thefictionvixens Chapter 23 of the First Person
Chapter 23 of the First Person
"Wow! Someone's actually eager to be photographed!"
"A thousand years! of! dust! still!"
"Goodness! Why is it biting people!"
Watching Qian Gu Chenran and Na'er playfully bickering, Zhenhua smiled bitterly. Childhood sweethearts, innocent and carefree! He and Bao'er were just like Chenran back then!
Seeing Zhenhua lost in thought again, Mu Ye rolled his eyes as he flipped through the recipe.
Hu Jie is like that, and so is Zhenhua; they both have a problem with women.
Titan Snow Demon was pushed down. Nightshade glanced at everyone in the hall, smiled, and clapped his hands!
A cart covered with a red cloth was pushed up. The Soul Masters present felt the fluctuations of Soul Power emanating from it, and their breathing quickened as they stared at the cart with excited eyes.
"Soul bone?"
Zhenhua straightened his body and looked down expectantly. He had been worrying about what gift to give his good disciple!
Mu Ye put down the menu and came to stand behind Qian Gu Chen Ran and the others. A Ru Heng and Xu Tian Yuan, the two foodies, also rushed to the glass window upon hearing about the Soul Bone, eager to witness its splendor.
Looking at the restless crowd below, Ye You walked gracefully to the cart. As she untied the red cloth, the blue skull placed on the display stand was revealed to everyone.
The blue skull was enveloped in a rich blue light, with two oval protrusions on its forehead. The patterns on the soul bone vaguely formed the markings of a ferocious dragon.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the fourteenth item in this auction, known as the most important head soul bone among the six great soul bones of soul beasts, the head soul bone of a nine-thousand-year-old Ironclad Dragon!"
Ladies and gentlemen, I don't need to elaborate on the rarity and value of the head soul bone. Starting bid: 60 million!
Na'er looked at the soul bone with disgust. "It's so ugly!" Qian Gu Chenran nodded in agreement.
Aruheng scratched his head. "A mere thousand-year-old soul bone is worth fighting over like this!"
Xu Tianyuan nodded in agreement. As the sect that took over the entire Golden Tortoiseshell Clan, their Xuanming Sect would award a ten-thousand-year soul bone to anyone who advanced to the title of Douluo!
It is precisely because of this that the Xuanming Sect has a much stronger sense of cohesion than other reclusive sects.
Mu Ye stood up and stretched. "Kids, let's go! I reckon the next one will be a thousand-year-old soul bone too."
Zhenhua glanced at the soul-guided communicator in his hand, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Wait a little longer. The next soul bone is perfect for Chenran! Let's bid on that one! I bet other forces are also here for that soul bone."
Everyone present looked at Zhenhua with curiosity. Given Qian Gu Chenran's family background, the only soul bones that he could possibly take a liking to were 100,000-year-old soul bones...
Zhenhua got up and walked to the glass window, patting Qian Gu Chenran's head. "A 30,000-year-old mirror beast with an external soul bone!"
Chapter 45 The Soul Bone in Hand
"An external soul bone, no wonder. So these forces are all here for that Mirror Beast soul bone. Speaking of which, Mirror Beasts have been extinct for so many years." Mu Ye stroked his chin, very curious about the upcoming Mirror Beast soul bone.
Zhenhua stroked Qiangu Chenran's head vigorously. Ever since he took Qiangu Chenran as his disciple, he had grown to like him more and more. He decided to buy this soul bone as a gift from the master to his disciple upon his acceptance into the family.
"According to the Heaven Dou Royal Auction House, they found it in a cave in the far north. Nobody knows the specifics, but Master Chenran, I'll bid on this soul bone for you as a gift for becoming my disciple! Don't be shy with your master!"
Qian Gu Chenran nodded. "Master, I will definitely live up to your expectations and become a master craftsman!"
Zhenhua smiled with relief. "Master believes in you!" A six-year-old level three blacksmith—if his precious apprentice can't become a master craftsman, then who can?
Qian Gu Chen Ran was also eagerly anticipating the next soul bone. It would be much easier for Zhen Hua to step in than for him to have the Spirit Pagoda bid for the soul bone himself.
As the sole master craftsman, Zhenhua would be respected by all factions. Except for the Holy Spirit Cult! Other factions in the Spirit Pagoda might also give him face, but those two scoundrels would definitely cause them trouble, making it a losing proposition.
Ultimately, this nine-thousand-year-old Ironclad Dragon head soul bone fell into the hands of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan for a price of 99 million. No force would complain about having too many soul bones, not to mention that in the current era, the value of head soul bones is far higher than that of other parts of the soul bone.
After the Ironclad Dragon Head's Soul Bone was sent off the stage, Ye You personally went backstage and carried a jade box engraved with exquisite patterns to the center of the auction stage.
As her delicate hand slowly opened the lid of the jade box, a palm-sized, rhomboid blue scale came into view.
She placed the jade box containing the scales on the display stand beside her, and looking at the various treasure boxes on the second floor, she introduced, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the last item in this auction."
"I can assure you all that this is the most valuable item ever auctioned by our Heavenly Dou Royal Auction House in the past century. It's the external soul bone of a 30,000-year-old Mirror Beast, a soul beast that went extinct ten thousand years ago."
As the words "external soul bone" reached the ears of everyone present, their eyes lit up as they stared at the blue scales. Most of them didn't even have a soul bone, let alone the legendary external soul bone that was said to rival a 100,000-year-old soul bone.
"Everyone is familiar with the legend of the Shrek Seven Devils. The sixth spirit ring of the original Shrek Seven Devils, the God of Food Douluo, came from the Mirror Beast. In the legend, the God of Food Douluo Oscar used this spirit skill to help the Sea God Tang San defeat the evil Spirit Hall and save the Douluo Continent with the other five members."
Therefore, I don't need to elaborate on the preciousness of this soul bone. Moreover, based on the innate soul skills of the Mirror Beast, we speculate that if a soul master absorbs it, there is an eight or nine out of ten chance that they will obtain a copying soul skill.
For various reasons, the starting bid for this soul bone is 90 million!
All the Soul Masters in the lobby who heard this number held their breath. The starting bid of 90 million was already an astronomical price for many of them, and the final transaction price would definitely be far higher than that.
The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School's private room number nine was the first to bid, "One hundred and ten million!"
The elder leading the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's VIP room pondered for a moment, then said, "One hundred and thirty million!"
This was the highest price he could offer; he had used most of the money he brought to buy the Ironclad Dragon Soul Bone.
He needs to use that soul bone, along with the secret soul bone and the iron dragon head soul bone he used to collect, to create a ten-thousand-year soul bone for his grandson. He might as well miss out on this external soul bone.
In the second Tang Clan VIP room, Master Zhao kept tapping the armrest of his chair. This time, the Shrek Academy member who came to participate in the auction was He Yushu, who was the one who was least on good terms with the Tang Clan.
Knowing his personality, he wouldn't hand over the soul bone to the Tang Sect. Besides, he had unintentionally offended the Xuanming Sect and the Spirit Pagoda just now…
Master Zhao rubbed his temples, but finally called out a bid of 170 million.
In Shrek Academy's VIP box number four, He Yushu quietly flipped through the book in his hands, indifferent to everything happening outside. He hadn't wanted to come in the first place, and he didn't know what had gotten into Cai Yue'er.
Upon hearing that the auction would feature the external soul bone of the long-extinct Mirror Beast, they rushed to collect it, claiming it was a gift from their ancestor Oscar and that the soul bone was destined for Shrek Academy.
If Ya Li hadn't been reasonable enough to stop Cai Yue'er and Long Yeyue, who had been persuaded by her, she and Yun Ming would have had to ask He Yushu, the most level-headed of all the elders, to attend the auction to prevent them from making any foolish moves.
He Yushu closed the book, recalling the white-haired, blue-gold heterochromatic-eyed child he had just seen walk into VIP room number one.
That looks like Chen Ran, he's grown so much in the blink of an eye. I can give that to him in a little while. He Yushu looked down at the auction stage, lost in thought.
As the various forces gradually raised their bids, the final price reached 220 million. The major powers in Zhenhua could no longer offer a higher price. He decisively settled the matter with "250 million."
"Two hundred and fifty million once!"
"Two hundred and fifty million twice!"
"Two hundred and fifty million three times!"
"Congratulations to the guest in Box One for winning this item." With the fall of Ye You's gavel, the Heavenly Dou Royal Auction officially came to an end.
On their way to collect the soul bone, Qian Gu Chenran and the others were picked up by Xu Tianyu. He handed Qian Gu Chenran a check, saying, "Chenran, there are seventy million in here. I really want to thank you for this."
Qian Gu Chenran took the check, smiled, shook his head, and looked at Xu Tianyuan. "It's alright, Uncle Yu. Goodbye, Tianyuan."
"Okay! Boss, remember to come back to Xuanming Sect and visit me." After watching the father and son leave, Zhenhua took Qian Gu Chenran to retrieve their soul bones and prepared to return to the Blacksmith Association.
Just as the group was chatting and laughing and preparing to board Mu Ye's god-level mecha, a gentle male voice called out to them, "Chen Ran!"
Qian Gu Chenran turned around curiously and looked at the middle-aged man's face. Qian Gu Chenran exclaimed happily, "Uncle He!"
He Yushu smiled and nodded to Mu Ye and Zhen Hua. Mu Ye frowned; he had never had a good impression of Shrek Academy members. Zhen Hua nodded in response.
He Yushu handed Qian Gu Chenran a soul tool, saying, "Chenran, there's a gift I prepared for you inside. It's to celebrate you becoming a Soul Master!"
Qian Gu Chen Ran was stunned for a moment. "Uncle He, this is inappropriate."
He Yushu shook his head and forcefully shoved the soul tool into Qian Gu Chenran's hand. "This was originally obtained by Xuan Dou and me during our training. At my current level, I have no use for this whale glue."
Seeing that Qian Gu Chen Ran had accepted the whale glue, He Yu Shu smiled and bid farewell to everyone present.
As he boarded Mu Ye's god-level mecha, Qian Gu Chen Ran looked at the Mirror Beast's external soul bone placed in the jade box, filled with anticipation. He was eager to see what kind of soul skill this soul bone would grant him.
Chapter 46 Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform
Entering the cultivation room prepared by Zhenhua, Qian Gu Chenran circulated his soul power, and the blue scales slowly merged into the Eye of the Void.
Enveloped in the flames of the Void, Qian Gu Chen Ran fell into meditation. A short while later, the external soul bone of the Mirror Beast was absorbed by the Eye of the Void.
Qian Gu Chenran felt a surge of joy as he experienced the natural enhancement of his soul skills and soul power brought by the soul bone.
With six months to go until his seventh birthday, his soul power had already reached level twenty-eight. Judging from this, he could reach the Soul Master level by the age of six. Even if the cultivation of his ultimate attributes would slow down after level thirty, he had the dragon crystals given to him by his great-uncle, so it was a minor problem.
Thinking about this, Qian Gu Chen Ran couldn't help but marvel at how different his family was. If it were Shrek Academy, would they be willing to give this away?
Qian Gu Chenran walked straight from the cultivation room to Zhen Hua's office. Seeing Qian Gu Chenran's smiling face, Zhen Hua also smiled and spoke.
"Chen Ran, it seems you're quite satisfied with this soul bone!"
"Yes! Thank you very much, Master!"
Zhenhua waved his hand and said, "There's no need for thanks between us! Come on, your master will take you to the forging room and give you some pointers."
Following Zhenhua into his private forging room, he looked at the various metals displayed inside. Even he, the crown prince of a thousand years, was awestruck by these metals.
The price of these metals alone is enough to buy two of his own mirror beast external soul bones. Zhenhua looked around, pondering which piece of metal to use as a demonstration for his disciple.
When Zhenhua glanced at the few pieces of orange-red, cloudy crystal below, he nodded slightly. This one will do.
Watching Zhenhua take the yellow crystal to the forging table, Qian Gu Chenran raised an eyebrow. His teacher was really going all out. The titanium crystals in front of Zhenhua alone were enough to sell for nearly ten million.
Zhenhua stretched his body, his expression focused. "Chenran, today I'll teach you a forging technique that works from the inside out. This technique is especially suitable for certain metals, like this piece of titanium crystal."
Zhenhua picked up the forging hammer beside him, and with each gentle tap, the chaotic fine gold lines inside the titanium crystal changed and contracted with each strike.
Clang! Clang! Clang! During Zhenhua's brief strike, the orange-red surface of the titanium quartz suddenly burst forth with dazzling golden light. The golden light floated above the titanium quartz and eventually formed a golden hammer. Its irregular shape also transformed into a golden sphere in the process.
Zhenhua glanced at Qian Gu Chenran, who was already immersed in his forging skills, and couldn't help but feel proud.
"Chenran, the teacher will be forging this titanium crystal next. You must watch carefully and try to understand it."
Zhenhua's twin hammers struck the titanium crystal with a moderate intensity. Qian Guchenran opened his Void Eyes, and in his eyes, each of Zhenhua's hammer blows was giving life to the titanium crystal.
When the Eye of the Void is activated, everything in the world becomes visible to Qian Gu Chenran, and his ability to utilize his soul power far surpasses that of ordinary people. With this ability, he could already easily carve level-three soul tools before even arriving in Tian Dou City.
When Xu Xuanming saw Qian Gu Chenran effortlessly draw a level-three soul guidance core array without batting an eye and then proceed to perform a level-two forging, the over two-hundred-year-old man fell into deep self-doubt, feeling that he had wasted all these years.
Mu Ye brought Qian Gu Chen Ran to Tian Dou City to become Zhen Hua's apprentice. Qian Gu Die Ting did not stop him because Qian Gu Qing Feng and Xia Zheng Leng told him that Qian Gu Chen Ran was already a level three Soul Master and a level two Blacksmith.
The over two-hundred-year-old man was stunned for a long time upon hearing the news. As soon as he came to his senses, he immediately flew back to the ancestral home of the ancient clan to burn incense for his ancestors.
When Qian Gu Dongfeng heard that his nephew was already a Level 2 Blacksmith and a Level 3 Soul Master at the age of six, and imagined his nephew becoming a Divine Craftsman, and Yun Ming and his group begging their Qian Gu Clan to forge four-word battle armor, he was incredibly excited.
Then, he personally funded the preparation of various rare metals worth over a billion Federal Credits for Qian Gu Chen Ran. He also told Qian Gu Qing Feng to come to him if he needed more. Qian Gu Chen Ran came to become his disciple carrying the hopes of his entire family.
Watching the soul within the metal gradually take shape, Qian Gu Chen Ran couldn't help but feel an itch to try it himself. Brain: Got it? Hands: I think I did.
To allow Qian Gu Chen Ran to experience more in spirit forging, Zhen Hua deliberately slowed down his forging speed and intensity; otherwise, with his strength, forging a piece of titanium crystal would only take a few hammer blows.
As the final hammer fell, the golden sphere emitted a rich golden light and gracefully circled around Zhenhua.