Chen Chang'an and Gu Xian'er had just entered the private booth and taken their seats when Gu Fengyao, uninvited, strode in right after them.
As the young mistress of the Gu Family, the auction house attendants dared not stop her.
Seeing Gu Fengyao enter, Gu Xian'er frowned slightly. Why was she following them?
Without hesitation, Gu Fengyao walked over and sat down beside Gu Xian'er, her gaze fixed solely on her as if Chen Chang'an beside them didn’t exist.
Chen Chang'an found it amusing. Was the Gu Family’s young mistress really this meddlesome?
"Did he drug you?"
"Or curse you with some dark art?"
"If so, come back to the Gu Family with me. I’ll have our family’s patriarch examine you."
Gu Fengyao’s words made Gu Xian'er’s face darken. What nonsense was this? Did she look like someone who’d been drugged?
"Thank you for your concern, elder sister, but Young Master has never drugged me, nor cursed me."
"He has never used any mind-altering techniques on me either."
"I follow him willingly. There’s no need for you to trouble yourself," Gu Xian'er said sternly.
Seeing how resolute Gu Xian'er was, Gu Fengyao found it strange. This didn’t make sense.
Gu Xian'er clearly had pride and backbone—why was she so devoted to Chen Chang'an?
Did he have some extraordinary quality?
At this thought, Gu Fengyao’s eyes inadvertently wandered toward a certain part of Chen Chang'an’s body.
Ah!
What am I thinking?!
Gu Xian'er was clearly still a maiden—why would my mind go there?
No!
This isn’t my fault. The energy here is off—no, it’s Chen Chang'an!
Yes, it’s all his fault!
That glance startled Chen Chang'an. What kind of weird habit was this?
"You… still not leaving?"
Seeing how comfortably Gu Fengyao had settled in, Chen Chang'an couldn’t help but ask.
"Leave? And go where?" Gu Fengyao shot him a disdainful look.
Damn, this woman’s definitely got issues!
I didn’t even provoke her—who does she think she’s glaring at?
"This is our private booth."
"This auction house belongs to my family."
"Fine, then keep sitting here."
Chen Chang'an had no retort—she was right. The auction house was the Gu Family’s.
Technically, she was the host, and he was just a guest.
"Is he really that good?"
"That captivating?" Gu Fengyao was relentless, determined to "save" Gu Xian'er from whatever spell she was under.
"Mhm." Gu Xian'er couldn’t be bothered to elaborate, giving only a faint nod.
"So what if he’s a little handsome? His cultivation isn’t even as strong as yours."
"What kind of taste is that? Do you just like pretty faces?" Gu Fengyao pressed.
"Mhm."
Gu Xian'er might as well have been an emotionless nodding doll, responding to everything with a single indifferent hum.
After a while, Gu Fengyao’s throat felt dry from talking, yet Gu Xian'er remained utterly unresponsive.
How can someone be this cold?!
"When does the auction start?"
"Aren’t you the host here? Why not tell us what’s being auctioned this time?" Chen Chang'an, exasperated, decided to change the subject.
"Hmph!"
At his words, Gu Fengyao shot him another glare, snorted, and turned her head away without another word.
"Do not disrespect Young Master," Gu Xian'er said coldly, her expression darkening.
"Young Master this, Young Master that."
"The only time you react is when it’s about him."
"I’m the Gu Family’s young mistress—can’t you at least show me some respect?" Gu Fengyao fumed.
"Oh. Sure."
Seeing Gu Xian'er revert to her icy demeanor, Gu Fengyao nearly lost her temper on the spot.
Chen Chang'an watched with amusement. Their personalities seemed to have completely reversed.
At first glance, Gu Fengyao had seemed cold and aloof, while Gu Xian'er appeared gentle and soft-spoken.
Now, Gu Xian'er was the frosty one, while Gu Fengyao had turned oddly enthusiastic.
"Ugh, you’re no fun!"
"Fine, I’ll tell you what our Gu Family brought for auction this time."
"Honestly, it’s nothing too special, but for a backwater place like the Fengtian Imperial Dynasty, it’s probably decent."
"There’s—"
Gu Fengyao prattled on, not caring whether Gu Xian'er was listening, chattering away about the auction items.
After a while, Chen Chang'an lost interest. None of these things held much appeal for him.
"Young Mistress Fengyao went into a guest’s private booth?"
"And it’s a young man and woman?"
The Gu Family’s Third Elder was taken aback. This wasn’t like Gu Fengyao at all—what had gotten into her?
"Do we know why?" The Third Elder frowned.
"It seems it’s because…"
The shopkeeper recounted everything he had seen and heard, but even the Third Elder hadn’t expected to encounter Gu Xian'er, the third-ranked figure on the Human Ranking, here.
No wonder Gu Fengyao was so intrigued. Back in the Gu Family, she had been utterly fixated on the name "Gu Xian'er."
"Ah well, let the youngsters handle their own affairs," the Third Elder mused.
"Could it be that this Gu Xian'er is the one our Ancestor has been waiting for?"
Though doubtful, he couldn’t be certain—after all, he wasn’t even sure if the person the Ancestor awaited would appear here at all.
Soon, the auction officially began, with Gu Fengyao chattering away nonstop.
Chen Chang'an had just risen to leave when her next words made him sit back down.
"Honestly, I don’t know why, but this time, our Ancestor instructed us to auction something… very strange."
"A piece of information. We’re auctioning a piece of information."
"And even I don’t know what it is—only the Third Elder, who came with me, does."
"The Ancestor said this information is useful to only one person in the entire world."
"Frankly, I’m quite curious. What could it possibly be?"
Hearing this, Gu Xian'er was momentarily stunned, then glanced at Chen Chang'an, who was deep in thought.
The "Ancestor" Gu Fengyao spoke of had to be the Gu Family’s supreme expert at the peak of the Great Emperor realm. And he wanted to auction a piece of information?
Moreover, one that was only useful to a single person in the world?
Could it be… news about the Embryonic Pearl?
But how could they possibly know about the Embryonic Pearl?
Chen Chang'an wasn’t sure, but his curiosity was thoroughly piqued. No matter what, he had to secure this final lot.
If it really was about the Embryonic Pearl, then this trip to the Fengtian Imperial Dynasty would yield an immense reward!
"Did your Ancestor say anything else?" Gu Xian'er asked, knowing Gu Fengyao wasn’t particularly fond of Chen Chang'an. She took the initiative to probe for more details on his behalf.
"Ah!"
"You’re actually responding to me?"
Gu Fengyao’s face lit up with delight. This was the first time since her arrival that Gu Xian'er had actively engaged her in conversation.
Excellent—this was a good start. She felt one step closer to rescuing this lost lamb!
However, she hesitated about whether to reveal anything else the Ancestor had said.
After some deliberation, Gu Fengyao decided against it.
If they really won the bid for this information, wouldn’t that mean they were the ones the Ancestor had been waiting for?
"The Ancestor didn’t say much else. As I mentioned earlier, the Third Elder knows the most about this. I only learned about the auctioned information after arriving," Gu Fengyao replied with a smile.
With Gu Fengyao unwilling to share more, Gu Xian'er lost interest in continuing the conversation.
Seeing Gu Xian'er revert to her icy demeanor, Gu Fengyao felt a pang of frustration. Why was this? She meant nothing but goodwill—why did Gu Xian'er seem so averse to her?
Down below, the auction was in full swing. The items brought by the Gu Family held immense appeal for many, even the imperial household.
Then, as the next lot went up for bidding, Chen Chang'an noticed a subtle shift in Gu Xian'er’s gaze.
"Xian'er, do you fancy this item?" Chen Chang'an asked with a smile.
Seeing that he had noticed, Gu Xian'er didn’t hide it.
"Young Master, I feel this item might aid my cultivation."
"So…"
"No matter. If you like it, we’ll buy it!"
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
