That divine being with a hole in her head!
That was Bai Mu's evaluation of Qian Renxue.
Leaving aside her plan to usurp the throne, the mere fact that she was clearly an enemy yet inexplicably fell in love with Tang San was enough to earn her that title.
But… if I can make contact with her, it should be quite interesting.
Bai Mu couldn't help but sink into deep thought.
Compared to the other factions, the Heaven Dou Empire offered the greatest room to maneuver.
Everyone knew that Spirit Hall was vast and powerful, with Bibi Dong in charge—far too unpredictable.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo presiding over it, making it hard to infiltrate, and its influence was limited.
The Star Luo Empire was iron-blooded, conservative, and strongly xenophobic.
Only the Heaven Dou Empire—ruled by an aging emperor and steeped in a flourishing literary culture—was the easiest target. Especially when its current "Crown Prince" was actually Qian Renxue, the young master of Spirit Hall, disguised and infiltrating from within.
If I can take down Qian Renxue, then starting from the Heaven Dou Empire and opposing Bibi Dong's blockade really does seem like the best path.
Bai Mu made up his mind.
---
"An interesting fellow."
At the same time, a trace of interest also arose in Qian Renxue's heart.
The auction continued.
After spending over a million gold coins, the items that interested Bai Mu became fewer and fewer, and his bids grew increasingly rare. When it came to artworks, he stopped bidding entirely after purchasing a Glazed Luminous Pearl.
This finally allowed many wealthy merchants and nobles to breathe a sigh of relief.
"The seventy-second item: a pipa personally crafted by Lady Tang Yuehua of the Moon Pavilion…"
"How boring."
Watching the crowd surge with excitement, Bai Mu yawned.
"Little Brother, are you not interested in this kind of artwork?"
Ning Fengzhi chuckled.
"Oh, no. I'm still very interested in the Lady of the Moon Pavilion~"
Bai Mu replied casually.
"Er… you're really straightforward. Far too direct."
Ning Fengzhi's mouth twitched.
After observing for so long, he could already tell that Bai Mu's spirit power fluctuations were not weak—at least close to Rank 30. A young genius Spirit Master, well worth recruiting.
As for lechery… for a genius, it was harmless.
After all, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect lacked neither beautiful women nor money.
"Isn't life better when you're honest and direct? If everyone were like you, wouldn't it be exhausting?"
Bai Mu said indifferently, even showing a hint of genuine confusion—as if completely unaware that he was putting on the biggest act of all.
"Life is full of helplessness. People as open-minded as you, Little Brother, are rare."
Ning Fengzhi shook his head with a soft chuckle, not denying it.
"That makes sense. After all, you are the famous Sect Master Ning—I understand."
Bai Mu nodded with an expression that said I get it.
Ning Fengzhi smiled. "You know who I am?"
"My hearing's fine, and my eyes aren't blind. Plenty of people greeted you. Meeting you here must mean I have some affinity with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."
Bai Mu cheerfully took out a token.
"This is… Rongrong's token?"
Ning Fengzhi's composed expression shifted, his tone turning serious. "Where did you get that?"
"At Shrek Academy in Suotuo City. I met Rongrong once, and she gave it to me."
Bai Mu's eyes softened, his tone intimate, as if he were extremely close to Ning Rongrong.
You call her Rongrong?
Ning Fengzhi's expression immediately turned guarded, his gaze sharp as he looked at Bai Mu like he was staring at a yellow-haired delinquent. When he noticed the maid in Bai Mu's arms, his face darkened further.
In an instant, Bai Mu's image in his mind changed from a lecherous genius to a damned yellow-haired kid.
He felt the urge to slap him to death.
Grinding his teeth, he asked,
"What exactly is your relationship with Rongrong?"
"Uh… just friends. Ordinary friends. Please don't overthink it."
Noticing Ning Fengzhi's gaze, Bai Mu lowered his head, glanced at the woman in his arms, and seemed to realize something.
He stuffed a white card into her hand and shoved her away in apparent panic.
"Who are you?"
"When did you crawl into my arms?"
"I'm not interested in women—not at all!"
"Are you deliberately trying to frame me?"
"Hurry up and get away from me!"
The woman was stunned, but seeing the white card, she obediently left.
"Ahem… Uncle~ we're both men. You should understand a small personal hobby, right?"
Bai Mu coughed twice, pretending to be calm.
"Heh."
Ning Fengzhi gave a stiff, forced smile, then flicked his sleeve and strode straight toward the Red Zone.
Bai Mu stiffened for a moment, then casually slumped back into the sofa.
Thinking of Ning Fengzhi's expression, he laughed inwardly.
Tricking the young—fun.
Tricking the middle-aged—fun.
Tricking the elderly—fun.
---
Soon, the auction entered its middle-to-late stage.
The auctioneer cleared his throat, his tone turning suggestive.
"Next, we will be auctioning some… special items. Please pay attention, friends who have needs."
The atmosphere instantly became subtle.
"Slave auction?"
Even Bai Mu's eyes lit up.
In the original story, even a normal auction produced a cat-eared girl—this one should be even better, right?
However, the first person brought onto the stage left him stunned.
A muscular man, shackled at the feet, eyes dull and lifeless.
"A Rank 25 attack-type Spirit Grandmaster, Martial Spirit: Iron Armored Rhino. His family committed a crime, and he was demoted to a slave. A spirit tool controls his life. Starting bid: 30,000 gold coins."
Yet the crowd's eyes gleamed as bids flew.
After that came attractive female slaves and Spirit Masters—prisoners of war, fallen noble daughters, debt slaves—prices ranging from 30,000 to 100,000.
Damn it. I took my pants off and this is what you show me?
Bai Mu was speechless. The difference between "high-grade" slaves and ordinary ones was just spirit power and social status.
This was not what he imagined.
To Bai Mu, they were all mediocre—hardly worth making a move.
Dragging around a burden that wasn't self-aware was just stupid.
He slumped on the sofa, silently lamenting.
That cat-eared girl from the original story was way more interesting…
He was a bit vulgar—he admitted it.
Somewhat disappointed.
The slave auction quickly came to an end, until a Spirit Ancestor-level slave ignited the entire venue. Bidding rapidly exceeded one million.
"Congratulations to VIP No. 3 in the Red Zone for winning the Spirit Ancestor for 1.3 million gold coins!"
The excited voice snapped Bai Mu back to reality.
He glanced over and immediately saw Xue Xing, his face gloomy, dark circles heavy.
"Seriously, Elder. I just squeezed five million out of you, and you still have money to buy a bodyguard?"
Bai Mu squinted. "You really are rich."
---
"Next is one of the main highlights of this auction!"
The auctioneer's voice rose sharply, drawing everyone's attention.
Two strong men carried a crystal display case onto the stage. Inside, resting on a wooden stand, was a full-body suit of deep-blue armor, faintly shimmering, soft and form-fitting like intimate clothing.
"This peerless treasure was obtained with great difficulty. It was personally forged by Divine Craftsman Lou Gao, using seven different metals fused, drawn, and shaped together—a quasi-Divine Artifact: the Seven Treasure Ruyi Soft Armor.
"It can withstand the fifth spirit ability of an attack-type Spirit Master, and even block one sixth spirit ability. With it, you gain a second life. Starting bid: 300,000 gold coins!"
The entire venue erupted.
Equipment capable of blocking a Spirit Emperor's sixth spirit ability—even once—was exceedingly rare on the continent.
"The predecessor of the Eight Treasure Ruyi Soft Armor?"
Bai Mu's interest was piqued.
He hadn't expected the auction house to possess something like this.
In the original story, the Eight Treasure Ruyi Soft Armor appeared during the Sea God Trial and the final battle with Qian Renxue. For soft armor to reach this level was already astonishing.
He liked practical items.
And you could never have too many trump cards.
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