"Good. Then I'll be leaving now." Meifeng said to Meixiu before cutting the phone call.
"Haaa…" Meifeng released a long and deep breath afterward, rubbing her eyes in a tired manner.
A few moments later, Meifeng turned around and entered the room that was right behind her with a serious-looking expression on her face.
Inside the room, there were two individuals sitting across from each other on a small but fancy table filled with luxurious food and a couple of servants standing at the end of the room.
"What did Meixiu say? Did you manage to convince her to stay?" Yu Yong asked her the moment she returned.
Meifeng shook her head and said, "Unfortunately, she wouldn't listen to me no matter how much I tried to convince her, even cutting the line on me forcibly when I tried. I will take full responsibility for my daughter's sudden departure, Masters."
Yu Yong placed his utensils down before sighing, "Don't worry about it, Meifeng. It's not your fault. Meixiu is probably in her rebellious stage since she's around that age. Once she gets over it, she will definitely return to us so let's just give her more time."
"Thank you, Master Yu." Meifeng bowed to him.
Obviously, it was only an excuse that Meifeng had created for Meixiu, as she'd told the Yu Family that Meixiu was tired of working and decided to leave.
"Anyway, how is the auction looking for the Divine-grade treasure?" Tang Lee suddenly asked.
"Allow me a moment to check," Meifeng said as she pulled out her phone.
After checking the auction, Meifeng said, "The highest bid right now is 411 million dollars; it'd increased by 21 million since we last checked half an hour ago."
"I see… Do you have any predictions on how much it might cost by the end?" Tang Lee then asked.
"It's hard to tell since this is the first time a Divine-grade treasure has been sold. Furthermore, it is highly likely that this treasure belongs to Player Yuan. With that being said, the price most likely won't see any more significant increases since this treasure is only an instrument, and its high requirements restrict most if not all of the players at this moment, so most of the other families have already stepped back." Meifeng said.
Yu Yong nodded and said, "While it's true that the treasure has a high requirement, this is an investment for the future! Once we have someone who can use that zither, everything will change and we will overtake the other families!"
"Continue monitoring the auction. We'll stop bidding for now until the last day."
"Yes, Master Yu."
Meanwhile, after dinner was prepared, Meixiu went to feed Yuan four bowls of soup as instructed by Doctor Wang.
A few minutes after dinner, almost as though she knew, Yu Rou called Meixiu— or more specifically, Yuan.
"How was your day, brother? I saw the auction! It's a massive success! Over 400 million dollars in a single day— you'll definitely get at least 500 million from the auction!" Yu Rou's excited voice resounded in his ears, making it feel as though Yu Rou was really in the room.
"At this rate, you won't have to worry about not having enough money for the rest of your life!"
"Indeed," Yuan said.
"By the way, do you see other players at the Mystic Realm?" Yu Rou suddenly asked.
"No, I just got there myself."
"I see… Well, good luck, brother! Although I will be going back to school tomorrow, I had a lot of fun with Xia Jingyi. We did many quests together, even hunting a dozen magical beasts. Of course, I was the one who slew them all!" Yu Rou spoke in a proud voice.
"That sounds fun," Yuan said with a smile on his face.
"It is! You should come play with us once you're done with the Mystic Realm."
"That's what I plan on doing— oh, wait. I still have one more thing to do before the Mystic Realm."
"Take your time, brother. We have plenty of time to play the game together." Yu Rou said.
"Anyway, I will talk to you later. I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight, brother. Goodnight, Meixiu."
"Goodnight, Yu Rou."
"Goodnight, Sister Rou."
After the phone call ended, Meixiu returned to her own room to sleep whilst Yuan cultivated.
The following morning, after breakfast, they returned to Cultivation Online.
"Good morning, everybody." Yuan greeted them.
"Did you have a good rest last night? The Mystic Realm won't start until sunrise tomorrow but there will be a gathering later today since all of the participating sects have arrived." Elder Xuan said to him.
Yuan nodded, then he asked, "By the way, I have been wondering, but do you think I can take a closer look at the gates to the Mystic Realm? Or would that be too dangerous?"
"Well, besides some roaming magical beasts in this area, there's really not much danger. And with so many peak experts in this place, even a Spirit Grandmaster magical beast won't be able to do a thing, so you don't have to worry about them." Elder Xuan explained.
Long Yijun interrupted, "It's not the magical beasts we're worried about— it's the other sects. While it's very unlikely that anybody would start a fight here, it's not impossible, and it has happened before."
"Even if we may act friendly to one another, it's all just a public act. Don't forget, we're all competitors fighting for the next highest rank."
"However, if you want to look at the gates, I won't say no. Just make sure you're with one of the sect elders." Long Yijun said.
"I will come with you." Elder Xuan said, and he continued, "And before you leave, change into these clothes."
Yuan accepted the clothes that resembled what sect elders would wear.
"The others think you're a sect elder because of your cultivation base. It would be in our best interest to keep them thinking that until the start of the Mystic Realm." Elder Xuan said.
"Okay. Do you want to come with us, Meixiu?" Yuan asked her.
Meixiu silently nodded her head.
