Ya Fei's anticipation and envy

"Yan'er, are you all right? That girl Xiao Yu just now..."

Soon, Xiao Zhan and the others reached Xiao Yan, concern written on their faces.

After warning him once or twice not to provoke Xiao Yu, Xiao Zhan began introducing the people with him.

"Come, Yan'er, let me introduce you. This is Miss Ya Fei, the Chief Auctioneer of the Mittel Auction House..."

Xiao Zhan shifted aside, revealing Ya Fei behind him.

There was no one present who did not recognize Ya Fei.

Still, Xiao Yan pretended this was their first meeting and greeted her politely. "Hello, Miss Ya Fei."

Ya Fei exchanged a few pleasantries with him before her gaze settled on Zhou Changqing.

Seeing this, Xiao Yan immediately realized that the two knew each other, and their relationship was probably quite close.

After all, he now knew that almost all the treasured weapons Old Zhou made were auctioned through the Mittel Auction House.

Xiao Zhan was probably the only person here who had never met Zhou Changqing, so Xiao Yan hurried to introduce him.

"Father, this is the friend I told you about, Zhou Changqing."

"Oh? So you're Young Friend Zhou? Seeing you today, you truly are an outstanding young talent. Haha, your future has no limits."

At this, Xiao Zhan turned his gaze to Zhou Changqing and studied him briefly, stroking his beard and nodding in praise.

He had noticed this exceptionally handsome young man on his way over. With him standing beside Xiao Yan, how could Xiao Zhan not have guessed his identity?

Zhou Changqing hurriedly cupped his hands in greeting. "Greetings, Uncle Xiao. You flatter me—I'm hardly that remarkable. Since Xiao Yan and I are friends, please just call me Changqing, if you don't mind."

"You're being modest, child. Very well, I'll take the liberty of calling you Changqing."

"By the way, Changqing, I don't suppose you need me to introduce Miss Ya Fei?"

In excellent spirits, Xiao Zhan chuckled.

Zhou Changqing and Ya Fei exchanged a glance and both smiled.

"No need, Clan Leader Xiao. Little Brother Changqing and I know each other very well. After all, this little fellow is a regular at the auction house."

Ya Fei looked at Zhou Changqing with a radiant smile as she spoke.

She had not expected to see him here today, and it had been a pleasant little surprise.

Zhou Changqing returned her smile.

"Hello, Sister Ya Fei."

Nodding, Xiao Zhan turned to Xiao Yan. "Yan'er, the ceremony is about to begin. I still have some things to prepare. Don't embarrass your father later."

"See you later, Father."

"Changqing, since you're our guest, how about joining Miss Ya Fei in the guest seats?"

"Of course. Sorry for the trouble, Uncle Xiao."

"Haha, please follow me, both of you."

"Old Xiao, let's see what you've got. See you in a bit."

"Heh, just watch."

Soon, Zhou Changqing and Ya Fei followed Xiao Zhan to the honored guests' seats at the edge of the square.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Xiao Zhan left to make his preparations.

Sitting beside Zhou Changqing, Ya Fei leaned toward him, a hint of amusement in her lovely eyes. "Little Brother Changqing, how did you find the time to come here? I remember you being especially fond of peace and quiet. I've never seen you attend such a lively gathering."

"You're teasing me, Sister Ya Fei. It's not that I like quiet—I simply didn't have time before. After all, I still had to 'work for you,' didn't I?"

"Besides, Old Xiao and I are good friends. It wouldn't be right to miss his coming-of-age ceremony."

With her delicate fragrance wafting into his nose, Zhou Changqing shrugged and smiled.

Ya Fei straightened up, giving him a charming roll of her eyes at his claim of working for her, then nodded. "That's true. I almost forgot how close you are to the Xiao Clan's third young master."

Ya Fei could not claim to know everything about Zhou Changqing, but she knew a fair amount. Naturally, she knew he and Xiao Yan had been acquainted for several years.

"By the way, Sister Ya Fei, I've finished making the thing I promised you last time. After the ceremony, how about I head back with you, clear out some inventory, and discuss auctioning some new items?"

"Really?"

A gleam flashed in Ya Fei's lovely eyes as she looked at Zhou Changqing in delighted surprise.

Zhou Changqing nodded and said mysteriously, "Of course. You'll see it once we get back, Sister Ya Fei. It's definitely something good."

"Now that you've said that, I can hardly wait to see it."

His words filled Ya Fei with anticipation.

Whether she was looking forward to Zhou Changqing's gift or the profits he would bring the auction house this time was another matter.

While the two chatted, the coming-of-age ceremony got underway.

The coming-of-age ceremony had already begun.

The first half of the ceremony was exceedingly dull.

Watching it made Zhou Changqing feel rather sleepy.

Only when Xiao Yan took the stage did he perk up a little.

After all, this was one of the Flame Emperor's iconic moments of showing off, even if it hardly ranked among the great scenes of his lifetime.

"Dou Qi: eighth stage!"

When those words appeared on the black Testing Stone Stele atop the Giantwood Platform, the moment arrived.

Almost instantly, the entire square fell silent. Most of the crowd stared openmouthed at the young man before the stele, their eyes filled with shock!

"Wasn't he supposed to be at the Seventh Stage of Dou Qi? How did it become the eighth?"

"Hiss... Advancing four stages of Dou Qi in a year was already unheard of! Who would have thought the Xiao Clan's third young master had actually rocketed up five stages in a single year? Terrifying! Simply terrifying!"

"What a frightening talent for cultivation! Surely he's no worse than that young High-Rank Dou Zhe everyone was talking about a while ago?"

"Isn't that obvious? At this rate, in a few decades, the Xiao Clan might produce a Dou Wang, or even a Dou Huang expert!"

"The Xiao Clan has struck it rich..."

Amid the crowd's astonished discussions, the young man stood on the platform with his hair fluttering in the wind. Sunlight spilled over him, making him look dazzling beyond compare!

In contrast to their shock, Xiao Yan remained utterly calm. His composed, unruffled expression stood in stark contrast to everyone else's.

Old Xiao really is the master of showing off. Look at that calm face, like Mount Tai could collapse before him without changing his expression. So fucking flashy. I can't compare.

Watching this scene, Zhou Changqing's lips curled upward as he mused to himself.

Beside him, Ya Fei also sighed in admiration. "What a frightening little fellow. Even with the help of a second-rank pill like Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, which speeds up Dou Qi cultivation, an ordinary person probably wouldn't achieve half of what he has."

"I really envy geniuses like you..."

As she spoke, Ya Fei cast Zhou Changqing a rather plaintive look.

As someone with hopeless cultivation talent, Ya Fei truly felt a sour pang of envy at that moment.

If she had talent like that, her clan would put her on a pedestal.

"Uh... What does this have to do with me?"

Her stare made Zhou Changqing uncomfortable, and he could not help protesting.

Xiao Yan's the one showing off. Why are you looking at me instead of him?

"Hehe, other people might not know, but do you think I don't? The Xiao Clan's third young master certainly has frightening talent, but yours is probably even more frightening, Little Brother Changqing."

Ya Fei could not help smiling behind pursed lips.

Although the talent Zhou Changqing had shown so far differed little from Xiao Yan's, and even fell somewhat short of Xiao Yan's pace of advancing five stages of Dou Qi in a year, her impression remained unchanged.

Ya Fei simply had an intuition that this little fellow was mysterious and kept a great deal hidden.

She stopped teasing him and turned her attention to the fight that had already begun below.

What followed was Xiao Yan thoroughly beating Xiao Ning, who had taken Qi-Enhancing Powder, and putting on another grand display.

(End of chapter)