Chapter 175: Qian Renchuan and Shui Bing'er
Sunset Forest, Ice-Fire Yin-Yang Well.
"What is this…"
Standing on the soft soil, the Snow Empress looked in shock at the oval-shaped pond before her. Inside, the milky-white and vermilion waters were clearly split into two halves, never mingling, perpetually staying on their own sides.
She could clearly sense how incredibly dense the ice- and fire-attribute energies were in that milky-white and vermilion spring—the temperature was astoundingly cold and scalding hot, even surpassing her own.
By all reason, when two opposing energies of ice and fire collided, it should trigger an earthshaking explosion. It shouldn't be possible for them to remain in a mutual balance with no interference.
Could it be that the ultimate extreme of ice is also flame?
That notion arose in the Snow Empress's mind, for only something like that could explain how the ice and fire springs of the Ice-Fire Yin-Yang Well coexisted in harmony.
Off to the side, Lion Douluo spoke in a low voice, "Your Holiness the Pope, who is this senior?"
Animals possessed an instinctive awareness of danger. Though the Snow Empress hadn't released even a hint of pressure—apart from her bearing, she stood there like an ordinary person—Lion Douluo felt an oppressive terror from her, something he had only ever sensed from the Grand Worshipper.
"Fourth Uncle, you can return to Spirit Hall. Overseeing Ice-Fire Yin-Yang Well for now will be someone new."
Lion Douluo nodded, tactfully taking to the sky on his way back to Spirit Hall.
"I'll be using this place."
The Snow Empress turned to Qian Xunji, gaze intent. "In return, after I finish forming my second soul core, I will share the key points of that process with you."
"Deal."
With that, Qian Xunji likewise took off into the air, heading for Yue Xuan to begin condensing his own first soul core.
Heaven Dou City. As Qian Xunji flew toward Yue Xuan, he sensed a familiar bloodline aura. Glancing downward at the street, he caught sight of Platinum Bishop Salas of Spirit Hall taking Qian Renchuan and Shui Bing'er into a grand oval building—Heaven Dou Auction House.
"The kid has tasted romance, so his cultivation's slowed down a bit."
With a single glance, Qian Xunji gauged Qian Renchuan's current spirit power at the peak of rank 48, while Shui Bing'er had recently broken through to rank 53. If they'd maintained their pace from their early days at Tianshui Academy or cultivated within Spirit Hall, they should have reached rank 49 by now.
Indeed, indulging in beauty yields only mental pleasure—everything else is harmful: draining the body, wasting time, delaying one's ambitions. There were less than six months until the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament. He should be able to reach rank 50 by then, no problem.
Heaven Dou Auction House.
"Bishop Salas, Bing'er and I can just look around. You go do what you need to do," Qian Renchuan said. It was the weekend, and he had originally planned to go shopping in Heaven Dou City with Shui Bing'er. By chance, they ran into Salas heading for the auction house. Salas had warmly invited them to join him. Qian Renchuan hadn't been to an auction before, so he agreed.
"Yes, Your Highness the Holy Son. If you need me, just call," Salas replied, striding into the auction house. The Heaven Dou Auction House operated twenty-four hours a day. Typically, they only auctioned precious items late at night, so Salas—an eminent Soul Douluo, master of Spirit Hall's cathedral, on par with the elders of the Upper Three Sects—turning up in the daytime indicated something inside must greatly interest him.
After donning their masks, Qian Renchuan and Shui Bing'er began to look around the auction house. Many things were on display. The walls were decorated with carved reliefs, which were simple but elegant, with only modest coloring. Along the walls stood cases housing objects like porcelain and armor. One might have mistaken it for a museum if not for the presence of an auction.
Qian Renchuan couldn't help blushing a bit when he noticed a passing female attendant. Even though he attended an academy filled with beauties like Tianshui, he couldn't stop himself from sneaking extra glances. It was just that this attendant dressed far too revealingly.
They wore short white dresses, chest fully exposed, sleeveless, with skirts cut so short they ended a mere seven inches down the waist, revealing their supple thighs. Paired with white high heels, it made for an exceedingly tempting display. Their cleavage, the curve beneath their short skirts… it was enough to spur one's imagination. Add in those fiery figures and lovely faces, and "temptress" would be no exaggeration.
"Bing'er, I—"
Spotting the look on Shui Bing'er's face, Qian Renchuan hurried to explain, only to not know what to say.
Shui Bing'er shook her head without getting angry. "Desire is innate to humans. If you saw that and felt nothing, I'd suspect something was wrong with you. However, hmm…"
Qian Renchuan had just breathed a sigh of relief. Shui Bing'er's elongated tone made his heart clench up again.
Shui Bing'er shot him a playful smile behind her hand. "You're still a little lecher, my Xiaochuan."
His cheeks turned crimson once more. Against Shui Bing'er, he had no defense. Somehow, her teasing always left him pleased yet uneasy. He couldn't help being charmed by the way she doted on him.
When they reached the main auction hall—laid out in a semicircle with boxes overhead for VIPs (only open at night)—they noticed many people already seated. From below to above, there were multiple levels. Only those of truly noble status could occupy the very front rows—like Salas, the Spirit Hall Platinum Bishop.
Upon entering, both Qian Renchuan and Shui Bing'er looked more uncomfortable. There were many more such attendants, all curvaceous and dressed in seductive outfits of every color—black, white, red, purple—catering to all manner of tastes. Some even had banknotes tucked between their breasts.
Some front-row patrons were simultaneously bidding and fondling the service girls. Elsewhere, certain attendants leaned down, apparently lying on a customer's lap doing who-knew-what, while neighboring patrons looked on with little more than mild contempt, as if seeing nothing unusual.
"This is just…"
"…Disgusting."
"Here, the attendants are all like that, and in the eyes of guests, they're nothing else," came a gentle voice. Turning, they saw a refined, scholarly-looking middle-aged man in white clothes smiling, nodding at them.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan Master!
Qian Renchuan recognized him immediately. During his family's "visit" to the Clear Sky Clan, he had seen this Ning Clan Master.
"All like that? And nothing else?"
Noticing that Ning Fengzhi didn't recognize him, Qian Renchuan took the chance to inquire further about this man, whom his father once called a "super old fox."
With a mild laugh, Ning Fengzhi explained: "Yes, they are all like this—and they are nothing more. This auction house purchased them as commoner girls from childhood, raising them all the way. They serve as waitstaff here but are also part of the auctions themselves. If anyone wants to pay, these girls can be bought outright."
"Isn't that slavery? Aren't the two great empires supposed to forbid the slave trade?"
Qian Renchuan pressed on, thinking this was worlds apart from the honorable, justice-driven stories his grandfather had told him.
Shui Bing'er remained silent. Raised to inherit her clan from a young age, she knew well that darkness existed in the world—like men having multiple wives and concubines. Concubines could be traded just the same as these auction house attendants.
Ning Fengzhi responded calmly, "This world holds many inevitabilities. The Heaven Dou Auction House dares to sell anything—it's not limited to slaves. These attendants, brought up under the auction house's tutelage, are little more than walking corpses. Neither they nor the clients here see them as human, merely objects. Objects are bought with money, and the girls see themselves that way, so they're all like that—and nothing else.
"Though they may have pretty faces, they're devoid of souls of their own. All I can think to give them is the word 'pitiful.'"
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