Douluo Dalu 2: The True God King

"It doesn't matter too much. Each of these stationary soul-guided cannon shells is encrypted with our Illustrious Virtue Hall's sealing array," Meng Hongchen said. "Even if they buy them back, it will be very difficult to disassemble and study them."

"But there's still a risk. You never know, and I'm quite interested in this complete set of twelve stationary soul-guided cannon shells with different attributes," Su Yu said with a slight smile. Sets of stationary soul-guided cannon shells like this are rarely seen. Even if it were just for collection, it would still be a fine choice.

He had a special fondness for stationary soul-guided cannon shells.

The auction soon began. The bidding price for the set of twelve stationary soul-guided cannon shells quickly surpassed the price of the Tyrant Tiger Soul Blade by 50,000 gold soul coins.

It's worth noting that the value of these twelve shells lay primarily in their rarity. In truth, very few people had the chance to actually use stationary soul-guided cannon shells. Generally, they were something only the military might use. Moreover, stationary soul-guided cannon shells are consumable items — once used, they're gone.

Coupled with their exorbitant price, there probably weren't many people present who were willing to bid on them. Sure enough, after the price was announced, the scene fell into a brief silence. If no one placed a bid within a minute, the lot would be declared unsold.

"Looks like nobody wants it, huh? What about Shrek Academy? Why aren't they bidding?" Wang Dong'er asked in confusion.

"Those Shrek guys are just trying to be sneaky, waiting to bid at the last second. But I won't give them that chance," Su Yu said with a smirk.

"Miss Qingya, 1,000,000 gold soul coins!"

Qingya's beautiful eyes lit up with joy, and she quickly signaled the attendant to place the bid. She was responsible for hosting Su Yu and his companions, and the more they purchased, the higher her commission would be. It would also contribute to her performance evaluation at the auction house.

The attendant promptly announced the bid, and on the large display screen, the number "1,000,000 gold soul coins" flashed.

"A bid of 1,000,000 gold soul coins from the guests in Box 8! Any higher bids?" The auctioneer, Xu Jiujiu, smiled charmingly. Box 8 likely belonged to the team from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy. After all, she had personally arranged for them to be seated there.

Meanwhile, in Box 7, Wang Yan nearly lost his composure.

"What the heck, who's doing this? Must be a shill bidder, right? Who bids like that?" Xu Sanshi couldn't help but grumble. The price increase was too outrageous — they'd jumped by 350,000 gold soul coins in one go!

Teacher Wang had originally planned to sneak in a bid at the last second, but that plan was now ruined.

"Miss Qingxin, can you tell us who the guest in Box 8 is?" Wang Yan turned to the auctioneer next to him, a mature and elegant woman in a black dress.

"Apologies, esteemed guest. Our Starlight Auction House does not disclose the identities of other guests," Qingxin replied with a gentle smile.

Wang Yan frowned but did not press further. Originally, he had just intended to make a sneaky bid, but now that plan had fallen through.

"Caitou, is this thing really useful to the Academy?" Wang Yan asked He Caitou.

"Absolutely, Teacher Wang. We have to get it," He Caitou nodded without hesitation.

"Our Academy's Soul Engineering Department has been focusing on research related to stationary soul-guided cannon shells for years. The power of stationary soul-guided cannon shells has always been a key issue for us. Currently, the best we can produce are fifth-level stationary soul-guided cannon shells."

"Having access to these shells would be a great help in our research on higher-level stationary soul-guided cannon shells."

"Teacher Wang, we must win this bid."

Hearing this, Wang Yan no longer hesitated. He instructed the attendant to raise the bid by another 50,000 gold soul coins, bringing it to 1,050,000 gold soul coins.

"Shrek's bunch of poor misers... that's all they've got? 1,500,000 gold soul coins," Su Yu said calmly, not even blinking as he instructed the attendant to raise the bid directly to 1,500,000 gold soul coins.

Qingya's eyes shone brightly, looking at Su Yu as if he were a walking gold mine.

"Su Yu, are you crazy? Why are you throwing money around like this?" Xiao Hongchen was stunned. He had never seen anyone bid as Su Yu did.

"If you're going to bid, you have to crush the opponent with sheer momentum. Show them we're determined to win," Su Yu replied with a calm smile.

"Besides, the price hasn't even exceeded the value ceiling. Relax, I understand stationary soul-guided cannon shells."

"You could have done what Shrek Academy did and tried to sneak in a bid at the last moment," Xiao Hongchen said, still puzzled.

"That's not reliable. A lot of people have that idea, and I want this set of shells," Su Yu said plainly.

"Also, I've always believed that soul tools should be sold at the prices they deserve. If someone wins them for too low a price, it undermines the market."

"And since we're soul engineers, we can't do that ourselves. Anyone else can play the 'sneak bid' game, but we can't."

How do the prices of soul tools remain high? It's because soul engineers collectively prop them up. This ensures a stable price range.

As a soul engineer himself, how could Su Yu lead the way in breaking that system?

Compared to that, the expenditure of a bit of gold soul coins was nothing. What he was protecting was the market for soul tools.

If the market for soul tools remains stable, as a soul engineer, how could he not make money?

As long as every soul engineer shared his thinking, the world of soul tools would remain prosperous, and everyone would profit.

"You… you're something else," Xiao Hongchen muttered, speechless. He had no idea how to describe Su Yu.

This guy would rather pay more than allow the price of soul tool to fall.

If soul masters ever learned what Su Yu was doing, they might skin him alive. His approach was truly ruthless.

But for Illustrious Virtue Hall, this wasn't a bad thing at all. Illustrious Virtue Hall had done similar things before to showcase the superior quality of their soul tools.

And what's the most direct way to prove high quality? A high price, of course.

Over the years, the price of Soul tools has remained consistently high.

At this moment, Xiao Hongchen suddenly realized something. The oul tools being auctioned right now were made by Illustrious Virtue Hall.

Then he looked at Su Yu again, and a lightbulb went off.

He finally understood why Su Yu was doing this. He had even suggested earlier that Su Yu should try sneaking in a low bid to buy back Illustrious Virtue Hall's products. How foolish of him!

If word got out, it would be a disaster.

If Illustrious Virtue Hall themselves bid so low, it would suggest that, in their own eyes, these devices weren't worth much.

How could they then justify selling them at such high prices to the public?

That would undoubtedly make people question Illustrious Virtue Hall's credibility, harming its reputation.

But Su Yu was doing the opposite. By bidding high to buy them back, he was protecting Illustrious Virtue Hall's reputation and signaling to the world that the value of Illustrious Virtue Hall's Soul tools was justified.

Xiao Hongchen's eyes widened in sudden realization. His gaze at Su Yu now carried a hint of admiration.

No wonder his grandfather valued Su Yu so highly. Su Yu's strategic foresight was indeed better than his own.

While Xiao Hongchen was focused on short-term gain, Su Yu was thinking about preserving Illustrious Virtue Hall's reputation and the perceived prestige of its soul-guided devices.

He suddenly felt ashamed. If this idea of sneaking in a low bid had gotten out, Illustrious Virtue Hall's image would have taken a serious hit.

"Su Yu… I'm no match for you," Xiao Hongchen thought, filled with admiration.

Just based on this far-sighted vision, he was already far behind Su Yu.

"Brother-in-law, I admit defeat."

For once, Xiao Hongchen spoke words of concession. It was no easy feat to get this proud and haughty golden toad to admit defeat, especially verbally.

"Watch closely and learn," Su Yu said smugly.

Xiao Hongchen rolled his eyes hard, thinking, Call him fat, and he started panting.

Before long, the auction concluded.

Su Yu won the set of stationary soul-guided cannon shells for 1.85 million gold soul coins.

This price had indeed exceeded the estimated upper limit, but Su Yu didn't care.

Not letting Shrek Academy get its hands on it was satisfying enough.

"Damn it!"

Inside Private Room No. 7, Wang Yan was furious.

He had no idea who was in Private Room No. 8, but they were bidding wildly.

He raised the bid by 5,000, and the other party added 50,000.

He raised it by 10,000, and the other side added 100,000.

It was clear they were trying to crush him with sheer wealth.

Did he think Wang Yan would be intimidated by that?

Actually… he was.

When the price exceeded the acceptable range, he dared not bid any higher.

After all, it wasn't his money—it was the academy's.

The academy would never allow him to waste money like that.

After struggling for a while, he could only grit his teeth and give up.

"What a shame, such a pity."

He Caitou's face was full of disappointment. For a soul engineer like him, the temptation of that set of Level 6 stationary soul-guided cannon shells was simply too great.

It was a shame that Wang Yan failed to secure it.

"The price was too high, not worth it," Wang Yan said, his face still dark.

He Caitou didn't argue. He understood Wang Yan's predicament.

It wasn't personal money—it was academy funds. He could understand why Wang Yan had to be cautious.

The auction continued. Five more items were auctioned off, including two soul bones, a rare metal, and two Level 8 soul tools.

Su Yu only purchased one of them—a rare metal—at a price of over 2 million gold soul coins.

It was a material capable of being used to craft a Level 9 soul tool. Such materials were extremely rare, and their size was decent, so Su Yu wasn't about to let it slip by.

For him, gold soul coins were just a number. If it was something useful, then it was worth it.

Next to him, Qing Ya's face beamed with joy. She was responsible for serving Su Yu and his companions.

The more they spent, the more benefits she received.

With Su Yu's generous spending, her gaze toward him grew increasingly fervent.

If this continued for a while longer, it wouldn't be surprising if Su Yu could have something fun and enjoyable with her later tonight.

Su Yu glanced at Xiao Hongchen with a smirk. See? It's that simple.

Is there any need to be as timid as a quail?

Proper noble ladies might be hard to win over, but the women working at an auction house?

As long as you have wealth and status, how hard can it be to win them over?

Of course, Su Yu had no interest in playing around. If he did, he would have become a groom tonight already.

Noticing Qing Ya's increasingly passionate gaze, Meng Hongchen instinctively grabbed Su Yu's hand.

Wang Dong'er snorted, nudging Su Yu's leg with a warning glance.

Su Yu sighed, looking at Wang Dong'er helplessly, before gently stroking Meng Hongchen's soft, tender hand.

His gaze was calm and reassuring, silently letting her know she had nothing to worry about.

Meng Hongchen nodded slightly and leaned gently against his shoulder.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our next item is the eighth item for tonight's auction: a left arm bone. Please take a look."

Following Xu Jiujiu's gesture, a new image appeared on the large screen—a soul bone.

This soul bone was fiery red, relatively intact, and emanating a red glow.

"The left arm bone of a Blazing Flame Tiger, aged between 40,000 and 50,000 years.

After thorough research, we have determined that it…"

Xu Jiujiu began to passionately introduce it.

Inside the private room, Su Yu glanced at it and calmly gave his assessment.

"A 40,000-year-old Blazing Flame Tiger left arm bone. It's passable but not special. Its main selling point is that it's fairly complete. I'd say it's worth no more than six million gold soul coins."

"Do you want to bid for it?" Wang Dong'er asked.

"No need," Su Yu shook his head.

He wasn't interested in ordinary soul bones like this one.

The bidding concluded quickly, and the next item was revealed—a soul bone with a reddish-golden glow.

This bone was dazzling, exuding a powerful and majestic aura.

"This is a left leg bone from a Ten-Thousand-Year Redgold Lion, aged approximately 20,000 to 30,000 years.

The quality of this soul bone is exceptional, making it a truly rare find. Please take a look, everyone."

Xu Jiujiu's voice rang out, and inside the private room, Su Yu's eyes lit up with surprise.

"It's a Redgold Lion soul bone? Now that's rare."

Among soul beasts, the Redgold Lion had an exceptionally high status.

Even most top-tier soul beasts were inferior to it.

Though it wasn't quite as fearsome as the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear, it was considered a subspecies of the Golden Bloodline and a variant of the Golden Lion King.

With similar levels of cultivation, a Redgold Lion could even stand its ground against a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear.

A soul bone from a creature like that was bound to be valuable.

On top of that, the bone appeared relatively complete, which would surely drive the price up.

"Brother Xiao, this soul bone suits you well. Want it?"

Su Yu smiled as he glanced at Xiao Hongchen.

"Can't afford it," Xiao Hongchen said with a helpless shrug.

He knew this soul bone was valuable, but the problem was that it was also expensive.

This piece alone would probably cost at least eight or nine million gold soul coins.

They still needed to save their funds for the final item of the night.

"I've got the money. Want me to lend it to you?" Su Yu grinned.

If it had been for Meng Hongchen, he would have bought it without hesitation and gifted it to her.

But for a brother-in-law? That was different.

Spending over 10 million gold soul coins on a man wasn't something Su Yu was willing to do.

Even if he was rich, he wouldn't throw money around mindlessly.

"No need."

Xiao Hongchen shook his head.

"Alright, then."

Since Xiao Hongchen didn't want to borrow, Su Yu wouldn't force it.

The Redgold Lion soul bone was quickly bought by another bidder at a steep price of 9.7 million gold soul coins.

Soul bones from soul beasts with special, pure bloodlines were always absurdly expensive.

"Ladies and gentlemen, next is the tenth item in tonight's auction, and it's also a soul bone.

This one is a right arm bone. Please take a look."

As her words fell, the large screen displayed a new image—a soul bone.

This soul bone was pure white, pristine and flawless, exuding a faint white mist.

The entire bone looked like a piece of snow-white jade without a single blemish.

However, the moment this soul bone appeared, Su Yu felt a stirring sensation from the Wishful Hundred Treasure Purse.

Snow Empress had become restless.

Su Yu quickly reached into the Hund and gently calmed her.

It seemed that this right arm bone had caught Snow Empress's attention.

If Snow Empress was this interested, then this soul bone was extraordinary.