In the Virtual World, a petite girl with forest-green twin pigtails, dressed in a green and white dress, lay happily on a soft princess bed. Her slender hands flipped through a comic book, and a straw was held between her cherry lips, connected to a cup of milk tea.
Her two delicate feet, like works of art, swayed gently, and her fair, slender calves seemed to be covered in a layer of ice and snow.
"Snow Empress!"
An Zhen, agitated, suddenly appeared beside the Snow Empress, his face full of excitement. He picked up the dazed girl before she could react, and the Snow Empress's exquisite, cute, and fair little face was directly kissed by the boy's lips.
"Eh?!"
The Snow Empress was stunned. This… this guy actually dared to kiss her!
Just as other emotions were about to rise in the Snow Empress's heart, all her attention was instantly drawn away by a single sentence from An Zhen.
"I found the Snow Empress!"
"Snow Empress!" The Snow Empress no longer cared about what had just happened. She looked at An Zhen with excitement, her hands pressing on his shoulders. "Where is the Snow Empress? How is she?"
"Listen to me." An Zhen briefly explained the Snow Empress's situation, then asked the Snow Empress to cooperate with him later in a little act.
Reality.
An Zhen raised a finger and gently touched his lips, savoring the feeling from earlier.
He really kissed the Snow Empress!
Though it was only her face.
It felt like a cold jelly.
First, kiss her, then use the news of the Snow Empress to attract her attention.
For his strategy with the Snow Empress, An Zhen's plan was to let affection grow over time—the normal kind of affection, with good food and comics. Moreover, given their integrated relationship, they were now considered friends, and this opportunity with the Snow Empress should be a very good one.
"A hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast embryo, huh." An Zhen exclaimed, needing to put on a show.
"An Xiaozi wants it?" Xuan Zi's teasing voice rang out. The scruffy old man gently shook his head. "But your World Spirit is too powerful, and this kind of attempt would be too dangerous for you."
"Xuan Zi is right." Mu En nodded gently, his kind gaze on An Zhen. "Your soul is very powerful. Later, Xuan Zi and I will team up to hunt a hundred-thousand-year Sea Soul Beast in the sea, and use a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Bone to enhance your body, allowing you to absorb a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring as early as possible."
Wang Yan's eyes flashed with surprise. He hadn't expected the Sect Master to value An Zhen so much, to the point of using a treasure like a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Bone to enhance his physical strength.
"No, I'm curious about something." An Zhen rubbed Huo Yutong's small hand, closed his eyes, and the next moment, he directly slumped onto the sofa.
"Brother An Zhen's consciousness has entered his Spirit," Huo Yutong recognized An Zhen's current state.
A moment later.
An Zhen opened his eyes, his dark pupils burning as he looked at the hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast embryo on the screen. "It really is her."
"?"
Everyone was puzzled.
The next moment, the young man smiled at the two old men. "Teachers, if you were hoping to create a twin spirits user, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed this time."
"Oh?" Mu En looked at An Zhen with a kind gaze. "An Zhen knows who this hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast embryo is?"
"Mm." An Zhen nodded gently. "Under heaven, I'm afraid only I can enjoy this treasure."
Everyone was even more confused.
"I have some history with this Spirit Beast," An Zhen said, dropping news that startled everyone.
A human having history with a Spirit Beast?
Is this human a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast in human form?
Everyone looked at An Zhen with puzzled eyes.
The black-haired young man suddenly lit up his spirit rings: yellow, yellow, purple, orange-gold. An Zhen pointed to the noble and magnificent orange-gold spirit ring and explained, "This is the girlfriend of the Spirit Beast sealed on the Seal God Stage. Saying 'girlfriend' isn't quite accurate; it should be more like 'beyond friendship, not yet lovers'."
Everyone: …
So, what you mean by "history" is that you killed his good friend.
Indeed, there's history, but isn't that hatred?
Mu En's eyes showed a thoughtful look. An Zhen's spirit ring, according to their speculation, seemed to be that of the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion.
A spirit power message emerged from An Zhen's lips, reaching Mu En's ear: "Teacher, it's the Snow Empress. Although I don't know why that nearly seven-hundred-thousand-year existence is here, I am very sure that the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion told me this personally. I'll tell you the details when we get back. Do you think, with the Snow Empress's pride as the ruler of the Far North, she would be willing to be absorbed by a human?"
Mu En's face showed a look of understanding. He trusted his disciple.
Xuan Zi was very confused. What was it? He sensed An Zhen's spiritual message to Mu Lao. What exactly was it about?
Mu En's face showed a kind smile. "In that case, it truly is meant for An Zhen."
Mu En sent a spiritual message to Xuan Zi.
The scruffy old man's eyes showed surprise. He looked at An Zhen with a complex expression, but without a hint of jealousy. "An Xiaozi, impressive."
He hadn't expected this kid to have the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion on him.
"But do you have confidence, An Xiaozi?" Xuan Zi was still a little worried.
That was the Snow Empress, a terrifying existence with nearly seven hundred thousand years of cultivation. If she were in the Far North, even a Limit Douluo would at most fight her to a draw. Even if the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion had a relationship with the Snow Empress, Xuan Zi still thought it would be very difficult to persuade her to become a part of a human.
"But I want to try. I don't want to miss such a great opportunity."
"Good!" Xuan Zi nodded. Indeed, as An Zhen said, this was a heaven-sent opportunity. "You have courage. I will definitely protect you with all my might at that time."
The others remained confused, only Huo Yutong seemed to vaguely understand something.
The bidding quickly began, with a starting price of one hundred million gold coins.
VIP Room One.
Xu Jiawei frowned slightly.
The auction had already started, but why was there no movement from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, their target? Were they not selling spirit tools? Wasn't that Laughing Hongchen hailed as the Sun Moon Empire's greatest genius ever? Once he possessed a second Spirit, it would be like adding wings to a tiger.
"One hundred twenty million!"
A bid was called out, but to Xu Jiawei's surprise, this bid did not come from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, but from the Shrek Academy VIP room.
VIP Room Two, Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
The silver-haired young man lay lazily on the sofa, his eyes full of mockery for the so-called hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast embryo that could grant a second Spirit on the spirit tool screen. There was no greed or determination to win it.
Trash Star Luo Empire!
Still trying to scheme against me with this thing!
That's the Snow Empress in there!
What would he do with it if he bought it? Not live his life? Buy a super-sized bomb that could explode at any moment and bring it home.
VIP Room Three.
Besides the standard black-level auctioneer and two maidservants, there were only two people, appearing to be in their forties. One was tall with an unusually thick right arm. The other resembled a terrifying, deformed big-headed doll from some story, with only a few sparse hairs on his head.
"One hundred thirty million!"
One of the men made a bid.
Then the next moment, another bid rang out, "One hundred fifty million!"
"Bastard!" The man with the thick right arm directly overturned the table. "If I find out which bastard made that bid, I'll kill him directly."
"Don't rush!" the other big-headed doll said. The next moment, a powerful spiritual fluctuation appeared, and the space instantly rippled like water. The auctioneer and the two maidservants instantly looked dazed.
The big-headed doll said to the auctioneer, "Go, find out who made the bid for me!"
"Yes." The dazed auctioneer walked out the door.
"Second Brother, good technique. I really want to rob everything in this auction house," said the man with the thick right arm, his eyes flashing with fierce light.
"There are Titled Douluo here," the big-headed doll said. "First, kill that bastard, steal the hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast embryo, and take it back to the young master."
Shrek Academy VIP Room.
"An Xiaozi, how can you bid twenty million by twenty million?" Xuan Zi was speechless. Although they were determined to get this item, there was no need to be so extravagant.
"Xuan Zi, it's fine." An Zhen smiled and took out a Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda-shaped token. "You handle the fighting, and let the professionals handle the money. All expenses are paid by Father-in-law."
A prodigal son selling ancestral land feels no pain.
"Pfft~" Ning Tian chuckled, seeing An Zhen's appearance as a profligate young master, but she didn't show any intention of stopping him.
Ning Tian wished An Zhen would spend more.
She could only help An Zhen with support and money. Problems that could be solved with money were not problems at all.
"Sect Master's token?" Xuan Zi recognized the item in An Zhen's hand at a glance. "No, it's a sub-token. That little guy Ning Yunzhi is really generous."
No one else followed with bids, and the auction ended. An Zhen bought the hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast embryo for one hundred fifty million gold coins.
A moment later, Xu Jiawei and Xu Jiujiu arrived, delivering the Ice Jade Scorpion Soul Bone and the hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast embryo. They had calculated everything but never expected that the hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast embryo, originally intended to scheme against Mingde Hall, would be bought by Shrek Academy. In that case, they naturally couldn't reveal who the buyer was to other forces as originally planned.
However, with two Limit Douluo present, those audacious individuals had better pray that the forces behind them would prepare ransom.
"Thank you, esteemed guests, for your support of the Starlight Auction House," Xu Jiujiu said softly.
An Zhen took the hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast embryo, a white stream of air floating within it, strangely extraordinary.
"How wonderful," An Zhen exclaimed, referring to the Ice and Snow Big Sister.
Xu Jiawei simply took it as the young man's fondness for treasures.
An Zhen paid with the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School token. The token itself had a function similar to a debit card, using the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School's credit, and the bill would be sent to the Nine Treasure Pavilion for settlement. Wang Yan settled the fixed-position Spirit-guided cannon shells using the academy's account.
The Shrek group left through a special secret passage from the VIP room.
Qing Ya knelt on the ground, reporting the information she had heard earlier to Xu Jiawei. An Zhen had not avoided her when he spoke. First, it seemed he knew what that hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast was. Second, it was related to the hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast and An Zhen's orange-gold spirit ring. Third, for some unknown reason, only An Zhen could absorb it.
"You three, keep these words to yourselves. I do not wish to hear any related information outside. Your positions will be promoted later." Xu Jiawei's face now showed no trace of his previous warmth, only the majesty of a monarch.
Even if An Zhen might have another hundred-thousand-year Spirit Bone on him, what then? Why didn't he avoid them when he said those words? Because he didn't need to! Even if An Zhen was covered in hundred-thousand-year Spirit Bones, he would only try every possible way to befriend An Zhen.
"Yes!"