"Good stuff! All of it is good stuff!"
"I hope Yu Tao hurries and brings an elder or the sect master from the sect. These treasures are all fated for my Body Sect."
Inside a VIP room, a purple-robed man with a slightly larger head spoke excitedly.
This man was none other than Lang Ya of the Body Sect. The waiter attending him stood beside him with a vacant look in his eyes.
From Lang Ya's head, rings of silver-white ripples suddenly spread out, distorting even the air itself. Everything in the room seemed to turn illusory, and the waiter's body twitched slightly.
"Go! Find out who bought that ten-thousand-year Ice Jade Scorpion left arm bone, and who's going to buy this hundred-thousand-year soul beast embryo next. Then come back and tell me."
In Lang Ya's eyes, that ten-thousand-year Ice Jade Scorpion soul bone was perfect for Jiang Jue in his sect, and the hundred-thousand-year soul beast embryo was something they absolutely could not miss.
That's right — Lang Ya had already decided to count Jiang Jue as part of the Body Sect.
The waiter replied obediently and turned to leave the room.
"Looks like it's time to return to my old line of work."
"Old friend, long time no see."
A gleam flashed in Lang Ya's eyes as he took out a black hood from his storage ring, patting the dust off it.
Ever since the Body Sect had formed a group to single-handedly clear the Star Dou Forest dungeon, their fame had skyrocketed. This was one of the reasons they became one of the continent's three top powers.
Moreover, the Body Sect had left the impression of being half-righteous, half-evil, and completely eccentric — acting entirely on personal whim.
VIP Room No. 7
"So cruel…"
Wang Dong stared at the hundred-thousand-year soul beast embryo shown on the soul tool screen, a flicker of pity in his eyes as he murmured.
"Ha, Little Wang Dong, what are you talking about?"
"Humans kill soul beasts, soul beasts launch beast tides to attack humans — isn't that normal? What's so cruel about it?"
Xu Sanshi patted Wang Dong on the shoulder and spoke gently.
"But… I just feel it's not right in my heart. She had clearly already transformed into a human…"
"Alright, don't overthink it. Soul beasts kill people, people kill soul beasts — it's normal."
While Xu Sanshi was trying to comfort Wang Dong, Jiang Nannan, standing to the side, suddenly spoke up.
"It's soul masters who kill soul beasts. But when soul beasts launch beast tides, the ones who die are mostly commoners. How is that fair?"
Something seemed to have crossed Jiang Nannan's mind, and her face showed a hint of anger.
Xu Sanshi chuckled awkwardly and said nothing more.
He knew Jiang Nannan came from a civilian background. Her starting point was different, so naturally her understanding was different too.
Clap clap!
"Alright, we've gained a lot this time. Once the auction ends, let's go back and prepare for tomorrow's matches. Don't dwell on pointless things."
"After all, Dai Yueheng and I haven't fully recovered yet. We'll be counting on you all next."
Ma Xiaotao stood up, clapping her hands as she addressed everyone.
"Yes!"
Everyone responded, though each person's eyes flickered with different thoughts.
The auction soon came to a close.
In the end, with a bid of 150 million gold soul coins, Xiao Hongchen successfully secured the hundred-thousand-year soul beast embryo.
"Elder Ma, this treasure is an absolute hot potato. Once the auction ends, you must take it back to our academy immediately and give it to my grandfather. Once it's inside Mingde Hall, I'd like to see who dares have any designs on it."
Xiao Hongchen stroked the soul tool containing the embryo several times before reluctantly handing it to Elder Ma.
Elder Ma nodded and said,"That's exactly what I planned. We must keep as low a profile as possible. An auction item worth over a hundred million — that's extremely rare in the continent's history. I'll use Mingde Hall's secret channels in Star Luo City to return."
The secret passages for each VIP room opened separately, allowing their occupants to leave in secret. Jiang Jue's group entered the passage and returned to their hotel.
Knock knock knock!
Jiang Jue's door sounded.
"Jiang Jue, it's me."
He had just finished washing up when he heard the knock. Opening the door, he saw Meng Hongchen standing there.
Only now she seemed a little shy, her pretty face flushed red. Her delicate hands gently pinched the hem of her dress, her head lowered as she stared at the floor.
"Meng, come in."
Seeing her like this, Jiang Jue wrapped an arm around her slender waist, bringing her inside and locking the door behind them.
"Ah!"
Meng Hongchen gave a soft cry as she was pulled onto the bed. Her ice-blue eyes blinked slightly, revealing her inner restlessness.
"Here, Meng — absorb this."
A blue light flashed in Jiang Jue's hand, and a jade box appeared — the same one that had held the Ice Jade Scorpion left arm bone at the auction.
"Jiang Jue, you really don't want to absorb it yourself? For an ice-attribute soul master, this soul skill is practically divine."
Seeing the jade box, Meng Hongchen looked straight into Jiang Jue's eyes and spoke seriously.
Jiang Jue gently pinched her fair cheek and said softly,"Be good, Meng. Absorb it. I'll protect you."
Seeing how firm he was, Meng Hongchen didn't refuse again. She knew that only by becoming stronger herself would she not be a burden to Jiang Jue. She nodded heavily and silently vowed in her heart:
From now on, I'll be the one protecting you.
She took the jade box from Jiang Jue, opened it, and revealed the Ice Jade Scorpion left arm bone inside.
Even now, the cold aura it emitted was so frigid and piercing.
"Don't worry — absorb it. I'm here."
"Mm!"
Her eyes firm, Meng Hongchen placed the bone against her left arm, circulating her soul power to draw it in.
Under the pull of her soul power, the bone quickly turned into a mass of emerald-green liquid that slowly seeped into her left arm.
She shut her eyes tightly, doing her best to control the green liquid and merge it with herself.
As it seeped in, an intense cold burst from her left arm. Immediately, she mobilized two streams of soul power — one blue, one red — to control the green liquid and fuse it with her arm bone.
The Scarlet Ice Toad possessed both ice and fire attributes, and now she used her fire attribute to resist the extreme cold while guiding it with her ice attribute.
Jiang Jue watched her, then with a gesture summoned the Soul-Refining Banner into his hand. Blood patterns stirred, and a green light flashed out.
"What is it? A fight?"
A cold female voice sounded — it was the Ice Empress.
She had been staying in the banner these past days, bored and occasionally beating up Xiao Hu to vent her frustration. Now that Jiang Jue had summoned her, she was a little excited.
Jiang Jue pointed to Meng Hongchen's left arm."Ice Empress, I'll need your help in a moment — help Meng fuse the soul bone."
The Ice Empress followed his gaze, and her brows instantly furrowed.
"This is a soul bone from our Ice Jade Scorpion clan!"
(End of chapter)