Hearing Huo Yuhao's eerie chuckle and feeling his gaze sweeping over various parts of his body, the middle-aged man couldn't help but break out in goosebumps.
"Brother Jie, Brother Jie, please no, Brother Jie!" Watching the middle-aged man flee as if his life depended on it, Huo Yuhao laughed heartily and walked towards a nearby alley.
"Yuhao, you really know how to play tricks. But your method of disguising your identity is flawless. I bet even if the Shrek Academy people can't figure out the recipe for the Foundation Elixir, they'll have no way to find you!" Yao Lao chuckled.
"That's right, they'll probably only remember the sound of my 'Jie Jie Jie' laugh." Huo Yuhao laughed as well.
Yao Lao asked, "I wanted to ask you just now, kid, you keep laughing like that—do you know something?"
After passing through a few alleys, Huo Yuhao changed back into his original clothes. The power that Yao Lao had given him when he was possessed also dissipated. If it weren't for this trick, he would have been exposed during the confrontation with Elder Lin.
"Let's go, teacher. Let's buy that Absolute Map and see if it's real."
Returning to the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, Huo Yuhao reunited with Ning Tian and Wu Feng. After exchanging a few glances with Ning Tian, they followed a maid into the ongoing auction.
As soon as they entered, the bright surroundings dimmed, and the noisy sounds filled Huo Yuhao's ears, making him frown because he preferred quiet.
The auction hall of the Treasure Gathering Pavilion was large enough to accommodate hundreds of people. At this moment, under the spotlight in the center of the hall, a beautiful young girl in a white dress was gracefully explaining the function of a soul tool she was holding.
Under the girl's sweet introduction, the price of the not-so-special soul tool was rising rapidly.
"Jiang Nannan? What is she doing here?" Huo Yuhao asked in confusion, pointing at Jiang Nannan, who was explaining the auction item.
"Nannan is one of our auction house's star employees. Although she only works here occasionally to earn money, the auctions she hosts always have the best sales," said the maid who led Huo Yuhao and the others into the auction. "Today is her first time hosting a large-scale auction in this hall with thousands of people, and it's still going great."
Just then, a somewhat familiar voice suddenly rang out in the auction.
"It hurts, it hurts so much! This item is just too perfect for me. Thirty thousand gold soul coins—everyone, don't compete with me, I'm taking it!"
Huo Yuhao looked towards the source of the voice and, sure enough, it was none other than Xu Sanshi, a regular at Huoji BBQ and an avid fan of the Water Star Records.
At this moment, the others at the auction were looking at Xu Sanshi as if he were a fool.
Seriously, a soul tool worth at most a few thousand gold soul coins, and you're bidding thirty thousand? Who's going to fight you for it?
Just admit you're trying to impress a girl!
Jiang Nannan looked at Xu Sanshi calmly, clearly accustomed to such scenes. She smiled slightly and looked at the silent crowd, saying, "Guest number 213 has bid thirty thousand gold soul coins. Any other bids?"
"Since there are no other bids, this five-level phonograph soul tool goes to guest number 213!" Seeing no one respond, Jiang Nannan lightly tapped her small hammer on the table, finalizing the sale.
Xu Sanshi enthusiastically walked up to the stage, took the square black phonograph soul tool from Jiang Nannan, and even winked at her, only to be ignored.
However, Xu Sanshi didn't mind Jiang Nannan's indifference. He happily put away the phonograph soul tool and went to pay under the guidance of the auction staff.
"Alright, let's bring out the next item."
As Jiang Nannan spoke, a completely blue long sword appeared on the auction table.
Under the bright lights of the auction hall, the sword reflected a cold gleam. Judging by the energy fluctuations on the blade, it was clearly a high-grade close-combat soul tool.
"This sword is called Flowing Frost, forged from the Extreme Cold Iron from the Great Northern Territory. It was brought from the Sun Moon Empire and crafted by a renowned master. It's a level six close-combat soul tool. For those who cultivate water or ice attributes, its power will be greatly enhanced."
"A divine weapon is essential for soul masters. If you're interested, don't hesitate to spend. Money is precious, but having greater power allows you to earn even more money, right?"
Jiang Nannan held the blue sword and infused her soul power into it. The sword trembled, emitting a faint cold mist that formed a thin layer of white vapor.
Then she turned to the auction crowd, smiling and saying, "The starting price for the level six close-combat soul tool Flowing Frost Sword is ten thousand gold soul coins. Please start bidding!"
"Level six close-combat soul tool?"
Looking at the Flowing Frost Sword, Huo Yuhao muttered, but he wasn't very interested.
He preferred using the Heavy Black Ruler, which allowed for powerful, sweeping attacks. Moreover, the Heavy Black Ruler was crucial for his cultivation of the Earth-level combat skill Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler.
Besides, the Heavy Black Ruler was forged from the Black Iron of the Dou Qi Continent, a one-of-a-kind item in this world, far surpassing this world's rare metals in hardness.
Even if a level nine close-combat soul tool was placed in front of him, Huo Yuhao would still choose the Heavy Black Ruler.
However, if the auction house renamed this sword to Frostmourne, he might be tempted to buy it out of a sense of filial piety.
Therefore, he didn't participate in the bidding. Although the Flowing Frost Sword matched his Ultimate Ice attribute, he was more interested in another item at the auction.
Of course, just because Huo Yuhao wasn't interested didn't mean others weren't.
For the current soul masters of the three countries, soul tools like soul cannons and soul rays weren't widely accepted, but close-combat soul tools were easily embraced as they felt like an extension of their abilities.
After a few minutes of bidding, the Flowing Frost Sword was successfully purchased by a cold-looking girl for fifteen thousand gold coins.
Huo Yuhao glanced at the girl in surprise. She had a unique cold beauty, different from Ma Xiaotao's fiery allure and Jiang Nannan's gentleness. Her aloofness and solitary demeanor left a deep impression.
Her skin was very fair, and her slender frame seemed weightless. Huo Yuhao's eyes flashed with ice-blue light as he sensed a familiar aura from her.
Soon, the next auction item was brought out. As soon as it appeared, three voices simultaneously echoed in Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea.
"Yuhao, this item is quite good," said Yao Lao.
"Yuhao, buy it!" insisted Tianmeng.
Even the usually silent Ice Empress spoke eagerly.
"Yuhao, you can't miss this item!"