Are you looking at me?

The man spoke with a smile on his Face, "Xuan'er, I don't believe I've met this gentleman before. May I ask who he is?"

His gaze turned toward Ye Qing, a smile remaining on his Face.

Inside, however, jealousy flared.

He prided himself on being suave and elegant, believing that few in Star Cloud City could surpass him.

Yet now, at a glance, he had to admit that Ye Qing was far more handsome and extraordinary than himself.

Furthermore, the man harbored certain feelings for Dan Qingxuan.

In the past, whenever he tried to strike up a conversation with her, she was indifferent, maintaining only the most basic level of courtesy and politeness.

But seeing Dan Qingxuan chatting so happily with this man... for a moment, he couldn't help but feel a sense of wariness.

He thought to himself:

Where did this pretty boy come from!

Hearing this, Dan Qingxuan frowned slightly and corrected him sternly:

"Jin Li, please do not call me Xuan'er."

"This is..."

"A junior of a distant grandfather of mine. He is passing through Star Cloud City and came to visit my father."

After Dan Qingxuan finished, she introduced the man to Ye Qing:

"This is Jin Li. His father is Venerable Jueming, who runs a business dealing in spiritual materials and Spiritual Plants in Star Cloud City."

"His father, Venerable Jueming, is a Cultivator at the fourth level of the Soul Transformation Realm, just like my father."

Hearing this, Ye Qing nodded to the man as a greeting.

Jin Li spoke with a smile, a hint of pride on his Face, saying, "The largest shop for spiritual materials and Spiritual Plants in Star Cloud City belongs to my family."

"Since you are an old acquaintance of Qingxuan's, little brother, you are one of us. If you need anything, feel free to ask."

"For third or fourth-grade Spiritual Plants and materials, for the sake of Xuan'er's Face, I can take charge and give you a twenty percent discount!"

"Even for higher grades, just name it, and my family can easily provide it!"

Though the words sounded well-intentioned, his tone and demeanor carried an unmistakable sense of showing off his power.

Ye Qing, naturally, picked up on this.

However, he simply smiled and said nothing.

Third or fourth-grade spiritual materials and plants.

To be honest, Ye Qing had long since looked past such grades.

In fact, after annihilating the Heavenly Wolf Sect, the various materials above the fourth grade in Ye Qing's ring were already piled up like a mountain.

Moreover, this man had arrived with a mysterious hint of hostility in his eyes.

His way of speaking was also strange.

Ye Qing couldn't be bothered to get to know him, and he certainly wouldn't lower himself to mention such things to him.

In any case, once he left Star Cloud City, he wouldn't see this person again.

So, Ye Qing told Dan Qingxuan that he wanted to wander around on his own for a bit.

Dan Qingxuan smiled brightly and said, "In that case, I will go to my father and pay my respects to a few Seniors."

"Please make yourself at home, Young Master. Call me if you need anything."

After saying this, Dan Qingxuan glanced at Jin Li, tucked away her bright smile, gave him a polite nod, and turned to leave.

She didn't like the man to begin with, so this was a perfect opportunity to get away from him.

Ye Qing nodded, watched Dan Qingxuan depart, and then began to stroll casually through the Danyang Residence.

Jin Li, having been snubbed, returned to the banquet hall.

There was a table there where only young people sat, all of whom were the young talents of Star Cloud City.

Naturally, they all knew Jin Li.

They had even been watching earlier when Jin Li approached Dan Qingxuan.

Seeing Jin Li return, a friend of his at the table joked, "Did you go to flatter Dan Qingxuan again, only to get rebuffed once more?"

"Tsk tsk, that Man in Green Robes, what's his identity? I saw Dan Qingxuan acting quite close to him."

*Hiss!* "At this rate, I'm afraid you'll never catch Dan Qingxuan!"

Upon hearing this, Jin Li's expression soured. He picked up a wine cup and shoved it toward the man, saying:

"Even wine can't shut your mouth!"

The group of young people immediately burst into laughter.

Then, another young man beside him spoke up seriously, "Jin Li, did you find out the identity of that Man in Green Robes?"

"I haven't seen him before. Jokes aside, I'm warning you, you really should pay attention."

Jin Li nodded and took a sip of wine.

After thinking for a moment, he said:

"I only know he's the junior of one of Qingxuan's distant Seniors, just passing through to pay a visit."

"It's just a visit. Surely there's no possibility between him and Qingxuan."

He felt that since Ye Qing was only visiting, he shouldn't be much of a threat!

However, someone else disagreed and laughed, "That's hard to say. This 'junior of a distant Senior' thing is probably just polite talk for the sake of Face..."

"Actually, to put it bluntly, isn't that just a poor relative coming to visit?"

"Seeing how well Senior Dan Yangzi is living, how could this poor relative not want to live off a woman and cling to a powerful thigh?"

"Once the visit is over, hey! The kid doesn't leave. He stays behind, feelings develop over time, tsk tsk tsk..."

Hearing this, alarm bells rang loudly in Jin Li's heart!

He thought the man's words were reasonable.

After all, it wasn't just poor relatives who wanted to live off a woman.

Dan Yangzi had only one daughter, Dan Qingxuan, and Dan Yangzi was a highly sought-after alchemist in Star Cloud City.

He had amassed a considerable fortune.

In the future, this vast wealth would all belong to Dan Qingxuan!

Therefore, this 'soft rice'... everyone present actually wanted a taste!

Unfortunately, Dan Qingxuan showed them no favor and had no such intentions.

Only Jin Li refused to give up, time and time again.

But now, this extraordinarily handsome Ye Qing had suddenly appeared, and Dan Qingxuan even seemed extremely enthusiastic toward him... The more Jin Li thought about it, the more panicked he became.

Just then, someone else took a sip of wine and glanced at Jin Li.

He suddenly added fuel to the fire: "Perhaps that man isn't some poor relative, but it's a union of two powerful families!"

Jin Li's heart jolted!

He could no longer drink. He slammed down his wine cup and stood up hurriedly, saying, "I'm going to investigate that guy's background again!"

The others exchanged smiles and shook their heads.

This Jin Li... he used to act with quite some poise, but now, he seems to have no composure at all!

However, thinking carefully, if they were in his shoes...

Facing that suddenly appearing Man in Green Robes, especially when Dan Qingxuan was so enthusiastic toward him...

They would probably panic too!

"Come, come, drink, drink. It's not our problem anyway."

"Haha, true..."

"I say, with friends like you lot, Jin Li's life is set!"

"Don't give me that. I noticed you were the one stoking the fire most enthusiastically just now!"

"Haha, no, no, not at all..."

Sure enough, Jin Li soon found Ye Qing and walked up to his side.

After thinking for a moment, he asked with a smile, "Is this Fellow Daoist's first time in Star Cloud City?"

Ye Qing glanced at the man and nodded.

Jin Li's eyes flickered as he asked casually:

"I see. May I ask where Fellow Daoist hails from?"

"Perhaps I have even visited your hometown before."

He said this because he wanted to probe Ye Qing's background through his place of origin.

Ye Qing replied casually:

"I come from a small place."

He wasn't familiar with this person, so he naturally wouldn't explain his origins clearly.

Jin Li frowned at this.

Because he hadn't learned anything from Ye Qing's words, he decided to try a different approach.

So, Jin Li said:

"I wonder... what unique views does Fellow Daoist have regarding the God List Prodigies?"

"To tell you the truth, I once had the honor of meeting a God List Prodigy and shared wine with him."

"I must say, there's a reason they are God List Prodigies. They are truly extraordinary!"

Hearing this, Ye Qing blinked. What views did he have on the God List Prodigies?

He didn't have any.

After all, Ye Qing was a newcomer to the Central Region and didn't even know who the God List Prodigies here were.

However, that Young Sect Master of the Heavenly Wolf Sect seemed to be a God List Prodigy.

In that case, he didn't have any views, but he had properly killed one.

The feeling of killing him was... just average.

Of course, Ye Qing didn't tell Jin Li any of this. He just smiled faintly and said he didn't know much about the God List Prodigies.

Jin Li frowned.

He then brought up several names of God List Prodigies and some of their deeds.

Ye Qing just nodded, offering a few "ohs" as if listening to stories.

After listening, Ye Qing thought that since the man had worked so hard to tell these stories, he should give some feedback, so he said they indeed sounded quite good.

However, upon hearing this.

A flash of contempt crossed Jin Li's eyes.

Because he had intentionally told some anecdotes about the God List Prodigies and deliberately got some details wrong.

Only people of a certain status and position could come into contact with these anecdotes.

Most of what was told in the outside world was inaccurate.

Yet the man before him was completely oblivious to the errors he had intentionally made.

Hehe... Therefore, Jin Li felt that Ye Qing's status was, as expected, very low!

He guessed this person really was from some small place and was just acting calm in front of him.

Thinking of this, Jin Li's disdain grew.

At the same time, he couldn't help but think: his father had warned him earlier that Senior Dan Yangzi's banquet was a setup to catch a thief.

He didn't know who the thief was.

But he had heard that people from small places have never seen much of the world.

Because of this, some people from small places have a habit of being light-fingered, liking to swipe things and take them away.

And the Danyang Residence was extremely wealthy, with good things everywhere. Any random item would be a treasure in a small place!

This man... during the banquet, was looking left and right, wandering all over the residence.

Maybe after seeing so many treasures, he was already finding it hard to resist... Thinking of this.

Jin Li thought, *I must keep a close eye on this guy. If I can catch him in the act, I might gain a lot of Face in front of Senior Dan Yangzi and Qingxuan!*

Ye Qing, of course, had no idea what the man was thinking. He was just wandering around to kill some time.

At this moment, Ye Qing saw a cluster of flowers displayed in a corner of the hall.

These flowers were carved from stone shells, designed with extreme ingenuity and a high level of craftsmanship.

Moreover, those stone shells were not ordinary.

Ye Qing examined them and found that they seemed to be the outer crystal shells left over after mining yuan crystal mines.

Exquisitely carved.

The value of yuan crystals was very high. Ye Qing had nearly twenty thousand yuan crystals on him, more than the output of an entire yuan crystal mine.

The outer crystal shells of yuan crystals were naturally not as valuable as the crystals themselves.

They also didn't catch Ye Qing's eye.

But since they had once encased yuan crystals, these crystal shells still retained pure, misty Spiritual Qi, giving them a certain value.

Furthermore, after being carved into flowers, they were adorned with many Spirit Stones of various attributes.

The decoration made them look multicolored and magnificent.

Ye Qing couldn't help but stop and step forward.

He took a moment to admire them.

At this point, Jin Li, assuming Ye Qing didn't recognize the object, smiled slightly.

He introduced:

"This object is carved from the crystal shells of yuan crystals. The master who carved it is a famous master of the craft."

"As for yuan crystals, I wonder if you've ever heard of them?"

"Hehe, it's a very precious mineral. It's normal if you haven't heard of it. Ordinary people indeed haven't seen it before. You can open your eyes a bit now."

Hearing this, Ye Qing felt a bit impatient.

He just wanted to wander around alone, but this person kept sticking to his side and even put on the air of a host, introducing things left and right.

Open his eyes?

The tone of superiority between the lines made Ye Qing feel very uncomfortable.

So, Ye Qing spoke plainly, reminding him:

"Fellow Daoist, aren't you going to accompany your friends and acquaintances?"

Jin Li smiled at Ye Qing and said, "No need, I'm watching you."

Ye Qing's brow furrowed. What did he mean... *I'm watching you*?

What was the meaning of those words?

Could it be that you're guarding against me, afraid I'll steal something?

Ye Qing found it hard to understand. How could someone speak like that?

So much so.

Ye Qing almost thought the man must have... misspoken?

Therefore, Ye Qing couldn't help but take a serious look at Jin Li.

But Jin Li just smiled at Ye Qing.

His posture made the meaning clear: he hadn't misspoken; he was going to watch Ye Qing to prevent any theft.

"..."

Ye Qing shook his head, finding Jin Li somewhat unreasonable.

It was as if his brain hadn't fully developed.

A bit crazy.

He no longer bothered to deal with the man, even intending to stay far away from him to avoid being infected by his low IQ... At that point, the other party might use his rich experience to defeat Ye Qing in the Domain of low intelligence.

*Hiss!* Just thinking about it was a bit scary... However, Jin Li had no such self-awareness and continued to follow Ye Qing.

Furthermore.

Perhaps with a bit of a showing-off mindset, he would occasionally mention some so-called disciples of large Sects in Ye Qing's ear.

He even talked about how two God List Prodigies sat quietly and played the zither, a scene of extreme elegance.

He had the honor of listening once.

Then he talked about how he had once witnessed an incredibly powerful Prodigy of Spells, whose Spells were profound and extraordinary.

He had the honor of seeing it in person and felt some insight in his heart.

To all of this, Ye Qing acted as if he hadn't heard a thing, treating the man as if he didn't exist, not bothering to respond with a single word.

The man also snorted coldly in his heart.

He felt.

That he was doing this for the sake of Qingxuan's Face, sacrificing his own time and energy to specifically look after Ye Qing and talk with him.

As it turned out, not only did this person not show any gratitude, but he didn't even say a word.

What was he being so aloof for?

Jin Li thought about it and couldn't swallow his anger.

So he continued:

"Fellow Daoist might not know, but there's something that has confused me for a long time."

"Hehe, actually, in the end, my family is just a seller of goods. In a Mortal Dynasty, we'd just be merchants."

"To put it bluntly, it's considered a low-class profession."

At this point, Jin Li changed his tone and said pointedly:

"But I've known some young people from merchant backgrounds who were very warm and welcoming."

"But some others have an air of thinking too highly of themselves. When others speak, they are indifferent."

"I'm very confused. In the end, they're all low-class trash. I really don't understand what those people are being so aloof about?"