Looking at Yan Tong outside the door, Li Ji'an felt slightly surprised.
As far as he knew, in the southeastern part of the Desolate Ridge Wasteland, the Yan Household was one of the Eight Great Houses—a colossus compared to Rogue Cultivators.
And he was nothing but a new handyman at a pill shop, old and poorly endowed.
"Get over here!"
As soon as Li Ji'an opened the door, Yan Tong's face darkened.
He turned and barked at someone behind him.
Then the youth who had led the group Li Ji'an encountered half a year ago, after he first arrived in the city and Chen Qingling took him around the market, came into view.
Li Ji'an remembered Chen Qingling calling him "Brother Quan."
"Steward Yan, this is..."
"Ah, forgive me for letting you see this, Fellow Daoist Li." Yan Tong smiled amiably with his plump face, though he looked rather disappointed in his son.
"It's a disgrace to the family. I've always believed in harmony above all else, and I've taught my son since childhood to make good connections with others. And yet... Ah, why don't you hurry up and pay your respects to Uncle Li?"
Yan Quan was about the same age as Chen Qingling. He had formally begun cultivating last year, entering the Qi Refining stage, and was now nearly at the second layer.
In this Cultivation World, apart from one's sect and family, people were generally ranked by their cultivation and Dao attainment.
Normally, though Yan Quan was younger, if his cultivation was a stage above Li Ji'an's, Li Ji'an would have to clasp his hands and address him as Senior.
Now their cultivation was similar, both in the early stages of Qi Refining, so they should treat each other as equals and fellow cultivators.
Yan Tong was