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[While speaking with Hai Bodong, you spotted an acquaintance.]
A pair of red boots, their heels slightly pointed, clicked against the smooth bluestone pavement, producing crisp, pleasant sounds like a string of beautiful notes.
His gaze moved slightly upward, and a pair of long, snow-white legs entered his view, strikingly eye-catching.
As the clear footsteps drew closer, the beautiful woman who had been faintly surrounded by the crowd finally walked out slowly.
She wore a vivid red, form-fitting brocade robe. The exquisitely crafted, luxurious garment perfectly outlined her wonderful curves. A stretch of dazzlingly white, long legs showed beneath the robe, while a silver belt at her slender, willow-like waist accentuated it to the fullest.
This woman exuded charm and seductiveness from head to toe. Under the gaze of those narrow, peach-blossom eyes, one might unknowingly pull the gold coins from one's pocket and willingly buy overpriced items one had no use for.
[Ya Fei took the initiative to approach and speak with you, thanking you. The astonishing sales in Wutan City had all been because of you.]
Pursing her rosy lips, Ya Fei clasped her hands behind her back and leaned forward slightly.
However, that courteous gesture of thanks caused her brocade robe to dip slightly. At once, a glimpse of a deeply plunging cleavage line that could drive men mad, along with dazzling snow-white skin, appeared before his eyes.
[During your conversation, a pale-faced young man rudely blocked you and Ya Fei.] [You easily sent him flying, only to soon face trouble from the young man's grandfather. Hai Bodong stepped in and settled it.] [After asking Ya Fei, you failed to obtain anything that could restore Soul Power, but you did receive some information.] [The Nalan Clan possessed Seven-Illusion Green Spirit Saliva. Medicinal liquid refined from it was an excellent material for restoring Soul Power.] [At this time, Nalan Jie had been afflicted with Luo Poison and was on the verge of death. He urgently needed an alchemist who possessed a Heavenly Flame.]
"Didn't this just fall right into my lap?" Xiao Yan's expression became animated.
After several simulations, Xiao Yan no longer held any particular hatred toward the underage Nalan Yanran. Her visit to the Xiao Clan had been the Yunlan Sect Master's idea.
Therefore, Xiao Yan naturally harbored no hostility toward Nalan Jie.
[Putting on the Ice Silkworm Mask gifted by Ya Fei, you took Ya Fei's letter of recommendation, assumed the alias Yan Xiao, and headed to the Nalan Clan.] [The second-tier alchemist badge on your chest drew hostile looks from many alchemists. After revealing your Heavenly Flame, you stunned everyone.] [Although you possessed a Heavenly Flame, removing Nalan Jie's poison did not go smoothly and could not be accomplished in one stroke. During this time, the awakened Nalan Jie brought up the marriage agreement. He regarded it as extremely important and reprimanded Nalan Yanran.] [You felt nothing. After the poison removal ended, you left the Nalan Clan. Nalan Yanran gratefully saw you off and showed great interest in you.] [By removing Nalan Jie's Luo Poison, you obtained the Dou Qi of a Dou Wang expert from within the poison, increasing your strength. However, the poison also invaded your body, and you contained it within your finger.] [While browsing the trading and treasure-hunting section of the Alchemist Association, you ran into Xue Mei from Black Rock City. You traded a fourth-tier pill formula for the beast flame of a fifth-tier magical beast, feeling greatly cheated. Just as you were about to leave, you noticed a damaged black jade fragment and exchanged a Qi Recovery Pill for it.] [Afterward, you learned from Otto and Frank that the reward for this Alchemist Tournament was the formula for the sixth-tier Soul Melting Pill, which had remarkable effects on the soul.] [You prepared to participate in the Alchemist Tournament. With your formidable abilities, your results in the internal alchemist assessment were quite good.] [One day, you went to the Nalan Clan as usual to remove Nalan Jie's poison and unexpectedly found the Nalan Clan unusually lively.]
Even Ya Fei was among them.
At this moment, she wore a tight red qipao, and a snow-white fox-fur shawl added a touch of elegance and nobility to her. Her beautiful, captivating curves caused quite a few men in the hall to secretly cast their gazes toward her.
[Just as you were preparing to leave, Nalan Yanran invited you.]
She stood prettily beside a pillar, a faint, gentle smile on her exquisitely beautiful face. She wore the wide-sleeved, moon-white robe that only Yunlan Sect disciples were permitted to wear.
Every now and then, it outlined the graceful curves beneath it. Compared with Ya Fei, her figure seemed no less impressive, though the two possessed entirely different temperaments.
Looking at the current Nalan Yanran, one had to admit that over these past three years, she had indeed transformed from the spoiled, willful girl she once was into a mature woman with an otherworldly air. It would not be strange if such a woman made countless men pursue her.
[Ya Fei introduced you to Teng Shan, the Mitre Clan's patriarch. You chatted with him cheerfully, prompting Nalan Jie to curse Teng Shan under his breath: "Using a honey trap, shameless..."
Nalan Su jokingly said that Nalan Yanran was also a beauty. Nalan Jie curled his lip. That beauty of hers hadn't moved Yan Xiao at all.]
[You chose...] [A: Take off the mask and curse out that old dog Nalan.] [B: Pretend you didn't hear it and see Nalan Jie for what he was—a man who only paid lip service.] [C: Strike fatally while removing the poison and pass it off as a failed treatment.]
"That old dog!"
Xiao Yan had truly thought Nalan Jie was a stubborn old man who would cling to the marriage agreement until death. Who would've thought... while telling Nalan Yanran to honor the agreement, he was also searching for a new genius for her.
Nalan Jie acted like this even at death's door. Xiao Yan could hardly imagine what he was like normally.
With a family like that, and with her teacher, the Yunlan Sect Master, even favoring disciples forcefully breaking off engagements, Xiao Yan suddenly understood Nalan Yanran's actions somewhat.
Surrounded by people like that, it was simply too difficult for Nalan Yanran to grow up entirely upright.
For the sake of the Seven-Illusion Green Spirit Saliva, Xiao Yan silently chose B.
[Not long after, a young man named Mu Zhan attacked you because of Ya Fei. You easily sent him flying, leaving everyone dumbfounded.] [It turned out Ya Fei had acted especially intimate with you today in order to use the opportunity to get rid of Mu Zhan. You didn't take it to heart.] [Just as you finished removing the poison and prepared to leave with Ya Fei, the terrifying aura of a Dou Huang suddenly appeared within the city. You used a flying Dou Technique to investigate, greatly shocking everyone. They instinctively mistook you for a Dou Wang expert capable of forming Dou Qi Wings.] [After witnessing a battle between Dou Huangs, you were introduced by Hai Bodong to Jia Xing Tian, the hemp-robed Elder Jia and guardian of the Jia Ma Imperial Family.] [The Alchemist Tournament began. You passed the first round with some difficulty. The second round appeared simple, but the pill formula concealed an error. You made a desperate gamble and threw all the leftover ingredients from your failure into the pill cauldron.]
By sheer luck, you succeeded and passed the second round. But it was not long before you learned that the high-performing black-robed man in this Alchemist Tournament came from the Cloudrise Empire.