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Ye Wen's eyes flickered, knowing the main event had arrived.
At this moment, Xu Jiujiu, who had been closely observing Ye Wen, felt her heart tighten. But soon after, a wave of joy washed over her—it was time for the Star Luo Royal Family to shine again.
However, unexpectedly, a voice came from beside Ye Wen.
"Master, I've been your disciple for so long, yet I've never given you a gift. Let me handle this auction."
Xu Jiujiu looked up to see Wei Na's charming smile.
Because Wei Na was younger, Xu Jiujiu had never considered her a rival. But at this moment, she regretfully realized that no matter her age, Wei Na was still someone from a royal family.
Ye Wen was momentarily stunned but didn't refuse. He simply nodded and said:
"Alright."
Ye Wen naturally understood what Wei Na and Xu Jiujiu were up to—they wanted to use this favor to tie him to their empire's cause.
Unfortunately for them, he had already firmly established his neutral stance. They could only resort to such small tactics to try and win him over, ensuring he wouldn't completely side with their rivals. In critical moments, they could even call in this favor to request his assistance.
Hearing Ye Wen's approval, Xu Jiujiu—who had assumed Ye Wen would leave everything to her since this was the Star Luo Empire's home ground—was surprised by this unexpected twist. Wei Na, however, was delighted.
But the auctioneer was still introducing the item, so Wei Na hadn't made her move yet.
"Honored guests, it is my great pleasure to introduce the soul bone before you.
As everyone knows, for soul masters, the most precious treasures are ten-thousand-year soul rings and ten-thousand-year soul bones. These two are almost never seen at auctions. Even our Starlight Auction House has never had such top-tier items.
After all, whoever possesses these rarities wouldn't choose to sell them but instead use them to create a top-tier powerhouse.
What you see now is the finest soul bone we've found in recent years. After acquiring it, we initially chose to keep it in storage rather than put it up for auction because it is incredibly precious and exceedingly rare.
I believe our esteemed guests have already noticed—this soul bone is ice-attribute. Before I elaborate on its advantages, allow me to first address its drawbacks. Some guests may wonder why, as an auction house representative, I'm pointing out the flaws of the item.
This is because our Starlight Auction House always prioritizes integrity. Moreover, the flaws of this item can, in fact, be considered part of its strengths.
The most significant drawback of this soul bone lies in its attribute restrictions. Most soul bones don't require specific attributes and can be used by any soul master. The additional soul skills they provide will adapt to different martial souls. Even some ten-thousand-year soul bones behave this way. These types of soul bones are the mainstream.
However, there are exceptions—special soul bones that demand specific attributes.
If a soul master isn't compatible with it, they won't be able to fuse with it. Forcing the fusion could harm the user, even threatening their life.
And today's eighth auction item is one such soul bone.
Thus, its first drawback is its attribute restriction—it can only be used by ice-attribute soul masters."
It was clear that this auction item was exceptionally valuable, as the auctioneer's introduction was longer than all the previous items combined.
However, despite the glowing description, the auctioneer seemed to be subtly discouraging potential bidders.
Ye Wen could tell that this soul bone was specifically prepared by the Star Luo Royal Family for Huo Yu'er, rather than being a plot-driven addition like in the original storyline.
After all, ice attributes were primarily concentrated in the Heavenly Soul and Dou Ling Empires, regions near the Extreme North Ice Plains.
The auctioneer then went on to mention two more "drawbacks," though they were more accurately described as advantages.
One was that the soul skills of this soul bone were fixed and wouldn't change based on the user's martial soul, unlike mainstream soul bones.
But wasn't it better to know exactly what soul skill you'd get, rather than risk receiving an undesirable one? After all, not everyone had Tang Hao's luxury of chopping off limbs and having them reattached by a kind benefactor.
As for the third "drawback," Ye Wen found it utterly absurd. Since when did absorbing a soul bone come with cultivation level restrictions?
It was ridiculous. It felt like the auction house was mocking those unable to purchase the soul bone.
Still…
Among the inner court participants Shrek Academy had sent, there was a beautiful girl with an ice martial soul. Even though Shrek was currently strapped for cash, they surely wouldn't give up on nurturing her.
Ye Wen's expression darkened slightly. In the end, he decided to step in.
On one hand, it would save his disciple money. On the other, it would add another favor owed by Shrek Academy.
Xu Jiujiu was inwardly seething that the grand gift she had painstakingly prepared for her master had become someone else's triumph. Just then, Ye Wen's voice drifted over.
"Jiujiu, while the host is still introducing this soul bone, go to Shrek's booth and deliver a message for me. This soul bone can only be absorbed by a soul master with Ultimate Ice attributes. If anyone else tries to absorb it, they'll suffer attribute backlash, which could be fatal."
Xu Jiujiu was momentarily stunned but quickly stood up, nodded, and left the room.
All the girls present were top students among soul masters, excelling in their studies, but this was the first time they'd heard of soul bone backlash. Though curious, they didn't dare ask questions in such a setting. The booth fell into an eerie silence.
Meanwhile, the auctioneer on stage began boasting about the origin of the soul bone, shocking the crowd—it came from the dominant species of the Extreme North Ice Plains, the Ice Jade Scorpion clan, and boasted an incredible number of years.
For a moment, even guests without ice-attribute martial souls began harboring ulterior motives, as they were all aware of Huo Yu'er's existence.
Soon, Xu Jiujia returned—the top-tier booths weren't far apart.
"Master, Shrek's representatives have received your message and expressed their gratitude," Xu Jiujia reported.
At this moment, Xu Jiujiu nervously rubbed her jade-like hands and softly addressed Ye Wen.
"Master, this auction item was a mistake caused by insufficient intelligence on our part. However, since it's already been brought out, there's no reason to withdraw it. Still, I don't want our Starlight Auction House to appear irresponsible in the eyes of our guests. Could you please come on stage to explain this?"
Ye Wen fell silent for a moment, realizing Xu Jiujiu was trying to manipulate him.
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