A Bite of Douluo Continent

This is considered normal. Given Shrek City's status, Shrek Academy receives invitations to large-scale auctions from the Starlight Auction House every time it participates in a competition.

Similar invitations will also appear when participating in competitions in Tiandou City of the Tiandou Empire.

Cao Rang quickly shifted his gaze away from Qi Han and looked elsewhere.

Cao Rang considered Qi Han's appearance here to be quite normal and not something to be too surprised about.

...

As the girl in the starry fishtail dress came to a stop, a soft voice, amplified by soul power, reached the ears of every guest: "Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good evening."

"I am Xu Yilian, the chief auctioneer of Starlight Auction House. I will be the auctioneer for this grand auction. On behalf of Starlight Auction House, I welcome everyone here."

"I'm sure you've all been waiting for quite some time, so I won't keep you any longer. Please take a look at our first item for auction!"

After exchanging a few polite words, Xu Yilian quickly got to the point. A maid behind her came forward carrying a plate covered with a red cloth, with the middle part protruding slightly.

Without keeping the guests in suspense any longer, Xu Yilian lifted the red cloth, revealing a jade box on a plate. Opening the forearm-length jade box, a ray of clear light appeared, revealing a spiritual plant inside.

"A rare and precious treasure, the Thousand-Year Pure Jade Dragon Mushroom. This kind of rare and precious treasure has the effect of strengthening the foundation and nourishing the essence, and cleansing the bones and marrow. It is suitable for Soul Masters who have improved too quickly and whose foundation is unstable. It also has a magical effect on Soul Masters with lower talent. The starting price for the first item is 10,000 gold soul coins, and each bid must be at least 1,000 gold soul coins."

The very first item up for auction was already incredibly valuable, demonstrating the scale of the large-scale auction and immediately igniting the enthusiasm of all the guests.

Ultimately, the item was sold to VIP Box No. 2 for 62,000 Gold Soul Coins.

In the second VIP box, a man in a golden robe sat in the center, with three others in black robes sitting beside him, all of them with a hint of joy on their faces.

"Not bad, this first item has solved the Tang Clan's urgent problem. We're lucky." Tang Qianqiu's face showed a hint of satisfaction. The Pure Jade Dragon Mushroom holds a high position in the Tang Clan's medicinal manual and is an essential raw material for several high-grade pills. However, it is extremely difficult to find in nature and its survival conditions are very harsh.

There are such treasures in the Yin-Yang Well, but the biggest advantage there is that the number of rare and precious materials can increase tenfold. All kinds of rare and precious materials are available, but that doesn't mean that there will be a large quantity of a single type of rare and precious material.

Tang Qianqiu had already harvested all the Pure Jade Dragon Mushrooms there. If it weren't for the fear of overexploiting the resources, there probably wouldn't be any Pure Jade Dragon Mushrooms left in the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang realm.

Tang Qianqiu glanced subconsciously at Qi Han, who was sitting in the crowd on the first floor, and a thoughtful look appeared on his face.

Qi Han's arrival here suggests that the forces behind him are making some new moves.

Surely they couldn't just be here to join in the fun, right?

...

With the first item sold, subsequent items were revealed one by one, each no less precious than the Jade Dragon Mushroom, sparking wave after wave of bidding frenzy in the venue.

VIP room number three remained silent until a leg bone with a lifespan of 20,000 years appeared, igniting the enthusiasm of all the bidders. Only then did VIP room number three start bidding for the first time.

"120,000 Gold Soul Coins!"

The starting bid for this leg bone was 60,000, but the VIP room number three immediately doubled the price.

"121,000 gold soul coins!" A slightly young voice came from VIP room number one, immediately suppressing the bid from VIP room number three.

"130,000 gold soul coins." Room number three raised the price again, adding another 10,000.

"131,000 gold soul coins." The voice came again from VIP room number one, and it was 1,000 more than number three.

The others suddenly fell silent.

The VIP in room number one twice used the lowest bid to suppress room number three without hesitation. Anyone could see that this behavior was deliberate and clearly targeted.

Not many people know who is sitting in VIP room number one at the Starlight Auction House, but everyone knows who owns this room.

This private room is reserved exclusively for members of the Star Luo Empire's royal family.

This is interesting. So who is sitting in VIP room number three, that the Star Luo Empire's royal family would target them so much?

Could it be... someone from the Heavenly Dou Empire?

...

Inside VIP room number one, a young and handsome figure leaned back on a soft sofa, one arm around a charming woman, the other toying with a wine glass, a sinister glint flashing in his eyes.

He knew exactly who was in room number three.

Heavenly Dou Empire?

No, the Shrek Academy team is sitting inside.

Looking at the dark red wine swaying in the glass in front of him, the young man seemed to be transported back to that day six years ago.

...

"Dai Tonghua was expelled from Shrek Academy for planting a high-level Soul Master in Shrek City and severely damaging his rivals.

"You dare? I am the eldest prince of the Star Luo Empire, the future emperor of the Star Luo Empire. Do you dare to make me drop out of school?"

"The future Star Luo Emperor? Heh, I'll give you three breaths to get out of here!"

...

Thinking of the past, the man's face gradually turned ferocious.

"Cao Rang... Shrek Academy... I will repay the shame of the past in due time."

Chapter 139 The Story Behind It

In private room number three, Cao Rang narrowed his eyes slightly.

He naturally sensed the obvious targeting.

Room Number One... Members of the royal family?

Upon hearing that somewhat familiar voice, Cao Rang had already guessed who was sitting in VIP room number one, and couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle.

Some people are like that; they never look for the reasons within themselves.

Back then, Dai Tonghua competed with a student from an ordinary family, but that student was extremely talented and highly regarded by the outer academy's higher-ups. If nothing unexpected happened, he would definitely be able to enter the inner academy and might become a new elder of the Sea God Pavilion in the future.

Dai Tonghua was equally talented, but he couldn't surpass that student and was constantly suppressed by him.

Shrek Academy never stopped the competition between students. Dai Tonghua was also highly regarded by many teachers at the time. Originally, everyone thought that the belief in surpassing that student would always urge Dai Tonghua to work hard, so they never stopped the competition between the two. Unexpectedly, this was not the case.

After repeatedly failing to win in the competition, Dai Tonghua, driven by malice, sent powerful warriors to ambush the student in Shrek City, causing the student to suffer severe injuries and be unable to cultivate anymore.

Ultimately, the powerful figure was killed by the enraged Cao Rang, and Dai Tonghua was also taken back to the academy. After discussion by the outer academy's academic affairs office, she was eventually expelled from Shrek Academy.

Later, Dai Tonghua entered the Star Luo Royal Academy. It was thought that after a few years, he would realize that the problem lay with himself. Unexpectedly, he was so stubborn that he openly made things difficult for Shrek Academy at the auction.

Cao Rang's face darkened. Such behavior deserved to be taught a lesson, otherwise, what would become of Shrek Academy's prestige?

The leg bone itself was only worth 120,000 gold soul coins, so Dai Tonghua was clearly engaging in malicious bidding.

Since you're targeting Shrek Academy, I'll play along.

With a cold snort, Cao Rang spoke again, "Sixteen thousand."

As soon as he opened his mouth, he raised the price by another 30,000 gold soul coins.

"161,000." Dai Tonghua followed without hesitation, her eyes flashing with cold light.

This soul bone wasn't suitable for him, and he didn't want it anyway; he just intended to annoy Shrek.

He had it all planned out. As long as Shrek's price exceeded 200,000, he would immediately hand it over, wanting Shrek to bleed more money and vent his anger.

"190,000!" Cao Rang's bidding speed not only didn't slow down, but actually sped up, almost without hesitation.

"191,000!" Dai Tonghua quickly caught up, a satisfied smile on his lips.

Go ahead and bid again, or I'll stop and make you regret it.

However, after waiting for a long time, no sound came from room number three.

Dai Tonghua's smile gradually froze, slowly turning into a gloomy expression.

"Ah!" The woman in Dai Tonghua's arms cried out in pain as Dai Tonghua unconsciously squeezed her harder.

"Get out!" Dai Tonghua shouted, kicking the woman against the wall. The woman coughed up thick blood, severely injured by Dai Tonghua's angry kick, and was on the verge of death.

Dai Tonghua ignored him and looked up at the location of private room number three.

At this point, he could clearly see that Cao Rang was deliberately using a scheme against him.

To the other auctioneers, he probably looked like a fool at that moment.

Fortunately, they only knew that the people in the private room were members of the royal family, but they didn't know who they were.

Just as I thought of this, I heard a faint sigh coming from room number three.

"I never expected that the eldest prince of the Star Luo Empire would be such a reckless person. Is it really a good idea to entrust the future of the Star Luo Empire to such a person?"

Was Cao Rang a good person?

This guy's nickname is "Smiling Tiger." Don't be fooled by his smiling face; few who offend him end up well.

It's only in these past few years, after becoming the dean, that he's cultivated his character and temperament. In his earlier years, he was a heartless and ruthless man.

The sound was not concealed in the slightest; instead, it instantly reached the ears of everyone present as the soul power spread.

What I feared most came to pass; Cao Rang was clearly doing it on purpose!

However, striking at the snake's vital point is exactly what Dai Tonghua fears most in the current situation.

The Star Luo Empire's royal family has a unique method of succession. Each generation of princes must go through the most rigorous competition, and only the strongest among them can become the new emperor. This method of succession is inseparable from the Star Luo Empire's folk custom of worshipping the strong, and it has been regarded as the golden rule by the Star Luo Empire's royal family for nearly ten thousand years.

Until the previous emperor of the Star Luo Empire openly declared that such cruel competition was a persecution of the Star Luo Empire's royal bloodline and needed to be abolished, he directly gave the position of crown prince to the eldest prince, Dai Yuansheng, without any competition, and then arranged for the more talented and intelligent second prince, Dai Youyuan, to be stationed in the Zhen Dong Army, a military camp that was stationed at the border year-round.

The euphemism was to have the younger brother guard the frontier for his elder brother and jointly rule the empire, but in reality it was nothing more than exile.

Dai Yuansheng's ascension to the throne was illegitimate, which already caused considerable resentment among the people of the Star Luo Empire. As his eldest prince, Dai Tonghua had to perform exceptionally well in order to win people's hearts.

However, Dai Tonghua, whose impulsive and resentful nature was no different from his father's, had already lost all face from the moment he was expelled from Shrek Academy.

The best way to regain the love and respect of the Star Luo Empire people who admire martial prowess is to lead the Star Luo Royal Academy to defeat the Shrek Academy team in the Soul Fighting Tournament.

Once this near-impossible feat is accomplished, both Dai Yuansheng's illegitimate rise to power and his own dark history of being expelled from Shrek Academy will be completely covered up.

Unable to win under normal circumstances, the father and son resorted to underhanded tactics.

Unfortunately, this afternoon Prime Minister Xu Changling insisted on opposing any behind-the-scenes operations. Without the cooperation of the Executive Secretariat, the plan could not be implemented at all and had to be abandoned.

Having just received the news, Dai Tonghua sat in the VIP room, growing angrier and angrier, almost burning with rage.

He hated Xu Changling for being so stubborn. His father had tried to befriend him many times, even trying to matchmake his daughter with him, but Xu Changling refused without hesitation and never cared about his father's feelings.

But what he hated most was Shrek Academy.