Mingde Hall's Spirit Tool technology was multiple generations ahead of the three Douluo nations.
Upon first obtaining Spirit Metal, Jing Hongchen's plans for it were on a scale the three Douluo nations couldn't hope to match.
Give it to team members to use?
Ha!
Even for his own grandson and granddaughter, Jing Hongchen hadn't spared a single piece of Spirit Metal.
It could be said that until more and better Spirit Metal was acquired, these resources absolutely had nothing to do with any Spirit Engineer below Level 9.
From this perspective, Xu Jiawei's speculation was correct.
The Sun Moon Royal Team indeed still had trump cards, and indeed no longer had trump cards involving Spirit Metal.
But precisely because of Mingde Hall's stance, the Sun Moon Royal Team's desire to win the championship now burned even stronger.
Because if they missed this chance, there might not be another.
The group stage continued.
Simultaneously, news that shocked all the teams quietly swept through.
The Star Light Auction House, the Star Light Auction: the Blacksmith Association would auction Spirit Metal to liven up the tournament.
Xu Jiawei: ???
At this moment, even the Star Luo royal family behind the Star Light Auction House was dumbfounded.
Because they had made no preparations whatsoever.
Before the tournament, the Star Luo royal family had indeed held out hope, thinking the Blacksmith Association wouldn't miss this opportunity. However, after the Blacksmith Association auctioned ten spots for building branch associations, coupled with the appearance of Body Sect disciples in the Sun Moon Royal Team, the Star Luo royal family had almost given up on the idea of seeing Spirit Metal auctioned during the tournament.
But he never expected the Blacksmith Association to be this sneaky.
Auctioning Spirit Metal without any warning.
Releasing those ten spots earlier was just to dispel the Star Luo royal family's idea of preparing in advance, and now they suddenly pull a reversal?
Xu Jiawei guaranteed that the point when the Star Light Auction House received the so-called Spirit Metal to be auctioned was definitely later than when the various teams learned about this auction featuring Spirit Metal.
Blacksmith Association, can you please act like decent people?
Is mastering core technology really that amazing?
While cursing and grumbling was inevitable, Xu Jiawei didn't just curse idly. He immediately made arrangements for the upcoming auction.
Xu Jiujiu also went into emergency mode, even barely participating in the matches, letting a substitute take her place, focusing entirely on the auction.
The group stage lasted a total of sixteen days.
On the very day the group stage ended, the Star Light Auction commenced.
This auction was undoubtedly meant to prepare the various teams for the upcoming knockout stage.
The top sixteen were already decided, so who would the top eight, and even the top four, ultimately belong to?
At this time, the auction would feature some Spirit Tools to enhance the strength of the various teams, helping them replenish their consumption.
What was different from before was that this time, the top three positions all came with custom Spirit Metal quotas. Any team with the potential to compete for third place would go all out to enhance their strength just a little bit.
That's right, Spirit Metal now held an unshakable position in the minds of Spirit Masters.
Teams hoping to compete for third place would think about using a piece of Spirit Metal to exchange for a custom quota, as a custom piece would suit them better.
Teams without hope of making the top three would also aim to acquire Spirit Metal. Even if using it now was meaningless, they could take it back for research later; there would always be suitable Spirit Masters within their academy.
Even teams that had already been eliminated wanted to participate in this auction.
"Ten pieces of Thousand Refined One Peak Spirit Metal, auctioned bound together with ten quotas."
When Xu Jiawei learned this piece of news, he directly cursed the Blacksmith Association under his breath.
The quotas were undoubtedly more expensive, but no matter how expensive, they only meant an association would be built in the future—who knows what changes might happen in the intervening year.
But because of this bundling, the auction of these quotas gained immediate value. Teams backed by powerful forces, like Shrek, the Star Luo royal family, the Tianhun royal family, and the Sun Moon Royal Team, were bound to bid fiercely in turns.
Even with the home advantage, Xu Jiawei wasn't confident enough to snatch many quotas from these players.
The base price of these quotas was just too high, so high that even the entire Star Luo Empire could, at most, swallow two or three.
Not only that, but bundling one piece of Spirit Metal with one quota used the small piece of Spirit Metal to leverage the competitive atmosphere during the auction. The resulting price increase might far exceed the value of just one piece of Spirit Metal.
"This is preparing to drain the resources of all the forces behind the participating teams."
Star Light Auction House.
The Sun Moon Royal Team was in Private Room Three.
"Elder Ma, did you bring enough funds this time?" Su Ming asked.
Elder Ma patted the ring on his hand.
"Mingde Hall is not short of money. Even if it's not enough, we can auction a few Level 8 Spirit Tools on the spot."
Su Ming nodded silently.
This auction seemed to involve academies from across the continent, but the Sun Moon Empire was at a big disadvantage. Even though there were many academy teams from there, only the Sun Moon Royal Team dared to carry large amounts of funds back and forth between the Sun Moon Empire and Star Luo Empire.
After all, the Sun Moon Empire and Star Luo Empire were in a state of war.
If they got robbed while crossing the border, the loss would be devastating.
Therefore, the major cities of the Sun Moon Empire that wanted to obtain spots for building Blacksmith Association branches could only rely on the Sun Moon Royal Team.
They would bid for the spots in the name of Mingde Hall and later distribute them to the major cities within the Empire.
"This auction is now full. Thank you for your support, honored guests. I am the auctioneer for this event, Jiu Jiu."
Xu Jiujiu, dressed in palace attire, gave a slight bow to everyone.
"Without further ado, Jiu Jiu also understands the eager anticipation all our honored guests have for this auction. Let us begin now."
"Today's auction is the largest-scale auction since the founding of our Star Light Auction House."
"We have prepared a total of nine rare treasures."
"The lots will be presented to our honored guests in order of value, from lowest to highest."
"The first lot: the Tyrant Tiger Soul-Refining Blade. This is a Level 8 close-combat Spirit Tool. Its materials are extremely precious, including a right arm bone from a ten-thousand-year Tyrant Tiger. Its solidified Spirit Bone Spirit Skill is 'Tyrant Blade Slash,' and it can also increase the attack power of similar Spirit Skills by fifty percent."
As Jiu Jiu's voice sounded, everyone could see this Tyrant Tiger Soul-Refining Blade through the Spirit Tool screens within their private rooms. Its total length was four feet six inches, the widest part of the blade back was one inch, styled like a zhanmadao. The handguard was very wide, shaped like a tiger's head; the Core Formation of this Spirit Tool was located in this position.
A Level 8 Spirit Tool, the Tyrant Tiger Soul-Refining Blade!
The first lot, being the least valuable, still reached the peak of what ordinary auction houses could offer.
Never mind small auctions; even medium-sized auctions might not have a Level 8 Spirit Tool as the foundation.
Moreover, this was a top-tier Level 8 Spirit Tool with a Spirit Bone at its core.
"Due to the energy contained within the Spirit Bone itself and its energy conversion mechanism, this Spirit Tool's consumption is only one-third that of a normal Level 8 Spirit Tool."
In other words, a Spirit Sage could wield this blade.
"What a pity."
Xu Jiujiu sighed, seeming genuinely regretful.
"Spirit Metal is still too rare. If this Tyrant Tiger Soul-Refining Blade could be forged from Spirit Metal, perhaps its power could remain unchanged while allowing a Spirit Emperor to use it as well."
***
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(Chapter End)