The burly man with a big head glanced at him indifferently, "I'm in a hurry too, but I know getting angry won't help. As long as we find out who bought the hundred-thousand-year soul beast embryo, can't we just snatch it back? Plus, we'll have saved over a hundred million golden soul coins, isn't that a huge profit?"
After hearing the big-headed man's words, the man with thick arms scratched his head, "Second Brother, you really have a clever mind, so useful, incredibly useful."
"When we bring back the soul beast embryo and over a hundred million golden soul coins to the sect, the Sect Master will surely reward us handsomely."
"Isn't that obvious?" the big-headed man said with a slight smile.
"But how do we get the information about the bidder?"
"Hmph, I certainly wouldn't count on you to find out."
The big-headed man snorted coldly, his eyes slightly squinting. Immediately, the air in the entire VIP room began violently distorting. Ripples spread throughout the room like waves on a pond.
The auctioneer and two maids responsible for attending to the room immediately started quivering, and their eyes quickly became glazed over. They stood there motionless, as if their souls had been seized.
The big-headed man pointed at the auctioneer in black robes and said, "You, go find out the background of the person who just bid 150 million golden soul coins."
"Yes," the black-level auctioneer answered respectfully before turning and leaving.
Watching the auctioneer leave the room, the man with thick arms' eyes glittered, "Second Brother, with such an amazing ability, I feel it's beneath you to use it this way."
The big-headed man asked irritably, "Then how do you think it wouldn't be beneath me?"
Knowing his brother, he was sure the guy had nothing good up his sleeve.
"Honestly, I have a bold idea. Why don't we hit a big score?"
"Let's hear it. How bold?"
"The bolder the man, the greater the yield. We might as well take control of the people at the auction house and take the goods. How about that? There are so many treasures today, equaling several years' worth of our sect's income. If we pull this off, we could be rich for three years."
The man with thick arms whispered this scheme with eagerness, his eyes flashing with ferocity and his beefy right arm cracking with a series of "pops" – not from his bones, but from the air around his arm reacting to his muscle movement.
"As expected, a rotten idea."
The big-headed man responded irritably, "I advise you to save it. Just don't cause trouble for the sect and that will be enough. If you actually did this, the sect wouldn't be better off for three years, it's questionable whether we could even survive three years."
The thick-armed man's face showed embarrassment, "Alright then, Second Brother. I'll listen to you and not be a burden to the sect."
The big-headed man remained silent.
Quite some time passed, and the black-level auctioneer returned.
And he brought back significant news.
That is, the person who spent 150 million golden soul coins for the hundred-thousand-year soul beast embryo had been found.
"Imperial Sun Moon Soul Academy?"
"Seems like things might be a bit tricky."
The big-headed man couldn't help but stroke his chin.
"Second Brother, so should we wait until after the Soul Master competition to hit this score?" the thick-armed man asked eagerly.
"Hit? How would you hit it?"
The big-headed man said irritably, "That's a tough bone to chew, we two brothers definitely can't swallow that. We need to return to the sect first and report this matter, to see what the higher-ups decide."
After speaking, he leaped from the sofa to the floor, and went straight for the door.
...
When the auction for the hundred-thousand-year soul beast embryo ended, it also signified the end of this grand auction.
If one were to talk about the biggest gain from attending this auction, it would be the broadened horizons.
After all, with the final two auction items going for tens to hundreds of millions of golden soul coins, all they could do besides opening their eyes wide was nothing at all.
People inside the various VIP rooms started to leave the auction house one after another.
"Honored guests, please wait a moment. The items you've won in this auction will be delivered to you shortly," Qing Ya explained to everyone inside room number 6.
She was actually quite nervous as well.
What if these people decided not to pay and simply ran away?
Fortunately.
Nobody raised any objections to this arrangement.
And Jiu Jiu arrived very quickly.
"Ding ding ding."
Following a knock on the door, a gentle voice came from outside.
"Respected guests, I apologize for intruding, may we come in?"
"Yes."
Jing Hongchen replied in a deep voice.
As his words faded, the door was pushed open.
Xu Jiujiu, clad in a golden gown, walked in with a graceful stride.
Following her, two beautiful maidservants carrying trays.
Behind them, two figures shrouded in large robes, their genders and ages indiscernible.
Jing Hongchen's gaze passed directly over the crowd, resting on the last two figures, his brow slightly furrowed.
The eyes of Ma Rulong, Lin Xi, Chen Fei, Chen An, and others brightened.
This princess of the Xingluo Empire seemed even more beautiful in person than on the screen.
Compared to Meng Hongchen, she had a sense of maturity.
Qin Xiao, in an inconspicuous corner of the room, glanced briefly at the two figures at the back and then withdrew his gaze, thinking to himself with a chuckle, "Heh, the Starlight Auction House is indeed cautious, actually sending two Titled Douluo-level experts to escort the 100,000-Year Soul Beast Embryo."
Of course.
Qin Xiao was aware that these were just the visible experts.
At least two other Titled Douluos lay hidden within the auction house, ready to act.
Xu Jiujiu looked at the crowd with a beaming smile, "Respected guests, I presume there's no need for me to introduce myself, is there?"
Jing Hongchen nodded, "Just state your purpose."
"Heh, our guest is truly straightforward."
Xu Jiujiu gave a graceful smile, then stepped aside to reveal the two maidservants behind her.
Of course.
The purpose of her doing so wasn't to showcase the maids to everyone, but rather to display the items they were holding.
A soul bone exuding a cold aura as well as the Divine Seal Altar.
"The Ice-jade Scorpion Soul Bone and the Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Beast Embryo, for a total of 170 million golden soul coins."
"Before paying this sum, I want to mention that with such a large amount, you can become a premium customer of our auction house."
"Jiu Jiu has already requested a discount policy from the auction house owner before coming here. If the guest has any extra soul tools, you may also choose to offset the cost with soul tools, with no transaction fee required," Xu Jiujiu carefully explained.
To those unaware of the situation, it might have seemed as if she was thoughtfully considering Jing Hongchen's interests.
Hmph, the Star Luo Emperor really has an insatiable greed.
Despite the virtuous words, aren't you just coveting my soul tools?
Jing Hongchen saw through Xu Jiujiu's intentions, and shook his head lightly, "Little girl, you must already know who I am, so there's no need for irrelevant probing. To tell you the truth, it's impossible to acquire my Mingde Hall's soul tools."
However.
Having said this, even Jing Hongchen somewhat doubted himself.
If other empires couldn't obtain Mingde Hall's soul tools, where did those few items previously auctioned come from?
After a thought, he added, "I cannot vouch for others, but it's impossible to obtain soul tools from me. Isn't it just 170 million? Swipe the card!"
With that, he waved his hand grandly, taking out a card that was pitch-black with what appeared to be golden patterns.
"Hehe, then it was just Jiu Jiu overthinking," Xu Jiujiu replied with a dignified smile.
She didn't seem embarrassed at all for having her motives exposed.
But in her heart, she felt a great sense of loss.
After all.
Having missed this opportunity, who knows when would be the next chance to obtain a fine soul tool from Mingde Hall.
Soon, Jing Hongchen completed the transaction and with another grand wave of his hand, stowed both the Ice-jade Scorpion Soul Bone and the Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Beast Embryo into the Spatial Soul Guidance Device.
"Let's go."
After saying that, he led the way out the door.
The rest followed closely behind.
After everyone had left, the two Titled Douluos beside Xu Jiujiu asked in a deep voice, "Your Highness, are we really going to let Mingde Hall take these items away?"
Xu Jiujiu nodded slightly, "Regarding this, my royal brother has his plans. You two guest elders only need to know that the Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Beast Embryo will not be so easily taken away."