After Dan Wen witnessed the scene of Li Yi's departure, he sighed and said: "I truly feel sorry for senior brother Li. Even though he's improving, it seems the gap between him and senior sister Xiao remains the same."
When Dan Wen finished speaking, he heard a voice behind him say:"The same? You're mistaken, boy. It's only widening, not shrinking."
Ling Tian and Dan Wen turned to look at the owner of the voice, who turned out to be Yuan Li, and quickly greeted him:
"Elder Yuan."
Yuan Li nodded his head slightly, then took out an alchemy furnace and the Qi Restoration Pill formula and handed them to Ling Tian.
Ling Tian received them while thanking Yuan Li, then put them away.
But Dan Wen couldn't suppress his curiosity, so he asked in a voice carrying a tone of disagreement: "Elder Yuan, why do you say this? We all saw how much senior brother Li has progressed. Within three years, he went from someone who knew nothing about alchemy to the second-best first-level alchemist."
Yuan Li looked at Dan Wen and smiled a mocking smile, answering calmly: "The boy is talented, I don't deny that, but to compare him to Yao'er—that's sheer fantasy."
Ling Tian couldn't stop himself from asking in a voice carrying curiosity: "Why is that, Elder Yuan?"
Yuan Li answered calmly while looking at Dan Wen: "Boy, how many times have you watched their competition so far?"
Dan Wen answered in a decisive voice carrying no doubt, mixed with curiosity: "I haven't missed any competition between them, Elder, but what do you mean by this question?"
Yuan Li said calmly: "Then how many times did Li Yi seem close to Xiao Yao's level?"
Dan Wen thought for a moment, then answered: "Senior brother Li was close to senior sister's level in most competitions. The only times he seemed very far from senior sister Xiao's level were when he had just begun learning alchemy."
When Ling Tian heard this, a ridiculous idea came to his mind, but he could only voice it: "Do you mean that senior sister Xiao was restraining herself during the competition?"
Dan Wen was shocked when he heard Ling Tian's words and wanted to deny it, but Yuan Li's voice stopped him: "Of course she's restraining herself. Otherwise, how would she produce only three pills at only high-quality grade?"
Ling Tian was shocked by Yuan Li's words and thought to himself:
"Is he saying she can refine peak-quality pills and more than three? How talented must she be to do that?"
Dan Wen was also shocked, but he quickly found a convincing explanation: "Elder Yuan, are you saying that senior sister Li restrains herself so as not to crush senior brother Li?"
Yuan Li nodded his head lightly.
When Dan Wen heard this, he could only say: "How kind must senior sister be to do that!"
Even Ling Tian nodded his head at that.
But when Yuan Li heard their words, the cold and indifferent Elder began laughing from his heart: "Hahahaha... You say kind? Believe me, she's everything but kind, boys. She's only doing this because she's afraid her only entertainment will disappear as punishment. You could say she's afraid of breaking her toy."
When Ling Tian and Dan Wen heard his words, the image of the loving senior sister in their imagination shattered immediately.
After seeing their reaction, he laughed a little and said with a mocking look:
"Perhaps I shouldn't have said that. In any case, don't spread this talk or that girl will chase you both forever."
After saying that, Yuan Li disappeared from before them.
After Yuan Li disappeared from before them, Ling Tian saw that Dan Wen was silent for some time, looking as though he was disappointed.
He said calmly while placing his hand on Dan Wen's shoulder: "Senior brother Dan."
Only then did Dan Wen awaken. He turned to Ling Tian and said: "Junior brother, I must leave now. If you encounter any difficulty in alchemy, just say the word."
Ling Tian nodded to Dan Wen: "Then I thank senior brother Dan from now."
Dan Wen nodded and left calmly, with a dim look on his face. When Ling Tian saw him like this, he sighed a little while shaking his head.
After that, Ling Tian approached Xiao Yao to obtain the herbs and fire control technique.
Xiao Yao smiled when she saw him and said enthusiastically: "What did you say to Uncle Yuan? I haven't seen him laugh like that in ages."
When Ling Tian heard her words, his lips trembled as he thought: "If I told her that her beloved uncle revealed her true nature to us, I believe I would vanish from this world."
He dismissed these thoughts and smiled with difficulty, saying:
"I don't know. Senior brother Dan suddenly said he loves delicious food, and Elder Yuan started laughing. Perhaps it's a joke between them."
Although Ling Tian said this with a serious face, inwardly he felt sorry for senior brother Dan.
When Xiao Yao heard his words, she narrowed her eyes slightly, then placed her hand on her chin and said with a doubtful tone: "Strange, I don't remember Elder Yuan being close to anyone here. Well, it doesn't matter. I'll ask him later."
Ling Tian secretly sighed with relief, then asked Xiao Yao in a refreshed voice: "Senior sister Xiao, I'm here for the herbs and fire control technique."
When Ling Tian finished speaking, Xiao Yao took out a spatial bag and said enthusiastically: "Here you are, junior brother. I hope you benefited from my alchemy lesson."
Ling Tian took the bag, then looked at this senior sister who seemed like an angel, but each time the image of this angel was being destroyed by the impact of Yuan Li's words.
But he controlled himself and didn't care much, saying in a tone carrying warmth: "Thank you, senior sister. I truly benefited from your lesson."
She answered enthusiastically: "I'm glad to hear that, junior brother."
After Ling Tian took what he came for, he wanted to return to practice alchemy, so he said in an urgent tone: "Well then, senior sister, I must go to practice alchemy. Farewell."
Xiao Yao nodded her head while saying: "Take care of yourself, junior brother. By the way, this beast of yours is quite interesting." She said that while pointing at Ling Yan sitting near him, carrying a look that said Did you forget about me, you bastard?
Ling Tian smiled and said with a dry laugh: "I almost forgot him from the intensity of my joy at becoming an alchemist."
Ling Yan growled angrily at Ling Tian, but in the end followed him calmly.
Xiao Yao laughed at this situation and said: "Unfortunately, I don't have a beast like yours. He's truly amusing. I must search for one as soon as possible."
Ling Tian smiled and said in a slightly tense voice: "Then I hope you find a beast soon."
Ling Tian said that while thinking in fear: "I hope she didn't notice Ling Yan's strangeness, or we'll be in trouble."
After that, Ling Tian returned with Ling Yan to the Shi Chun Inn. As soon as he entered, the place was just as he'd left it—still filled with the clamor of patrons and the smell of alcohol everywhere.
Ling Tian went to the old man and said proudly: "Old man, open those dog eyes of yours and look at this token." He said that while pointing with his hand to the Ji Lian Pavilion token on his chest.
But contrary to what he expected, there was no look of surprise in the old man's eyes.
Rather, it was as if he had expected this, and he smiled calmly and said: "So you've become an alchemist, boy. What is your mental strength rating?"
Ling Tian was puzzled by the old man's question and said with a doubtful tone: "Heavenly. Why?"
When the old man heard the word "Heavenly," the look in his eyes dimmed and he said: "What a pity."
Ling Tian began to grow tense, and a sense of unease crept over him as he said: "What do you mean?"
When the old man heard Ling Tian's words, he smiled faintly and said: "Don't misunderstand me. It's your good fortune and my bad luck."
The more the old man spoke like this, the more uneasy Ling Tian felt, and he said in a tense voice: "What do you mean? Please explain."
The old man didn't care about Ling Tian's strangeness and said with indifference: "I mean that when you find a treasure next time, you should try to hide it better."
When Ling Tian heard the old man's words, he panicked and his heart began beating faster. His mind began racing and he said in a voice that seemed natural: "What treasure are you talking about? I don't understand your words."
Although he said that, inwardly he was terrified: "How? How did he know?"
The old man continued speaking with indifference: "Don't be afraid, boy. If I wanted to harm you, you'd be dead now, so don't worry."
When Ling Tian heard that, he calmed down a little, but his heart was still beating rapidly and he said hesitantly: "How... how did you know?"
The old man answered mockingly: "What did you think? When you come with torn clothes and say you want to learn alchemy, this means two possibilities."
After saying that, he shouted at the waiter for his slowness, then returned to Ling Tian and said with a mocking smile: "Either you found a treasure and tore your clothes so as not to arouse suspicion—a possibility I rule out because it's simply stupid—or you suffered a serious injury and found a treasure that healed you, and this is what I believe happened."
Ling Tian was shocked by the old man's words and realized how reckless he had been.
After some time, and after calming down a little, he said in a surprised voice: "So what did you mean when you said that obtaining Heavenly-grade mental strength is my good fortune?"
The old man looked at him briefly and answered mockingly: "Haven't you understood yet? This means I'm not interested in what you obtained. If your mental strength were stronger, I would have ways to plunder it from you, but since it's Heavenly-grade, it's simply not worth the effort."
Ling Tian was even more shocked, but at this time he became better and his fear lessened, and he said doubtfully: "Do you mean that if I had stronger mental strength, I would be dead now?"
The old man nodded while saying with a gentle smile: "Exactly."
Cold sweat crept over Ling Tian and fear began returning to him, and he thought happily: "It seems that choosing to hide my mental strength was wise." But he didn't show his joy; instead, he began to be wary of the old man.
"Well, boy, next time try to be better. You're not stupid, but you're not a genius either. People like you must be the most cautious to survive," the old man said, instructing Ling Tian as if he were a master and his disciple, and he didn't seem at all like he had been planning to kill him.
Ling Tian nodded as he saw the old man's expression, and he could only sigh while thinking: "It seems I have a long road to travel before I reach the old man's level."