As the voice echoed, the auction hall quieted down, and the lighting gradually dimmed, while the light on the auction stage grew brighter.
A woman in a purple dress walked onto the stage from one side of the auction hall. She appeared to be around thirty years old, with a dignified and elegant appearance, a faint smile on her face.
Her graceful movements and well-tailored dress perfectly outlined her mature figure.
Even Ma Rulong and the others couldn't help but take a few extra glances.
However, Liuxing was quick-witted. After just a glance, he focused his attention on the drink in his hand, which satisfied the few pairs of eyes that had turned toward him.
By now, the purple-dressed auctioneer had walked behind the auction podium with a smile. Her soft voice, amplified by the sound-amplifying soul tool on the podium, gently resonated throughout Auction Hall No. 12.
"Good evening, distinguished guests. I am Qingya, a Purple-level auctioneer from the Starlight Auction House. Today, I will be hosting this auction."
"The auctioneers at Starlight Auction House are ranked by color, from the lowest white to the highest gold, divided into six levels: White, Yellow, Purple, Black, Red, and Gold."
Elder Ma, noticing Liuxing and the others' confusion, explained to them, as he was quite familiar with the Starlight Auction House.
Liuxing and the others suddenly understood. It was just like the ranking system based on soul ring colors.
They then looked at the white masks on their faces. It turned out that the masks were also ranked by level, and they were at the lowest level.
This was normal since it was their first time at the Starlight Auction House, and they hadn't made any purchases yet, so they naturally started at the lowest rank.
At this moment, the auctioneer named Qingya bowed to the audience and smiled. "Today's auction is a special event for soul tools. All the items up for auction are soul tools below level six, suitable for those below the Soul King level. Additionally, to ensure that our distinguished guests do not leave empty-handed, we have a special mystery item at the end. Please, do not miss it."
Hearing that only soul tools below level six would be auctioned, Liuxing and the others showed disappointment.
For them, there was no shortage of soul tools they could acquire, so why bother bidding at an auction? The only thing that piqued their interest was the mystery item.
For the sake of the mystery item, they decided to stay and see what it was.
The first few soul tools auctioned off didn't interest Liuxing and his group.
They were all things they had already outgrown. However, the Shrek Academy team did bid on a few soul tools.
As for how they recognized the Shrek Academy team, Liuxing remarked that his "Flame Eye" ability was truly useful.
Although he couldn't see through the masks, each person's soul power fluctuation was unique, and Liuxing had already memorized the soul power fluctuations of the Shrek Academy team.
Especially Huo Yuhao, his powerful spiritual fluctuations were too conspicuous in Liuxing's Flame Eye vision.
Since this was only a small-scale auction, there weren't many soul tools up for bidding, but each one was quickly snapped up at high prices.
The smile on Auctioneer Qingya's face made it clear that the auction was going well.
Shrek Academy was the biggest spender, having spent nearly a hundred thousand gold soul coins.
It seemed that Shrek Academy was trying to strengthen their reserve team with soul tools in preparation for the upcoming competition.
However, wasn't it a bit late for Shrek Academy to start focusing on soul tools now?
Liuxing knew very well that the soul tool technology of the Sun Moon Empire was at least several centuries ahead of the continent. It would be difficult to catch up in a short time.
As the last soul tool was secured by Shrek Academy, Auctioneer Qingya's face flushed with excitement.
She lowered her voice and said, "Distinguished guests, our mystery item is about to make its appearance. Originally, it wasn't supposed to be here, but to thank our guests for their continued support of Starlight, our chief auctioneer has specially approved the addition of this item.
Although its price is quite high, I believe that anyone who truly understands its value will find it worth every penny. Now, please welcome our hostess to bring up this mystery item."
Hearing this, Liuxing and the others perked up. They had waited so long, bored out of their minds, just for this mystery item.
Soon, a server pushed a small cart onto the auction stage. Unlike the previous items, this one was wrapped in a bright red cloth.
Everything at the Starlight Auction House was color-coded, with gold being the most prestigious, followed by red, which matched the color of a hundred-thousand-year soul ring.
This indicated that the mystery item was something extraordinary.
Auctioneer Qingya began to hype up the item, praising it to the skies and piquing the interest of all the bidders.
As she lifted the red cloth, what was revealed wasn't some world-shaking treasure, but a simple, unremarkable, black, ancient carving knife that exuded a sharp aura.
Some bidders let out sighs of disappointment, as it wasn't what they had hoped for. However, others' pupils contracted, and they stared intently at the carving knife.
Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen, Ma Rulong, and the others had the same reaction.
This was a carving knife, an essential tool for soul engineers in crafting soul tools. Xiao Hongchen and the others each had their own carving knives.
Qingya's voice rang out amidst the murmurs of disappointment. "Some of you may be disappointed, but please allow Qingya to explain. As everyone knows, the importance of a carving knife to a soul engineer cannot be overstated.
Carving knives that make it onto the Carving Knife Ranking are priceless and rarely available on the market. The carving knife before you is one such item, a ranked carving knife. Its value, I believe, needs no further explanation from me."
As soon as the words "Ranked Carving Knife" were spoken, the audience erupted into an uproar.
The earlier sighs of disappointment vanished completely.
Xiao Hongchen and the others showed visible excitement, and even Meng Hongchen clenched her fists, clearly captivated by the idea of owning a Ranked Carving Knife.
The sudden surge of enthusiasm in the audience brought a dazzling smile to Qingya's face.
She wasn't in a hurry, waiting patiently for over five minutes until the bidders gradually calmed down.
"Auctioneer Qingya, what are you waiting for? Start the bidding!" someone couldn't help but urge.
Qingya glanced regretfully at the Ranked Carving Knife in front of her and said softly, "Don't rush, everyone. As you all know, the Starlight Auction House is fair and honest. We always point out both the advantages and disadvantages of our auction items. Now, let me explain the pros and cons of this carving knife."
As Qingya began her explanation, the bidders in the room fell silent, and many of their expressions turned serious.
This was not just any Ranked Carving Knife—it was the infamous Soul-Devouring Carving Knife, ranked 99th on the list.
"In the historical records of our Starlight Auction House, this Soul-Devouring Carving Knife has had 37 owners. Without exception, all of them met tragic ends. Nine of them even became evil soul masters. Because of this, the knife's ranking dropped from its original position of 30th to 99th."
"Of course, if you possess a light attribute and refrain from injecting soul power into it, you won't be affected by the curse. It could still serve as a rare collectible!"
As Qingya explained, many fell silent. Xiao Hongchen and the others also showed regret, losing interest in the Soul-Devouring Carving Knife.
Meanwhile, Liuxing fell into deep thought. The Soul-Devouring Carving Knife was created by an evil soul master and even contained a trace of that evil soul master's remnant soul, cursing its successive owners.
This evil soul master was a level-nine soul engineer, equivalent to a Titled Douluo.
Thinking of this, Liuxing turned to Ye Guyi, who was yawning boredly beside him, and whispered a few words into her ear.
As Liuxing spoke, Ye Guyi's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
"Elder Ma, let's buy this Soul-Devouring Carving Knife," Liuxing suddenly said.
Elder Ma and the others were startled. Xiao Hongchen quickly added, "We can't take this knife. The curse is too strong. My grandfather once said even he wouldn't dare use it lightly."
Liuxing smiled and shook his head, pointing at Ye Guyi. "Have you forgotten what Guyi's martial soul is?"
Xiao Hongchen and the others suddenly realized and looked at Ye Guyi. That's right, what curse could stand before an Angel martial soul?
"Guyi, can you purify the Soul-Devouring Carving Knife?" Meng Hongchen excitedly grabbed Ye Guyi's hand and asked.
If Ye Guyi could truly purify the knife, they might have a chance to obtain a Ranked Carving Knife that was once in the top 30.
Ye Guyi nodded, equally excited. "Not only that, but by purifying the remnant soul of the evil soul master within the knife, I can also boost my soul power."
"If Liuxing hadn't reminded me, I wouldn't have thought of this."
Ye Guyi looked at Liuxing with gratitude. If she could purify the remnant soul of a Titled Douluo-level evil soul master, she might even surpass Gu Yuena and Xue Nü, breaking through to level 40 first.
"Good. In that case, we must secure this Soul-Devouring Carving Knife," Elder Ma declared. The opportunity to boost Ye Guyi's strength and obtain a Ranked Carving Knife was too good to pass up.
As for who would ultimately own the Ranked Carving Knife, that would be decided after Ye Guyi purified it.
"The Soul-Devouring Carving Knife has a starting bid of 100,000 gold soul coins, with each increment no less than 5,000 gold soul coins. Distinguished guests, you may begin bidding," Qingya said with a smile.
However, deep down, she wasn't excited at all. With nearly a decade of experience as an auctioneer, she could tell from the audience's reaction that this cursed knife was likely to go unsold once again.
In fact, when the Soul-Devouring Carving Knife first arrived at the Starlight Auction House, it was featured in the most prestigious auctions. Its initial starting price wasn't 100,000 gold soul coins but 300,000.
After all, it was a Ranked Carving Knife, something the auction house had acquired by chance.
But unfortunately, the knife's infamy was too great. No one dared to buy it, and it kept going unsold. Eventually, it ended up in this small-scale auction. If it didn't sell this time, the Starlight Auction House was prepared to stash it away in storage, where it would gather dust.
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