"On this continent, Martial Artists with plant-type Martial Souls are virtually nonexistent. So, even though the life force in a Breathing Vine Soul Crystal is potent, it can only be used to refine things like Healing Pills."

"Heh, and even if you use it for Healing Pills, the energy in a Soul Crystal isn’t as easy to extract as it is from Spirit Medicine."

A buzz of discussion filled the auction house, but not a single person made a bid.

The old man seemed to have expected this, smiling faintly as he said, "This Breathing Vine wasn’t killed. It died naturally after failing to advance in tier. Therefore, although this Soul Crystal is only Tier Five, it’s somewhere between Tier Five and Tier Six. Furthermore, its profound soul power is perfectly preserved, and its life force is exceptionally abundant."

"A Soul Crystal from a Profound Beast that died during a failed advancement has some special, extraordinary properties. That is why we at the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion have decided to put this Breathing Vine Soul Crystal up for auction."

In just a few sentences, the old man explained what made this Breathing Vine Soul Crystal so special.

"To think it’s a Soul Crystal from a natural death during advancement."

"The odds of that are incredibly low. Unlike humans, Profound Beasts need to accumulate power over vast periods of time for a single advancement. They also don’t practice Cultivation Techniques, so there’s no such thing as cultivation deviation for them. It’s rare for them to fail an advancement."

"No wonder the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion put it up for auction. So that’s the reason."

The auction house instantly erupted into a flurry of discussion.

"I bid one million, one hundred thousand."

"One million, two hundred thousand."

At the same time, bids began to pop up in twos and threes.

Not many would have been interested in an ordinary Breathing Vine Soul Crystal, but quite a few Soul Refiners were intrigued by one that was between Tier Five and Tier Six and came from a failed advancement.

An opportunity like this was incredibly rare.

Ye Xuan stared at the green Soul Crystal on the auction stage, his eyes lighting up.

All this time, his Devouring Martial Soul and Earth Martial Soul had been steadily improving along with his own strength. Only the Life Martial Soul within his Heaven’s Gate remained at the One-Star stage because he hadn’t found a suitable profound soul for it to absorb.

Seeing this Breathing Vine Soul Crystal now, Ye Xuan’s heart stirred.

’Most plant-type Profound Beasts are characterized by their vigorous life force, but the Breathing Vine is a champion among them in that regard. Add to that its unique nature... I wonder if it could help my Life Martial Soul advance to Two-Stars?’

Ye Xuan was genuinely tempted.

Of his three Martial Souls, the Earth Martial Soul was the most fundamental, the Devouring Martial Soul was the most mysterious, and the Life Martial Soul was the most unique.

Ye Xuan clearly remembered that when he first got the Little Purple Mink, it was his Devouring Martial Soul that made it feel a trace of fear toward him. But it was the Life Martial Soul that truly made the Little Purple Mink sign the Spirit Pet Contract with him.

For this reason, Ye Xuan held his Life Martial Soul in high regard.

By now, the bidding price for the Breathing Vine Soul Crystal had already soared to three million Profound Coins.

The calls for bids had become sparse.

"Three million, five hundred thousand Profound Coins."

Ye Xuan had finally spoken up.

"Huh? That voice seems to be coming from a Celestial Level private room."

"I wonder which room it is. Would someone in a Celestial Level room really need something like this?"

"Maybe it’s a Soul Refiner from some great house who wants to study the Soul Crystal."

The crowd below was in an uproar, and everyone turned their heads to look.

Until now, no one from the Celestial Level rooms had made a move. In fact, even the Earth Level rooms had rarely joined the bidding.

This Breathing Vine was the first item a Celestial Level room had bid on.

The common folk below didn’t notice, but Qin Yu and the others who were familiar with Ye Xuan immediately recognized his voice.

"Hmph. An unsophisticated rube will always be an unsophisticated rube, treating even a Breathing Vine Soul Crystal like some priceless treasure."

"I remember the Luo family’s Martial Soul is the Clear Wind Leopard, right? Could it be that Xuan Ye wants this Breathing Vine Soul Crystal for himself?"

"Hehe, don’t tell me that guy Xuan Ye’s Martial Soul is a plant type?"

Qin Yu, Murong Yunyi, and the others sneered, making malicious guesses.

"Three million, six hundred thousand."

The person from a Yellow Level room who had bid earlier spoke up again.

"Four million."

Ye Xuan directly raised the bid to four million, showing his determination to win it.

Sensing Ye Xuan’s confidence and considering the background of someone in a Celestial Level room, the Soul Refiner in the Yellow Level room stopped bidding.

"Our friend here has bid four million. Are there any higher bids?"

On the stage, the auctioneer scanned the crowd, asking the customary question.

"Since no one is bidding higher, then..."

Just as the auctioneer was about to bring down the hammer, a detached voice suddenly called out, "Four million and ten thousand."

The entire hall was in an uproar. Everyone turned to look as the voice had also come from the section with the Celestial Level private rooms.

’It’s that Zhou Qingyu.’

Ye Xuan’s brow furrowed slightly.

"Five million." He directly added one million.

"Five million and ten thousand."

A smile played on Zhou Qingyu’s lips as he shot a cold glance at the room Ye Xuan was in.

The intimate way Ye Xuan and Dongfang Zisi had acted earlier had left him extremely displeased, so he decided to teach him a lesson at the auction.

"Brother is really something else."

Zhou Qingwei, who was at his side, was also thrilled.

"Huh? Why is Zhou Qingyu picking a fight with that Xuan Ye?"

"Could it be because of Dongfang Zisi?"

Qin Yu and Murong Yunyi were both stunned for a moment, but then it dawned on them. Cold, gloating smiles spread across their faces.

Inside his private room, Ye Xuan’s expression darkened. How could he not see that Zhou Qingyu was deliberately trying to screw with him?

However, Ye Xuan would absolutely not give up on the Breathing Vine.

"Six million."

Ye Xuan bid in a cold voice.

"Hehe, this Breathing Vine Soul Crystal is so special, I’m rather interested in buying it to play with. Six million and ten thousand."

Zhou Qingyu’s indifferent voice, tinged with a sneer, echoed through the auction hall.

"It’s Zhou Qingyu of the Zhou family."

"The genius disciple from Gale Light Academy! The Zhou family’s most dazzling talent."

"Why has he started a confrontation with that Xuan Ye?"

The auction hall was in an uproar. It looked like the occupants of these two Celestial Level rooms were about to go at it.

The people in the Celestial Level rooms were all prominent figures. Although they couldn’t be seen, it was easy to identify them by their voices.

Thus, Zhou Qingyu’s identity was guessed the moment he spoke.

And since many young nobles had seen Ye Xuan and Luo Cheng enter Room 21 earlier, the identity of its occupant spread quickly.

Seeing the people from two Celestial Level rooms actually start a bidding war, the many nobles and Martial Artists present grew excited.

"The Luo family is really something else. Not content with offending the Qin family, one of the Four Great Houses, they’ve now gone and offended the Zhou family too?"

Don’t be fooled by Zhou Qingyu’s casual words about buying it to play with. By only raising the bid by ten thousand each time, he was clearly just trying to mess with Xuan Ye.

"Seven million."

Ye Xuan remained impassive as he continued to bid.

"Seven million and ten thousand."

As expected, Zhou Qingyu only added another ten thousand.

"Ten million," Ye Xuan said icily, his calm voice carrying through the hall. "You, surnamed Zhou, I hear your Zhou family is one of the Four Great Houses. Surely you wouldn’t raise the bid by a mere ten thousand every single time, would you? Those who know you know you’re the Eldest Young Master of the Zhou family. Those who don’t might think you’re some country bumpkin who crawled out of a poor, remote hovel."

The moment Ye Xuan’s words came out, the entire crowd grew ecstatic.

This was the real deal—they were truly going at it now.

Many people attended auctions, but few items were for sale. Over ninety percent of the attendees were basically just along for the ride, and most of them knew it.

The reason they were willing to spend money to attend was to see all sorts of treasures and to watch the heated clashes between the great families.

They never expected that this auction had barely begun, and two of the Celestial Level rooms were already fighting, leaving the crowd roaring with excitement.

Listening to those words... Tsk tsk, that fellow from the Luo family really had guts, daring to speak to the Eldest Young Master of the Zhou family like that. If the Zhou family’s Eldest Young Master was a country bumpkin, then there wasn’t a single rich person in the entire Sky Empire.

However, Zhou Qingyu’s paltry ten-thousand-coin increments also made it clear to everyone that he was deliberately messing with Xuan Ye, not truly trying to win the Breathing Vine.

Zhou Qingyu’s cold voice came from his room, "And just who do you think you are? How I choose to bid is none of your business. If you can afford it, then keep bidding. If you can’t, then get lost. What’s the point of whining and complaining?"

"Is that so? It sounds like Eldest Young Master Zhou is quite wealthy. In that case, let’s change things up. Bidding with Profound Coins is too boring. Let’s switch to Profound Stones. I’ll bid one thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones for this Breathing Vine Soul Crystal."

Ye Xuan’s mocking voice, tinged with a playful taunt, carried from his room. "I wonder how much Eldest Young Master Zhou will bid now?"

One thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones?

The entire hall instantly boiled over with excitement.

Profound Coins and Profound Stones were both currencies used across the continent.

But in terms of value, Profound Stones were far superior to Profound Coins.

Therefore, if one could use Profound Coins, very few people would choose to purchase items with Profound Stones.

On the surface, one thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones were equivalent to ten million Profound Coins, but in anyone’s eyes, the former was worth far more than the latter.

Sure enough, the moment Ye Xuan bid one thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones, Zhou Qingyu immediately fell silent.

If Ye Xuan had continued bidding in Profound Coins, he could have easily raised the price again. But with Ye Xuan bidding in Profound Stones, Zhou Qingyu instantly became wary. If he continued to bid and the other party suddenly backed out, wouldn’t he be stuck with it?

"What’s wrong? Why has Eldest Young Master Zhou gone quiet? Don’t you have any Profound Stones on you? If you don’t, just say the word. I can even lend you some."

Seeing Zhou Qingyu remain silent for a long moment, Ye Xuan taunted him.

"Hehe, one thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones. You really know how to bid, sir. Since you desire this Breathing Vine so much, I won’t stand in your way," Zhou Qingyu said sarcastically. "Using one thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones to buy a Soul Crystal worth only a few million Profound Coins... You truly are a big spender. Ha, ha, hahaha."

"Alright! This gentleman has purchased this special Breathing Vine Soul Crystal for one thousand Lower Grade Profound Stones! Congratulations, sir!"

Seeing how things had played out, the auctioneer swiftly brought down the hammer to finalize the sale.