As Xiao Yan finished speaking, everyone present looked at each other in bewilderment, their questioning gazes sweeping back and forth across the room, but they found nothing.
Just as everyone looked on with suspicion, a hoarse laugh suddenly rang out from the crowd.
"Hehe, sir, you are indeed an extraordinary person. No wonder even the Lin Clan is unwilling to easily clash with you."
As the laughter subsided and the crowd dispersed, a short, stout old man dressed in an alchemist's robe slowly walked forward and stood before Xiao Yan.
"If it weren't for that girl, they wouldn't have left so easily."
Upon hearing the words of the short, stout old man, Xiao Yan smiled noncommittally, while his gaze fell upon the chest of the old man's alchemist robe.
Immediately afterward, Xiao Yan's expression tightened slightly. On the old man's chest was a badge shaped like Alchemist Badge. On the nine lines of the badge, three beads resembling pills were exquisitely carved. This represented the old man's identity as a Third-Tier Alchemist.
When Xiao Yan looked at the latter, the old man clearly noticed, and immediately chuckled at Xiao Yan, cupping his hands in a smile:
"I am Zhuang Zhong, the president of the Alchemist Guild. I am truly sorry that I was unable to intervene in time to stop what happened earlier."
At the end of his sentence, the short, stout old man smiled and apologized to Xiao Yan. His smile was amiable and did not imply any other meaning.
"Hehe..."
Xiao Yan stared at the short, stout old man opposite him. Their eyes met, and they understood each other without saying a word.
Xiao Yan could naturally guess why the latter didn't make a move.
If the girl hadn't been so disliked, this fat man probably wouldn't have stood by and watched the spectacle.
When the surrounding alchemists saw the short, stout old man, their faces quickly broke into respectful smiles. The old man, in turn, smiled and swept his gaze over each of them before finally returning to Xiao Yan.
"It seems you were squeezed in by the crowd outside, and since you have nowhere else to go for the time being, I would like to invite you for a chat. Would that be alright?"
Zhuang Zhong had already sensed something from the moment Xiao Yan entered the Alchemist Guild, and of course, Xiao Yan was no exception.
Hearing the Zhuang Zhong words, Xiao Yan lowered his eyelids slightly, then his eyes flickered, and he smiled slightly, saying:
"Judging from the situation outside, it seems we really don't have many hours left to leave."
The old man smiled, gestured for Xiao Yan to proceed, and said with a smile:
"Please!"
Xiao Yan Xiao Yan n't stand on ceremony. He took a light step and walked forward, followed by the old man who led the way.
"This must be your first time visiting Xuan City, sir."
One tall and one short, one fat and one thin, the two walked side by side towards the depths of the Alchemist Guild. On the way, the old man suddenly asked a question.
Xiao Yan remained noncommittal, but the latter took this as a presupposition, chuckled, and continued speaking.
"Is it for the Fire Plume Flower?"
This time, Xiao Yan's expression couldn't help but shift slightly, a glint flashing in his eyes before he regained his composure. However, even so, he couldn't escape the discerning eye of the old man beside him.
"Heh, I knew it."
The old man chuckled, his smile appearing rather cunning, but Xiao Yan didn't seem to care.
"Does the president know anything about the Fire Plume Flower?"
The crowd around them had gradually disappeared, and without the disturbance of outsiders, the conversation between the two naturally became a bit more straightforward.
When Zhuang Zhong heard Xiao Yan's words, he shook his head helplessly and sighed:
"No, the Fire Plume Flower is far too precious. Information about it has been completely blocked. Until the auction, no one will receive any information whatsoever."
Upon hearing this, a look of disappointment flashed across Xiao Yan's face. He hadn't expected that information about the Fire Plume Flower was so tightly controlled, making it difficult to even find in Xuan City.
"Since there's no information, doesn't anyone doubt the authenticity of this Fire Plume Flower?"
Aside from the name, there was absolutely no other valuable information, which would arouse suspicion in anyone.
"Hehe, there should be no doubt about that. As far as I know, the organization that is holding this auction is a mysterious chamber of commerce. Although I don't know exactly who they are, I have heard about their reputation. It is said that since they started holding auctions, they have never auctioned any substandard items. That alone is enough to convince people."
The portly old man didn't hide anything from this information that most people already knew. After all, given the person in front of him was Third-Tier Alchemist, obtaining such information would be incredibly easy if he truly wanted to.
Upon hearing the old man's words, Xiao Yan couldn't help but show a look of surprise. He hadn't expected that there would be such a mysterious force in the Western Region. But it was good, if what Zhuang Zhong said was true, then the information about the Fire Plume Flower should be accurate.
Thinking of this, Xiao Yan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Then, suddenly, the two of them stopped walking slightly. When they looked up, they realized that they had appeared in front of a door.
"Hehe, please come in, sir!"
Zhuang Zhong took out a special jade tablet, opened the heavy stone door in front of him, and then smiled at Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan smiled and nodded, then entered the room without hesitation.
The room was much dimmer than the outside world. There were no windows or lamps, and apart from a few old pieces of furniture, there was nothing else. I was penniless, and the only source of light I could see was a section of the roof that pierced through the floor in the center of the room, through which the blazing firelight shone into the room.
This lid is the same lid of the giant medicine cauldron that Xiao Yan saw when he first entered the Alchemist Guild. Judging from this lid, Xiao Yan and Zhuang Zhong are probably standing directly above this medicine cauldron. Their position is the highest point inside the Alchemist Guild.
"Please have a seat, sir!"
Zhuang Zhong smiled at Xiao Yan and said, Xiao Yan nodded. The two then took their seats.
"Hehe, sir, you are truly a prodigy among your young age. To have reached the level of Third-Tier Alchemist at such a young age really makes us old folks feel ashamed!"
After the two sat down, the short, stout old man looked at Xiao Yan and couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly.
"I only succeeded by luck, senior, why should you belittle yourself?"
"Hehe, luck isn't something everyone can have. Otherwise, wouldn't all those treasures on the continent have fallen into other people's hands long ago? How could they have been passed down to later generations? Besides, even if you're lucky, everything on this continent is about strength. Without strength, no matter how lucky you are, in the end you'll just be doing the work for someone else. As the saying goes, 'If you want to wear the crown, you must bear the weight.' You're not only lucky, but your strength is also second to none!"
As he finished speaking, a glint of light flashed in the old man's eyes, and at the same time, his gaze towards Xiao Yan held a hint of admiration.
"You flatter me, senior!"
Xiao Yan cupped his hands in a fist salute to the old man and smiled.
Seeing this, the latter laughed and then stopped dwelling on the topic, saying instead:
"Does the gentleman know the identities of those two men from earlier?"
The old man was referring to Lin Ran and Xu Yao.
Xiao Yan was slightly taken aback, then shook his head, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to the old man, and said:
I hope someone can answer my question.
He nodded Zhuang Zhong, then took a deep breath before saying:
" Lin Ran is the young master of the Lin Clan, the most prestigious family in Xuan City. His status is extraordinary. The Lin Clan is also related to both the Huo Clan and Bai Clan. Of course, in reality, it's just a master-servant relationship. The Lin Clan has made many offerings to these two families to curry favor, which is why they have achieved their current status. It can be said that Xuan City is the Lin Clan's territory. Even my Alchemist Guild has to give way to them."
Upon hearing that the Lin Clan was actually related to the Huo and Bai families, Xiao Yan couldn't help but frown slightly. However, there was no point in thinking about it now. He might as well make the best of it. If the previous matter could be let go, that would be fine. Otherwise, Xiao Yan was not someone who could be bullied.
A sharp glint flashed in Xiao Yan's eyes before he regained his composure. The old man in front of him chuckled softly and then continued speaking.
"Furthermore, before we talk about that girl, I would like to ask you a question, sir. You are a member of the Alchemist Alliance, aren't you?"
Zhuang Zhong stared intently at Xiao Yan before him. This was a question he had wanted to ask for a long time. In his opinion, Third-Tier Alchemist of such a young age could probably only be cultivated by the Alchemist Alliance. This was consistent with Lin Quan's conjecture. After all, this mysterious Third-Tier Alchemist was far too young. No matter how they speculated, they couldn't help but think of the Alchemist Alliance.
However, the reality is often the opposite of the conclusion. When Xiao Yan saw that the old man was staring straight at him, he was slightly taken aback, but then he chuckled and shook his head.
"I am not a member of the Alchemist Alliance."
Upon hearing Xiao Yan's words, the old man's eyelids twitched, and a look of surprise flashed across his face. He never expected that Xiao Yan would deny it so vehemently.
It's truly unbelievable that Third-Tier Alchemist of such a young age isn't a member of the Alchemist Alliance.
An alchemist's level is not only determined by the strength of their Spiritual Strength, but more importantly by their mastery of alchemy techniques. There is only one way to cultivate alchemy skills: to refine a large number of pills and gain experience in the process to improve one's alchemy skills.
The method is simple, but it requires an enormous amount of financial resources. The medicinal materials needed to refine the pills alone are astronomical, and ordinary forces simply cannot supply them. Even some small and medium-sized families could never cultivate such a young Third-Tier Alchemist.
Looking across the entire Western Region, the only force truly capable of cultivating Third-Tier Alchemist is probably the Alchemist Alliance. As for the Four Great Sects, although they also have Third-Tier Alchemist, they are all elderly men with graying temples, and none of them have ever heard of a young Third-Tier Alchemist like the person in front of them.
"Hehe, senior, there's no need to worry. I am not from the Western Region, I have no roots here, and I have not joined any faction."
Just as Zhuang Zhong was Zhuang Zhong with suspicion and guessing about the person in front of him, Xiao Yan smiled calmly, interrupting the latter's thoughts. At the same time, Xiao Yan also breathed a sigh of relief. He really didn't dare let this old man continue to guess. His identity as Third-Tier Alchemist had already spread outside. Who knew if this old man would think of him? If his identity was exposed, it wouldn't be a good thing for Xiao Yan.
Upon hearing Xiao Yan's words, the old man seemed to wake from a dream, quickly regaining his senses. He gave an embarrassed smile and continued speaking:
"Sir, the reason I asked you if you were a member of the Alchemist Alliance was for two reasons. I won't go into the first one, but the second is that Xu Yao is indeed a member of the Alchemist Alliance."
"She's from the Alchemist Alliance?!"
Xiao Yan's pupils narrowed slightly, his eyebrows twitched, and a look of surprise appeared on his face. Although that girl had good talent, she was only Ninth-Grade Alchemist, not to mention her unkind nature. How could she have entered the Alchemist Alliance?!
"Or perhaps it's more accurate to say that her grandfather was a member of the Alchemist Alliance."
Then, Zhuang Zhong spoke up to explain.
Hearing this, Xiao Yan finally understood. No wonder that little girl acted so strangely; it turned out she had a grandfather in the Alchemist Alliance as her backer.
"In the past, his grandfather wouldn't have been anything special. But after rumors spread that not long ago, that guy actually had the good fortune to break through to the Third-Tier Alchemist, and only then did he start living a very comfortable life."
He spoke Zhuang Zhong and solemnly, his words carrying a hint of disdain. She was just Third-Tier Alchemist who had just broken through to the third level. Relying on the Alchemist Alliance behind her, she was already so indulgent towards her juniors. Just look at that girl, her elders probably weren't much better.
However, Xiao Yan's expression changed slightly the moment Zhuang Zhong finished speaking; his eyes narrowed, and he seemed to be deep in thought.
"Same surname Xu... and a recently advanced Third-Tier Alchemist... could it be him?"
Zhuang Zhong Zhong's words reminded Xiao Yan of someone: the Second-Tier Alchemist he had met at the Thousand Medicine Pavilion when he first arrived in Yan City. The latter had claimed that he was about to become Third-Tier Alchemist. At that time, because of Murong Qianqian, Xiao Yan had even attacked him. But now, they had unexpectedly run into each other again.
"Is the person you mentioned named Xu Songming?"
Xiao Yan's sudden words startled the Zhuang Zhong expression before him, who raised an eyebrow and asked in surprise:
"What, sir, do you recognize him?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan smiled slightly, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes, and said in a deep voice:
"Hehe, we not only know each other, we've practically been on some level!"