The Jia Lie Clan's Attitude

Jia Lie Bi personally escorted Wang Teng to his room. Only after instructing the servants attending him did he leave.

After walking a few meters, he stopped and cupped his hands toward a patch of shadow. Two elderly men emerged from it.

These were the two clan elders Jia Lie Bi had assigned—the strongest two in the clan—specifically responsible for ensuring Wang Teng's safety.

Having learned a lesson from the Liu Xi incident, Jia Lie Bi no longer dared to be careless.

Once everything had been arranged, Jia Lie Bi did not leave in a hurry. Instead, he circled Wang Teng's residence and inspected it carefully.

Only then did Jia Lie Bi hurry toward the front hall.

The hall was brightly lit. Jia Lie Ku and the rest of the clan's core members were all present.

"Clan Head." Upon seeing Jia Lie Bi enter, everyone rose to greet him.

Jia Lie Bi dropped heavily into the seat of honor, waved for everyone to sit, and took a sip of tea.

"Jia Lie Ku, how is the Return Spring Powder refined by Master Wang Teng?" Jia Lie Bi asked.

Master?

Aside from Jia Lie Ku, every other person in the hall wore stunned, strange expressions upon hearing Jia Lie Bi's form of address for Wang Teng.

Even Liu Xi had not been worthy of the title "Master."

Jia Lie Ku cleared his throat and raised a thumb. "The best of the best! If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it at all."

"Is that so? Let me see." Jia Lie Bi rose excitedly.

Jia Lie Ku took a small jade bottle from his robes.

The moment Jia Lie Bi received the bottle, he impatiently removed its cap. A rich medicinal fragrance immediately wafted out.

The scent quickly spread throughout the hall.

The other members perked up, instinctively sitting straighter and craning their necks toward the small jade bottle in Jia Lie Bi's hand.

The same expressions appeared on all their faces.

Shock! Doubt!

Was this still the Return Spring Powder they remembered?

Jia Lie Bi swept his gaze over the others. He knew exactly what they were thinking, so he did not keep it to himself for long and passed the Return Spring Powder in his hand around.

The small jade bottle passed from hand to hand.

A moment later, the jade bottle containing the Return Spring Powder returned to Jia Lie Bi.

"Clan Head, was this really refined by Master Wang Teng?"

"This bottle of Return Spring Powder is of such high quality! The medicinal fragrance is rich and pure, and the liquid is clear and bright!"

"Master Wang Teng's alchemy is streets ahead of Liu Xi's!"

The Jia Lie Clan members present spared no praise or recognition for Wang Teng's alchemical skill.

Smiles spread across every face.

That previous kind of Return Spring Powder had already dominated Wu Tan City. With this even higher-quality version, they would surely be able to steal back the customers from the Xiao Clan's market district.

Jia Lie Bi smiled. "The Return Spring Powder was indeed refined by Master Wang Teng. You can rest assured of that. Jia Lie Ku and I stood guard outside the pharmacy all afternoon."

An uproar broke out.

Having received their answer, everyone grew excited, their faces flushing red.

They were saved! The clan's savior had arrived!

"Clan Head, I have a few words to say." Jia Lie Ku coughed lightly.

Jia Lie Bi raised a hand, pressing it down in the air. Everyone fell silent.

"Master Wang Teng refined a total of eight hundred and ninety-nine bottles of Return Spring Powder in one afternoon, using up half the pharmacy's ingredients," Jia Lie Ku said with a smile.

"What? Say that again?" Jia Lie Bi leapt to his feet in excitement.

As clan head, he knew exactly how many herbs remained in the pharmacy.

Thus, he understood better than anyone what Jia Lie Ku's words meant.

"Half a day? Eight hundred and ninety-nine bottles?"

"He spent less time than Liu Xi, refined more Return Spring Powder, and it is this high in quality?"

"Which one of them is actually the senior brother?"

The members present did not understand the technical details, but they did know how much Return Spring Powder Liu Xi could refine in a day.

They were equally shaken by Jia Lie Ku's words.

With a smile on his lips, Jia Lie Ku waited for everyone to calm down before nodding lightly. "Clan Head, I checked repeatedly. It is absolutely true."

"Wonderful! The Jia Lie Clan is saved!" Jia Lie Bi's brows relaxed as he let out a breath of relief.

Ever since Liu Xi had been killed, Elder Jia Lie Nu had gone missing, and the purchased herbs had vanished, it had felt as though a mountain were pressing down on him.

Even though he knew the Xiao Clan was behind it, he could do nothing.

After all, if they could sneak into the clan unnoticed and kill Liu Xi, if they could make an entire convoy transporting medicinal herbs disappear, then their strength was certainly not to be underestimated.

Jia Lie Bi had constantly been trying to find a way out, but he had no clue where to begin.

Now things were different. Wang Teng had arrived, and with him came hope!

"Clan Head, it is not time to celebrate yet." Jia Lie Ku did not want to dampen the mood, but he had no choice. "The ingredients left in the pharmacy will be exhausted tomorrow."

The joy filling the hall instantly froze, slowly replaced by a heavy atmosphere.

"Should we raise the price of the Return Spring Powder again? This batch is of such high quality that we needn't fear it won't sell. Once we have the money, we can buy more herbs," someone suggested.

Jia Lie Ku shook his head. "The Blood-Clotting Powder sold by the Xiao Clan is not bad either. Those mercenaries are not fools."

After a pause, he sighed. "This way of getting money back is too slow. Everyone, do not forget that the Mittel Auction House no longer supplies us with medicinal herbs."

After selling the Return Spring Powder, collecting the money, and then going to another city to purchase ingredients, at least half a month would pass.

"Jia Lie Ku, you spend a lot of time in the market district. Do you have any good ideas?" Jia Lie Bi asked.

"I have an immature idea," Jia Lie Ku said. "But whether it can be carried out depends on Master Wang Teng."

Jia Lie Bi furrowed his brows. "Explain."

Jia Lie Ku said, "Clan Head, tomorrow, ask Master Wang Teng whether, aside from being skilled at refining Return Spring Powder, he is also skilled at refining other medicinal pills. Preferably pills that benefit Fighters."

"Alright, I'll remember that." Jia Lie Bi nodded, though his brows did not relax. "But the clan does not have much money left. That batch of medicinal ingredients from Telan City was bought on credit."

Jia Lie Ku naturally understood. In a grave voice, he said, "Mortgage the market district. Break the cauldrons and sink the boats!"

The hall erupted in an uproar.

The market district was a mountain of gold for the Jia Lie Clan. Mortgaging it away would shake the clan's foundations if they ultimately failed.

Anxious expressions appeared on some of the members' faces.

"Agreed!" Without waiting for anyone else to speak, Jia Lie Bi made the decision against all objections.

He looked over everyone present. "The Xiao Clan killed Liu Xi and destroyed our herbs. They clearly want to drive us into ruin. They already intend to wipe us out completely. If we do not fight, are we supposed to sit here and wait to die?"

"Clan Head, what if we fail?" someone asked worriedly.

"Foolish! Short-sighted!" Jia Lie Bi pointed at the man and cursed. "Can you not see Master Wang Teng's potential? Even if the Jia Lie Clan loses this battle, as long as we can cling to Master Wang Teng, we may yet have a chance to rise again in the future!"

If Wang Teng's abilities had merely been on par with Liu Xi's, Jia Lie Bi would not have dared to stake the entire clan on him.

But Wang Teng was not Liu Xi!

He was younger than Liu Xi, yet his alchemy far surpassed Liu Xi's.

More importantly, his attitude toward alchemy was one of focus, diligence, and utter selflessness. He was not tempted by the outside world.

A person like that, so long as nothing unexpected happened, was certain to succeed!

If the Jia Lie Clan could forge ties with Wang Teng while he was still weak, their future would surely be glorious!