Chapter 102: The Arrogant Vina! The Disappointed Huo Yuhao
The interior of the Star Luo Great Auction House dripped with an almost suffocating opulence. High above the velvet-lined viewing galleries, a massive crystal chandelier dominated the vaulted ceiling, casting a soft, brilliant cascade of light over the gilded arches and polished marble floors.
A sharp, echoing crack of the auctioneer's wooden gavel cut through the low hum of aristocratic chatter. The grand auction had officially commenced.
One by one, attendants draped in elegant silk carried out silver trays. The display stage soon gleamed with the metallic sheen of rare Soul Tools, the ancient, marrow-deep luster of precious Soul Bones, and the vibrant, mist-shrouded hues of centuries-old medicinal herbs.
The initial rounds of bidding ignited a frenzy. Down in the main gallery, wealthy merchants and nobles raised their numbered paddles in rapid succession. The auctioneer's voice became a rapid-fire blur as prices climbed higher and higher, driven by greed and ambition.
Yet, high above the chaos in the secluded luxury of a premier VIP box, Liu Yuan remained a portrait of absolute stillness. He leaned back into the plush leather of his high-backed chair, his breathing slow and measured. His Double Pupils were half-closed, veiled beneath his lashes. He did not spare a single glance at the treasures below. To him, the frantic bidding of the masses was nothing more than background noise.
"Liu Yuan, do none of these catch your eye?" Vina turned her head toward him. She idly twirled a solid gold bidding paddle between her slender fingers, her eyes bright with anticipation.
"Merely mortal trinkets," Liu Yuan replied, his tone entirely flat. He didn't bother opening his eyes. "What we are waiting for has yet to surface."
Beside them, Long Aotian sat slouched, lazily swirling the fragrant tea in his porcelain cup. A deep yawn escaped him. For cultivators of the Body Sect, whose entire doctrine revolved around pushing the human physique to the absolute pinnacle of existence, ordinary Soul Tools were little more than useless crutches.
An hour bled away. The air in the venue grew thick with heat and excitement as the auction approached its first major climax.
Without warning, the grand chandelier above went dark. The sudden plunge into shadows drew a collective gasp from the audience. A single, piercing spotlight snapped on, illuminating the center of the stage. A ceremonial attendant walked out, her steps careful and measured, bearing an exquisite velvet-lined tray.
Resting atop the black velvet was a carving knife. It was no larger than a standard dagger, but its entire body pulsed with a sickly, faint cyan glow.
The blade possessed a slight, wicked curve, its surface marred by dense, vein-like patterns that seemed to writhe under the spotlight. A chilling, bone-deep aura of malice bled from the metal. Even through the stage's reinforced protective barrier, a sudden drop in temperature swept over the front rows. Several nobles shivered, rubbing their arms as an unnatural sense of dread settled over the room.
The auctioneer stepped forward, the usual practiced smile wiped completely from his face. His expression turned gravely solemn. "Honored guests, please direct your attention here. This item is exceptionally unique."
He gestured toward the glowing weapon. "This is the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife. Within the world of Soul Engineers, it holds a legendary status and an equally notorious reputation."
"Rumor dictates that its core material is the Gold of Life, a phenomenally rare living metal. However, it fell into the hands of a powerful Evil Soul Master, who forged it using methods too gruesome to describe in polite company. While it harbors an ocean of vast, pure life force, it is also bound by a terrifying, malevolent curse."
The auctioneer's voice dropped to a dramatic whisper that echoed through the silent hall. "Every single master who has ever claimed ownership of this blade has met a sudden, gruesome end. Madness. Mutilation. Death. Yet, there is no denying its objective value. If one possessed the means to suppress the curse, it stands as one of the absolute pinnacle carving knives in existence, ranking within the top thirty on the continental Carving Knife Rankings!"
Across the arena, within the private confines of the Shrek Academy VIP box, Huo Yuhao sat quietly, his mind wandering. Suddenly, a violent tremor wracked his spiritual sea. An incredibly ancient, trembling voice exploded deep within his mind.
'Yuhao! Quickly! That is it! You must acquire that blade!'
Huo Yuhao jolted in his seat, his eyes snapping wide open. It was Electrolux.
The Necromancer Holy Magic God, who had existed for untold millennia, was a being of absolute, unshakeable calm. He viewed the mortal world with the detached indifference of a deity. This was the very first time Huo Yuhao had ever felt the ancient entity lose his composure. The sheer desperation in that mental projection made Huo Yuhao's temples throb.
'Elder Yi? Isn't that thing an ominous, cursed object?'Huo Yuhao asked cautiously within his spiritual sea, his brow furrowing in confusion.'That is the prattle of the ignorant!'Electrolux's voice actually shook, vibrating with an intensity that sent ripples across Yuhao's mental realm.'They look with mortal eyes and see only the malevolent curse clinging to the surface! They are completely blind to the absolute miracle hidden within its depths!''The core of that carving knife is the pure Gold of Life! It is a supreme vessel, one of the very few things in this lower plane capable of bearing the weight of my divine soul!''My current Divine Sense is nothing but fractured shards. I could dissipate into the void at any given moment. But if I have that metal, I can permanently anchor my divine soul! More than that, I can use its boundless vitality as a foundation to forcefully open the Eye of Life for you!''This concerns the absolute limit of your future potential, Yuhao! And it concerns my very existence! Even if it costs you everything you have, you must acquire it!'
The revelation struck Huo Yuhao like a physical blow. His heart hammered against his ribs, his blood roaring in his ears.
He understood the terrifying depths of Electrolux's power better than anyone. If an entity of that magnitude claimed this was a supreme treasure, then the curse was entirely irrelevant., Electrolux had saved his life; he absolutely could not sit back and watch the ancient mage's soul scatter into nothingness.
Without a second of hesitation, Huo Yuhao whipped his head around. He stared at Elder Xuan, who was slouched in a nearby chair, silently taking swigs from his greasy wine gourd.
"Elder Xuan," Huo Yuhao choked out, his voice tight, bordering on a desperate plea. "That carving knife it is incredibly important to me. I beg the academy to help me secure it. I swear, I will work myself to the bone to earn back every single coin! I will repay the academy in full!"
Elder Xuan paused. He slowly lowered his wine gourd, his cloudy eyes shifting toward the glowing cyan blade on the distant stage.
To a Level 98 Super Douluo, a mere carving knife, cursed or otherwise, was utterly insignificant. But Huo Yuhao's status within Shrek Academy had drastically shifted. Ever since Liu Yuan's bitter departure, the academy's resources had been forcefully pivoted. Huo Yuhao was now the sole core disciple the inner courtyard was desperately focusing its future upon.
"If you want it that badly, I'll buy it for you," Elder Xuan grunted, waving a greasy hand dismissively. He reached out and slammed his palm against the soul-guided bidding device mounted on the table.
"One hundred thousand gold coins," Elder Xuan's gruff voice echoed through the auction house's amplification system.
The moment the bid registered, a heavy, suffocating silence fell over the massive venue.
The Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife's reputation was simply too horrific. No sane Soul Engineer dared to even breathe in its direction, let alone spend a fortune to bring the curse into their home.
Elder Xuan let out a quiet breath, fully expecting the hammer to fall.
But before the auctioneer could even open his mouth, a crisp, elegant female voice drifted from the premier VIP box directly across the arena.
"Five hundred thousand."
Vina hadn't just raised the bid. She had casually quintupled it without a second thought.
Inside that opposing box, Liu Yuan finally opened his eyes. He stared down at the sickly cyan glow of the evil blade, a faint, predatory gleam flashing within his layered pupils. He gave Vina a single, microscopic nod. "That is the one."
Deep within his body, his Double Pupils thrummed. It wasn't just a visual reaction; it was a primal, Origin-level stirring. His Martial Soul was practically roaring, projecting an extreme, ravenous craving for the unfathomable purity of the life energy locked beneath that curse.
Back in the Shrek box, Elder Xuan's bushy eyebrows knitted together. He scowled at the opposing balcony and pressed the device again. "Six hundred thousand."
"One million, two hundred thousand," Vina's voice chimed back instantly. Her tone was completely devoid of emotion, effortlessly doubling his counter-bid as if she were buying a cabbage at the market.
Elder Xuan's face darkened. The greasy sheen on his forehead seemed to thicken as his jaw clenched. He recognized the location of that voice, it was the private box reserved exclusively for the Heavenly Soul Imperial Academy.
"Du Busi that old bastard," Elder Xuan hissed through gritted teeth, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the armrest. "Is he deliberately trying to humiliate me?"
Furious, he slammed the bidding device. "Two million!"
"Four million." Vina didn't even let him finish his breath.
Over the next ten minutes, the grand auction house devolved into a theater of absolute absurdity.
Every single time Elder Xuan barked out a higher number, Vina's calm, aristocratic voice would echo through the hall a second later, ruthlessly doubling the sum.
It was a display of financial tyranny so overbearing, so utterly dismissive of wealth, that the thousands of merchants and nobles in the audience sat paralyzed. They held their breath, their hearts pounding in their chests as they witnessed a war of numbers that defied logic.
"Thirty million!"
"Sixty million."
The price shattered the fifty-million threshold in the blink of an eye.
Elder Xuan's hand hovered over the bidding device. It was visibly trembling.
Shrek Academy boasted ten thousand years of deep, unshakable foundations. But the liquid funds he had brought to Star Luo City were strictly allocated. They were meant for procuring high-tier strategic supplies and vital resources for the inner courtyard.
Incinerating tens of millions of gold coins on a single, cursed carving knife for a solitary disciple, even a core one, was drastically beyond the scope of his authority. The Sea God Pavilion would demand answers.
He turned to the boy, his expression twisted in a pained, ugly grimace. "Yuhao I can't do it anymore. The price is astronomical. This knife simply isn't worth this kind of money."
Huo Yuhao felt as if he had been thrown into a furnace. Panic clawed at his throat. Inside his spiritual sea, Electrolux was roaring, the ancient mage's frantic urging echoing so violently that it triggered blinding spikes of pain behind Yuhao's eyes.
"Elder Xuan, I am begging you!" Huo Yuhao grabbed the armrest of the old man's chair, his voice cracking, thick with unshed tears. "Just one more bid! Please! I swear on my life, as long as I obtain this knife, my cultivation speed will more than double! I will become the ultimate weapon for Shrek!"
The sheer desperation in the boy's eyes, combined with the crushing psychological pressure of losing face to the Body Sect, finally broke Elder Xuan's restraint. He slammed his fist onto the device, his voice hoarse.
"Eighty million!"
The echo of his shout hadn't even faded from the vaulted ceiling before Vina's voice drifted down. This time, the flat indifference was gone, replaced by a razor-thin edge of aristocratic mockery.
"One hundred and sixty million. Old gentleman, if your pockets are empty, I suggest you stop wasting everyone's time."
Boom—!
Elder Xuan felt as if a heavy hammer had just smashed directly into his skull. His vision swam with red.
One hundred and sixty million gold coins!
That was a sum so incomprehensibly massive it could outright purchase half a province in any of the great empires. It could fund a standing army for a decade.
No matter how much guilt he harbored over Liu Yuan's departure, no matter how desperately he wanted to nurture Huo Yuhao to save Shrek's pride, it was physically impossible for him to authorize that amount of wealth for a single, cursed blade.
"Enough!" Elder Xuan roared, slamming his palm onto the table so hard the solid oak splintered. "Huo Yuhao, there is a limit to the academy's support!"
He glared at the terrified boy, his chest heaving. "Do you have any concept of what one hundred and sixty million means?! That is years of operational expenses for the entire academy! Shut your mouth. There is absolutely no room for discussion on this matter!"
Huo Yuhao collapsed back into his chair as if a bolt of lightning had severed his spine. The color drained entirely from his face. His eyes, usually burning with stubborn determination, glazed over with a thick, suffocating layer of despair and deep disappointment.
Deep within his spiritual sea, he felt Electrolux let out a long, hollow sigh. The ancient mage's aura, which had flared with such brilliant, desperate hope just moments ago, withered and dimmed, retreating back into the cold, silent depths of his mind.
Down on the stage, the auctioneer, sweating profusely from the sheer magnitude of the transaction, brought his wooden gavel down with a resounding crack.
"Sold! For one hundred and sixty million gold coins! The Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife belongs to the esteemed VIPs in the Heavenly Soul Imperial Academy box!"
High in that very box, Liu Yuan sat perfectly still. He watched as a trembling attendant respectfully carried the velvet tray through their private doors, bowing deeply as she presented the glowing evil blade. A faint, razor-sharp smile curled the corners of Liu Yuan's lips.
He knew exactly what he had just done. This was never just about winning an auction. With a single, ruthless stroke of wealth, he had reached out and severed a monumental, fate-altering opportunity right out of Huo Yuhao's hands.
Across the arena, Elder Xuan was likely still cursing Du Busi, raging about the Body Sect being a den of arrogant fools with more money than sense. The old man had no idea that it was Liu Yuan sitting in the shadows.
Liu Yuan reached out and wrapped his fingers around the hilt of the cyan-glowing dagger. The moment his skin made contact, a terrifying surge of pure, unadulterated life force rushed up his arm, perfectly aligning with the Origin source of his Double Pupils.
[Akarin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/AkarinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/AkarinTL
🔗 All My Links: linktr[.]ee/AkarinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]