Chapter 24: Sun Moon Royal Auction House, Secret Technique Soul Bone
Kong Deming felt as though a sacred voice, brimming with the weight of destiny itself, had exploded in his ears. His eyes locked onto Huo Yuhao in disbelief, taking a long while before he managed to recover and speak, his voice stumbling over the words.
"Yuhao… that voice just now—was that also an ability of your martial soul?"
Huo Yuhao nodded slightly; no further explanation was necessary.
"Good. As your master, I believe you."
In the face of that irresistible voice, Kong Deming was now certain—this second martial soul of his disciple was unimaginably powerful.
The engraving trait ability alone was enough to guarantee that, when the time came to acquire soul rings for this martial soul, it could be elevated to unprecedented heights. As long as Yuhao's body could endure it, they could specifically target soul beasts with extreme attributes. Even imagining the results made Kong Deming's heart race.
Not to mention… There was still that mysterious Bell of Destiny!
"However," Kong Deming added, still uneasy, "I won't interfere in your personal opportunities, but to ensure your safety, I'll arrange for someone to secretly protect you."
This was already the best possible outcome. Without hesitation, Huo Yuhao agreed.
After all, once he entered the Extreme North, he could easily slip away using his Spiritual Interference Domain to shake off those secretly protecting him. Combined with the concealment ability of the Starlight Ring, no one—not even a Titled Douluo—would be able to track him if he didn't wish it.
"Alright, you little brat," Kong Deming grumbled, "you keep giving me heart-stopping surprises. Spare a thought for your old master's heart, will you? Once you finish this week's medicinal bath, scram and get back to whatever you were doing."
"Oh." Huo Yuhao still had other matters to attend to, so he didn't linger.
He had no idea that, after he left, the old man sank into a deep spiral of self-reflection.
Kong Deming's gaze was slightly unfocused as he muttered to himself in admiration.
"An engraving trait ability… how many extreme attributes will this brat be able to handle in the future? His body can withstand this? And he's acting like nothing happened…"
From beginning to end, he hadn't mentioned Xu Tiannan's reward. A teacher should shield their disciple from such matters. He knew exactly what Xu Tiannan was plotting—politics, the kind Yuhao should not be involved in at his current stage.
---
Nighttime
The Sun Moon Empire's Royal Auction House.
As the most prestigious auction venue in the imperial capital, its grandeur needed no explanation.
When Huo Yuhao stepped inside, the dazzling soul guidance device exhibition nearly blinded him.
Even on the first floor—just the ordinary exhibition hall, separate from the auction—there were dozens of Level 5 and Level 6 soul guidance devices on display. Soul Guidance Device: sealed milk bottles, invincible shields, flying soul guidance devices—everything was available, along with countless other treasures. It wasn't hard to imagine how many rare items would appear once the auction began.
Today happened to be the monthly Rare Treasure Auction.
After completing asset verification, Huo Yuhao—carrying over 13 million gold soul coins—signed a confidentiality agreement and followed a maid into the exclusive auction hall.
The Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Rubber could be purchased directly from the exhibition area. Selecting two pieces of around 10,000 years and one piece of 30,000 years, he paid 800,000 gold soul coins. With this, the main goal of his visit was already accomplished.
The value of whale rubber was directly tied to its age and quality. A thousand-year piece in good condition ranged from 10,000 to 100,000 gold soul coins, but Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Rubber was far more expensive, usually 100,000 to 500,000 gold soul coins per piece.
Buying up all the best quality pieces available, Huo Yuhao decided to stay for the auction—after all, experiencing such a Douluo-style event was worth it.
Perhaps Jing Hongchen or Kong Deming had already made arrangements, because once the maid confirmed his identity, she led him straight to a top-tier private box.
The auction hall's design was deliberately discreet. The main entrance descended twenty meters underground before reaching the registration area, where a red-dressed maid guided guests onward.
A ten-meter-wide golden corridor followed, with the floor paved with ivory tiles, the walls gilded and engraved with intricate patterns, and the ceiling adorned with soul-powered crystal chandeliers. Beyond it lay a golden, three-dimensional world—the main auction floor.
The venue was divided into a public hall and top-tier boxes.
The public hall could seat 200 people, dimly lit and used for mid- to low-grade auctions—Level 6 or lower soul guidance devices and treasures worth around one million gold soul coins.
The top-tier boxes, however, were not about money but status. They featured private viewing windows made of high-definition, specially-crafted soul guidance glass overlooking the stage, rare soul beast fur sofas, and an internal light-guide screen powered by dedicated soul masters, providing real-time projections of auction items.
Huo Yuhao was taken to Box No. 2. He was slightly surprised, but considering his identity as Kong Deming's personal disciple, it made sense.
The walls of the top-tier boxes were made of special soul guidance metal, making it impossible to detect who occupied the neighboring rooms.
What Huo Yuhao didn't know was that, in Box No. 3, the siblings Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen had already arrived.
---
Half an hour later, the auction began.
At first, Huo Yuhao thought of himself as a wealthy buyer—but when the screen displayed one precious item after another, especially Level 7 and even Level 8 soul guidance devices, the staggering prices gave him pause.
It wasn't that he couldn't afford them—it was that he had no need. He already had Hongchen's Blessing, a trigger-activated Level 9 defensive soul guidance device, and the Starlight Ring, another Level 9 soul guidance device. These items were far superior to any Level 8 soul guidance devices being auctioned.
But then, something truly caught his attention.
"Secret Technique Soul Bone?"
He sat up straight as the image appeared on the screen.
Unlike natural soul bones, this was an artificially created variant, made through special methods—such as killing 100 identical soul beasts within half an hour—resulting in only a 10% chance of producing such a bone. In essence, it was closer to a pseudo soul bone than a natural one.
Its shortcomings were obvious: no innate soul bone skill, only a 5% increase in soul power, far inferior to natural soul bones, and without an indicated age. Its value depended entirely on the strength of the materials used in its creation.
But none of that mattered to Huo Yuhao because this soul bone had a property he needed desperately—it was fusion-compatible, able to integrate with other soul bones.
"I didn't expect to find something like this here."
When he eventually headed to the Extreme North, the fusion process during the Ice Empress's sacrifice would make the Secret Technique Soul Bone invaluable.
Hearing the auctioneer's introduction, the long-dormant Tianmeng suddenly emerged.
"Tsk, tsk… humans are cruel—thinking up a method like this."
(End of Chapter)