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Hearing this, Prince Xue Xing's fingers subconsciously rubbed the armrest of his seat, his brows tightly furrowed. He noticed that although Dugu Bo looked displeased, he remained quietly seated beside the blue-robed young man, a posture that was clearly out of the ordinary.
"Uncle, he has Poison Douluo accompanying him... What is this young man's background?" Xue Beng added softly. "Why haven't I heard him mention it before?"
Prince Xue Xing gently waved his hand, his gaze still fixed on Dugu Bo's direction, and said in a deep voice, "Say no more. After the auction ends, we'll go ask and find out."
Hearing this, Xue Beng nodded obediently. At this moment, he showed no trace of his usual profligate demeanor, instead revealing a hint of caution.
On the auction stage, the auctioneer was also slightly stunned to see someone suddenly raise the price to 220,000 gold coins. The crowd below looked at each other, clearly feeling that this price had already far exceeded the actual value of the spirit guiding ring. Several people who had originally intended to bid shook their heads, giving up on further bidding.
"Two hundred twenty thousand gold coins, first call!" "Two hundred twenty thousand gold coins, second call!" "Two hundred twenty thousand gold coins, third call! Sold!"
The auction hammer fell heavily, and this sapphire ring was finally acquired by Tang Chuan. Dugu Bo, on the other hand, had a dark expression and then sighed helplessly.
The auction continued, with dazzling treasures on the stage. There were weapons, armor, maps, medicinal herbs, clothing, ancient books... and so on.
There was even one instance when Tang Chuan looked with some astonishment at a young girl who was pushed onto the stage. She was not old, perhaps only a teenager, but her figure was astonishingly well-developed, and her small face was filled with timidity.
"Starting bid, 100,000 gold coins!"
As soon as the auctioneer's voice fell, the entire venue immediately erupted. "One hundred fifty thousand!" "Two hundred thousand!" "Three hundred thousand!"
Those usually refined nobles now all showed greedy eyes, and bidding calls rose one after another. The final price soared to nearly 800,000 gold coins and was won by a fat man wearing a golden mask.
"Didn't the Heaven Dou Empire explicitly prohibit human trafficking? These people still dare to..." Looking at this scene, Tang Chuan frowned and leaned over to Dugu Bo beside him, whispering.
Dugu Bo sneered at his words, a mocking expression appearing on his old face. "Haha, prohibit human trafficking? Rules, as soon as they are established, bring huge benefits to those who violate them. Rules have always been tailor-made for those at the bottom. The nobles of the Heaven Dou Empire wield immense power, do you think they will truly follow those so-called rules?" A meaningful light flashed in his cloudy eyes as he spoke.
Tang Chuan noticed the cynical smirk on Dugu Bo's lips, as if he had seen through everything. He nodded slightly, his deep gaze fixed on the nobles frantically bidding below, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the armrest of his seat, his voice carrying a World-weariness unsuited to his age. "Indeed, this World is ultimately a World where strength is respected. As long as the benefits are great enough and the fist is hard enough, who will abide by those so-called rules?"
As he said this, a black figure suddenly flashed in Tang Chuan's mindâa man with long, waterfall-like hair, laughing up at the sky amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
"The strong make the rules, the weak follow the rules. Following the rules is not a skill... True skill is to break the rules, enjoy the benefits, and suffer no punishment. And truly great skill is to break the old order, establish a new order, and continuously enjoy the benefits."
Dugu Bo was slightly startled. He had never seen such a sharp expression on a young person's face. In those eyes, which should have been clear, there was now an ambition and sharpness that were extremely unsuited to his age.
Just then, another auction item was brought up. They were two exquisite white jade bottles, glowing with a warm luster under the lights.
Seeing this, Dugu Bo gently patted Tang Chuan's shoulder, raised an eyebrow, and said seriously, "Kid, your Medicinal Pills are finally going to be auctioned." He deliberately put on a stern face and lowered his voice. "When you get the money later, remember to pay me back."
Tang Chuan rolled his eyes at him in annoyance. "Isn't it just over 200,000 gold coins? Do you have to be so stingy?"
Dugu Bo immediately bristled, feigning anger. "Hmph, you brat! Is over 200,000 not money? This old man probably doesn't spend that much in a year!"
"Alright, alright, I'll pay you back! Don't come looking for me about the residual poison in your granddaughter's body," Tang Chuan retorted.
"No, no, no! I don't want the money, can't this old man not want it?" Dugu Bo quickly reversed his stance.
As the two whispered and bickered, the auctioneer had already begun his introduction. "Distinguished guests, these next two auction items are truly unprecedented."
He carefully held up the first jade bottle. "This item is called the Soul Enhancement Pill. It can increase the spirit power of a Spirit Master below Rank 40 by two Ranks in a very short time, without any side effects. However, it cannot be used for a Breakthrough in Spirit Master titles, such as a Rank 29 Spirit Grandmaster Breaking through to a Rank 30 Spirit Elder."
Immediately after, he held up the second jade bottle. "And this Soul Recovery Pill is even more miraculous. It can quickly restore a Spirit Master's depleted spirit power, allowing them to regain their combat ability when their spirit power is exhausted."
As the auctioneer's voice fell, the entire auction house immediately erupted in an uproar. Discussions broke out among the crowd below; everyone was astonished and looked at each other, their faces filled with disbelief. Several Spirit Masters even stood up from their seats in excitement, their eyes burning as they stared at the two jade bottles. If it weren't for the auction house's strong backing, these people might have directly tried to snatch them.
Looking at the jade bottles on the stage, Xue Beng's face immediately lit up with joy. He grabbed Prince Xue Xing's arm beside him, his voice trembling with excitement.
"Uncle, this... this... I never thought such a wondrous item existed on the continent! For all these years, to make Xue Qinghe relax his guard against me, I deliberately slacked off in my Cultivation. If I can get this item, then when my spirit power is about to reach Rank 40, taking it will definitely save a lot of Cultivation time!"
Hearing this, Prince Xue Xing narrowed his eyes and nodded thoughtfully. "This Heaven Dou Auction House is an Imperial property, so the item verification should be fine. If they say this Medicinal Pill has such an effect, it should not be false." Speaking of this, he patted Xue Beng's back. "Beng'er, don't worry, your Uncle will bid for it for you later."
At the same time, not far away, Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo exchanged glances, a glint flashing in both their eyes.
"Rongrong's spirit power Rank is currently in the thirties. This Medicinal Pill is simply tailor-made for her. Uncle Bone, no matter what, we must bid for it," Ning Fengzhi gently stroked the gem scepter in his hand and said in a deep voice.