First Meeting Ya Fei

"The auction house is here..."

Hearing Ling Wu's words, Gu Fang stopped and looked up at the enormous building before him and its familiar emblem, a faint smile spreading across his lips!

The Jia Ma Empire's Mittel Auction House headquarters!

He had imagined coming here countless times, yet now that he had truly arrived, he still felt somewhat dazed.

"Xiao Yan is still in Wutan City and hasn't set out to train yet. It seems impossible to meet Ya Fei here!"

Gu Fang muttered as he strode into the Mittel Auction House.

After Gu Fang entered the auction house, Ling Wu concealed his aura and vanished into the shadows cast by the sun beside it...

The shadows of the Mittel Auction House.

He would protect Gu Fang from the darkness.

The moment Gu Fang stepped through the doors, the clamor outside was cut off, and a wave of cool air washed over him.

Feeling the artificial chill, Gu Fang swept his gaze across the vast inner hall. Crystals were embedded in the walls, reflecting and scattering the light from the Magic Crystal lamps hanging overhead.

Along the edges of the hall...

Fully armed guards stood in rows on both sides, maintaining order in the hall while guarding against any possible attacks!

Gu Fang's soul power swept over them, and his eyes brightened slightly. "Two Da Dou Shi, while the rest are all Battle Masters. That's not bad for this place!"

After saying that, Gu Fang shifted his gaze away from them and toward the crystal counters arranged throughout the hall. Every counter was transparent.

The light emitted by the Magic Crystals clearly illuminated the medicinal herbs, pills, weapons, and other items within.

Each item was marked with a price.

Gu Fang casually found an unoccupied counter. The instant he arrived, the young woman behind it, dressed in the Mittel Auction House's standard uniform, smiled and bowed slightly.

As a receptionist selected by the Mittel Auction House, both her looks and figure were above average.

Most importantly...

The Mittel Auction House's uniform perfectly accentuated her figure.

After straightening up, she asked softly, "What does this young master need?"

As she spoke, the woman looked at Gu Fang's face, and a trace of astonishment flashed through her eyes!

How could there be such a handsome young man in this world?

Though Gu Fang was only fourteen, the growth of his strength and the nourishment of his bloodline had already allowed him to fully mature. He looked no different from a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old youth.

And under the nourishment of the Rule Bloodline, Gu Fang's appearance could only be described as breathtakingly handsome!

Gu Fang casually glanced at the items inside the counter. They were bottles upon bottles of pills, all first- or second-tier.

Gu Fang could refine such pills at will, so he had no desire to buy them whatsoever.

He had come here...

For something far more important!

To gather the ingredients for the Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pill.

Gu Fang was already a six-star Dou Shi. With his bloodline fully unleashed, he could reach Peak Battle Master within the final month.

Gu Fang did not want to, nor did he need to, continue wasting time at the Battle Master stage.

Therefore, he planned to use the Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pill to break through directly after reaching Peak Battle Master.

"Gather all the medicinal ingredients written on this list for me. The sooner, the better!"

As Gu Fang spoke, he placed the pill formula covered in medicinal ingredient names on the counter and pushed it toward the young woman.

The woman bowed slightly with a smile and gave a brief salute before taking the paper. As she picked it up, whether intentionally or not...

Her fingertips brushed against Gu Fang's. The contact lasted only an instant, yet she could still feel her heart suddenly pound fiercely!

A faint flush appeared on her face as she lowered her eyes to the paper in her hand.

Normally, she was responsible for selling pills and should not have concerned herself with medicinal ingredients, but for some reason, she had accepted it anyway.

She silently read the ingredients on the paper. "Green Flame Grass, Black Sky Hemp..."

After reading three or four kinds, shock and confusion flashed through her eyes.

Because of the medicinal ingredients listed on the paper...

She had never even heard of most of them.

Only Black Sky Hemp had been mentioned once a few days ago during a conversation with an elder. It was a high-grade medicinal herb from the Profound-tier area.

A single stalk of it was worth several second-tier pills.

And there were dozens of densely packed ingredients listed here...

If she could complete this order, she might even have a chance to become staff in the Profound-tier area. The flush on her face deepened as she said, "Young master, please come with me into the auction house."

After speaking, the young woman left the counter and walked in front of Gu Fang to lead the way.

Under the young woman's guidance, Gu Fang and the other two approached another area. Before they could enter, the four guards stationed at the entrance fixed their gazes on Gu Fang, But thinking it over did not mean they would make way for him.

Seeing this, the young woman turned to Gu Fang and asked softly, "May I ask whether you have reached the Da Dou Shi level, or possess a VIP card from our Mite'er Auction House?"

"Da Dou Shi strength, a VIP card?"

Gu Fang was taken aback, but then he heard the young woman's explanation.

"This is merely an outer sales area. The items sold here are not particularly valuable... At the Mite'er Family headquarters, the auction halls, much like cultivation techniques, are strictly divided into four grades: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow.

Among them, Heaven Rank is the highest. However, that Heaven Rank auction hall might only open once every year or two.

The medicinal ingredients you require this time are located in the inner Profound Rank, or even Earth Rank, areas. The primary requirement for entering them is...

the corresponding status, or Da Dou Shi strength."

Hearing this, Gu Fang froze for a moment, then slowly shook his head under the gazes of the guards and the young woman. "I have neither Da Dou Shi strength nor a VIP card!"

"This..."

The young woman guiding him paused, a trace of awkwardness flashing through her eyes.

She had not expected that someone seeking such medicinal ingredients would not only lack Da Dou Shi strength, but not even possess a VIP card.

No...

Looking at Gu Fang's handsome yet somewhat youthful face, the woman laughed at herself inwardly.

She really was crazy. This youth was at most seventeen or eighteen years old—how could someone that age possibly possess such strength?

And he had merely brought over a sheet of paper filled with medicinal ingredients. Why had she taken it seriously?

Steadying herself slightly, the woman continued, "Then, Young Master, do you have a token from an elder or any other item that can verify your identity?"

As Gu Fang listened, he turned his hand over, and a silver-white translucent emblem appeared in his palm. Patterns flowed across its surface, interweaving with one another before finally forming the character "Sound"!

This was the token Gu Yuan had given Gu Fang before his departure. Gu Fang was no longer a member of the Ancient Clan; like his elder sister Gu Xun'er, he was now an inheritor of Sound Valley, one of the One Hall, One Tower, Two Sects, and Three Valleys.

Just as he was about to speak, a burst of footsteps suddenly came from behind him. Along with those footsteps, the four guards who had been staring at him all turned their gazes in that direction.

It was not just the four guards. The people behind Gu Fang, who had been selecting items on their own, suddenly stirred in unison as though something had summoned them.

Gu Fang turned his head and looked at the restless crowd, blinking in confusion. Tilting his head slightly, his gaze passed through those men who had suddenly become as excited as rutting wolves, and then he vaguely caught sight of flashes of vivid red and a blurred, graceful figure.

Lowering his gaze, Xiao Yan saw a pair of red boots. Their heels were slightly pointed, clicking against the smooth bluestone floor with crisp, pleasant sounds like a string of beautiful notes.

His gaze rose slightly, and a pair of long, snow-white legs appeared before his eyes, quite the feast for them.

Nice legs... Gu Fang evaluated inwardly as he shifted his gaze upward, sweeping past the slender waist and those surging curves, before finally settling on that seductive face wearing a faint smile.

The moment he saw her face, Gu Fang raised a brow and cursed inwardly. What a temptress.

If the woman behind the counter earlier could be considered above average, the kind who would make people glance back at her on the street, then this woman who had appeared now...

had reached the point of ensnaring every eye. With just a shift of her gaze, she could steal one's soul!

Every movement she made radiated a bewitching charm.

It was at this moment that a voice tinged with surprise sounded beside Gu Fang's ear. "Ya Fei? Why has she returned to headquarters at this time?"