Douro Continent

Chapter 262 Heavenly Dou Auction House (Part 1)

Seeing the two approaching, one of the four girls stepped forward, bowed slightly, and said, "Gentlemen, is there anything we can help you with?"

Xiao Wu said, "This is the auction house, right? We'd like to go inside and take a look."

The young woman was somewhat taken aback. Although she hadn't looked down on Tang San and Xiao Wu because of their age, she had never seen guests like them before. Nevertheless, she patiently asked, "Excuse me, gentlemen, could you please tell me if you have the necessary qualifications to bid?"

Xiao Wu was taken aback. "Bidding qualification certification? What's that?"

The young woman smiled slightly and said, "Only guests with bidding qualification certification can enter the auction house to participate in the bidding. The qualification certification is divided into several different levels, with the entry threshold being 10,000 gold soul coins. In other words, you need proof of assets of 10,000 gold soul coins to participate in the bidding. This is a necessary measure to prevent malicious bidding, so please forgive us."

Xiao Wu turned to Tang San, "Brother, do you have ten thousand gold soul coins?"

Tang San shook his head helplessly. Although he had earned a lot of money from participating in the Soul Battle, 10,000 gold soul coins was still too much for him.

Seeing Xiao Wu's disappointed expression, Tang San couldn't help but ask, "Isn't there any other way to get in?"

The girl said, "There's another option: if you're selling something, you can also enter the auction house. However, the items you sell must be appraised by our Heavenly Dou Auction House's professional appraisers, and only those with a value exceeding one thousand gold soul coins are eligible to participate in the auction. If the auction is successful, we will take 10% of the transaction price as a commission."

Selling things? Tang San and Xiao Wu exchanged a glance. Tang San's heart stirred, and he reached into his robe and took out something.

It was a small black box, about the size of a palm, with rings and clasps. The box was entirely black with a layer of fine holes on it.

"Then let's auction this off." Tang San shook the small box in his hand.

"What is this?" The girl did not look down on what Tang San took out. Having worked here for a while, she knew that the more unusual and strange something was, the more valuable it was sometimes.

Xiao Wu said mysteriously, "Don't you have appraisers? Your opinion doesn't matter. Just take it to an appraiser to see if it's valuable, okay?"

The girl then realized she had overstepped her bounds and quickly made a gesture of invitation, saying, "Please follow me, both of you." As she spoke, she took small steps and walked into the auction house.

Stepping into the auction hall, they weren't struck by its opulent grandeur. The floor was made of milky-white marble, and the walls were adorned with various reliefs. The reliefs were sparsely colored, creating a simple, clean, and elegant effect. Besides the reliefs, there were also display cases built into the walls, showcasing items such as porcelain and armor. If they didn't know the purpose of this place, Tang San and Xiao Wu might have mistaken it for a museum.

The young woman leading the way was very professional; she would stop every ten steps or so, make a gesture of invitation, and accurately point out the direction. She led Tang San and Xiao Wu to a room next to the hall, a room with a sign that read "Appraisal."

There was a row of tables in the room, and behind the tables were eight appraisers of different ages, dressed in black robes, who were busy appraising some items.

The girl said to Tang San and Xiao Wu, "This is the ordinary item appraisal room. I would like to trouble you two to explain the characteristics of your items." As she spoke, she led the two to the appraiser on the far left and handed them the small box.

"Appraiser No. 1, could you please do me a favor? These two distinguished guests wish to have this item auctioned."

The appraiser instinctively took the iron box, his gaze falling upon it. A look of surprise immediately appeared on his face. He turned it over and examined it closely, saying, "Forgive my poor eyesight, but may I ask what this is? Its craftsmanship is quite exquisite. What is its purpose?"

Tang San smiled slightly and said, "I call it 'Hidden Sand Shot,' it's a weapon."

"A weapon?" The appraiser was even more surprised. He had never seen such a small weapon before. He had initially underestimated Tang San and Xiao Wu because they were just two teenagers, but now he couldn't help but put aside his contempt. "Could you demonstrate it?"

"Here?" Tang San took back the veiled object from the appraiser. "This thing of mine is poisonous; it's probably not a good idea to leave it here."

Upon hearing the word "toxic," it wasn't just the appraiser in front of them who was paying attention; the other seven appraisers nearby also turned their gazes over, revealing expressions of surprise.

The first appraiser said somewhat awkwardly, "If you can't prove its function, we can't price it. Our auction house has a special place for testing weapon power; how about we go there?"

Tang San nodded and said, "Okay."

The girl who had been in charge of reception did not leave; she remained by their side, leading Tang San and Xiao Wu through a door at the back of the appraisal room together with the first appraiser.

I don't know if the owner of this auction house has a fondness for circles, but all the entrances inside the auction house are semi-circular, which does give it a sense of unity.

After a brief observation, Tang San couldn't help but admire the auction house. Not only was it large in scale, but everything was also well-organized and the division of labor was clear. The appraiser led them to a weapons laboratory that was about 100 square meters in size. The walls of the entire room were made of steel plates and were completely empty.

Tang San gestured for the reception girl and the appraiser to step back behind him, raised his right hand to reveal the hidden meaning, and lightly hooked his finger on the mechanism.

*Sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle—* A series of low humming sounds accompanied a wisp of pale yellow mist drifting out. This poisonous mist was recently added by Tang San. After his improvements, the Sand-Spitting Arrow, like the Zhuge Crossbow, could fire three times. However, its power was slightly weaker than the Zhuge Crossbow. But each shot could still fire thirty-six steel needles.

The Tang Clan's mechanical hidden weapons are primarily ranked according to their power. For example, the famous Rain of Pear Blossom Needles are ranked highly not because of their dense attack, but because of their destructive power.

The attack power of Zhuge Divine Crossbow is already terrifying, three times that of the Sand-Shooting Indirect Attack.

The Rain of Pear Blossom Needles, however, are more than five times more powerful than the Zhuge Divine Crossbow. Their firing speed and penetrating power are unimaginable. They are terrifying hidden weapons that are virtually impossible to dodge.

A series of dense clanging sounds rang out from the wall ten meters away. Tang San waved his hand, activated his soul power, and used the Crane Control and Dragon Capture Technique to condense the yellow mist in the air together. He shot out a Blue Silver Grass from his fingertip, which absorbed the poisonous mist.

He pointed to the wall opposite and said, "Look."

The appraiser strode forward, and when he saw the contents of the steel wall, he couldn't help but gasp, "What a powerful weapon."

The three-inch-long steel needle had penetrated more than halfway into the steel plate, its tip still trembling violently. Its bluish-green color revealed the potent poison it contained. This didn't even include the yellow mist emitted upon firing. Such penetrating power was beyond the capabilities of ordinary Soul Masters.

Tang San said, "My 'Hidden Sand Shot' can be fired three times after being filled with steel needles. Each shot is accompanied by a poisonous mist similar to a sleeping drug. The steel needles themselves contain a paralyzing toxin. Once they pierce the skin, the paralyzing poison will take effect. According to my calculations, it can be absolutely lethal to Soul Masters below level 30. Soul Masters above level 30 who have no resistance to poison are also easily affected. The steel needles are simple to make and can be reused. I can also provide a bottle of paralyzing venom."

Tang San also walked to the steel plate, raised his right hand, and unabashedly removed the steel needles one by one from the steel plate, pressing them back into the Sand-Spitting Shadow. The poison on the steel needles had no effect on him at all.

The Jade Hand not only makes his hands as hard as iron, but also protects them from all poisons.

The appraiser only came to his senses when he saw Tang San put away all thirty-six steel needles he had shot out.

"Distinguished guest, although the material of your weapon is ordinary, its exquisite craftsmanship is unparalleled in my life. Perhaps it isn't particularly useful for a Soul Master, but for an ordinary person, it's an excellent weapon. I'm prepared to start the bidding with one thousand gold Soul Coins. What do you think?"

Tang San's innuendo only cost twenty gold soul coins; of course, that was just the material cost. The craftsmanship was something only he could accomplish in the entire Douluo Continent.

Smiling and nodding, Tang San handed the Shadowy Strike to the appraiser. "No problem. Let's put it up for auction. Now we're entitled to participate in this auction, right?"

The young woman in charge of reception quickly replied, "Of course. Our auction runs 24 hours a day, all within the auction center. Please follow me. Your items will be on display at the auction soon. I'll take you to complete the formalities first."

The procedure is not complicated; it simply involves setting up an account at the auction house that is linked to the Gold Soul Coin stored-value card.

Through this account, Tang San can both receive the proceeds from item auctions after deducting handling fees and participate in bidding. The condition is that the amount bid cannot exceed the balance in the account.

At the same time, the young woman who greeted them briefly explained the rules of the place to the two of them.

As the largest auction house in the entire Heaven Dou Empire, any item could potentially be auctioned here.

The first rule of auction houses is that you must not inquire about the seller's background. Furthermore, you must not disclose information about the items being auctioned.

(End of this chapter)