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Then, a dramatic scene unfolded.
Not long after the Starlight Auction House placed the Spirit Carving Knife in their treasure vault, the immense aura of vitality alarmed the staff. After multiple levels of reporting, the Star Luo Royal Family discovered this legendary treasure.
However, as the saying goes, "Those with eyes fail to recognize true value." The vitality radiating from the Spirit Carving Knife was but a drop in the ocean compared to the life force it contained.
Though valuable, it hadn't truly caught the attention of the Star Luo higher-ups. They merely considered it a treasure slightly inferior to a hundred-thousand-year spirit beast but superior to the Ice Jade Scorpion's left arm bone. Thus, it was designated as the final auction item.
According to Tang San's plan, his son's available gold spirit coins were more than sufficient to secure this treasure from a group of ignorant bidders.
What Tang San hadn't anticipated was that someone on this Douluo Continent could recognize Spirit Gold.
Once Ye Wen revealed the true value of Spirit Gold, it ignited everyone's greed. Like sharks smelling blood, the price skyrocketed uncontrollably.
An item initially valued at around one to two hundred million had been driven up to an astonishing ten billion.
At this point, the situation was beyond Tang Wulin's control.
Tang Wulin appeared harmless, but as Tang San's son, how could he not inherit his father's obsessive nature?
Moreover, even before the auction, Tang Wulin had already identified his target.
However, Tang San was someone who valued appearances and outwardly adhered to rules—and Tang Wulin was no different. Unless absolutely necessary, he truly didn't want to resort to direct force.
"All of you forced my hand. This Soul Devouring Blade should have been mine," Tang Wulin muttered inwardly.
Though large-scale communication devices hadn't yet appeared in this era, short-range soul-guiding communication tools did exist.
"Second Uncle, there's been an unexpected development. I need you to step in."
"Understood."
Meanwhile, the auction continued. Jing Hongchen was unwilling to let go of this treasure, which could ensure the Sun Moon Empire's rise in the future, and directly raised the price to twelve billion.
But Xu Jiujiu was growing impatient. Instead of incrementally raising the bid by tens of millions, she directly pushed it to thirteen billion.
Jing Hongchen still didn't want to give up and reached for the button again. However, his granddaughter, Meng Hongchen, suddenly grabbed his sleeve.
Though Jing Hongchen was currently consumed by greed, he doted on his precious granddaughter. He turned his head and asked in confusion:
"What is it, Mengmeng?"
Meng Hongchen shook her head slightly. Though her appearance wasn't as striking as Jiang Nannan's, she was still an exceptionally beautiful girl, and her wine-red hair added a unique charm.
"Grandpa, let it go. No matter how much money you offer, this is ultimately their auction. They can set whatever price they want."
The participants were too close to the situation to see clearly, but Meng Hongchen, observing from the sidelines, understood perfectly.
Her voice was soft but struck Jing Hongchen like thunder, snapping him out of his frenzy.
Soon, a bitter smile appeared on Jing Hongchen's face. Having lived through so much, he quickly realized his granddaughter was right.
But to simply give up… he couldn't bear it.
In a last-ditch effort, Jing Hongchen raised the price to twenty billion, intending to make the Star Luo Royal Family squirm.
Though twenty billion was an astronomical figure—enough to buy several large cities—the Sun Moon Empire could still afford it. In this era of soul-guiding tools, where rare metals were scarce in the three kingdoms of Douluo, the Sun Moon Empire was practically sitting atop a mountain of gold, counting their riches.
Though the price of twenty billion was utterly fantastical, Xu Jiujiu immediately countered with twenty-one billion, displaying an attitude that treated money as worthless.
This finally broke Jing Hongchen's resolve.
"Twenty-one billion! The Soul Devouring Blade is now at twenty-one billion! Are there any other esteemed guests who wish to raise the bid?!"
The auctioneer's voice was now hoarse with excitement, but the audience had already grasped the situation. Though the left-hand-to-right-hand transaction was frustrating, they couldn't help but envy the Star Luo Royal Family for acquiring such a treasure.
Seeing no further bids, the auctioneer knew it was time and declared loudly:
"Let us congratulate the guest in booth number one for securing this item at the highest price in the history of the Starlight Auction House—"
At this moment, Ye Wen, who had remained calm throughout, suddenly changed expression.
In the blink of an eye, the dome of the Starlight Auction House was shattered.
It was important to note that the Starlight Auction House, as the face of the Star Luo Empire's auctions, was constructed with meticulous materials. Aside from its array of flashy soul-guiding tools, the building itself was designed to withstand attacks from Titled Douluos.
Now, a black shadow descended from the sky.
The auctioneer, standing directly beneath the dome, looked up in despair as chunks of the ceiling fell toward her.
She was only a low-level Soul Elder—what sin had she committed to die here?
"Mom, Dad, forgive your unworthy daughter…"
Images of her life flashed before her eyes, but just then, a lazy voice echoed beside her.
"Oh my, how frightening. Someone actually dared to attack this place."
Terrified and trembling on the ground, the auctioneer cautiously opened her eyes. Tears streaked her exquisite face, making her look pitiful and fragile.
But she would never forget Ye Wen's face.
"My Lord."
Ye Wen smiled at her and used spatial teleportation to move her to a safe location.
After all, the attacker's intentions were far from benign. And since Ye Wen had to maintain his image as a 99th-level Supreme Douluo, he might not be able to fully protect her in the coming moments.
The debris Ye Wen had previously blocked with his Void Barrier now fell, as his barrier had been shattered.
Ye Wen's height, consistently maintained at 1.8 meters, was already impressive among ordinary people.
But in front of the attacker, Ye Wen's stature seemed insignificant. By his estimation, the intruder stood at least 2.2 meters tall—a veritable mountain of a man.
In the original timeline, the Snow Empress' embryo had been successfully auctioned to the Sun Moon Imperial Academy without incident.
However, Ye Wen didn't dwell on this. He had already identified the intruder.
Though the person had changed significantly, in the original world, Ye Wen had intercepted Xiao Wu's family. He was intimately familiar with Er Ming's presence.
Unfortunately, in this world, things were different.
Since Ye Wen had no intention of letting the Spirit Carving Knife gather dust on the ground, he promptly claimed it for himself.
Er Ming tried to stop him but was too late. Standing before Ye Wen, he growled:
"Young man, this isn't something you should possess. Hand it over."
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