"Ten-thousand-year Ice Jade Marrow? I was stuck in an ice cave thousands of years ago, and that's exactly what I encountered..."
The Skydream Iceworm popped its head out of the water, observing the scene with great interest.
It gave a definite nod. "Yep, this one's legit. The quality is top-notch—no worse than the marrow I once absorbed. Xu Cheng, if you can, you have to get it!"
"Too bad you got to it..." the Ice Empress said flatly. "If I had been the one to absorb it, even Di Tian might not be able to act so arrogant in front of me now."
"Uhh… Well, different beasts, different fates, right? Skydream just got lucky," Skydream chuckled awkwardly.
Indeed, fate was fickle.
It was just an average spirit beast—average bloodline, average talent—yet it happened to fall into a den of jade marrow and wasn't disturbed for ten thousand years. That kind of fortune? You wouldn't even dare to dream about it—and yet it actually happened.
"Big bug, Little Scorpion's just trying to say you're trash. Don't get it twisted," Electrolux said with a grin.
"..." Skydream's eye twitched.
Others might have made it this far with a combination of talent and luck, maybe fifty-fifty.
But for it... it was more like zero percent talent, 100% luck.
"As a certain hot-blooded youth once said, talent is a part of strength. If you say I only rely on luck, then I could say you were just lucky to be born that way." It muttered under its breath.
On the screen:
The girl in red smiled and spoke. "As you may know, this is a true treasure of the Extreme North: the Ten-thousand-year Ice Jade Marrow. Normally, even finding a small piece would fetch an astronomical price. But this one can fit a person sleeping on top of it. Its effects are specifically tailored to those with Ultimate Ice martial souls. It boosts cultivation speed and enhances ice-type soul skills—undoubtedly a top-tier treasure for any ice-type soul master."
"Starting bid: ten million gold soul coins!"
"You now have ten minutes to inspect the item, after which the auction will begin."
As she spoke, the camera zoomed in for close-ups of the various sections of the jade bed...
"What do you think, Xu Cheng? You're the only ice-type among us. Looks like a lucky start," Xiao Hongchen laughed.
He was genuinely excited.
From the initial shock and horror of discovering this massive con, to acceptance and now giddy anticipation...
They were using Shrek's money… to bid on Shrek's treasure. Could there be anything more absurd than that?
Well, yes. Because even the auction money was originally meant to be a "gift" for Xu Cheng...
Truly a "win-win" scenario.
"If you guys see anything you like, go ahead and bid too," Xu Cheng said cheerfully, glancing around.
"Big Brother Xu is so generous!!!" Lin Xi yelled theatrically, clearly the hype man of the group. The rest—Li Yan, Chen Fei, Ji Juechen—also smiled, unaware of Xu Cheng's deeper schemes.
Jubao Pavilion, Fourth Floor
The usually empty underground level was now packed.
"He dares to come alone to Shrek Academy? Bold kid!" Elder Zhuang stroked his beard in surprise.
"Hmph. Just a yellow-haired brat. Once the auction ends, I'll detain him at Shrek. He dares to challenge our authority? Let's see how capable he really is!" Xuanzi said coldly.
He had always disliked the kid.
Especially during the tournament, when he led the team—only to lose face thanks to Xu Cheng.
Even worse, he'd been tricked into suspecting Wang Yan and others of being evil soul masters—a betrayal Xuanzi couldn't stomach. Born in Shrek Academy, he'd given his life to the institution, only to be branded a traitor in his old age.
"Do you really think someone who escaped from the Star Luo Empire and the Body Sect would be so careless now?" Elder Mu said calmly, glancing at Xuanzi, instantly silencing him.
Mu En had fully recovered his strength and his reputation was unmatched. Now, no one could challenge him.
"Pfft. Elder Xuan, don't tell me you're mistaking him for yourself?" Elder Lin laughed.
"Go to hell!" Xuanzi barked, red-faced. "When I was roaming the continent, he was still in diapers!"
"And yet now, he can go toe-to-toe with you." Mu En said quietly.
"Impossible!" Xuanzi snapped.
"Don't tell me you weren't there when he wounded Poison Undying from the Body Sect in one strike over the Star Luo plaza?"
"Tch, that was just dumb luck. Poison Undying got careless," Xuanzi mumbled.
"Besides, I could feel it—he was channeling power from an external, hidden energy source. That wasn't his power!"
Mu En: "…" Seriously? You bring this up now?
"Ahem. I forgot, okay?" Xuanzi scratched his head, embarrassed by everyone's glares.
Mu En looked around. Of the strongest elders, only Song and Lin came close to Xuanzi's power at Rank 97, but…
They both avoided his gaze. Clearly, no one wanted this hot potato.
Or rather… Sea God's Pavilion couldn't handle it anymore.
"Enough. It doesn't matter. The fact remains: anyone who dares enter Shrek Academy alone must have a hidden card. He probably knows I'm here… The only wildcard is if he thinks I'm as injured as Ye Xishui was."
"Should we make a move?" Yan Shaozhe asked hesitantly.
The conversation circled back.
Xu Cheng was simply too tempting. If they could capture him, even without Ah Yin's help, Shrek could use the internal chaos of the Sun-Moon Empire to secure its position—maybe even win like they did 4,000 years ago.
"...Let's wait." Mu En exhaled deeply.
In a private suite:
"He dares come alone, Your Highness. Shouldn't we make a move?" a maid asked, standing dazed in the doorway, clearly under mind control.
Inside, a tall, broad-shouldered youth sat flanked by two odd-looking men—one with a giant head, the other with massive arms. Obvious Body Sect members, their martial souls were plain to see.
"Second Brother!" the big-headed man barked. "Even our Sect Master couldn't capture him—what makes you think you can?!"
"C'mon, Sect Master was just being merciful." Second Brother shrugged.
"If we really could bring him into the Body Sect and bind him to the Sun-Moon Empire's war machine—"
But before he could finish, Big Brother shot him a deadly glare, motioning toward Saint Child Long Aotian.
After all, the Body Sect was allied with the Heaven Soul Empire. If they switched to the Sun-Moon side now, it'd be a betrayal.
"Uncle, Second Uncle, let's wait and see. Xu Cheng is freakishly talented. If he dared show up, he's definitely prepared. Unless we go all out, we can't be sure of success." Long Aotian said, staring at the screen.
The sect had given him two hundred million gold soul coins for this auction—plenty to grab treasures. And maybe... squeeze out a bit more if needed.
"Big Brother, the kid supposedly has an ice-type martial soul—he used it during the tournament. Word is it's an Ice Jade Scorpion, Ultimate Ice. He'll probably go for this jade marrow bed." a sharp-eyed elder whispered beside Tang Wen.
"..." Tang Wen twitched.
A moment of silence.
His earlier disgust wasn't fake, but even he had to admit—this kid's talent was freakishly monstrous.
Triple martial souls—and all top-tier?
If he had been born into the Clear Sky Sect, they'd pamper him like fragile jade.
"The Sun-Moon Empire dares let him out? Aren't they afraid he'll get hurt?"
"Given his status there, probably no one can stop him," the elder sighed.
"Fine. We'll bid, but cap it at 100 million. We can afford that. Anyway, I think our sect already has something similar." Tang Wen muttered.
"Uncle Zhu, thank you for coming."
Watching the white-bearded elder enter the suite, Ning Hao smiled warmly.
Shrek announced the auction barely a day in advance, so he had rushed to the academy while Uncle Zhu fetched funds from the clan.
Today, he would show everyone what it meant to be "wealthy beyond imagination."
"Are you alright?" Uncle Zhu asked, clearly having rushed in.
"With His Highness here, I'm fine," Ning Hao said.
"Good… I was just being overly cautious," Uncle Zhu relaxed.
Ning Hao looked at the treasure on-screen and smiled.
"If I recall correctly, one of Xu Cheng's martial souls is Ultimate Ice. So this treasure? I must have it."
"Some say the Nine-Treasure Glazed Tile Clan is just Xu Cheng's lapdog. I don't care. At least compared to Shrek's dogs, we're much better."
"Time's up, bidding begins!"
The red-robed girl's voice echoed.
The screen lit up with the starting number:
10 million.
In the blink of an eye…
The number skyrocketed.
"20 million!"
"22 million!"
"Twenty—"
"50 million!"
Tang Wen's voice cut through, halting the bidding.
The numbers froze, with no new bids for quite some time.
He revealed a trace of disdainful smile. "The heritage of the Clear Sky Sect… how could the likes of you even begin to imagine it?"
As Tang Wen made his move, others also began to drop out of the bidding one after another.
After all, the item had strict limitations—it only benefitted those with ice-type martial souls. Most factions, even if they had an ice-type soul master, didn't prioritize cultivating them. Spending fifty million gold soul coins on this would just be a waste…
"One hundred million?!"
But just as he was feeling smug, the elder beside him suddenly cried out in shock.
The string of numbers on the screen abruptly jumped by a digit.
That glaringly bright number left him slightly stunned…
(For context: In the original story, even the embryo of the Snow Empress was only auctioned for 150 million, and that was with people not knowing it was the Snow Empress due to the chaotic aura—sold merely as a 100,000-year-old embryo. This shows that anything over 100 million was enough to astonish anyone. Even the grand finale of the Star Luo Auction had to be drastically inflated in price to barely reach 150 million.)
"Damn, that price jump… probably the Nine-Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. Only that filthy rich dog clan could afford this," Tang Wen complained.
"I've heard they've been getting close to the Sun-Moon Empire recently. Didn't they even relocate their headquarters to Mingdu not long ago?" the elder beside him frowned.
"Disgraceful!" Tang Wen flared up in anger.
"These people have completely lost all the honor our ancestors worked so hard to build!"
"It's the Nine-Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. Ning Hao said earlier he had a surprise for me," Xu Cheng smiled, gently touching the soul communicator device Ning Hao had slipped him when he arrived.
That kind of flattering, obviously had an agenda behind it.
Whether they wanted to boost Ning Tian's chances in the ranking competition—or something else altogether.
But Xu Cheng didn't mind. This was a good thing.
It would also deepen the bond between their two factions...
"One hundred million gold soul coins—Room 7 has successfully won the auction!"
The girl in red showed a noticeably brighter smile.
To be honest, in her estimate, this first auction item would've topped out at sixty to seventy million. While rare, it was limited to those with ice-type affinity, eliminating a large chunk of buyers.
Reaching one hundred million was a clear overachievement.
"With that, we move on to the second item."
She waved her hand, and a girl in a purple dress pushed in a small cart from behind.
As the cloth was gently lifted, it revealed a teardrop-shaped gemstone, glowing softly.
But Gu Yuena froze in surprise: "Bi Ji's tear?"
"What does it do?" Xu Cheng leaned in and whispered in her ear.
"Not much. It heals injuries… but it's not even as good as the Spring of Life in the Star Dou Forest," Gu Yuena murmured, her cheeks flushing slightly from his breath brushing past her ear. She pursed her lips and explained quietly.
"…Is something wrong?"
Suddenly sensing the silence around them, she looked around suspiciously.
Everyone's expressions were stunned.
What do you mean it's 'not much'? Not as good as the Spring of Life?!
Even Xiao Hongchen was dumbfounded, shooting Xu Cheng a private signal:"Dude, who is this goddess you brought with you?!"
Xu Cheng just shrugged.
If I told you, you'd probably die of fright.
Sitting in the same room with the Silver Dragon King—not many people could handle that kind of pressure.
"Ahem… Well, in the human world, this thing is still quite valuable. No, actually… even in the soul beast world it's valuable. It's just… because you're the Silver Dragon King that you think it's not," Xu Cheng said helplessly.
"Oh… oh..."
The Silver Dragon King blushed again, seemingly enjoying the sound of Xu Cheng's breath.
"Even if it's not as rich as the Spring of Life, just this one drop contains a strong amount of life force. Even if I don't need it myself, I can still sell it for a good price," Xu Cheng thought to himself.
But in the next moment, Gu Yuena hesitated and said:
"If you really want this thing… I can go ask Bi Ji for a few more drops later…"
Xu Cheng: "…"
Damn, the rich lady is sitting right next to me!
A real rich lady.
(End of Chapter)