’I just don’t know if this Heaven-Reaching Pavilion is the same one I knew in my past life.’

The Martial Artist looked at Ye Xuan, speechless. "You don’t even know that? The Heaven-Reaching Pavilion is the largest auction house in our Sky Empire. It’s not just in the Sky Empire, either—they have branches all over the Dream Realm Plain. They have a very powerful background."

Ye Xuan thanked him and followed the Martial Artist’s directions. Sure enough, he soon saw a magnificent building towering over the street in the distance. In front of the building was a huge plaza, bustling with people coming and going. It was an incredibly lively scene.

Looking up, a golden hammer emblem entered Ye Xuan’s sight.

"So it really is the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion."

Between his past and present lives, aside from the Alchemist Association and the Soul Master Tower, the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion was the first familiar organization Ye Xuan had encountered. He couldn’t help but feel a wave of emotion.

Ye Xuan found a hidden spot and changed into a black cloak. After pulling the wide hood down to hide his entire face in shadow, he slowly walked toward the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion before him.

Under the watchful eyes of several fully armed guards at the entrance, Ye Xuan walked straight into the auction house without pausing. The moment he stepped inside, the scorching heat from outside seemed to hit an invisible wall, and a cool sensation instantly spread through his body.

His gaze swept across the main hall of the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion. The auction house was divided into several sections: a lavish hall for auctions, reception rooms for guests, and a back hall for collecting items after the auctions concluded.

At that moment, the hall was abuzz with staff members from the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion rushing about, preparing for the next day’s auction. A group of guards patrolled back and forth in uniform attire, their eyes gleaming sharply, exuding an extremely capable aura.

The strength of these guards was astonishing—every single one was a Tier Five Peak Martial Sect expert.

In the Liuyun Kingdom, Martial Sect masters were considered the strongest experts, yet here in the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion, they were mere guards. This not only made Ye Xuan sigh with emotion but also gave him a clear understanding of the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion’s power.

"Sir, the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion’s annual auction doesn’t start until tomorrow. The pavilion is closed today. If you’re here to attend the auction, please come back tomorrow."

Just then, a beautiful woman in a long robe approached Ye Xuan and spoke in a clear, pleasant voice.

She had seen Ye Xuan standing at the entrance looking around, so she came forward to remind him.

"I’m not here for the auction," Ye Xuan said faintly. "I have an item I’d like to consign for tomorrow’s auction. Bring your person in charge."

"Consign an item for auction?" The attendant was clearly taken aback. "In that case, please wait a moment. I’ll go inform a steward."

After speaking, she hurried over to a middle-aged man in the hall who was wearing the uniform of a Heaven-Reaching Pavilion steward and said something to him.

After listening for a moment, the middle-aged man followed the attendant over to Ye Xuan. He sized up the cloaked figure for a second, his brow furrowed, and asked faintly, "I hear you have something to auction. What is it? Take it out and let me see."

The man’s tone was arrogant, and he had an air of superiority.

Ye Xuan glanced at him. "Are you in charge? Bring me your supervisor."

Although the man wore a steward’s uniform, it was the lowest-ranking kind in the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion. At most, he was in charge of miscellaneous chores. He definitely wouldn’t have the authority for something like an auction, so Ye Xuan couldn’t be bothered to talk to him.

However, Ye Xuan’s words infuriated the steward. "Sir, this is the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion, and I am a steward here! If I can’t make the call, who can? If you want to auction something, hurry up and take it out. If not, then get lost! Who do you think you are, skulking around my Heaven-Reaching Pavilion?"

Ye Xuan’s gaze turned cold. "You’d better watch your mouth."

"Heh." The steward’s eyes widened as he shouted, "Sir, you dare to be this arrogant in my Heaven-Reaching Pavilion? Do you have any idea what you’re doing? So what if I cursed you out? This is the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion! Forget cursing you, even if I hit you, you’d just have to take it!"

As he spoke, the steward actually reached out to shove Ye Xuan.

The steward considered himself worldly. Seeing Ye Xuan in a cloak with his face completely hidden by the hood, he immediately knew something was off about this person. Either there was a problem with his identity or a problem with the item he wanted to auction. Thus, he felt quite confident.

But before his hand could even touch Ye Xuan, a sharp pain erupted in his chest. He was sent flying as if riding the clouds and mist, then fell heavily to the ground.

"You dare hit me?" The steward stared at Ye Xuan in disbelief, then let out a squeal like a stuck pig. "Someone! Someone’s causing trouble in the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion!"

He didn’t need to shout; the guards in the hall had already noticed the commotion.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Several streaks of light flashed and converged, surrounding Ye Xuan in an instant.

"You’re just in time! Hurry and seize this guy! He dared to attack someone in the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion! He’s showing no respect for our reputation! He didn’t just hit me—he hit the golden name of the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion itself!"

Seeing the guards, the steward immediately started wailing as if he’d just seen his own parents.

"Sir, you’ll have to come with us."

The lead guard captain stared coldly at Ye Xuan.

Ye Xuan frowned. ’What a hassle. Can’t even consign an item in peace.’ Just as he was wondering how to resolve the situation, a commanding voice suddenly rang out.

"What’s going on here?"

A middle-aged man, also dressed in a steward’s uniform, walked over. His uniform was the same style as the previous man’s, but his cuffs were embroidered with a gold trim that one wouldn’t notice without looking closely.

Upon seeing this man, the wailing steward immediately stopped shouting and said hastily, "Steward He, this person came in demanding to see our Heaven-Reaching Pavilion’s person in charge and said he wanted to add an item to tomorrow’s auction. His attitude was extremely arrogant. This humble one thought, ’The items for our annual auction were decided long ago; how can we just add something on a whim?’ But who would have thought that this guy would get angry right away? He not only ignored the rules of the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion but also attacked this humble one!"

"Ow, my chest... I think my bones are broken. I wonder if my heart ruptured. If it affected my Heart Acupoint, that would be a huge problem! The Heart Acupoint is so important! At this rate, will I even be able to reach the Nine Heavens Martial Emperor realm in the future?"

As he said this, the steward quickly clutched his chest and began to groan in pain.

Steward He looked at Ye Xuan with cold eyes and said in a frigid tone, "To raise a hand in our Heaven-Reaching Pavilion... do you have any regard for our reputation?"

Ye Xuan sized him up and sneered, "I have been to many Heaven-Reaching Pavilions. Since when could a mere Seventh-level steward represent the reputation of the entire organization? A Fifth-level Steward like you saying something like that is barely acceptable, but even then, you can only represent the reputation of this specific branch."

"Hm?" Steward He’s expression suddenly turned serious. He said in a deep voice, "Who exactly are you, sir?"

The stewards of the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion are divided into seven ranks, with Seventh-level being the lowest and first-level being the highest.

However, this was the ranking system used by the continental headquarters of the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion. Here in the Dream Realm Plain, in order to blend in and flatter the noble status of the local Martial Artists, the names had been deliberately changed. They were divided into three tiers: regular stewards, silver-level stewards, and Golden-level Stewards.

He himself was a Golden-level Steward, the highest rank among all the stewards in the Sky Empire’s Heaven-Reaching Pavilion.

Otherwise, if they followed the original ranking system of the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion, he would be nothing more than a Fifth-level Steward.

If the nobles of the Sky Empire were to find out that the highest-ranking steward in their empire was merely a fifth-level one, they would inevitably feel slighted.

Therefore, when Ye Xuan stated his and the other steward’s ranks so matter-of-factly, Steward He was instantly shocked.

Very few Martial Artists in the Dream Realm Plain knew of this ranking system. Typically, only an expert from a higher plane would be able to speak of such things.

"You don’t need to know who I am. I just came here to auction an item. But then a lowly Seventh-level steward tried to attack me. Was I not supposed to fight back?"

Ye Xuan said with a look of disdain, "You’ve all tarnished the great reputation of the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion."

"Sir, the items for our Heaven-Reaching Pavilion’s annual auction were all set in advance," Steward He said seriously. "For you to come in so abruptly is also somewhat against the rules. It’s only normal that our steward would react this way."

Ye Xuan scoffed, "This is the first I’ve heard of the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion having such a rule. The Pavilion has always done business by accepting any treasure that comes its way. What, are the rules here different from every other Heaven-Reaching Pavilion?"

"If that’s the case, then I was blind to have come here. Farewell."

With that, Ye Xuan turned to leave.

Steward He’s expression flickered, and he secretly sized up Ye Xuan, but he couldn’t see through him.

An ordinary Martial Artist, regardless of whether they were in the right or wrong, would suffer a miserable fate for hitting someone in the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion.

But facing Ye Xuan, Steward He was at a loss.

The person before him was dressed in a black cloak, his age and appearance hidden, but he stood there with the subtle aura of a person of great importance.

Furthermore, his understanding of the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion was profound, not at all like something someone from the Dream Realm Plain would know.

’Could this person be a Martial Artist from a higher plane, from outside the Dream Realm Plain?’ Steward He couldn’t gauge Ye Xuan’s depth and didn’t dare to act rashly.

Seeing Ye Xuan actually striding toward the exit, Steward He knew he couldn’t just let him leave.

"Sir, please wait! Please wait! It’s true that our branch of the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion has no precedent for adding a treasure to a scheduled auction. However, it’s not entirely out of the question. One of our appraisal elders happens to be in the pavilion right now. Perhaps he can appraise your item. As long as the treasure is of a high enough grade, adding it to tomorrow’s auction isn’t impossible."

Steward He was, after all, a veteran. He couldn’t ascertain the other party’s identity, but he also couldn’t just let Ye Xuan walk away.