After clearing the level, the fairies were reborn!

Xu Ze leaned down slightly to look the girl with delicate features at eye level.

Her eyes were large, with rare amber hues, and were wide open at the moment. Her nose was straight and her lips were slightly pouting in dissatisfaction, adding to her playful charm.

There's a sense of familiarity that I can't quite put my finger on.

"What's your name?"

He wanted to know the other person's identity.

"I asked you first!" The little girl pouted, crossed her arms, and struck a pose of 'I'm not afraid of you,' but her slightly trembling eyelashes betrayed her inner nervousness.

Xu Ze found her reaction amusing.

He smiled and said readily:

"My name is Xu Ze."

“Xu Ze…” the girl repeated softly, as if searching for the name in her memory.

After a moment, she realized she had no recollection of it, and only then did she relax her guard a little.

She hesitated for a moment, but still said her name:

“I…I am called Mu Qinghe.”

Xu Ze's face drew closer and closer, a hint of suspicion in his handsome features: "Your surname is Mu?"

Among the five major families of Beiju Luzhou, there is no family with the surname Mu.

"W-What's wrong?!"

Looking at that sharply defined face so close to hers, the little girl blushed instantly, like a boiling kettle.

From the base of her ears to her neck, she quickly became flushed pink.

what's up!

Mingming said that her elder brother was the most handsome man in the world.

How come everyone I bump into is so handsome?

and many more.

Could this person be someone sent by the Emperor?!

Thinking of this, Mu Qinghe immediately dropped the infatuation on her face and turned into panic.

If I get caught and taken back, I'll definitely get a good spanking!

The Empress might even punish her by making her copy books a hundred times... No, no copying books!!

"It's nothing, just a rather uncommon surname."

At the same time, Xu Ze withdrew his gaze.

He was almost certain that this was the little girl he had seen in the dream brought about by the fragments of his memory.

Xu Ze had originally planned to ask her mother's name.

But judging from the girl's wary look, she probably wouldn't tell you even if you asked, and it would only alert her.

"Since we don't know each other, I'll be going now..."

The little girl in front of him looked like she had done something wrong, her eyes darting around, her body slightly turned to the side, as if she wanted to sneak out.

Her body was very small, and she moved around the auction hall.

Xu Ze refused to let her leave and stayed with him.

His steps were unhurried and seemingly casual, yet he always kept a distance of three steps behind Mu Qinghe, neither getting closer nor further away, yet she could never shake him off no matter what.

Seeing that the young man was still following her, Mu Qinghe became even more flustered. She quickened her pace, weaving through the crowd, and even deliberately hiding behind several pillars. But every time she peeked out, she could see Xu Ze's ambiguous smile.

Now she was even more suspicious that this boy was sent by her elder brother or her mother to keep an eye on her!

"You, you, you, get out of my way!"

Mu Qinghe finally couldn't hold back any longer. She stopped in a relatively empty corner, turned around and glared at Xu Ze. Although she tried her best to keep her voice firm, the slightly trembling tone at the end of her sentence still betrayed her guilty conscience.

The more flustered the little girl became, the closer Xu Ze followed her.

He found it quite interesting.

Like a cat chasing a mouse, it doesn't rush to catch it, but simply enjoys the chase.

"I'm just walking my own path, how is that blocking you?" Xu Ze looked innocent and shrugged. "This auction venue isn't yours to run, I can't just go wherever I want."

"You!" Mu Qinghe was furious, but couldn't find the words to refute him.

Just then, the auction in the hall gradually came to an end.

The warm-up auction items have ended, and the real hidden gems are being brought out one by one.

The auctioneer's voice rose noticeably eight octaves, brimming with inflammatory passion:

"Ladies and gentlemen! The next item is the first highlight of today's auction! Please keep your eyes peeled!"

Soon, two maids dressed in light blue dresses carefully carried a wooden tray onto the stage.

The tray was covered with red silk, but judging from its shape, it should be a piece of clothing.

The auctioneer took a deep breath and suddenly lifted the red silk!

A soft white light burst forth instantly, illuminating the entire hall.

It was an exquisitely crafted robe, entirely moon-white, with faint cloud patterns on its surface, as if real white clouds were flowing across the fabric.

"A fourth-tier superior defensive magic weapon—the Flowing Cloud Robe!"

The auctioneer's voice trembled with excitement, "This garment is made primarily of century-old celestial silkworm silk, supplemented with thirty-six kinds of rare spiritual silk! The garment is engraved with seventy-two 'Flowing Cloud Protective Arrays,' which, once recognized by its owner, can automatically condense a spiritual energy shield capable of withstanding a full-force attack from a late-stage Golden Core cultivator!"

"If enough spiritual power is injected, it can even temporarily withstand the attack of a Nascent Soul stage cultivator!"

He paused, allowing the audience to process the information, before continuing, "Not only that, this garment is as light as a feather, almost weightless when worn. It also boasts self-cleaning and dust- and water-repellent properties, making it an excellent protective treasure for venturing out on adventures and exploring secret realms!"

The auctioneer's exceptional skills drew gasps from the audience.

A fourth-grade superior defensive magic weapon, and such a comprehensive magic robe at that, is definitely a top-tier treasure among the younger generation.

Many Nascent Soul cultivators don't even have fourth-tier magic weapons.

Starting bid: 700 low-grade spirit stones! Each bid must be at least 50!

As soon as the price was announced, there was a moment of silence in the audience, followed by a fierce bidding war.

"Seven hundred and fifty!"

"Eight hundred!"

Nine hundred!

Several female cultivators, clearly of distinguished background, vied for the bid, their eyes fixed on the shimmering robe on the stage, their longing palpable.

Xu Ze noticed that most of the participants in the bidding were female cultivators, but there were also a few male cultivators who made bids, probably wanting to buy it as a gift for someone they admired or a female elder in their family.

The price quickly broke through 1,000 spirit stones, but the bidding remained fierce.

"One thousand one hundred!"

"One thousand two hundred!"

"One thousand three hundred!"

When the price reached 1,400 spirit stones, only three bidders remained.

One of the girls, dressed in a pale yellow dress, hesitated for a moment, then shook her head and gave up. The other woman, with her tousled hair, gritted her teeth and quoted a price: "One thousand four hundred and fifty!"

Just then, a voice as cold as ice rang out:

"Five thousand five hundred."

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a woman in white with a cool and aloof demeanor sitting in the corner of the hall.

Her face was covered by a light veil, revealing only a pair of eyes as cold as stars.

Dressed in a simple white outfit, with delicate snowflake patterns embroidered on the cuffs and collar, and a silver belt around her waist, she exuded an aura of coldness that kept strangers at bay.

When she returned to her seat, Xu Ze noticed that the other female cultivators sitting next to her were dressed similarly.

This must be a major sect; they even have uniform attire.

The difference was that the woman who bought the robe had more patterns on her clothes, indicating that she was of a higher status.

"Hey, don't follow me!"

Mu Qinghe was getting anxious as she watched Xu Ze relentlessly pursue her, making it impossible for her to shake him off.

She turned around and glared at him, her large amber eyes filled with annoyance.

"Why can't I follow you?"

Although Xu Ze had also infiltrated the group, his mental fortitude was exceptionally strong, and his behavior was so natural that the little girl in front of him never suspected him.

He suddenly leaned down and whispered in Mu Qinghe's ear, "You're sneaking around here, are you trying to steal something?"

The warm breath brushed against her earlobe, and Mu Qinghe froze, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, almost jumping up.

"What nonsense are you talking about..."

"Then why are you hiding?"

After saying that, Xu Ze stepped forward and grabbed Mu Qinghe's wrist.

It was slender to the touch, and smooth and warm to the skin, but Xu Ze could feel the immense spiritual power contained within it.

The little girl was like a mouse caught by a cat, desperately trying to break free, but even using her cultivation, it was all in vain.

Xu Ze was somewhat surprised to discover that this little girl was actually in the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm.

At this age, he looks much younger than Song Yubai, who supposedly reached the Core Formation stage at eighteen!

"Good heavens, this is a true prodigy!"

While he was slightly shocked, he also discovered something very crucial.

Why didn't she become the champion of the Heavenly Pride Tournament at her age, when she was only at the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm?

Even at this auction, no one recognized her?