Xiao Wu spoke up, "Third Brother, why don't you take a middle-ground approach and absorb a Spirit Ring with a higher thousand-year age instead?"
"Although a ten-thousand-year Spirit Ring is vastly superior to a thousand-year one, the difficulty of absorbing it increases dramatically."
"Why not absorb a six-thousand-year Spirit Ring instead? It's a much safer choice while still giving you a significant boost and a much higher chance of success."
Grandmaster was afraid Tang San would insist on taking the risk, so he immediately agreed.
"Xiao San, do as Xiao Wu suggests."
"A six-thousand-year Spirit Ring is still beyond the normal absorption limit. It will benefit you greatly as well."
In the end, Tang San could not argue against everyone any longer and agreed to absorb a six-thousand-year Spirit Ring instead.
As for the source of the Spirit Ring, they would follow Grandmaster's advice and continue searching for a beast-type Spirit Beast.
The next day.
The area in front of the Heaven Dou Auction House was packed with people.
Every Heaven-Class Auction was considered a grand event.
In a world with so little entertainment, an occasion of this scale naturally drew enormous crowds.
Even several nearby academies had given their students the day off because of it.
"There are way too many people."
Chen Ping sighed as he looked at the sea of people in the distance.
At this rate, by the time it was their turn to enter, it would already be afternoon, and the auction would have long since begun.
Feng Xiaotian had attended several Heaven-Class Auctions before and understood the situation well.
"Most of these people don't even have enough money to enter the auction house. They're only here to try their luck."
After all, the auction house valued popularity above all else. Once the auction officially began, if there were still empty seats, they would lower the entry requirements and allow some of the crowd inside to fill them.
Then, with an apologetic smile, he said, "Sorry, Captain. My grandfather and the others have already arrived. Huo Wu and I have to stay with our families."
Wu Qi didn't mind and let them leave.
Originally, Ning Fengzhi had invited Wu Qi and Ning Rongrong to accompany him.
However, Wu Qi declined, and Ning Rongrong chose to stay with him instead of following her father.
After waiting for a while, Dugu Bo arrived.
Wu Qi waved to everyone, signaling them to follow.
As a Titled Douluo, Dugu Bo naturally qualified for one of the auction house's highest-level private suites.
Thanks to him, Wu Qi and the others were also able to enjoy a private suite.
Back when they were in Spirit City, Chen Ping had visited an auction house out of curiosity, but this was the first time he had ever sat in such an exclusive location.
The red VIP suites were located on the second floor, surrounding the auction stage.
Looking at the stage just a short distance away, then down at the densely packed ordinary seats below, he quietly clenched his fists.
This was the privilege that came with strength.
He swore that one day he would become a true powerhouse and enjoy this kind of treatment wherever he went.
Of course, if Wu Qi knew what he was thinking, he would simply dismiss it as childish, a typical nouveau riche mentality.
After all, many true powerhouses lived quietly in seclusion and never sought attention.
Dugu Bo's recent high-profile behavior was only to rid himself of the label of being the "weakest Titled Douluo."
This wasn't the team's first time interacting with Dugu Bo. They had already gotten to know him during their previous training expedition.
Now that they were sitting together again, the nervousness and restraint they had once felt were gone, replaced by a relaxed and natural atmosphere.
After everyone had taken their seats, Dugu Bo secretly transmitted his voice to Wu Qi.
"Kid, the auction house suffered heavy losses yesterday. If His Majesty Emperor Xue Ye hadn't preserved the auction's reputation by taking several treasures out of the imperial treasury, today's auction probably would have been canceled."
This only made Wu Qi even more curious.
According to what had happened in the original timeline, Shi Nian had only possessed a single Spirit Bone.
So where had all the other stolen treasures gone?
He became even more convinced that someone else had been involved behind the scenes and that among the missing auction items, there were treasures worth paying attention to.
He quietly asked, "Have they checked the list of stolen items?"
Dugu Bo nodded before shaking his head.
Among the stolen items was a spirit-enhancing soul tool.
It had been recovered from an ancient ruin, but because of its age, it had suffered some damage. Since it had not yet been appraised by the auction house, no one knew how much of its original power remained.
Only Spirit Masters specializing in spiritual abilities would be interested in such an item, and based on the evidence found at the scene, the culprit's identity had already been largely narrowed down.
As for the other stolen items, none of them revealed any meaningful clues, so the inventory itself was no longer the focus of the investigation.
Wu Qi asked no further questions.
Some mysteries simply would not have immediate answers, and since the matter had nothing to do with him, there was no reason for him to get involved.
The start of a Heaven-Class Auction depended entirely on the arrival of the red VIP guests.
About the time it took to burn a stick of incense later, once every red VIP had taken their seats, the auction officially began.
After all, the opening items were rarely anything truly valuable, so missing them was no great loss.
Even after the auction started, guests continued filing into the venue.
Two veteran auctioneers, one man and one woman, stepped onto the stage.
After delivering the opening remarks, the male auctioneer stepped aside, leaving the female auctioneer to preside over the event.
"Without further ado, let's present the first auction item."
The funds available to Wu Qi's group were limited. They had no chance of competing for the grand finale items, so their targets were the more ordinary lots instead.
The first item was a storage soul tool with an internal capacity of fifteen cubic meters. Its appearance was rather plain, looking more like a filler item than anything special.
"Chen Ping doesn't have a proper soul tool yet, does he?"
With that, Wu Qi raised his bidding paddle.
"Thirty thousand gold soul coins."
The auctioneer exclaimed in surprise.
"Oh! Red VIP Number Three has made a bid! Does anyone else wish to offer a higher price?"
Thirty thousand gold soul coins was already the item's fair market value. Any higher and it would simply be overpaying.
Besides, when a red-tier VIP wanted an insignificant item, most people were willing to give them face rather than compete.
Inside the private room, Chen Ping was overwhelmed.
"Boss, that's way too expensive. There's really no need. My one-cubic-meter soul tool is good enough."
Changkong patted him on the shoulder.
"Chen Ping, we all know your situation. If we're giving it to you, just accept it. Why are you being so formal?"
As soon as the auctioneer's hammer fell, Changkong immediately headed to the backstage area to make the payment and collect the item.
After all, he was carrying nearly a million gold soul coins. Spending thirty thousand was nothing to him.
"Boss, thank you."
Chen Ping's face was full of gratitude.
Wu Qi shook his head.
"You should be thanking Changkong. He's the one paying for it."
His words immediately drew a burst of laughter from Ning Rongrong.
"Wu Qi, I want the gemstone necklace that's coming up next..."
The reason Wu Qi had brought Ning Rongrong along was to take advantage of her unique talent for appraising treasures and hopefully find a hidden bargain.
Although the chances of finding one at an auction of this level were slim, they weren't zero.
Even the most experienced appraisers made mistakes from time to time.
It wasn't impossible for counterfeit items to appear at auction either. However, if someone bought one and later discovered it was fake, the auction house would not issue a refund.
That said, fake items rarely appeared, as doing so would damage the auction house's reputation.
Watching the VIP box occupied by Wu Qi's group repeatedly bid on ordinary items, many of the guests began whispering among themselves.
"What's with Red VIP Number Three? Did they come here just to buy all the common items?"
Sitting in one of the black-tier VIP boxes, Feng Xiaotian smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"It looks like the captain and the others really don't care about appearances."
Red-tier VIP status represented prestige and influence. Unless an item was exceptionally valuable, people of that status rarely bothered bidding on ordinary lots.
Yet out of the first ten auction items, Wu Qi's group had already bought half of them.
Feng Changlin couldn't help asking,
"Xiaotian, did you coordinate with them beforehand? Otherwise, you might end up bidding against each other and driving up the prices."
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