Overwhelming Advantage

Cao Dan was stunned. Xiao Yan's face was far too young. He subconsciously thought that this might be an old monster who had mastered the art of preserving his youth.

However, the name Xiao Yan... I've never heard of anyone named Xiao Yan among the well-established Eighth Grade Alchemist.

As his thoughts raced, Cao Dan spoke again, "Senior, you may not know this, Pill Tower Five Great Families conduct an assessment every so often."

"The assessment is not difficult; Seventh Grade Alchemist can pass it. However, the Ye Family has failed the assessment twice in a row. If they cannot achieve a top-three ranking this time, they will be removed from the list of the Five Great Families by the Pill Tower."

"Given Xin Lan's level, there's no way she could have achieved a top-three finish."

"I am marrying Xin Lan for the good of the Ye Family. At that time, I will be able to pass the test for the Ye Family in the name of Xin Lan's husband. The Pill Tower does not recognize the master-disciple relationship of the senior."

"Oh." Xiao Yan nodded, indicating that he had heard.

Cao Dan's smile vanished, replaced by a grim expression. "Senior, this is an internal matter of our Pill Tower. Even if you are an Eighth Grade Alchemist, interfering in this matter will likely not bring you any benefit!"

"Hmm." This time, Xiao Yan didn't even bother to nod, only letting out a hum through his nose as a response.

Seeing the atmosphere growing increasingly tense, Gu He, standing behind Xiao Yan, stepped forward and said to Cao Dan, "Since you want to marry my junior sister, you should at least show some sincerity, otherwise how can my teacher feel at ease?"

Cao Dan's expression softened slightly, and he slowly said, "Of course I came with sincerity. In addition to helping the Ye Family pass the test, I have also prepared an Eighth-tier Beast Flame and a seventh-grade high-level Pill Recipe for Xin Lan."

As soon as Cao Dan finished speaking, Xiao Yan smiled and beckoned to Xin Lan, saying, "Xin Lan, come here. I'm in a good mood today, so I'll give you an Eighth Grade Pill Recipe to play with."

Cao Dan's expression stiffened, and before he could say anything, Gu He chuckled and tried to smooth things over:

"Hehe, please don't be offended, Cao Dan. My teacher is a generous person and never stingy with his disciples. He usually gives away all kinds of good things without batting an eye."

"For example, my junior sister's Origin Fire Seed is the same as mine Green Lotus Prosperous Fire, which is formed by fusing Earth Fire Lotus Seed with two Eighth-tier Beast Flame. Its quality is comparable to a real Heavenly Flames. Compared to an Eighth-tier Beast Flame, well, I can only say that there are no plans to change the flame for the time being."

"And the Pill Recipe, well, these things you've put out... are rather embarrassing."

Cao Dan's face turned pale and then red, his anger rising as Gu He taunted him.

"Young Master Cao Dan, you don't need to worry about the assessment. Our Ye Family is now working for Xiao Yan, and Xiao Yan will help the Ye Family as the head of the Ye Family." Before Cao Dan could speak, Ye Zhong finally made up his mind.

"Fine! Fine! Fine!" Cao Dan laughed angrily, "Your Ye Family, as one of the Five Great Families of the Pill Tower, actually submits to outsiders! You have utterly disgraced the Pill Tower! I will definitely report this to the Pill Tower Giant and have your Ye Family stripped of its status!"

"Since you've decided to follow me, then break through to the Eighth Grade as soon as possible. Seventh Grade Alchemist is nothing." Xiao Yan ignored Cao Dan's barking and Ye Zhong: "You're already Seventh Grade High-level Alchemist. Breaking through to the Eighth Grade after cultivating your soul technique won't be difficult."

Cao Dan was speechless under the weight of Xiao Yan's extravagance. He looked to the gray-robed old man beside him for help, but only saw the old man shake his head. "They have two Dou Zun, and they are stronger than me."

"Farewell!"

Cao Dan left, but he couldn't take his face with him.

After Cao Dan left, Ye Zhong approached cautiously and asked, "About the soul cultivation technique..."

"Once my teacher comes out of seclusion, you can ask him for it—the soul cultivation technique I am currently practicing was created by a Half-Emperor. If your cultivation level is too low, it is easy to fall into the dream world. I will teach it to you after you break through to the Spirit Realm and become Eighth Grade Alchemist."

After the minor incident, Xiao Yan continued refining Pills for himself, and then went into seclusion to cultivate his Prosperous Fire.

The Pills is called the Supreme Pill. Its effect is to enhance strength, but it is relatively mild and will be completely absorbed by the body within the next one or two years, transforming into cultivation.

For Xiao Yan, this Pills was enough to help him break through to the Dou Zun Realm. Moreover, with the Fallen Heart Flame, which was comparable to the Spirit Realm Advanced, to help temper his Dou Qi, Xiao Yan even saved time on cultivating Dou Qi.

Unlike Xiao Yan's leisurely pace, the entire Ye Family was busy – the Pill Gathering approaching, and many people wanted to refine a powerful flame in order to achieve better results.

Eighth-tier Beast Flame is rare, but Seventh Grade Beast Flame is relatively easy to collect in the Central Continent. Many Sixth and Seventh Grade Alchemist brought several Seventh Grade Beast Flame to the Ye Family, hoping to obtain a Prosperous Fire.

However, the Nong Yan Jue is extremely difficult to cultivate, and the steps for Prosperous Fire Transformation Technique are even more complicated. Even if one has cultivated the Five Wheel Leaving Fire Method, a fire control technique, only High-grade Sixth-rank Alchemist and above in the Ye Family can independently create the Prosperous Fire.

Therefore, in order to obtain the Prosperous Fire as soon as possible, Alchemist from all over the country began to go to great lengths to curry favor with the Ye Family and try to "jump the queue".

The Cao Family also attempted to sanction the Ye Family, submitting a complaint to the Pill Tower Three Giants, trying to eliminate the Ye Family, a family that had brought shame to the Pill Tower Five Great Families, and to confiscate the Ye Family's Secret Technique and bring them under the control of the Pill Tower.

However, the Pill Tower Three Giants did not approve, and Xuan Yi even rebuked the Cao Family instead.

This seems to send a signal that the Dan Family, Bai Family, and Qiu Families, three of the Five Great Families, have also begun to cooperate with the Ye Family to purchase the Prosperous Fire.

The Ye Family was once again riding high, no longer the bottom-ranked family it once was among the Five Great Families.

Before they knew it, the assessment time for the Five Great Families arrived, and Ye Zhong and Xiao Yan set off for Sacred Pill City.

Although Sacred Pill City is called a city, it is far from being comparable to ordinary cities. In terms of area alone, dozens of Ye City cannot match it.

Pill Saint City is divided into the inner region and the outer region, and the group's destination was naturally the inner region.

Xiao Yan, Xiao Yi Xian, and Gu He all need to pass the Alchemist Pill Tower and obtain a Pill Tower -certified Alchemist level badge before they can participate in the Pill Gathering —without Pill Tower certification, they cannot participate in the Pill Gathering.

The certification process at the Pill Tower differs from that of other places, with extremely high standards. This is why the level badges issued by the Pill Tower are universally recognized throughout the continent and hold absolute authority wherever they are placed.

There are many people participating in the Alchemist certification at the Pill Tower, but it was only through Ye Zhong's connections and the use of a special testing room that Xiao Yan and his two companions were able to avoid queuing.

The four of them arrived at an extremely spacious room through a special passage. The walls of this room seemed to be made of a special material, making it completely inaudible from the noise outside.

At this moment, several people were already waiting for the assessment in the room, and they naturally looked at the four newcomers, including Xiao Yan.