Two Masked Men Pass By Each Other! Medicine Elder Reveals An Yi's Cultivation, and Xiao Yan Is Completely Shattered!

Wutan City, Mittel Auction House.

Just as Ling Ying, who had been secretly tailing him, had guessed, An Yi entered the city and, with practiced ease, led Little Fairy straight to the largest gold-devouring establishment in Wutan City.

The Mittel Auction House was especially lively today. Carriages crowded the entrance, and the air buzzed with voices.

However, by the time An Yi and Little Fairy wandered over, the auction's main event was clearly nearing its end.

Even standing outside the main doors, they could clearly hear the impassioned calls coming from within. A few phrases drifted out faintly: "Foundation-Building Elixir," "the Xiao Household patriarch is offering a fortune," "Young Master Xiao Yan used this elixir to rise from a third-stage Qi Disciple to an eighth-stage Qi Disciple genius in just one year!"

Hearing those highly provocative words, a trace of surprise flashed through Little Fairy's clear eyes. She could not help tugging on An Yi's sleeve and murmuring:

"Is this Foundation-Building Elixir really that miraculous? Raising five stages of Qi Disciple in a year?!"

"Miraculous my ass."

An Yi sneered. "If this stuff were really that amazing, capable of mass-producing geniuses, those great clans and the imperial family in the Jia Ma Imperial Capital would have sent armies to raze this auction house long ago. Would they leave it for these little families of Wutan City to fight over?"

"This is called marketing. Three parts truth, seven parts exaggeration—specifically designed to fleece suckers."

Little Fairy nodded as though she half understood, then asked curiously, "Then what are we doing here?"

"Looking for an acquaintance to mooch a good meal off."

With practiced familiarity, An Yi led her around the noisy front hall and was about to head toward the rear courtyard where Ya Fei was.

Suddenly, An Yi's footsteps paused slightly, and one brow lifted almost imperceptibly.

He sensed an exceedingly concealed yet impossible-to-ignore dangerous aura.

Over the past year in the Magic Beast Mountain Range, his complete abandonment of restraint had brought An Yi more than just explosive gains in physical strength and cultivation. The Ancient White Tiger Bloodline within him had also been continuously stimulated and refined through frenzied slaughter.

It granted him an almost abnormal sense of danger, like that of an apex predator!

This was not even soul perception, nor was it the detection of Dou Qi fluctuations. It was simply an instinctive warning!

In fact, during his time living like a wild man in the Magic Beast Mountain Range, he had sensed several times that a faint dangerous aura was always following him from neither too close nor too far away.

At first, he had been startled, thinking he had accidentally entered the territory of some terrifying sixth-tier or higher Magic Beast and been marked as prey.

But as time passed, he realized that aura had merely kept its distance and had never displayed any hostility.

After giving it some thought, he had roughly guessed the true identity of that "tail"—it was most likely the Dou Emperor bodyguard named Ling Ying who stayed by Xiao Xun'er's side.

An Yi was honestly a little baffled by this.

After all, in order to stay alive over the years, he and Xiao Xun'er had always maintained a safe distance that was neither too close nor too distant.

Why would that rich girl send her personal bodyguard into the Magic Beast Mountain Range to watch him? Did she have nothing better to do?

An Yi tilted his head slightly and cast his gaze toward the source of that dangerous aura.

Not far down the bustling corridor, a figure wrapped tightly from head to toe in a large black robe, with a rather bloated appearance, was shuffling along suspiciously under the guidance of a maid toward the auction house's waiting room.

The instant An Yi looked over, the person hidden beneath the black robe seemed to sense something as well. He abruptly turned his head and looked back in the direction of the feeling.

Their eyes met.

A teasing glint flashed through An Yi's eyes. Well, if it isn't my little brother Yan, playing mysterious again? Putting on the mysterious old grandpa disguise once more, huh?

Yet his expression remained unchanged. He naturally withdrew his gaze and, like an aloof passerby who had noticed nothing, continued toward the rear courtyard with Little Fairy.

On the other side, Xiao Yan's heart jolted beneath the black robe.

Through the shadows cast by his hood, he eyed the tall man in white robes, with silver hair draped over his shoulders and a silver mask over his face, with uncertainty.

"When did Wutan City gain someone like this? That build, that presence... even standing there casually, he gives off an oppressive feeling that makes one's heart tremble!"

However, Xiao Yan's mind was currently filled with selling the Foundation-Building Elixir for quick money. Moreover, An Yi was wearing a mask and had changed disguises, so Xiao Yan did not think too much of it. He merely assumed the man was some high-level mercenary or mysterious expert passing through Wutan City.

Just as Xiao Yan was about to withdraw his gaze, a familiar, teasing elderly voice suddenly echoed faintly in his mind.

"Little Yan, stop staring. An old acquaintance of yours has returned."

Xiao Yan froze slightly, utterly confused. "An old acquaintance?"

"That white-haired fellow wearing the mask who just passed by. Don't you find the aura around him just a tiny bit familiar?" Medicine Elder asked with a smile from within the ring.

Xiao Yan's expression stiffened. An incomparably absurd thought suddenly flashed through his mind, and he cried out inwardly, Could it be... An Yi?!

"Impossible!"

Xiao Yan immediately refuted it in his mind. "Teacher, stop messing with me. That bastard An Yi is the same age as me. He used to be just a little taller than me, not by much. But that person just now looked to be at least close to one meter ninety! He stood out from the crowd like a crane among chickens. The difference in size is way too ridiculous!"

Medicine Elder sighed and explained, "Who else could it be besides him? As for why his body has changed so much, it is probably because that mysterious ancient exotic beast bloodline in his body greatly accelerated his physical development and bone restructuring."

"But changes in appearance are only superficial. They are not important." Medicine Elder's tone suddenly turned playful. "Little Yan, since you have recognized him, why not take another guess... what level has his cultivation reached now?"

Xiao Yan's eyelids twitched, and a foreboding feeling rose within him.

A year ago, when An Yi left the Xiao Household, he had already quietly broken through to the Dou Master realm.

And now, a year had passed...

Xiao Yan swallowed and cautiously named a number. "Five-Star Dou Master?"

"Too low." Medicine Elder dealt the blow without mercy.

Xiao Yan sucked in a cold breath and gritted his teeth. "Six-Star Dou Master? Don't tell me he's Seven-Star?!"

Medicine Elder fell silent for a moment before slowly uttering three words in a grave tone that even he found unimaginable:

"Great. Dou. Master."

Boom—!

Xiao Yan's footsteps abruptly halted. His entire body instantly stiffened, and his mind went blank, leaving only a buzzing in his ears.

Sixteen years old! A Great Dou Master?!

Was this a cultivation speed a human could possibly possess?!

Feeling the stormy waves raging through Xiao Yan's Mind Sea, Medicine Elder gave a bitter laugh. "Shocked, aren't you? Forget you—even this old man nearly had his jaw drop when I used my soul power to examine the Dou Crystal in his body, condensed almost into solid form."

"If he had the full support of some superpowerful faction, or if a high-level alchemist on my level fed him high-grade pills like candy, then such terrifying cultivation progress would not be impossible to understand. But he is clearly just an orphan who went alone into the mountains to live like a wild man!"

Medicine Elder's voice was full of undisguised amazement. "No background, relying entirely on himself to carve out the path to a Great Dou Master in the depths of the mountains and forests... the sheer monstrousness of this boy is truly unbelievable."

"Sir? You... are you all right?"

The auction house maid leading the way saw this mysterious important figure wrapped in black robes suddenly stop walking. She immediately called out anxiously.

That call abruptly pulled Xiao Yan back to reality.

He clenched his fists tightly beneath the black robe, took several deep breaths of cold air, and forcibly suppressed the frustration and shock brought on by An Yi's monstrous talent.

"This old man is fine. Lead on."

Xiao Yan replied hoarsely in his disguised elderly voice. Then he once again moved his heavy feet and followed the maid into the Mittel Auction House's VIP waiting room.