After Yuanen Zhentian left, Xia Yi took Gu Yue directly to the Shrek Auction House.
"Xiao Bing, can you tell me now why this soul bone can't be sold?" On the way to the auction house, Xia Yi couldn't wait to ask Ice God's Heart.
Last time, she said that if he helped her absorb the power of the Golden Ancient Tree, she would tell him her identity.
But after getting the power, she pretended to go into seclusion and ignored him.
This time, since she spoke first, Xia Yi didn't press her about her identity.
If she didn't want to say, he wouldn't force her.
However, he still had to vent his frustration. Xia Yi decided that from now on, he would call her "Xiao Bing."
Whether she liked it or not, that would be her name.
As her master, it wasn't too much to give his soul spirit a name, right?
Besides, last time when he called her that, she didn't refuse, did she?
"In honor of you giving me the power of the Golden Ancient Tree, from now on, you can call me Ice Sister," Ice God's Heart said.
"Alright, Xiao Bingjie, can you tell me now why this soul bone can't be sold?" Xia Yi said.
Ice God's Heart was speechless. However, no matter how much Xia Yi teased her, she always responded calmly and never argued with him.
This time was no different. She said flatly, "No particular reason. Simply because this is a royal soul bone from the Extreme North, and I don't allow you to sell it."
"You were going to fight me to the death over such a small matter?" Xia Yi asked with a darkened face.
Though he was frustrated, Ice God's Heart didn't care how he felt. She continued, "Give it to me. I can help you enhance it to a hundred-thousand-year level."
"A hundred thousand years!" Xia Yi's eyes instantly lit up.
The difference between ninety-thousand years and a hundred-thousand years might not seem much in numbers, but in quality, it was a world apart.
Still, he was curious and asked, "Can soul bones have their years increased?"
"I have my ways," Ice God's Heart replied indifferently, without explaining further.
"Alright, if you say so." Xia Yi didn't argue with her.
The Shrek Auction House was not far from the gates of Shrek Academy.
"Honored guest, are you sure you want to sell all these items?" The auction house staff's eyes lit up when they saw the treasures Xia Yi had taken out.
"Sell them all," Xia Yi nodded.
The rewards from the Federation this time were far too generous. He only kept a few that were good for soaking in wine, while the rest he dumped into the auction house.
Many of these treasures were ten-thousand-year-old spirit plants. There were even two fifty-thousand-year-old ones: a Purple Fire Flower and a Yunling Vine.
Both were quite valuable.
Gu Yue took the Yunling Vine, while Xia Yi put the Purple Fire Flower up for auction.
If rare metals weren't so wasteful to sell directly, Xia Yi would have considered selling those too.
The Shrek Auction House held auctions every moment of the day.
At this time, many guests who had attended Yun Ming and Leng Yaozhu's wedding had not yet left.
The entire auction house was packed with people.
But no matter how many people were present, auctions still took time.
Taking advantage of this, Xia Yi borrowed a forging room in the auction house.
He sorted through the metals he didn't need.
Without using his Creation Hammer or the Fox Thought Technique, he simply picked up an ordinary hammer and started forging.
He exclusively used the Sky Fox Fusion Forging Method to create spiritual alloys, all from the same type of metal.
After forging each piece, he had Gu Yue take it to the auction house for sale.
"Do you need money that badly?" Gu Yue asked curiously.
"No choice. I owe someone," Xia Yi said helplessly.
Because of Zhenhua's influence, the Federation had rewarded him with a staggering fifty billion Federation coins.
After selling these spirit plants, he would finally be able to repay the fifty-five billion he owed Leng Yaozhu.
In terms of actual value, Ice God's Heart was worth far more than fifty-five billion.
It was only because no one on the Douluo Continent could use its power that Leng Yaozhu had managed to purchase it for that price.
Otherwise, even if the price was in the hundreds of billions or trillions, the Federation wouldn't have sold it.
"Who did you owe that much money to?" Gu Yue asked, still curious.
Leng Yaozhu and Xia Yi's agreement was something Xia Yi had never told her.
And Leng Yaozhu naturally wouldn't mention it to her either.
"For purchasing Ice God's Heart," Xia Yi said bitterly.
"Teacher!" Gu Yue's expression immediately became strange.
Before, it might have been true that Leng Yaozhu would ask Xia Yi to repay the debt.
But now, with the relationship between them, it seemed completely unnecessary.
"That's a separate matter," Xia Yi shook his head. Since he had promised to repay it, he would do so, no matter how his relationship with Leng Yaozhu changed.
"That's true," Gu Yue nodded.
It wasn't until early the next morning that all of Xia Yi's spirit plants were auctioned off. The metals he had just forged were also sold.
"Fifty-five billion, two hundred and forty million."
Seeing the balance on his gold card, Xia Yi was finally satisfied. He left the Shrek Auction House with Gu Yue and headed for the Spirit Pagoda.
Leng Yaozhu had just messaged them, saying she had finished her seclusion and wanted them to visit her.
Knock knock…
At the door of Leng Yaozhu's office, Xia Yi knocked.
"Come in!" Leng Yaozhu's voice sounded. For some reason, it was extremely cold. She seemed to be in a terrible mood.
When Xia Yi and Gu Yue entered, they found that besides Leng Yaozhu, Yun Ming and Yali were also there.
The three of them stood in confrontation, their expressions icy. The atmosphere was tense, filled with an invisible gunpowder-like hostility.
"Do we need to step out for a moment?" Xia Yi shrank back slightly—he felt like he had walked in at the wrong time.
"No need, pour some tea," Leng Yaozhu said indifferently. However, upon seeing Xia Yi and Gu Yue, her gaze softened slightly.
"No need for tea." Yun Ming shot a cold glance at Xia Yi, then turned his sharp gaze back to Leng Yaozhu. In a frosty tone, he said, "I've said everything I need to say. My final warning to you, Tianfeng Douluo, is this—whether Shrek Academy is sick or not, and whether it needs treatment, is the academy's own business. Outsiders have no right to interfere. I ask that you refrain from meddling any further. Shrek Academy cannot afford your so-called 'medical fees.'"
Not giving Leng Yaozhu a chance to speak, Yun Ming continued coldly, "Moreover, whether your actions were out of good intentions or deliberate sabotage, this time, Shrek Academy is in the wrong, so I will say nothing more. But Tianfeng Douluo, you had better make sure not to give Shrek Academy any leverage against you. As the saying goes, 'Thirty years the east river, thirty years the west river.' If the opportunity arises, Shrek Academy will reclaim every bit of the losses it has suffered this time. Yali, let's go."
With that, Yun Ming shot another glance at Xia Yi, then grabbed Yali's hand and left without hesitation.
Yali sighed softly, feeling a deep bitterness in her heart.
Yun Ming had clearly promised her earlier that he would have a proper conversation with Leng Yaozhu.
But now, things had escalated to this point once again.
Seething with anger, Yun Ming did not use his spatial abilities to leave but instead exited through the door, dragging Yali along with him.
Bang!
He slammed the door shut so forcefully that the entire office seemed to shake.
"He did that on purpose," Xia Yi was dumbfounded. The strongest human on the Douluo Continent was actually throwing a tantrum like this?
"My door... Damn you, Yun Ming! If you broke it, I'll make you pay for it!" Leng Yaozhu completely discarded her usual composed demeanor and yelled at Yun Ming's departing figure.
However, her office was completely soundproofed. The moment the door closed, no sound could escape.
The sharp echo of her outburst reverberated inside the office, causing Xia Yi and Gu Yue to instinctively cover their ears.
"I'm so furious! That damn Yun Ming! That damn Yali! They actually ambushed me at the entrance of the Spirit Pagoda!" Leng Yaozhu, unconcerned about maintaining her image, flopped onto the sofa.
After seven days of seclusion, she had been in an excellent state, both physically and mentally. She had been looking forward to returning to work at the Spirit Pagoda.
But just as she sent a message to Xia Yi and Gu Yue, Yun Ming and Yali had intercepted her.
The three of them had gotten into a fierce argument.
Had Xia Yi and Gu Yue not arrived, the dispute might have dragged on indefinitely.
"Why get so worked up? It's not worth it to be angry over people like them," Xia Yi picked up the teapot on the table and poured a cup of tea for Leng Yaozhu, as well as for himself and Gu Yue. He had no idea what kind of tea it was, but its fragrance was rich and refreshing—far superior to the Snow Jade Heavenly Dragon tea he had shared with Mu Xi in Heaven Dou City.
The tea had been prepared in advance, and there were exactly three teacups on the table.
It was likely meant for Yun Ming and Yali earlier.
But due to their argument, neither side had been in the mood to drink it.
"Exactly, Teacher. It's not worth it to be upset over them," Gu Yue added in support.
"You two are really something! Who told you that I was trying to 'cure' Shrek Academy?" Leng Yaozhu, who had just picked up her teacup, suddenly slammed it back down on the table. Gritting her teeth, she glared angrily at Xia Yi.