In truth, the so-called harmonious coexistence between humans and Spirit Beasts extended only to the Star Dou Great Forest and the Extreme North. The masters of those two great Spirit Beast territories had standing agreements with the Spirit Transmission Tower, and with a considerable number of Inherited Spirit Souls standing on their side, Spirit Masters simply did not dare give offense.
The Sun Moon Forest and the Sea Spirit Beasts were an entirely different matter.
People, after all, were creatures of greed.
The Evil Eye Tyrant's sovereign had vanished ten thousand years ago. The Sea Spirit Beasts had no sovereign at all nor any contract with the Spirit Transmission Tower. With the Star Dou Great Forest and the Extreme North both effectively sealed off to outside Spirit Masters, did anyone truly believe those same Spirit Masters would leave the remaining territories untouched?
Yes, the Soul-Spirit Contract established by the Spirit-Ice Douluo required a Spirit Beast's willing consent. But ordinary Spirit Rings and Spirit Bones had no such requirement.
And so, over the span of ten thousand years, waves of Spirit Masters had flooded into the Sun Moon Forest and the open sea until the Sun Moon Forest was utterly gone, and the coastal waters held no Spirit Beasts worth speaking of.
The direct consequence was that Spirit Beasts became scarce. The indirect consequence was that Spirit Souls capable of providing multiple Spirit Rings grew ever more precious, and their standing climbed accordingly. Ten-thousand-year and above Spirit Souls in particular had become extraordinarily rare.
Even with the Star Dou Great Forest and the Extreme North both in cooperation with the Tower, ten-thousand-year Spirit Beasts were not vegetables to be grown on demand and not every Spirit Beast was willing to become a Spirit Soul. In the current era, a ten-thousand-year Spirit Soul was worth more than a ten-thousand-year Spirit Bone, and this was in a major city. In a second-tier city like Eastsea, such an item was essentially without price.
So the moment the auctioneer finished her introduction, the bidding erupted.
"One hundred and ten million!"
"One hundred and thirty million!"
"Two hundred million!"
Mu Xi stared at the Evil Eye Tyrant with wide eyes. A single enormous eye was admittedly unsettling to look at but this was a rare ten-thousand-year Spirit Soul, and it appeared even stronger than her father's own Spirit Soul.
Beyond that, it had a fire attribute. Which meant…it was a ten-thousand-year Spirit Soul suited for her.
The realization hit Mu Xi like a spark, and she turned to look at Mu Chen immediately.
"Dad?"
Mu Chen caught the look, reached over and ruffled her hair, and smiled. "All right. The family's Inherited Spirit Soul is already with me —this one can be kept for you, for when the time comes."
With that, he raised his paddle without hesitation.
"Three hundred million!"
The figure had already far exceeded the normal market price for a ten-thousand-year Spirit Soul but then, when had a ten-thousand-year Spirit Soul ever truly been a matter of money? The Spirit Transmission Tower claimed to sell ten-thousand-year Spirit Souls, and even listed a price of one hundred million but everyone in the room understood that at that level, obtaining one was ultimately a question of relationships, not currency.
Huo Yuhao watched the numbers climb and glanced sideways at Hua Yichen. "This lot was arranged with us in mind, wasn't it?"
It was described as dual-attribute, but the Spirit Master best suited to an Evil Eye Tyrant Spirit Soul was undeniably one of spirit attribute. Its appearance at this particular moment, as a last-minute addition to close the auction however you looked at it, the timing was far too convenient.
Hua Yichen gave a small nod. "There are no secrets that hold forever. The special treatment you've been receiving at the Tower lately has clearly drawn attention."
Somehow I feel like that's partly your doing.
Huo Yuhao thought back over his recent routine and said nothing, though his exasperation was considerable.
Hua Yichen had been wandering through the Tower at all hours, meeting with him openly under the guise of guidance sessions in full view of anyone who cared to look. Of course people had noticed. Were branch Tower Masters really this idle these days? Back when the Spirit Transmission Tower was first being built, everyone had worked themselves to the bone without a moment's rest…
He kept the observation to himself. Which was fortunate because Hua Yichen would almost certainly have nodded and agreed.
In Eastsea City, he was genuinely idle.
After all, if the city was too small a stage for Huo Yuhao, was it somehow a grand enough arena for Hua Yichen? As one of the Eighteen Heavenly Pillars' Tower Masters a Three-Word Battle Armor Master and a Titled Douluo Eastsea City presented him with very little that required his full attention.
Unaware of Huo Yuhao's train of thought, Hua Yichen simply watched the bidding and asked, "The Evil Eye Tyrant is a top-tier Spirit Beast of spirit attribute one of the finest ten-thousand-year Spirit Souls that could be found for you. The Tower does have some internally, but as far as I'm aware, the best of those also have only two attributes, and may not surpass this one. Do you want it?"
"Don't trouble yourself on my account. A ten-thousand-year Spirit Soul is still a long way off for me." Huo Yuhao shook his head.
A thirty-thousand-year Evil Eye Tyrant Spirit Soul was immensely attractive to anyone else. To him, it was considerably less so.
The Evil Emperor was sleeping right there in his Sea of Spirit.
Of the three great Spirit Beast territories, Emperor Tian and the Snow Empress had been approachable. The Evil Emperor who had been aligned with the Holy Spirit Cult ten thousand years ago had been a different story entirely.
When Huo Yuhao had sought him out, he had first taken the time to dismantle the Holy Spirit Cult's headquarters in the Sun Moon Forest. After which the Evil Emperor had, for reasons Huo Yuhao still did not fully understand, made a decision remarkably similar to the one in the original story choosing to fight him to the death, arranging for Huo Yuhao to absorb his Spirit Ring, intending to seize his body through soul possession.
The result: Huo Yuhao had lost access to the Snow Empress and the others as Spirit Souls. But Electrolux considerably more powerful than in any prior accounting had still been with him.
As ambushes went, it was the most generous one he had ever received.
And so the Evil Emperor became his Spirit Soul, and contributed a head Spirit Bone into the bargain.
Which meant that the extinction of the Spirit Beasts in the Sun Moon Forest was, in part, connected to him and the Sea Spirit Beasts had suffered earlier than they might otherwise have, also indirectly because of his actions.
Huo Yuhao had never claimed to be a man of exceptional virtue, and he refused to be guilt-tripped into pretending otherwise.
He had created the Soul-Spirit Contract because he wanted the Snow Empress and the other Spirit Beasts who had helped him to have a better chance of surviving in the world that was coming that was a selfish motive, plain and simple. Extending a hand to the Star Dou Great Forest had been incidental.
As for the Sun Moon Forest and the Sea Spirit Beasts with the exception of Liya's people, Huo Yuhao had not intervened. The former could look after themselves. The latter could petition the Sea God; he was not a god, he was a person, and he had neither the ability to restrain every Spirit Master on the continent nor any belief that he was obligated to be responsible for every Spirit Beast in existence.
Seeing Huo Yuhao decline, Hua Yichen gave a quiet laugh and shook his head. Using compressed sound transmission, he said, "Staying grounded is a virtue but as a member of the Spirit Transmission Tower, you shouldn't sell yourself short either. I told you: with your gifts, you will receive the highest level of attention the Tower can offer."
A spirit-attribute Martial Soul, combined with innate spiritual power already at three hundred it was the only example of its kind Hua Yichen had encountered in his life. It also meant that Huo Yuhao's spiritual power realm would advance far ahead of anyone else's, and might even break through to the Divine Origin realm reaching a level comparable to the Atlas Douluo himself.
With that thought in mind, Hua Yichen looked toward the auctioneer and said, in a level tone:
"Six hundred million Federation coins."
He had doubled the standing bid in a single move. His intent to secure the lot was unmistakable.
The hall fell quiet for a moment. More than a few eyes turned toward Hua Yichen, brows creasing.
Mu Chen's expression tightened as he looked at Hua Yichen. "Tower Master Hua surely the Spirit Transmission Tower isn't short on ten-thousand-year Spirit Souls?"
"President Mu flatters me. A ten-thousand-year Spirit Soul is a precious thing even within the Tower and one of the Evil Eye Tyrant's caliber is something I would not want to pass up."
Hua Yichen smiled mildly, no longer bothering with compressed sound transmission he said it plainly, for the room to hear.
At that, the majority of the other bidders withdrew their interest with visible reluctance. The idea of competing with the Spirit Transmission Tower's liquid assets was pure fantasy.
A few others shifted their gaze toward Huo Yuhao instead clearly among those who knew more of what was happening behind the scenes.
Mu Chen's expression moved through several changes before settling into a quiet sigh.
"…So be it."
The auctioneer, as if afraid someone might yet challenge the bid, rattled through the closing in what was probably the fastest cadence of her career.
"Any further bids? Six hundred million — once! Twice! Three times! Sold!"
...
Outside the museum, Hua Yichen went to collect the various lots. Huo Yuhao waited beside the soul-powered vehicle.
Mu Xi came out of the auction hall and spotted Huo Yuhao from a distance. She raised an eyebrow and walked straight over.
"Hey — did Tower Master Hua bid on that Spirit Soul for you? I saw him look at you right after he won it."
"You could say that."
Huo Yuhao watched as a flash of displeasure crossed Mu Xi's face at the confirmation. "Did you want that Spirit Soul?"
"Hmph, I did not."
Called out directly, Mu Xi bristled like an affronted cat and denied it without hesitation. "I was simply curious about what kind of person could get Tower Master Hua to escort them personally and provide a ten-thousand-year Spirit Soul."
She paused, studying him.
"But seeing you in person — you don't seem like much."
An unremarkable appearance. Only those bright blue eyes stood out at all. And none of the sharpness or arrogance she associated with the truly gifted nothing like the geniuses she had known. He fell well short of her expectations.
Huo Yuhao showed no reaction. He simply smiled.
"My talent really isn't anything special — nowhere near a true genius. I just…" He gave a small, easy shrug. "Have fairly good luck."
"You do seem to have good luck, I'll give you that."
Mu Xi pressed her lips together, turned away with an air of indifference, and walked off.
"I hope your talent is at least worth that Spirit Soul."