Aunt Chen is too Beautiful, First Call of the Auction Bell

Everyone in the private seating room was now settled on soft cushions.

Liu Ming and Chen Yuxuan sat across from each other at a small tea table. The elegant woman had already prepared cups with special tea herbs and was about to pour hot water to brew the tea.

She looked at Liu Ming with a sweet smile.

"How hot do you like your tea, my dear~?"

Her smile made Liu Ming uncomfortable.

Even though she was meant to be his colleague, he couldn't help but be drawn to her beauty and the way she spoke. It felt like every word she said, with her charming and expressive way of speaking, was a kind of flirtation.

"Hot..."

He said nothing more, worried that if he continued, he'd upset his disciples.

Chen Yuxuan chuckled lightly and poured hot water into both her cup and Liu Ming's.

Su Yan was watching the beautiful woman from another corner of the room.

"Wow, she's quite a beautiful lady."

Su Yan rarely gave out compliments, so Yu Lan knew exactly what this meant.

Her pride was hurt right away.

"Elder Sister, why have you never said that about me?"

"Said what?" Su Yan asked.

"That I'm beautiful..." Yu Lan pressed.

Su Yan looked around, seemingly searching for an answer, and then said the first thing that came to mind. "Because you weren't beautiful enough for me to say it?"

Yu Lan's face squeezed like crumpled paper. "D-, Did you really just say that?!"

To keep Yu Lan from raising her voice even more, Chen Ruyi placed a hand on her thigh and explained.

"It's not quite what you're thinking. To be honest, while Aunt Chen is very beautiful, she wasn't always considered the most beautiful in Great World State. It's only the case now because she's one of the top female cultivators in the Eastern Reaches."

"How does that help?"

Yu Lan thought the explanation wasn't helpful. If she hadn't been making an effort to be nicer to Chen Ruyi, she might have believed the green-eyed beauty was just trying to mock her by praising her aunt, Chen Yuxuan.

"She must be talking about how some people in the cultivation world have innate beauty cells. It's a very rare trait, but at the same time, it's not that uncommon. I'm not sure how to explain it better."

After speaking, Su Yan took a sip of the special tea Chen Yuxuan made for her. She would have continued explaining if she could articulate why it was rare, as she didn't like sounding clueless.

What she meant was that although it was rare, the world was big enough to make it less uncommon.

Even if only one in fifty people had beauty cells, the Yuande Continent would still have a large number of people with them because the world was five thousand times larger than an average minor world.

"So, what are these beauty cells?" Yu Lan asked.

Chen Ruyi lifted an eyebrow elegantly. "Really? I'm surprised someone like you hasn't heard of them before..."

"Why is that surprising?"

"I mean…" Chen Ruyi glanced to the side. "You're very… uhm, narcissistic about your appearance."

At that moment, Chen Ruyi expected Yu Lan to say something mean again, and she wasn't great at handling harsh words from other women.

She had grown up in a comfortable environment, and while she could stand up to men, she wasn't as tough with women.

To her surprise, Yu Lan just shrugged.

"That's true enough. But please don't make it sound like I'm looking for admiration and validation from everyone. I only care about what my young lord thinks. I can't go without his compliments and attention."

She had a very proud smile on her face, and she meant every word she said.

"These days, I just try to look good for him, and no one else."

To finish, she folded her arms under her heavy breasts, which unintentionally bounced them up a little.

Oddly enough, Chen Ruyi found herself smiling at Yu Lan and feeling much more at ease around her without even realizing it.

Hmm…

She started to think that maybe the only reason Yu Lan was rude to her that night was because she also had strong feelings for the young lord and wanted to keep him to herself.

It wasn't something to get upset about; in fact, it was quite respectable.

Snap! SNAP!!

Yu Lan snapped her fingers at Chen Ruyi.

"Alright, so tell me what's Aunt Chen's secret."

If a woman as old as Chen Yuxuan could look that beautiful, almost like a young adult, then Yu Lan believed she could be ten times more beautiful.

Hrmmm…

Chen Ruyi placed an index on her finger and innocently looked to the side.

"Well, I don't know if I should tell you…"

Clearly, Chen Ruyi was simply playing around.

But Yu Lan didn't see it that way. She grabbed Chen Ruyi's shoulders and pulled her close.

"So she really does have a secret!"

The blonde-haired beauty's blue eyes were full of curiosity. She was eager to learn the secret to making her own beauty reach such elegant standards.

Su Yan watched the two of them and was reminded of her younger days training with her fellow sister disciples under the Heavenly Sword Patriarch. Her expression turned into a frown again as she took a sip of her tea.

… pffft────HAHAHA!

Chen Ruyi coughed lightly to control her sudden laughter.

"Alright, alright… I'll tell you!"

After getting the answer she wanted, Yu Lan relaxed and sat back on her cushion. "Good!" she said.

"Well, my Aunt Chen has those innate beauty cells Yan'er mentioned. Both men and women can have them, and those born with them usually have striking beauty.

"When my Aunt Chen was younger, she wasn't considered the most beautiful female cultivator in the Great World State. But as she continued to cultivate, her beauty increased, and she developed a bit of pride about it.

"Now that she's a Great-Circle Spirit stage cultivator, her beauty has grown even more. People even call her the Perfect Black Swan sometimes."

After Chen Ruyi explained everything, Yu Lan just nodded and then looked at Chen Yuxuan, who was talking with Liu Ming.

Behind those two, Xiu Meixiang was gently petting the tired Maomao on her lap.

'Who knew life could be so sweet...'

Liu Ming thought to himself, looking like a philosopher.

'It seems I've decided. Mhm...'

He was going to drink tea with Chen Yuxuan often.

The young patriarch wasn't sure if she was teasing him or testing the man in him, but he noticed she would lean forward frequently, helping him blow on his tea, asking if he liked it, or adding more hot water.

What really made his cheeks flush or his heart race, though, was when she would gently push her hair aside to show more of her pretty, round face or when her tight, bouncy cleavage came into view.

Was she trying to see how he'd react?

Was she testing to see if he was a pervert?

If that was her goal, Liu Ming was quite certain he'd fail.

"So, um, Aunt Chen, I wa──"

Liu Ming started talking, but before he could finish, Chen Yuxuan placed a slender hand on her robust chest and interrupted with a soft smile.

"Just call me Elder Sister, my dear. Calling me 'aunt' makes me feel quite old."

"Oh, I apologize then... Elder Sister," Liu Ming said.

"Good boy."

Chen Ruyi, who had been listening, squeezed her face and spoke in an almost child-like tone. "Aunt Chen, you never let me call you Elder Sister, and I've known you way longer than Brother Ming has! It's really not fair!"

Chen Yuxuan gave her niece a soft side-eye, took a sip of her tea, and stayed quiet.

There was a brief silence.

"I don't remember your name being Ming. He's a young, handsome man full of fresh blood, and it's exciting for an old lady like me to hear something so nice from him."

She looked at Liu Ming with a smile.

"Isn't that right, Nephew~?"

It was that same soft and flirtatious voice again.

"Ye—"

Liu Ming started to reply but hesitated when he noticed that all his female disciples, along with Chen Ruyi, were giving him stern looks.

… A-, ahem!

Respecting the situation, he simply sipped his tea and chose to stay silent.

Before long, the sound of a bell rang out, and everything fell silent.

"Finally."

"It's starting..."

"Good. I've been patient enough."

All eyes turned to the auction stage.

Right after, a middle-aged woman in elegant blue garments soon appeared. Smiling, she stood there and greeted everyone by bowing her head and clasping her hands.

"Welcome, fellow cultivators, to the Disciple Market Auction, which takes place once a year in Immortal Cloud City. As always, I, Huo Changying, will be helping my husband, Auction Master Shihong, run the auction over the next ten days."

She paused and left the rest to her husband.

Auction Master Shihong stepped into view and with hands behind his back and a stern face.

"The rules are the same as ever: all items are auctioned to the top bidder, so don't be afraid to spend if it's worth it!"

There was an uproar at the Huo Family Auction House.

The auction had officially commenced.