Li Yongjie clenched his teeth in secret, but was utterly unable to affect anything.

The charming and sweet-smiling Bai Jiao, brought Shen Qiang over to Master Tianji and said with a smile, "Shen Qiang, this is Master Tianji, a renowned figure in alchemy within the Cultivation World. He is also a very close friend of my father."

Upon hearing this, Shen Qiang smiled slightly and said, "Master Tianji, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Master Tianji laughed heartily, grabbing Shen Qiang's hand and said, "I've long heard of young Shen Qiang's pride and integrity. Seeing you today, I find that you indeed possess an impressive demeanor."

Shen Qiang smiled, but inside he felt inexplicably annoyed.

Because although the old man's words were nice, the look in his eyes betrayed a trace of disdain.

Laughing, Shen Qiang's gaze turned equally frosty as he raised an eyebrow and said, "I've long admired Master Tianji's great reputation. Indeed, you are as vigorous as ever in your old age."

Both men laughed.

"Has young Shen's master come today? This old man would like to meet him and discuss some alchemy skills and experience." Master Tianji's eyes were full of anticipation.

Shen Qiang couldn't help but burst into laughter at that.

Who was Shen Qiang's master?

The Medical Saint of the Immortal Realm.

An ordinary cultivator who hadn't even reached the Mixed Element Realm, wanting to discuss alchemy skills with him?

Let's not even mention that the Medical Saint wasn't here.

Even if he were, would he discuss such matters with you?

However, telling the truth bluntly would be hurtful. Glancing at the young man sitting nearby with a darkened face and not uttering a word, Shen Qiang smiled slightly and said, "My master, the Divine Dragon, is mysterious and unpredictable. He comes and goes as he pleases and never tells me his whereabouts."

Upon hearing this, Master Tianji sighed with disappointment: "Truly like an Immortal, such senior figures seem only reachable through fate."

Shen Qiang smiled.

At this moment, several people nearby hurriedly came over to shake hands and greet Shen Qiang.

Introductions were exchanged.

This Master, that Master.

Shen Qiang started to get a headache from all this.

In fact, in the traditional customs of the Cultivation World,

the titles of cultivators are determined by their realm cultivation.

Below the Nascent Soul Stage, normally, there are no official cultivation titles, but to show respect, young individuals or those with potential for improvement are often called 'young heroes', while those whose cultivation has stagnated and are particularly old are usually called 'Dao friends'.

As for being called a young or old friend, that depended on the situation.

Once one's cultivation reaches the Nascent Soul, titles come into play, and cultivators of this stage are called 'Masters'.

Upon reaching the Mixed Element Realm, they are addressed as 'Dao Lords'.

Moving up, through the three realms of Harmonization: Dao Fruit, Unification, Mahayana— all can claim the title 'Dao Lord'.

Therefore, in the Cultivation World, as long as one's cultivation has reached the Nascent Soul Stage, to show respect or to assert one's status, it is customary to add 'Master' after the name.

For instance, Qian Shanxue, whose cultivation has reached the Mixed Element Realm, is commonly addressed as Colonel Qian Shanxue by the members of the Dragon Group.

However, within the traditional Cultivation World, Qian Shanxue could call himself, or be called by others, Dao Lord Qian Shanxue.

Even when encountering cultivators who are complete strangers.

Simply addressing them according to their realm with a 'Master', 'Dao Lord', 'Master', as is usually done, is not considered disrespectful, much like how in ordinary society one would address others with terms like 'sir', 'miss', 'boss', 'beauty', or 'handsome'.

Shen Qiang had known about this for a long time.

However, since he began his path of cultivation, Shen Qiang had not had much contact with these more traditional cultivators.

On one hand, Shen Qiang was unaffiliated with any sect, standing alone in his journey.

On the other hand, Shen Qiang had not been practicing cultivation for long and felt that smiling and exchanging endless hellos, filled with insincere pleasantries, was pointless. Moreover, people's hearts are always separated by a layer of skin.

With the time he could be wasting chatting with them, he might as well be doing something productive.

After a swift exchange.

Bai Jiao said with a smile, "Alright, now that our honored guest has arrived, let's formally begin today's trade meeting."

Upon hearing this, the others, who were unaware of the situation, looked at Shen Qiang with surprise in their eyes.

"Who is this young man of extraordinary bearing? Cheng Xinyi actually delayed the trade meeting for him, who has such influence?"

"No idea, they said that his surname is Shen, there's no family in the Cultivation World with that surname. Maybe if he were the sect leader of one of the five major sects, he could have such a clout to delay the meeting, but even if it was a direct disciple of one of those sects, given Cheng Xinyi's way of doing things, they wouldn't wait."

"Exactly, and that Tian Ji Master is also a somewhat famous alchemist. Looking at how warmly those people treat Shen Qiang, it all seems very odd."

The crowd was abuzz with discussion, full of conjecture.

But now, the trade meeting had officially started.

Although Shen Qiang was not pleased that Bai Jiao had brought him over to the side of that young man with the last name Li, who acted as though he was very important, he resigned himself to the situation and sat calmly on the sofa.

Li Yongjie, sitting next to Shen Qiang, was feeling rather uneasy.

Because he was sitting to the right of Shen Qiang, with Bai Jiao to his left, followed by his teacher, Tian Ji Master.

Not only was Bai Jiao engaging Shen Qiang in cheerful conversation, but even his teacher, Tian Ji Master, occasionally chimed in with a joke, making sure Shen Qiang seated on the sofa did not feel bored.

But what about Li Yongjie?

Even though he was so close, Bai Jiao did not even bother to speak to him, let alone glance in his direction.

"If it weren't for Shen Qiang, the person sitting next to Miss Bai would definitely be me. She would smile at me, and as long as I showed my sense of humor and the impressive talent for refining spiritual medicine after entering the Nascent Soul Stage, she would surely see me in a different light."

"The eldest daughter of Cheng Xinyi, graceful as a flower, pure and unblemished, charming without measure. What's so special about Shen Qiang? He's just got a master who's good at alchemy, but it's not like he knows how to do it. Even if he had the cultivation of the Foundation Establishment Stage, and even if he reached the Nascent Soul Stage, he would never be better than me."

Li Yongjie grew more and more resentful.

But now the trade meeting had already begun.

As the first item to warm up the auction, naturally, it had to be a treasure.

This was almost a tradition at all auctions.

Cheng Xinyi was no exception.

"Next up for auction is a top-grade Pei Yuan Pill from the Dragon Soaring Temple of Xuan Kong Mountain, by Tian Ji Master himself, with a starting price of six million."

With the auctioneer's shout.

The eyes of everyone present lit up.

"A fine treasure, a top-grade Pei Yuan Pill, effective for those in the Foundation Establishment Stage, Golden Core Stage, and Nascent Soul Stage, and coming from Tian Ji Master of the Dragon Soaring Temple, it must be of outstanding quality."

"True to Cheng Xinyi's reputation, their offering is exquisite, a starting bid of merely six million, fair and square."

"Fellow daoists, my son lacks discipline and his cultivation has halted at the Golden Core Stage. For such a top-grade Pei Yuan Pill, I will bid everything I have. Please show mercy, my bid is twelve million!"

Seeing the enthusiastic crowd and the bids not being low, yet knowing that the Pei Yuan Pill was not refined by him, Shen Qiang frowned, unable to understand what Bai Jiao was playing at. Was she disdaining his own elixir pills and deliberately bringing in a master to rebuff him?

While pondering, Shen Qiang picked up his tea and took a sip, then used the Observation Skill to take a closer look at that top-grade Pei Yuan Pill.

Pfft!

The tea he had just sipped sprayed out immediately.

Because the information returned by the Observation Skill was...

The remnants of a failed Pei Yuan Pill.

It possessed one sixth of a Pei Yuan Pill's potency and could be ground into powder, mixed into feed, and used to nourish immortal birds and exotic beasts.

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