Chapter 375: Tian Ji's Horse Racing Strategy

Tong Wenchang intended to embarrass Ye Yuan and did not hold back with this grab.

But before his eyes, Ye Yuan had vanished without a trace.

Tong Wenchang's heart jolted as a sense of crisis struck from behind. He whirled around, but no one was there.

Again from behind, the sense of crisis struck once more!

Tong Wenchang turned again, but still no one was there!

Everyone looked at him with strange expressions, wanting to laugh but unable to.

They wanted to laugh because Tong Wenchang's suspicious demeanor was utterly ridiculous.

They couldn't laugh because Ye Yuan's movement technique was like a ghost's, not at all what one would expect from a Condensation Realm martial artist!

Although Tong Wenchang was an alchemist, he was a genuine Ocean Transformation Realm martial artist, yet he couldn't even touch the hem of Ye Yuan's garment!

"Are you looking for me?" With a flicker, Ye Yuan reappeared before Tong Wenchang.

Tong Wenchang's face darkened, feeling as if he were being toyed with. In this royal city, few dared to toy with him!

"Good, very good! You've successfully angered me. I'll make sure the Xiao family dies a miserable death! I wonder then, will they thank you for fighting on their behalf, or hate you for snatching away their last glimmer of hope?" Tong Wenchang sneered at Ye Yuan.

"Haha, talk after you win. What's the use of boasting now?" Ye Yuan said nonchalantly.

Tong Wenchang snorted coldly and led Du Cheng and the Tong family into the guild.

Ye Yuan didn't turn around, but he felt several gazes fixed on him. Turning, he saw Xiao Ruyan looking at him with displeasure.

"So your movement technique is this fast. Did you go easy on me the day before yesterday?" Xiao Ruyan said.

Ye Yuan laughed heartily. "I told you it was just a joke. Why take it seriously?"

"You can still laugh! You've completely enraged Tong Wenchang. He'll go all out this time, and we'll have even less hope!" Xiao Ruyan complained.

"Ruyan! At a time like this, the Xiao family should be united. How can you question Brother Ji? Brother Ji joined the Xiao family in our time of need, showing his sincerity. Even if the Xiao family loses today, we should treat him well!" Xiao Rufeng quickly stopped her, glaring at Xiao Ruyan.

"Ruyan is immature. Brother Ji, please don't be angry," Xiao Rufeng apologized to Ye Yuan.

Ye Yuan waved his hand. "Heh, Brother Xiao is too kind. I joined the Xiao family only to find a place to stay in the royal city; I didn't think much beyond that. But since I've joined, naturally I won't go back on my word."

Though he knew Xiao Rufeng might be putting on a show, Ye Yuan didn't mind.

In fact, Xiao Rufeng's inner torment was likely even greater than Xiao Ruyan's, yet he had the composure to seize the opportunity to win Ye Yuan over—truly the bearing of a would-be tyrant.

Xiao Ruyan pursed her lips but said nothing.

Then, the Xiao family party also entered the guild.

The Alchemist Guild headquarters was vast. They arrived at a hall filled with a distinguished gathering.

As Ye Yuan took his seat, he noticed several provocative glances directed at him, which left him somewhat exasperated.

Clearly, they were the ones stirring up trouble, yet they all acted as if he owed them something.

What was all this about?

But thinking about it, those few should be the younger generation of the Tong family.

However, speaking of it, the strength of the younger generation of the Tong family is indeed much stronger than that of the Xiao family.

Ye Yuan sensed slightly and discovered several high-level grand alchemists, far more than the few who had appeared on stage.

On the other hand, on the Xiao family's side, apart from Xiao Rufeng and his sister, there were very few high-level grand alchemists. It seemed their level was not very good; otherwise, they wouldn't have needed to recruit Ye Yuan as a guest elder.

Ye Yuan's attention was still focused on Du Cheng, who had traveled thousands of miles deep into enemy territory just to save this group of fellow disciples.

Now, having gone through life and death, finally seeing one of them, Ye Yuan's heart stirred slightly.

Just then, the entire hall suddenly fell silent. Clearly, an important figure had arrived.

Ye Yuan didn't recognize anyone here except Xiao Changfeng.

But Ye Yuan saw that he was now very carefully accompanying an old man, while that old man showed much impatience.

Both were alchemy king experts, yet Xiao Changfeng was almost groveling, which made Ye Yuan sigh deeply.

When a family declines, even an alchemy king expert cannot stand tall!

The world of martial artists has always been a game for the strong; no one sympathizes with the weak.

On the other side, a middle-aged man about the same age as Xiao Rufeng was also accompanying an old man, and the two were chatting and laughing, clearly on equal terms.

That person was naturally the head of the Tong family—Tong Fangshuo.

After chatting for a few sentences, Xiao Changfeng and Tong Fangshuo returned to their respective family positions, while the two old men sat in the central seats.

But in the middle of the row of central seats, one seat was left empty, clearly indicating that an even more important figure had not yet arrived.

Xiao Changfeng sat between Xiao Rufeng and Ye Yuan, while the other elders of the family sat behind.

After sitting down, Xiao Changfeng suddenly said to Ye Yuan, "Brother Ji, in this battle, you will face Tong Wenchang, while Rufeng and Ruyan will face Tong Wenshou and Tong Wenhui respectively! Against Tong Wenchang, you only need to do your best; winning or losing is not important. Is that acceptable?"

Ye Yuan understood clearly; this was obviously Xiao Changfeng not trusting his strength and wanting to use the strategy of Tian Ji's horse racing to win this contest.

Ye Yuan didn't feel much resistance to this arrangement, after all, he didn't want to stand out too much.

In such a life-or-death competition, expecting Xiao Changfeng to place all his hopes on an outsider like Ye Yuan was clearly unrealistic.

In comparison, Xiao Rufeng and Xiao Ruyan were his own flesh and blood, naturally more reliable.

Previously, the Xiao family had been eager to recruit a guest elder because Xiao Rufeng was bedridden, leaving only Xiao Ruyan. Now that Xiao Ruyan had refined the Haoling Peiyuan Pill, Xiao Changfeng naturally trusted his own son more.

Although Xiao Rufeng was not in his best condition, defeating Tong Wenshou should not be difficult.

Among the three contestants from the Tong family, Tong Wenhui was the weakest. Having Xiao Ruyan take him on naturally gave a much higher chance of success.

It should be said that, given the assumption that Ye Yuan's strength was unknown, this arrangement was the most reasonable!

Losing to Tong Wenchang didn't bother Ye Yuan psychologically. He was a reincarnated alchemy emperor; why would he argue with a mere quasi-alchemy king?

The earlier dispute with Tong Wenchang was at most a verbal spat; Ye Yuan was not so petty as to hold a grudge.

Since Xiao Changfeng didn't place any hope in him, he could just muddle through.

Having figured this out, Ye Yuan became even less interested in this alchemy competition, his mind instead scheming on how to approach Du Cheng.

Ye Yuan merely nodded slightly at Xiao Changfeng to indicate he understood.