The Glory of the Sun and Moon in the Peerless Tang Sect

If Xu Zihuang didn't possess twin martial souls, even if he had innate full soul power, he wouldn't have let him walk this most arduous path. Having followed Xu Zihuang's father for a long time, he knew very well the terrifying foundation of the Sun Moon Empire. One wrong step, and it would be an abyss.

As far as he knew, in the tens of thousands of years of history of the Sun Moon Empire, twin martial souls had only appeared twice. One of them was Xu Zihuang, and the other was the current Hall Master of the Sun Moon Empire's Hall of Worship. This Hall Master had gone into seclusion several years ago and was breaking through the bottleneck from a level nine soul master to a level ten soul master.

Once Xu Zihuang matures, his achievements will certainly not be inferior to those of the Hall Master of the Offering Hall. Reaching that level of strength will be enough to overturn the rules of the world.

The number of bidders at the auction center was increasing, but there was still an hour before the auction officially began. These bidders arrived so early because the items for this auction were more valuable than ever before.

Yao Yang personally poured Xu Zihuang and Wang Xiao a cup of fruit tea, a specialty of the Moon South Islands. Seemingly remembering something, he suddenly said to Xu Zihuang, "By the way, Zihuang, there's something I need to tell you. I've fabricated an identity for you as a cousin of mine who was left behind outside my clan. Back then, my clan was quite large, so this identity wasn't conspicuous. We'll announce it after things have calmed down, which will also make your life on Moon Pivot Island easier."

He had explained it to Zhu Yao in the same way before. After all, Xu Zihuang's identity was special. Even though he and Zhu Yao had known each other since childhood and trusted each other enough, it was always better if one less person knew.

"Brother Yang, you can arrange it as you see fit." Xu Zihuang took a sip of the fragrant fruit tea in his crystal glass while glancing at the scroll on the table.

The scroll contained detailed information about the auction items. There were ten items in total, including the thousand-year-old demonic orca and the ten-thousand-year-old whale glue, but these two items, with starting prices of over 300,000 gold soul coins, were only the eighth and ninth items.

The last item up for auction was a soul bone, and a head soul bone that was second only to the torso bones in terms of rarity.

"A nine-thousand-year-old demonic soul great white shark head bone? A demonic soul great white shark?!" Xu Zihuang couldn't help but murmur softly, raising his head in surprise to look at Yao Yang.

"So, the seventh item in the auction, the millennium-old deep-sea fish oil, was also taken from the head of this Demon Soul Great White Shark? Could it be that someone hunted down a Demon Soul Great White Shark with nine thousand years of cultivation?"

“That’s true.” Yao Yang nodded seriously and sighed, “Sometimes you have to admit that luck is a real thing. It’s a pity that when your strength doesn’t match your luck, you’ll only suffer misfortune.”

"The one who hunted this great white shark with a nine-thousand-year cultivation level was a Soul Master from the Star Luo Empire. However, just as he discovered this Soul Bone, he was targeted by the Demon Crocodile Pirate Gang. A few days ago, he fled all the way to Moon Pivot City, and had no choice but to put this Soul Bone up for auction to ensure his safety. The Demon Crocodile Pirate Gang is the most powerful pirate gang in the Moon South Islands, and its leader, Crocodile Luo, has a Soul Power level of at least seventy-eight. There are seven islands in the Moon South Islands, two of which are under his control. For the sake of his talented grandson, that old bastard Crocodile Luo will probably come to today's auction in person."

At this point, Yao Yang's previously warm smile vanished instantly, and his eyes turned icy cold.

"After my family was attacked by evil spirit masters, our family's control over the Moon South Islands was greatly reduced. It was this old man who was the first to stand up and occupy the southernmost Moon Sun and Moon Rock Islands. Many people who split up the family died at his hands."

Xu Zihuang sighed deeply, realizing how similar Yao Yang's childhood experiences were to his own.

However, Yao Yang quickly composed himself and continued to introduce the other major powers of the Moon South Islands to Xu Zihuang.

First, there's himself, who controls Moon Pivot Island, and he commands five hundred Moon Pivot City Guards. These five hundred men all possess soul power cultivation levels above twenty, and with the aid of various soul tools, their combat strength is considerable.

Besides these, there are the five major pirate crews led by Crocodile.

The Crocodile Pirates, Silverfin Pirates, Purple Serpent Pirates, Porcupine Pirates, and Whale Shark Pirates.

While the number of Soul Masters under these five pirate crews might not match that of the Moon Pivot City Guard, each leader possessed the cultivation level of a Soul Saint. Aside from the Demon Crocodile Pirate Crew, the other four crews each occupied one of the seven islands of the Moon South Archipelago.

Even in Yao Yang's father's generation, control over the Moon South Islands was quite limited. After all, the Moon South Islands were far from the Sun Moon Empire's mainland, and the surrounding waters were extremely dangerous. Due to the wars between the Sun Moon Empire and the three empires originally belonging to the Douluo Continent, refugees frequently fled here. This inevitably led to chaos on the Moon South Islands, with countless pirate groups of all sizes. However, since those major pirate groups seized control of the islands and became kings, the Moon South Islands have maintained a relatively balanced state and have become much more stable.

An hour flew by during their conversation.

The lights in the auction center gradually dimmed. Illuminated by several soul-guided crystal lamps on the stage, Zhu Yao, dressed in a purple dress, gracefully ascended the platform. Holding a megaphone soul-guided device, she glanced at the VIP room where Xu Zihuang and the others were located before smiling charmingly and beginning to prepare to host the auction.

At this time, there were still about fifteen minutes before the auction officially began, and several figures appeared one after another in the other five VIP rooms.

Yao Yang approached the amethyst French window and said to Wang Xiao with a solemn expression, "Besides the Silverfin Pirates, the leaders of the other four pirate groups have arrived. Uncle Wang, to prevent any trouble, I'll have to trouble you to keep an eye on that old bastard Crocodile Luo for me this time."

"His cultivation level seems to be very close to level 80." Wang Xiao frowned as he looked at the burly, one-eyed, white-haired old man in the VIP room opposite him, and said as if sensing something.

But it's not that he's afraid of him. With his soul power of level 89 and the top-tier martial soul Overlord, he could easily kill him.

Yao Yang raised an eyebrow, not particularly surprised by the outcome. So what if that's the case? Given time, his cultivation would eventually surpass that old man's, and he could use his head to appease his people.

Xu Zihuang's attention, however, was focused on the boy next to Crocodile Luo. The boy looked to be about fourteen or fifteen years old, with dark, wheat-colored skin, but his hair was half white and half red, which looked extremely strange.

"A hermaphrodite, huh?" Xu Zihuang thought to himself. Putting aside the hatred between his family and Yao Yang, the arrogant look in this young man's eyes alone made him feel disgusted.

The leader of the Whale Shark Pirates was a stern, robust middle-aged man with a bare upper body embroidered with blue patterns. The leader of the Purple Serpent Pirates, however, was a stunningly beautiful woman with purple hair, captivating with every movement. The leader of the Porcupine Pirates, on the other hand, looked much more unsightly. Thin and seemingly only about 1.6 meters tall, he had sparse, messy red hair and a wrinkled, aged face.

As for the two members of the Silverfin Pirates, they were the two blue-haired girls we had met before. The older one was named Shui Jixi, the younger sister of the Silverfin Pirates' leader. The younger one was named Shui Qianqian, the Silverfin Pirates' leader's only daughter.

Chapter 33 Level 5 Invincible Shield

However, the image of Mizuki sitting on the sofa in the VIP room at this moment was the complete opposite of the pitiful image she had previously presented.

Her long, slender legs, clad in a white gauze dress, were crossed, and she rested her flawless chin on her outstretched wrist. However, her expression was cold, like ice, and her aquamarine eyes held a hint of resentment.

She glanced sideways through the amethyst wall, watching the auction center below.

"Hmph! Well done, Viscount Yue Nan."

This was the first time she had ever experienced such profound frustration from a man repeatedly. Ever since she met Yao Yang five years ago, she had been subtly and gradually getting closer to him.

Her motivation wasn't admiration for Yao Yang, but rather the perceived profit she could make from his status and power. For the past five years, she had even gone so far as to feign innocence, all in an effort to be approached by Yao Yang.

Seeing Shui Jixi's cold gaze, Shui Qianqian frowned slightly and couldn't help but softly advise, "Auntie, stop. Continuing like this won't lead to anything. Although our Silverfin Pirate Gang is weak, we still occupy Moon Jade Island. We don't necessarily have to get involved with that Viscount Yue Nan."

“Qianqian, you don’t understand. You should know that Yue Shu Island’s tax revenue is at least three times that of our Yue Xuan Island. Yue Shu Island is the richest island in the Yue Nan Archipelago.” The coldness in Shui Jixi’s eyes vanished instantly, and she returned to her previous gentle and weak demeanor, gently stroking Shui Qianqian’s cheeks, which were even more delicate and fair than her own.

"Our looks are our greatest asset. You need to learn to use them to your advantage and extract benefits from men. If it weren't for that bitch Zhu Yao interfering all these years, I would have achieved my goal long ago. If that were the case, do you think we would still need to spend money to buy that thousand-year-old demonic orca at this auction?"

Shui Qianqian was speechless for a moment, feeling that her values ​​clashed severely with those of her aunt. But considering that she was her elder, she didn't want to refute her again.

"Sigh." With a sigh, she had no choice but to suppress her emotions and look up at the auction center below.

Unbeknownst to them, their every move was being observed by Xu Zihuang and his two companions in the VIP room on the other side.

"Hmph." Yao Yang stood in front of the crystal wall and sneered. At the same time, he warned Xu Zihuang beside him, "Zihuang, you will have no shortage of women like this entangled around you in the future. You should be more careful in the future."

Xu Zihuang chuckled and nodded without saying a word. Relying on the keen observation brought by his Golden Eye Martial Soul, he had actually seen through Shui Jixi's hypocrisy from the very beginning.

At this moment, the first item of the auction was brought up on a tray by a maid. Zhu Yao, who was hosting the auction from the platform, smiled and bowed to the crowd before beginning to introduce the item.

"I believe everyone has received the message from our Moon Pivot Auction House that today's auction is extraordinary. So, without further ado, the first item in this auction is a level 5 soul tool, an invincible shield. The starting price is 100,000 gold soul coins. Bidding will begin in five minutes, and each bid must be at least 500 gold soul coins higher."

Although Zhu Yao's introduction was brief, the words "invincible shield" alone were enough to excite the bidders in the audience.

The Invincible Shield is a soul tool developed based on an extremely rare soul skill called Invincible Golden Body. It requires a golden crystal, a specialty of the Sun Moon Empire, as a medium. With the infusion of energy into the core magic array, the Invincible Shield can instantly unleash the energy within the golden crystal, thereby generating powerful defensive capabilities.

Of course, invincibility is always relative.

The lowest level of an invincible shield is a level five soul tool, meaning it requires at least a Soul King level of soul power to activate. A level five invincible shield can block attacks from any soul master below the level of an eight-ring Soul Douluo for three seconds. A level six invincible shield can even defend against attacks from ordinary Title Douluos for three seconds. As for invincible shields of level seven and above, they are extremely rare. Their value is definitely no less than that of a high-quality ten-thousand-year soul bone.

After all, a soul bone can only amplify oneself, but having a level seven invincible shield can be considered as having an extra life.

The Invincible Shield, a soul tool, can be a lifesaver in certain situations. It's considered one of the most sought-after soul tools by soul masters, alongside the Milk Bottle that quickly replenishes their soul power, and is in high demand and short supply.

However, the invincible shield also has obvious drawbacks. Firstly, it's extremely expensive. While the invincible shield itself isn't too difficult to craft, the production of gold crystals is extremely limited. The higher the level of the invincible shield, the higher the quality of the gold crystals required.

More importantly, regardless of its level, the invincible shield is a single-use consumable. Once used, the golden crystal inside will immediately explode, damaging the invincible shield itself. Therefore, this thing is not something that ordinary soul masters can afford.

In comparison, the soul-guided shields used by the members of the Imperial Dragon Soul Master Corps when facing the horde of demonic orca were much more effective.

Xu Zihuang showed no emotion upon seeing this item. This wasn't just because he had previously read about the ten items in this auction; in fact, this Level 5 Invincible Shield was made by the Imperial Dragon Soul Instructor Group.

High-level Soul Masters never worry about money, because selling a single Soul Tool can bring in hundreds of thousands of gold Soul Coins. The previous claim that the Royal Dragon Soul Master Corps lacked money was less accurate than stating that they lacked rare and precious metals.

Among high-level Soul Masters, top-grade rare metals are the real hard currency.

The price of this Level 5 Invincible Shield quickly soared to 200,000 Gold Soul Coins, and it was eventually sold to the leader of the Purple Serpent Pirate Gang for 250,000 Gold Soul Coins. In the Moon South Islands, far from the Sun Moon Empire's homeland, this Level 5 Invincible Shield was an absolute rarity.

The subsequent auction items were almost all soul tools made by members of the Royal Dragon Soul Master Corps.

Of course, the various soul tools put up for auction are all those that do not involve core technologies.

Xu Zihuang had been observing coldly. To be honest, having come from a royal family, he had seen much and naturally had high standards. Perhaps to the other bidders, these were all top-quality soul tools, but to Xu Zihuang, they were merely average.

However, when the auction reached the seventh item, the fish oil from the head of the nine-thousand-year-old demon soul great white shark, he took the initiative to ask Yao Yang to bid for it for him.

The fish oil from the head of the Demon Soul Great White Shark has the effect of nourishing the meridians and cultivating spiritual power. Even with Xu Zihuang's status back then, he rarely had access to it.

Chapter 34 Nine Thousand Year Demon Soul Great White Shark Head Soul Bone

Actually, even without Xu Zihuang asking, Yao Yang already planned to help him bid on the fish oil from the heads of these Demon Soul Great White Sharks.

When he was young, his family had the good fortune to hunt down a lone, century-old demonic great white shark. He knew all too well the effects of deep-sea fish oil; it was an excellent supplement for spirit-attribute soul masters.

He simply raised the price to 300,000 gold soul coins, which was already a premium.

Viscount Yao Yang Yue Nan's name was quite prestigious, and Yue Shu City was originally his territory. Seeing such a high bid, the other bidders present were all happy to do him a favor.

But at the very last moment, a discordant voice suddenly rang out.

"Three hundred and one thousand gold soul coins." Through the soul transmission device, a powerful voice rang out in the otherwise quiet auction center.

"That old bastard..."

Upon hearing this voice, Zhu Yao's smile faded slightly. However, she couldn't tarnish the reputation of the Moon Pivot Auction House, so she could only continue hosting.

Yao Yang, who was in the VIP room, also looked rather grim and continued to raise the price without hesitation.

"Three hundred and fifty thousand."

"Three hundred and sixty thousand."

"Four hundred thousand."

When Yao Yang raised the price to 400,000 gold soul coins, Crocodile Luo, who was in another VIP room, had a hint of mockery in his remaining single eye, but ultimately did not raise the price any further.

His only intention was to annoy Yao Yang and embarrass him on his own turf. It wasn't time to completely break off relations yet.

The deep-sea fish oil was sold, and soon the eighth item was pushed onto the stage. The huge red cloth on the cart was lifted, and a colossal creature over six meters long and entirely black appeared before everyone's eyes.

Despite being bound by thick, cold iron chains, he still couldn't conceal his fierce aura.

When the enormous creature's dark red eyes turned and its gaze fell upon the crowd, many of the photographers sitting at the front stood up in fear.

"A demonic killer whale?!"

This is understandable, given that those living on the Moon South Islands understand the terror of these top-tier soul beasts far better than those on the mainland. When sailing the seas, the Demonic Orca is one of the most dangerous soul beasts to provoke. Due to its ferocious nature, there are virtually no known cases of people surviving an encounter with this soul beast at sea.

Zhu Yao's expression softened considerably, and she once again displayed her previous polite smile. "I believe many of you have already recognized it. That's right, today's eighth item is this Demonic Orca with a cultivation level of 1,500 years. You all should know better than I do how powerful this kind of soul beast is. I can guarantee with the reputation of the Moon Pivot Auction House that this Demonic Orca has a resilient life force and can survive for at least another four or five days. In other words, by bidding on this Demonic Orca, you will have ample time to absorb the precious soul ring it produces after its death. In addition, there is the priceless thousand-year whale glue from the skull of this Demonic Orca."

"The starting bid is 300,000 gold soul coins. You may begin bidding now. Each bid must be at least 1,000 gold soul coins."

As soon as Zhu Yao finished speaking, the atmosphere in the entire auction center instantly became heated.

The vast majority of people living on the Moon South Islands are Sea Soul Masters. Therefore, there's no issue of incompatibility between their Soul Ring attributes and those of the Demonic Orca. What Sea Soul Master wouldn't hope to one day fuse with the Demonic Orca's Soul Ring and thus achieve rapid advancement in their cultivation?

The Demon Orca's top-grade spirit ring could very well improve a spirit master's aptitude. And unlike a spirit bone, it wasn't a hot potato. The situation at the scene instantly became incredibly heated.

"Three hundred and one thousand gold soul coins!"

"Three hundred and fifty thousand gold soul coins!"

"..."

"Four hundred thousand gold soul coins!"

"..."