Chapter 369: The Xiao Family's Guest Alchemist

"Ha, of course I've refined it. Such a simple pill." Ye Yuan did not intend to hide it.

To Ye Yuan, this Jade Dragon Tranquil Heart Pill was indeed very simple. Truly heaven-defying third-tier pills were countless times more complex than this!

But to Xiao Ruyan, these words made her feel like vomiting blood.

"Brother Ji, could you tell Ruyan about your master's lineage?" Xiao Ruyan asked gloomily.

"Hehe, my master is just a rustic man; Miss Ruyan surely hasn't heard of him. Besides, before I left, he strictly warned me not to use his name."

Ye Yuan had conjured up another master; this trick worked best. The Gale Wind Realm was so vast, how could Xiao Ruyan possibly dig up his master?

But Xiao Ruyan was not so easily fooled. She pressed further, "Since you're unwilling to say, I won't force you. But how can you make me believe you're not sent by the Tong family?"

"This... I really can't prove it." Ye Yuan said helplessly.

"So that means you might be sent by the Tong family?" Xiao Ruyan stared intently at Ye Yuan's eyes, trying to see if he was lying.

Ye Yuan naturally looked composed, smiling, "I think if the Tong family wanted to do something, they wouldn't be stupid enough to send an expert like me, would they? With those weaklings you just recruited, beating you would be a piece of cake for them."

"Uh..." Xiao Ruyan was left speechless.

Indeed, the Tong family didn't need to do anything now; they had already secured victory in this Pill Competition.

Sending a spy like Ye Yuan now would be completely superfluous.

An alchemist who could refine the Jade Dragon Tranquil Heart Pill so effortlessly was not something you could find everywhere.

At this moment, Shopkeeper Tong leaned close to Xiao Ruyan and said, "Second Miss, that makes sense. Besides, the Pill Competition is only three days away, and we have no other choice. Even if he really is a spy, we have to use him!"

Xiao Ruyan sighed and bowed gracefully to Ye Yuan, "Alright, Brother Ji, from today on, you are the Xiao family's guest alchemist. I hope Brother Ji will go all out to help our Xiao family win this competition. As long as Brother Ji can win one match, our Xiao family is willing to pay any price!"

"Really? Does 'any price' include Miss Ruyan?" Ye Yuan raised an eyebrow.

As soon as he said this, two murderous intents locked onto Ye Yuan.

Ye Yuan quickly laughed it off, "Haha, just a joke, just a joke. Miss Ruyan needn't take it seriously."

"Hmph! I advise you not to make such jokes next time, lest you lose your life! I have matters to attend to; I'm returning to the Xiao family! Shopkeeper Tong, you handle Brother Ji's arrangements." With that, Xiao Ruyan left without looking back.

Ye Yuan couldn't help but stick out his tongue. Joking with a woman like that really could bring disaster upon oneself!

Seeing this, Shopkeeper Tong pointed at Ye Yuan and said, "You, you! Why make such a joke? If you had to pick one, why pick on the Second Miss? It's lucky she didn't kill you on the spot!"

Ye Yuan suddenly remembered something and asked curiously, "By the way, wasn't Miss Ruyan supposed to have a martial arts contest for marriage? What's that about?"

Shopkeeper Tong sighed deeply, "Alas, the Second Miss... her fate is bitter! The martial arts contest for marriage was also a helpless move by the Xiao family. In this royal city, those coveting the Second Miss's beauty are not limited to the Huang and Xue families..."

Since Ye Yuan had become the Xiao family's guest alchemist, Shopkeeper Tong naturally concealed nothing from him and briefly introduced the Xiao family's situation.

Ye Yuan couldn't help but sigh after hearing it.

The Xiao family, as a second-rate clan, had always been on par with the Tong family in strength. Over the years, they had traded victories in the Pill Competition.

But this balance was completely shattered thirty years ago.

Thirty years ago, the Tong family's alchemy strength suddenly advanced by leaps and bounds, and several exceptionally talented young figures emerged, winning that year's Pill Competition!

According to the agreement, the Xiao family, having lost, had to cede half of the pill market!

This Pill Competition essentially determined the market share of pills between the Xiao and Tong families. The winner took seventy percent of the pill market, the loser only twenty percent, and the remaining ten percent was distributed among other small forces!

Over the years, the two families had been evenly matched. When one lost, they would do everything to recover, so the victory alternated almost every decade.

But starting thirty years ago, the Xiao family had not won a single time, losing three consecutive competitions!

This year's competition was the fourth. If the Xiao family lost again, they could basically announce their withdrawal from the pill market.

Naturally, the Xiao family was unwilling to continue losing. Over the past decade, they had poured almost all their resources into Xiao Rufeng and Xiao Ruyan.

These two had lived up to expectations, especially Xiao Ruyan, who had reached the advanced Grand Alchemist level at a young age!

But who could have predicted the unexpected? Some time ago, Xiao Rufeng went into seclusion to break through to the Sea Transformation realm and become a quasi-Pill King, but he failed and suffered backlash!

As a result, Xiao Rufeng was severely injured and bedridden, unable to make it to the Pill Competition in three days.

With no other choice, the Xiao family had invited Qiu Zhi and the others.

The pills refined in the Pill Competition were generally as difficult as the Jade Dragon Tranquil Heart Pill. Qiu Zhi and his group couldn't even refine a prepared pill base; they would just be filling numbers at the competition.

Xiao Ruyan had been very dejected behind the partition earlier, but Ye Yuan's appearance made her eyes light up.

As for the martial arts contest for marriage, it was also because the Xiao family was weak and needed to consolidate their position through marriage alliances.

In case the Xiao family really lost the Pill Competition, they had to find a way out in advance.

But the Xiao family couldn't afford to offend either the Huang or Xue families, so they had to use this martial arts contest to decide Xiao Ruyan's fate.

In a way, Xiao Ruyan was also a pitiful person.

After hearing the Xiao family's story, Ye Yuan sighed again.

"So, regardless of Brother Ji's background, I beg you to go all out and help the Xiao family win one match. This old man is extremely grateful!" With that, Shopkeeper Tong bowed deeply to Ye Yuan.

Ye Yuan quickly helped him up, smiling, "Isn't it just a Pill Competition? A trivial matter! Not just one match, three matches are no problem. Ah, by the way, can I compete in all three matches? That way the Tong family is sure to lose!"

Shopkeeper Tong quickly said, "That's naturally not allowed! This Pill Competition tests the overall strength of the younger generation of both families. How could one person compete in three matches?"

"I see, what a pity. They're lucky!" Ye Yuan said with a look of regret.

When it came to alchemy, Ye Yuan was naturally excited. Not just three matches, even thirty matches wouldn't bother him.