In the examination room, everyone gazed at the gray-robed old woman who could not even withstand Xiao Yan for a single round. Cold sweat appeared on their foreheads. Xiao Yan had struck without warning and didn’t hold back despite the identity of the opponent. Such ruthlessness was indeed rather brutal. Han Li’s face also showed some astonishment. After a moment, he shook his head with a bitter smile, glancing at Xiao Yan. This guy, when he got ruthless, turned out to not be as gentle as he appeared on the surface.
“Manager Han, I apologize for the commotion here…” Xiao Yan’s gaze remained indifferent as he looked at the gray-robed old woman who had collapsed to the ground. He then turned to look at Han Li, and a gentle smile reappeared on his face as he apologized.
Now, seeing that same smile, no one in the room dared to treat him as a harmless lamb to mock, especially the three from the Bai family, who anxiously took a few steps back, fearing that Xiao Yan might suddenly attack them too. The gray-robed old woman couldn’t handle Xiao Yan, so how much less could they…
“A sigh…” Han Li sighed. After a moment, he waved his hand and said, “This matter is partly her own doing, but your methods were a bit too harsh. Alright, Bai Wei, take her away.”
Hearing this, the white-robed, coldly gorgeous woman slightly bit her silver teeth, glanced at Xiao Yan with a frightened expression, then led the other two people from the Bai family to support the gray-robed old woman who was bleeding and unconscious, and they left the examination room in an embarrassed manner. The Qiu family members beside them did not want to linger here either; after a bewildered glance at Xiao Yan, they retreated as well.
“You really do act immediately, don’t you? Though I find it refreshing, the Bai family surely won’t let this go lightly in the future…” Seeing the disheartened group leaving, Ye Zhong couldn’t help but shake his head.
Xiao Yan smiled, “It’s okay. If the Bai family wants trouble, I will accompany them.”
“Heh, it seems like the Ye Family is quite confident about passing the assessment this time. Congrats, Ye Zhong.”
Han Li slowly stepped forward and cupped his hands towards Ye Zhong with a smile.
“Thanks for your kind words, but with this incident, perhaps by the start of the Five Great Families assessment, the Bai Family will send their true elites to squeeze the Ye Family out of the top three…”
Ye Zhong sighed bitterly.
“Mm, that’s quite possible… The Bai Family has been looking down on your Ye Family for a while now, and if they can kick someone while they’re down, they won’t hesitate,” Han Li’s eyebrows furrowed as he nodded. “To my knowledge, the most outstanding among the young generation of the Bai Family is a man named Bai Ying. He’s not yet thirty, already reaching the rank of a middle-seven grade Alchemist, and he’s stayed at that level for nearly three years. If the Bai Family sends him, it’ll be rather difficult for the Ye Family to make the top three.”
“I’ve heard of Bai Ying; he does indeed possess quite a lot of alchemy talent, perhaps more than even Cao Dan from the Cao Family…”
Ye Zhong’s expression grew somber. If the Bai Family truly sent Bai Ying, the outcome might become hard to predict.
Apart from the Ye Family, the other four great families are not easy targets. Each has their fair share of talented alchemists akin to Cao Dan, and these individuals would still hold strong names even in the Alchemists’ Domain. Even with Xiao Yan’s help, securing a top-three spot won’t be a simple task for the Ye Family.
The recent incident has clearly offended the Bai Family, plus previously the Cao Family, so these two families are likely to send troublesome competitors to hinder the Ye Family. As for the Dan Family, although they always stay low-profile, they firmly occupy the top positions during each assessment, and never fall to third place. Thus, the Dan Family will also be a formidable, though hidden, competitor.
That means the top three spots are essentially within the grasp of the Cao, Dan, and Bai Families. For the Ye Family to break in, it wouldn’t be easy.
“It doesn’t help to worry too much. We’re at this point, and it’s all up to fate now…”
Seeing Ye Zhong’s anxious face, Han Li consoled him. His gaze turned to Xiao Yan, and he smiled, “Besides, the helper you’ve invited for your family is no pushover either. Maybe he could even match those talented people from the other three families…”
Hearing this, Ye Zhong also chuckled and sighed, “At this point, we can only put all our hopes on him. The survival of the Ye Family depends on this assessment.”
After spending some time in the Division Tower, Xiao Yan and Ye Zhong bade farewell. Then they wandered idly in the outer area of Saint Pill City. With the Pill Gathering approaching, the influx of people in the city increased dramatically. Not just in daylight, but even at night, the city was bustling with noise. As the crowds grew, the atmosphere naturally became more diverse. Countless oddities and trinkets from all sorts of backgrounds circulated, and among them were real treasures—if you had the eye for them.
Clearly, Xiao Yan’s luck wasn’t good. Despite visiting several trading areas in the outer region, he found no major gains. At most, he recognized a few rare herbs, snatching them quickly before others could get to them.
As the sky darkened, Ye Zhong stopped a somewhat unsatisfied Xiao Yan.
“It’s alright. If you want to hunt for treasures, the Alchemist Trade Fair happening in a couple of days will really open your eyes. Most of the items there are not ordinary. If you’re lucky, you might even find unexpected treasures.”
Hearing Ye Zhong, Xiao Yan reluctantly nodded. Back then, the Heavenly Flame Three Illusionary Changes he obtained was randomly found at a trading zone. But unfortunately, it seemed he had lost that luck.
Seeing that Xiao Yan had calmed down, Ye Zhong led him out of the trading area and back to the Ye Manor.
The night gradually enveloped the city once more, the stars twinkling brightly, painting a splendid picture against the dark heavens.
In the quiet courtyard of the Ye Manor, Xiao Yan stood with his hands behind his back, like a statue beneath the endless starry sky. Judging from the slight frost forming on his head, he must have stood there for a considerable amount of time.
This ascetic-like standing continued for about an hour before Xiao Yan’s tightly closed eyes slowly opened, and his brows furrowed deeply.
“This time, I can no longer enter last night’s state. Sigh, it seems I need a bit of fortune indeed…”
Xiao Yan sighed softly. He had thought that entering that state multiple times would allow him to concentrate more spiritual energy within his soul and maybe even advance to the so-called “Spirit Realm”. By then, refining seventh-grade high-level pills would no longer be a significant challenge, and in his peak condition, he might even attempt refining an eighth-grade pill!
With such power, Xiao Yan could confidently participate in the Pill Gathering and overshadow all the competition.
Sadly, such thoughts were too whimsical. The state he experienced last night could not be summoned. No matter how still Xiao Yan stood, the vast starry sky before him felt as ordinary and mundane as any other.
“It seems I must check out that so-called Alchemist Trade Fair in a couple of days. If I can find something useful for refining my soul, it would be even better…”
Shaking his head, Xiao Yan gave up on the futile effort, let out a wry smile, and turned to head into the room. Since he had decided to attend the trade fair, he must prepare some impressive goods. Otherwise, if he saw something he wanted but could not offer anything equally valuable in return, he would only end up disappointed.
Over the next day, Xiao Yan shut himself in the room, and Little Healer Immortal and the others did not disturb him. From the intense heat seeping out of the room, they guessed he was probably refining something again.
Xiao Yan’s secluded refining session lasted a full day and night. As the first rays of dawn shattered the darkness and illuminated the small courtyard, the tightly shut door finally creaked open.
Exiting the room, Xiao Yan took a deep breath of fresh air, and ran his hand over his ring, a smile spreading across his lips. Time had been tight, but fortunately, he had some stored goods from before. All things considered, he was a man of modest resources.
As Xiao Yan stepped out, Ye Zhong, Little Healer Immortal, the Heavenly Fire Venerable, and Xuan Lan were already standing by the courtyard gate, watching him with warm smiles.
“Hehe, all set?” Ye Zhong asked, smiling at Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan nodded with a laugh and swept his arm grandly. “Let’s go! Let’s see what’s so special about the Saint Pill City’s Alchemist Trade Fair!”
With that, Xiao Yan strode out the gate, heading in the direction Ye Zhong had mentioned the previous day. Behind him, the others exchanged amused glances and followed at a leisurely pace, their interest piqued by the prospect of the trade fair.
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