"The Great Wilderness Ancient Kingdom?"
Inside the VIP room, Xiao Lin paced back and forth, recalling the descriptions he once read in ancient books.
It was said to be a kingdom that had pushed soul tool technology to its absolute peak—an ancient, overwhelmingly powerful nation that existed who-knows-how-many years ago. But for unknown reasons, it vanished without a trace.
Xiao Lin normally didn't read history. After all, the history of the Douluo Continent was… mediocre at best.
Tens of thousands of years of cultivation history was enough to make Yu Xiaogang a "Master." What kind of history was even worth reading?
But later, after discussing soul tools with Tang San, he pieced together some clues from the bits and pieces about soul tools.
He believed that the Sea God might have known this technology.
Because the Sea God's Boundless Universe Shield was fundamentally… a soul tool.
Even the technique that allowed the Sea God to help soul masters condense their own soul rings—it was inseparable from soul tool principles.
If soul tools could reach the level of gods, then…Could it be that the gods destroyed the Great Wilderness Ancient Kingdom?
Xiao Lin had already suspected this when he first read that history text.
Now that a map of the ruins had appeared, he naturally developed the urge to investigate the place himself.
The Extreme West—also known as the Great Wilderness Region.
There was even the Slaughter City over there.Could that be the work of the Asura God?
Xiao Lin's thoughts spiraled. The more he thought, the more plausible it seemed.
Maybe… it was actually possible.
"Five million gold soul coins! Do we have any higher bids?"
While Xiao Lin was still deep in thought, someone had already bid five million for the ruin map.
"What's the point of buying something like that?This auction is so boring."
Ning Rongrong shook her head and glanced at Xiao Lin.
And the very next second—Xiao Lin raised his paddle and bid six million.
Seeing Xiao Lin's serious expression, Ning Rongrong instantly blushed.Xiao Lin-ge was so handsome!If he was bidding, he must have a good reason.
Meanwhile, in VIP Room No. 8, Tang San saw Xiao Lin bid and gave up his own intention to compete.
His thoughts were similar to Xiao Lin's.He too was extremely curious about the soul tool technology of the Great Wilderness Ancient Kingdom.
But compared to Xiao Lin, Tang San was far more cautious.
He didn't believe the ruin map guaranteed treasures.
More likely, the auction house had failed to locate the ruins themselves, so they decided to sell the map.
Tang San was also somewhat familiar with the Great Wilderness Region.
Because the Great Wilderness frequently suffered devastating sandstorms, almost no one could survive there.
Xiao Lin had once told him that if he ever needed tough, hardy plant-type soul beasts, that region might be worth exploring.
Because of that, Tang San had even designed special soul tools tailored for travel in the Great Wilderness, planning to obtain soul rings there in the future.
It was said that someone had once glimpsed a city of steel inside the Great Wilderness.
No one knew if the rumor was true.
But Tang San was fascinated by the idea of a steel-made city.
"San-ge, are you planning to go to the Great Wilderness Ancient Kingdom?"
Xiao Wu, sitting beside him, asked with surprise after seeing his expression.
"Yeah."
Tang San nodded, his tone heavy.
But he didn't notice the shock and disbelief in Xiao Wu's eyes.
The Great Wilderness Ancient Kingdom—others might not know it, but as a 100,000-year soul beast, how could Xiao Wu not?
She immediately hugged Tang San's arm and softly pleaded.
"San-ge… can you not go there? Please?"
Hearing her unusual tone, Tang San immediately sensed something was wrong.
Xiao Wu normally never stopped him from doing anything.
In his eyes, she was playful at times, but absolutely the virtuous, supportive type.
"Xiao Wu… do you know something?"
Tang San stared directly into her eyes.
"Uh…"
Under Tang San's gaze, Xiao Wu didn't stand a chance at lying.
"San-ge… you can't go.That place is extremely dangerous."
"Think about it—why is the Star Dou Forest so small?"
Her words struck Tang San like a lightning bolt.
He suddenly realized something, but couldn't quite grasp it.
Xiao Lin had also mentioned it before:For the largest soul beast forest on the continent, the Star Dou Forest was absurdly small.
According to Xiao Lin, apex predators always claimed vast territories.
Tang San understood this well—where he came from, even tigers in the mountains had territories spanning dozens of kilometers.
But the Star Dou Forest, home to multiple 100,000-year soul beasts… was tiny. Ridiculously tiny.
"Don't tell me—?"
Tang San felt like he was touching the truth.
"That's right… San-ge. It's more or less what you're thinking."
Xiao Wu grabbed her head and shook violently, as if recalling some nightmare. Her eyes trembled with fear.
"When I was little, my mom used to scare me with stories about that thing.She said there was something there that flashed once—and then heaven's punishment descended.Large parts of the Star Dou Forest turned to ash."
Xiao Wu had never seen such punishment herself, but she knew even a 100,000-year soul beast's tribulation wasn't that terrifying.
Even the lightning tribulation of the Thunder Gorge couldn't compare.
"So the Great Wilderness became barren because of that?"
Tang San quickly connected this to the cause of the Great Wilderness.
And deep down, he felt this wasn't heaven's punishment.
It felt more like…
A weapon.A horrifyingly powerful soul tool weapon.
He really wanted to see it.
The more Xiao Wu warned him, the more his curiosity burned.
He had to investigate.
As an engineering-minded man, Tang San had zero resistance to powerful weapons.
If he could integrate such forces into the Tang Sect's hidden weapons…He didn't even dare imagine the possibilities.
Breathing deeply, Tang San finally calmed his excitement.
By now, the ruin map had been bid up to 18 million gold soul coins.
Besides Xiao Lin and Tang San, several other family powers showed great interest.
Before Xiao Lin's research paper, they had no real concept of advanced soul tools.
But after reading it, several clans became extremely enthusiastic.
Some even believed that if they stockpiled enough soul tools, they might be able to recruit Master Xiao Yan (Xiao Lin's public alias) into their faction.
And so, these powers competed fiercely over a map whose authenticity was questionable.
Xiao Lin and Tang San both felt helpless.
"Twenty million gold soul coins!"
Suddenly, the bid came from Tang San's VIP Room No. 8.
The atmosphere instantly heated up.
But many forces retreated—20 million was too much.
In Xiao Lin's room, after hearing Tang San's bid, he couldn't help but grin.
If Tang San wanted it so badly, then it must contain something valuable.
That was Xiao Lin's logic.
Meanwhile, in VIP Room No. 1—
Ning Fengzhi watched the bidding war, a mysterious smile forming on his lips.
"Fengzhi… don't tell me you're planning—"
Chen Xin understood immediately after seeing Ning Fengzhi's fox-like expression.
"Sword Uncle, since both Xiao Lin and Tang San want it,how could I possibly let outsiders take it?"
Ning Fengzhi smiled faintly.
In VIP Room No. 2, Qian Renxue watched Tang San's room thoughtfully.
(End of Chapter)