186: return

There were about five days left before the auction, but the items needed to be submitted to the Beishan City Beast Tamer Association beforehand so they could make arrangements in advance.

The association needed to arrange the order of appearance based on the estimated value of the items, and if there were popular items, they also needed to generate hype in advance to attract people to the auction.

After all, no matter how high a product's value was, if no one could afford it, it still wouldn't sell for a good price and might even fail to sell at all.

So Su Ze took Sun Hao and Tao Lin, picked out ten gold-rank monster beast eggs, and headed toward the Beast Tamer Association.

Since the Shadow Moon Wolf King had to stay at the base to hatch eggs, Su Ze couldn't use the Shadow Realm to carry things.

"Are there no more space-attribute monster beasts in this world?" Su Ze muttered at the sight.

Up until now, he had only seen Xiao Sheng with a tool made from a space-attribute monster beast crystal core, but it was only from a level 60 monster beast and could only open a space of about a dozen square meters, yet he already treated it like a treasure.

One can imagine how rare space-type monster beasts were.

After all, space and time were the two most inscrutable attributes.

However, the Void Spirit Turtle's sudden evolution this time seemed to have activated its bloodline, touching upon the "Void" attribute.

But because of this, its evolution would become increasingly difficult.

Without external help, it might take a lifetime to evolve on its own.

"I wonder if Hanba knows anything about space-attribute monster beasts..."

Su Ze had now treated Hanba as a guide to the Monster Beast World, spending time every day asking her questions.

And Hanba possessed memories passed down through her bloodline for countless years, so she was very well-acquainted with the Monster Beast World.

With the help of Xiao Sheng and the others, they had now basically mastered the topographical map of the Monster Beast World.

As well as which were the Radical Faction and which were the Conservative Faction.

The forces of the Radical Faction were quite diverse, mostly bloodthirsty ferocious beasts that craved human blood, such as the zombies under Hanba's command.

But now that Hanba had been contracted by Su Ze, those Corpse Kings were no longer a threat.

The Conservative Faction was centered around Dragon Valley. It was said that its Dragon King, the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon, was very friendly toward humans; he was a standout among the Corona-level Divine Beasts.

Hanba acted very cautiously when mentioning him, with a hint of hatred on her face, clearly having suffered a great loss.

Although she didn't say it explicitly, Su Ze guessed that Hanba had previously been ambushed and killed by the dragon race of Dragon Valley.

The plan for the forty-nine pillars was led by Dragon Valley, and for this, they had taken the lead by sacrificing half of their combat power to use their bodies as pillars.

Consequently, the dragon race, which was once the sole dominant force in the Monster Beast World, had now become a mere first-rate demon race.

However, the pillar plan they had sacrificed so much for had already failed, but it was said that the Dragon King had received guidance and was now executing a new plan.

"What kind of plan could this be, to be even more effective than such a grand-scale pillar plan?"

"And just who could it be that is actually able to guide the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon, a top-tier powerhouse of the Monster Beast World?"

While Su Ze was lost in thought, he had already reached the entrance of the Beast Tamer Association.

He took a special look at the statue that had once saved his life and discovered that it had actually changed to another pose.

One hand on its hip, the other pointing to the sky.

Behind it, a giant dragon soared, charging in the direction it was pointing.

"It seems the beast tide that caused the destruction of the Beast Taming University also affected this place; otherwise, the statue wouldn't have activated."

Only after being activated and then returning could it change to a new cool-looking pose.

Sun Hao, who was beside him, nodded and said, "That's right. At that time, Lord Statue appeared on the battlefield riding a stone dragon and swept away numerous monster beasts."

"It was precisely because he blocked the beast tide and held out until the Great Xia Spirit Guards arrived that the monster beasts weren't able to cause too much damage to Beishan City."

"Now, everyone worships this statue like a god."

Sure enough, Su Ze found many offerings like fruit baskets beneath the statue.

There was even a huge incense burner, filled to the brim with ash and packed with burning incense sticks.

Seeing this, Su Ze laughed and said, "Haha, I'm afraid Xiao Sheng himself isn't as popular as this statue."

At this moment, a deacon from the association had already seen them coming.

While Su Ze was standing at the door looking at the statue, the deacon went inside and invited Yu Shenghuo out.

"Old Yu, didn't you get promoted? Why are you back?"

Yu Shenghuo waved his hand and said, "Don't mention it. I'm old after all, and I just couldn't get used to other places. It's better to be back."

"Besides, the situation in Beishan City is similar to the front line now. I can still contribute my remaining energy here."

"That's right, I think so too." Behind Yu Shenghuo, another aged but powerful and resonant voice rang out.

"Old Guo? You're back too?" Su Ze greeted him with a look of pleasant surprise.

Sun Hao and Tao Lin did the same: "Captain Guo!"

Guo Linshan was just about to welcome them with a smile when he glared at the two of them and said, "How many times have I told you? I haven't been the captain for a long time. Now, your only captain is Su Ze. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Cap... Old Guo!"

Su Ze smiled. Even though Guo Linshan said that, wasn't he still acting like a captain when scolding the two of them?

"Old Guo, when did you get back? Why didn't you come to see us?" Su Ze said as he followed the two deeper into the association.

Guo Linshan replied, "I just got back not long ago."

"I was at the front lines fighting those Fuso devils, but for some reason, they suddenly seemed to have lost their souls and fled back in a panic."

"At that speed, I couldn't even catch their shadows."

"Finally, I heard that monster beast activity has been getting more frequent lately, so I just came back. There's not much difference between fighting monster beasts and fighting devils."

"I happened to run into Brother Yu on the way back, so I came to the Beast Tamer Association as a guest first. I was just about to go see you, but then you showed up."

Su Ze said with a smile, "Then you really came back at the right time. I'm about to form a Special Operations Team specifically to deal with monster beasts. Would you like to join, Old Guo?"

Guo Linshan looked delighted upon hearing this, but then hesitated. "I've already retired from the Great Xia Spirit Guards. Reasonably speaking, I can't be enlisted into a team anymore. This time at the front, I was there as a militiaman."

Su Ze shook his head. "The candidates for this team are decided by me personally. As long as you agree, Old Guo, there won't be a problem. Besides, we happen to need an experienced veteran like you."

"As for me... I'm okay as a fighter, but I really can't manage commanding a team."

Guo Linshan didn't decline any further, and Su Ze breathed a sigh of relief.

As the saying goes, having an elder at home is like having a treasure.

With Guo Linshan's command experience, Su Ze wouldn't have to worry about making any common mistakes while leading the team in the future.

At this point, Yu Shenghuo also said, "Alright, this Old man is satisfied now. But Su Ze, you must have come here for a reason, right? For the auction?"

His gaze turned to the box being carried by Sun Hao and Tao Lin. "Tell me, what's inside?"

Hearing this, Su Ze smiled and walked to the wooden box, lifting the lid.

Immediately, ten neatly arranged demon beast eggs appeared before them.

Su Ze said with a smile, "Ten gold-rank monster beast eggs. How about it? Is it enough to be the grand finale of this auction?"

A hint of surprise did appear on Yu Shenghuo's face, but it didn't seem as pronounced as Su Ze had expected.

He couldn't help but feel puzzled.

"Has he seen the world after being away for a while?"