In order to celebrate the Soul Master Competition, the entire Xingluo City was covered in red as if it was covered with a curtain.
The streets and alleys were bustling with activity, with soul masters from various colleges participating in the competition, as well as civilian spectators gathered here. The men looked heroic, the women covered their faces and giggled, and everyone was laughing in the excitement.
After the little episode of Xiao Hongchen, Ling Bai held Xue Di and walked through the crowd. The night wind blew, and a few strands of snow-like long hair would occasionally playfully hit his face. He could smell a faint fragrance in his nose, like the scent of some flower, elusive, but real.
Rushing out of the crowd, the view ahead of them suddenly opened up, and bright lights flying into the night sky appeared in their sight.
Ling Bai recognized them and said with a smile, "The traditional sky lanterns of the Xing Luo Empire, people light sky lanterns to pray for blessings during festivals, write their wishes on the lanterns before lighting them, and let them rise to the sky with the lanterns, praying that the gods in the sky will protect them year after year.
The Xingluo Empire can only hold a Soul Master Competition every twenty years. For the people of Xingluo City, the Soul Master Competition is more important than the New Year. "
"Thank you for your popularity, but…"
Xue Di looked sideways at the innocent party, then pulled back her hand. "I've tolerated your holding for a while, why are you still reluctant to let go?"
Ling Bai looked as if nothing had happened. It could only be said that Xue Di was indeed a 700,000-year-old ice and snow girl, who used her soul power to condense an energy body. Her touch was actually no different from that of a real person. It felt cool and warm, like the finest white jade, making people reluctant to let go.
"When in Rome, do as the Romans do. How about we set one off too?" Ling Bai changed the subject.
"good."
Xue Di was too lazy to argue with Ling Bai. She looked at the star-like sky lanterns and nodded slightly, and threw him a popsicle she had just bought.
The sky lanterns of the Xingluo Empire are made of a piece of thin paper glued together to form a large paper bag that looks like a lantern. Pulling open the metal wire at the bottom turns it into a sky lantern. The price is very cheap and reasonable, and you can buy one for five copper soul coins.
Ling Bai and Xue Di stood on both sides of the sky lantern, their faces reflected on the thin paper, the rustling sound of each other's pens rubbing against each other's paper echoed in their ears. They were surprisingly serious, writing down their wishes stroke by stroke.
Light the bottom candle and hold the soft top with both hands. The heat will fill the inner sky lantern and it will rise into the air. At first, it looks very large, like a house floating in the air, emitting an orange-red light, and then gradually becomes smaller and smaller until it becomes a star.
Lights were floating in the dark night sky. Ling Bai and Xue Di stood side by side, their hearts rising into the night sky. They quietly watched the words of hope drift away.
Xue Di raised her head, her sky-blue eyes gradually blurred, as if she saw sky lanterns in the distant sky illuminating every person who released a lantern, sending them warm love.
She was somewhat happy. The saint was tired of the monotonous life that had lasted for seven hundred thousand years. However, she had never left the Far North because that was her hometown that she had loved for seven hundred thousand years.
For Xue Di, life is just about wasting time. He shoulders the responsibility of being the master of ice and snow and guarding the Far North. It doesn't matter whether he is happy or unhappy, happy or unhappy.
Before deciding to rebuild and transform into a human, Xue Di had a little fantasy about the unfamiliar human world. If she was lucky enough to be successfully reborn as a human, she hoped to experience a different life, leaving her eyes behind the pure white of the Far North and seeing the colorful colors of the Douluo Continent.
Seeing the smile that unconsciously blossomed on Xue Di's beautiful face, Ling Bai's mouth corners curled up silently. At this moment, Xue Di finally let go of her mood, and her body and mind were no longer heavy and cold.
Ling Bai sometimes felt that he and Xue Di were just like a couple who got married after a blind date. One wanted the Far North faith and spirit rings and bones, and the other wanted to ensure the future of the Far North.
One day, the two of them suddenly found that the other person's conditions met their expectations, so they naturally walked hand in hand. There was no emotional foundation, and they did not know each other's past and experience.
They became a flash marriage couple who respected each other as guests. Although they would do their best to consider each other, it was all for the common good. Although they were so close to each other, they felt so far apart as if there was an ocean between them.
In Ling Bai's eyes, the sea can be filled up bit by bit, and getting married first and then falling in love does not necessarily mean that happiness cannot be achieved. The process of solving the problem is to imprint the shadow lightly in each other's heart and continue to deepen it. In other words, they need to experience the beauty together.
"Can you tell me what wish you made?"
Xue Di suddenly whispered that she had countless worries in her heart, the future of the Far North soul beast, the heavenly tribulation of the three ferocious beasts, and whether the road to becoming a god would be smooth... But even so, it took Ling Bai longer to finish writing than her.
"Let's switch. You speak first." Ling Bai said with a smile.
"You can guess, it's just that."
Xue Di sighed. Having witnessed the prosperity of the human world with her own eyes, she had to believe that one day the soul beasts would face a catastrophe. If she wanted to preserve the Far North, becoming a god was the only option.
"now you."
"I thought about it for a long time and finally only wrote seven words." Ling Bai told him frankly.
Hearing this, Xue Di frowned slightly. She thought Ling Bai had written an essay and asked:
"Which seven words?"
"May my heart be like a sword that cuts through sorrow."
Xue Di lowered her eyes and savored the words carefully. She understood that this sentence was actually said by Ling Bai to her.
The dim lights make people ignore the passage of time, and it is not until the pedestrians on the long street gradually disperse that people realize that it is already late at night.
Ling Bai stared at the Snow Queen who was born in the Far North without hesitation. In another time and space, the Snow Queen became a spirit and inherited the emotion of sorrow. Since they shared the same fate in this life, Ling Bai hoped that she would never be sad again.
"You humans are truly blessed by God. Twelve years is just a blink of an eye for soul beasts, yet it happened to give birth to someone like you."
After a long time, Xue Di slowly opened her mouth, her sky-blue eyes fixed on Ling Bai. Ling Bai saw that her gaze was crystal clear. The bright moonlight shone on Xue Di's exquisite face, and her long eyelashes left two shadows on her face.
Before Ling Bai could speak, Xue Di continued, "I'm very happy. Let's stop here tonight. I owe you two promises. You can tell me anytime you have made up your mind."
After saying that, she turned into star-like snowflakes and poured into Ling Bai's sea of consciousness.
"I'm back."
When Alex saw Xue Di returning, he greeted him politely, but Xue Di was in a state of confusion and didn't care about much. He just nodded in response and turned back to the ice house.
…
In the outside world, Ling Bai, who was alone, didn't care where the road ahead was. He walked alone along the broad road of Xingluo City. Unknowingly, he came to a dome building. Above the building stood a magnificent plaque with five large characters engraved in a flamboyant style.
Starlight Auction House.
Similar in specifications to the Tianhun Auction House and the Shrek Academy Treasure Appreciation Pavilion, the Starlight Auction House with the background of the Xingluo royal family was built to be particularly eye-catching. Even in the middle of the night, the lights were still bright, and six welcoming girls in long skirts stood in front of the gate.
These girls were strictly selected by the auction house. They were all about 1.7 meters tall, with slender and well-proportioned figures. Their young and beautiful looks attracted people passing by to the Starlight Auction House to spend a lot of money.
Seeing Ling Bai approaching from afar, a young girl immediately took a few quick steps to greet him, smiling and saying, "Hello, VIP. Do you want to participate in the auction? Today's auction is purple level and will be held in three hours. The Starlight Auction House has prepared a lounge for VIPs. You can take a rest in there for a while."
"I have something I want to auction. Could you please take me to the appraisal room?" Ling Bai said straight to the point.
In order to collect 60 million gold soul coins to buy Yaohui Zhihua, Ling Bai sold everything he had, including the small treasury he had saved for so many years. He even had to borrow money from Ling Luochen to buy the ten thousand year old whale glue. Although he made a profit by selling the ten thousand year old whale glue to Chu Qingtian at 80% off the market price, his wallet was still empty. It happened that he had some extra things on hand, so he might as well auction them off to make some money.
All the major auction houses have many appraisers who specialize in appraising the level of treasures and assign them to auctions at different auction houses. The girl was used to this and showed no surprise on her face as she led Ling Bai into the Starlight Auction House.
The interior of the auction house is not as magnificent as its exterior. The floor is made of milky white marble, and the surrounding walls are decorated with various elegant reliefs. Ancient exhibits such as porcelain and armor are displayed in the display windows built against the wall. The overall style is clean and bright.
The girl was well-trained and provided attentive service. She would pause every ten steps, make a please gesture, and accurately guide the direction, leading Ling Bai to a room next to the hall with a sign that said "Identification" on it.
There was a row of desks in the room, and ten appraisers of different ages, wearing purple and black robes, were working busily. As the Soul Master Competition was in full swing in Xingluo City, the number of people coming for appraisal had increased tenfold, and they were working in three shifts, appraising items non-stop.
"Appraiser No. 1, this distinguished guest wishes to have this item appraised and auctioned as soon as possible."
Number One was the only black-level appraiser in the room at the moment, and he was also a gray-haired old man. He put down the item in his hand, turned his sore shoulders, and said,
"Oh my Lord Poseidon, my God, I've been so tired these past few days. Come on, young man, show me anything good."
Ling Bai took out a palm-sized oval piece of lavender metal and handed it to the black-level appraiser.
The old man picked up a magnifying glass to observe, and the next second he suddenly jumped three meters high and said in shock:
"Oh my Lord Poseidon, my God, this is incredible, an eighth-level soul guide, produced by Mingde Hall! Hello, sir, look at my damn memory, I even forgot to entertain you well, please forgive me, a stupid groundhog, for the sake of Lord Poseidon and His Majesty the Emperor Xingluo!
If you don't mind, I would like to invite you to sit in the VIP lounge next door for a while. We will use the highest standard of courtesy to make up for the previous neglect. Please ask the red-level appraiser of the Starlight Auction House to appraise the value of this eighth-level soul guide for you!"
"…"
Calling the old man "Lord Poseidon" all the time, Ling Bai really wanted to put on his big leather shoes and kick the old man's butt.
What he was selling was an eighth-level soul guide aura barrier, one of the spoils of war in the Far North. It came with the skill of concealment, which concealed all smells, soul power fluctuations, and other auras within a radius of fifty meters around the caster. Spiritual soul masters above Titled Douluo or Seven-ring Soul Saint could use their mental power to break the concealment effect.
It cannot be said that the Breath Barrier is completely useless. As an auxiliary soul guide, it is far superior to offensive soul guides under special circumstances. It can save lives in times of crisis. However, Ling Bai already has the disguise of a Thousand Charms, disguising himself as various things such as birds, beasts, fish, insects, trees, soil and rocks, so he does not need a Breath Barrier.
Moreover, Xu Cong had set up a core magic circle self-destruct device in the aura barrier, so its research value was also not high. Therefore, Ling Bai decided to sell it at the Starlight Auction House to replenish his coffers. It seemed a bit embarrassing to always ask Ning Fengya for money.
"This way please!"
The welcoming girl's expression suddenly became much more enthusiastic. The Sun-Moon Empire was not a monolithic entity. The high-level soul instructors of Mingde Hall would also secretly earn some extra money, but the head of Mingde Hall, Jing Hongchen, had set two unspoken rules.
First, it is not allowed to sell soul guides in large quantities. Second, the three empires that originally belonged to Douluo Continent will never allow the emergence of level nine soul guides. Violators will be subject to double sanctions from Mingde Hall and the Sun and Moon Royal Family.
The eighth-level soul guide is the highest-level soul guide in Douluo Continent. A black-level appraiser is not qualified to appraise the aura barrier. The old man himself is a sixth-level soul guide. He touched it lovingly for a long time before quickly looking for a red-level appraiser to come over.
About a quarter of an hour later, the door of the VIP lounge was pushed open, and three figures walked in slowly. The old man was the last one with his body hunched, and two women, one old and one young, were in front of him, looking very dignified.
The girl had a soft and graceful face, and she was wearing a red palace dress that was slim and well-fitting, which brought out her elegant and noble temperament. The moment she looked at Ling Bai, the calmness in her eyes was instantly broken, and she couldn't help but exclaimed:
"Ning Bai, why is it you?"
Ling Bai raised his eyebrows, feeling that the world is really small, and asked with a smile: "Miss Xu Jiuer, why can't it be me?"
Xu Jiuer?
Next to Xu Jiujiu was an old woman who looked at least eighty years old, with white hair and beard and wearing a golden dress. Upon hearing this name, she narrowed her eyes and kept looking at Ling Bai.
The two had a narrow escape in the Dark Forest, and hadn't seen each other for a while. Xu Jiujiu's pretty face showed a bit of excitement, and she said, "The person who sold Mingde Hall's eighth-level soul guide device turned out to be you. Did you go to the Sun Moon Empire Mingde Hall to rob those soul guides?"
"Yeah... almost."
"You are so honest..."
In Xu Jiujiu's impression, the moral bottom line of evil soul masters has always been ridiculously low. No matter how shameless the things he did, Xu Jiujiu would always think that since he is already an evil soul master, why should he care so much!
Long live understanding!
"Let's talk business first. Are you really going to auction an eighth-level soul guide device?" Xu Jiujiu, an auctioneer and appraiser at the Starlight Auction House, confirmed with Ling Bai again and again.
"If I don't sell it, can this old gentleman let me go?" Ling Bai pointed at the little old man whose eyes were glued to the breath barrier and teased.
"Please Miss Xu, please identify it and give me an estimate of the price."
"It's a small matter, but you have to say it first..."
The princess's plan to rise up that she had been thinking about day and night suddenly flashed into her mind. She stared at Ling Bai, who was completely unaware of it, for a long time, and smiled cunningly like a little fox:
"Princess, please identify it!"