His cultivation had successfully reached the peak of seven-star Dou Wang.
Xiao Ze was overjoyed.
However, he had no plans to head to the Magical Beast Mountain Range right away.
A full week of cultivation had left him feeling cooped up, so he decided to rest in Wutan City for a few days and get himself back in shape before setting out for the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
As soon as he stepped out of his room, a Xiao Clan servant came hurrying over. He said that Clan Chief Xiao Zhan wanted to see him and asked him to come to the council hall.
When he arrived at the council hall,
he had barely stepped inside when he saw Xiao Zhan staring at the two gold-embossed invitations in his hands, brows furrowed as though deep in thought.
"Clan Chief Xiao, what does this old man owe you the pleasure of this time?"
"Don't tell me someone's been bullying the Xiao Clan again?"
Xiao Ze casually sat down in a chair.
Every move he made showed utter disregard for the Xiao Clan's rules.
"Ancestor, you jest. In Wutan City these days, who would dare provoke the Xiao Clan?" Seeing Xiao Ze arrive, Xiao Zhan quickly set down the gold invitations and spoke respectfully.
As for Xiao Ze's disregard for the Xiao Clan's rules, he simply pretended not to see it.
What?
You say Xiao Clan members have to maintain decorum in the council hall?
What does that have to do with the Ancestor?
What?
You say Xiao Clan members have to bow when they meet the clan chief?
What does that have to do with the Ancestor?
If the Ancestor hadn't refused, Xiao Zhan would have gladly surrendered the seat beneath him—the one that represented his position as clan chief.
In the Xiao Clan today, the Ancestor was everything!
Whatever the Ancestor did was right!
The Ancestor was the sky above the Xiao Clan!
The Ancestor...
"Enough. This old man doesn't have time to waste. Tell me, why did you call me here?" Xiao Ze asked impatiently.
He still planned to head to the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
He didn't have time to deal with all this miscellaneous nonsense.
"It's like this, Ancestor. The Mittel Auction House sent over two invitations today, hoping you'll attend tomorrow's Mittel Auction."
Xiao Zhan didn't hesitate. He immediately explained everything from beginning to end.
"The Mittel Auction?" Xiao Ze frowned as soon as he heard that. "I'm not going!"
As if! What good stuff could a small auction house in Wutan City possibly have?
He was a Dou Huang expert now. To catch his eye, a treasure would have to be at least an Earth-rank Dou Technique or a Fifth-grade Pill.
Forget the Wutan City branch—even the main branch in the imperial capital might not have anything that could interest him.
Going to an auction like that would be a complete waste of his time.
As he spoke, he started to get up and leave.
"Ancestor, please wait!"
"What is it?" Xiao Ze turned around, his expression displeased.
"Ancestor, please don't be angry. Hear me out," Xiao Zhan said in a hurry. "According to the information from the auction house, everything being auctioned this time was brought in from the imperial capital. The items are extraordinarily precious."
"I heard that for this auction, the Mittel Family in the imperial capital even sent a Dou Wang expert to oversee it."
"That shows just how seriously the Mittel Family is taking this auction."
"In my opinion, this auction is bound to be very exciting. They might even have something you need, Ancestor..."
"Oh?" Xiao Ze looked a little surprised.
Xiao Zhan then explained the whole story in detail.
As it turned out, the Mittel Auction House was making such a fuss entirely because of Xiao Ze.
A small auction house in a remote place like Wutan City could never have attracted the attention of the Mittel Family in the imperial capital.
It was Xiao Ze's arrival that had made the Mittel Family take notice.
To raise the auction house's profile and secure its position in Wutan City, the Mittel Family had decided to hold a large-scale auction there.
To meet the needs of such a major event, they had even brought over quite a few precious treasures from the imperial capital.
"..." After hearing Xiao Zhan's explanation, Xiao Ze was speechless. So this auction was being held because of him.
That said, if things really were as Xiao Zhan described, the auction did sound somewhat appealing. He could go have a look.
"In that case, this old man will go and join in the fun," Xiao Ze said.
"Here's the gold invitation from the auction house. Please keep it safe, Ancestor..." Xiao Zhan hurriedly held out the invitation sent by the Mittel Auction House.
Xiao Ze took it casually and was about to toss it into his Storage Ring when he noticed a trace of envy in Xiao Zhan's eyes.
"What? Is there a problem with the invitation?" he asked, puzzled.
"Huh?" Xiao Zhan snapped out of it, then explained, "There's nothing wrong with it. I just didn't expect the Mittel Family to invite you with a gold invitation, Ancestor."
"That shows how much the Mittel Family values you."
Xiao Zhan smiled. The Mittel Family had given the Ancestor a gold invitation, which meant they feared his strength too. That was unquestionably good news for the Xiao Clan.
"Oh? So the invitations come in different ranks?"
Xiao Ze played with the gold invitation in his hand and asked curiously.
"That's right," Xiao Zhan said. "The Mittel Auction House has three ranks of invitations: gold, silver, and bronze. Ordinary factions can generally only get bronze invitations."
"Only second-rate factions in the Jia Ma Empire qualify for silver invitations."
"And the gold invitation is undoubtedly the most prestigious one the Mittel Auction House offers. There are only a handful of people across the entire Jia Ma Empire who possess one."
"Only first-rate factions barely qualify."
As he spoke, Xiao Zhan took out his own invitation. The reddish invitation was adorned with silver patterns; it was clearly a silver invitation.
"Thanks to you, Ancestor, I was able to qualify for a silver invitation..."
The Xiao Clan hadn't been strong enough to hold a silver invitation before, but thanks to Xiao Ze, after swallowing up the Jalie Clan, it had barely reached the threshold.
"Is that so? Interesting." Xiao Ze played with the gold invitation in his hand, then asked, "Does this gold invitation come with any special privileges?"
Xiao Zhan hurriedly answered, "Holders of gold invitations are honored guests of the entire Mittel Family. Not only do they receive the Mittel Family's goodwill, they also get a twenty percent discount at every Mittel Auction House..."
Xiao Zhan went on and on.
In short, it all boiled down to one thing: the gold invitation was a symbol of strength and status.
"A twenty percent discount?" Xiao Ze smiled faintly. "Now that's something useful."
He didn't care at all about the so-called gold, silver, and bronze invitations. The only thing that mattered to him was those four words: "enjoy a discount."
As for earning the Mittel Family's goodwill?
What was that supposed to be?
He was a mighty Dou Huang expert. Did he need help from a faction that didn't even have a Dou Huang expert?
What a joke!
After hearing Xiao Zhan out, Xiao Ze casually tossed the gold invitation into his Storage Ring.
"Enough. Cut the pointless chatter. This old man doesn't have time to listen to you ramble on. I'm off!"
With that, he swept his long sleeves and turned to leave without hesitation.
He didn't notice Xiao Zhan's awkward expression.
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