Douluo Unrivaled: The Beginning Materializes the Black Abyss and White Flowers

Chapter 132 Xu Jiujiu, who always turned his elbow to outsiders
Although it was only an internal evaluation from Shrek Academy, and only from the outer academy, her stunning beauty and unique temperament were indeed well-deserved, making people unable to resist taking a second look.

However, although Jiang Nannan was beautiful, she was not beautiful enough to make Lu Jingming lose his composure. He only glanced at her for a moment before politely looking away.

"Ningguang, thank you for your hard work these past few days. Also, this must be Jiang Nannan, right? You should be familiar with us." Lu Jingming said with a smile.

During this period, Ningguang has indeed been working hard to help Haiyuan City sort out its economy.

Ningguang deserves much credit for maintaining order in Haiyuan City despite the influx of a large population.

Lu Jingming had known for a long time that Jiang Nannan had been recruited by Ningguang.

After all, Ningguang went to Shrek City for two reasons: firstly, to establish the Jade Pavilion and expand her business empire; and secondly, to attract talent.

Students who are able to enter Shrek Academy's outer courtyard are either from wealthy or noble backgrounds, or are exceptionally talented and have outstanding abilities.

Jiang Nannan belongs to the category of those with outstanding talent. She comes from a commoner background, and if she hadn't been born in Shrek City, she probably wouldn't even have had the opportunity to enroll in Shrek Academy.

Even so, Shrek Academy did not offer any help when her mother fell ill, and she had to rely on herself to find a solution.

If Ningguang hadn't intervened in time, she might have had to sell herself to the Xuanming Sect in exchange for a chance to save her mother.

Besides Jiang Nannan, there were several other people in Shrek Academy's outer courtyard who were also successfully invested in by Ningguang and switched their allegiance to Qunyu Pavilion.

For example, Nanmen Yun'er and Xie Huanyue, who were originally supposed to be recruited by Ning Tian of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School, were discovered and invested in by Ning Guang in advance.

These two individuals did not have powerful backgrounds, so they were easily won over. Otherwise, in the original story, they would not have followed Ning Tian so readily.

The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School of today is no longer as glorious as it was ten thousand years ago. Although its former reputation still exists, it is merely a name in name only.

Ten thousand years ago, Ning Rongrong, the sole owner of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, did not leave any descendants, resulting in the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect now only having the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda as its legacy.

Although the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda is powerful, its owner can only reach the Soul Saint level in the end, and the lifespan of a Soul Saint is far shorter than that of a Title Douluo.

Therefore, the decline of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School ten thousand years later is only to be expected.

However, as the saying goes, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School still has Title Douluos in charge, and there is more than one.

Ten thousand years ago, the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School was a powerful force capable of vying for a place among the top three sects, but now it seems somewhat powerless.

"You are the captain of the St. Freya Academy team!"

Jiang Nannan was completely taken aback. She never expected that people from St. Freya Academy would appear here, and seeing how familiar they were with her Ningguang sister filled her with even more doubts.

"Nannan, let me introduce you. This is the city lord of Haiyuan City, and also the behind-the-scenes boss of Qunyu Pavilion."

Ningguang smiled gently as she introduced Jiang Nannan in a soft voice.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Nannan was stunned, her eyes filled with disbelief.

These past few days, she had personally witnessed the prosperity and power of Haiyuan City, but she never imagined that the master of this city would be the captain of the St. Freya Academy's team, a boy about her age.

"There's no such thing as a behind-the-scenes big boss. The only boss of Qunyu Pavilion is you, Sister Ningguang!"

Lu Jingming smiled helplessly and took his seat with San Yueqi and the others. He naturally sat down next to Ningguang.

"Hehe, what's mine is yours, so it's not wrong to call you a big boss!"

Ningguang extended her index finger and gently tapped Lu Jingming's brow, her gesture revealing their intimacy.

Jiang Nannan was so shocked by what she saw that her red lips parted slightly, and her heart was filled with turmoil.

Is this still the decisive and powerful Ningguang she knew?

She had never seen Ningguang treat men with such gentleness, let alone with such intimate gestures.

Remembering her joking remark about wanting to be Ningguang's dowry maid, Jiang Nannan's pretty face instantly turned bright red. She lowered her head shyly, feeling extremely embarrassed, afraid that Ningguang would tell Lu Jingming about her joke.

At the same time, she finally understood why Ningguang had such a strange expression when she heard those words.

She's really "sold" herself!
However, after stealing a glance at Lu Jingming, Jiang Nannan thought to herself, "With looks like that, it's hard to say who would win and who would lose if that were to happen."

The fragrant aroma of sandalwood rising from the glass cups created a dreamlike atmosphere in the VIP room.

"Sister Ningguang, forget about Aming, what good things have you prepared for this auction?" March 7th hugged Ningguang's arm affectionately, her eyes full of curiosity.

Ningguang lightly tapped the gilded armrest with her fingertips, the jade bracelets on her wrists clinking together with a clear sound: "Little Sanyue is also interested in the auction items? Which one do you like later? I'll get it for you."

"Hmm, forget it. Compared to those overpriced items at auction, I'd rather buy a few more new clothes!"

March 7th stuck out her tongue and jumped back, the headdress in her pink hair swaying with it. She was only curious and didn't really want it.

She hopped to the long table laden with pastries, exchanged a glance with Firefly who was already secretly eating a small cake, and the two girls instantly reached a tacit understanding to share snacks.

Lu Jingming and the understanding robin were chatting with Jiang Nannan to keep her from feeling awkward.

I learned from Jiang Nannan that Shrek Academy was in VIP Room No. 3. Apart from her coming to see Ningguang, only Wang Dong, who hates soul tools, was absent. Everyone else was already waiting in the VIP Room for the auction to begin.

Lu Jingming nodded thoughtfully. It seemed that Tang San, the Sea God, had indeed placed a suggestion in Wang Dong's mind. Lu Jingming was somewhat speechless. His family's prized hidden weapons had been rendered obsolete by soul tools, yet instead of embracing new things, improving hidden weapons, and innovating, they only thought about suppressing soul tools, even giving his daughter a suggestion.

Tang San's actions opened Lu Jingming's eyes!

As they were talking, starlight suddenly appeared on the dome, and the holographic projection condensed into a dazzling light screen. In the image, a gilded platform slowly rose, with twelve crystal display cases shimmering with light.

"Welcome, distinguished guests, to the Tianquan Auction!" A melodious voice rang out as a young woman in a flowing, gold-embroidered dress gracefully stepped onto the stage.

The star-shaped patterns embroidered with gold thread flowed with her steps, and a miniature star disk shone brightly in her golden hair, which was tied up in a bun.

Lu Jingming looked at the girl in front of the screen with a surprised expression. That familiar smile was clearly that of Xu Jiujiu!

He turned and looked at Ningguang with a puzzled expression.

"It's all thanks to someone's influence."

Ningguang covered her lips and chuckled, the red nail polish at the corner of her eye reflecting the light screen. "The chief auctioneer of Starlight Auction House is not someone you can just hire casually."

Xu Jiujiu is of noble status, and it would have been impossible to invite her to host the auction if the invitation had not been issued in Lu Jingming's name.

Lu Jingming was speechless. Ningguang really knew how to use her connections. If he used his name, Xu Jiujiu would indeed agree.

However, Tianquan Auction House is not Xu Jiujiu's own Xingguang Auction House. To some extent, the two are still competitors. Could it be considered that Xu Jiujiu is siding with outsiders?

Not only Lu Jingming recognized Xu Jiujiu, but all the other contestants also recognized her, since she had been by Xu Jiawei's side the whole time, watching the competition from the podium since the beginning of the competition.

The participants from other academies whispered among themselves, wondering who would have thought that the princess of the Star Luo Empire would condescend to preside over an auction.

However, this also filled everyone with anticipation for the upcoming auction.

Without uttering much further explanation, his mere presence was enough to bring the atmosphere of the auction to its peak.

"I am auctioneer Jiu Jiu. It is an honor to host this auction. Distinguished guests, your time is precious. The Tianquan Auction is now officially open. Please welcome the first item."

After a long while, she flashed a sweet smile, radiating charm.

After a long silence, the screen switched, and an item appeared on the Soul Guide screen.

The screen rotates 360 degrees, allowing everyone to clearly see the details of the auctioned items.

The holographic image of the first item rotated in mid-air, with a long sword gleaming with a cold, sharp light and shimmering with dark blue patterns.

After a long pause, his fingertips traced the blade, and a 3D projection appeared with the following text: "Level 8 melee soul tool, Tyrant Tiger Soul Refining Blade, produced by Mingde Hall, solidifies the soul skill 'Tyrant Blade Slash,' amplifies similar skills by 50%, and what's even more special is—"

She paused suddenly, her eyes sparkling. "It is forged from a soul bone, has its own soul power storage, and only requires one-third of the soul power to activate a soul skill!"

"Although this is an eighth-level soul tool, it can be used by a Soul Saint, making it easy to fight opponents of higher levels. Starting bid: 600,000 gold soul coins. Viewing time: five minutes!"

"This isn't a soul tool from the Jade Pavilion, is it?" Lu Jingming turned to look at Ningguang.

“That’s right, this is an item that your Princess Jiu Jiu brought herself to make a good impression at the auction,” Ning Guang teased with a smile.

"Ah Ming, you're really amazing!" March 7th chuckled and gave Lu Jingming a thumbs up.

Jiang Nannan looked at Lu Jingming with some surprise. No matter how she looked at it, his relationship with that Princess Jiujiu seemed unusual.

Then, she looked at Ningguang with a strange expression, and then scanned the people in the VIP room, her expression becoming increasingly odd.

Goodness, I didn't notice at first, but now that I look, Lu Jingming is the only boy among a group of girls.

Five minutes passed in the blink of an eye, and a string of bids appeared on the screen, clearly indicating that someone had placed the first bid.

On the Soul Guide screen, the price kept changing and soon settled at 1.6 million gold soul coins.

This price is considered relatively high for a level 8 soul tool, especially a melee soul tool.

However, auctions are for bidding high prices on rare items that are not usually seen, so this price is not outrageous.

The person who bought the Tyrant Tiger Soul Refining Blade was from VIP Room Number Three, which clearly indicates that Shrek Academy made the move.

Within Shrek Academy, only Dai Yueheng would buy it, since the sword is extremely compatible with his martial soul.

Moreover, this amount of money is nothing to the White Tiger Duke's mansion.

"Thank you to the esteemed guest who just won the bid for the Tyrant Tiger Soul Refining Blade for supporting this auction. Now, please welcome the second item!"

After a long while, the pleasant sound rang out again, and the soul guide screen changed once more, displaying a dark red gem.

Upon seeing the gem, Lu Jingming's expression changed drastically, his face turning quite strange.

"Distinguished guests, this is a spirit-attribute soul guide gem that can assist soul masters in cultivating their spiritual power, amplify their spiritual skills, and replenish their spiritual power when it is depleted. The starting bid is also 600,000. The auction will officially begin in five minutes."

After a long introduction, the screen rotated again, showcasing the gemstone from all angles and explaining its functions and effects in detail.

(End of this chapter)