The poorest member of the Imperial Guard, the Empress begged me to embezzle.

There was only half an hour left before the auction opened.

A noisy commotion came from the staircase between the second and third floors.

Chu Xiu initially ignored it, but then he heard his own name amidst the noise.

"Step aside!"

"Where are your eyes? Don't you recognize me?"

A fierce, delicate shout rang out, immediately convincing Chu Xiu that this person must be Ye Wuyou, the young lady of the Demon Flame Sect that Lan Ying had mentioned.

Following the sound, the owner of that delicate shout was a petite and charming young girl.

She was frowning, glaring at the two alluring maids blocking her way to the third floor of the pavilion.

Chu Xiu knew the identities of the two maids; they came from the Yi Hong Lou of the Demon Flame Sect.

In other words, these two maids were the two furnace vessels trained by Yihonglou to serve Ye Wujiang, the leader of the Demon Flame Sect.

Their presence here signifies that Ye Wujiang is currently on the third floor of the pavilion.

"Miss, I'm sorry."

“The master has decreed that no one other than a cultivator at the Qiankun Realm is allowed to enter the third level, not even you.”

Ye Wuyou roared in fury, "I have business with my father, get out of my way! Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite!"

Before she could finish speaking, an aura of someone at the Great Perfection of the Reincarnation Realm suddenly erupted.

However, in less than a moment, his aura was suppressed by two even more powerful auras.

The two maids blocking her way were only at the early stage of the Qiankun Realm.

"Look! The Night Gate Master's daughter is actually getting into a conflict with his maid!"

"It seems the Night Sect Master has no intention of protecting his daughter's reputation... It appears that the young lady of the Demon Flame Sect has probably done something wrong to anger the Night Sect Master..."

"Who dares to speak ill of Miss!"

The two maids spread their aura, intimidating the onlookers and frightening them into silence.

"you!"

Although Ye Wuyou was furious, he was helpless due to his inferior strength.

No matter how powerful she was, she couldn't withstand the deliberate obstruction of two early-stage Qiankun Realm cultivators.

"Humph!"

"Please tell my father that I absolutely cannot marry that Chu guy who suddenly appeared out of nowhere!"

Ye Wuyou was unwilling to embarrass himself in front of everyone, so he left after uttering a harsh remark.

Suddenly someone stepped forward and stopped her.

"Little Night, why do you have such a frown on your face..."

"Who made you angry?"

A soft laugh rang out, and everyone looked in the direction of the sound. The owner of the voice was a handsome young man with dragon horns on his head and a smile on his face, who was walking towards Ye Wuyou.

"Long Ao, what brings you here?" Ye Wuyou glanced at his friend, his anger still lingering.

"This is Long Ao, the young patriarch of the Eight Heavenly Demons—the Demon Dragon Clan," someone beside Chu Xiu explained.

Chu Xiu turned his head and saw Lan Ying strolling over, nodding slightly to him as a greeting.

Dragon race?

Chu Xiu frowned. It was rumored that the Demon Dragon Clan was the first being in the Demon Realm to have come into contact with the Misty Sea.

Judging from Ye Wuyou's reaction, he seems to be friends with this young patriarch of the Demon Dragon Clan.

Does that mean that the Yaksha tribe and the Dragon tribe still have a friendly relationship, and that the eight tribes have not broken ties as rumored?

Did they make you angry?

Long Ao's golden vertical pupils coldly stared at the two maids who were blocking Ye Wuyou. An aura of the mid-stage Qiankun Realm erupted, forcibly suppressing the two maids to kneel on one knee, their faces turning pale.

"How dare this lowly servant girl lay a hand on Miss Ye? She's practically rebelling!"

The oppressive force pressing down on the two maids intensified once more, and blood spilled from the corners of their mouths, clearly indicating that they had suffered internal injuries under Long Ao's suppression.

"Long Ao, forget it."

Even if you kill them, they won't let me go up there before they die.

Ye Wuyou frowned, reached out and patted Long Ao on the shoulder, signaling him to let the two maids go.

Although Long Ao acted domineeringly, he listened to Ye Wuyou's words and immediately withdrew his aura, sparing the two maids' lives.

"Wuyou, let's go, I'll go with you to the second floor." Long Ao turned his head and smiled gently.

"Ah."

Ye Wuyou turned around with him and walked to the corner, where they happened to meet Chu Xiu's eyes, who was watching the commotion.

"Miss, Young Master Long, it's been a long time." Lan Ying bowed to her young mistress and the young patriarch of the Demon Dragon Clan.

"Lan Ying, who is he?" Ye Wuyou asked curiously.

There is probably no one else in the entire Southern Continent who is qualified to have Lan Ying, the head of the direct disciples, lead the way, except for Long Ao, the young patriarch of the Demon Dragon Clan standing beside him.

"This is the young sect leader appointed by the Night Sect Master." Lan Ying smiled slightly.

Chu Xiu nodded slightly to the two people in front of him: "Chu Xiu."

"So you are Chu Xiu?"

Ye Wuyou and Long Ao blurted out in unison. Compared to Ye Wuyou's furrowed brows in dissatisfaction, Long Ao's sharp gaze held a hint of scrutiny and curiosity.

"When I returned in the early hours of the morning, I learned from others that you were staying at the Jade Pavilion;"

When I went to find you, I was stopped by Cuiming, who said you were in seclusion.

Ye Wuyou stared intently into Chu Xiu's eyes, as if trying to discern from his expression whether he was telling the truth after Chu Xiu answered.

However, Chu Xiu merely raised an eyebrow. "Did you need something from me?"

Seeing Chu Xiu's provocative expression, Ye Wuyou was furious. Forcibly suppressing her anger, she said, word by word, "Chu Xiu, I hope you have some self-awareness..."

There is absolutely no possibility between you and me.

"With your mere True Transcending Realm strength, how could you possibly be worthy of me?"

"I hope you'll behave yourself and not try to pester me just because you think you can gain my father's attention through special means!"

Crossing to the Realm of Truth?

Lan Ying and Long Ao were both taken aback.

Lan Ying had already learned from her uncle Mo Lie that Chu Xiu's strength had jumped to the late stage of the Reincarnation Realm in just a few months after he completed the Reincarnation Tribulation. Such cultivation was rare in the world, so how could he only be a minor Transcendent Realm cultivator?

Miss's news... is it really that delayed?

Was it that she didn't want to know anything about Chu Xiu, or was it something the sect leader did on purpose?

As a mid-stage Qiankun Realm expert, Long Ao's strength was not something Chu Xiu intended to deliberately conceal at the trade fair. Therefore, he could tell at a glance that Long Ao's cultivation was at least at the late-stage Reincarnation Realm, which is why he was stunned by Ye Wuyou's words.

Chu Xiu smiled slightly upon hearing this: "Miss Ye, aren't you being a bit too confident? Why should I bother with you?"

His calm remarks nearly reignited Ye Wuyou's anger.

Just as she was about to teach this man who looked down on her a lesson in public, Chu Xiu's aura suddenly surged, climbing to the early stage of the Qiankun Realm under the astonished gazes of the three.

Chu Xiu first nodded to Long Ao. Although the young patriarch of the Demon Dragon Clan looked at him with a slightly scrutinizing gaze, there was no hostility in his eyes.

He didn't dislike this person who wasn't blindly trying to curry favor with Ye Wuyou, so he nodded slightly to show goodwill.

He then glanced sideways at Ye Wuyou, who was standing there stunned, and said coldly:

"I'm sorry, Miss Ye, but I, like you, am unwilling to accept our engagement."

"But if you have the ability, then go and make your father change his mind and stop causing trouble for me. Otherwise, don't blame me for disregarding the dignity of my fellow disciples!"

After saying this, Chu Xiu turned and left, leaping onto the auction stage that everyone was watching.

The time has come! The Celestial Trade Fair is officially beginning!