Chapter 252: Sharpening the Knife

Spirit Wind Pill is a combat pill with a very wide range of applications.

After taking the Spirit Wind Pill, a martial artist can mobilize primal energy more quickly. Executing the same technique, a martial artist who has taken the Spirit Wind Pill can save half the time!

At the Sea Transformation realm, saving half the time to execute a technique means seizing absolute initiative!

Your technique has already been unleashed, while others are still gathering power to strike. What martial artist wouldn't want such an advantage?

If the Sea Transformation realm martial artists of Nethercloud Sect carried this pill with them, their combat power would obviously soar!

That was precisely why Shao Yun had invested so much effort into this pill.

But this quasi-fourth-grade pill was truly not easy to refine.

The defective products he had refined not only had severe side effects but also had very weak efficacy. Such pills were clearly unsuitable for combat.

Now that he had solved this problem, Shao Yun felt refreshed and clear-minded. He decided to properly thank Ye Yuan!

As for the matter of challenging Ye Yuan to a contest, it had long been thrown to the winds.

After emerging from seclusion, Shao Yun headed straight to Earth Battalion, Unit 72, but happened to run into Ye Yuan and a young man heading out.

"Hmm? Ye Yuan, Guo Bin, where are you two going?" Shao Yun said with a beaming smile.

Ye Yuan looked bewildered; he didn't know this person at all. He only vaguely remembered that Shao Yun seemed to be an elder of the Alchemy Hall. As for his name, he couldn't recall it.

Guo Bin, however, was full of surprise upon seeing Shao Yun. He quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Disciple Guo Bin pays respects to Uncle Shao. In reply to Uncle, the Sect Leader summoned me to bring Ye Yuan for questioning. Has Uncle Shao emerged from seclusion?"

"Hmm? Questioning? Has something happened?" Shao Yun's face darkened as he asked.

Guo Bin hesitated for a moment, then briefly explained the matter. Speaking of which, Shao Yun was the first person Ye Yuan had sent into seclusion.

But upon hearing this, Shao Yun flew into a rage: "Nonsense! What demonic person? Ye Yuan is a great contributor to Nethercloud Sect! Am I not perfectly fine? How could he have been possessed? Which bastard is spreading rumors? Are they cursing this elder? Come, I'll go with you to see the Sect Leader!"

He then turned to Ye Yuan and said, "Ye Yuan, my name is Shao Yun, a fifth-rank elder of the Alchemy Hall. Thanks to you, I successfully refined the Spirit Wind Pill!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Yuan immediately knew who he was.

Those eight-level tasks were naturally simple for Ye Yuan, so he prepared about a dozen jade slips.

Whoever came, Lü'er would ask for their name and directly hand them a jade slip.

Under these circumstances, after the eight elders announced their seclusion, no one else came knocking.

Seeing Shao Yun's gratitude, Ye Yuan smiled and said, "It was just a small effort, not worth mentioning."

"Ah, to you it's a small effort, but to me and the sect, it's a major matter! Originally, when the Supreme Elder appointed you as a nominal elder, to be honest, I, Old Shao, was unconvinced. But now I am completely convinced! Come, I'll help you explain to the Sect Leader!"

With that, Shao Yun grabbed Ye Yuan and left.

Guo Bin, standing by, was shocked beyond words!

Nominal elder? What was this all about?

A core disciple at the Spirit Liquid realm was actually a nominal elder of the Alchemy Hall?

When he had come to find Ye Yuan earlier, his attitude had been somewhat overbearing. Fortunately, Ye Yuan had cooperated, or he might have resorted to force.

Thinking about how he had nearly made a move against an elder of the Dan Hall, Guo Bin couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

Offending a superior—this was a charge he couldn't afford to bear!

Guo Bin's status in the sect was even higher than that of Mo Yuntian and Xin Lie, because he was the personal disciple of Sect Leader Luo Qingfeng.

Even with this identity, if Ye Yuan insisted on pursuing the matter, he would still be in deep trouble!

Moreover, Shao Yun had just said that Ye Yuan, as a nominal elder, had been personally appointed by the Supreme Elder, who was Luo Qingfeng's uncle!

After taking just two steps, Shao Yun suddenly remembered something and turned to Guo Bin, saying, "Just keep what I said to yourself, don't go spreading it around, got it?"

Guo Bin nodded mechanically, looking somewhat dazed, unsure if he had truly heard or not.

...

When Luo Qingfeng and Ouyang Yu saw Shao Yun and Ye Yuan arriving together, they were both stunned.

"Shao Yun, why are you here?" Ouyang Yu asked in surprise.

Shao Yun bowed to them and said directly, "Sect Leader, Hall Master, you've both got it wrong. Ye Yuan didn't use any sorcery on us; instead, he rendered great service to the sect! If you punish Ye Yuan now, won't that break the hearts of all the disciples and elders?"

"Great service? What do you mean?" Luo Qingfeng asked in confusion.

Shao Yun recounted the whole story, leaving the two of them dumbfounded.

They couldn't figure out how someone as young as Ye Yuan could have such a high level of alchemy. Had he started learning the art of pill refinement from his mother's womb?

"If I'm not mistaken, the other elders should be in the same situation as me. Ye Yuan helped them solve problems that had plagued them for years. In other words, the alchemy strength of our Youyun Sect will take a huge leap forward! Tell me, hasn't Ye Yuan rendered great service?" Shao Yun said excitedly.

Luo Qingfeng and Ouyang Yu exchanged a glance, both seeing shock in each other's eyes.

"Ye Yuan, you did such a big thing, why didn't you say so earlier? We almost wronged you!" Luo Qingfeng looked at Ye Yuan and said with emotion.

Ye Yuan smiled and said, "Actually, that day the Supreme Elder deliberately provoked everyone to come and cause trouble for me. I guessed his intention and prepared in advance. I avoided seeing anyone these days not to put on airs before the elders, but because I was truly in seclusion for cultivation. The sect tournament is about to begin, and I just broke through a realm recently, so I need to stabilize my cultivation."

In another two or three days, the sect tournament would begin, and Ye Yuan was eager to try his hand in the competition.

The reason he joined the sect was to spar and exchange with all kinds of geniuses, as that would allow him to improve faster!

Although Ye Yuan had once been a powerhouse at the Divine King realm, his foundation in martial arts was too poor, and he had virtually no practical combat experience.

And although the geniuses of the sect did not have the same breadth of vision as Ye Yuan, since they were called geniuses in the sect, they naturally had their own strengths.

Such a competition was also an excellent opportunity for Ye Yuan to temper himself; how could he let it pass?

To deal with Ji Canglan, Ye Yuan would inevitably have to go through countless brutal battles. Without being tempered, how could he adapt to future fights?

Over the past few days, through some elixirs and cultivation, Ye Yuan had completely stabilized his realm.

He was sharpening his blade, ready for the upcoming tournament.

Luo Qingfeng suddenly realized, "So that's how it is! We misjudged you! As Elder Shao said, you have rendered great service to the sect, and the sect naturally won't be stingy. With your ability, you probably look down on second-grade elixirs. How about this: the sect rewards you with one spirit artifact, one martial technique, and two medicinal herbs, and you can choose them yourself. The contribution points for these eighth-level tasks will also be awarded to you in full. What do you think?"

Ye Yuan naturally wouldn't refuse such a good thing, so he nodded in agreement.

Over the next two days, Ye Yuan continued to prepare for the sect tournament, while the elders who had been in seclusion emerged one after another!

After coming out of seclusion, they naturally heard all kinds of rumors and went to Luo Qingfeng to defend Ye Yuan. It took Luo Qingfeng a great deal of effort to explain things clearly.

Two days later, the sect tournament was about to begin, but Ye Yuan received a visitor...