Chapter 240: An Interesting Little Girl

The Elder saw that the time was about right; the guests who were coming had all taken their seats, and it was not the Langya Pavilion that would suffer if others failed to show up.

After tidying his clothes slightly, this white-bearded Elder, possessing the bearing of an immortal, walked toward the auction stage with a brisk, spirited gait under the gaze of the crowd.

"Ahem~" He coughed lightly a few times, "Distinguished guests, I ask that you please be quiet for a moment."

The Elder's voice, bolstered by his profound Dou Qi cultivation, was clearly transmitted into the ears of everyone in the venue.

The scene, which had previously appeared somewhat noisy, instantly fell silent.

Xiao Yan, sitting in the private box, felt his mouth twitch. His expression grew stern as he looked curiously at Feng Zunzhe, "Uncle Feng, what exactly is the strength of this senior hosting the auction opposite us?"

Xiao Yan could only roughly sense that the other party's cultivation was powerful, but he lacked a concrete concept, so he could only ask the senior beside him.

Feng Zunzhe's expression remained as usual as he said calmly, "Probably around a Seven-Star Dou Zun!"

Although the voice was very calm, Xiao Yan still detected a hint of surprise. Thinking about it, it made sense; a powerhouse who would be considered absolute top-tier in other factions was actually only here to host an auction, which showed the high standard and quality of this event.

Yet, while this was incomprehensible to others, it was not difficult for a Langya Pavilion Elder to accept; on the contrary, it was exceptionally popular.

At Langya Pavilion, the subsidies for such field duties were very substantial. Expecting a horse to run without letting it graze was an impossibility.

Everyone was no fool; once the compensation was raised, they would naturally be willing to risk their lives. Trying to fool this group of old foxes in the cultivation world with empty promises was impossible.

Just as Xiao Yan and Feng Zunzhe were conversing, that Elder began his self-introduction.

He was seen smiling as he said:

"This old man is Liu Wu. Although this is my first time meeting all of you, I believe you will see this face of mine often in the future."

"Today is the first time our Langya Auction House is holding an auction. Thank you all for coming to show your support."

"I believe you will not be disappointed."

"Alright, without further ado, let us begin our auction now!"

Hearing this, the crowd, who had been drowsy from the opening remarks, immediately sat up straight, wanting to catch a glimpse of the true nature of this auction.

Xiao Han, who had also been looking down with a curious expression, had attended many auctions, but this was his first time observing an auction of his own house; the feeling was simply different.

But suddenly, Xiao Han frowned; an aura that should not have been in this place appeared within his perception.

"You little brat, not properly in seclusion cultivating, yet you actually ran here to join in the fun."

At this moment, in a 'Di'-grade private box of the Langya Auction House, a timid little girl was trying to persuade the man and woman in front of her; they were none other than Xiao Wu and Xian'er.

"Senior Brother, Senior Sister, we aren't supposed to be out right now, are we? Teacher will be angry."

"It doesn't matter, Xin Lan." Hearing the little girl's persuasion, Xiao Wu waved his hand dismissively, "We are just out to play; as long as we don't cause any trouble, it'll be fine!"

Xiao Wu had been about to go crazy from being cooped up recently. Ever since he went around digging for gossip about Ye Shenghan last time and was found out by Xiao Han and Yi Huang, he had been directly and forcefully suppressed by the two and locked in a secret room at Langya Pavilion to cultivate.

Today, he had finally managed to sneak out of Langya Pavilion while the lockdown was not too strict, specifically calling his two junior sisters to come to this auction to join in the fun.

At this time, Xiao Wu was watching the bidding below while complaining, "Teacher is really something, always using me as the target. Just you wait..."

"Once this young master's cultivation surpasses his, I will definitely *$**#."

Just as Xiao Wu was incessantly venting about his teacher, he did not notice that the expressions of Xian'er beside him and Xin Lan behind him had completely changed.

Especially the latter, who covered her small mouth with a look of admiration and pity.

"Strange, why does it suddenly feel much colder?" Xiao Wu sneezed and said, puzzled.

"Perhaps the weather has cooled down!" A voice drifted out eerily from behind him.

"How is that possible!" Xiao Wu subconsciously denied, "How could this young master's cultivation be defeated by a mere drop in temperature? You..."

Just as he was about to say something more, Xiao Wu stopped abruptly. He stiffly turned his head bit by bit, his peripheral vision catching a figure like a demon god.

Xiao Han said with a smile, "Xiao Wu, I don't remember giving you permission to leave seclusion, Teacher!"

"That... uh..." Xiao Wu shrank his neck and said with a fawning smile:

"Teacher, both junior sisters are here. You wouldn't want your violent image to reach the ears of the Mistress, would you?"

"Hehe~" Xiao Han turned to the two, "Did you two see anything?"

Xian'er and Xin Lan shook their heads in unison; the latter even took the initiative to cover her eyes, though the large gaps between her fingers were full of mockery.

Xiao Han watched this scene with some amusement and said to Xin Lan, "You are the disciple Yi Huang recently took in, right?"

The latter nodded blankly.

"Since you are Yi Huang's disciple, then I, as your senior uncle, naturally must give you a welcoming gift..."

"There's no need, Senior Uncle..." Xin Lan was about to refuse but was interrupted by Xiao Han, "Just some small things."

"Keep it well!"

As he spoke, Xiao Han took out a palm-sized, snowflake-shaped crystal radiating a cold aura, "This thing can save your life at a critical moment; consider it a small token of my heart as your senior uncle!"

"Thank you, Senior Uncle!" Xin Lan replied in a daze, then carefully put it away.

"It's nothing," Xiao Han said indifferently.

Compared to Xian'er, who was accidentally encountered by Yi Huang and brought back to Langya Pavilion to be nurtured, and who excelled in cultivation, Xin Lan was the most suitable successor for Yi Huang's alchemy techniques.

Speaking of which, the process of Xin Lan becoming a disciple was equally dramatic.

She was actually a genius descendant of the Ye Family, one of the Five Great Families of the Dan Region. Due to the Ye Family's gradual decline in recent years, the younger generation did not even have a single Seventh Grade Alchemist.

Seeing that they were about to be removed from the Five Great Families, and at this juncture, Ye Xinlan, as the only member of the Ye Family who met the requirements and possessed good alchemy talent, was naturally treated as a straw to clutch at, almost crushed by the heavy pressure.

As a result, this girl actually ran away from the Ye Family on a whim and, through a twist of fate, relied on her own alchemy talent to join the Langya Pavilion, which was then recruiting disciples.

However, the latter's identity could not be hidden from Langya Pavilion for long. In just a month's time, Ye Xinlan's background had been thoroughly investigated by Langya Pavilion.

A descendant of the Ye Family, one of the Five Great Families of the Dan Region, had actually joined Langya Pavilion—this was no joke!

Not to mention the other party's motives, just the hurdle of the Pill Tower alone made it difficult for Langya Pavilion to explain.

Although the Pill Tower had always maintained an indifferent attitude toward these founding families, Ye Xinlan was, after all, a direct member of an affiliated faction. Such matters were easily seen as poaching, causing friction between the two forces.

The Elder originally in charge of this matter at Langya Pavilion intended to explain the reason directly and send Ye Xinlan back to the Ye Family.

But a wrench was thrown into the works halfway; when Yi Huang was inspecting the Pill Hall, she discovered this proud yet slightly timid little girl, and finding it interesting, she pulled up the latter's file.

Then, she gave an order to observe for two days first. With the Vice Pavilion Master speaking personally, the Elder could not do anything and had no choice but to comply.

It was just a little girl, and they wouldn't really start a fight over this; in an emergency, one must act according to the situation, so naturally, they had to listen to the second-in-command.

Finally, after a period of observation, Yi Huang decided to take this little girl as a Disciple; as for the explanation...

After Yi Huang personally made a trip to the Pill Tower, there were no problems at all.

Compared to others who were in the dark, Xiao Han knew more of the inside story.

Ye Xinlan's talent for alchemy was not particularly high; one could only say she was a fairly good genius, but such a level of talent was likely just the baseline requirement for Yi Huang, and it was impossible for it to make the latter's eyes light up.

This was also the reason why the Pill Tower had so easily decided not to pursue the matter back then.

If it were that little girl from the Dan Family in the Dan Region, or Cao Ying, who had almost cost her mother her life at birth due to her powerful Soul Power, try and see if they would let her go?

In Xiao Han's view, what truly attracted Yi Huang to Ye Xinlan should be the stubbornness revealed in her bones and a personality extremely similar to Yi Huang's when she was young.

Timid, yet wrapping herself tightly in the arrogance formed by her talent, it was exactly the same as how the other party behaved when he first met Yi Huang.

Perhaps Yi Huang saw her own shadow in Ye Xinlan, and although this little girl's talent was not the strongest, it could satisfy the former's minimum requirements, so it was just right to take her in as a Disciple and see if she could inherit her alchemy techniques.

Just as Xiao Han was preparing to educate his cute Disciple, his movements suddenly paused...

Under the strange gazes of the three, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly: "Let's handle the important business first!"