Chapter 9: The Opening Curtains of the Medicine Competition
The entire Yao clan was busy making preparations for the Medicine Competition.
It was a magnificent ceremony during which other major powers with good relations to the Yao clan or that were led by the Yao clan would be invited to attend. Many of the world’s outstanding figures would emerge from this crop of elite disciples from the Yao clan.
The Yao clan’s Medicine Competition was not just a special occasion for the Yao clan, but it was also the best opportunity for others to obtain rare and high ranking medicinal pills.
Normally only a fixed amount of the Yao Clan’s high tier medicinal pills would be sold out of the clan. Only during the Medicine Competition would this restriction be lifted, allowing the needs of all the powerful people outside the clan to be met.
Even half a month before the competition, all kinds of transactions had already started within the clan. Every powerful group brought out all kinds of rare materials, and using various techniques they put out banners over the streets that listed what kind of medicinal pills they desired as well as what they had to offer.
The pills that were being requested were extremely rare. But right now within the Yao clan, any pill could be bought under the prerequisite that you had something that could move the Yao clan’s members.
The powers that were qualified to enter the Yao clan to do business were definitely extremely distinguished. If they were to bring out an item from the Yao clan to the rest of the world, although they might not be able to say it was invaluable and one of a kind, but it was a definite fact that it was a rare and hard to obtain item.
All kinds of pills could be exchanged for in the Yao clan at this time. Not just high ranking pills; even third tier pills or lower, as long as they were in sufficient quantities, would also be of great demand.
One reason why the Yao clan would open its door and behave this way was in order to strengthen its relationships with the other powers. But even more importantly it allowed them to obtain all kinds of rare and precious medicinal ingredients.
Although the Yao clan was strong, its forces were still limited. Only by borrowing the strength of the world’s other powerful factions could they gather all the different rare and precious materials that they needed.
Yao Lan was strolling through the streets as he browsed the banners for medicinal ingredients he was interested in. Since this was the Yao clan, any materials that dared to be taken out as a trade were naturally rare. And while the clan treasury had most such things in stock, they required merit points in order to obtain them.
“Elder Yao Lan!” Suddenly a voice came from behind him.
Yao Lan paused and turned around, “Oh, senior brother Liao, what do you need?”
“Can we have a talk over here?”
The person who had come up to talk to him was Liao Yuntu, the patriarch of one of the clans that had adhered itself to the Yao clan. Currently he had an eager inviting expression.
“Haha, ok.” Yao Lan nodded. This kind of situation was something he had already met several times today.
Normally Yao Lan would politely decline these private conversations. If you wanted to do business with him, then you had to follow the rules. However the Liao family had offered tributes and often paid many bribes to the Yao clan. Logically, Yao Lan could not refuse to give him just this little face.
As expected, once they arrived to a secluded area with no people around, Liao Yuntu said, “I know that the esteemed elder Yao Lan is extremely busy. Even asking you to come here is overboard, speaking straightforwardly, so please forgive me.”
“Senior brother Liao, your words are very many, but I still don’t know what your Liao family requires. If it’s not something too big I can still help you a bit.”
Yao Lan was under the impression that the Liao family wanted to purchase a large quantity of low grade medicinal pills that were more common, such as those that could nourish or heal the body. Although such pills were not rare outside the clan, but when it came to quality, alchemists outside the Yao clan could not compare. Due to how high the quality of the Yao clan’s pills were, even low tier medicinal pills could be sold for great profit if in bulk quantities.
However most people in the Yao clan would disdain to refine such things. Only the young disciples in the clan school would refine a large quantity of them. Such pills were kept by the clan school and put into storage, never to be used. Yao Lan was the one in charge of them and so he was already used to be people coming to him to buy those pills.
In order for the clan school’s disciples to improve, they naturally had to practice refining a large quantity of lower tier medicinal pills. Rather than just leaving those pills in storage, it was better to sell them if it could improve the clan’s relationships.
“Cough… rumor has it that a so-called Violet Flame Pill appeared in this time’s Great Competition. I wonder just how exactly this Violet Flame Pill compares to the Azure Flame Pill?” asked Liao Yuntu, his words causing Yao Lan’s expression to change slightly.
“Elder brother Liao, you are interested in this Violet Flame Pill? It’s just an ordinary third tier medicinal pill, and in addition it can’t be refined in bulk quantities.”
“Haha, be that as it may, but I’ve heard that elder Yao Wanhuo had great praise for this pill, saying that it could help flame attribute Dou Qi cultivators to break through bottlenecks. I don’t want for it for my personal benefit; I just want to help my disappointing son. He has already been stuck as a nine star Dou Shi for ten years… this might be his only chance.”
Yao Lan pursed his lips. Although the Yao clan would engage in business with the outer world, they refused all parties who wanted to privately come into contact with the clan’s elite disciples. This was to maintain the core clan’s purity. They couldn’t let their disciples be subject to semi-understood foreign thoughts that could ruin their foundations.
In this kind of situation where the clan tended to disapprove, the Liao family who wanted to meet the alchemist behind the Violet Flame Pill, Yao Chen, had no choice but to go through the clan school.
Coming into private contact wasn’t necessarily forbidden. The Liao family had relations to the Yao clan after all, and they could count as secondary clan members. However, at most the clan might turn a blind eye; they wouldn’t endeavor to allow such contact. If there was a problem, then the Liao family could end up becoming enemies with the Yao clan, and that would be entirely not worth it for them.
The reason Yao Chen could suppress the semi-destroyed ancient formula that Yao Tong had restored was because the Violet Flame Pill had the effect of breaking through bottlenecks. Although it wasn’t a certainty, it was still a chance. So despite the rare origin of the Moon Suppressing Wind Pill, it was still inferior to the Violet Flame Pill.
Even if it was more extraordinary, it was still just a medicinal pill used for combat. But the Violet Flame Pill had both uses, with its ability to increase fighting strength as well as an unknown chance to advance levels. Although the Yao clan had all kinds of medicinal pills that could help break through classes, to refine those medicinal pills required a high price, and only a couple pills were released out of the clan every few years. After all, just the demands of the clan members themselves could not be met with the yearly production rate of such pills.
Not only was refining such pills difficult with low success rates, but the most important factor was that refining medicinal pills that could break through classes required a large amount of rare medicinal ingredients.
In comparison, the Violet Flame Pill only offered a slight chance to advance. But even just a chance was invaluable.
With just a discreet inquiry, anyone could find that the Violet Flame Pill was unexpectedly exclusive to Yao Chen and that there was no other person who was capable of refining it.
If you wanted to obtain the Violet Flame Pill, then you had get into contact with Yao Chen as soon as possible. With the Liao family’s currently strength, hoping to obtain a Violet Flame Pill in a short period of time would become extremely difficult if news of Yao Chen continued to spread, and it would solely depend on whether Yao Chen was willing to refine it.
The Yao clan was a collective whole, but at the same time each person was their own individual. The clan wouldn’t force any clan member to sacrifice anything they had. A clan that forced their clan members to sacrifice things they didn’t want to was definitely not a clan that could survive a thousand years.
“That’s also fine; I will give you a referral for this opportunity. However, what you need to prepare in exchange should also be obvious.”
“Don’t worry elder Yao Lan. I will definitely not disappoint you.” Liao Yuntu joyously kept repeating his thanks as he left.
Yao Lan was no longer in the mood to resume wandering the streets after that.
During this whole period, Yao Chen had not gone to the clan school, and Luo Shu had said that he was in seclusion.
He was a bit disappointed in how Yao Chen had gone into seclusion. After obtaining the qualifications to attend the Medicine Competition along with his Violet Flame Pill, Yao Chen had already entered the eyes of the higher level Yao clan members. In the future he would be able obtain quite a few special resources, so he should first finish up his foundation from the Triple Flame Agglomerating Flower Technique as fast as possible and then obtain a higher quality cultivation technique from the clan.
If Yao Chen was smart, then at this time he should be making a lot of movements and connections in order to get more benefits for the future. However, for whatever reason, Yao Chen ended up going into seclusion, causing people to believe he was acting arrogant.
No matter how Yao Lan wondered about this, he would never guess that Yao Chen’s goal wasn’t about his future prospects, but on obtaining the Medicine Competition’s first place, shouting out his family name, and carving his name into the Clan Monument.
The qualifications for the Medicine Competition had some people celebrating while others were humiliated. Due to Yao Chen appearing on the list, Yao Yun had been squeezed out of the quota. This kind of enmity was something that Yao Yun couldn’t forget in the slightest, and his head was full of poisonous thoughts.
“Senior brother Feng, it’s my incompetence.” At this time, Yao Yun’s head was lowered as he stood before a lofty, handsome youngster. The youngster’s face was like white jade, and his slender eyes seemed to have a slight smile to them.
This white faced youngster was the Yao Clan’s younger generation’s most well known figure, Yao Feng, who had advanced to Dou Shi when he had been only sixteen.
“No matter. Originally I expected you to be able to enter the top eight, but I didn’t expect that some other kid would appear. Whatever his name is, he can still be considered as a new force to be reckoned with. I don’t blame you.”
Yao Yun still didn’t dare to raise his head, only saying, “Brother Feng, are you planning on inviting him over?”
“Haha, naturally since he has harmed you by taking away your qualifications to attend the Medicine Competition I will take care of him; what is this talk of inviting him? He’s just a broken low ranking disciple who managed to get lucky once. As long as you handle your affairs properly, your future prospects will also not be small.”
Yao Yun nodded his head, and with a grateful expression he first added on some ingratiating words before taking his leave.
As soon as Yao Yun left, Yao Feng’s long and narrow eyes faintly glimmered as a trace of coldness appeared. Pursing his lips, he suddenly said, “Yao Chen? His great-grandfather managed to get himself onto the Clan Monument, leaving his name…. Somewhat interesting.”
Time seemed to shuttle, as the half a month’s time blinked past.
However, what caused everyone to be surprised was that the person who everyone was paying great attention to, Yao Chen, unexpectedly stayed in seclusion over this whole half a month’s time, and in the end no one ever saw him again for this whole month’s time.
Today was the Medicine Competition’s formal start day. The whole Yao clan was celebrating like a New Year celebration. In the same plaza as the Clan Monument, ten tall stages had already been erected. The center stage was for the clan elders, and the other nine were for all the powerful figures that had come to watch.
In front of the Clan Monument were over a hundred medicinal cauldrons, and beside each cauldron was a stone table with a Storage Ring in which all kinds of medicinal ingredients for refining had been prepared. The clan’s inner warriors were surrounding and watching over everything, separating people into different layers and groups.
On the other side was a Dou Formation that blocked out noise. Within the space covered by the formation, none of the noise of the crowd entered. That was the battlefield for the contestants of the Medicine Competition. There were already over ten disciples sitting there quietly meditating. Occasionally another disciple would enter through the Dou Formation.
At this time, a tall, handsome and white-faced disciple walked over.
“Yao Feng’s arrived!”
The crowd immediately began to talk about Yao Feng.
“Yao Feng became a three star Dou Shi a long time ago. He truly is worthy of being from the main bloodline. The branch family disciples of the same generation are simply unable to compete with him.”
“Haha, I think that Yao Tong has some hope.”
“Yao Tong is also a three star Dou Shi, however when it comes to Dou Techniques, the difference is too great. In terms of talent, Yao Feng is still on top of Yao Tong.”
“I didn’t say he would win, I said he had some hope.”
“You think Yao Tong could win? Unless Yao Feng messes up, that’s absolutely impossible.”
“Yao Feng’s unique point is how steady he is. Others might make mistakes, but that’s impossible for him.”
The main bloodline’s Yao Feng was clearly the crowd favorite for this time’s Medicine Competition. Almost half the people qualified to participate in the Medicine Competition were from the main bloodline, but they all still treated him reverently.
Yao Yun was also amongst them. He looked over the people present and saw that Yao Chen had yet to arrive. Having lost the qualification to attend the Medicine Competition, Yao Yun’s hatred of Yao Chen had sunk into his bones. Originally he had been planning on making some trouble for Yao Chen over the past few days but he hadn’t managed to find him.
“Which one’s Yao Chen?” Yao Feng turned to look at him.
“He’s not here yet.”
“Oh? Haha, interesting. He hasn’t appeared in over a month. He doesn’t even know to thank his teachers for their kindness. Perhaps in the elders’ eyes he has already become a completely arrogant person.”
Yao Feng indifferently laughed. A weak nine star Dou Zhe had actually stayed in seclusion for a whole month, not even sending a message to head elder Yao Lan. Yao Chen had been taught by the clan school which was ran by Yao Lan, and Yao Lan had also been the one to announce that he had obtained first place. Whether or not Yao Lan had actually taught Yao Chen alchemy or not, to not even thank elder Yao Lan was a terrible offense. If a teacher was like a father then it would be fine; but Yao Lan was the head elder of the clan school. No matter what, even an exceedingly arrogant person wouldn’t treat him like that.
“He still hasn’t appeared at such time. Maybe he’s gotten stage fright.”
The Medicine Competition was one of the Yao clan’s most important ceremonies. In the past there had been quite a few disciples who had managed to get the qualifications to attend, only to get stage fright at the last moment and not show up.
The majority of those people had merely obtained their qualification through luck and weren’t strong enough.
Now it appeared that Yao Chen was also one of those people. He was still just an insignificant nine star Dou Zhe. Perhaps if he was placed outside the clan then he could count as having some talent, but it would not stand out at all in the Yao clan. He was the only one amongst the disciples who had gained the qualifications to attend the Medicine Competition who had yet to reach the Dou Shi class.
“Haha, if it was then I probably also wouldn’t show up.”
“He should learn his place.”
The disciples who followed along with Yao Feng all ridiculed Yao Chen. They could all tell that this time Yao Feng was planning on making some trouble for him.
As for why he was, did he need a reason?
As a member of the main bloodline and with his talent, Yao Feng could be considered the top genius of his generation. He had received all kinds of special treatment since he was born, and there had never been anyone who could threaten his position. Even Yao Tong who was a bit interesting always kept a low profile around him. He actually considered this to be a bit boring. So when Yao Chen appeared out of nowhere and actually had elder Yao Wanhuo come out to name him as the number one rank of the clan school, it had ended up piquing his interest.
Yao Feng laughed. What was more fun than crushing new upshots? There was not a single person who could compete with him in his entire generation of the Yao clan. His only competitors were from outside the clan. In this world, it was not only the Yao clan that had existed since ancient times. Eight ancient emperors had left behind the eight ancient clans, split into Yao Xiao Hun Yan, Gu Ling Lei Shi. But in reality the only ones he considered worthy of being his opponents were the Hun clans Hun Shengtian and the Yan clan’s Yan Jin. There might be others within the other clans, but their names had yet to be revealed.
He was only looking to make trouble for Yao Chen because he was bored. At the same time he could increase the morale of his followers and refine his methods.
To the side was the clan school elder Yao Lan. He was extremely solemn, and beside him was Liao Yuntu who was bitterly smiling. He had gone to Yao Chen’s house every day for half a month, only to find him in seclusion each time.
No expression could be seen on Yao Lan’s face, but inside he was quite dissatisfied with Yao Chen. Where was the winner of the Great Competition? In the Medicine Competition, a nine star Dou Zhe was absolutely insignificant. Furthermore, the medicinal ingredients that were supplied during the clan school’s Great Competition were all very ordinary. Thus the medicinal pills that could be refined from them were also ordinary. Perhaps only a tenth of Yao Tong’s true strength had been revealed during it.
The Medicine Competition was different than the clan school’s Great Competition. Admittedly, the Medicine Competition also had a large number of medicinal ingredients prepared, but at the same time it allowed the usage of rare pre-prepared medicinal ingredients.
Currently, the amount of resources the clan would give Yao Chen and thus his future prospects were based on him coming in first in the clan school’s Great Competition. He had also gained this opportunity to exhibit his talent for everyone to see at the Medicine Competition. With this and relying on his Violet Flame Pill, he would have many more prospects in the clan. The Triple Flower Agglomerating Flame Technique or even any other cultivation technique could be directly dropped and exchanged for another cultivation technique. If he were to fiercely do his best to catch up, it wasn’t impossible for him to become one of the clan’s core experts in the future.
In reality, the clan’s disciples’ futures were all obtained in this way, and this was the best method to get a good future.
Even if it was someone with Yao Tong’s talent, they were still not an exception. You had to attract the attention of the clan’s core and thus obtain the clan’s inner resources. It would be equivalent to having your path in training be completely straight and unimpeded.
And it was by shocking everyone with his amazing success in the clan school’s Great Competition that Yao Chen managed to get this kind of opportunity. He managed to obtain first place based on elder Yao Wanhuo’s judgement, and his Violet Flame Pill had the ability to help flame attribute Dou Shis to advance. Whether or not he decided to give the pill formula to the clan or keep it for himself, the resources he could obtain in the future would come from all over and would definitely not be lacking.
And it was because of this that in elder Yao Lan’s opinion, Yao Chen’s decision to go into seclusion and not promote the Violet Flame Pill’s special effects made it seem like he had become so arrogant that everyone else was beneath him. Acting in that manner would not benefit him.
“This Yao Chen, he couldn’t have gotten stage fright could he? The clan school’s Great Competition’s number one place… did it give him too much pressure?” After waiting half a day without seeing Yao Chen, Liao Yuntu could no longer endure and impatiently opened his mouth. He was in desperate need of the Violet Flame Pill. After the clan school’s Great Competition, Yao Chen had immediately disappeared. This was a little strange, and there must be a reason. However no matter how he thought, the only explanation he could come up with was the pressure was too great. As for secluding himself to attack Dou Shi, no one would ever think that was his goal. In just an extremely brief months’ time, attempting to use the Triple Flower Agglomerating Flame Technique to break through to a new class was basically just a madman’s dream.
Yao Lan indifferently looked at Liao Yuntu, saying, “Whether he comes or not, it’s up to him to make the decisions in his life.”
After saying these words, Yao Lan started to move towards the nearby stage for the elders as it was almost time to start the Medicine Competition. Liao Yuntu sighed, letting out a bitter laugh. If he were to speak honestly, continuously standing outside Yao Chen’s house but still being denied entry caused a dissatisfied feeling to arise in his heart, but no matter dissatisfied he was, Yao Chen was still a Yao clan disciple. No matter what kind of temperament Yao Chen had, whether it was good or but, he could only laugh while suffering a loss. Especially in his present situation where he was coming to ask him for something. However he had not expected that the extremely fair and honest Yao Lan was actually also somewhat dissatisfied with Yao Chen.
Actually, during these past few days, the negative pieces of news about Yao Chen in the clan were too numerous to count.
As for talk about his aptitude, contemptible words about Yao Chen whirled through families like the wind. Even Liao Yuntu had heard some of it; however he had simply thought that these rumors were fabricated due to jealousy before being passed around by certain people. But now it appeared the rumors were not without reason.
However, this kind of talk had nothing to do with him. His purpose was merely to get a hold of the Violet Flame Pill, and as for what kind of person Yao Chen was, he didn’t really care.
Moreover, the worse Yao Chen’s current stature in the clan was, the more likely he would be to obtain a Violet Flame Pill. This truly was a good thing for him, but he was afraid that the current number of people with this same kind of thinking was also not small.
The only people who were worried for Yao Chen were the three people from the Luo family, as well as his mother.
Currently Luo Bing was with his small squadron of clan soldiers to maintain order. The elder son Luo Shan was also following behind him.
Although it was called maintaining order, but in reality it was simply standing in their arranged position in order to put on some general decorum. Luo Bing was looking all around. His assigned position just happened to be the contestant’s competing area’s entrance, and even until now he had yet to see Yao Chen.
Looking towards the elder’s stage, First Elder Yao Wanhuo had already stood up and was conversing with clan head Yao Dan. The various seniors of the main bloodline and family heads of the branch bloodlines were all waiting.
Looking at this, it should be almost time to officially declare the Medicine Competition’s start.
“Luo Shu, that kid, did he or did he not go find Yao Chen?” Luo Bing’s eyebrows tensed. Luo Shan to his side was also a bit worried; if the Medicine Competition was officially started and Yao Chen had still not hurried over then he would automatically be disqualified. When they started, the entire refining stage would all compete at once. “Dad, let me go find him.”
Luo Shan knew his little brother the best, and if you ever asked that kid Luo Shan to do something then you always had to be a bit worried about whether he could actually be relied on or not.
“Good idea… wait! They’ve arrived!”
As the captain of the small squadron, Luo Bing could send Luo Shan on a mission. However, just at this moment he saw two figures rushing over. Of these two figures, one was slightly fat, and with a glance you could tell it was Luo Shu.
Chapter 9: The Opening Curtains of the Medicine Competition
The entire Yao clan was busy making preparations for the Medicine Competition.
It was a magnificent ceremony during which other major powers with good relations to the Yao clan or that were led by the Yao clan would be invited to attend. Many of the world’s outstanding figures would emerge from this crop of elite disciples from the Yao clan.
The Yao clan’s Medicine Competition was not just a special occasion for the Yao clan, but it was also the best opportunity for others to obtain rare and high ranking medicinal pills.
Normally only a fixed amount of the Yao Clan’s high tier medicinal pills would be sold out of the clan. Only during the Medicine Competition would this restriction be lifted, allowing the needs of all the powerful people outside the clan to be met.
Even half a month before the competition, all kinds of transactions had already started within the clan. Every powerful group brought out all kinds of rare materials, and using various techniques they put out banners over the streets that listed what kind of medicinal pills they desired as well as what they had to offer.
The pills that were being requested were extremely rare. But right now within the Yao clan, any pill could be bought under the prerequisite that you had something that could move the Yao clan’s members.
The powers that were qualified to enter the Yao clan to do business were definitely extremely distinguished. If they were to bring out an item from the Yao clan to the rest of the world, although they might not be able to say it was invaluable and one of a kind, but it was a definite fact that it was a rare and hard to obtain item.
All kinds of pills could be exchanged for in the Yao clan at this time. Not just high ranking pills; even third tier pills or lower, as long as they were in sufficient quantities, would also be of great demand.
One reason why the Yao clan would open its door and behave this way was in order to strengthen its relationships with the other powers. But even more importantly it allowed them to obtain all kinds of rare and precious medicinal ingredients.
Although the Yao clan was strong, its forces were still limited. Only by borrowing the strength of the world’s other powerful factions could they gather all the different rare and precious materials that they needed.
Yao Lan was strolling through the streets as he browsed the banners for medicinal ingredients he was interested in. Since this was the Yao clan, any materials that dared to be taken out as a trade were naturally rare. And while the clan treasury had most such things in stock, they required merit points in order to obtain them.
“Elder Yao Lan!” Suddenly a voice came from behind him.
Yao Lan paused and turned around, “Oh, senior brother Liao, what do you need?”
“Can we have a talk over here?”
The person who had come up to talk to him was Liao Yuntu, the patriarch of one of the clans that had adhered itself to the Yao clan. Currently he had an eager inviting expression.
“Haha, ok.” Yao Lan nodded. This kind of situation was something he had already met several times today.
Normally Yao Lan would politely decline these private conversations. If you wanted to do business with him, then you had to follow the rules. However the Liao family had offered tributes and often paid many bribes to the Yao clan. Logically, Yao Lan could not refuse to give him just this little face.
As expected, once they arrived to a secluded area with no people around, Liao Yuntu said, “I know that the esteemed elder Yao Lan is extremely busy. Even asking you to come here is overboard, speaking straightforwardly, so please forgive me.”
“Senior brother Liao, your words are very many, but I still don’t know what your Liao family requires. If it’s not something too big I can still help you a bit.”
Yao Lan was under the impression that the Liao family wanted to purchase a large quantity of low grade medicinal pills that were more common, such as those that could nourish or heal the body. Although such pills were not rare outside the clan, but when it came to quality, alchemists outside the Yao clan could not compare. Due to how high the quality of the Yao clan’s pills were, even low tier medicinal pills could be sold for great profit if in bulk quantities.
However most people in the Yao clan would disdain to refine such things. Only the young disciples in the clan school would refine a large quantity of them. Such pills were kept by the clan school and put into storage, never to be used. Yao Lan was the one in charge of them and so he was already used to be people coming to him to buy those pills.
In order for the clan school’s disciples to improve, they naturally had to practice refining a large quantity of lower tier medicinal pills. Rather than just leaving those pills in storage, it was better to sell them if it could improve the clan’s relationships.
“Cough… rumor has it that a so-called Violet Flame Pill appeared in this time’s Great Competition. I wonder just how exactly this Violet Flame Pill compares to the Azure Flame Pill?” asked Liao Yuntu, his words causing Yao Lan’s expression to change slightly.
“Elder brother Liao, you are interested in this Violet Flame Pill? It’s just an ordinary third tier medicinal pill, and in addition it can’t be refined in bulk quantities.”
“Haha, be that as it may, but I’ve heard that elder Yao Wanhuo had great praise for this pill, saying that it could help flame attribute Dou Qi cultivators to break through bottlenecks. I don’t want for it for my personal benefit; I just want to help my disappointing son. He has already been stuck as a nine star Dou Shi for ten years… this might be his only chance.”
Yao Lan pursed his lips. Although the Yao clan would engage in business with the outer world, they refused all parties who wanted to privately come into contact with the clan’s elite disciples. This was to maintain the core clan’s purity. They couldn’t let their disciples be subject to semi-understood foreign thoughts that could ruin their foundations.
In this kind of situation where the clan tended to disapprove, the Liao family who wanted to meet the alchemist behind the Violet Flame Pill, Yao Chen, had no choice but to go through the clan school.
Coming into private contact wasn’t necessarily forbidden. The Liao family had relations to the Yao clan after all, and they could count as secondary clan members. However, at most the clan might turn a blind eye; they wouldn’t endeavor to allow such contact. If there was a problem, then the Liao family could end up becoming enemies with the Yao clan, and that would be entirely not worth it for them.
The reason Yao Chen could suppress the semi-destroyed ancient formula that Yao Tong had restored was because the Violet Flame Pill had the effect of breaking through bottlenecks. Although it wasn’t a certainty, it was still a chance. So despite the rare origin of the Moon Suppressing Wind Pill, it was still inferior to the Violet Flame Pill.
Even if it was more extraordinary, it was still just a medicinal pill used for combat. But the Violet Flame Pill had both uses, with its ability to increase fighting strength as well as an unknown chance to advance levels. Although the Yao clan had all kinds of medicinal pills that could help break through classes, to refine those medicinal pills required a high price, and only a couple pills were released out of the clan every few years. After all, just the demands of the clan members themselves could not be met with the yearly production rate of such pills.
Not only was refining such pills difficult with low success rates, but the most important factor was that refining medicinal pills that could break through classes required a large amount of rare medicinal ingredients.
In comparison, the Violet Flame Pill only offered a slight chance to advance. But even just a chance was invaluable.
With just a discreet inquiry, anyone could find that the Violet Flame Pill was unexpectedly exclusive to Yao Chen and that there was no other person who was capable of refining it.
If you wanted to obtain the Violet Flame Pill, then you had get into contact with Yao Chen as soon as possible. With the Liao family’s currently strength, hoping to obtain a Violet Flame Pill in a short period of time would become extremely difficult if news of Yao Chen continued to spread, and it would solely depend on whether Yao Chen was willing to refine it.
The Yao clan was a collective whole, but at the same time each person was their own individual. The clan wouldn’t force any clan member to sacrifice anything they had. A clan that forced their clan members to sacrifice things they didn’t want to was definitely not a clan that could survive a thousand years.
“That’s also fine; I will give you a referral for this opportunity. However, what you need to prepare in exchange should also be obvious.”
“Don’t worry elder Yao Lan. I will definitely not disappoint you.” Liao Yuntu joyously kept repeating his thanks as he left.
Yao Lan was no longer in the mood to resume wandering the streets after that.
During this whole period, Yao Chen had not gone to the clan school, and Luo Shu had said that he was in seclusion.
He was a bit disappointed in how Yao Chen had gone into seclusion. After obtaining the qualifications to attend the Medicine Competition along with his Violet Flame Pill, Yao Chen had already entered the eyes of the higher level Yao clan members. In the future he would be able obtain quite a few special resources, so he should first finish up his foundation from the Triple Flame Agglomerating Flower Technique as fast as possible and then obtain a higher quality cultivation technique from the clan.
If Yao Chen was smart, then at this time he should be making a lot of movements and connections in order to get more benefits for the future. However, for whatever reason, Yao Chen ended up going into seclusion, causing people to believe he was acting arrogant.
No matter how Yao Lan wondered about this, he would never guess that Yao Chen’s goal wasn’t about his future prospects, but on obtaining the Medicine Competition’s first place, shouting out his family name, and carving his name into the Clan Monument.
The qualifications for the Medicine Competition had some people celebrating while others were humiliated. Due to Yao Chen appearing on the list, Yao Yun had been squeezed out of the quota. This kind of enmity was something that Yao Yun couldn’t forget in the slightest, and his head was full of poisonous thoughts.
“Senior brother Feng, it’s my incompetence.” At this time, Yao Yun’s head was lowered as he stood before a lofty, handsome youngster. The youngster’s face was like white jade, and his slender eyes seemed to have a slight smile to them.
This white faced youngster was the Yao Clan’s younger generation’s most well known figure, Yao Feng, who had advanced to Dou Shi when he had been only sixteen.
“No matter. Originally I expected you to be able to enter the top eight, but I didn’t expect that some other kid would appear. Whatever his name is, he can still be considered as a new force to be reckoned with. I don’t blame you.”
Yao Yun still didn’t dare to raise his head, only saying, “Brother Feng, are you planning on inviting him over?”
“Haha, naturally since he has harmed you by taking away your qualifications to attend the Medicine Competition I will take care of him; what is this talk of inviting him? He’s just a broken low ranking disciple who managed to get lucky once. As long as you handle your affairs properly, your future prospects will also not be small.”
Yao Yun nodded his head, and with a grateful expression he first added on some ingratiating words before taking his leave.
As soon as Yao Yun left, Yao Feng’s long and narrow eyes faintly glimmered as a trace of coldness appeared. Pursing his lips, he suddenly said, “Yao Chen? His great-grandfather managed to get himself onto the Clan Monument, leaving his name…. Somewhat interesting.”
Time seemed to shuttle, as the half a month’s time blinked past.
However, what caused everyone to be surprised was that the person who everyone was paying great attention to, Yao Chen, unexpectedly stayed in seclusion over this whole half a month’s time, and in the end no one ever saw him again for this whole month’s time.
Today was the Medicine Competition’s formal start day. The whole Yao clan was celebrating like a New Year celebration. In the same plaza as the Clan Monument, ten tall stages had already been erected. The center stage was for the clan elders, and the other nine were for all the powerful figures that had come to watch.
In front of the Clan Monument were over a hundred medicinal cauldrons, and beside each cauldron was a stone table with a Storage Ring in which all kinds of medicinal ingredients for refining had been prepared. The clan’s inner warriors were surrounding and watching over everything, separating people into different layers and groups.
On the other side was a Dou Formation that blocked out noise. Within the space covered by the formation, none of the noise of the crowd entered. That was the battlefield for the contestants of the Medicine Competition. There were already over ten disciples sitting there quietly meditating. Occasionally another disciple would enter through the Dou Formation.
At this time, a tall, handsome and white-faced disciple walked over.
“Yao Feng’s arrived!”
The crowd immediately began to talk about Yao Feng.
“Yao Feng became a three star Dou Shi a long time ago. He truly is worthy of being from the main bloodline. The branch family disciples of the same generation are simply unable to compete with him.”
“Haha, I think that Yao Tong has some hope.”
“Yao Tong is also a three star Dou Shi, however when it comes to Dou Techniques, the difference is too great. In terms of talent, Yao Feng is still on top of Yao Tong.”
“I didn’t say he would win, I said he had some hope.”
“You think Yao Tong could win? Unless Yao Feng messes up, that’s absolutely impossible.”
“Yao Feng’s unique point is how steady he is. Others might make mistakes, but that’s impossible for him.”
The main bloodline’s Yao Feng was clearly the crowd favorite for this time’s Medicine Competition. Almost half the people qualified to participate in the Medicine Competition were from the main bloodline, but they all still treated him reverently.
Yao Yun was also amongst them. He looked over the people present and saw that Yao Chen had yet to arrive. Having lost the qualification to attend the Medicine Competition, Yao Yun’s hatred of Yao Chen had sunk into his bones. Originally he had been planning on making some trouble for Yao Chen over the past few days but he hadn’t managed to find him.
“Which one’s Yao Chen?” Yao Feng turned to look at him.
“He’s not here yet.”
“Oh? Haha, interesting. He hasn’t appeared in over a month. He doesn’t even know to thank his teachers for their kindness. Perhaps in the elders’ eyes he has already become a completely arrogant person.”
Yao Feng indifferently laughed. A weak nine star Dou Zhe had actually stayed in seclusion for a whole month, not even sending a message to head elder Yao Lan. Yao Chen had been taught by the clan school which was ran by Yao Lan, and Yao Lan had also been the one to announce that he had obtained first place. Whether or not Yao Lan had actually taught Yao Chen alchemy or not, to not even thank elder Yao Lan was a terrible offense. If a teacher was like a father then it would be fine; but Yao Lan was the head elder of the clan school. No matter what, even an exceedingly arrogant person wouldn’t treat him like that.
“He still hasn’t appeared at such time. Maybe he’s gotten stage fright.”
The Medicine Competition was one of the Yao clan’s most important ceremonies. In the past there had been quite a few disciples who had managed to get the qualifications to attend, only to get stage fright at the last moment and not show up.
The majority of those people had merely obtained their qualification through luck and weren’t strong enough.
Now it appeared that Yao Chen was also one of those people. He was still just an insignificant nine star Dou Zhe. Perhaps if he was placed outside the clan then he could count as having some talent, but it would not stand out at all in the Yao clan. He was the only one amongst the disciples who had gained the qualifications to attend the Medicine Competition who had yet to reach the Dou Shi class.
“Haha, if it was then I probably also wouldn’t show up.”
“He should learn his place.”
The disciples who followed along with Yao Feng all ridiculed Yao Chen. They could all tell that this time Yao Feng was planning on making some trouble for him.
As for why he was, did he need a reason?
As a member of the main bloodline and with his talent, Yao Feng could be considered the top genius of his generation. He had received all kinds of special treatment since he was born, and there had never been anyone who could threaten his position. Even Yao Tong who was a bit interesting always kept a low profile around him. He actually considered this to be a bit boring. So when Yao Chen appeared out of nowhere and actually had elder Yao Wanhuo come out to name him as the number one rank of the clan school, it had ended up piquing his interest.
Yao Feng laughed. What was more fun than crushing new upshots? There was not a single person who could compete with him in his entire generation of the Yao clan. His only competitors were from outside the clan. In this world, it was not only the Yao clan that had existed since ancient times. Eight ancient emperors had left behind the eight ancient clans, split into Yao Xiao Hun Yan, Gu Ling Lei Shi. But in reality the only ones he considered worthy of being his opponents were the Hun clans Hun Shengtian and the Yan clan’s Yan Jin. There might be others within the other clans, but their names had yet to be revealed.
He was only looking to make trouble for Yao Chen because he was bored. At the same time he could increase the morale of his followers and refine his methods.
To the side was the clan school elder Yao Lan. He was extremely solemn, and beside him was Liao Yuntu who was bitterly smiling. He had gone to Yao Chen’s house every day for half a month, only to find him in seclusion each time.
No expression could be seen on Yao Lan’s face, but inside he was quite dissatisfied with Yao Chen. Where was the winner of the Great Competition? In the Medicine Competition, a nine star Dou Zhe was absolutely insignificant. Furthermore, the medicinal ingredients that were supplied during the clan school’s Great Competition were all very ordinary. Thus the medicinal pills that could be refined from them were also ordinary. Perhaps only a tenth of Yao Tong’s true strength had been revealed during it.
The Medicine Competition was different than the clan school’s Great Competition. Admittedly, the Medicine Competition also had a large number of medicinal ingredients prepared, but at the same time it allowed the usage of rare pre-prepared medicinal ingredients.
Currently, the amount of resources the clan would give Yao Chen and thus his future prospects were based on him coming in first in the clan school’s Great Competition. He had also gained this opportunity to exhibit his talent for everyone to see at the Medicine Competition. With this and relying on his Violet Flame Pill, he would have many more prospects in the clan. The Triple Flower Agglomerating Flame Technique or even any other cultivation technique could be directly dropped and exchanged for another cultivation technique. If he were to fiercely do his best to catch up, it wasn’t impossible for him to become one of the clan’s core experts in the future.
In reality, the clan’s disciples’ futures were all obtained in this way, and this was the best method to get a good future.
Even if it was someone with Yao Tong’s talent, they were still not an exception. You had to attract the attention of the clan’s core and thus obtain the clan’s inner resources. It would be equivalent to having your path in training be completely straight and unimpeded.
And it was by shocking everyone with his amazing success in the clan school’s Great Competition that Yao Chen managed to get this kind of opportunity. He managed to obtain first place based on elder Yao Wanhuo’s judgement, and his Violet Flame Pill had the ability to help flame attribute Dou Shis to advance. Whether or not he decided to give the pill formula to the clan or keep it for himself, the resources he could obtain in the future would come from all over and would definitely not be lacking.
And it was because of this that in elder Yao Lan’s opinion, Yao Chen’s decision to go into seclusion and not promote the Violet Flame Pill’s special effects made it seem like he had become so arrogant that everyone else was beneath him. Acting in that manner would not benefit him.
“This Yao Chen, he couldn’t have gotten stage fright could he? The clan school’s Great Competition’s number one place… did it give him too much pressure?” After waiting half a day without seeing Yao Chen, Liao Yuntu could no longer endure and impatiently opened his mouth. He was in desperate need of the Violet Flame Pill. After the clan school’s Great Competition, Yao Chen had immediately disappeared. This was a little strange, and there must be a reason. However no matter how he thought, the only explanation he could come up with was the pressure was too great. As for secluding himself to attack Dou Shi, no one would ever think that was his goal. In just an extremely brief months’ time, attempting to use the Triple Flower Agglomerating Flame Technique to break through to a new class was basically just a madman’s dream.
Yao Lan indifferently looked at Liao Yuntu, saying, “Whether he comes or not, it’s up to him to make the decisions in his life.”
After saying these words, Yao Lan started to move towards the nearby stage for the elders as it was almost time to start the Medicine Competition. Liao Yuntu sighed, letting out a bitter laugh. If he were to speak honestly, continuously standing outside Yao Chen’s house but still being denied entry caused a dissatisfied feeling to arise in his heart, but no matter dissatisfied he was, Yao Chen was still a Yao clan disciple. No matter what kind of temperament Yao Chen had, whether it was good or but, he could only laugh while suffering a loss. Especially in his present situation where he was coming to ask him for something. However he had not expected that the extremely fair and honest Yao Lan was actually also somewhat dissatisfied with Yao Chen.
Actually, during these past few days, the negative pieces of news about Yao Chen in the clan were too numerous to count.
As for talk about his aptitude, contemptible words about Yao Chen whirled through families like the wind. Even Liao Yuntu had heard some of it; however he had simply thought that these rumors were fabricated due to jealousy before being passed around by certain people. But now it appeared the rumors were not without reason.
However, this kind of talk had nothing to do with him. His purpose was merely to get a hold of the Violet Flame Pill, and as for what kind of person Yao Chen was, he didn’t really care.
Moreover, the worse Yao Chen’s current stature in the clan was, the more likely he would be to obtain a Violet Flame Pill. This truly was a good thing for him, but he was afraid that the current number of people with this same kind of thinking was also not small.
The only people who were worried for Yao Chen were the three people from the Luo family, as well as his mother.
Currently Luo Bing was with his small squadron of clan soldiers to maintain order. The elder son Luo Shan was also following behind him.
Although it was called maintaining order, but in reality it was simply standing in their arranged position in order to put on some general decorum. Luo Bing was looking all around. His assigned position just happened to be the contestant’s competing area’s entrance, and even until now he had yet to see Yao Chen.
Looking towards the elder’s stage, First Elder Yao Wanhuo had already stood up and was conversing with clan head Yao Dan. The various seniors of the main bloodline and family heads of the branch bloodlines were all waiting.
Looking at this, it should be almost time to officially declare the Medicine Competition’s start.
“Luo Shu, that kid, did he or did he not go find Yao Chen?” Luo Bing’s eyebrows tensed. Luo Shan to his side was also a bit worried; if the Medicine Competition was officially started and Yao Chen had still not hurried over then he would automatically be disqualified. When they started, the entire refining stage would all compete at once. “Dad, let me go find him.”
Luo Shan knew his little brother the best, and if you ever asked that kid Luo Shan to do something then you always had to be a bit worried about whether he could actually be relied on or not.
“Good idea… wait! They’ve arrived!”
As the captain of the small squadron, Luo Bing could send Luo Shan on a mission. However, just at this moment he saw two figures rushing over. Of these two figures, one was slightly fat, and with a glance you could tell it was Luo Shu.
