Chapter59: The Auction's Climax Beneath the Starlight
The auction continued.
The sound of the gavel, the murmurs of the hall, the light reflecting off the polished tables—everything moved in a measured rhythm, as if the hall itself were a living being breathing with every number announced.
The next two items were brought onto the platform one after the other.
Two soul bones.
One was a left arm bone, and the other a right arm bone.
When they were revealed, a faint radiance emanated from within them, and the lights reflected off their surfaces like the glint of metal hidden beneath the skin of time.
The whispers grew louder.
Paddles rose here and there.
But Team Sun and Moon… remained still.
Not a single paddle was raised.
No interest was shown.
As if the two items were not worthy of even a moment of their attention.
Then came the fifth item.
The moment it was pushed onto the platform, the atmosphere in the hall shifted.
Princess Jiujiu stepped forward. Her smile was professional, yet her eyes carried a subtle glimmer of confidence.
She spoke clearly, her voice echoing throughout the hall:
"As for the fifth item in today's auction… it is also a soul bone. It originates from a ten-thousand-year Underworld Wolf King. It is most suitable for absorption by agility-type Soul Masters specializing in rapid assault. Honored guests… please take a look.
In the next moment—a white light flashed.
The spirit-guidance screen flared to life, and the soul bone appeared upon it, magnified several times over.
Soft gasps rose from the front rows.
The bone was a deep blue in color—but not an ordinary blue. It was the blue of an endless ocean's abyss.
A dark azure glow flowed across its surface, moving slowly, like demonic blood coursing through invisible veins.
And around it…
Black, coiling runes wound in succession, like tongues of shadow crawling over its surface.
In form, it was a left leg soul bone.
But the aura emanating from it… was anything but calm.
It radiated dense waves of underworld energy—cold… deep… deceptive.
For a moment, those who looked upon it imagined the shadow of a demonic wolf moving behind it, lurking in the darkness of night, waiting to pounce.
The hall fell silent.
"One million three hundred thousand soul gold coins."
The moment Princess Jiujiu finished speaking, the price instantly jumped by three hundred thousand. After all, soul bones were commodities that never feared stagnation.
"One million five hundred thousand soul gold coins."
After a round of intense bidding, Elder Ma spent two million three hundred thousand soul gold coins to secure the Underworld left leg soul bone on behalf of Nannan.
After the auction, I will hand it to her.
The sixth item in the auction was an extremely rare metal: Earthfire Essence Gold, a metal that could only be born within the heart of terrestrial magma—rare to an extraordinary degree.
Earthfire Essence Gold was an ideal material for crafting fire-attribute spirit-guidance cannons. Even adding a piece the size of a fingernail could increase a fire cannon's power by forty percent.
And the quantity of Earthfire Essence Gold presented this time was the size of a fist—making it an invaluable treasure for fire-attribute soul engineers.
And it was not only a treasure for fire-attribute soul engineers.
After a tense and thrilling auction, Ji Lin successfully obtained it for nearly four million soul gold coins.
The seventh item in the auction was a Grade Eight spirit-guidance device called the Heaven-and-Earth Sundering Cannon. Although it was Grade Eight, it required its user to possess the title of Douluo.
Due to the relative weakness of its material, the cannon could only be used once per day, and its charging time was long. According to Princess Jiujiu's evaluation, it was a Grade Eight spirit-guidance device equipped with a Grade Nine core formation.
In the end, it was purchased by another buyer at a high price of seven million soul gold coins.
After the Heaven-and-Earth Sundering Cannon was sold, the auction effectively entered its final stage. For the eighth time, Jiujiu's beautiful image appeared on the screen, and her melodious voice rang out:
"The next two items are the highlights of today's auction. I am confident that all our honored guests will be greatly interested in them.
For example, we now arrive at the eighth item of the auction. It is still a soul bone, but it is different from the others. Please take a look."
On the spirit-guidance screen appeared a left arm soul bone, dazzling and translucent in an arresting manner. Since it carried the weight of a finale item, it was bound to possess something extraordinary.
However, the members of Team Sun and Moon did not show much enthusiasm. The reason was simple—from its appearance, it was clearly an ice-attribute soul bone.
No one on Team Sun and Moon met the requirements to absorb it. Even Meng Hongchen was not suitable.
Ji Lin narrowed his eyes slightly. This soul bone was completely familiar to him.
This bone originated from a ten-thousand-year Jade Ice Scorpion, and it contained a fixed soul skill called Ice Explosion. This skill was considered a legendary ability within the Jade Ice Scorpion clan—so rare that even among the Ice Empress's innate talents, it did not exist.
In the original story, the Jade Ice Scorpion's left arm bone could only be absorbed by someone possessing Ultimate Ice. The implied meaning was that only one person could absorb it—and that person was Huo Yuhao—a truly exclusive advantage.
The Ice Explosion skill contained within this bone provided tremendous support to Huo Yuhao in the later stages. He unleashed its terrifying power to the utmost limit, and with nearly every use, he was on the verge of overturning the course of battle.
As Ji Lin had expected, Jiujiu appeared on the spirit-guidance screen and began explaining the advantages and disadvantages of this soul bone in her melodious voice, tinged with a subtle hint of allure.
It must be said that Jiujiu's voice was beautiful and captivating, her words rich with suggestion—so much so that one might feel compelled to spend a fortune just to earn a single smile from her.
Just as Jiujiu was about to finish her explanation, she seemed to receive some kind of message. She shifted the direction of her speech and extended the viewing time.
No one else noticed anything unusual, but Ji Lin—who knew how the story unfolded—smiled faintly. There was no need to guess; Huo Yuhao must have raised a question and submitted a remark to Starlight Auction House.
The twenty-minute viewing period ended, and the auction began as usual.
The starting price for the Jade Ice Scorpion left arm bone was set at twelve million soul gold coins, with each increase no less than fifty thousand. This steep price truly shocked the members of Team Sun and Moon.
The price rose rapidly. This was an exceptionally high-quality soul bone that attracted significant attention—especially since quite a number of the Soul Masters present were of the ice attribute.
Before long, the price reached fifteen million soul gold coins. At that moment, the number on the spirit-guidance screen suddenly changed, and a massive figure appeared—shocking every VIP room.
Thirty million!
The members of Team Sun and Moon in Room Number Two gasped unconsciously; such a fortune was enough to purchase a medium-sized city.
The figure of thirty million remained displayed on the screen for a full minute. It was clear that this number had surpassed the psychological limit of the majority present.
The transaction was successfully concluded. The Jade Ice Scorpion left arm bone was sold for thirty million to an unknown buyer.
Aside from the members of Shrek Academy, no one knew the identity of this mysterious buyer—except Ji Lin.
Because this soul bone could only be absorbed by someone possessing Ultimate Ice, and in order to preserve the reputation of Starlight Auction House, the auction house staged the scene as a self-purchase.
As for the true bidder, it was none other than the Emperor of the Star Luo Empire, who had promised Huo Yuhao that if they secured first place in the tournament, this soul bone would be presented to them as an additional reward.