"Miss, this is everything I saw yesterday. Would you like me to investigate the source of Xiao Han's unknown Heavenly Flame?"
Kneeling on one knee behind the thirteen-year-old Xiao Xun'er, Ling Ying truthfully recounted what he had seen the day before.
"An... unknown Heavenly Flame whose power is unclear?"
The graceful girl, as ethereal as a green lotus, narrowed her beautiful eyes, her thoughts unreadable.
"Never mind. There's no need to investigate. Everyone has their own secrets, after all. You know very well how Cousin Xiao Han has treated me all these years.
Perhaps a person's outward appearance can be disguised, but the feelings that slip out unintentionally can't be faked."
Xiao Xun'er thought of Xiao Han, who had cared for and protected her like a real older brother all these years. In the end, she gave Ling Ying no orders.
She knew that if she crossed that line, their sibling-like affection would be severed in an instant. From then on, the two of them might never have anything to do with each other again.
"However, Xiao Han is far too unpredictable. I suspect he might be..." Ling Ying opened his mouth, but ultimately couldn't bring himself to say the name of the Ancient Emperor Clan that had wreaked havoc everywhere.
"Cousin Xiao Han is definitely not a Hun Clan spy. You can rest assured of that."
Xiao Xun'er calmly rejected her subordinate's request, but Ling Ying was clearly still uneasy. "But..."
"That's enough..."
A pressure that came from nowhere left Ling Ying struggling to breathe. It wasn't suppression based on strength, but an oppression that originated from the very source of his bloodline!
Her long hair stirred in the windless air. The girl's elegant appearance was gone. Xiao Xun'er turned to look at Ling Ying, who was still kneeling on one knee. Her once-black eyes had turned completely golden, like blazing Golden Eyes!
"I don't want to say this a third time! From today onward, withdraw the surveillance on Xiao Han. Understood?"
Though her body was so petite, she was as overbearing as an exalted monarch!
"Yes."
Ling Ying bowed his head deeply. He had already been cowed by the little girl he had watched grow up.
That little girl who used to cry at the drop of a hat had, without him even realizing it, grown to this point.
The terrifying bloodline pressure receded like the tide. Ling Ying felt a pair of soft hands take hold of his right arm and help him up. He turned to look at her. The Young Miss, who had just been so domineering, had returned to her usual gentle, sweet self.
"Xuner knows Elder Ling only did this because he was worried about her safety, but Xuner isn't a child anymore. So please trust Xuner's judgment, all right?" Like a little girl coaxing someone, Xuner tilted her adorable head as she reassured the guard who had followed her for so many years.
"Young Miss, you really are... Never mind..."
Ling Ying could only smile wryly. This was the first time he had seen Xiao Xun'er act so forcefully. It seemed Xiao Han truly held an extraordinary place in the Young Miss's heart.
Still, as her servant, he couldn't overstep his bounds. He would never dare to privately warn or teach Xiao Han a lesson without the Young Miss's permission.
His mission, assigned by Clan Leader Gu Yuan when he was sent to the Xiao Family to protect the Young Miss, was to be a servant who obeyed his master's every command.
"By the way... Miss, there's one more matter I must report."
As if recalling something, Ling Ying clasped his fists toward Xiao Xun'er. "The hardliners in the clan have been making a fuss lately. They believe that since Miss has been at the Xiao Family for so long, she's just wasting her time.
The people on the Great Elder's side have already started inciting some of the younger clan members. They're saying we should simply send people to seize everyone in the Xiao Family and torture them until they reveal the whereabouts of the Ancient Jade..."
As Ling Ying reported everything, an icy chill spread across Xiao Xun'er's breathtaking face. Flames blazed in her eyes once more. She clenched her fists, gritted her teeth, and an boundless fury burst from her petite frame.
"Good. Very good..."
Xiao Xun'er's voice was calm, but to Ling Ying, she seemed more frightening than he had ever seen her.
After all, calm was merely the sign of a storm about to break!
"I know about this. My father and I will handle it. Elder Ling, you may leave."
"Yes. This subordinate will take his leave."
Ling Ying sighed. Those few young men from the Great Elder's faction had angered the most dangerous person in the clan. They were surely in for a rough time.
Ling Ying felt no sympathy for them, though. They had brought it on themselves.
Xiao Han and Old Man Yao knew nothing about what had happened to Xiao Xun'er.
After voluntarily revealing that he was the culprit behind Xiao Yan's loss of Dou Qi, Xiao Han hadn't reacted with the anger Old Man Yao had expected.
Instead, his new disciple had a different perspective on the matter. "Teacher, do you know? When Xiao Yan was a genius, he was incredibly arrogant. There were barely any people in the whole clan who could get along with him. He made plenty of enemies and hardly any friends. That was practically his daily routine.
That was also why, after he lost his Dou Qi cultivation, everyone turned against him.
Xiao Yan may have lost his Dou Qi and become a cripple over the past two years, but that might not have been a bad thing. Without a heart tempered by hardship, how could anyone endure the climb to the summit?
Besides, these two years of hard cultivation have laid an extremely solid foundation for my cousin. Even my foundation, which I've deliberately worked to temper, might not be as firm as his. If Xiao Yan cultivates again someday, he'll be like a trapped dragon taking to the skies, soaring straight to the heavens."
"I didn't expect someone so young to understand such profound things." Even Old Man Yao, a veteran who had seen countless geniuses, couldn't help marveling at Xiao Han.
Many people could understand these things, but he had never heard of a boy Xiao Han's age expressing such profound ideas.
It seemed he really had found a treasure this time!
After their heart-to-heart, Old Man Yao began to truly trust his new disciple. He continued guiding Xiao Han until he had successfully refined all four First Grade Pill recipes from the Mittel Auction House.
In just a few days, Xiao Han had mastered all four types of First Grade Pills, then ended his seclusion.
Old Man Yao also diligently taught Xiao Han medicinal knowledge each day, generously sharing what he knew about the properties and interactions of all kinds of common herbs.
Mastering four First Grade Pill recipes in a week—Xiao Han's performance had certainly lived up to Old Man Yao's teaching.
"Phew—"
He exhaled a breath of Turbid Qi and opened his eyes. Xiao Han stretched, stood up, and loosened his somewhat stiff body. The room was very hot, so he had taken off all his clothes except for his underwear.
His muscles, built up through years of training, weren't especially bulky, but the strength they held was not to be underestimated.
After each round of pill refinement, Xiao Han would take a break to cultivate. According to Old Man Yao, cultivating Dou Qi after refining pills often produced twice the results for half the effort.
Since he had secretly tampered with Xiao Yan, even when Old Man Yao wasn't inside the ring, it would absorb Xiao Yan's Dou Qi in his place. According to Old Man Yao, Xiao Yan hadn't finished being disciplined yet, so he couldn't be allowed to recover his talent for cultivating Dou Qi.
Xiao Han didn't know what Old Man Yao was planning, but he wouldn't harm Xiao Yan, so Xiao Han couldn't be bothered to interfere.
After getting dressed, Xiao Han sat in the empty room he had turned into a training chamber and carefully tallied how many pills he had refined over the past week.
"2,570 bottles of Qi Returning Pills, 3,003 portions of Blood Coagulation Powder, 2,544 bottles of Energy Accumulation Pills, 2,960 portions of Gold Warehouse Medicine..."
After counting the total of each, Xiao Han nodded with satisfaction.
"Han'er, why did you refine so many low-grade pills?"
Old Man Yao stroked his beard, asking curiously. "Only those Dou Zhe and Dou Masters consider these low-grade pills treasures. If you take them to an Auction House, basically no one will pay them any attention."
"Teacher, you don't know the price of rice until you run the household."
Xiao Han rolled his eyes. "Why do you think I went to all that trouble to refine so many pills? It's so my Xiao Family Market can sell them for us.
With these low-grade pills, our Xiao Family Market can gradually attract cultivators and Mercenary Groups from a thousand li in every direction to come buy pills.
And once more people start coming and going, they'll inevitably bring other business with them.
For example, people looking to sell herbs, Magic Cores, rare ores that can be used to forge weapons, or Heavenly Treasures they happened to come across at our Xiao Family Market."
He stood up and twisted his stiff, aching neck. Smiling, Xiao Han continued, "We might only reap the huge profits from selling pills in the short term, but in time, people will gradually get used to trading at our Xiao Family Market.
When that happens, we can use our financial strength to absorb the other two great families in Wutan City. Then we can establish a massive trading center throughout the city and work with the people from the Mittel Auction House for mutual benefit.
Only then can my Xiao Family truly rise.
And by then, if I've learned to refine Two-Grade Pills or even Grade 3 Pills, the other forces will know that a High-Rank Alchemist is backing my Xiao Family.
Do you think they'll choose to make enemies of us, or make friends with us? The influence an alchemist can command is terrifying..."
After he finished, Xiao Han stuck out his tongue. "Of course, these are just my shallow opinions as your student. You can listen to them as a joke."
"No."
After hearing Xiao Han's plan, Old Man Yao's admiration for him grew even stronger. He reached out and patted Xiao Han on the shoulder. "Han'er, you're truly more outstanding than I ever imagined.
I didn't expect someone so young to be so skilled at building up a force. Your plans are still a little rough around the edges, but most of them are viable. However..."
Old Man Yao changed tack at the end. "The strongest person in your clan is only a Da Dou Shi, right? Without powerful force to keep everyone in line, wealth alone won't be enough to bring others to heel."
"That's exactly what I wanted to ask you for help with, Teacher."
At that, Xiao Han scratched his head, a little embarrassed. "My uncle, Xiao Zhan, is already a Nine Star Dou Grandmaster, just one step away from becoming a Dou Ling.
I'd like to ask you to refine a pill that could help him break through to Dou Ling, so my Xiao Family can have the foundation it needs to rise."
"Hehe, that's no problem. But in return, your Xiao Family will have to help me gather Heavenly Treasures that can restore Soul Power."
Old Man Yao said cheerfully, "I'm still far too weak, after all. It would be ideal if we could find some Heavenly Treasures that could strengthen my Soul Power."
Xiao Han was sharp, and immediately caught the implication in Old Man Yao's words: refining pills for Xiao Han, his disciple, was no problem, but refining pills for the Xiao Family was another matter.
"I see. This disciple understands."
Xiao Han didn't mind. If Xiao Zhan knew that collecting Heavenly Treasures that could restore Soul Power would earn the favor of a High-Rank Alchemist, Xiao Han figured he'd sell himself for money if he had to, just to scour the world for treasures of the soul.
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