"Later, I'll teach you a few tricks, step by step. Then you can win this young lady over outright, and I'll get to enjoy the good life too..."
Blah, blah, blah...
Of course, Apothecary only dared to run her mouth.
With that young lady's background, if she really dared to scheme against her, even a hundred lives wouldn't be enough!
Still, there was nothing wrong with using it to tease her little disciple.
It was only a joke, after all. Surely her words couldn't become a prophecy?
"..." Xiao Yan chose silence.
Xiao Yan knew all too well that if she responded to Apothecary's "random bouts of shameless lunacy," she would only fan the flames.
So the best solution was to leave her hanging. Once she got bored of talking to herself, she would quiet down.
And so, Xiao Yan left her on read, ignored the "noise" in her mind, and strolled along holding Xun'er's soft hand.
Apothecary gradually lost interest as well, and her voice faded away. Presumably, she had gone back to getting her "beauty sleep."
Xiao Yan had no idea why a soul would need sleep, but whenever she couldn't find Apothecary, that was the explanation she gave the next time they met.
Though Xiao Yan suspected she was actually "lurking and watching the chat"...
Wutan City could be called big, but it was also rather small. Even on foot, Xiao Yan and Xun'er reached the "Wutan City Outskirts Airport" in a little under an hour.
Xiao Yan boarded a flying magical beast and said goodbye to Xun'er yet again, for the umpteenth time.
Of course, before leaving, she also asked Xun'er to help look after the Xiao Clan. Naturally, Xun'er readily agreed to such a small request.
The first step of Xiao Yan's training journey... well, it couldn't really be called the first step. More accurately, her "final preparation" before formally setting out was to qualify as a First-Rank Alchemist.
Previously, Xiao Yan had always intended to use an alias and invent an identity, like the "White Robe" she had used during her visit to the Mittel Auction House.
Now, however, she felt there wasn't much need for it.
An alias certainly made things comfortable, but every disguise would fall away someday.
Besides, she couldn't keep living off Xun'er forever. She also had to consider the Xiao Clan's future, and what the Xiao Clan would become.
Xun'er helped her because of their relationship, but lending her a casual hand was about the limit.
She couldn't expect Xun'er to shoulder the burden of raising up the Xiao Clan. Nor could she bring herself to ask.
So, displaying her talent openly would also earn her the attention and regard of certain powers.
An alchemist's greatest advantage was their "connections," and the resources those "connections" brought.
If she became an alchemist under an alias, the "dividends" that status could bring would go to waste.
Thus, if she used her real identity, a fifteen-year-old First-Rank Alchemist might produce some unexpected results.
If she could attract the attention and investment of certain powers, such as the Jia Ma Imperial Family, it would also benefit the Xiao Clan's future development.
At first, Apothecary hadn't really approved of Xiao Yan's idea. After all, the tallest tree caught the strongest wind.
Xiao Yan hardly counted as a tall tree. In Apothecary's eyes, she wasn't even a sapling. But they were in this forgotten corner of the Northwest Continent.
If Xiao Yan shone too brightly, she was bound to draw covetous eyes.
Apothecary didn't even have Dou Zong strength at present. Although protecting Xiao Yan within the Jia Ma Empire wouldn't be difficult, unleashing her full power might attract the Soul Hall's attention.
-Then they would really be in for some fun.
But that was before. Now, Apothecary's attitude toward Xiao Yan was: Girl, do whatever you like.
After all, when the Jia Ma Imperial Family encountered a "genius," their first thought would surely be recruitment. Even if recruitment failed, they wouldn't offend that genius, much less snuff her out.
Otherwise, if they killed every genius unwilling to "submit"... unwilling to join the Imperial Family, the empire would have collapsed long ago.
In particular, a "local" like Xiao Yan, whose background was perfectly "clean," was precisely the sort of "scarce talent" the Jia Ma Imperial Family needed.
And Xiao Yan herself intended to cooperate with the Jia Ma Imperial Family, which made things much easier. The talent she currently displayed was certainly worth their investment.
With the Jia Ma Imperial Family's protection, Xiao Yan, and even the entire Xiao Clan behind her, could develop far better. There were plenty of benefits and almost nothing to lose.
With that being the case, why not?
Moreover, from what Apothecary knew of the Soul Hall, its forces on the Northwest Continent wouldn't be particularly strong;
Likewise, even if they discovered an alchemist with Xiao Yan's enormous potential, they would most likely choose to "fatten her up before slaughtering her," rather than act too soon.
That left even less to worry about. By then, she only needed to recover a little of her strength to resolve the problems here and contact her old friends.
By the time the Soul Hall belatedly realized something was wrong, she would already have taken her little disciple and the Xiao Clan, "family and all," and fled to the Pill Tower.
Once they moved straight into the Pill Tower, what could the Soul Hall do to them?
Of course, none of that was the main reason for Apothecary's "change of heart."
Most importantly, Apothecary knew they now had "someone backing them"-
Apothecary sensed a "tail" trailing nearby: a Dark Attribute Dou Emperor who had been following them at a distance ever since they boarded the flying magical beast.
That aura was all too familiar to her.
Apothecary had plenty of "self-awareness." This "mysterious" Dou Emperor definitely hadn't come for her.
With how much that girl Xun'er cared about Xiao Yan, she could probably protect her even if the Soul Hall truly got involved-so what the hell was there to fear?!
They might as well do whatever was most convenient!
With those worries temporarily put to rest, the only thing she needed to concern herself with was how to put this little girl through her paces.
Why suffer when they could live well?
She would simply have Xiao Yan show off her talent for all it was worth, then accept the Jia Ma Imperial Family's "investment" and get fed without bowing... ahem.
Of course, knowing Xiao Yan, this girl would never take everything for free in the beginning, then kick the Jia Ma Imperial Family aside once she no longer needed them.
So this could be considered helping each other succeed-
The Jia Ma Imperial Family would provide resources and support to Xiao Yan and the Xiao Clan, and once Xiao Yan grew strong, she would repay the Imperial Family. A win-win arrangement.
Wutan City was quite a distance from the imperial capital.
After nearly half a month of travel, Xiao Yan's "private flight" finally landed at the "Imperial Capital Airport."
Hmm, I'll take the alchemist examination at the capital's Alchemist Guild and "accidentally" make a bit of a stir during the test. That should catch the Imperial Family's attention.
Then I won't even have to approach them. The Imperial Family will send someone to try to "recruit" me.
Now that's professionalism.
Of course, she couldn't be too conspicuous, so Xiao Yan temporarily put away the Heavy Xuan Ruler on her back.
After leaving the "airport," Xiao Yan looked around like a country bumpkin. For one thing, she "really-had never seen the world." For another...
She didn't know the way.
"Tsk, an oversight. I should've found a guide at the Mittel Auction House."
Xiao Yan shook her head, walked past the long queue, and headed straight toward the soldier guarding the entrance.
"Excuse me, sir, how do I get to the Alchemist Guild?"
Before you continue