"Everyone, the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion’s annual auction is about to begin. Please make your way to your respective private rooms."

A manager from the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion stepped out and said.

The crowd heard his words as if they were a divine melody, suddenly finding the manager incredibly amiable. ’Damn it,’ they thought, ’at least now that punk can’t keep chatting with Miss Dongfang Zisi.’

Dongfang Zisi and Ye Xuan both stood up and began walking toward the private rooms with the crowd. Halfway there, Dongfang Zisi suggested, "Young Master Ye, my Divine Walk Commerce Association’s private room is one of the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion’s Celestial Level rooms. It’s quite spacious. Why don’t you join us there for the auction?"

THUD!

The young men walking nearby all stumbled and fell, their faces a mask of grief and indignation.

’Damn it, what’s so special about that brat? Miss Dongfang Zisi actually invited him to her private room! Why does luck like that never fall on us?’

The faces of the Imperial Capital’s many young masters turned ashen with resentment as they all started comparing themselves to Ye Xuan.

’In terms of status, I’m a noble of the empire, while that Xuan Ye... ahem, seems to have a special relationship with the Artifact Refining Workshop.’

’In terms of looks, I’m not bad myself, but that Xuan Ye... uh, seems to be quite handsome too.’

’In terms of strength, I’m already a Tier Four Celestial Martial Artist in my early thirties, while that Xuan Ye... sweat... I can’t even see through his cultivation level.’

After this series of comparisons, many of them wanted to cry but had no tears left. Compared to that Xuan Ye, they were just so pathetic.

"Thank you for your kind offer, Miss Dongfang Zisi, but we have our own private room, so there’s no need."

Before the crowd could even recover from their sorrow, they heard something that nearly made them cough up blood.

’Xuan Ye actually rejected Miss Dongfang Zisi’s invitation?’

’Holy shit, has this kid lost his mind? That’s Miss Dongfang Zisi! How could he not cherish such a golden opportunity?’

Many were so devastated they felt like fainting and crying right there in the hallway.

The gap between people was just too vast. They had desperately sought Miss Dongfang Zisi’s invitation to no avail, yet this kid treated it as if it were nothing. Why hadn’t a man like that been struck by lightning yet?

"Hmph, this guy refuses even Dongfang Zisi’s invitation and won’t go to a Celestial Level room. He’s really putting on an act," Qin Yu and Murong Yunyi said, a trace of disdain on their faces.

But in the next moment, their eyes went wide. They watched as Ye Xuan and Luo Cheng, led by a Heaven-Reaching Pavilion staff member, entered Celestial Level Private Room Number 21—separated from the Divine Walk Commerce Association’s room by only a single wall.

Qin Yu, Murong Yunyi, Zhou Qingwei, and the others exchanged glances in disbelief. "Since when can the Luo family get into a Celestial Level room?"

After taking a seat in Private Room 21, Ye Xuan slowly savored the refreshments. Luo Cheng stepped out for a moment and returned shortly after, bringing Luo Min into the room.

"Young Master Ye, my apologies for being a little late," Luo Min said apologetically.

"Patriarch Luo, you’ve been working too hard these past few days. You should relax a bit."

"Yes, thank you for your concern, Young Master Ye."

The Celestial Level private room was immense, more than spacious enough for the three of them. It was stocked with an endless assortment of Spirit Fruits and pastries, and the tea was the finest in the empire.

This auction was a grand affair, with numerous factions and major figures from all sides gathered together.

Looking down from the Celestial Level room, the sea of heads below was a dense, dark mass. There had to be at least several thousand people.

"Tsk tsk, a ticket to this annual auction costs ten thousand Profound Coins. Just the entrance fees from all these ordinary people would add up to over a hundred million Profound Coins. Then you have the three tiers of private rooms, especially the Earth Level rooms, which go for ten million Profound Coins each. Just from admission, the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion must be raking in several hundred million."

Although Luo Cheng had attended large-scale auctions like this before, he couldn’t help but feel emotional seeing so many people.

Ye Xuan’s focus was different from Luo Cheng’s. With a brief sweep of his gaze, he noted that the weakest attendees were generally Tier Three Peak Earth Martial Artists, with the majority being between Tier Four and Tier Six.

The auras emanating from the private rooms below were especially terrifying. Most were like Luo Min, Tier Six Peak Martial Venerables. The strength of the Sky Empire was truly astonishing.

However, the Celestial Level private rooms were extremely well-concealed, so Ye Xuan couldn’t perceive what was inside. Still, he could guess that there would certainly be Tier Seven Martial King experts in attendance today.

After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the auction officially began.

The auction hall was laid out in a semicircle and divided into five floors. The first floor held the regular seats, the second had the Yellow Level private rooms, a third had the Profound Level rooms, the fourth had the Earth Level rooms, and the fifth, high above all, was for the Celestial Level private rooms.

In front of each private room was a translucent Profound Crystal that allowed those inside to see the auction stage clearly. From the outside looking in, however, nothing was visible. The crystal also blocked Profound Sense and Soul Sense, ensuring complete privacy.

An old man in a green robe walked onto the auction stage. "Everyone, the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion’s grand annual auction will now begin. I won’t waste time going over the rules, as you all know them. I only hope that everyone here today can successfully bid on something to their satisfaction."

"Let’s bring out the first item of today’s auction."

Although the auctioneer appeared old and frail, his eyes were sharp and spirited, and his voice boomed with energy. He was actually a Tier Six Martial Venerable.

As his voice faded, a beautiful woman at the Martial Sect level immediately came onto the stage, carrying a tray.

She lifted the red cloth on the tray, revealing a milky-white, fist-sized fruit. Under the lights, it shone with a dazzling, radiant glow.

"The first auction item is a Tier Five Holy Soul Fruit from the mysterious Transformation God Forbidden Zone in the Dream Realm Plain. This fruit can increase a Martial Artist’s martial soul capacity and alter their martial soul’s attributes, allowing a Martial Artist to enhance their martial soul with greater ease. Most miraculously, it allows someone with no martial soul aptitude to easily integrate a martial soul of any attribute, setting them on the path of the Martial Dao."

The green-robed elder’s voice echoed through the auction hall.

’A Fifth Grade Holy Soul Fruit from the Transformation God Forbidden Zone?!’

A wave of discussion immediately erupted from the audience below.

As everyone knew, a Martial Artist’s strength was related to many things, but the most crucial factor was the strength of their martial soul. A powerful martial soul could make a Martial Artist’s journey to the peak of the Martial Dao at least twice as easy.

Even more miraculous was its other effect: allowing someone with no martial soul aptitude to easily integrate a martial soul of any attribute.

On the Celestial Profound Continent, someone born without martial soul aptitude was considered half-useless. Without a Soul Refiner to implant a martial soul for them, they wouldn’t even have the qualification to step onto the path of the Martial Dao.

But with this Holy Soul Fruit, the outcome was completely different. Not only could they have a martial soul implanted, but they could easily integrate one of any attribute. In this way, their future could be far more terrifying than that of some Martial Artists born with martial souls.

Moreover, the inheritance of martial souls had a degree of randomness.

Some great families with powerful martial souls would occasionally produce descendants who didn’t inherit one. Under normal circumstances, these descendants with no martial soul aptitude could only be cast aside, because even if they had a Soul Refiner implant a martial soul, their talent would never match that of a normal clan member.

But with a Holy Soul Fruit, things were completely different.

"As expected of the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion’s annual auction. The very first item is a Fifth Grade Holy Soul Fruit."

Ye Xuan was also secretly surprised.

’A Fifth Grade Holy Soul Fruit isn’t particularly useful to me,’ he thought, ’but for many families, sects, and even geniuses, it’s incredibly precious.’

"The Fifth Grade Holy Soul Fruit starts at three million Profound Coins. Each bid increment must be no less than ten thousand."

The green-robed elder smiled faintly, offering no further introduction.

The moment his voice fell, people began bidding frantically.

"Three million five hundred thousand."

"Three million eight hundred thousand."

"Four million."

"Four million three hundred thousand."

The shouts of bids rose and fell, one after another.

In the blink of an eye, the price of the Holy Soul Fruit soared to five million, and it was still climbing.

Many of the great family elders had descendants who lacked martial soul talent, and they desperately needed this Holy Soul Fruit to change their children’s fate.

Even if they didn’t need it at the moment, they could win the bid and keep it for a rainy day.

Meanwhile, regular Martial Artists could also use the Holy Soul Fruit to enhance the power and intensity of their own martial souls.

In the end, the Tier Five Holy Soul Fruit sold for the high price of nine million eight hundred thousand, equivalent to the value of a Tier Six treasure.

This made Ye Xuan sigh internally.

Although the Fifth Grade Holy Soul Fruit had such effects, it wasn’t a transcendent treasure of Tier Seven or higher, after all. Its transformative abilities were still limited.

At its normal price, selling for five million Profound Coins would have already been considered quite good.

But at a large-scale auction like this, it had easily sold for more than double its normal price, which was simply astounding.

For the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion, the first item was meant to set the tone. It couldn’t be too poor, nor could it be too valuable. It had to possess a certain rarity and be capable of bringing everyone a pleasant surprise.

The Holy Soul Fruit fit this requirement perfectly.

The second and third auction items that followed were rare materials. While not as surprising as the Holy Soul Fruit, they were still Tier Five spiritual materials.

Ye Xuan could tell that for an auction of this scale, Tier Five treasures were the lowest grade on offer.

After a dozen or so treasures were auctioned off in succession, the atmosphere in the hall slowly began to heat up, with bids being called out one after another. However, the bidding came almost exclusively from the floor seats and the regular private rooms. The higher-level rooms rarely made a move; their targets were clearly the better treasures to come later.

"Alright, the next item we will be auctioning is a Tier Five Soul Crystal. This Soul Crystal is quite special, as it comes from a plant-type Profound Beast, the Breathing Vine. I’m sure you are all aware of the Breathing Vine’s characteristics, so I won’t elaborate. The Breathing Vine Soul Crystal starts at one million. Each bid increment must be no less than ten thousand. Let the bidding begin."

The green-robed elder whipped the silk cloth away, revealing a fist-sized, green Soul Crystal to the crowd.

"A Breathing Vine Soul Crystal? What’s the use of buying that?"

"The Breathing Vine has vigorous, almost endless life force. It’s one of the things Martial Artists hate encountering the most. But its Soul Crystal doesn’t have many uses, does it?"