I'm invincible once I descend the mountain; the beautiful CEO is forcing me to get our marriage

He pointed in Ye An's direction with his finger: "Young man, which sect are you from? Who is your master? You should at least state your name, right?"

Ye An picked up his teacup, took a sip, and ignored him.

Ji Ting was met with a rebuff, and his expression turned sour as his smile faded.

Fang Hongda, however, became interested and looked at Ye An: "Young friend, you do look quite young. May I ask which senior you studied under?"

Fang Hongda asked this question out of pure curiosity, without any ill intent.

He'd been in the antique business his whole life and had seen all sorts of strange and unusual people, but this was the first time he'd ever been invited as a VIP by Master Li at such a young age.

Ye An put down his teacup: "There's no need for that. Where is it? Let me see it."

Ji Ting chuckled, "No master at all? Li Laosan, where did you find this self-taught method?"

Li Sanye clenched his fists, but because Fang Hongda was present, he couldn't lash out.

He turned to look at Ye An, his face filled with apology.

Ye An glanced at Ji Ting, his expression indifferent: "You talk too much."

Just that one sentence, neither too heavy nor too light.

The air in the whole room seemed to stop.

Ji Ting's smile froze, as if she hadn't heard clearly, or as if she couldn't believe it.

He was a prominent figure in Shanghai, always fawned over wherever he went. When had he ever been pointed at like that by a young man in his early twenties?

The row of burly men in suits behind him instantly changed their demeanor, taking a slight step back and reaching their hands behind their waists.

The temperature in the entire hall seemed to drop a few degrees.

The Taoist priest sitting next to Ye An opened his eyes a crack, the light shining through them sweeping over Ye An before slowly closing them again.

"alright."

Fang Hongda stopped spinning the walnut in his hand. He glanced at Ji Ting's side, his gaze not intense, but the bodyguards all took their hands away from their waists.

The atmosphere eased.

Ji Ting snapped out of his daze, his anger replaced by a cold smile: "Boy, do you know who you're talking to?"

"I don't know," Ye An answered decisively, "and I don't want to know."

He simply couldn't be bothered to waste his time on people like that.

I'm just here to get things done, get paid, and leave. As for who this person is or what my relationship is with him?

Ye An turned to look at Master Li: "Boss Li, where are the things? I'm short on time."

Master Li was extremely pleased.

He had just been humiliated by Ji Ting, but unexpectedly, Mr. Ye regained his composure with just one sentence.

Seeing Ji Ting's expression of having swallowed a fly, unable to vent his anger, was truly satisfying.

"Almost there! Almost there!" Old Master Li stood up quickly, his face beaming with joy. "The people are all here!"

Ji Ting was so angry at Ye An's completely dismissive attitude that his chest felt tight, but after glancing at Fang Hongda, who was sitting calmly, he ultimately did not lash out.

This is Old Fang's territory, so he can't take direct action here.

He leaned back in his chair, staring coldly at Ye An, having already made his plans.

You'll embarrass yourself during the assessment later. A self-taught individual, you think you can cause any trouble?

Fang Hongda looked at Ye An with great interest.

This young man is interesting.

In the antique business, the most important qualities are "a discerning eye" and "a calm and composed mind." A discerning eye reflects skill, while a calm and composed mind reflects composure.

This young man remained calm and composed in the face of Ji Ting's situation; he certainly has the composure to handle it.

As for skills...

Whether it's a dragon or a worm, we'll know once the item is taken out and tested.

Once everyone was seated, Fang Hongda slowly began to speak:

"Now that everyone's here, Boss He, can you show us what you've got?"

Sitting on the other side of the main seat, a fat man with an overweight figure and a large gold watch frowned.

"Mr. Fang, it's not that I, Lao He, am being disrespectful. This is the third time you've come to see the goods. Are you going to buy or not? Give me a straight answer."

No sooner had he finished speaking than another big boss present patted his chest and guaranteed:

"Don't worry, Mr. He, this is the last time. As long as the goods are genuine, we'll definitely fight for them."

This man is also a big boss in the provincial capital, managing a textile group and is quite wealthy.

"Exactly, why are these guys coming over three times in a row? Are they just bored?" someone chimed in.

"Okay." Boss He nodded and gave a wink to his subordinates behind him.

A subordinate carefully carried an antique wooden box and placed it on the Eight Immortals table in front of the hall.

As soon as the box was opened, everyone's attention was drawn to it.

On the yellow silk, a bronze mirror lay quietly.

Even Ji Ting, who had been wearing a gloomy face, sat up straight and craned his neck to look ahead.

The bronze mirror was not large, about the size of an adult's palm and about two fingers thick.

The mirror surface was hazy and I couldn't see anything clearly.

The back of the mirror is covered with dense patterns, which at first glance look like cloud patterns, but upon closer inspection they are not entirely cloud patterns. There seem to be some extremely small symbols engraved between the patterns, which are blurry and indistinct.

An ancient and weathered aura wafted over me.

"what?"

Just as everyone was holding their breath, Ye An let out a very soft sound of surprise.

Ye An's "Eh" wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears in the quiet hall.

Ji Ting, who was craning his neck to look, paused, then curled his lip. Playing tricks.

Li Sanye's heart skipped a beat. The little bit of face that Ye An had just managed to regain seemed to be hanging in the balance again.

Did he figure something out, or... was he just making a fuss?

He felt uncertain, and his gaze towards Ye An became more anxious.

This young man hasn't done a single reliable thing since he walked in.

"Mr. Ye, what do you think?" In the end, Third Master Li couldn't hold back any longer. He looked at Ye An, his words carrying an urging tone that even he himself didn't realize.

He regretted it a little.

I shouldn't have listened to Uncle Lin and called over such a hothead.

He secretly glanced at Master Sun, who was resting with his eyes closed over Ji Ting, and then looked at Master Guan, who was standing next to Fang Hongda with a serious expression. Both of them were stylish and looked like they had real skills.

Looking at my own, apart from his face being somewhat decent, he has absolutely nothing to do with the word "master" from head to toe.

When Ji Ting heard Li Sanye's question, he seemed to have found something amusing, and his whole body relaxed.

"Li Laosan, aren't you making things difficult for me?" He leaned back in his chair, glancing at Ye An out of the corner of his eye, his contempt undisguised. "We old folks have all examined this treasure twice; we have a pretty good idea of ​​whether it's real or fake. What can a kid who hasn't even grown his hair yet possibly tell you? Do you think he's using it as a mirror to comb his hair?"

The bodyguards behind him chuckled softly, their voices low but audible to everyone present.

Li Sanye's face was burning; he didn't know whether to sit or stand.

Ye An acted as if he hadn't heard anything, his eyes never leaving the bronze mirror.

The item is indeed quite interesting.

The patterns on the back of the mirror are not cloud patterns, but a kind of formation.

Its function is very direct: to gather the surrounding magical power.

Compared to the spirit-gathering arrays he could easily set up himself, this formation was laughably rudimentary. It was inefficient and its structure was chaotic, like something a novice apprentice had haphazardly carved out from a broken blueprint.

But it is indeed a formation.

I never expected to see something like this in this place.

It's barely enough to be scraps from a computer algorithm.

Ye An mentally reviewed the scene, his gaze falling on the almost invisible cracks on the back of the mirror.

This thing has been used many times.

The materials themselves are mediocre, and the formation is crudely carved, so the energy inside is not flowing smoothly and is almost at its limit.

The cracks on the mirror are evidence.

If it's activated one or two more times, it'll probably shatter into a pile of scrap metal.

But this nearly unusable defective product made the group of people in the room look at it with shining eyes, as if they had seen some rare treasure.

Whether it was Master Li or that guy surnamed Ji, their faces clearly showed that they wanted it.

Ye An looked away, finding it somewhat amusing.

Since these people treat him like he doesn't exist, why should he bother to remind them that this thing is about to break?

Let them fight, let them scramble, it's best if they fight until they're bloodied and battered.

The less he spoke, the more obvious the sarcasm on Ji Ting's face became.

This kid is probably scared out of his wits; he can't even fart.

Li Sanye's face grew increasingly grim; the facade he had just managed to maintain had completely crumbled.

In his mind, he had already cursed Uncle Lin, who had recommended Ye An, from head to toe a dozen times.

Fang Hongda, who hadn't said much, was secretly observing Ye An.

The young man didn't even lift his eyelids in the face of Ji Ting's provocation; it wasn't that he was cowardly, but rather that he was too lazy to pay attention.

Now, everyone is staring at that mirror, their eyes filled with either greed or excitement.

Only this young man had a calm gaze, like a craftsman examining a flawed tool.

This is interesting.

"alright."

Fang Hongda broke the silence. He didn't look at Ye An anymore, but turned to the old man beside him who hadn't said much, cupped his hands in greeting, and was much more polite than before.

"Master Guan, we still need your expertise."

"Mr. Fang, you're too kind."

The old man, known as "Master Guan," stood up.

He was in his fifties, dressed in a well-fitting Chinese-style jacket, his hair was neatly combed, his face was thin, his eyes were steady, and he had the composure of an old man.

The moment he stood up, the atmosphere in the hall changed.

The business owners present, including Mr. He who had just looked impatient, all sat up straight instinctively, their eyes fixed on him.

It was a kind of heartfelt trust and reliance.

Li Sanye's heart sank even further.

It’s over.

Judging from this, Master Guan is the one everyone truly recognizes as the expert in today's situation. Ye An, whom they invited, has become a complete joke.

Ye An felt nothing.

An appraiser? Judging from the old man's aura, it is more substantial than that of an ordinary person. He must have practiced breathing exercises for a few days and can be considered to have barely touched the threshold.

Master Guan walked slowly to the octagonal table with his hands behind his back. He didn't start working immediately, but instead leaned down from an arm's length away to carefully examine the bronze mirror.

Everyone held their breath.

Master Guan then took out an old compass, about the size of a palm, from his pocket, held it in his palm, and circled the brocade box three times. He muttered incantations to himself, his expression serious.

The hall was completely silent, and everyone's eyes followed his every step.

Only Ye An felt a little amused.

Using a feng shui compass to measure a formation activated by magic?

Isn't this the same as taking a thermometer to weigh yourself?

He can roughly tell if someone is hot or cold, but he has no idea whether they are fat or thin.

Seeing the tense expressions on everyone's faces, Fang Hongda smiled with narrowed eyes and reassured them:

"Master Guan is a famous feng shui master in our Jiangnan Province in recent decades. There is nothing that can be hidden from his eyes, such as feng shui ritual objects, consecrated Buddhist treasures, and incense and Taoist artifacts."

Upon hearing this, the several business owners from Jiangnan present all nodded in agreement.

Ji Ting, on the other side, snorted and spoke without any politeness.

"A feng shui master? Just some small-town master." He glanced at Master Guan sideways. "He's nowhere near as good as our Master Sun."

That's a real slap in the face.

Fang Hongda's smile faded. The faces of the Jiangnan business owners present also looked rather unpleasant.

Master Guan's face darkened, he put away the compass, and said coldly:

"My cultivation is meager, and my eyesight is poor; I can only tell that this treasure is extraordinary. As for exactly what makes it extraordinary, I truly cannot discern it."

He abruptly changed the subject, his gaze fixed on the old Taoist priest behind Ji Ting, who was resting with his eyes closed.

"In that case, why don't we trouble this Master Sun to guide us ordinary mortals through our confusion?"

These words were barbed; they were a provocation.

Only then did the venerable Master Sun slowly open his eyes.

He glanced at Master Guan, shook his head dismissively, his gaze like that of an adult looking at a child who doesn't know any better.

Master Guan's face flushed red instantly.

"Very well." Master Sun spoke, his voice not loud, but his tone was overwhelming. "Your cultivation is indeed low, but to be able to discern the word 'extraordinary' is not bad."

These words made the faces of the wealthy people in Jiangnan Province even uglier.

Master Guan is the face of their circle. By saying this, Master Sun is essentially trampling on the faces of all of them.

Only Master Guan himself calmed down, put his hands behind his back and sneered, ready to see how the old Taoist priest would make a fool of himself.

He had just used his ancestral method, relying on a compass to calculate, and could only barely determine that the artifact had very strong energy, but he had no idea what kind of energy it was or how to activate it.

He had only managed to reach this level after decades of cultivation, so he refused to believe that this pretentious old Taoist priest could be any better than him.

Amidst the hostile gazes of the crowd, Master Sun slowly stood up and walked to the bronze mirror.

He closed his eyes slightly and made a strange hand gesture in front of his chest.

The next moment, a scene that shocked everyone unfolded.

Master Sun's wide sleeves billowed up on their own in the still hall, as if a small blower was hidden inside.

"What is this?!" Master Guan's expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed in disbelief, "Internal energy being released externally? No... has he entered the Dao?"

Ye An almost burst out laughing.

Entering the Tao?

What kind of spiritual path is this?

It was merely a matter of mobilizing a tiny bit of magical power within the body; it was flashy but ultimately useless.