Despite the Dark Mist Palace leader only having the cultivation at the Half-step True Essence Realm, no True Essence cultivator would ever dare treat him disrespectfully. This was the gravity of the dao.

Ke Zedong, however, felt angry, but he wasn't an idiot. If he was all arrogance and no brains, it'd be far too easy to cause the fall of his power with his actions, and thus, he took a road of caution. This young man obviously didn't treat them with any concern, and even if it was irritating, they didn't know his ident.i.ty. He could be the Prince of Amber for all they know.

Mei's eyes flickered with intelligence, as if deducing something. Ya Qinqan had the most innocent of reactions, simply being unconcerned. This young man may be arrogant and handsome, but he wasn't someone she felt was important to her life. He was nothing more than an interlude.

However, Li Ruogang's gaze flickered with malicious intent. To be directly ignored never felt good for anyone, and if it wasn't for the fact that this youth having a higher cultivation base, she would've already taught him a lesson. Sitting angrily, she felt stifled.

Yan Zaizen, on the other hand, concerned himself with none of their reactions. "You said there was an auction being held in the city, right?" He inquired to Sun Huan who was flaming with eyes filled with anger.

"Yes!" He said through gritted teeth, if he pushed down anymore, his gums would bleed. He had to hold himself back from pulling out his blade and taking this youth's head for robbing him blind. However, he wasn't a malicious murderer who'd kill because of his own idiocy. This event will serve as a lesson to never invite someone to a meal without establis.h.i.+ng clear limits beforehand.

A valuable life lesson!

Valuable indeed!

"When is it being held?" Yan Zaizen's tone was casual, his eyes filled with satisfaction. Seeing his gaze, Sun Huan let out a deep sigh of resignation, giving his wallet its final goodbye, and returning to his normal demeanor.

He was quite quick to bounce back!

Sword cultivators typically had sharp and firm wills, living by the edge of the blade, and containing unyielding confidence in each stroke. If his mentality had fallen due to this minor setback, how could he accomplish great things in the future?

"Tomorrow. As I said before, it happens once a century and is extraordinary. Unfortunately, with this meal…" His tone near the end contained some discontent, but he continued, "They will have earth and sky pills and elixirs, pseudo sky-rank armaments, peak earth-rank armaments, rare materials and a myriad of arts!"

Alchemy was divided into many tiers, with Earth-tier pills and elixirs typically for Qi Foundation, Qi Revolving, and Essence Formation Realm Cultivators. Sky-tier were typically used for Dantian Refinement, Pathway Expansion, and Qi Unification Cultivators. Grand-tier pills were the highest form of alchemy tier for the Essence Path, for the Origin Core, True Essence and Crimson Star Realms!

Alchemy that exceeded those was placed in the heaven-tier. They were useful for those in the Heavenly Genesis Realm and higher! However, to even see one would be nearly impossible in the Xiantu Realm.

Yan Zaizen's eyes lit up in antic.i.p.ation, he inquired, "What about Grand-tier pills and elixirs or sky-rank armaments?"

His words elicited disdain from every one of the members, but Yan Zaizen didn't take this heart, they couldn't even touch these types of pills let alone buy them. As for him? He had an established alchemist's centuries worth of creations. Any pill he brought out would be grand-tier!

"They'll be in the auction, but if they do come out, it'll definitely cause a bidding storm to arise! Only those at the highest level would have knowledge of items at that level, so don't ask me for the specifics."

After another round of conversation about the auction, the first plate of food arrived. Yan Zaizen's eyes lit up as he saw a golden-fish drenched in dazzling white broth with specks of golden flakes within. It looked like food one would imagine an immortal would consume.

Seeing the food arrive, the others started having conversations, ignoring Yan Zaizen's presence and getting into their own rhythm. Yan Zaizen learned a lot from their conversations, including some juicy gossip they unintentionally spilled.

Hei, however, didn't engage in conversation. He stayed stoic and silent, his eyes sometimes flittering with caution when he looked at Yan Zaizen. Ya Qinqan was actually a lot different than what Yan Zaizen originally a.s.sumed. Before, she wasn't very talkative, only speaking short sentences or making small gestures. However, in this group of geniuses, she was comfortable enough to talk, argue and even laugh.

He just realized...the only time he saw her laugh was when he made a joke as he delivered resources. Was it real?

Probably not.

This new side of Ya Qinqan wasn't new. It was just never revealed to Yan Zaizen.

"To think...I was such a fool when I was younger. Recalling all my attempts, my average looks, and my weak strength, I truly was pathetic thinking I could buy her affection." He thought, his eyes flickering with lights of calm and serenity. This person before him was the real Ya Qinqan, not the one he idolized and desired when he was younger.

He could feel a knot deep within his heart, hidden behind his confidence, come undone.

There was no more self-anger. No more 'what if's?'

This person was an entirely different person. So, why should he feel like she was his first love? In truth, the one he fell in love with was imaginary, a figment of his imagination created to deal with the death of his parents. The affection he imagined, the life he desired, and more. He knew that now.

Li Ruogang still had an itch she couldn't scratch whenever she looked at Yan Zaizen, even though he was handsome and had an aura about him that seemed dazzling, she felt irritated that he ignored her. She just couldn't handle it. Clenching her teeth, she made up her mind.

"You, are we supposed to just call you Mr. random person? What's your name?" This time, her voice was filled with a thundering momentum.

Yan Zaizen lightly chuckled and smiled at this girl's persistence. Was it even necessary? After today, it's unlikely they'll ever have too deep of an interaction. Yet, despite this, all the conversation around him stopped at her question. Seeing this, Yan Zaizen softly shook his head and relented.

"My name's Yan Zaizen." His words were deliberately loud and clear in enunciation. "Remember it well."