Luxury of the Third Floor, Auntie's Comfort

Huo Family Auction House.

The structure was massive, with thousands of seats arranged on the auction floor. There was also an open area behind the seats where a tightly packed crowd stood.

"Follow me..."

Liu Ming and his female companions were still being guided by Auction Master Shihong.

Most of the people around them were elderly men who stared at them with both curiosity and distaste.

"Did Auction Master Shihong really step out just to welcome that spoiled young patriarch, Liu Ming."

"So he's the infamous Core Spirit patriarch? This has to be a coincidence. There's no way the Auction Master would personally welcome someone like that! He didn't even show us, a middle-class sect, that kind of respect!"

"Tch, that brat has slapped the Sword God School in the face three good times!"

"Three times?!"

"Indeed. First, he humiliated the head and young master of the Ling Clan, then he crippled the young master and made him crawl like a dog across the Central World State."

"You can imagine! And don't forget he also stole the attention of the beautiful Chen Ruyi from the deserving and competent Han Clan's young master and then killed him! Maybe the young master was in the wrong, but his entire clan didn't deserve to be wiped out!"

"Tch, Liu Ming. He's a disgrace to his grandfather!"

"I will cut my manhood if he leaves this auction alive."

Liu Ming chose to ignore them, clearing his throat loudly to show he wasn't bothered by their looks──he knew he'd be doing that a lot today.

"Hm?"

He soon noticed that the private seating areas in the Huo Family Auction House were organized in a strange way.

The building was divided into four sections.

The lowest section had people from lower-class sects or less prominent clans from the Yuande Continent.

As he looked higher, the sections became more refined and expensive, almost like a social ranking system.

The fourth section, however, was completely blocked off; he couldn't see anything or anyone there.

'What's up with these people always putting a hierarchy on everything? I get that it's part of the procedure, but I'm fed up with it. First, there was the Protocol of Representation, then the Presence Custom, and now this? Come on.'

Liu Ming's face twisted into a scowl, like someone who had just bitten into a sour lemon, but he forced a smile anyway.

Back in Clear Water Village, social status wasn't a concern because they were isolated from the outside world.

Their main job was to supply fresh water and rice to larger domains. People usually only thought about the village when they needed these supplies.

Sigh~

There, life was ordinary. But Liu Ming felt it gave him a deeper understanding of the value of an ordinary person's life.

"Patriarch Liu, please let's proceed to the third floor."

"Oh, uh, okay."

People around were surprised to see Auction Master Shihong show such respect to the young patriarch.

"What...?"

"This is really happening?"

"H-, how is that fair?"

They knew that the Council of Heavenly Mandates had given the Sacred Cloud School a year to regain its status as an upper-class sect.

Because of this, the young patriarch and his companions didn't have the right to sit in the private rooms on the third floor. Those rooms were reserved for members and representatives of upper-class sects and the Nine Great Families.

No one else!

It was clear whose side Huo Shihong was on, so everyone understood that it wasn't worth offending the Huo Family.

The Auction Master took them to a private seating room on the third floor and then left.

The room was surprisingly spacious compared to those on the lower floors. It looked very luxurious and had a narrow balcony overlooking the main auction floor.

From there, they had a clear view of the auction stage.

"MEIXIANG?!"

To the group's surprise, Xiu Meixiang was there, sitting comfortably on a cushion and enjoying some tea.

She looked angelic, completely at peace as she sipped the tea. It was her first time drinking something so fancy, and while she didn't really understand its value, she enjoyed and appreciated it.

Liu Ming walked over to her and asked, "When did you get here?"

"SENIOR BROTHER!"

Xiu Meixiang smiled and set her tea on the table before jumping up and hugging Liu Ming tightly, burying her face in his chest.

… Sigh~

Looking a bit embarrassed, Liu Ming patted her head.

Xiu Meixiang was so straightforward and innocent that she didn't notice how her loud voice and energetic personality were annoying some of the other nobles on the third floor, who were giving them irritated looks.

Xiu Meixiang was quite a simple woman.

Infact, very straightforward and innocent.

While Yu Lan might have called her "stupid", she was more like someone who would feed a wolf while dressed in a lamb's wool. She didn't realize that her loud voice and hyperactive nature had annoyed some of the other nobles on the third floor.

"Hmph, what a loud girl…"

"No respect at all, I'm telling you."

"What's a commoner like her doing on here anyway?"

"Indeed, she certainly doesn't belong on this floor..."

They began giving irritated looks, especially to Xiu Meixiang.

But it wasn't worth addressing.

"So, what are you doing here?" Liu Ming asked again.

Xiu Meixiang kept her arms around him, looked up with her big, shiny green eyes and grinned.

"Like you asked, I came with Lord Chen and Young Lord Fan. We arrived here before you, I guess. But I know you weren't late; Senior Brother is always perfect! It's because of Elder Sister Lan, right?"

Her cheeks puffed out a bit as her eyes sparkled beautifully.

Trying to avoid trouble, Liu Ming looked away and smiled awkwardly. "Errr…"

Yu Lan tossed her hair back and smiled proudly.

"Hmph! Words of a flat-chested child. Senior Brother isn't interested in young girls, you know."

She spoke with pride in her voice.

Humph!

Xiu Meixiang's happy expression quickly turned into a frown.

Without hesitation, she burst out.

"THAT'S A LIE! SENIOR BROTHER AND I KI──!"

Before she could finish bragging about her advantage over her elder sister, a soothing voice interrupted her.

"Meixiang~ please keep it down..."

Everyone turned to see who had spoken.

A woman was sitting comfortably on a cushion, gently stroking the soft fur of Sect Master Maomao, who looked very content and was even drooling a little. When Liu Ming's eyes met hers, the woman smiled warmly and patted her robust chest.

"You seem quite stressed, Nephew. Would you like to rest your head on your sweet auntie's chest to help you relax?"

She chuckled softly as her glossy, strawberry-colored lips curved into a smile.