The Yao Clan had risen to prominence through alchemy, and boasted the largest group of alchemists on the continent.
Even when facing the finest alchemists of the Pill Tower in the Central Plains, the Yao Clan's people could hardly hide their pride.
That confidence came from the alchemical talent flowing through their blood. The clan's younger generation often found it easy to master alchemy, and even renowned alchemical masters from the Central Plains were nothing unusual within Yao Clan territory.
But this bloodline advantage only extended to mid-tier alchemists. The Yao Clan held no absolute advantage at the very peak of the alchemical pyramid. After all, bloodlines could not carry someone to the summit of alchemy; sometimes, they became shackles instead.
Alchemists were ranked from first to ninth grade. Ninth-grade masters were further divided into three tiers: Treasure Pills, Mysterious Pills, and Golden Pills.
Xiao Yan had already become a Golden Pill master years ago, when he refined a Ninth-Grade Golden Pill. Though no organization had ever verified his rank, at this level, he no longer needed any one faction to certify it.
He was, in his own right, one of the most supreme figures in the alchemical world—perhaps even the most supreme!
Above Golden Pills lay Emperor-grade pills. Yet throughout the countless ages of the Dou Qi Continent, beings capable of refining them could be counted on one hand.
The opening act of the Yao Clan's Medicine Ceremony was an alchemy contest among the clan's younger generation.
Cauldrons rose across the plaza as the fragrance of medicinal herbs filled the air. Every Yao Clan youth who took the stage was an alchemist of at least sixth grade. Ordinary alchemists watched the spectacle with great interest.
But to Xiao Yan, Yao Lao, and the others, it was like watching adults