Young Master Tang, Wait!

The Scarless Pill was a Second Tier Low Grade pill. Pills of this kind could not aid cultivation and were extremely complicated to refine. Few alchemists were willing to make them specifically, so people knew very little about them.

In his previous life, someone had paid a hefty price to have him refine this pill, and only then had he memorized its Pill Formula. He had never expected it to come in handy now.

The City Lord's Residence.

A tall, powerfully built middle-aged man stood before a window with his hands behind his back. Gazing eastward, he said, "That boy from the Tang Family actually has an intact dantian. Judging by the reports I've received, his cultivation has already reached Origin Tier Eighth Grade."

"That is rather unexpected. It seems Dongxue was deceived by the Tang Family last time."

A woman with a graceful figure sat upright in a chair. Even inside the City Lord's Residence, with no outsiders present, she still wore a thin veil over her face. "Although the dispute between the City Lord's Residence and the Tang Family has been settled, the outcome was never made public. Others still think we simply let the matter drop. I'm afraid someone will try to stir up a fuss over it again."

"Although Tang Yan previously attempted to violate Dongxue, that boy never even touched the hem of her clothes. Besides, he composed a poem last time, and Dongxue settled the matter on behalf of our City Lord's Residence. Even if the outside world whips up another storm of rumors, are we supposed to go back on our word and trouble the Tang Family again?" the middle-aged man asked with a frown.

"Why don't we make the outcome of the previous settlement public?" the city lord's wife suggested.

"No, that won't do. Settling a dispute between two families with a single poem could damage Dongxue's reputation. Let's wait a little longer. If the rumors really get out of hand, we can put some pressure on the Tang Family." The city lord's eyes were deep and inscrutable. "The Liu Family has indeed been getting rather arrogant lately."

"My lord, Tang Yan of the Tang Family requests an audience." While the couple was discussing the matter, a maid entered to report.

"Tang Yan?" Lin Xiao and his wife exchanged glances, each seeing the confusion in the other's eyes. "Did he come alone?"

"Yes."

"What trick is that boy trying to pull now?" After a moment's consideration, Lin Xiao said in a low voice, "Have him wait for me in the front hall."

"What has that boy come for?" the city lord's wife asked curiously.

"We'll find out when we see him," Lin Xiao said, straightening his clothes.

When Lin Xiao arrived in the main hall, Tang Yan was drinking tea. His posture, however, was outrageously casual, with his legs propped up on the armrest.

Lin Xiao's forehead darkened with irritation. Everyone in Cloud City behaved properly and cautiously when visiting the City Lord's Residence. When had anyone ever been so brazen?

Just as he was about to lose his temper, Tang Yan hurriedly set down his teacup, as though he had only just noticed the City Lord. "Oh, Lord City Lord! The moment I arrived at the City Lord's Residence, I felt as comfortable as if I were at home. I let my manners slip without realizing it. Please forgive me."

Hearing Tang Yan's words, Lin Xiao had no choice but to reassess the thickness of his skin. Just how thick did it have to be for him to say something like that?

Still, Lin Xiao did not dwell on this minor detail. Instead, he asked coldly, "I hear your cultivation has already reached Origin Tier Eighth Grade?"

"Well... haha, yes. Your Divine Ability truly is vast, Lord City Lord, and your discerning eyes burn like torches. Even that couldn't escape your notice..."

"How dare you!" Lin Xiao's eyes widened in fury. "When Dongxue visited your Tang Family last time, you spun lie after lie, claiming your dantian had been destroyed! Does your Tang Family think the City Lord's Residence is so easily fooled?" His immense aura erupted, and the overwhelming pressure of a city lord surged toward Tang Yan, blotting out the sky.

Tang Yan felt himself surrounded by an intensely dangerous aura, while towering waves surged through his heart. The city lord's presence was actually this formidable. Could he be an Earth Tier expert?

Having once been a ninth-tier alchemist revered by the heroes of the world, the last thing he feared was an imposing aura. He explained calmly, "City Lord, the Tang Family did not deceive Miss Dongxue. My dantian truly was destroyed, and several renowned physicians in Cloud City can attest to that. It was only because my master took pity on me that he saved my life and bestowed this cultivation upon me."

His master? A flicker of surprise and doubt crossed the City Lord's eyes. After Tang Yan's dantian had been destroyed, he had privately questioned several renowned physicians in Cloud City. Tang Yan's Dantian Palace had indeed been shattered, leaving him unable to cultivate. If this boy had no master, how could his dantian have recovered, and how could he have immediately gained Origin Tier Eighth Grade cultivation?

And who under heaven possessed such miraculous powers that they could rebuild a Dantian Palace?

"Oh? May I ask who your esteemed master is? Could you introduce us?" Lin Xiao asked, feigning calm.

"My master has never cared for fame or fortune. He uses no title, and he forbids me from revealing anything about him. He is also like an idle cloud or a wild crane, wandering the world with no fixed abode. The next time I see him, I will certainly ask him to pay you a visit."

Hearing Tang Yan speak with such solemn sincerity, the city lord could not be sure what to believe. If Tang Yan truly had a powerful master behind him, anyone wishing to move against the Tang Family would have to think long and hard first.

Could this boy have come to warn me not to provoke the Tang Family lightly? At that thought, a cold gleam flashed through Lin Xiao's eyes. If that's the case, your Tang Family has miscalculated.

"Then what brings you here today?" Lin Xiao asked.

"To give you a gift." Tang Yan looked as though this were perfectly natural.

"A gift?" An odd expression appeared on Lin Xiao's face. The world was vast and full of wonders, but in all his life, he had never seen anyone announce that they were giving a gift with such brazen confidence.

"Then please leave. Today isn't a festival, so there's really no need for gifts." Lin Xiao waved a hand and turned, ready to see his guest out.

"This is a Scarless Pill my master gave me. Its grade isn't high—it's only Second Tier Low Grade—but very few people know its Pill Formula. Refining it is even more difficult, requiring numerous steps to succeed, and the success rate is extremely low." Tang Yan sighed. "Since you have no need for it, Lord City Lord, I'll take my leave."

Second Tier Low Grade? Disdain showed in the City Lord's eyes. Although Second Tier Low Grade pills were precious in Cloud City, they could hardly be considered superior pills across the entire Fragrance-Hearing Kingdom. He had never heard of the Scarless Pill, but since it was classified as Second Tier Low Grade, it presumably was nothing particularly rare.

By now, Lin Xiao also had some idea of Tang Yan's purpose in coming: he wanted to offer a pill to earn a favor, so that if rumors really did spread through Cloud City, the City Lord's Residence would not trouble the Tang Family.

Although Lin Xiao had never intended to muster his forces over this matter again, trying to sway the City Lord's Residence with a single Second Tier Low Grade pill was looking down on them far too much.

Having lost interest, the city lord was about to return to his wife when he heard Tang Yan mutter as he neared the front hall's exit, "My master said this Scarless Pill can remove any scar without leaving the slightest trace. It can even enhance beauty and preserve a youthful appearance, though I don't know whether that's true. Since the city lord doesn't want it, I'll take it myself when I have the time."

With his profound cultivation, the city lord naturally had keen hearing. Every word Tang Yan uttered reached Lin Xiao's ears with perfect clarity, and he froze.

Thinking of the scars on his wife's face, of how she had sought treatment without success and spent every day sunk in melancholy, forcing a smile, made his heart ache terribly.

The Scarless Pill could actually remove scars? Without leaving the slightest trace? Why the hell didn't you mention that effect sooner?

At that moment, Lin Xiao could no longer maintain his composure. He called out loudly, "Young Master Tang, wait!"