C12 Jia Anan

The waitress bowed slightly and greeted with a warm smile, "Hello, Miss Anan."

Being a waitress, she instinctively knew who to impress. A talent like Jia Anan commanded immense prestige throughout Cloud Peak City, and she was certainly someone worth ingratiating oneself with. Zhuang Xing, on the other hand, despite being the young master of the Zhuang family, was quite feeble, and she couldn't help but look down on him. She attended to him purely for business reasons, though she secretly held him in contempt.

At that moment, many onlookers turned their attention to them.

"Isn't that Jia Anan from the Jia family?"

"Jia Anan is the Supreme Expert among the youth of our Cloud Peak City. Rumor has it she's broken through to the Spirit Wheel Stage Level Two Heaven."

"Yes, that's her."

"Her aura is definitely stronger than the rest. It looks like she really has reached the Spirit Wheel Stage Level Two Heaven."

"To achieve such a breakthrough at her age, her potential is truly boundless."

Hearing the crowd's conversations, Jia Anan swelled with pride. She stood tall, exuding an air of superiority, seemingly indifferent to everyone around her.

"Zhuang Xing is here too."

"I heard the Zhuang family chose him to represent them in the Hidden Dragon Ranking. Only they would make such a decision."

"They passed over the prodigy Zhuang Guai and instead chose someone who's only reached the Qi Refining Stage Level Two Heaven for the Hidden Dragon Ranking Great Competition. The Zhuang family has really lost face this time."

"They say he's been cultivating since he was ten, and after five years, he's only made it to the Qi Refining Stage Level Two Heaven."

"Zhuang Xing participating in the Hidden Dragon Ranking Great Competition? He'll be knocked out in the first round."

"It's bad enough that he's embarrassing the Zhuang family, but he's also bringing shame to Cloud Peak City. I recall the last competition's lowest record was someone at the Qi Refining Stage Level Nine Heaven, and we were the laughingstock of numerous cities. If other cities find out Cloud Peak City is sending such a failure to compete in such a prestigious event, the mockery will be relentless!"

Everyone wore a look of scorn. Zhuang Xing's notoriety as a good-for-nothing was infamous in Cloud Peak City. Even an average person with the most basic Human Rank martial skill could reach Qi Refining Stage Level Two Heaven in five years.

"Zhuang Xing, it's you."

Upon turning around and spotting Zhuang Xing, Jia Anan remarked, "Are you also looking to purchase Jade Spirit Ganoderma to boost your cultivation quickly? Let me tell you, with your lackluster talent, all the elixirs in the world won't change who you are."

Zhuang Xing gave her a cold, dismissive glance. Jia Anan was neither attractive nor skilled. He couldn't fathom what his grandfather saw in her to have chosen her as his betrothed.

"Trash, how dare you look at me that way!"

Jia Anan was unexpectedly enraged by Zhuang Xing's contemptuous look. She was the prodigy of Cloud Peak City's younger generation, having reached Spirit Wheel Stage Level Two Heaven at her young age. Among her peers in the city, she stood alone at this level, making her the city's most exceptional talent.

"Miss Anan, are you here to buy Jade Spirit Ganoderma?" the waitress inquired with a beaming smile, her demeanor towards Jia Anan a stark contrast to that shown to Zhuang Xing.

"Yes, bring out the Jade Spirit Ganoderma," Jia Anan commanded with the air of someone accustomed to wealth.

"Right away, Miss Anan."

The waitress hurried off to fetch it.

Jia Anan looked down at Zhuang Xing with a sneer and taunted, "Trash, can you even afford Jade Spirit Ganoderma?"

The crowd erupted in laughter. Zhuang Xing was unlikely to have much money.

Zhuang Xing simply shrugged, maintaining his composure.

"Miss Anan, here is the Jade Spirit Ganoderma you requested. The price is twenty-five thousand silver pieces."

The waitress presented the Jade Spirit Ganoderma to Jia Anan with a gracious smile.

Jia Anan exploded in anger, "Why is it so expensive? It's actually 25,000 silver!"

The waitress's smile stiffened momentarily. The Jade Spirit Ganoderma was priced at a steep 25,000 silver taels.

"I'll take this Jade Spirit Ganoderma."

Zhuang Xing promptly produced the money.

Jia Anan's pretty face flushed with heat as she saw the gleaming banknotes. She had just been scoffing at Zhuang Xing for not being able to afford the Jade Spirit Ganoderma, but now he was laying down the cash with ease.

The others present also showed signs of surprise. Twenty-five thousand silver taels was no trifling sum. For a clan like the Jia family, their total annual income was only between two and three hundred thousand silver taels. With such funds needing to support an entire family, discretionary spending was limited. As the top prodigy of the Jia family, Jia Anan herself only received twenty to thirty thousand silver taels each year.

The waitress, initially taken aback, quickly regained her composure and eagerly handed the Jade Spirit Ganoderma to Zhuang Xing.

"Young Master Zhuang Xing, here you are."

Her face beamed with a smile, and she was inwardly delighted. High-priced items like the Jade Spirit Ganoderma rarely sold, but when they did, the commission was substantial. Though she had little regard for Zhuang Xing, profit was always the priority. As long as Zhuang Xing could pay, his status was of no concern to them.

Everyone watched Zhuang Xing with astonishment. It seemed only a fool would spend such a fortune on a Jade Spirit Ganoderma.

"Furthermore, I'd like to purchase other items such as Iron Pear Blossom, Heart Grass, and the like."

Zhuang Xing rattled off a list of over ten different materials. As he named each one, the crowd around him was taken aback. The combined cost of these materials would certainly exceed a hundred thousand silver taels.

Since when had Zhuang Xing become so wealthy? Had he perhaps plundered the coffers of a major family?