Although change was happening at the highest levels of the Three Thousand Regions, that did not mean that change at the lower levels had stopped in the slightest.
At the moment, although Xu Yue was unaware of it, a tiny place she had visited just once in the past, the Myriad Heaven's Auction House, was currently undergoing a change in leadership of its own.
...
As she stared at the young and vibrant little girl in front of her, who looked very much like her own past self, Xia Xingyun, who had grown old after a long life, couldn't help but slightly smile, causing the girl to bow.
"Xia Hong pays respects to Ancestor," said the young Xia Hong, who was Xia Xingyun's 13th generation descendant.
"Little Girl, do you know why I've asked you to come here?" asked Xia Xingyun as she stared at the girl, causing the latter to freeze under the heavy gaze for a few moments.
After that, the young girl then shook her head, causing Xia Xingyun to slightly narrow her eyes.
"You're very smart, but you should know better than to try to trick your ancestor, I'm not just a little bit older than you, little girl, tell me your guess," said Xia Xingyun as she stared at the young girl who was currently trying her best to hide her emotions.
In front of some other people, this may have succeeded, but in front of Xia Xinyun, who was both far stronger, and much more experienced than her, Xia Hong's attempts at deception were easily seen through.
Hearing the words of her ancestor, Xia Hong gritted her teeth for a moment before suddenly saying what was on her mind.
"You want me to succeed the Myriad Heaven's Auction House from my mother," said Xia Hong, causing Xia Xingyun to fall silent.
For every second her ancestor was silent, another stone quietly appeared on Xia Hong's heart, making her completely silent as she waited for her Ancestor to speak.
"You're wrong," said Xia Xinyun, causing doubt to appear on Xia Hong's face, but even so, the young girl still carefully listened to the words of her ancestor.
"What I wanted to tell you is that you were wrong, I lied," said Xia Xinyun before suddenly beginning to laugh.
The moment Xia Xinyun saw the look on Xia Hong's face, which was filled with both disappointment and fear, she suddenly began laughing historically.
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As soon as Xia Hong heard the second part of her ancestor's sentence, she suddenly froze.
'Is the person in front of me my ancestor, or is it a child with a bad sense of humor?'
...
In the end, after making fun of Xia Hong for a bit, Xia Xinyun finally became a bit more serious.
"Hong'er, what do you think of your mother?" asked Xia Xinyun as she walked through the halls of the Myriad Heaven's Auction house with the young girl, causing the latter to become silent.
"Ancestor, what type of answer do you want?" asked Xia Hong, causing Xia Xinyun's lips to slightly curl upwards.
"A truthful one," said the old woman, causing Xia Hong to fall into thought for a few moments.
"She's foolish, incompetent, stupid and doesn't know what she's doing," said Xia Hong, causing Xia Xinyun's lips to curl upwards even more.
"That's not really true, your mother is actually very sharp, otherwise I wouldn't have chosen her as the leader of the Auction House back then, would I?"
As soon as she heard the words of her ancestor, Xia Hong fell silent.
"In fact, your mother's like you, you're a near identical copy of her, she just has one tiny problem..." said Xia Xinyun causing Xia Hong to fall into doubt.
"She's too ambitious..." said Xia Xinyun as she stared straight into Xia Hong's eyes, making the girl slightly lower her head.
"If not for her great ambition, Ming'er would have been able to lead the Myriad Heaven's Auction house just like most other inconspicuous leaders from the past...", said Xia Xinyun, causing Xia Hong to fall silent.
Understanding the hidden meaning within the words of her ancestor, Xia Hong let out a faint sigh.
"I understand ancestor..." said Xia Hong, who had not become slightly demoralized.
...
As she looked at the image of Xia Hong, who was currently walking through the Auction House with doubt on her face, Xia Xinyun as well as the middle-aged woman next to her couldn't help but shake their heads.
"Ancestor, was it really necessary for you to give her such a blow?" asked Xia Ming, Xia Hong' mother.
"You don't have to worry, I've chosen and trained every single leader of the Auction House for tens of thousands of years, you think I don't know what I'm doing?" asked Xia Xinyun, causing Xia Ming to lower her head as well.
"I understand Ancestor..." said Xia Ming with a slightly demoralized look on her face.
Seeing this, the older woman couldn't help but let out a faint sigh.
"I know how hard it was for you to act that way when next to your daughter, but you must realize, the tiny losses that you took are just an insignificant sacrifice in the grand scheme of things, as long as Hong'er to overcome her situation, she should be able to reach the same realm as me in due time, giving the Auction House another hundred thousand years of unrestricted development."
"By then, I'm sure that she will have understood your sacrifice," said Xia Xinyun, causing Xia Ming to faintly smile.
"Don't worry Ancestor, If I didn't sacrifice myself for my daughter, who will, I know how things stand very well," said Xia Ming as she stared at the old woman in front of her, causing Xia Xinyun to smile as well.
"It's good that you, it's good that you do..." mumbled Xia Xinyun.
...
Some time later,
After a while, Xia Ming left, leaving Xia Xinyun all alone, staring at the empty room in front of her.
"I hope you forgive her, Hong'er, after all, If us tiny beings want to survive, we have to make sacrifices..." mumbled Xia Xinyun.