Chapter 167: Xiao Yan

The Alchemist Convention has ended, and it has now become the talk of the entire Jia Ma Sheng Cheng.

"Have you heard? According to rumors, the second-place finisher, Yan Li, is actually the vice-chairman of the Chu Yun Empire's Alchemist Guild. He used a pill called the Rejuvenation Elixir to restore his appearance to his youth, infiltrated the competition, and intended to disgrace the Jia Ma Empire's Alchemist Guild."

"No way! There's really a pill like that?!"

"Don't even think about it. I heard that Rejuvenation Elixir only restores youth for a short time, and it's a Fourth-Rank Peak pill bordering on Sixth-Grade. To turn back time? Just dream about it."

Yan Li didn't win the championship, and soon after, the Jia Ma Empire's Imperial Family revealed his true identity and executed him outright, giving the Chu Yun Empire no time to react.

The Chu Yun Empire lost a Fourth-Rank Peak Alchemist—a loss worse than the death of a Dou Wang.

"The vice-chairman of the Chu Yun Empire's Alchemist Guild sneaked into the competition through cheating, yet still lost to Xiao Yan—wow, he's really incredible."

"Cough, cough—what exactly do you mean by 'incredible'?"

In the inn, the two men discussing the matter exchanged glances, their eyes filled with envy.

Who wouldn't want that kind of physique?

Now, besides holding the titles of the youngest Fifth-Rank Alchemist in history and Alchemist Grand Meeting Champion, Xiao Yan's nickname "Xiao the Mighty" is spreading, especially among women.

At this moment, Xiao Yan, dressed in a Soul Robe and having hidden all day, sat in the corner, on the verge of tears.

He only wanted to promote his elixirs so he could sell them for a good price and exchange them for the main medicinal materials of Fifth-Rank Pills—but he never expected this to happen!

Where would you even go to argue your case now?!

He could only blame himself—he altered the Pill Formula, changed the refining technique, used four Strange Fires, and swallowed the pill without testing it first!

Xiao Yan sighed; he couldn't keep hiding—he still needed to purchase medicinal materials for Spirit Refining.

Pulling down his hood, Xiao Yan left the inn and arrived at the Mitel Auction House.

Xiao Yan immediately pulled out a Soul Token—the Elder Token given to him by Hai Bodong. Xiao Yan was now, in effect, an honorary Elder of the Miter Clan.

"Elder Token! We didn't know an Elder had arrived!" the guard hastily said respectfully.

Xiao Yan lowered his voice and said: "Take me to Ya Fei."

"Yes!"

Xiao Yan followed the guard up to the sixth floor of the Auction House. He knocked three times. Ya Fei's voice came from inside: "Enter."

Xiao Yan waved his hand to dismiss the guard, opened the door, and found only Ya Fei handling documents—only then did he remove his hood.

Seeing Xiao Yan appear, Ya Fei gave him a look and said: "You finally decided to show up."

Xiao Yan sighed, clearly annoyed: "Ugh, I've lost face so badly now, I've disgraced my ancestors."

Hearing Xiao Yan's words, Ya Fei couldn't help but recall that scene—her powdered cheeks flushed red. Such a posture made one's imagination run wild; anyone who saw her sultry charm would be stirred to the core.

But Ya Fei didn't dwell on it. She quickly regained her composure and asked: "What brings you here, Xiao Yan brother?"

Xiao Yan wasted no time—he waved his hand and pulled out over a dozen wooden boxes from his storage ring. The moment Ya Fei saw them, her beautiful eyes flickered with surprise.

Because she knew Xiao Yan used these special-wooden boxes only for Fourth-Rank or higher Pills.

Pills above Fourth-Rank emit Pill Fragrance, and this wood effectively seals it in.

"Xiao Yan brother… you want to sell Pills?" Ya Fei stepped forward slowly, her beautiful eyes astonished as she asked Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan nodded: "I've refined a Fifth-Rank Pill, but I'm still not at Fifth-Rank yet—I need to keep refining Fifth-Rank Pills."

Earlier, Ya Fei had already provided Xiao Yan with every single Fifth-Rank Pill medicinal material the Auction House had in stock—the Auction House now had none left.

"That Four-Strip White Spirit Pill"

"Is in here too." Xiao Yan slowly opened one wooden box—immediately, a warm Pill Fragrance drifted out: it was the very Five-Grade Pill that had shaken the entire city—the Four-Strip White Spirit Pill!

"The rest are all Fourth-Rank Pills, including four genuine Three-Strip Blue Spirit Pills."

Xiao Yan opened another box—inside were four Three-Strip Blue Spirit Pills! These were refined last night; he still had two portions of the Three-Strip Blue Spirit Pill medicinal materials gifted by Fa Ma, so he didn't waste them and refined four to sell.

Seeing the table full of wooden boxes, and recalling Xiao Yan's terrifying ability to refine multiple Pills per furnace, Ya Fei's lips parted slightly, her heartbeat quickened—this entire table of Pills could drive every cultivator in the Jia Ma Empire mad!!

Fourth-Rank Pills can already be used by Dou Ling, and some high-grade Fourth-Rank Pills even work on Dou Wang.

Although Xiao Yan deals with Dou Wangs, Dou Huangs, and Fifth-Rank Peak Alchemists, the Jia Ma Sheng Cheng is still dominated by Dou Ling families.

Only three families have Dou Wangs—they're called the Three Great Families.

Even among the Three Great Families, Grand Dou Masters remain the backbone—imagine how desperately every family would fight over the Three-Strip Blue Spirit Pills and the Four-Strip White Spirit Pill!

And most importantly, all of these were refined by Xiao Yan himself! And Xiao Yan is an Alchemist who possesses Strange Fires and is the Alchemist Grand Meeting Champion!

His name, "Xiao Yan," is a guarantee of quality!

His Pills rank among the top three in the Jia Ma Empire, on par with the Dantian Alchemist Gu He and Chairman Fa Ma—and even surpass them!

After all, Xiao Yan is currently the most famous person in the Jia Ma Empire.

"Xiao Yan brother, how do you want to sell them? List them in the Chamber of Commerce or hold an auction?" Ya Fei sat across from Xiao Yan, her eyes sharp and shrewd.

"Auction. I don't want money or anything else—I only want medicinal materials."

As an Alchemist, Xiao Yan understood better than anyone the value ratio between medicinal materials and Pills. Generally, one Fourth-Rank Pill could be exchanged for the main medicinal material of an equal-grade Fifth-Rank Pill—so Xiao Yan was offering Fourth-Rank Pills, because he needed the precious main materials for Fifth-Rank Pills.

Ya Fei tapped her fingers lightly on the table, thought carefully for a moment, then said: "If your goal is medicinal materials, I suggest starting the auction first thing tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow?!" Xiao Yan froze—it was already noon! First thing tomorrow?!

Ya Fei nodded seriously: "Because of the Alchemist Convention, many Alchemists came from all over the empire to compete. Those Alchemists are the ones who hold the most precious medicinal materials. Now that the Convention is over, they're probably already preparing to leave Jia Ma Sheng Cheng."

"Right now, as Champion, many Alchemists will want to buy one of your Pills to study—there could be fierce bidding, and you could earn even more."

Xiao Yan stared at Ya Fei in surprise—he hadn't considered this at all. He'd assumed publicity should last as long as possible, spreading to other cities, waiting for the Clan Leaders of distant families to arrive with medicinal materials for auction—that would be ideal.

He'd forgotten that the Alchemists themselves were the ones who truly possessed precious medicinal materials!

He hadn't considered the timing and opportunity of the Alchemist Convention.

Seeing Xiao Yan's astonished expression, Ya Fei felt a small sense of pride inside—there weren't many things that could surprise Xiao Yan.

"Then I leave it all to Ya Fei sister. I still need to go to the Alchemist Guild to collect my Champion reward." Xiao Yan pulled on his Soul Robe and flew out the window with a smile.

Watching Xiao Yan fly out the window again, Ya Fei stared blankly at his back, murmuring: "He doesn't actually believe Hai Lao's words, does he?"

Her delicate face flushed red; she shook her head sharply and muttered to herself: "What am I thinking? He's still just a child."

Then he suddenly remembered the earth-shattering scene at Guang Chang yesterday—it was quite a big deal indeed!

(End of Chapter)