A ridiculous thought popped into Shi Qian’s mind.

In Long Aotian’s world, am I actually more popular than Long Aotian himself?

But after thinking it through, it actually made sense—Long Aotian wasn’t particularly well-liked.

The only ones who seemed to enjoy his presence were either his love interests or a few seniors who admired his uniqueness, seeing him as a dragon among men and offering him support.

Aside from these two groups, Long Aotian spent most of his time either humiliating others or showing off. How many people could actually like him?

Still, even if someone was interested in a spirit beast like Shi Qian, did they really have to act so arrogantly—just casually throwing out an offer? After all, Director You wasn’t an ordinary person.

Shi Qian took the initiative to ask, “Squeak Squeak?”

Can this secret realm exhibition hall be exchanged?

Long Ye: …

He suddenly had the urge to smack this little beast. It was actually negotiating its own price?

Long Ye immediately rejected the offer. “Senior already said it’s my spirit beast, so of course, it’s not for sale.”

Director You, or rather, You Fang, spoke up. “I’ll offer you a Golden Core Pill, and I’ll even throw in a bottle of Nascent Soul Pills.”

The Golden Core Pill was a tier above the Foundation Establishment Pill that Long Ye had taken before. It helped cultivators break through the barrier from the Foundation Establishment stage to the Golden Core stage.

Many cultivators with poor talent struggled to surpass that barrier and remained stuck for years, making such pills extremely valuable.

The Nascent Soul Pills were even rarer, as their name suggested. They were worth a fortune, and obtaining even a single one was difficult—yet You Fang was offering a whole bottle of ten pills.

Still, Long Ye shook his head.

You Fang continued, “I can’t give away this exhibition hall. But besides pills, you may choose any treasure in this secret realm that pleases you.”

Hearing this, both Shi Qian and Long Ye were stunned.

He can’t give away the exhibition hall? That meant he understood what Shi Qian had said.

Beast language was far harder to interpret than human speech. To distinguish between dozens, even hundreds, of meanings from the same “Squeak Squeak” was no easy feat—there weren’t even places to learn it properly.

Long Ye stared at the man. “You’re not human.”

“That’s quite the joke.” You Fang looked at Shi Qian with a hint of regret. “I’m just highly knowledgeable about spirit beasts and demonic beasts. But I truly took a liking to your spirit beast at first sight. If he follows me, he won’t suffer—he’ll have a far better life than staying by your side.”

Shi Qian didn’t dare make a sound.

This man was strange—he even had the aura of a mad scholar.

When his gaze locked onto Shi Qian without blinking, Shi Qian once again smelled the scent of danger, and it was growing stronger by the second.

Liking me at first sight? That’s definitely a lie.

Secretly, Shi Qian gripped Long Ye’s hair tightly, warning him that something was off and urging him to leave.

Long Ye felt a sharp pain on his scalp—he got the message.

He looked at Director You and said, “I appreciate your kindness, Senior, but he’s timid, and this is fine as it is. We haven’t finished exploring yet, so we’ll take our leave first.”

With that, Long Ye stepped past him and continued along their intended route.

Xu Rui took Xu Miao’s hand, feeling uneasy as she followed along.

After a while, Xu Rui finally spoke. “This is the first time I’ve seen Director You outside of an auction house. When he buys things at auctions, he never looks at the price—he just takes whatever is rare and interesting. He seems particularly fond of peculiar things, like rare spiritual medicines, spirit beasts, and beast bones…”

Xu Miao, however, was indignant. “How could he even think of stealing Brother Qian?”

“He’s not originally from Ten Thousand Beasts City,” Xu Rui explained. “So he probably doesn’t have the same mindset of treating spirit beasts as friends or family. Besides, there are people nowadays who willingly break their contracts and sell their spirit beasts.”

Xu Rui would never sell her own spirit beast, Huo, because Huo was part of her strength.

When a cultivator forms a contract with a spirit beast, it’s an oath sworn to the heavens. Breaking that oath would bring divine punishment.

In the past, it was rare to hear of beloved spirit beasts being sold in Ten Thousand Beasts City. But as the market for spirit beasts grew more profitable, people were increasingly willing to sell them for the right price. A shift in values was beginning to take root.

Long Ye asked, “Do you know when Director You came to Ten Thousand Beasts City? His cultivation should be at the Nascent Soul stage, so how does he protect such a massive exhibition hall?”

“I don’t remember exactly—maybe fifty years ago? Or longer, maybe a hundred. But I do recall that his name includes the character ‘Fang.’” Xu Rui wasn’t very old herself and didn’t know much about the past. “I heard that when he first started transforming the secret realm, he was injured, and his cultivation fell to the Golden Core stage. But he had two Tribulation-Stage powerhouses protecting him. The City Lord interacted with them and ultimately set a rule not to provoke them. That’s how they were able to settle in Ten Thousand Beasts City.”

Hearing this, Long Ye felt an ominous sense of unease.

The Tribulation Stage was the highest known cultivation level in the current cultivation world, and there were very few such powerhouses in existence. Even though Ten Thousand Beasts City was a major city, its City Lord was the only one at the Tribulation Stage. This meant that the forces backing Director You were stronger than an entire city.

If someone like him truly set his sights on something, both Long Ye and Brother Qian would be in serious danger.

However, Director You had appeared alone, and his cultivation was only at the Nascent Soul stage. That suggested he might not be too closely tied to the power behind him.

It was very likely that Director You had some valuable skill—perhaps the ability to modify secret realms. If that was the case, he could be akin to a high-paid external elder in a great family, someone who received exceptional treatment and thus had the means to be so extravagant.

Long Ye was always cautious by nature and didn’t let his concerns show. But from that moment on, the rest of the outing lost its initial joy and relaxation.

They hurriedly finished their tour and left the Secret Realm Exhibition Hall.

Once outside, Xu Rui suggested, “I’ll go to the auction house and ask around for you. Maybe Director You was just casually inquiring, and you’re overthinking it.”

“Thank you,” Long Ye replied after a moment’s thought, but he refrained from taking out spirit stones.

Xu Rui’s willingness to help at a time like this showed her good nature. Handing her spirit stones might be misunderstood. Instead, he decided to focus on other matters.

As Xu Rui headed toward the auction house, Long Ye took Xu Miao back to the Xu residence.

Remembering that Brother Qian had mentioned Xu Miao’s illness, Long Ye asked, “Xu Miao, why doesn’t your sister let you go to the flying grounds?”

“I have a condition where I faint from heart palpitations when I get too excited,” Xu Miao said, pointing to the right side of his chest. “My heart is over here, and it’s not formed correctly. My sister is afraid it’ll get worse and shorten my lifespan, so she doesn’t let me go.”

What he didn’t say was that he might not live past twenty.

The medicine that could completely cure him was far too expensive—something ordinary families couldn’t afford. Over the years, his sister had devoted herself entirely to earning spirit stones for his sake. If not for their late parents’ wishes and the small hope of finding a cure in the coming years, she might have even recklessly married herself off for money.

Shi Qian jumped onto Long Ye’s shoulder and interjected, “Squeak Squeak.”

I think Xu Rui cares a lot about spirit stones. They must be short on them.

Long Ye nodded, indicating he understood. Then he asked, “Is the medicine to cure you really hard to find? Tell me about it—maybe I’ll come across some news.”

“Brother Ye, there’s no way you’d know about it.” Xu Miao didn’t sound sad when he mentioned the medicine. “The main ingredient is the Heart of the Wood Spirit. Only trees that have lived for over ten thousand years can produce one, and as soon as word of one surfaces, the major factions fight over it.”

The Heart of the Wood Spirit wasn’t just useful for Xu Miao’s condition—it was also a life-extending elixir for cultivators approaching the end of their lifespan. With something that precious, how could people not fight over it like mad?

Long Ye took note of this.

But the Heart of the Wood Spirit… there was no way he could get his hands on something like that.

Could Brother Qian be referring to the ancient demon plant in the War Sect’s secret realm? A demon beast that had lived for ten thousand years—its demon core would definitely be stronger than the Heart of the Wood Spirit. But facing such a powerful demon, even if he and Brother Qian worked together, they wouldn’t be enough to fill its teeth.

Long Ye turned to look at Brother Qian.

Shi Qian was puzzled at first, then understood. “Squeak Squeak.”

We have Star Silver Ore—it’s valuable!

Buying it with spirit stones? That would require having enough in the first place. Long Ye recalled the upcoming grand auction and thought there might be a chance to find one there, depending on luck.

So he said, “Maybe there’ll be one at the auction?”

“Hmm, we don’t have enough spirit stones,” Xu Miao scratched his head. He knew exactly how many spirit stones his sister had saved up and sighed in frustration. “We’re still short.”

Hearing this, Shi Qian took out a small piece of Star Silver Ore and tossed it to Xu Miao.

“Thanks, Brother Qian! But… what is this?” Xu Miao examined it curiously. “Is it silver?”

It didn’t matter if Xu Miao didn’t recognize it—so long as Xu Rui did.

Long Ye instructed, “It’s not silver. Keep it safe and show it to your sister later.”

Xu Miao obediently stored it away.

Just as he put the Star Silver Ore into his small storage pouch, streaks of light flashed through the sky a few hundred meters away.

Leading the pack was a streak of silver light, which suddenly halted before veering toward Shi Qian at high speed.

It made an abrupt turn and accelerated, sending Wang Xingzhi tumbling to the ground. He was immediately surrounded by beams of colorful light as a group of sword cultivators, fierce and menacing, drew their swords and lunged at the now-empty-handed Wang Xingzhi.

Seeing the little silver creature flying toward him, Shi Qian mentally cursed.

Weren’t they just fighting?! Why did Little Silver abandon Wang Xingzhi and run off?

Long Ye took a closer look and concluded, “They’re just messing around.”

Hearing that, Shi Qian felt reassured. He hopped onto the bouncing Little Silver and casually fed it a piece of Star Silver Ore.

Little Silver carried Shi Qian as it slowly turned back toward the fight.

As Shi Qian got closer, he realized that the people ganging up on Wang Xingzhi were all sword cultivators—men and women of various ages, from young adults to middle-aged. They all had their hands on Wang Xingzhi, rifling through his belongings as if robbing him.

Observing for a moment, Shi Qian politely squeaked, “Squeak.”

There’s an outsider here.

Wang Xingzhi looked up and saw Brother Qian. His expression changed instantly, and he shouted, “Senior brothers and sisters! Let go, hurry up and let go—we’ve run into a friend of our sect!”

It was one thing to mess around within their own group, but making a scene in front of outsiders was embarrassing.

With Wang Xingzhi’s deliberate reminder, the group of Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators stopped what they were doing.

One particularly skilled middle-aged cultivator had somehow managed to pinch a piece of Star Silver Ore and happily stuffed it into his storage pouch. The other cultivators, however, were left empty-handed.

Shi Qian noticed this small detail and hesitated, his paw clutching the Star Silver Ore he had been about to feed to Little Silver.

Without hesitation, he quickly stuffed it back into his storage necklace.

But he wasn’t fast enough—someone noticed.

“That little spirit beast is feeding Star Silver Ore to Little Silver!”

“What a wealthy little cub! Whose is it?”

Wang Xingzhi sighed helplessly. “Senior brothers and sisters, please be serious. Brother Qian is Little Silver’s friend—he specifically prepared food for Little Silver. Are you all really going to snatch food from a baby?”

A spirit beast… being friends with a newly-born spirit sword?

Given Little Silver’s limited communication skills, it could barely express itself to its own master, Wang Xingzhi. How could it possibly form an interspecies friendship?

It was obvious—Little Silver must have shrunk itself down, mooched food off a generous spirit beast, and somehow formed a bond that way.

Anyone could do that. They were all familiar with the trick.

“My Fei Xing is still a baby spirit sword too.”

“Sheng Shui as well—it can’t even count yet.”

“Here, Zhi Hao, go and get a welcome gift from your spirit rat brother.”

Shi Qian found himself completely surrounded by a group of spirit swords, all of which had shrunk down, clearly trying to entice him.

The problem was—there were too many of them! At least six or seven.

And looking at the group of shameless sword cultivators who had just robbed Wang Xingzhi without hesitation, Shi Qian knew he couldn’t afford to “show wealth.”

Luckily, Long Ye arrived.

Bringing Xu Miao along, Long Ye stopped just outside the group of spirit swords and called out, “Brother Qian, when an elder offers a gift, it would be rude to refuse. Since the seniors want to give a cub like you a welcome present, you should accept one from each person.”

Shi Qian: That was like hearing celestial music—instant clarity!

Who isn’t a cub now?

Only shamelessness could defeat shamelessness.

Shi Qian urged Little Silver to squeeze past the other spirit swords and fly directly to Wang Xingzhi’s sect members.

“Squeak Squeak!”

Wishing you all an early Happy New Year!

Shi Qian made a traditional New Year’s greeting gesture and then stretched out his paw, openly demanding a welcome gift.

The chosen Nascent Soul cultivator, an older man, paused for a moment before sighing. “Fine, a shameless one has met an equally shameless one. A welcome gift it is.”

Trying to rob Wang Xingzhi was serious business.

But surrounding a little spirit rat with flying swords? That was just for fun.

By the time Shi Qian had made a full round collecting gifts through his “New Year’s greetings” tactic, Wang Xingzhi turned to the senior brother who had pocketed the Star Silver Ore earlier.

“Senior Brother Gou, you better not be stingy—it would ruin our Sword Sect’s reputation. And don’t think I forgot—you’re one of the wealthiest ones here. Didn’t you dig up an entire Cloud Stone mine last month?”

“An entire Cloud Stone mine?! Senior Brother Gou! You kept that a secret?!”

“Rob him! That rich bastard!”

In an instant, the group of sword cultivators drew their swords again and took off, chasing after their suddenly wealthy senior brother to plunder his fortune.

Wang Xingzhi called out loudly, “Make sure to save me a share!”

Senior Brother Gou shouted back, “Trying to shift the trouble onto me? I can’t have a little junior brother like you anymore!”

Little junior brother Wang Xingzhi didn’t mind at all—so long as he wasn’t the one getting robbed, it was all good.

Dusting off his robes, Wang Xingzhi straightened up and stepped forward seriously. “Long Ye, since our last meeting, I have greatly—”

Shi Qian: … “Squeak Squeak.”

Long Ye helpfully translated—with slight modifications—“It’s only been a few days, no need for all that.”

Wang Xingzhi coughed lightly and turned to look at Xu Miao. “Ah, there’s another little brother here.”

“This is Xu Miao, a local from Ten Thousand Beasts City. When Brother Qian and I arrived, all the inns were full, so we’re staying at his place for now.”

Xu Miao looked at Wang Xingzhi, who was even shorter than him, and gave a shy smile. The guy looked like they were the same age, but he carried himself with way more experience—so serious and proper.

Before he could figure out what to say, Wang Xingzhi took out a small wooden token, faintly pulsing with spiritual energy, and handed it to him. “You’re a kind-hearted kid. Here, take this as a welcome gift.”

Xu Miao: ?

Trying to mimic Wang Xingzhi’s serious demeanor, Xu Miao insisted, “I might be older than you.” Then, tugging on Long Ye’s sleeve, he called out, “Brother Ye,” giving him a pleading look for help.

Wang Xingzhi chuckled. “I just look young—I’m actually older than your Brother Ye.”

Long Ye reassured him, “It’s fine, just accept it. You should call him Senior Wang.”

After introducing Xu Miao, Long Ye shifted the conversation to the matter of You Fang trying to take Brother Qian away. He didn’t mince words about his intentions. “I’m about to sell off a batch of Star Silver Ores. I can offer them to your sect members at a discount. In return, could we stay with you all for a while?”

“Of course, just say the word.” Wang Xingzhi waved a hand casually. “As for the Star Silver Ores, well, my fellow sect members are basically a bunch of bandits. Just toss them a hundred pieces or so, then pretend you’re out.”

With his wealth of experience in “acting broke,” Wang Xingzhi worried that Long Ye, being younger and a bit more thin-skinned, might get taken advantage of.

Listening in, Shi Qian glanced at Little Silver and began to seriously doubt whether Wang Xingzhi’s so-called “Sword Sect” was actually one of the prestigious sects he had in mind.

Something about the vibe just felt… off.

From habitual robbery to internal looting… This was basically a criminal organization.

Xu Miao had the same thought. He could’ve sworn he just heard the name ‘Sword Sect,’ but there had to be a missing word in there.

There was no way this was the same renowned Sword Sect he had dreamed of joining.