“For you, East Sea City is too small. Sooner or later you will walk out of it—but some people are worth keeping an eye on.”
Hua Yichen said in a low voice, “Take this man, for instance—Eight-Star Saint Artisan Mu Chen! He is the junior fellow disciple of the current Divine Craftsman, Zhenhua. If you can get on good terms with him, it will stand you in good stead in the future.”
The two were linked in Spiritual Sharing, so Huo Yuhao had naturally noticed the middle-aged man as well.
Soul Tools were the field he was truly good at. Setting aside whether he even had a talent for forging, even if he did, he could not afford to sink vast amounts of time into it—he simply did not have the energy to spare.
And a high-rank Forging Master was one hurdle he could not get around on the road to making Battle Armor and mechas!
Meanwhile, no sooner had Huo Yuhao and Hua Yichen noticed Mu Chen than Mu Chen and his daughter spotted the two of them climbing out of the car.
“Pagoda Master Hua, you've come for the auction as well?”
At the sight of Hua Yichen, Mu Chen was rather taken aback—and when he saw the child at Hua Yichen's side, he was even more astonished inside. “And this child is...?”
As far as he knew, Hua Yichen's own juniors were not in East Sea City. So a child the man himself would personally accompany...
“His name is Huo Yuhao. He has just awakened his Martial Soul and needs some Precious Heavenly Treasures to lay a solid foundation. Since the Tianhai Auction has some on offer, there is no need to have them transferred from headquarters.”
Hua Yichen put on a courteous smile.
“Yuhao, greet President Mu.”
“Hello, President Mu.”
Huo Yuhao bowed, then nodded to the girl beside Mu Chen.
“Hello, Miss Mu.”
No one raises a hand against a smiling face, and Huo Yuhao's bow had been polite and proper. Much as Mu Chen would rather not get too close to the Spirit Pagoda, he could only nod back with a smile and, with a glance, motioned his daughter to greet them as well.
At her father's signal, Mu Xi greeted Hua Yichen and Huo Yuhao one after the other, then turned toward the museum, unable to wait a moment longer.
“This girl has been fond of forging since she was small. She stuck with it for two years starting at age five, and when I could no longer out-argue her, I agreed to teach her. But girls are born with a shortfall where strength is concerned. I brought her this time precisely so she could find suitable Precious Heavenly Treasures to make up for it—and, while we were at it, keep her figure, so she doesn't end up some burly tomboy. That's why she's a little worked up. Please forgive her.”
Mu Chen wore a smile of helpless indulgence and offered his apologies to Hua Yichen and Huo Yuhao.
“Dad!!!” Mu Xi's face went red, and she shot an embarrassed, annoyed glance back at her father.
Say it if you must—but why bring up the reason they had come...? And she would absolutely not turn into a tomboy over forging!
She stole a glance at Hua Yichen and Huo Yuhao. Seeing nothing odd on either face, she seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and headed off toward the museum, not even waiting for Mu Chen.
Watching her go, Mu Chen smiled helplessly.
“Please excuse the display, Pagoda Master Hua.”
“It's good for children to be lively.” Hua Yichen shook his head, smiling. “The auction will be starting soon. Let's go in together.”
“Yes.”
Mu Chen agreed, even as his gaze settled quietly on Huo Yuhao.
Valued this highly by Hua Yichen... a genius born with innate full soul power?
...
The threshold for the auction was high—ordinary attendees had to post a deposit of one million Federation Coins—but men of Hua Yichen's and Mu Chen's standing naturally did not.
The four received number tags and masks from the auction house and, rather than separating, made their way to the venue together.
“Ten thousand years on, and this custom still hasn't changed. What is the point of wearing a mask?”
Huo Yuhao fiddled with his mask, grumbling inwardly.
The auctions of ten thousand years ago had been the same—insisting on handing every entrant a mask, as if this one object could hide who you were. Who knew who had left that rule behind... No one had ever said Buddha Ancestor Tang had such a habit.
Meanwhile, Mu Xi looked at the mask in her hand, then at her father's chest, and remarked with a strange look, “Dad, a mask is useless on you. Your badge gives your identity away.”
“The mask only gives people a little peace of mind. It's useless.” Mu Chen's hand paused midway through putting his on, and he simply did not bother.
This girl really does keep score.
As for Hua Yichen, he slipped his mask straight into his Storage Ring.
Just as Mu Chen had said, the mask offered nothing but comfort to the mind. It was no Soul Tool that could change a face, and who among East Sea City's elite did not know him?
The news that he had come to the auction with Huo Yuhao in tow had probably long since reached the ears of anyone with designs on them.
Or rather—this auction had been aimed at him and Huo Yuhao from the very start.
At that thought, Hua Yichen narrowed his eyes and strode into the auction hall.
Inside, crystal chandeliers scattered fine flecks of light across the dome. The ring-shaped hall was built of deep-sea sunken silver, and its security was extremely tight.
Every seat was a comfortable sofa of genuine leather, and the tables were laid with all manner of food, fruit, drinks, and alcohol.
By now the front rows were already full. Huo Yuhao's group of four did not fuss over seats; they found places in the middle section, not far from those in front.
About half an hour later, the lights in the hall gradually dimmed, and the hum of voices quieted with them.
An auctioneer in a long red dress mounted the stage from one side of the hall, and every light in the room gathered on her.
“Welcome, honored guests, to the Tianhai Auction. The annual auction is about to begin. The lots were put on display in the preceding months, so you are no doubt all familiar with them; I will waste no more words—the auction will start at once.”
Without dwelling on pleasantries, the auctioneer stepped behind a gilded wooden podium and continued, a smile on her face.
A cart was wheeled onto the stage, and the enormous white screen behind the main stage lit up.
“The first lot: the Thousand Year Ice Spirit Fruit...”
The East Sea Auction had a habit of putting its lots on display at the East Sea Museum in advance, so everyone already knew what would be sold today. The moment the auctioneer finished speaking, those who needed the Ice Spirit Fruit began bidding, and the atmosphere steadily warmed.
The lots that followed grew more and more precious. Among them, one of the final few was the Ten Thousand Year Whale Gel—drawn from the Ten Thousand Year Demon Whale, deep yellow in color and of very high quality—and Hua Yichen won it for thirty million Federation Coins.
Along the way, Mu Chen also won several body-strengthening spirit fruits for his daughter.
But if the lots were only these, they naturally could not have drawn so many great figures.
When the final lot came, the auction house did not bring the item out. Instead, after some manipulation, they had the screen behind the stage display it.
It was a creature poised between the solid and the illusory: an enormous eye, ringed by countless tentacles. A single look at it sent a chill through Mu Xi's whole body.
Huo Yuhao gazed at the familiar creature, his eyes narrowing as well. He glanced at Hua Yichen's calm face, and understanding settled in his heart.
So that was it. This auction... had been aimed at them all along.
“Honored guests, this is the final lot of the day: the Heirloom Soul Spirit—the thirty-thousand-year Evil Eye Tyrant!”
The auctioneer's voice rang with feeling.
“Ever since the Evil Emperor, second on the Fierce Beast Ranking, mysteriously vanished, the Evil Eye race has been hunted by wave after wave of Soul Masters. This kind of Soul Beast is now all but extinct; only a handful of Evil Eyes survive, transformed into Soul Spirits—and this is one of them.”
“As is well known, among the Evil Eye race, the fewer one's abilities, the stronger the creature. In other words, the fewer innate Soul Skills it possesses, the more fearsome its power. This Evil Eye Tyrant has only two attributes—fire and spirit—and its quality must be counted excellent.”
“As a Heirloom Soul Spirit, it belongs to a Soul Master family that has lately run into trouble. They had no choice but to dissolve its contract, and they can only hope the new contractor will be strong enough—for that is the Soul Spirit's own demand!”
Heirloom Soul Spirits did not stay with one Soul Master family forever. If a family fell into decline and its descendants proved unworthy, some Soul Spirits would not necessarily be willing to remain.
However tactfully the auctioneer put it, everyone understood: clearly the family that held this Soul Spirit had no strong successors left, and no longer had the strength to keep a thirty-thousand-year Soul Spirit. Otherwise they would never have handed the Evil Eye Tyrant over to an auction.
“The starting price—one hundred million Federation Coins. Each raise must be no less than ten million. Let the bidding begin!”
Chapter 10