Douluo Continent: The Butterfly, Starting from the Authority of Death

"I naturally believe what Alliance Leader Shangguan says." Xia Die's face showed a serious expression, and at a glance, she seemed to trust Shangguan Wei'er very much.

"Beep beep, beep beep"

The sudden sound from the soul tool drew the attention of the three.

As a traveler on the path of memory, Xia Die has always had a good memory.

A quick glance revealed that two items were missing from the soul tool auction list.

"A 60,000-year-old Crimson Flame Fruit, an 80,000-year-old Snow Lotus."

Both have disappeared from the auction list.

Sure enough, she's connected to the royal family, or perhaps the crown prince!

Whether it's within the royal family or on the Crown Prince's side, if a solution can be found to cure Crown Prince Xu Tianran's leg ailment, they will absolutely spare no effort to do so.

On the way to the Sun Moon Empire, Xia Die inquired in detail about the Sun Moon royal family from Zhang Peng and learned that the emperor's health was deteriorating and his control over the Sun Moon Empire was weakening.

Despite his physical disability, Crown Prince Xu Tianran remained firmly on the throne.

Even if the emperor of the Sun Moon Empire wanted to change the crown prince, he probably wouldn't be able to do so.

The Sun and Moon Auction House is affiliated with the Sun and Moon Empire's royal family, and they have plenty of ways to get things done if they want.

However, publicly removing auction items ultimately requires an explanation to others.

Xia Die was unsure whether she was in VIP room 1, VIP room 2, or VIP room 4.

Among the three, are there any members of the royal family or the crown prince?

However, in Box 1 and Box 2, there were two people whose life fluctuations were at the level of Title Douluo.

"It seems they've noticed."

Shangguan Wei'er's voice echoed in the private room.

"Your Excellency, what did you notice?" Xia Die looked up at Shangguan Wei'er.

"Of course it's the Crown Prince," Shangguan Wei'er said after thinking for a moment. "Ordinary members of the royal family couldn't possibly snatch up an item at this auction."

"Even the crown prince cannot do this without a legitimate reason."

The rules can be broken, but an equal weight is required on the other side of the scale.

"Did you tell the auction house that I need the Crimson Flame Fruit and the Snow Lotus?" Xia Die had expected this, but she still asked Shangguan Wei'er.

"That's right." Shangguan Wei'er sighed. "I won't hide it from you. I did find out some information. The two spiritual herbs you wanted already had buyers from the beginning."

"They are Jing Hongchen, the head of Mingde Hall, and Xu Tianran, the crown prince of the Sun Moon Empire."

"The former was probably for his granddaughter."

"Meng Hongchen, the granddaughter of the Mingde Hall Master, possesses a unique martial soul, which is highly effective against both the ice-attribute snow lotus and the fire-attribute Crimson Flame Fruit."

"As for the latter, that is, Crown Prince Xu Tianran."

"He participated in the auction this time to obtain the Crimson Flame Fruit for his sister, Xu Tianzhen. Princess Xu Tianzhen's martial soul is the Sun Martial Soul, one of the inherited martial souls of the Sun Moon Empire."

"Is this still going to be auctioned off?" Wang Xian'er asked, puzzled. "Couldn't they arrange to buy it from a buyer privately?"

"No, that won't work." Shangguan Wei'er shook her head. "Once an item appears in the auction house, it must be bid on normally; that's part of the rules."

"There are exceptions, such as the 60,000-year-old Crimson Flame Fruit and the 80,000-year-old Snow Lotus that have been taken off the shelves."

"This is not about forcibly taking or seizing property."

"At that time, the sellers who auction these two items will be given enough gold soul coins, and may even have some requests granted. I don't know the specifics of the process."

Shangguan Weier and Xia Die chatted amiably.

It's another location on the third floor, but the atmosphere of VIP room number 1 is completely different.

"Hey, hey, hey, this is rigged behind the scenes!"

"This is the Mingdu Auction House! Who dares to do this?" the girl cursed, pounding the glass in front of her with both hands, her wine-red hair dancing as her soul power spread.

"Waaaaah~ My snow lotus, my crimson flame fruit."

"Damn it, who is it?"

"Meng, even if they're pulling strings behind the scenes, yelling like this won't help!" Xiao Hongchen pulled his sister Meng Hongchen down from where her face was pressed against the window.

"Brother, aren't you angry? Aren't you furious?" Meng Hongchen puffed out her cheeks, her slightly chubby face making her look pitiful at this moment.

"Can a normal force really remove an item from the Mingdu Auction House listings after it's been published?" Xiao Hongchen shook his head.

"But the item I want is no longer available!" Meng Hongchen couldn't keep up with her brother's train of thought at all and said angrily, "Even we can only follow the bidding process step by step. We are the Hongchen family, you know."

"What Xiao said is right. Without a compelling reason to convince the auction house manager, even the Crown Prince cannot remove an item from the market."

The old man walked to Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen's side. He was none other than Jing Hongchen, the current head of Mingde Hall. Jing Hongchen was not tall and was somewhat fat. He wore a gorgeous black robe with gold embroidery.

"So, what should we do?" Meng Hongchen spread her two little hands. "Grandpa, you know how important these two spiritual herbs are to me."

"Don't you want your granddaughter anymore?"

"Waaaaah~ What if I get attacked by my martial spirit and accidentally die?"

Unlike her brother Xiao Hongchen's Three-Legged Golden Toad Martial Soul, Meng Hongchen's Martial Soul is the Zhu Qing Ice Toad, an ice-attribute Martial Soul with poisonous properties, but it also possesses the energy of both ice and fire attributes, generating cold poison through ice and fire.

"A 60,000-year-old Crimson Flame Fruit and an 80,000-year-old Snow Lotus are just right for refining pills for her."

"To completely stabilize Zhu Qingbingchan, it is rare to find such high-age Crimson Flame Fruit and Snow Lotus. In fact, taking pills made from these two spiritual herbs may even improve her talent."

"Xiao, Meng." Jing Hongchen said, her head throbbing from Meng Hongchen's nagging. "I'll go backstage to see what's going on. Only the royal family can take items off the auction. I'll see if I can buy them for you."

Jing Hongchen left the auction box and headed towards the backstage area.

……

In contrast to the "noisy" atmosphere in Box 1, Box 3, located diagonally opposite, welcomed two people who could be considered uninvited guests.

After being announced by a maid at the auction house, the door to Box 3 was slowly opened.

A man and a woman walked in.

Or perhaps it's a young girl and an old man.

The girl was fifteen or sixteen years old, with a pair of bright, large eyes, a good figure, and a sleepy look in her eyes. Overall, she had a naturally innocent and naive charm.

The old man, half a step behind, was hunched over, and his gray clothes were faded, as if the color had been washed off.

"Hello, I am Orange..." Before the girl could finish speaking, the gray-robed old man appeared as if in a flash and blocked her behind him.

"Miss Orange, be careful." Orange was stunned. Even though her soul power was not strong, she could vaguely sense the old man's sudden tense expression and the lingering pressure.

"Deputy Hall Master of the Star Luo Empire's Hall of Worship, the number one healing-type Title Douluo on the continent."

"What brings you to Mingdu?"

As he spoke, the old man glanced at Shangguan Weier, who was standing silently to his side.

"And what about Alliance Leader Shangguan? Shouldn't your Ordinary Alliance give our royal family an explanation?"

The capital of the mighty Sun and Moon Empire, the largest city on the continent.

No one could remain calm after being sneaked so close by a titled Douluo from an enemy country without anyone noticing, not even the Healing Immortal Douluo in front of them, who was a healing-type Soul Master.

Soul tools are usable and can enhance the combat power of support soul masters. Moreover, the aura of Wang Xian'er in front of us, which is not completely concealed, is probably at the level of a level 97 Title Douluo.

This makes people even more suspicious that something fishy is going on.

Is this yet another assassination attempt on the Crown Prince?

It's no wonder he thought that way; Xu Tianran had been disabled for half a year.

The Star Luo Empire sent someone, and it was the deputy head of the Offering Hall. They brought with them a pill that could cure Xu Tianran's disability. Anyone would suspect something was amiss.

After the old man opposite her released his aura, Wang Xian'er stepped forward and shielded Xia Die behind her.

She didn't deliberately release her aura, but after observing the old man for a moment, she smiled and said:

"Long time no see, Shadow Douluo Xuechen."

"Meeting an old friend, I never imagined you would already be a level 94 Title Douluo."