Chapter 714: The Gu Family Mission

"Simple? Kid, you're too naive! The tasks you've chosen have already been taken on by quite a few high-level alchemy masters in the city, but they all failed! You're just a little brat who just ascended, do you really think you're something?" Steward Lu said irritably.

This kid has his eyes on the top, and if he ends up suffering a big loss, it'll be too late to regret!

If he couldn't complete the task within ten days, with Ye Yuan's current zero merit points, he would be executed!

"Uh... alchemy masters?"

Alchemy masters, in Ye Yuan's eyes, meant nothing!

Ye Yuan looked speechless, and Steward Lu could see that the kid was clearly determined.

He suddenly put away his expression and smiled, "Hey, I only gave you advice out of consideration for the spirit herbs. Since you're asking for death, so be it."

Ye Yuan smiled and said, "Thank you, senior."

Steward Lu's face darkened, and he snorted coldly.

Yu Ming had been silent all along, but he took in the whole scene.

He had thought Ye Yuan was a martial arts prodigy, but it turned out he was also an alchemist!

Seeing Ye Yuan's confident demeanor, he must at least be at the Alchemy Emperor level.

How did this kid cultivate?

Yu Ming was the type to get along with everyone, and he was quite popular in Gufeng City, having made many friends.

Even Steward Lu thought highly of him.

But although Ye Yuan was formidable, he was still an ascender.

According to Yu Ming's earlier thoughts, Ye Yuan should have spent at least a few years mining in the mines.

Whether he was a worm or a dragon, time would tell.

Who would have thought that Ye Yuan would disdain mining and directly take on alchemist tasks!

Yu Ming knew that alchemist tasks not only had low risk but also high rewards. Compared to the life-and-death tasks of martial artists, alchemist tasks had almost no risk.

At worst, they just had to give a cut of the merit points to the city lord's mansion.

A skilled alchemist wouldn't lack these merit points.

But Ye Yuan was different; he was a complete newcomer with zero merit points. And at best, Ye Yuan was just an Alchemy Emperor—how could he complete tasks above the sixth rank?

If Ye Yuan was really asking for death, then so be it. But if he actually had the skill, then he was definitely worth befriending.

"Brother Ye, you're new here and unfamiliar with the city. How about... I act as your guide?" Yu Ming volunteered.

Yu Ming's words surprised Steward Lu.

He knew Yu Ming's character well; for him to willingly act as a guide for this kid, could it be that the kid really had some skill?

But he quickly figured it out: Yu Ming must be betting on this kid because he was so arrogantly confident.

So he cast a disdainful glance at Ye Yuan.

Let them do as they pleased; he had already said what needed to be said.

Ye Yuan naturally wouldn't refuse Yu Ming's offer. He was completely in the dark about Gufeng City, and having a local guide was quite helpful.

"Then I'll trouble you, Brother Yu," Ye Yuan said with a smile.

"Haha, we brothers hit it off at first sight; this little matter is nothing! Cheng Jiang, you go back to the Ascension Pool first; I'll accompany Brother Ye on his errand," Yu Ming instructed.

Along the way, Cheng Jiang was puzzled by Yu Ming's actions.

Moreover, he didn't believe at all that Ye Yuan could complete these alchemist tasks.

Ridiculous—how could an alchemist without even a badge be trusted?

But between him and Yu Ming, Yu Ming was the leader. Seeing Yu Ming's instructions, he left on his own.

As for Huang Tao and Su Cheng, they were also curious, but they had no time to waste and had to report to the mine.

...

The Gu family was one of the three great families of Gufeng City.

Among the tasks Ye Yuan had taken on, one was issued by the Gu family.

This task had the highest merit points of all, a full five hundred!

If he were mining, he would have to dig for a full hundred days!

Merit points in Gufeng City were extremely precious; even a single point was not easy to come by.

Along the way, after listening to Yu Ming's explanations, Ye Yuan had a better understanding.

Don't think mining was an easy job; getting five merit points a day was almost impossible.

Unless one was incredibly lucky and unearthed a very high-quality Earth Element Crystal, they might get five points.

In most cases, they only got two to three points.

For newly ascended martial artists, mining was almost the only way to earn merit points.

Five hundred merit points was a huge fortune even for a local like Yu Ming.

In the Divine Realm, due to the dense Yuan energy, the quality of Yuan crystals was much higher than the top-grade Yuan crystals of the lower realms.

One Earth Element Crystal was equivalent to a thousand top-grade Yuan crystals!

Ordinary Yuan crystals were just trash in the Divine Realm.

"Eh, isn't this Brother Yu? What brings you here today to have a drink with me?"

Just as Ye Yuan and Yu Ming arrived outside the Gu residence, a middle-aged man who looked like a steward came out and greeted Yu Ming directly.

"Hey, Brother Gu Hong, where are you off to?" Yu Ming greeted with a smile, acting very familiar with him.

"Ah, brother, if you came to drink with me, you'll have to pick another day! The family head told me to go to Steward Lu and cancel the task we posted earlier. Lately, there have been all sorts of lousy alchemists who overestimate themselves and take on the Gu family's tasks, but they're all a bunch of frauds. The family head is furious!" Gu Hong said helplessly.

Yu Ming's face turned awkward upon hearing this, as if Gu Hong was talking about him.

Gu Hong was sharp and, seeing Yu Ming's expression, asked curiously, "What's this? Don't tell me you're here for this task? Hey, brother, when did you grow some skills and become an alchemist?"

As he spoke, Gu Hong's expression changed.

Yu Ming knew he couldn't hide it, so he had to say, "It's not me who took it, but this young brother Ye. However, I do think Brother Ye has some skill; how about... letting him give it a try?"

In truth, Yu Ming was uncertain, given Ye Yuan's level.

He hadn't expected the Gu family to be so dismissive of those who took on tasks.

If he had known, he wouldn't have waded into this muddy water.

The Gu family was one of the three great families of Gufeng City, second only to the city lord's mansion in power.

If he offended the Gu family, they could crush him with one hand.

Although he called Gu Hong 'brother,' Gu Hong's status was far above his.

It had cost Yu Ming a great deal to get in with Gu Hong.

But if Yu Ming offended the Gu family, Gu Hong would surely deal with him mercilessly.

The face of a great family was not to be defiled!

He had thought Gu Hong would give him some face, but upon hearing this, Gu Hong's face immediately fell: "Brother Yu, you're putting me in a tough spot! Don't you know our family's task? Even several high-level alchemy masters in the city couldn't solve it. Even if the later ones who took it were rookies, they were at least alchemy masters. This kid doesn't even have a badge—he's clearly here to fish in troubled waters, right?"