Yao Lao's impassioned words sank like a stone into the sea, failing to stir so much as a ripple in Xiao Yan's heart. The days that followed plunged Yao Lao, inside the ring, into deep anxiety and self-doubt.
Xiao Yan had truly decided to lie flat.
He no longer thought about the Three-Year Agreement, nor did he ponder how to take revenge on Xiao Yi. It was as though someone had pressed the slow-motion button on his life, making it orderly and... comfortable.
Every morning, come thunder or lightning, he cultivated Dou Qi without fail. His Dou Qi grew steadily at a plainly visible rate, and his foundations were so solid that even Yao Lao could find no fault with them.
Once he finished cultivating, he plunged into his room, set up the Medicine Cauldron, and began refining what Yao Lao considered the most basic, most paltry first-tier pills: Healing Pills and Qi-Restoring Powder.
His reason for refining medicine had also become utterly simple: money. Every few days, he tucked a pile of little jade bottles into his clothes and strolled along the familiar route to the Mittel Auction House in Wutan City.
By now, Xiao Yan was the auction house's most popular supplier of low-tier pills, and each visit earned him a handsome sum of gold coins.
With money in hand, Xiao Yan's quality of life shot straight up. He became a regular at the city's major restaurants. He even dragged Xiao Yi along to try them once, only to have Xiao Yi stare at him strangely for an entire day.
Aside from satisfying his appetite, he spent most of his time with the girl who had always quietly supported him. As his strength improved by leaps and bounds, every young clansman who coveted Xun'er's beauty and tried to