Chapter 138

As soon as Xu Jiujiu finished her introduction, a sound of inhaling arose in the room.

This is actually the first item, and an eighth‑level soul tool has just appeared; moreover, as Xu Jiujiu just said, the quality of the later items will gradually increase.

Even though Huo Yutong and He Caitou come from the Soul Tool Department, they have never seen an eighth‑level soul tool, after all the highest‑ranked soul tool master at Shilake Academy is only eighth level.

Everyone involuntarily stood up and walked to the screen to carefully examine this eighth‑level soul tool battle blade.

The Overbearing Tiger Refining Soul Blade takes the form of a horse‑cutting saber; its blade faintly glows with a bloody hue, exuding an extremely formidable aura.

Even a few members of the Martial Soul Department who don't know the value can tell at a glance that this eighth‑level close‑combat soul tool is extraordinary.

The viewing time passed in a flash, and soon Xu Jiujiu's voice sounded again.

"Viewing time is up, Overbearing Tiger Refining Soul Blade, starting bid six hundred thousand gold soul coins, each raise not less than five thousand gold soul coins. All you honored guests are experts, so I believe there's no need for Jiujiu to say much more; the auction begins—if no one raises the bid within one minute, the sale is final."

The screen changed, turning a pale white; the previous image of the Overbearing Tiger Refining Soul Blade faded into the background, and a huge number six hundred thousand appeared on the screen.

"Six hundred fifty thousand." Dai Yaoheng spoke, at the same time turning his head to signal Wang Yan: "Teacher Wang, this is my personal action."

Wang Yan didn't say more, merely nodding at him.

The inner‑court disciples of Shilake Academy are never short of money; while carrying out various tasks, they naturally accumulate savings.

Moreover, Dai Yaoheng himself is a descendant of the ancient noble house of the White Tiger Duke, a title inherited for ten thousand years; as the eldest son, the financial resources he can mobilize are quite substantial.

When he placed his bid, the gold‑clad attendant immediately performed a simple operation on the soul tool screen, and the huge number on the screen changed to six hundred fifty thousand.

Xu Jiujiu onstage glanced at the display before her and smiled faintly without a trace.

In fact, Dai Yaoheng's desire for this Overbearing Tiger Refining Soul Blade was something Xu Jiujiu and Xu Jiawei had anticipated.

This eighth‑level soul tool has undergone special treatment; although it is eighth level, it can be used normally with only the cultivation of a Soul Sage.

Dai Yaoheng's cultivation has now reached the Soul Emperor level; at most he needs less than five years to surely advance to Soul Sage, at which point he will be able to use the Overbearing Tiger Refining Soul Blade freely.

From the name alone one can tell that this Overbearing Tiger Refining Soul Blade is very suitable for a wielder of the White Tiger martial soul; given the soul‑tool technology of the original three kingdoms of Douluo, finding a close‑combat soul tool that matches him so well is rare, and with Dai Yaoheng's personality he would certainly not let it pass.

In fact, this formidable eighth‑level soul tool was deliberately put up for sale by Xu Jiawei with the intention of selling it to Dai Yaoheng.

Every action of the royal family has a behind‑the‑scenes purpose, so naturally they also have their own intention in doing this.

The Duke's mansion currently has three heir candidates: the two sons of the Duchess, Dai Yaoheng and Dai Huabin, and the child born of a concubine, Dai Luolai.

Among these three heirs, Dai Luolai's status and cultivation talent are completely suppressed by his two brothers, so he basically has no chance of inheriting the ducal position.

Besides him, between the other two heirs, Dai Yaoheng is the sharper‑minded, while Dai Huabin possesses superior cultivation talent.

As for the royal family's will, there is no doubt they want Dai Yaoheng to inherit the White Tiger Duke's position.

Although emperors usually don't like overly clever subordinates, if someone were as stupid as Dai Huabin, it would be better to have a clever one instead.

Therefore, from Xu Jiawei's perspective, he is clearly more inclined to let Dai Yaoheng inherit the ducal position.

However, given the White Tiger Duke's influence and prestige in the Star Net Empire, even Xu Jiawei as the Star Net emperor lacks the authority to arbitrarily interfere in the choice of heir. After consideration, Xu Jiawei could only use the auction to give Dai Yaoheng an opportunity to bolster his strength.

The only area in which Dai Yaoheng falls short of Dai Huabin is cultivation talent, and the difference is not great; Xu Jiawei believes that a single Overbearing Tiger Refining Soul Blade is enough to make up for their gap in this regard.

After a round of fierce bidding, the price of the Overbearing Tiger Refining Soul Blade was driven up to over one million, and Dai Yaoheng finally steeled himself, purchasing it for 1,560,000 gold soul coins.

After the price remained unchanged for one minute, the bidding ended, and a golden light suddenly flared throughout the room like fireworks, signifying the success of the auction.

Dai Yaoheng also felt a pang of pain; although he had been an overseer at Shilake Academy for a long time, his savings amounted to only a few hundred thousand gold soul coins, but fortunately Star Net City itself is his base of operations, so raising this sum is not too difficult.

The princess in a red long dress, Jiujiu, reappeared on the screen, smiling gracefully as she gave a slight bow and said, "Thank you to the guests who bought the Overbearing Tiger Refining Soul Blade for their support of this auction. Now we begin the second item; although they are consumables, they are extremely rare, and assembling this set is quite difficult, so please take a look, honored guests."

The soul tool screen changed again; this time the entire wall‑mounted screen was divided into twelve sections, each containing items whose outward appearance was somewhat similar.

They are all cylindrical, with one end tapered to a point and the other a flat cylindrical face; the shape is identical, the only difference being their color, as if forged from different metals.

"Fixed‑install soul tool shells!"

He Caitou almost blurted it out, his voice full of shock.

Princess Jiujiu's voice echoed in the room.

"These twelve fixed‑install soul tool shells are also products of Ming De Hall, which we painstakingly collected. Each has a different effect, their size is standard, and when used properly these twelve shells are enough to threaten the life of a Soul Douluo‑level soul master."

Listening to Xu Jiujiu's introduction, Wang Yan looked at He Caitou and asked:

"Caitou, do these soul tool shells have any research value?"

He Caitou nodded without hesitation: "Yes, of course, definitely! Teacher Wang, we must buy them; in recent years our Soul Tool Department's main research focus has been on fixed‑install soul tools, and the power of these fixed‑install soul tool shells is a major problem troubling us—if we can acquire these treasures, our academy's technology will surely advance to the next level!"

"Understood."

Wang Yan nodded steadily.

He did not rush to bid, but waited until the last second, then added five thousand gold soul coins to the low price and secured the item.

Xu Jiujiu glanced at the box where the Shilake Academy crowd was gathered, and a thoughtful smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

No wonder it's Shilake Academy—just rich and bold.

These fixed‑install soul tool shells were prepared for three merchants, including Shilake Academy, so it's no surprise that the academy bought them.

The plan proceeded smoothly, and Xu Jiujiu couldn't help but be in high spirits.

By the way, the Star Net royal family segment is entirely my own creation, but considering the political implications behind the Snow Emperor's embryo and the suitability of the Overbearing Tiger Refining Soul Blade for Dai Yaoheng, I think this also counts as a reasonable derivative work.

Above all, that's the point—I personally don't believe any leader of a major power is a naïve simpleton, except for Xuanzi.

(End of chapter)