A Second-Rank Alchemist? From Now On, I'll Shoulder the Xiao Clan!

"Wait..."

It seemed daylight had already come.

Watching the sun rise, Xiao Yan smacked his forehead. "Right, I promised to go shopping with Xun'er today. I nearly forgot..."

With that, he sprang to his feet, went back to his courtyard for a bath, then headed out in a fitted black outfit.

Inside the main hall.

The Xiao Clan's elders had stayed up all night, their faces clouded with worry. After all, this was a killing blow aimed at their clan. One wrong move could cost them everything. Forget remaining one of Wutan City's three great powers—the Xiao Clan might struggle even to survive there.

"Yan'er?"

As Xiao Yan pushed open the hall doors, surprise flashed in Xiao Zhan's eyes. He knew his son's strength had recovered, but a One-Star Dou Practitioner was nowhere near enough to deter the other two clans.

"Father, honored elders."

Xiao Yan flashed a brilliant smile. "I've become a One-Rank Alchemist."

Without waiting for their reactions, he clapped his hands, and over two hundred bottles of pills instantly appeared on the hall floor from his Storage Ring.

He had no intention of hiding his cultivation, nor was there any need to.

They would find out sooner or later anyway. He might as well use his own reputation to help the Xiao Clan break out of its predicament.

The title of One-Rank Alchemist carried considerable weight.

Otherwise, Liu Xi alone would never have left the Xiao Clan so worried these past few days.

"A-a-a One-Rank Alchemist?!"

The Grand Elder nearly fell onto his backside, his face filled with shock.

The Second Elder fared little better. He picked up a jade bottle, tipped a pill into his palm, and gently sniffed its medicinal fragrance. His pupils abruptly contracted.

"Th-this... a First-Rank Pill!" the Third Elder stammered beside him.

Strictly speaking, Spring Return Powder did not qualify as a First-Rank Pill. It was merely a pill pellet clumsily mashed together from medicinal herbs. This snow-white pill, however, truly gave off the fragrance of a genuine pill.

Though the elders were not alchemists, they were at least Da Dou Shi and knew what a ranked pill was like.

"A First-Rank Pill?" Xiao Yan froze for a moment.

If he had refined this many First-Rank Pills in a single night, didn't that mean his alchemy skills had already surpassed...

"Exactly!" The Second Elder grabbed the Third Elder beside him, drew his cleaver, and slashed straight across the latter's arm.

Rip! Blood splattered everywhere. Judging by the depth of the cut, he had probably sliced into a major artery.

Not even a scar remained.

The corner of the Third Elder's eye twitched. It hurt terribly, but with the clan's survival at stake, he had no time to worry about anything else and could only endure it.

"I suspect this pill could even reattach a severed arm! Is this really a First-Rank Pill?" Even knowing its effects, the Second Elder was so stunned by the sight that he could barely speak.

The mention of a severed arm made the Third Elder squirm. He stepped back and huddled behind Xiao Zhan, afraid the Second Elder's blade might come down again.

"It is indeed a First-Rank Pill." Xiao Zhan came closer and stroked his chin, his face filled with delight. "But even among First-Rank Pills, its effects must be considered exceptional. After all, although its healing power is astonishing, its effectiveness is limited by Dou Qi. It probably wouldn't do much for powerhouses such as Dou Ling."

"But wouldn't using this to compete with the Jia Lie Family be too wasteful? Yan'er, could you refine something a little worse...?" Xiao Zhan mused.

"Father, this is already the worst healing pill your son can offer. We might as well sell it cheaply. What I've wanted from the very beginning is to crush them with an overwhelming advantage!" Xiao Yan smiled.

Seeing everyone turn their astonished, curious gazes back toward him, he spoke again.

"Please don't ask how I became an alchemist, honored elders. All you need to know is that I, Xiao Yan, am back. From now on, I'll shoulder the Xiao Clan!"

Xiao Yan chuckled, fully revealing the aura of a Two-Star Dou Zhe within him.

Indeed, every use of fire Qi amounted to another form of cultivation. During his final attempt at refining pills, he had successfully broken through to Two-Star Dou Zhe.

If he remembered correctly, Xun'er was probably at this level too.

Of course, that was likely only because she was deliberately suppressing her cultivation. After all, she possessed the golden emperor burning heaven flame controlled by the Gu Clan. Once she refined it, her cultivation would probably skyrocket.

At his words, the elders all burst into laughter, as though venting all the humiliation and oppression they had suffered these past few days.

But after laughing for a while, the Third Elder suddenly realized something. He turned toward the Second Elder with grief and indignation written all over his face. "Why didn't you cut your own arm?!"

The Second Elder said, "Obviously, because it hurts!"

The Third Elder said, "I... you..."

He walked out of the Meeting Hall.

Laughter drifted out behind him, and a smile appeared in Xiao Yan's eyes as well. It had been so long since he had seen his father laugh this happily. Now that he had returned as the Dragon King, he ought to shoulder the burden of this clan.

Restoring the Xiao Clan's glory is my duty, and I, Xiao Yan, won't shirk it!

"Brother Xiao Yan, you seem to be in a very good mood?"

A pale-green figure appeared in Xiao Yan's sight in the distant corridor. Her light-green outfit, with its delicate coloring, lent the girl an extra touch of innocent beauty. Close-fitting trousers hugged her slender, shapely legs.

There was no shortage of beautiful women in this world. He had met plenty in Wutan City alone, but he had never encountered anyone quite like Xiao Xun'er, who always carried a faint air of refined, distinctive elegance.

"Hehe, I am..." Xiao Yan smiled. "I told you, Xun'er. The genius boy I once was is back."

I'm brimming with motivation!

"Hehe, then I wish you an early victory over Nalan Yanran, Brother Xiao Yan." Xiao Xun'er clasped her hands behind her back, her lovely face wreathed in smiles. Her dark hair drifted in the breeze, and the swaying willows beside her made her sunlit smile all the more dazzling.

Wutan City.

The Xiao Family Market.

Xiao Yan strolled along with an easy swagger, greeting the Xiao Clan members he knew, his hands resting leisurely behind his head.

"Xun'er, if anything catches your eye, just take it! Your Brother Xiao Yan has plenty of gold coins now."

"Really?" Xiao Xun'er's red lips curved upward. "Then I want this!" She pointed at a market stall displaying beaded bracelets in all sorts of colors.

"You have excellent taste, miss. These are strung with stone chips from the Magical Beast Mountain Range. They're even said to improve your cultivation when worn. They cost only..."

"Three gold coins!"

Xiao Yan spoke calmly, cutting off the old man's attempt to name an exorbitant price.

"Uh, um..."

The old man stared in disbelief. He clearly hadn't expected this lavishly dressed young man and woman to haggle. And haggling was one thing, but they had slashed his price right down to the bone!

The bracelet's materials alone cost... one gold coin.