There was no denying that the Mittel Auction House's publicity was remarkably effective.
Just one day after Xiao Yan handed over the scroll inscribed with [Suction Palm], virtually every faction in Wutan City, large or small, knew about it.
The auction was scheduled for seven days later-they had to give the major factions a chance to "raise funds."
Nothing else of note happened during those seven days.
Apothecary showed Xiao Yan another trick, crafting a first-tier pill bearing a pill pattern by hand and "salvaging" some dignity.
Xiao Yan popped the pill and supplemented her cultivation with medicinal baths. Her cultivation shot up, bringing her straight to the fourth stage of dou qi.
Only her constitution allowed her to raise her cultivation by gulping down pills like that.
Anyone else at the third stage of dou qi would have had their meridians burst by the pill's power, becoming utterly crippled.
Nor had the pill's medicinal power been exhausted. Some still lay dormant within her, slowly taking effect.
Xiao Yan reckoned she would soon break through to the fifth stage of dou qi.
Reaching the seventh stage within six months and becoming a Dou Zhe within a year probably would not pose much of a problem.
When the auction began, Xiao Yan slipped out again, changed into a white robe, and mingled with the crowd entering the auction house.
She had never attended an auction before, so this one broadened her horizons a little.
Although, in Apothecary's eyes, the items sold at a small auction house like this were... well, this was merely an outing for amusement.
Since this dou technique really was a chicken rib-hardly worth keeping, yet a pity to discard-and only useful for bullying weaklings, Xiao Zhan gave it some thought and refrained from bidding too aggressively.
Watching from the shadows, Xiao Yan could not help breathing a sigh of relief when [Suction Palm] ultimately went to someone other than Xiao Zhan.
Her conscience would have troubled her if the gold she earned had been swindled out of her own family.
That might have left the final "sale price" somewhat lower than ideal, but as far as Xiao Yan was concerned, enough was enough.
After the auction, Xiao Yan collected the "remaining payment" and exchanged most of it for medicinal ingredients.
She could not take pills of too high a tier yet, so the Mittel Auction House had all the ingredients she needed in stock. Everything was soon settled.
With her purchases in hand, she exchanged a few pleasantries with Ya Fei. When Ya Fei said, "If you have anything good to auction, be sure to favor the Mittel Auction House," Xiao Yan replied, "Next time, definitely," then rose to leave.
After winding through turn after turn, she changed out of her white robe and temporarily "suspended" that alternate identity.
Even if Ya Fei and the Mittel Auction House wanted to befriend a certain nameless woman in white, they would never find her.
For the time being, she had nothing else to worry about. She could focus on cultivating in peace.
With the auction settled, Xiao Yan went to see the father she had inherited with this life and told him her talent had returned.
As for keeping completely silent, then "slapping everyone in the face" at the coming-of-age ceremony more than half a year later... Xiao Yan had no such plans.
Why bother? This was her life, not a novel.
Besides, "slapping the faces" of a bunch of brats, all members of her own Xiao Clan, would hardly give her any satisfying thrill.
To Xiao Yan, simply telling her father what had happened and sparing him further worry was far more practical.
After carefully sensing her cultivation and discovering that Xiao Yan's dou qi really had recovered to the fourth stage, confirming the return of her talent, Xiao Zhan was overjoyed.
"Yan'er, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Just focus on cultivating..."
Xiao Zhan had actually wanted to mention the three-year agreement, though he ultimately left it unsaid.
After all, in Xiao Zhan's view, there was no way Nalan Jie could have been unaware that Nalan Yan had used the broken engagement to humiliate the Xiao Clan.
Yet over a month had passed without him offering the Xiao Clan any response whatsoever. That amounted to tacit approval.
The Nalan Family was therefore hardly a good family to marry into.
Moreover, the Xiao Clan currently did not have a single Dou Ling. If Yan'er married into their family, she would have to live at the mercy of the Nalan Family's whims, making Xiao Zhan even more unwilling.
So if the engagement was broken, let it stay broken. There was no need to renew it.
"Yan'er, our Wutan City is simply too small. Now that your talent has returned, you're bound to go farther than your father;
"Let the past remain in the past. Your future deserves something better..."
Despite having lived two lives, Xiao Yan could not help feeling her eyes sting at having a father who cared for her so deeply. "Mm, Father..."
[Family Affection Buff], acquired.
The return of Xiao Yan's talent was merely a piece of "news," neither particularly big nor particularly small.
Aside from the Xiao Clan's cultivation resources beginning to favor Xiao Yan again and the people of Wutan City gaining another topic of conversation, it had no other effect.
One month later.
Over the past month, she had used up most of the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, and Xiao Yan had successfully broken through to the fifth stage.
So Apothecary stepped in again, making Xiao Yan a first-tier pill and preparing a new "medicinal bath," with who knew what else added to the liquid.
Thus, the moment Xiao Yan began cultivating that day, she noticed something was wrong.
As the energy of heaven and earth entered her body, a faint, swelling ache spread throughout her. When she focused on it, it seemed more like a tingling itch.
Was the energy inside her "pooling," blocking some of her meridians?
With that thought passing through her mind, Xiao Yan endured the discomfort and continued immersing herself in cultivation.
Yet all that discomfort made it impossible to sink deeply into cultivation. After barely an hour, the pain forced her out of her cultivating state.
"Ugh... hiss..."
Grimacing, Xiao Yan climbed out of the wooden tub and collapsed onto the bed. Every part of her body seemed to be in revolt. Staying still left her aching and swollen all over; moving sent pain piercing straight through her heart.
"You've absorbed the medicinal power fairly well, but you still haven't met my expectations-"
"Although your physique is already comparable to a Dou Zhe's, your cultivation is only at the fifth stage of dou qi. That means your 'appetite' is large enough, but you can't 'digest' the medicinal power in time."
"And that leaves you 'choking,' unable to keep cultivating."
"It seems you'll need to increase the intensity of your body tempering, leaving your body 'hungry' so it can absorb the medicinal power more effectively."
Xiao Yan understood. Apothecary meant that she should not begin cultivating in a medicinal bath while already in peak condition. Although she could still improve that way, the actual results were mediocre.
If she first exhausted all the dou qi in her body and then cultivated, the effects would be better.
Xiao Yan's face fell. It was already exhausting enough, and now she had to intensify her body tempering. Cultivating is so painful. I want cheats.
Unfortunately, her only cheats were Apothecary and a soul stronger than an ordinary person's after crossing into this world. She had no system that made her stronger just for checking in, so she could only suffer through cultivation.
As for whether she was the protagonist or not... why think so much about it?
Although her experiences could be considered somewhat "bizarre," she could not let that go to her head. Otherwise, in a world where the strong devoured the weak, she might die without even knowing what had killed her.
Nalan Yan was merely the Misty Cloud Sect's chief disciple, yet he had dared to mock her publicly in the Xiao Clan's own home. And that was still relatively mild.
If she encountered something worse in the future...
Beauty played as her only card was a guaranteed dead end. Without enough strength to protect herself, could she really expect her family to shelter her for a lifetime?
Besides, even if Xun'er, that girl with an unfathomable background, was willing to protect her for the sake of their relationship, Xiao Yan did not want to spend every day under someone else's shelter.
In truth, Xiao Yan had always been someone who strove to stand on her own.
Back when she was a "cripple," she had not considered such things. She had only wanted to live peacefully and look after her father along the way.
Now that her talent had returned, however, she ought to work hard and see the view from greater heights.
"Teacher, what should I do?" Xiao Yan asked through gritted teeth.
Before you continue