Just as Auctioneer Qingya was once again preparing for the possibility of the Soul Devouring Carving Knife going unsold...
"One hundred thousand gold soul coins."
A somewhat youthful voice rang out from below the stage.
Hearing this, Qingya was momentarily stunned before quickly regaining her composure, her heart filled with elation.
After all, auctioneers received a commission from the sale of items. If the Soul Devouring Carving Knife were to be sold, she would earn at least a thousand gold soul coins in commission, and there was even a chance she could be promoted from a Purple-level auctioneer to a Black-level one.
The sudden surprise left her standing there in a daze, momentarily at a loss for words.
"I bid one hundred thousand gold soul coins," the slightly youthful voice called out again.
"Ah! Yes, Guest number three hundred and thirty-three bids one hundred thousand gold soul coins. Are there any other guests who would like to raise the bid?" Qingya finally snapped out of her reverie and hurriedly responded.
Liuxing glanced in the direction of the bidder and quickly recognized who it was, none other than Huo Yuhao from Shrek Academy!
He frowned. They had Ye Guyi, the Sacred Angel, on their side, and they were confident in their ability to purify the Soul Devouring Carving Knife. Could it be that Huo Yuhao also had a method to purify it?
As expected of the protagonist favored by fate, just how many cheats does he have?
Thinking of Huo Yuhao's million-year first soul ring, Liuxing felt a pang of envy. For others, a million-year soul ring, a divine ring, was something one could only obtain after becoming a god.
Yet, this protagonist started with a million-year soul ring right out of the gate, and it was likely not his only cheat.
But cheats aside, when it came to wealth, Liuxing truly didn't believe he would lose to Huo Yuhao.
With this in mind, he turned to Elder Ma. Ye Guyi also looked at Elder Ma with hopeful eyes.
One hundred thousand gold soul coins, none of them had that much cash on hand, so it was up to Elder Ma.
Elder Ma calmly took a puff of his pipe before raising his bidding paddle with an air of composure. "One hundred and ten thousand gold soul coins."
Hearing that someone had raised the bid, Auctioneer Qingya's heart began to race. She had a feeling that today was going to be her lucky day.
On the other side, Huo Yuhao exchanged a few words with Wang Yan, the Shrek Academy team's instructor, before raising his paddle and making another bid.
Under the bewildered gazes of the other attendees and the increasingly expectant look from Auctioneer Qingya, Elder Ma and Huo Yuhao continued to raise their bids, quickly driving the price of the Soul Devouring Carving Knife up to three hundred thousand gold soul coins.
"Five hundred thousand gold soul coins."
Elder Ma frowned, showing a hint of impatience. By raising the bid by two hundred thousand at once, he made it clear that he was determined to win the item.
On the Shrek Academy side, Wang Yan offered Huo Yuhao a few words of advice, and with a look of disappointment, Huo Yuhao gave up on the bidding.
"Five hundred thousand gold soul coins, going once."
"Five hundred thousand gold soul coins, going twice."
"Five hundred thousand gold soul coins, going three times."
"Bang!"
With the fall of Auctioneer Qingya's gavel, the Soul Devouring Carving Knife officially became the property of Liuxing and his group.
Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao was conversing with a voice in his mind.
"I'm sorry, Elder Yi. I couldn't win the bid for the Soul Devouring Carving Knife. Someone was competing with me, and Instructor Wang Yan and the others were worried that I might be harmed by the knife. I couldn't reveal your existence either, so I couldn't continue bidding."
"Sigh... It's fate. If it's not meant to be, then there's no need to force it."
An aged voice echoed in Huo Yuhao's mind.
"Elder Yi, do you think the people I was bidding against also recognized the Life Gold? Otherwise, why would they spend five hundred thousand gold soul coins on such a cursed item?"
Huo Yuhao asked with some confusion. It was only because of Elder Yi's guidance that he had learned the true value of the Soul Devouring Carving Knife.
Could it be that the other party also had someone who recognized Life Gold?
"Life Gold is a treasure of the life element. Whether in my world or yours, it is extremely rare, and very few people recognize it. They likely didn't recognize the Life Gold but were confident in their ability to purify the carving knife."
The aged voice sighed. Life Gold could have stabilized his dissipating divine consciousness, but now it seemed he had missed his chance.
"Purify it? Elder Yi, that curse was left by a Title Douluo-level evil soul master. Other than you, is there really someone else who can purify it?"
Huo Yuhao was shocked and quickly asked.
"Mm, I just took a look with my divine sense. Among the people who won the bid for the Life Gold, there is someone with an extremely pure holy power.
Although this power is weak, it perfectly counters curses. Given some time, she should be able to purify that carving knife."
"Holy power? Could it be...?"
Huo Yuhao recalled the intelligence gathered by Instructor Wang Yan. In a previous match, a member of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy had appeared, possessing an angel martial soul.
If it was the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, it made sense.
They were soul engineers to begin with, and a listed carving knife would be an invaluable treasure to them.
If they could purify the Soul Devouring Carving Knife, they would definitely not give up. Five hundred thousand gold soul coins was not their limit.
If he had continued bidding, the price of the carving knife would have soared to unimaginable heights.
Unfortunately, he had his own constraints and couldn't reveal certain things to Instructor Wang Yan.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have minded causing some trouble for the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
Although Liuxing and his group hadn't taken a liking to any of the soul tools at tonight's auction, the Soul Devouring Carving Knife alone made the trip worthwhile.
On the way back to the Star Emperor Hotel, Xiao Hongchen and the others looked eagerly at the wooden box in Ye Guyi's hands.
Even through the box, they could sense a fierce, malevolent aura.
The Soul Devouring Carving Knife was too dangerous to be stored in a soul storage tool, as it would quickly corrode and destroy it.
Ye Guyi held the box with a look of joy on her face, eager to return and try purifying the Soul Devouring Carving Knife to see how much it could boost her soul power.
"Guyi, be careful. Don't rush things. After all, it's a cursed remnant soul at the Title Douluo level. Take it step by step," Liuxing reminded her.
"Mm, I know," Ye Guyi nodded. She understood that while her martial soul countered evil and curses, her cultivation level was still too low to purify the Soul Devouring Carving Knife in one go.
She estimated it would take at least six months to a year to fully purify it.
"As long as you're aware," Liuxing said, feeling relatively assured about Ye Guyi. Although she could be impulsive at times, she was generally reliable. If she said she would be careful, she wouldn't mess things up.
However, why was there such a strong life force emanating from the Soul Devouring Carving Knife?
During the auction, they had been too far away to notice, but now that they were closer, both Liuxing and Liuying could sense the powerful life essence hidden beneath the malevolent curse.
Gu Yuena also glanced at the Soul Devouring Carving Knife in Ye Guyi's hands and thought to herself, 'So it's Life Gold.'
She had plenty of that in the Life Lake in the Star Dou Great Forest. She had been relying on it to heal her injuries all these years.
Compared to this small piece of Life Gold, the divine life essence within Liuxing and Liuying was the true treasure of life!
Gu Yuena glanced at Liuxing and Liuying. Although the Goddess of Life hadn't left a divine sense within them, just the trace of divine life essence made it nearly impossible for anyone in this world to truly kill them.
While the Goddess of Life wasn't known for her combat prowess, her ability to preserve life was unmatched. Even a God King of the same level couldn't kill her.
To kill Liuxing and Liuying, who carried the divine life essence, a god would have to descend to the mortal realm. And if a god descended, the Goddess of Life would surely notice.
If it weren't for the fact that she knew the Goddess of Life and the God of Destruction couldn't have children, Gu Yuena might have even suspected that Liuxing and Liuying were their offspring.
After all, possessing both destruction and life attributes, along with inheriting the divine life essence, made it hard not to think that way.
This was also why she hadn't dared to act against them and seize the divine life essence earlier. If she had, a bolt of destructive lightning might have struck her down immediately.
The reason she had taken human form and entered the Sun Moon Empire was twofold: first, to study soul tools and find a path for the soul beast race, and second, to maintain a good relationship with Liuxing and Liuying.
In the future, when they grew stronger, she could borrow their life power to heal her injuries.
...
Time flew by.
Two days later, Ma Rulong and the others easily defeated their second-round opponent. Compared to the Thousand Spirits Advanced Soul Master Academy from the first round, this second opponent was even weaker and stood no chance against the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
It was worth noting that Shrek Academy also won their second-round match. However, this match revealed Huo Yuhao's true capabilities to many, confirming that he was not a six-ringed Soul Emperor and that the six hundred-thousand-year soul rings were fake. Only ordinary civilians who weren't soul masters remained in the dark.
Shrek Academy's unusual performance had many other academies eager for a chance to face them. They weren't fools.
If Shrek Academy had resorted to such deceptive tactics, how much combat strength could they really have?
The honor of being the first academy to defeat Shrek Academy in ten thousand years was something they all coveted.
Xiao Hongchen and the others were worried that Shrek Academy might be defeated by another academy before they even had a chance to face them. That would be a bitter pill to swallow.
In the third round, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's opponent was similar to the Thousand Spirits Advanced Soul Master Academy, one Soul King and six Soul Ancestors.
Apart from Ye Guyi, who took the stage to gain experience and put on a dazzling performance, Liuxing and the others remained spectators.
Of course, after so many matches, they were itching to get on the stage themselves. However, they wanted to face a worthy opponent. Fighting weak opponents wouldn't be any fun.
"Shrek Academy's third-round opponent is no pushover! Could they really be eliminated here?" Meng Hongchen expressed her concern. Tomorrow would be the eighth day of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, and Shrek Academy had finally encountered a tough opponent.
"Just Sky Academy, quarterfinalists from the last tournament, with three Soul Kings and four Soul Ancestors. If Shrek Academy's three main team members haven't recovered, it will be difficult for them to win," Elder Ma said, tapping his pipe.
"There's no point in worrying. We can only hope they pull through," Liuxing shrugged. Unlike the others, he believed Shrek Academy would win.
In a timeline without him and Liuying, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy would have surely lost to Shrek Academy's weakened team.
Why? Because of the protagonist's plot armor.
...
Shrek Academy, Sea God's Pavilion.
"Elder Mu, are we really not sending reinforcements? Their next opponent is Just Sky Academy, with three Soul Kings," said Yan Shaozhe, the dean of Shrek Academy's Martial Soul Department, standing beside an elderly man lying on a recliner.
The elderly man, Elder Mu, smiled faintly. "Shaozhe, you're still too attached to the outcome. Why must we always win the championship? If we send reinforcements, will those children still be pushed to their limits? Shaozhe, the world is about to undergo great changes. There's little we old folks can do. The future belongs to them."
"Your vision must be broader. Treat this tournament as a training experience for them. No matter what ranking they achieve, you must be prepared to welcome them back with open arms. We must not let the children who fought hard feel disheartened."
"I understand, Elder Mu," Yan Shaozhe replied, though he still felt a pang of reluctance. Giving up Shrek Academy's ten-thousand-year legacy was too much to ask.
But he understood Elder Mu's intentions. With the impending fusion of worlds and new challenges on the horizon, Shrek Academy needed to nurture new successors to stand firm in the changing times.
Elder Mu was using Shrek Academy's ten-thousand-year legacy as a price to cultivate these successors.
For the sake of Shrek Academy, Elder Mu had put in immense effort. His time was running out, and he might not even live to see the fusion of worlds.
Xuan Zi was not fit to take over, but for now, he was the only one who could succeed Elder Mu.
Thus, Elder Mu had no choice but to focus on the younger generation, planting the seeds of hope for Shrek Academy.
"Sigh..."
Elder Mu let out a sigh, his cloudy eyes gazing at the Golden Tree, which had grown taller and stronger as the worlds began to merge.
From the changes in the Golden Tree, Elder Mu had realized that the complete fusion of the worlds was not far off.
And Shrek Academy was not yet prepared.
Elder Mu's eyes dimmed. If he hadn't been injured, if the fusion had happened a hundred years earlier, he might have had a chance to touch that legendary realm.
But there were no ifs. The world's ceiling had been raised, but he had already reached his limit.
"How I wish to catch a glimpse of that realm..."
...
Early morning.
After breakfast, Liuxing and the others headed to the competition grounds.
Although they didn't have a match today, Shrek Academy did. This match would determine Shrek Academy's fate, and the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy naturally wouldn't miss it.
The Star Luo Plaza was as lively as ever. With Shrek Academy, the crowd favorite, set to compete again, many were filled with anticipation.
Shrek Academy's previous matches had indeed captivated the ordinary spectators. After all, the six blood-red soul rings were a dazzling sight, something that even Soul Kings rarely displayed, so it was no wonder the civilians were excited.
Today, Shrek Academy would be the first to compete again, as seemed to be the organizers' standard practice.