It's Not Like I'm a Bad Person

Sensing the aura emanating from Xiao Yan, Apothecary raised her eyebrows slightly.

One-Star Dou Shi... early stage.

Honestly, she had expected the Flame Mantra not to advance to the Mystic Rank; she had also expected Xiao Yan to make a solid breakthrough to Dou Shi.

Still, Xiao Yan's performance had given Apothecary a small "surprise."

The energy within the Ganlan Water Flame was more than enough to let Xiao Yan advance another star or two as a Dou Shi.

Yet Xiao Yan had "sealed" all that energy inside the beast flame rather than rashly absorbing and refining it.

Being able to stay true to herself in the face of power, neither greedy nor arrogant, and knowing when to stop left Apothecary very satisfied.

Even good things could not be consumed indiscriminately. No matter how fine a tonic was, once it exceeded what the body could withstand, it would instantly become a deadly poison.

Had Xiao Yan's soul power and physical constitution not been strong enough, Apothecary would have intervened and helped her suppress the Ganlan Water Flame as soon as she reached the peak of Nine-Star Dou Zhe.

Otherwise, forcing a breakthrough with a beast flame would likely have meant playing with fire and burning herself alive-the moment she broke through to Dou Shi, the beast flame would run wild, and then everyone could sit down to her funeral feast.

Someone like Xiao Yan was just so easy to look after.

"Girl, rest for a few days first. Once you've dealt with matters here, it'll be time to leave the imperial capital and go out to gain experience-this sort of leapfrogging cultivation has its drawbacks, so there's nothing wrong with being cautious."

"If your Dou Qi becomes unstable, you won't be able to refine a heavenly flame even if you obtain one later."

Xiao Yan nodded in agreement with Apothecary's advice.

So it was safer to stop taking shortcuts and cultivate with her feet firmly on the ground-though, of course, she could supplement it with some of Apothecary's pills. She couldn't just grind away unaided, could she?

"Oh, right. Later, have a look around the auction house and places like that, and see whether they have anything that can improve soul power. People might come calling over the next few days, too. Handle them as you see fit..."

Naturally, Xiao Yan nodded and took Apothecary's words to heart.

She also knew that the next few days probably wouldn't be very peaceful.

Sure enough, the following day, an elderly woman at the Dou Ling level arrived at the courtyard where Xiao Yan was staying.

This elderly woman was the "housekeeper" Jia Xingtian had arranged for Xiao Yan. On the surface, she was responsible for Xiao Yan's meals and daily needs, but in reality...

She was there to handle the emissaries who came bearing gifts, hoping to build a good relationship with Xiao Yan before she left the imperial capital.

After all, the Jia Ma Imperial Family was not the only faction to have learned that Xiao Yan was a "fifteen-year-old Second-Rank Alchemist."

Thus, the Jia Ma Imperial Family had been keeping its guard up against a certain sect.

As for the other factions, even knowing they couldn't compete with the Imperial Family and the Misty Cloud Sect, they would still try to befriend Xiao Yan.

Of course, it was already no secret that the Imperial Family and the Alchemist Guild had sent people to "deliver gifts" to Xiao Yan.

So some people and factions would ostensibly send gifts to Xiao Yan while actually using the opportunity to curry favor with the Jia Ma Imperial Family.

In fact, most of them were doing just that.

The elderly woman clearly knew this as well, so she screened out those trying to flatter the Imperial Family beforehand and brought only four gift lists for Xiao Yan to review.

These four factions were the Jia Ma Empire's three great families, along with a certain sect that was at odds with the Imperial Family.

All three great families expressed their desire to befriend Xiao Yan and sent quite a few things.

Although the Mu Family's gifts were not the most valuable, they were certainly the most numerous. Their desire to "cling to a powerful thigh" early was especially obvious.

After all, the Mu Family had originally been the empire's fourth great family and had only entered the top three after the Xiao Clan's decline. Compared with the other two "established families," however, it still fell somewhat short.

Nalan Jie was the empire's Lionheart Marshal, and his grandson was the Misty Cloud Sect Chief Disciple.

The Mittel Family had an "Ice Emperor" who had been missing for years, his fate unknown. But even without the Ice Emperor, they still had a Dou Wang patriarch holding the fort, and their wealth rivaled that of a nation.

Thus, as a "newly risen faction," the Mu Family's wish to cling to the Xiao Clan's thigh at this point was hardly difficult to understand.

Upon hearing that Xiao Yan of the Xiao Clan had "the makings of a Dou Emperor" and was also an Alchemist, the Mu Family immediately took action, sending people over with a considerable amount of cultivation resources.

With Apothecary around, Xiao Yan had no use for these resources, so she planned to send them back to the Xiao Clan later.

The Mittel Family, meanwhile, had given her a VIP card with an extremely high spending limit at the Mittel Auction House.

Or rather, as long as Xiao Yan wanted something and the Mittel Auction House had it, they could give it to her for free. They could even throw in the chief auctioneer as a bonus.

They probably genuinely didn't know what would make a suitable gift, so they simply left the choice to Xiao Yan and let her pick for herself.

This did indeed suit Xiao Yan's wishes. After all, with Apothecary's supplies and the Imperial Family's "investment," she lacked nothing ordinary. Having more would only be wasteful.

Hmm, I'll visit the Mittel Auction House later and see whether they have anything that can improve soul power. Still, Xiao Yan didn't have particularly high hopes, since such things were difficult to find.

As for the Nalan Family...

Well... Nalan Jie had probably regretted it until his guts turned green.

Losing a future Dou Emperor as his granddaughter-in-law was something he could still console himself over. After all, it wasn't as though Nalan Yan had no hope of becoming a Dou Emperor.

But a granddaughter-in-law who was an Alchemist and certain to reach the Dou Emperor level in the future...

Nalan Jie clearly wanted to ease relations and even wished to bring Nalan Yan along for a visit, but they had already been to Wutan City once.

Besides, Xiao Yan might not welcome Nalan Yan. If an old man like him stepped forward directly, wouldn't that be a little... "using seniority to bully a junior"? No, that wasn't quite the right way to put it.

In any case, it would simply feel rather strange.

So, after thinking it over at length, Nalan Jie wrote Xiao Yan a letter, first repeatedly criticizing Nalan Yan's willful behavior, then apologizing to her.

As for compensation, the Nalan Family had truly spent a fortune this time, sending plenty of Mystic Tier cultivation methods, Dou Techniques, rare medicinal herbs, and the like.

After all, on the Dou Qi Continent, these things were worth far more than gold coins.

And Xiao Yan cheerfully accepted the Nalan Family's "compensation."

Why turn down something free? Besides, quite a few of these "compensation gifts" probably belonged to our Xiao Clan in the first place.

Back before the Xiao Clan declined, it too had a Dou Wang expert holding the fort.

The Xiao Residence had also occupied a prosperous district of the imperial capital where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold. The clan had possessed some reserves, too. Earth Tier methods aside, it certainly would have had Mystic Tier cultivation methods and the like.

Yet once her grandfather passed away, the Xiao Clan, whose strongest member was only a Da Dou Shi, had retreated into its shell in Wutan City, with barely even a few Mystic Tier cultivation methods and Dou Techniques left.

Meanwhile, the Xiao Clan's elders from her grandfather's generation were still alive and well, which meant the clan's decline had been peaceful.

In a world where strength reigned supreme, merely "declining" rather than being "carved up" was highly suspicious.

Then who had kept the other factions from "carving up" the Xiao Clan, that juicy piece of "fat meat," back then?

Xiao Yan had once guessed that it might have been Xun'er, but then realized that Xun'er certainly couldn't have acted openly in the Jia Ma Empire. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to leave no traces whatsoever.

So that possibility was unlikely.

The other factions had no reason to protect the Xiao Clan, either.

Then the Nalan Family, which had been on "friendly terms" with the Xiao Clan, was probably the one that had "protected" it back then. Of course, they had also taken most of the Xiao Clan's treasured possessions at the time.

Xiao Zhan and the elders certainly wouldn't have objected. Losing wealth to avert disaster-they would simply have treated it as a "protection fee."

So was there anything wrong with me taking back my family's belongings now?

Just returning things to their rightful owner. Nothing wrong with that.

It's not like I'm a bad person. I didn't even demand extra "emotional distress compensation" from the Nalan Family over the broken engagement.

Tsk, another day of being moved by my own goodness.