Sowing Discord

Xiao Yan looked utterly speechless. "Young Master Nalan, you really do have quite an imagination. Tell me, what would I gain by deliberately pretending to be a good-for-nothing?"

"Hmph!"

Nalan Sheng snorted coldly. "Xiao Yan, are you still trying to fool me at this point?

"If I'm not mistaken, some alchemist must have taken an interest in you after you broke through to One-Star Dou Zhe.

"But most alchemists have eccentric personalities. They never take disciples lightly and usually set a few tests for prospective disciples.

"The test your master set for you must have been to pretend to be a good-for-nothing with only third-stage Dou Qi.

"A test like that could temper your character, allowing you to remain calmer and more composed when refining pills in the future.

"And since you can already refine a second-rank medicinal preparation like the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, I imagine you've been secretly studying alchemy for the past three years, haven't you?

"No wonder you dared to declare, 'Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river-don't bully a young man just because he's poor,' when Yanran came to break off the engagement. So you were actually an alchemist all along."

Hearing this, Ya Fei and the others looked at Xiao Yan with a little more wariness.

Nalan Sheng's analysis made perfect sense, after all, and Xiao Yan had deliberately disguised himself as a good-for-nothing at an age when he should have been brimming with youthful pride.

Even when Nalan Yanran came to break off their engagement, Xiao Yan had not revealed that he was an alchemist. Such self-restraint was downright frightening.

If Nalan Sheng had not happened to uncover Xiao Yan's true identity today, who knew how many more years he would have kept pretending to be a good-for-nothing?

"..."

Xiao Yan could not help finding Nalan Sheng's words amusing.

If he really were a Second-Rank Alchemist, he would certainly have revealed his identity back then and delivered a resounding slap to Nalan Yanran's face.

Yet even as Xiao Yan found it amusing, a trace of suspicion arose in his heart.

Had Yao Lao truly been asleep for the past three years, or had he been awake all along?

If Yao Lao had been asleep the entire time, that meant he had turned Xiao Yan into a good-for-nothing unconsciously.

But if Yao Lao had been awake all along, then he had deliberately turned Xiao Yan into a good-for-nothing to temper his character.

Considering that his cultivation had remained at third-stage Dou Qi rather than Yao Lao draining every last bit of it, Xiao Yan felt the second possibility was more likely.

Although there was nothing unusual about Yao Lao secretly testing a disciple, Xiao Yan still felt somewhat uncomfortable.

Leaving aside all the sneers and ridicule Xiao Yan had endured over the past three years, Nalan Yanran coming to break off their engagement was, by itself, a hurdle he could not get past.

If Xiao Yan had not become a good-for-nothing, even if he had advanced by only two stars each year, he would already have been a Seven-Star Dou Zhe.

In that case, even if Nalan Yanran had wanted to go to the Xiao Clan to break off their engagement, the higher-ups of the Misty Cloud Sect would never have agreed.

Yet thanks to Yao Lao's meddling, Xiao Yan had not only lost a talented wife but had also brought shame upon the entire Xiao Clan.

What frightened Xiao Yan most was the thought that, if he had failed Yao Lao's test and given up on himself instead, wouldn't his entire life have been ruined?

Thus, Xiao Yan could no longer trust Yao Lao without reservation as he had in the original story. Instinctively, he had become a little more guarded.

[Ding! The host successfully sowed discord between the destined male protagonist and Yao Lao, damaging their master-disciple relationship. Reward: 5,000 villain points!]

Hearing the system notification ring in his ears, Nalan Sheng could not stop the corners of his mouth from lifting.

"Miss Ya Fei, since the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid has already been auctioned off, please give me the money. I have something to attend to."

At this moment, Xiao Yan wanted only to find out whether Yao Lao had deliberately turned him into a good-for-nothing. Naturally, he was in no mood to waste time with Nalan Sheng and the others.

"Young Master Xiao, the proceeds from the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid auction have already been transferred to this card. After deducting the five-percent auction fee, the total comes to forty-seven thousand five hundred gold coins. Please keep it safe."

Ya Fei had originally intended to give Xiao Yan a VIP card, but with Nalan Sheng watching beside her, she chose to handle everything strictly as business.

After all, Nalan Sheng and Xiao Yan were not on good terms. If Ya Fei tried to win Xiao Yan over right in front of Nalan Sheng, she would certainly displease him.

Even though Xiao Yan had displayed considerable potential, potential was still only potential. It could not compare to a behemoth like the Nalan Family.

After taking the Purple Gold Card Ya Fei handed him, Xiao Yan left the VIP Room without so much as looking back.

"To think the Xiao Clan's third young master hid himself so deeply. He fooled everyone in the Jia Ma Empire."

Watching Xiao Yan leave, Ya Fei first shook her head in wonder, then turned to Nalan Sheng and asked, "Tell me, Young Master Sheng, are you feeling any regret now?

"Since there was nothing wrong with Xiao Yan's cultivation talent, he should at least be able to reach the Dou Wang realm in the future. And with him being an alchemist as well, he might even become another Pill King someday.

"If Old Master Nalan learns about this, I'm afraid he really will break both your legs."

"Hehe~ Forget Dou Wang. Even if Xiao Yan becomes a Dou Emperor someday, so what?"

Nalan Sheng slipped an arm around Xiao Yi Xian's willow-slender waist and said proudly, "Our Xian'er has the makings of a Saint!"

"Uh..."

Ya Fei and Gu Ni were left speechless. They knew nothing about Xiao Yi Xian possessing the woeful poison body, so naturally, they did not believe she had the makings of a Saint.

Several days later.

With Nalan Sheng spreading the word, sometimes openly and sometimes subtly, the secret that Xiao Yan was deliberately pretending to be a good-for-nothing while actually being a Second-Rank Alchemist swept through Wutan City at astonishing speed.

At first, few people believed it. Only when the Xiao Family Market began openly selling several kinds of first- and second-rank pills, declaring that Xiao Yan had refined them all, did everyone have to believe it.

In truth, the pills the Xiao Clan sold had all been refined by Yao Lao. He had simply given Xiao Yan all the credit.

Yao Lao had done this because he wanted to remove the barrier in Xiao Yan's heart.

Ever since Nalan Sheng had exposed the secret that Yao Lao had deliberately turned Xiao Yan into a good-for-nothing, a barrier had formed between Xiao Yan and Yao Lao.

Although Xiao Yan showed no outward sign of blaming Yao Lao, Yao Lao had secretly observed him for three whole years, after all, and understood

his personality very well.

If Yao Lao did not pull out the thorn in Xiao Yan's heart soon, it would only burrow deeper and deeper, eventually leaving a hidden danger that would be difficult to eliminate.

Besides, word that Xiao Yan was an alchemist had already set Wutan City abuzz, so Yao Lao simply went with the current and presented him as an alchemical genius.