In truth, what people called harmonious coexistence between humanity and Soul Beasts was actually limited to the Star Dou Great Forest and the Extreme North. The sovereigns of those two major gathering grounds had contracts with the Spirit Pagoda, and many Heirloom Soul Spirits stood on their side, so Soul Masters did not dare violate their boundaries.
But the Sun Moon Forest and the Sea Soul Beasts were another matter entirely.
After all, human greed never ceased...
The Evil Eye Tyrant Ruler had vanished ten thousand years ago, and the Sea Soul Beasts had no ruler, much less any contract with the Spirit Pagoda. With the Star Dou Great Forest and the Extreme North turned into forbidden zones for Soul Masters, how could they possibly spare the beasts here?
True, the Soul Spirit Contract left behind by the Ice Spirit Douluo required the Soul Beast's consent, but ordinary Spirit Rings and Soul Bones had no need to care about what the beast wanted!
And so, over the past ten thousand years, vast numbers of Soul Masters had flooded into the Sun Moon Forest and the ocean, leading to the Sun Moon Forest's total eradication and leaving the near-shore waters completely devoid of Soul Beasts.
This directly caused Soul Beasts to become scarce, which indirectly made Soul Spirits capable of providing multiple Spirit Rings increasingly precious. The status of Soul Spirits rose sharply, especially those at the ten-thousand-year level and above.
Although both the Star Dou Great Forest and the Extreme North had reached agreements with the Spirit Pagoda, ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts were hardly common cabbages, and not every Soul Beast was willing to be turned into a Soul Spirit.
In this era, a ten-thousand-year Soul Spirit was worth more than a ten-thousand-year Soul Bone, to say nothing of finding one in a second-tier city like East Sea City.
Thus, the moment the auctioneer finished speaking, fierce bidding broke out.
"One hundred and ten million!"
"One hundred and thirty million!"
"Two hundred million!"
Mu Xi stared blankly at the Evil Eye Tyrant. Although that single eye looked terrifying, it was a rare ten-thousand-year Soul Spirit—and it seemed even stronger than her father's Soul Spirit.
Moreover, it possessed a fire attribute, which meant... it was a ten-thousand-year Soul Spirit suited to her!
Mu Xi's eyes instantly lit up, and she turned to look at Mu Chen.
"Dad?"
Mu Chen noticed her look, patted her head, and said with a smile, "Alright. The family's Heirloom Soul Spirit is with me, so this one can be saved for your future."
With that, he raised the bid directly:
"Three hundred million!"
This far exceeded the usual price of a ten-thousand-year Soul Spirit, but since when could a ten-thousand-year Soul Spirit be bought with mere money?
The Spirit Pagoda claimed to sell ten-thousand-year Soul Spirits, even openly listing a price tag of one hundred million, but everyone knew that once you reached that level, securing one depended entirely on personal connections...
Watching the price climb ever higher, Huo Yuhao tilted his head toward Hua Yichen beside him. "It was brought here for me, wasn't it?"
They said it had dual attributes, but the one best suited to an Evil Eye Tyrant Soul Spirit was still a spiritual-attribute Soul Master. For it to appear right now, and as a last-minute addition for the finale lot, was simply too coincidental.
Hua Yichen nodded. "No wall is completely windproof in this world. Your recent special treatment at the Spirit Pagoda clearly drew attention."
'Why do I feel like that's your fault?'
Recalling his daily life over the past month, Huo Yuhao was rather speechless.
Hua Yichen wandered around the Spirit Pagoda all day, meeting him in public under the guise of offering guidance; it would have been strange if he hadn't drawn attention.
Were branch Pagoda Masters nowadays really this idle?
In the Spirit Pagoda's early days, everyone had worked around the clock...
Huo Yuhao kept the thought to himself; otherwise, Hua Yichen would have readily agreed.
In East Sea City, he truly was bored.
After all, East Sea City was too small for Huo Yuhao, but was it any larger for Hua Yichen?
As the Pagoda Master of one of the Eighteen Heavenly Pillars, he was a Three-Word Battle Armor Master and a Titled Douluo!
Hua Yichen did not know Huo Yuhao's thoughts. Keeping his eyes on the Soul Spirit, he asked, "The Evil Eye Tyrant is a pinnacle spiritual-attribute Soul Beast, making it one of the best ten-thousand-year Soul Spirits for you. Although the Spirit Pagoda has some in stock, as far as I know, the best among them also has dual attributes and might not even match this one. Do you want it?"
"No need to go out of your way for me. A ten-thousand-year Soul Spirit is still far too early for where I am." Huo Yuhao shook his head.
A ten-thousand-year Evil Eye Tyrant Soul Spirit might be alluring to others, but not to him.
After all, the Evil Emperor itself was currently asleep inside his Sea of Spirit!
Among the three great Soul Beast sanctuaries, Di Tian and the Snow Empress could be reasoned with, but ten thousand years ago, the Evil Emperor—who had allied with the Holy Spirit Cult—had been utterly beyond negotiation!
When Huo Yuhao had come knocking back then, he had first conveniently eradicated the evil soul masters' headquarters in the Sun Moon Forest.
Then, for some unfathomable reason, the Evil Emperor's mind had snapped, leading it to fight him to the death, let him absorb its spirit ring, and attempt to seize his body.
Well, he might have lost Soul Spirits like the Snow Empress, but in return, the even stronger Electrolux was still here!
Wasn't that practically delivering gifts right to his doorstep?
And so, the Evil Emperor had ended up as his Soul Spirit, even contributing a head Soul Bone in the process...
Thus, the extinction of the Sun Moon Forest's Soul Beasts was linked to him, and the Sea Soul Beasts had met an earlier misfortune indirectly because of him as well.
Yet Huo Yuhao had never boasted about his own moral character, nor would he let anyone hold him hostage to moral righteousness!
He had created the Soul Spirit Contract so that the Snow Empress and the beasts of the Extreme North who had aided him wouldn't have to suffer so harshly in this era. It was done with selfish motives; throwing a lifeline to the Star Dou Great Forest had merely been an afterthought.
As for the Sun Moon Forest and the Sea Soul Beasts... aside from Mermaid Princess Liya's clan, Huo Yuhao hadn't bothered with them. The former could fend for themselves, and the latter could go look for the Sea God. He was a human being, not a god; he didn't possess the immense power to look after everyone, nor did he believe himself responsible for every Soul Beast!
Seeing Huo Yuhao decline, Hua Yichen gave a light laugh and shook his head. Compressing his voice into a thread of sound, he transmitted, "Keeping your feet on the ground is good, but as a member of the Spirit Pagoda, don't sell yourself short. I said before that with your aptitude, you will receive the Spirit Pagoda's highest level of attention!"
Born with a spiritual-attribute Martial Soul and an innate spiritual power of three hundred, he was a case Hua Yichen had never encountered in his entire life. It meant Huo Yuhao's realm of spiritual power would leave all others in the dust, perhaps even allowing him to break through to the Divine Origin Realm and reach the height of... the Skyreaching Douluo!
At that thought, Hua Yichen looked toward the auctioneer and said calmly, "Six hundred million Federation Coins!"
Doubling the bid in a single stroke, Hua Yichen laid bare his absolute determination to win.
The hall instantly fell silent. Many turned their gazes toward Hua Yichen, secretly frowning.
Mu Chen also locked his brows as he looked at Hua Yichen. "Pagoda Master Hua, the Spirit Pagoda shouldn't be lacking in ten-thousand-year Soul Spirits, should it?"
"President Mu jokes. Even within the Spirit Pagoda, a ten-thousand-year Soul Spirit is extraordinarily precious—especially a top-tier one like an Evil Eye Tyrant. I wouldn't want to miss it."
Hua Yichen smiled faintly, speaking aloud rather than transmitting his voice.
Hearing this, most people reluctantly withdrew their gazes, giving up any thought of competing.
Trying to match liquid funds against an organization with wealth rivaling an empire like the Spirit Pagoda was sheer idiocy.
Others shifted their eyes to Huo Yuhao, clearly aware of more behind the scenes.
Mu Chen's expression shifted several times before he finally let out a sigh.
"Sigh, forget it..."
The auctioneer spoke rapidly, as if terrified someone might bid again, shouting at the fastest speed of his life: "Any further bids? Six hundred million Federation Coins, going once! Going twice! Sold!"
...
Outside the museum, Hua Yichen went to collect the various auction items while Huo Yuhao waited for him beside the soul tool car.
Mu Xi walked out of the auction house. Spotting Huo Yuhao in the distance, she raised a brow and walked straight over.
"Hey, did Pagoda Master Hua buy that Soul Spirit for you just now? I saw him looking at you after he won it."
"You could say that." Huo Yuhao noticed her displeasure upon hearing his answer. "Did you want that Soul Spirit?"
"Hmph, as if I'd want it!"
Mu Xi, caught out in her true feelings, reacted like a bristling cat and denied it flatly. "I was just curious to see how amazing someone could be to have Pagoda Master Hua accompany him in person and even provide him with a ten-thousand-year Soul Spirit."
"But looking at you now, you don't seem like much."
An ordinary appearance, with only bright, azure eyes as a distinctive feature, lacking all the arrogance and sharp edge that geniuses ought to possess—he was a far cry from the geniuses Mu Xi knew.
Huo Yuhao showed no irritation, merely offering a faint smile. "My talent really isn't good, far from comparable to a true genius. I'm just... relatively lucky, that's all."
"Then you really are quite lucky."
Mu Xi curled her lip and turned away coldly. "I hope your talent is worthy of that Soul Spirit."
Chapter 11