Chapter 76: Star Luo Empire, A Chance Encounter with Fierce Bandits
Four days later at dusk, Lin Xuan arrived at Jinhua City, a southern city of the Star Luo Empire.
Jinhua City, a premier giant city in the southern Star Luo Empire, was famously known as the "Capital of Metals."
Not because it produced gold, but because the surrounding mountains contained a wide variety and staggering reserves of rare metal veins.
Thanks to this, Jinhua City was also the region with the most developed spirit tool technology in the entire Star Luo Empire. Looking from afar, the whole city was brightly lit with high-rise buildings.
Vaguely, it even had a sense of visual familiarity with a technological society.
Lin Xuan took out that rank eight spirit tool, the thousand-faced demonic visage, from his storage soul tool and then gently placed it over his face.
As Soul Power was injected, a layer of soft white light, like rippling water, flowed over the surface of the thousand-faced demonic visage. The light wasn't blinding, but it seemed to possess life, starting from the edges of the mask and slowly washing over every inch of his skin.
Lin Xuan's figure seemed to be stretched and reshaped by invisible hands in the glimmer, growing a few inches taller. His shoulder line became broader and smoother, shedding the unique thinness of a youth and revealing the upright silhouette of a mature male.
Most notable was that ink-black hair.
Every strand of hair rippled with a silver-white luster, like moonbeams soaking in or frost and snow suddenly descending, transforming in an instant into dazzling silver-white long hair.
The lines of his face were subtly adjusted and optimized. Finally, what changed were those eyes.
The deep black eyes were replaced by a ghostly blue, like the blue sky or the icy sea of the Far North.
If a character from jujutsu kaisen saw the current Lin Xuan, they would surely be startled and cry out a name.
— Gojo Satoru!
At this moment, Lin Xuan, whether in appearance, physique, or even that incredibly confident temperament, was no different from that modern-day strongest.
Having completed his disguise, Lin Xuan didn't linger. After entering Jinhua City, he walked straight toward the innermost core area of the city.
Crossing several bustling main roads, he finally stopped in a relatively quiet district where the guards were clearly much stricter.
Before him was a vast and magnificent building, dark gold in overall color and shaped like an inverted giant bowl. Its surface flowed with complex spirit tool patterns, emitting a soft and noble glow in the night.
Above the main entrance, five large characters were inlaid with precious metal on a huge plaque.
Star Crown Auction House.
Lin Xuan found a hotel in the district opposite the auction house that looked clean and tidy but was not top-tier luxury to check in.
The guest composition in this type of hotel was relatively simple, making it less likely to attract too much attention.
"A quiet single room, for one day."
The waiter behind the counter quickly processed the formalities and handed over a metal room card. "Third floor, Room 307. Here is your room card. I wish you a pleasant stay."
Lin Xuan took the room card, turned to the stairs, and walked to the third-floor corridor. The thick carpet beneath his feet absorbed the sound of his footsteps.
The corridor light was soft, the doors on both sides were tightly closed, and it was very quiet.
He found Room 307. Just as he was about to open the door, he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of three people turning the corner at the end of the corridor and walking in this direction.
All three were wearing ordinary-styled grey robes with hoods pulled low, completely concealing their faces in shadow.
Where did these idiots come from?
Lin Xuan was speechless. In this day and age, who still wears long robes to hide their identity? Can't they buy a spirit tool?
However, Lin Xuan's expression remained unchanged, as if he hadn't noticed the three. He gripped the doorknob, pushed the door open, and stepped inside with smooth, natural movements.
At the moment the door was about to close, his gaze seemed to sweep across the corridor inadvertently.
The three hooded figures happened to stop in front of the door on the right. It seemed that was their room.
Click.
The door closed gently, isolating the World inside from the outside.
Lin Xuan walked to the window, pulled back a corner of the heavy curtains, and looked out at the Star Crown Auction House shining in the night across the street.
Then he looked at the wall on the right. The room's soundproofing was very good; no sound came through.
Lin Xuan thought for a moment, then with a slight movement of his mind, the thousand-faced demonic visage suppressed his aura and Soul Power fluctuations to the limit.
Immediately after, his figure sank into his own shadow as if melting.
Then that mass of shadow, like the most agile black snake, followed the angle between the wall and the ceiling, silently passing through the tiny gaps in the wall and seeping into the next room.
Next door, Room 308.
The lights were not on in the room. Only the faint light from the city's neon signs outside seeped through the gaps in the partially drawn curtains, outlining three hazy figures either sitting or standing.
They had already removed their hoods, revealing their true faces. All were men in their thirties or forties. Their faces weren't particularly ugly, but their eyes were very indifferent.
The shadow Lin Xuan had transformed into silently attached itself to a corner of the ceiling, with a straw in his mouth slightly protruding from the shadow to breathe.
The thinnest man among the three, with the sharpest eyes, was the first to speak, his voice raspy. "Wei-ge, that white-haired brat in the corridor just now glanced at us. Should we—?"
He made a throat-slitting gesture, a fierce light flashing in his eyes.
"A-Bin, keep your cool."
Sitting on a single sofa, the most composed-looking man with an old scar on his brow, Chao Wei, shook his head. "Tomorrow is the auction. Causing unnecessary trouble is a major taboo. He's just a little Spirit Ancestor who happened to stay next door; he can't sense our true strength. There's no need to increase the risk."
Chen Bin, who was called A-Bin, curled his lip and didn't insist.
At this moment, the tall figure who had been standing by the window with his back to the two turned around.
There was a scar across the bridge of his nose, making him look quite ferocious. His voice was low. "Wei-ge, I've scouted everything. The eight-ring Soul Douluo stationed in Jinhua City received an emergency imperial order three days ago and went to the western border to deal with a group of roaming Evil Soul Masters. He won't be back until the day after tomorrow at the earliest."
"The strongest guard on the surface at the Star Crown Auction House is their head of security, a level 73 Soul Saint. In addition, there are two Spirit Emperors and over a dozen Spirit Kings. Security will increase during the auction, but the core strength is roughly this."
A cold light flashed in the scarred man's eyes. "With the strength of us three brothers, we have at least a seventy percent chance of snatching that fifty-thousand-year Black Jade Rhino Left Arm Bone and escaping in the chaos."
"Very well, then we'll follow the original plan. When the auction reaches its peak, we'll strike together. I'll go for the Soul Bone, and you two will hold off the guards."
Chao Wei tapped the armrest of the sofa gently, a cold smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"Last time, because I wasn't in good condition, I failed. This time, no matter who comes, I will not allow this mission to fail."
Watching the three people discussing the details in low voices, Lin Xuan's expression gradually became strange.
He just came to attend an auction and happened to run into three fierce bandits planning to rob the auction directly?
And listening to their plan, it clearly wasn't a spur-of-the-moment thing but a well-premeditated one. They had conducted a thorough investigation of the auction house's strength and the city's defense forces.
Judging from the aura they emitted and the confidence in their conversation, the strength of these three was indeed decent, likely all in the Soul Saint realm.
Any lower, and robbing the Star Crown Auction House would be no different from seeking death.
Black Jade Rhino Left Arm Bone—Lin Xuan recalled the intelligence.
This was indeed one of the most precious items in this auction, worth a fortune and enough to make many Soul Masters and even factions go crazy.
He had heard enough information; there was no need to stay any longer.
The shadow squirmed silently, returning the way it came, sinking back into the dark corner of Room 307 and condensing back into Lin Xuan's figure.
"It seems I really came to the right place this time."
Lin Xuan smiled meaningfully. "I was originally thinking of honestly spending money to bid for the spirit devouring engraving knife. Now it seems, even if I wanted to spend money, I might not be able to—"
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