"He wasn't much older than us, yet in just a year or two, this guy had suddenly gained the qualifications to contend with Elder Wan Huo and the others... Sigh."
Below the plaza, quite a few young members of the Yao Clan had gathered together. However, these normally proud youngsters were now gazing at the sky with utterly defeated expressions.
Even Yao Tian, who had achieved the best ranking in the Pill Codex earlier, wore a gloomy look, filled with unwillingness. The enormous gap between him and Xiao Yan was now impossible to ignore, even if he wanted to.
Beside Yao Tian, Yao Ling, who stood at the center of the crowd with a frosty expression, was also staring at the composed young figure in the sky with her beautiful eyes. This was the first time in all these years that she had seen someone of their age able to compete in pill refining with veteran masters of the alchemy world such as Elder Wan Huo. Even a favored daughter of heaven from the Yao Clan like herself had no choice but to admit that she was inferior to him in such an achievement.
The reason these younger generations reacted so strongly was still tied to Xiao Yan's strength and status.
Logically speaking, Xiao Yan and Flowing Cloud were not far apart in age. Both could be considered young people of the same generation as them.
Yet when Flowing Cloud displayed such ability, people only sighed in admiration and no one compared themselves to him. But the moment Xiao Yan revealed his pill-refining prowess, people immediately began making sarcastic remarks. The reason, naturally, was the difference in their statuses.
Flowing Cloud's current status could be said to place him on equal footing with the Yao Clan's chief. In some respects,