hostile stares turned his way—including that of the City Lord.
"Well? Any higher bids?"
He Chen asked again. "Sir, you've been quite bold with your bidding. But thirty million is no small number. Please show proof of payment."
"Tsk, such a hassle. If I wanted to steal it, I could've done it already. This is me showing courtesy."
Meng Qianji then released his soul power openly. The immense pressure shocked everyone—eight soul rings briefly flickered.
"An eight-ring Soul Douluo!!"
Strength was always the most convincing argument. Feeling Meng Qianji's power, no one dared to challenge him. If he really wanted to rob them, he could do it easily.
Even He Chen felt a trace of fear, but still followed protocol and struck the gavel three times.
"Thirty million gold soul coins, final call... Sold!"
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