Chapter 83.1
Chapter 83.1: The Ranked Carving Knife
“This ray has a paralysis effect, so its real name ought to be Paralysis Ray. Those ranked Soul King and below should be affected after being hit by the ray. How much it affects the soul master is dependant on the individual’s cultivation.”
“We’ve already tested it. When used on a Soul King, this Paralysis Ray is so effective that it can numb them for a second. This is on the precondition that the ray must hit a defenceless Soul King who is not protected by soul skills or soul tools. When used on a Soul Ancestor, the ray can numb them for more than two seconds, with the same precondition as before. Moreover, it can numb a soul master with three soul rings of the same rank for at least three to four seconds.”
“Honoured guests, please note that we tested the ray on assault-type soul masters. The effects will definitely be different when used on other types of soul masters.”
“The requirement to use this Paralysis Ray is low, but it’s extremely practical. It’s a quality product amongst Class 3 soul tools. The starting bid is a thousand golden soul coins, with every increase not being lower than fifty golden soul coins. The bid starts now!”
Someone immediately raised their auction board when Qing Ya finished talking. “One thousand three hundred golden soul coins.”
Just as Auctioneer Qing Ya said, it was very rare to see a Class 6 master making a Class 3 soul tool. One shouldn’t look down on the fact that this soul tool wasn’t of a high class because it was extremely practical. Soul Ancestors would find it quite useful. In addition to that, the low requirement for using this tool was its biggest asset.
As a result of that, the auction price for such items was always on the high side. Soon, the price shot past the two thousand golden soul coins mark.
One had to know that the materials used to make this soul tool weren’t very outstanding other than its ingenious design and the elaborate manufacturing of the formation arrays. It was a Class 3 soul tool after all. It was a relatively high price to pay for a soul tool of said class. Normal Class 3 soul tools would go for hundreds of golden soul coins only.
Just as expected, the bidding paused after it passed the two thousand mark. A few of those fighting to bid at the start were hesitating now. This was because everyone had limited amounts of money in their hands. Moreover, this was only the first auction item.
“Two thousand five hundred golden soul coins.” At this moment, Wang Yan suddenly raised the board in his hand.
Auctioneer Qing Ya’s eyes shone, and she smiled sweetly at Wang Yan, who was wearing a mask. “Honoured guest number 166 has bid two thousand five hundred golden soul coins. Is anyone going to go higher?”
The Auctioneer’s source of income came through commissions from selling auction items. For example, if an item that cost one hundred golden soul coins was sold for two hundred, the auction house would deduct 10% from the total sum as their cut. Auctioneers would get 0.1% of the amount above the cost of the auction item.
One shouldn’t look down on such a small value of 0.1%. It was very normal for a Class 4 auction to exceed a hundred thousand golden soul coins in profit at the end of the day. Since this was Star Luo City, and even the largest auction in the whole Star Luo Empire, they practically had to organise countless auctions every day. A few high level auctioneers usually only appeared once a month, but could earn a lot through commissions.
As a result of that, when Qing Ya saw Wang Yan add five hundred to the bid, her heart naturally leapt with joy. As a purple-ranked auctioneer, she understood very clearly that the first price reached in the auction would often determine the direction of prices in the whole auction. Even though this first item wasn’t very expensive, it would definitely be a good start if the premium was sufficiently high enough.
Once the bid for two thousand five hundred was made, the audience fell silent. The competitors who were still hesitating just a moment ago no longer pondered the matter any further. This price was clearly far more than they could afford.
“Two thousand five hundred golden soul coins, going once.” After Qing Ya questioned the audience a few more times and didn’t get a response, she started the closing call for the bid.
This moment was when a first-rate auction revealed its aura. A normal small auction would delay the closing call of the bid for as long as they could, but Qing Ya showed no sign of doing so.
Bang! Down fell the hammer on the table. “Deal. The Paralysis Ray is sold to guest number 166. Thank you for your generosity.” Qing Ya shot Wang Yan another sweet smile, to which he responded with a light nod.
“Who’s going to use this soul tool?” Wang Yan turned his head and asked his group.
He Caitou was the first to interject. “Teacher Wang, give this Paralysis Ray to junior brother. The effect of this soul tool is very rare. I reckon the manufacturer of this formation array has concealed something within it which is very difficult to emulate. Even though junior brother hasn’t cultivated three soul rings, his soul power has already reached Rank 27. He might find it difficult to use it, but he can still use it before he reaches Rank 40. “
Hearing him say this, the others naturally shut their mouths. In reality, the person most suited to using the Paralysis Ray ought to be Xiao Xiao. This was because she was closer to Rank 30 than Huo Yuhao was, and would breakthrough at any time.
However, it was clear that He Caitou had his reasons for saying this. Relatively speaking, this Paralysis Ray was even more suited to Huo Yuhao’s fighting style.
Huo Yuhao never thought that he’d actually get the first auction item as a reserve soul engineer.
As the auction continued, there were really many good items for specialising in soul tools. The overwhelming majority of soul tools were from Class 3 to Class 5. Wang Yan continuously bid for the items, and purchased more than ten soul tools, distributing them to everyone.
“The following is the second to last item for today. After this item is auctioned off, we’ll come to our grand finale. I believe the audience will definitely be pleasantly surprised.”
The young girl wheeled out the penultimate auction item for the day. From the shape of the cloak and how it was practically sticking to the trolley, one could see that this item wasn’t big.
Qing Ya walked to the front of the cart with a sound amplification soul tool in her hand. She smiled and said, “I’m sure everyone seated in the audience who’s done in-depth research into soul tools will definitely be very familiar with this item. It also often appears in soul tool auctions as well. It has an amusing name – Milk’s Bottle.”
She lifted the fabric off the item as she spoke, simultaneously taking the auction item from the cart.
The item was a silver necklace, and on it hung a metal pendant in the shape of a milk bottle, about the size of a grown person’s thumb.
He Caitou’s eyes shone as he whispered to Huo Yuhao. “Junior brother, this is what I was telling you about. You need this the most now. Looking at the type of Milk Bottle she’s holding, it looks like a Class 4 soul tool.”
Huo Yuhao had a wave of misgivings in his heart, while simultaneously feeling ashamed. He’d learned how to make soul tools for almost a year, but there were still many things he didn’t know within the realms of soul tools.
Auctioneer Qing Ya smiled and said, “As the name implies, a milk bottle is naturally used to drink milk. However, to either a soul engineer or a soul master, their milk bottle is used to replenish their soul power. Naturally, I have to mention that breastfeeding is still the best.”
The audience immediately erupted in laughter after hearing this joke, and even Qing Ya herself was laughing. The mountains on her chests were somewhat fitting to the breastfeeding she was talking about.
“Back to the topic at hand, the scientific name of this milk bottle ought to be energy restoration soul tool. Both soul masters and soul engineers can use this item. The milk bottle can be a soul tool of any class, but only soul masters rank 3 and above can make it have a given effect. It’s very common amongst soul tools, but a high-class Milk Bottle is extremely expensive. I remember seeing a Class 7 Milk Bottle appear once in our first-rate Starlight Auction. It really caused a commotion at the time. In the end, a deal was made for seven million golden soul coins, setting a new record for all Milk Bottles.”
“Naturally, the milk bottle is used to replenish soul power, regardless of their respective rank. One only has to fill it with soul power before using it for it to work. This soul tool has its limitations as well. When using it, one has to stop and absorb the soul power with all their mind and soul. If one does not focus, they will fail to guide the soul power into their body. As such, I have to warn the audience in every auction not to use the milk bottle in battle. Alright, I believe that the audience understands the milk bottle very well. I won’t blather on any longer. The starting bid is six thousand golden soul coins, with every increasing bid not lower than a hundred golden soul coins.”
When Qing Ya proclaimed that the bid for the Milk Bottle was open, He Caitou also explained its characteristics in far greater detail to Huo Yuhao.
“Yuhao, this soul tool is the most complicated soul tool in its class in terms of its make, and also has the highest material requirements. The reason for that is because it has to store a huge amount of soul power. In addition to that, the Milk Bottle can’t let the soul power leak out at the same time, nor can it compress soul power till it causes an explosion. As such, the requirements for the formation arrays and materials in manufacturing a Milk Bottle are extremely high. There is only one criterion for successfully making a Milk Bottle, and that is stability. After the Milk Bottle is filled with soul power, it must be stable. If not, it’ll turn into a bomb that can explode at any time.”
“This auctioneer’s warning is very accurate. Generally speaking, one definitely can’t use the Milk Bottle while in battle. This is because when the soul master is absorbing the soul force from the Milk Bottle, a lot of soul power will be released. In the process of receiving soul power from the Milk Bottle, the soul master’s body will definitely be deadlocked. This would be extremely fatal for a soul master in battle. Moreover, there are times when it’s very difficult to control the Milk Bottle. It will normally absorb all of a soul master’s soul power, or fill a person’s soul power to the brim.”
“A high level Milk Bottle is expensive because it’s very demanding in terms of the materials it needs. It’s also far too troublesome to make one. The difficulty of making a Class 7 Milk Bottle can even surpass that of a normal Class 8 soul tool. At the very least, a Class 8 soul tool master is needed to make it. Even I can only make a Class 3 Milk Bottle at this point. That in itself doesn’t mean anything, but it takes too long to make it. I only tried making one once, and wouldn’t do it again!”
“Yuhao, things are different with you because your innate ability is spirit-based. Your spiritual power is powerful enough to be extremely effective in controlling the Milk Bottle. That way, it’s more convenient for you to control how much soul power you absorb.”