Xiao Ning's Invitation

The next morning, the sun was shining brightly.

The warm sunlight filtered through the ventilation hole and illuminated Xiao Se and Long Kui's faces.

Xiao Se slowly opened his eyes, gently withdrawing his slightly sore arm from under Long Kui's snow-white neck. He then carefully dressed, sat cross-legged on a nearby stone slab, and took out some cultivation liquid. After taking a small sip, he activated "Flame Mantra" and "Return to Origin" , entering a state of cultivation.

The morning, full of vitality, was the perfect time for cultivating fighting energy.

An hour later, the faint aroma of food wafted into Xiao Se's nose.

Xiao Se made a hand sign to end his cultivation, waking up from his meditative state.

Turning his head, he saw that Long Kui had already prepared breakfast in the corner of the stone room.

"Brother, you're awake! Come and eat. Breakfast is just ready," Long Kui said with a gentle smile on her beautiful face as she saw Xiao Se stop cultivating.

Xiao Se nodded slightly, stretched his slightly sore legs, walked over to Long Kui, and praised, "Long Kui, what did you cook today? It smells so good."

"Hee hee..." Long Kui's praise made her beautiful eyes curve into a crescent as she smiled and said, "It's lean meat porridge made from your favorite beef."

As she spoke, Long Kui reached out with her delicate hand, took a small bowl, and carefully handed it to him.

Taking the bowl, Xiao Se sniffed the fragrant beef porridge, his mouth watering. He blew on it lightly, not caring if it was hot, and took a big gulp.

Watching Xiao Se gulp down the beef porridge, Long Kui's beautiful face showed a smile. She really enjoyed the time spent with Xiao Se.

Sitting on the stone slab, Xiao Se finished most of the beef porridge, and although Long Kui, being a soul body, didn't need to eat, she enjoyed living with Xiao Se and had a bowl as well.

After finishing the last bowl of beef porridge, Xiao Se contentedly patted his still flat stomach, gave Long Kui a thumbs-up, and joked, "Long Kui, you really have great skills. Whoever marries you will be lucky."

"Long Kui doesn't want to marry anyone. Long Kui wants to be with brother forever." Hearing Xiao Se mention marriage, Long Kui immediately became anxious. She knocked over the small bowl in her hand and leaped into Xiao Se's embrace.

"Uh—" Xiao Se was slightly taken aback, feeling a pang of guilt. The joke might have gone too far. He gently stroked Long Kui's head and comforted her, "Long Kui, I was just joking. I don't want you to marry anyone. Even if someone wants to marry you, I'll be the first to stop them."

"Really?" Long Kui wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, looked up, and asked with reddened eyes.

"Of course it's true!" Xiao Se replied firmly.

His words were sincere. If someone wanted to marry Long Kui after her revival, he would be the first to refuse.

"Really, really?" Long Kui continued to ask.

"Really, really!" Xiao Se nodded firmly.

"Then let's make a pinky promise," Long Kui said, extending her pinky finger.

"Pinky promise," the two locked their pinky fingers.

After making the promise, the two looked at each other's faces and smiled.

"Brother, did you get up last night to cook something?" Long Kui snuggled in Xiao Se's arms and suddenly asked.

"No, why?" Xiao Se asked, puzzled.

"The egg that was left over from last night is missing. I was planning to keep it to make egg drop soup for you," Long Kui pouted and explained.

Hearing the word "egg," Xiao Se suddenly realized. He remembered that he had exchanged it with Xiao Xiaogang. The egg from Xiao Xiaogang was still warm in his system's warehouse!

He scratched the back of his head and chuckled awkwardly, "Oh, I remember now. I got a bit hungry last night, so I used beast fire to roast it and ate it."

Upon hearing this, Long Kui nodded slightly, not suspecting anything, and got up to clean the bowls and chopsticks.

Leaving the cave, Xiao Se practiced his dou techniques in front of the waterfall for another hour before slowly heading down the mountain to the Miteer Auction House. Today was the day for the auction of the cultivation liquid, and it was also one of his last few days in Wutan City.

He would be leaving in three days, and it was uncertain how long it would take before he would return.

Perhaps he would return on the day of the Jia Nan Academy enrollment, as he was determined to obtain the Fallen Heart Flame, which was ranked fourteenth on the List of Heavenly Flames.

Passing through the necessary route to the Miteer Auction House, Xiao Se once again encountered someone he didn't want to see—Xiao Ning.

"Heh heh, Xiao Se, you're catching a good opportunity. I'll tell you, the Miteer Auction House sent an invitation to our Xiao family yesterday. In addition to the head of the family and the three elders, there were ten extra spots for family members. Even Xiao Yan, as the son of the clan leader, didn't qualify. I specifically asked my grandfather for an extra spot. Come on, let me show you some of the world," Xiao Ning said, placing a hand on Xiao Se's shoulder in a friendly manner.

Xiao Se glanced at Xiao Ning with some disdain and said calmly, "Oh, is that so? Thanks then."

"No need to thank me. Given your relationship with my sister, what are we to each other?" Xiao Ning confidently patted his chest.

There was one thing he didn't mention—that this spot was originally reserved for Xun'er, but she had refused.

"Xiao Ning, come over quickly. If you don't leave now, you'll be left behind," one of the Xiao family core members from the Great Elder faction urged from ahead.

"Oh, coming," Xiao Ning responded, then patted Xiao Se's shoulder and smiled, "Let's catch up."

"Mm." Xiao Se nodded slightly and followed Xiao Ning to the Miteer Auction House.

The publicity of the Miteer Auction House was indeed quite strong. Xiao Se had just handed over the cultivation liquid to the Miteer Auction House yesterday, and today, various forces from Wutan City had already gathered at the auction house.

Looking at the crowded scene ahead, Xiao Se, guided by the auction house's attendants, followed the leading Xiao Zhan and others into the VIP passage.

Entering the auction room, under Xiao Ning's insistence, Xiao Se ended up sitting in a more prominent position rather than the corner he initially intended.

"Heh heh, Xiao Se, do you know what treasures the Miteer Auction House is auctioning today?" Xiao Ning asked with a mysterious smile on his face.

"I don't know," Xiao Se pretended not to know.

"Let me enlighten you. The cultivation liquid is a second-grade pill that speeds up the cultivation of Dou Disciples. Do you know Zhang San, the owner of the Yue Lai Inn in the west of Wutan City? A month ago, he was at the eight-star Dou DIsciple level, stuck at that stage for years without a breakthrough. After spending a fortune to buy the cultivation liquid, he broke through to the nine-star Dou Disciple within a few days. It is said he is now working hard to break through to the Dou Zhe level," Xiao Ning said, displaying a knowledgeable attitude and explaining confidently.