From Now On, You'll Be Called Cai Lin

"So, how do you plan to repay the Pavilion Master?"

Queen Medusa turned her head to look at Linglong, somewhat puzzled by her sudden question.

Linglong spoke softly, "Our Pavilion Master is a businessman, and businessmen always seek profit... so..."

Queen Medusa instantly grasped the meaning behind her words, her expression relaxing slightly. She disliked owing anyone favors, and if she could settle this with money, all the better. She decided to bring all the gold coins from the eight major tribes, repaying this favor properly.

She immediately instructed Yue Mei to return to the Tager Desert and bring back all the gold coins, along with some of the tribe's pills and Dou Techniques, to be given unconditionally to the Heaven Ascending Pavilion.

Yue Mei nodded and prepared to leave at once.

For safety, Linglong also arranged for the Amethyst Winged Lion King to accompany her. With a half-step rank seven magical beast as her escort, she should be able to bring the money back without any hitch.

Queen Medusa pursed her alluring red lips, turned slightly, and said softly, "Thank you."

Linglong watched as Queen Medusa departed, then turned her gaze back to the Pavilion Master once again.

…

Unbeknownst to Li Xiao, more than half a year had passed in the blink of an eye.

A sudden heavy snowfall had blanketed the entire eastern Magic Beast Mountain Range, leaving the Heaven Ascending Pavilion's location as the sole spot still brimming with vitality in the entire area. It felt like another world altogether.

Li Xiao slowly opened his eyes, the Dou Qi surrounding his body dissipating. Sensing the energy within him, he felt quite satisfied. In just over half a year, his strength had advanced from a nine-star Dou Grandmaster to a nine-star Dou Spirit.

At such a cultivation speed, no one in the world could compare to him. Even the prodigies of the eight great families wouldn't dare claim to have ascended from a three-star Dou Fighter to a nine-star Dou Spirit, almost reaching the Dou King level, in just a few years.

Li Xiao shrugged and gazed at the snowy mountains and forests before him.

At that moment, the system interface suddenly popped up.

—

Name: Li Xiao

Race: Human

Cultivation Level: Nine-star Dou Spirit

Dou Techniques: None (Dou Techniques start at the Dou King level)

Bloodline: Dou God Bloodline

Subordinates: Linglong, Niu Meng, Bing Shuang, Lian Xue

Total Assets: 70,000 system points

Main Mission: Earn one billion gold coins within three years. (Reward: Divine Gift Package!)

Current Progress: 7/10

Remaining Time: One year!

—

Hearing the system's prompt, Li Xiao frowned slightly. How had his wealth increased so much? He recalled that before entering the seclusion, he only had around 40,000 system points. Now, he had an extra 30,000.

After some digging up, he found that the gold had come from the Snake-People Tribe. They had brought a total of three hundred million gold coins, along with a hundred Yellow-class Dou Techniques, thirty Black-class Dou Techniques, and two Earth-class Dou Techniques. Additionally, there were a thousand tier-3 pills, five hundred tier-4 pills, and a thousand spirit minerals...

Looking at such abundant resources, Li Xiao couldn't help but marvel. He hadn't expected the snake people to be so wealthy. No wonder they had been able to stand tall in the Tager Desert for a thousand years; they indeed had some abilities.

A smile curved on Li Xiao's lips. This was exactly what he wanted. As long as there was money, everything else was secondary.

"Pavilion Master, you've finished your seclusion."

Linglong walked over, sensing the energy within the Pavilion Master, and smiled. Indeed, the Pavilion Master was impressive, achieving such a realm in such a short time was truly astonishing.

Li Xiao nodded and asked, "Hmm, has anyone caused trouble here recently?"

Linglong responded. "No. However, many Dou Kings and Dou Emperors have visited. Not long ago, when Queen Medusa advanced to Dou Ancestor, the Heaven Ascending Pavilion's dispersal of the Heaven and Earth energy affected an area of ten thousand miles. It drew quite a bit of attention, including some Dou Ancestors."

"But none of them dared to step into the Heaven Ascending Pavilion's territory."

Hearing this, Li Xiao didn't say anything further. As long as those people didn't disrupt the order of the Heaven Ascending Pavilion or destroy anything, he wouldn't interfere.

At that moment, a strong scent of roses filled the air. Turning to see who had arrived, Li Xiao smiled and nodded.

"How are you, Queen Medusa?"

Indeed, it was none other than Queen Medusa, the powerful figure of the snake people!

Queen Medusa looked at Pavilion Master Li Xiao and nodded, "Thank you, Pavilion Master, for helping me break through to the Dou Ancestor level. As promised, you will be the best friend of the snake people."

Li Xiao smiled and waved his hand dismissively. "It's nothing. This was part of our agreement. Don't worry, it won't be long before I arrange for the snake people to relocate to the eastern part of the Magic Beast Mountain Range. This place should be very suitable for the development of your tribe."

Medusa nodded slightly. After months of exploration, she had already found a suitable place for the snake people to live.

They just needed to build their settlement nearby.

Li Xiao had also arranged for Niu Meng to find human craftsmen to help build houses for the snake people according to the blueprints.

"Queen Medusa, now that you've evolved into a human form, you're no longer in that half-human, half-snake form. So, naturally, you need a name. How about Cai Lin? It suits you well."

Hearing this, Medusa's face showed a hint of seriousness. She looked at Pavilion Master Li Xiao's sincere face, her eyes flashing with a complex emotion.

But this time, she didn't angrily retort. Instead, she said calmly, "We'll talk about it later. I am still the Queen Medusa of the snake people, but if you like calling me that... then you can call me Cai Lin."

Li Xiao chuckled. It seemed that Queen Medusa had already compromised. From now on, she would be called Cai Lin.

Next, he had to prepare the items for the upcoming Heaven Ascending Pavilion auction. With the annual auction approaching, many powerful figures were sure to attend, and it wouldn't be surprising if Dou Venerate experts came as well.

After the Dou Venerate from the Soul Hall was killed by Lian Xue, there had been no further movements from them. Perhaps they were wary of the Heaven Ascending Pavilion and thus hadn't sent anyone to retaliate.

Most of the speculation still revolved around Pavilion Master Li Xiao. There was no Li family among eight ancient families, so where had the Heaven Ascending Pavilion come from? Could all of this be related to the hidden force of Central Plains?

At this moment, countless Dou Kings and Dou Emperors had gathered outside the Heaven Ascending Pavilion, with experts from the four great empires also arriving at their destination.

Jia Xingtian frowned. "I didn't expect that in just a year, the aura of the Heaven Ascending Pavilion has grown even stronger."

"Indeed," President Fa Ma stroked his small mustache, frowning. "It's vastly different from our last visit. Perhaps it has a lot to do with the Pavilion Master."

After the lessons learned from the last auction, those with hidden agendas no longer dared to oppose the Heaven Ascending Pavilion. They didn't even entertain thoughts of secretly trespassing and simply waited in the valley outside.

The atmosphere was serene and quiet, only some people chatting in hush voices with their companions. No one dared to slight the Heaven Ascending Pavilion at the slightest, afraid that one wrong word would make them lose their lives.