"Two hundred million!"
Zhu Ziyang didn't hesitate in the slightest, directly calling out a price that made everyone tremble. The moment that two hundred million gold soul coin bid rang out, no one dared to continue competing.
"Two hundred million gold soul coins from Box Seven. Is there a higher bid?" Auctioneer Jiujiu raised the hammer in her hand and spoke in a clear voice. After a slight pause, she brought the hammer down. "Two hundred million, once!"
As the sound of the auction hammer fell, many people in the other VIP boxes showed looks of frustration—especially the guest in the box that had bid one hundred and fifty million. He was furiously smashing his teacup against the table in anger.
"Damn it!" That guest was none other than the delegation from the Sun Moon Empire, and the person who had bid the one hundred and fifty million was the arrogant Xiao Hongchen. His face was filled with frustration. He had truly wanted a ranked carving blade of his own—especially one with such a high placement on the list.
But nearly all the top thirty ranked carving blades already had owners. It had been rare luck to come across an unclaimed one—especially the eleventh-ranked Arcane Blue Silver Carving Blade. Even though he didn't understand how such a high-ranking carving blade ended up in the hands of the Star Luo Empire and was even put up for auction, he didn't care anymore. He wanted it badly.
"Damn it! Who the hell is in Box Seven? They dared to steal what's mine!" Xiao Hongchen slammed the table again, roaring with fury.
Their available funds only reached one hundred million. He had fifty million in personal allowance, and thought that a total bid of one hundred and fifty million would be more than enough. But who would've expected that Box Seven would be so rich—first buying the Ice Explosion Soul Bone for twenty-five million, and now spending two hundred million on this ranked carving blade. What kind of background did they have?
This wasn't only Xiao Hongchen's question—it was the question on everyone's mind across the other VIP boxes.
In Box One, a man around thirty years old showed a look of admiration and said, "So this is Shrek Academy? What a bold move."
He then stood up and walked out of the box with his attendants.
"Let's go. Our business here is done."
"Your Majesty, aren't you going to meet with the people from Shrek Academy?" his attendant asked respectfully. That title revealed the man's identity—he was none other than the current emperor of the Star Luo Empire, Xu Jiawei.
"No need," Xu Jiawei said with a wry smile. "It's meaningless. Among Shrek's students, there's no one worth pulling in—and none who can be pulled in. Besides, didn't we have a recent falling out over the Dai Yueheng incident? Meeting them now would only cause more trouble."
"What about that Huo Yuhao? They say he's a citizen of the Star Luo Empire—and even from Star Luo City. Isn't that worth Your Majesty's consideration?"
Xu Jiawei laughed. "That Huo Yuhao may be a Shrek genius, but he didn't leave any deep impression on me."
"Is that so?" the attendant murmured thoughtfully. "That's true. His soul power isn't high, and he probably only made it into Shrek's reserve team because of his martial soul. A spiritual-type eye martial soul… Do Shrek's people not worry that the Body Sect might come knocking?"
Xu Jiawei snorted. "The Body Sect? Just a bunch of clowns. They think they can disrupt the continent's balance and topple Shrek Academy's legend? They don't even have the foundations that the Mingde Hall of the Sun Moon Empire possesses—how could they possibly compare to Shrek?"
With a cold laugh, Xu Jiawei clasped his hands behind his back and walked away.
Elsewhere, Zhu Ziyang and the others collected their auctioned items and immediately left the Starlight Auction House, returning to the Star Emperor Grand Hotel.
As soon as they got back, Wang Yan summoned Elder Lin and handed over the items from the auction—the Arcane Blue Silver Carving Blade and the twelve sixth-level linkage-type fixed soul-guided shells.
Elder Lin's aged face revealed a rare gleam of joy and admiration. He said, "Wang Yan, this time you've made a great contribution. Because Elder Xuan was injured by an eighth-level soul-guided shell, Elder Mu has already decided to fully support the development of the Soul Tool Department. These items you brought back arrived at just the right moment!"
"Really?" Wang Yan leapt up in excitement. "Elder Mu truly has great foresight!"
The other students all had different reactions upon hearing Elder Lin's words.
Zhu Ziyang, Jiang Nannan, Beibei, and Xiao Xiao were all rather indifferent. The four of them viewed soul tools as nothing more than a means to enhance strength—not something worth fussing over.
Ma Xiaotao, Xu Sanshi, and Wang Dong, however, wore gloomy expressions. These three were traditional soul masters and held disdain for soul tools, considering them a stain on the honor of soul masters. Although their recent experiences had slightly improved their opinion, they still harbored a fundamental dislike.
Lastly, there were Huo Yuhao, He Caitou, and Tang Ya—surprised and delighted. The two men were soul engineers, and Tang Ya hoped to use soul tools to restore Tang Sect to its former glory, so they were naturally optimistic about the future of soul tool development.
"Haha, of course!" Elder Lin smiled. "Alright, go rest. There's a match tomorrow! Ziyang, the funds you advanced—once we return to the Academy, the full amount will be reimbursed."
"No problem!" Zhu Ziyang waved his hand with a smile.
After Elder Lin left, the students headed toward their hotel rooms.
"Brother Ziyang, who exactly is this Elder Mu that Elder Lin mentioned? Why does he have the authority to decide the Academy's development direction?" Huo Yuhao asked curiously.
"Elder Mu? He's the Pavilion Master of the Sea God Pavilion and also the head of the Shrek Supervisory Committee. He holds the highest authority within Shrek Academy, so of course he decides the school's direction," Zhu Ziyang answered calmly.
"Sea God Pavilion?" Huo Yuhao scratched his head. "I know what the Shrek Supervisory Committee is, but what's the Sea God Pavilion? I've never heard of it."
"Yeah, same here!" Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao chimed in.
"The Sea God Pavilion is Shrek Academy's decision-making body," Wang Yan explained as he walked over. "Elders like Lin and Xuan are all members of the Sea God Pavilion. They're called Sea God Pavilion Elders. Joining the Sea God Pavilion is the ultimate dream of every inner court student—because only Titled Douluo are eligible!"
"Titled Douluo!" The three younger students all trembled, their faces showing a mix of shock and longing. "So that means… there are a lot of Titled Douluo in the Pavilion?"
"About twenty or so!" Wang Yan said proudly. Then he looked toward Zhu Ziyang. "Ziyang, go get some rest. You're fighting tomorrow."
"Got it!" Zhu Ziyang nodded and left.
After getting away from Huo Yuhao and the others, Zhu Ziyang returned to his room, took out the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone, and began to admire it. Feeling the cool energy it emitted, he couldn't help but smile.
Within his Sea of Spirit, the emerald-colored Ice Empress soul spirit egg violently trembled in response to the aura of the Ice Jade Scorpion Soul Bone. Even through the eggshell, Zhu Ziyang could sense her fury.
"Alright, don't be mad!" Zhu Ziyang said soothingly with a chuckle. "Didn't I get it for you? You already belong to me. Why care about a mere clan member's soul bone? Besides, they aren't really your kin anymore."
Upon hearing Zhu Ziyang's reassurance, the Ice Empress seemed to recognize reality. She gradually calmed down and stopped trembling. Seeing this, Zhu Ziyang let out a satisfied smile.
He stored the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Arm Bone into his Starflame Ring, sat cross-legged on the bed, and began to cultivate.
—
The next morning, at dawn.
The members of Shrek Academy walked into Star Luo Plaza under the rising sun and were instantly greeted with thunderous cheers.
From today onward, the Continental Elite Soul Master Tournament had entered its most intense and exciting third stage. The number of spectators doubled overnight, forcing the Star Luo Empire to expand the audience seating and dispatch additional troops to maintain order.
With Shrek Academy's arrival, all sixteen teams for the top sixteen had gathered.
The first round of the third stage was a knockout—sixteen into eight. Every day, eight teams would battle in four matches, taking four days to complete. Unsurprisingly, as the reigning champion, Shrek Academy would be the first to enter the arena.
All eyes fell on Shrek Academy. Everyone was eager to see what kind of lineup they would deploy—after all, their opponent was no pushover. They were facing the Dou Spirit Royal Team, a veteran top-four squad from the previous tournament that boasted five Soul Kings.
(End of Chapter)
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