Hun Xian'er? Xiao Yi Xian!

"I had a lot of fun today." The setting sun's afterglow scattered across the evening streets as Xiao Xun'er waved goodbye to Xiao Yan. An elderly man stood beside her with a calm gaze, acting as the young maiden's personal bodyguard.

"I still wanted to walk you back." Xiao Yan looked helplessly at the old man, but there was nothing he could do.

According to his father Xiao Zhan, this old man was a newly assigned guardian sent from Xiao Xun'er's hometown, who was also responsible for her safety.

"For Miss Xun'er's safety, there is no need to trouble Young Master Xiao." The old man shook his head, then turned and spoke respectfully to Xun'er, "Miss, let's go back."

"Alright." Xiao Xun'er nodded.

Xiao Yan watched the two of them leave until the smile on his face gradually faded. After looking around as if casually doing so, he quickly slipped into a side alley by the street.

When he came out again, he had already changed into a black robe with a bamboo hat on his head, his entire face shrouded under black gauze.

In fact, even if Xiao Xun'er hadn't left, Xiao Yan would have found an excuse to leave early, because just a moment ago, a strand of divine sense suddenly appeared in his mind.

"Within half an hour, come to the Mittel Auction House and show the black card inside your storage ring. They will tell you which room to go to."

With a bizarre expression, Xiao Yan retrieved a black card of the Mittel Auction House from his storage ring. He was certain this item definitely did not exist inside the storage ring prior to this.

Could it be that Master had returned? Otherwise, Xiao Yan truly couldn't think of anyone else who possessed such capability to send an item directly into his storage ring.

"Yao Lao, what do you think? Could it be Master?" Xiao Yan communicated with Yao Chen via divine sense.

However, there was no response...

"Yao Lao?" Xiao Yan called out to Yao Chen once more, and only after several attempts did the latter's terrified voice come through.

"No, it's another Dou Sheng. Consider him a subordinate of that master of yours."

"A Dou Sheng's subordinate?" Xiao Yan was shocked. That cheap master of his, who had never appeared once since showing his face a year ago, actually had a Dou Sheng as a subordinate.

Prior to this, Xiao Yan did not have a grand concept of Hun Tiandi's might. After all, the realm of Dou Sheng was far too distant for him-so distant that it lacked any sense of reality, making it utterly impossible to imagine what kind of divine abilities an expert of this realm might possess, let alone just how immense the gap between them truly was.

Afterwards, no matter how Xiao Yan called out, Yao Chen no longer gave any response, as if he had gone into hiding.

After hesitating for a moment, Xiao Yan still decided to act according to the instructions of the divine sense. After all, since the other party could quietly send items into someone else's storage ring without anyone noticing, erasing him with absolute strength would surely be a breeze. Yet since the other party hadn't made a move, he figured there was no malicious intent either.

Arriving in front of the Mittel Auction House, Xiao Yan retrieved that black card from his storage ring and handed it to the guard.

"This lord, please wait a moment." After inspecting the authenticity of the black card, the guard respectfully led Xiao Yan into the auction house.

A comely young married woman walked up. After the guard whispered a few words into her ear, the latter immediately hurried over.

"Young Master, this way please." The young woman bowed slightly before turning around to lead the way.

Xiao Yan said nothing, merely following the young woman forward while observing his surroundings with keen interest.

Although the Xiao Clan was one of the three major families in Wutan City, this was still the first time Xiao Yan had come to a private room above the Heavenly Character grade boxes in the Mittel Auction House. The understated yet luxurious decoration of the Heavenly Character zone's auction house truly opened his eyes to the world.

"It's right here. That distinguished guest is waiting for you inside the private room." After bowing once more, the young woman turned and left.

Xiao Yan looked up at the plaque above the private room: "Heavenly Character No. 1."

Before he even knocked, the door of the private room opened on its own.

A purple-haired girl sat inside the private room, watching the ongoing auction down below. She wore a black and white dress, her willow-slim waist and slender legs drawn together in a slight curve, leaving only her back to Xiao Yan.

An orchid in a secluded valley...

Xiao Yan stood frozen at the doorway. In his two lifetimes of existence, he had never laid eyes on a woman with such temperament.

Could this... be that Dou Sheng?

He felt somewhat uncertain, but at this moment Yao Lao in the black ring was playing dead and refused to stick his head out, leaving him to rely entirely on himself.

"Aren't you coming in?" The purple-haired girl turned her head around, her exquisite face carrying a scrutinizing gaze.

"Um... alright." Braving it, Xiao Yan walked in, and the private room door behind him slammed shut instantly.

He proactively removed the bamboo hat from his head, cupped his fists, and said, "Junior, Xiao Yan, greets Senior."

"Senior is hardly the word. I am your Senior Sister, Hun Xian'er." The purple-haired girl waved her hand.

"Sit. The two of us should be around the same age," Hun Xian'er added. She looked Xiao Yan up and down, finding that this junior brother of hers was actually quite handsome.

"Is that so?" Xiao Yan looked back with equal curiosity at this senior sister of his. She wasn't old-at least she looked much more juvenile than him-yet her conduct and demeanor seemed very mature.

Hun Xian'er nodded, and the two of them sat inside the private room, chatting sentence by sentence.

"So you are Xiao Yan? I've heard of you." Hun Xian'er looked at Xiao Yan with some surprise, appearing very familiar with this name.

"Senior Sister, you've heard of me?" Xiao Yan was also somewhat puzzled. At the height of his fame, he had never even stepped out of the Jia Ma Empire.

"Mm, I used to be a person of the Jia Ma Empire as well. It was only after being adopted as a foster daughter by Father that I changed my name to Hun Xian'er." Hun Xian'er smiled lightly, explaining her background.

Although Hun Xian'er was a native of the Jia Ma Empire, she had drifted from place to place since childhood without her own name. Through a twist of fate, she learned a set of medical skills and managed to survive by joining a mercenary group in a place called Qingshan Town. The mercenaries traveling back and forth through the Magical Beast Mountain Range all called her "Xiao Yi Xian".

The turning point of her fate occurred a year ago. During one of her trips into the mountains to gather herbs, she encountered a "severely injured" Hun Tiandi, and then "cured" this Dou Sheng expert with her "superb" medical skills. Consequently, she was taken in as a foster daughter and given the name Hun Xian'er.

"Xiao Yi Xian? What a pleasant-sounding moniker." Xiao Yan sighed with emotion.

"Those rough mercenaries just made it up casually." Hun Xian'er raised her chin with a hint of shyness, yet she was obviously very proud of this title.

It seemed this purple-haired girl was taken in after his cheap master was ambushed?

Wait... Xiao Yan acutely detected a hint of something amiss.

"Calculated by chronology, shouldn't I be the one who entered the sect earlier? You should be calling me Senior Brother!" Xiao Yan pointed out the logical flaw in Xiao Yi Xian Hun Xian'er's words.

"Hmph~" Hun Xian'er was clearly somewhat disdainful. "Master said that those who achieve mastery first are the seniors. Therefore, even though you entered the sect earlier than me, you should still call me Senior Sister."

As she spoke, a powerful aura erupted from Hun Xian'er's body.

Xiao Yi Xian Hun Xian'er, a One-Star Dou Ling!

"Heh heh heh, Hun Xian'er, although this kid is a year older than you, he's only a Two-Star Dou Zhe. Don't go frightening the poor fellow." In the private room, which previously held only Xiao Yan and Hun Xian'er, the figure of a third person abruptly appeared.

A middle-aged man in a black robe slowly materialized out of the void.