What Do You Call a Benevolent and Reasonable Person in Xianxia? An Impossibility!

In the Jia Ma Sacred City, within the Alchemist Association.

As the Green Lotus Core Flame gradually dissipated within the Double Snake Cauldron, a round pill emerged. Its color was bright and fresh, adorned with intricate patterns, and the fragrance it emitted was intoxicating.

“Whoo~~~”

Xiao Yan exhaled gently, finally relaxing his taut nerves.

He had not properly refined any pills for several days and was worried that his skills had deteriorated.

However, it seemed his worries were unnecessary. The combination of the Heavenly Flames and the improvement of his cultivation technique made refining even smoother than before.

Xiao Yan then handed the Tier 3 Windwalking Pill to the dazed examiner in front of him and asked softly.

“Does this count as passing?”

“Huh? Oh!”

Hearing Xiao Yan’s question, the examiner snapped back to reality, took the Windwalking Pill from Xiao Yan, and examined it carefully. His eyes revealed a mixture of astonishment and complexity.

“It passes.”

The examiner’s voice trembled slightly, trying hard to suppress the shock in his heart as he announced the result.

Then, a staff member came in from outside, carrying a tray. On the tray were a robe and a silver badge, with three stars carved under the character for “medicine” — the proof of a Tier 3 alchemist recognized by the Jia Ma Empire’s Alchemist Association.

“Thank you.”

Xiao Yan clasped his fists and saluted the examiner, then put away the robe, badge, and cauldron, and left the examination room under the guidance of the staff.

Just as Xiao Yan left the examination room, a figure appeared beside the examiner.

It was Fa Ma, the Chairman of the Jia Ma Empire’s Alchemist Association, a Tier 5 alchemist with Dou Huang (Battle Emperor, 7th Level) strength.

“What was the result?”

“Chairman!” The examiner was startled by Fa Ma’s sudden appearance and then presented the Windwalking Pill to Fa Ma. “Chairman, this is the Windwalking Pill refined by that young man.”

Fa Ma took the pill and scrutinized it for a moment, a hint of astonishment flashing in his eyes.

Although the Windwalking Pill was only a Tier 3 pill, its quality and the pill patterns indicated that the boy named Xiao Yan had the capability to refine Tier 4 pills without any problem. Moreover, he was young and possessed a unique flame…

“Letting this kid participate in the Alchemist Conference might be a bit unfair to the others.”

Fa Ma chuckled.

The Alchemist Conference had only an age limit, with no restrictions on the Tier of alchemists.

However, normally, reaching the Tier 4 alchemist level at this age was rare in the entire Jia Ma Empire.

“Princess Yao Yue and Liu Ling are probably going to be disheartened this time~”

Fa Ma returned the pill to the examiner, thinking about the recommendation letter he had just seen. His elderly brows furrowed slightly.

Xiao Yan, a boy from Wutan City, the fiancé of Nalan Yanran, was recommended by the Miteer Auction House for the alchemist examination. If nothing unexpected happened, Xiao Yan would participate in the Alchemist Conference under the name of the Miteer Auction House.

This seemed strange to anyone.

Both sentimentally and logically, Xiao Yan should participate under the Nalan family’s name.

Of course, if Xiao Yan did not have a good relationship with his fiancée’s family, that would be understandable.

But according to the information, Xiao Yan had a pretty good relationship with the Nalan family.

Moreover, the entire Jia Ma Sacred City knew that Xiao Yan was the future son-in-law of the Nalan family. The Miteer Auction House should not have taken the initiative to support him in a way that might offend the Nalan family. This was almost like slapping the Nalan family in the face.

Being in the same city, among the three great families, the future son-in-law of one family being supported by another unrelated party to participate in the Alchemist Conference would make some people think that the Nalan family did not value Xiao Yan.

This meant that the Nalan family probably allowed the Miteer Auction House to do this.

And for the Miteer Auction House to take such a risk of offending the Nalan family without any opposition from them, Fa Ma could only think of one reason.

There must be an order from above affecting both families.

(The Royal Family…)

Fa Ma’s face darkened as he turned and left the examination room, leaving the examiner puzzled.

Being among the top echelons of Jia Ma Sacred City, Fa Ma was well aware of the recent activities of the Royal Family and Yun Lan Sect.

As the saying goes, the older one is, the wiser they are. With just a little thought, Fa Ma immediately understood the Royal Family’s intention.

“It seems this Alchemist Conference will be the last calm before the storm…”

Fa Ma murmured, sighing.

Meanwhile, outside the Alchemist Association, Nalan Yanran and her two companions were still waiting, bored.

“I really didn’t expect Xiao Yan to know how to refine pills.”

Nalan Yanran murmured. Xiao Yixian squatted on the ground, a helpless smile on her lips.

“If you knew what he has been doing lately, you would think his ability to refine pills is no big deal.” Xiao Yixian glanced sideways at Nalan Yanran. “Compared to what he has been doing recently, refining pills is trivial.”

Xiao Yixian was telling the absolute truth.

Considering what Xiao Yan did during the Snake-People Tribe incident, refining pills was nothing in comparison.

Refining pills demonstrated his talent.

But the things Xiao Yan did, no matter how talented someone was, they couldn’t have done them.

Hearing Xiao Yixian’s words, Nalan Yanran frowned slightly.

She knew nothing about the Snake-People Tribe incident, and Nalan Jie hadn’t told his granddaughter anything due to Jia Xing Tian’s suspicions.

“What has he been doing recently?”

Nalan Yanran asked softly, but Xiao Yixian shook her head, refusing to answer.

“Miss Nalan, I can’t tell you about these matters yet, but I believe you will eventually find out.”

Over the past few days, Xiao Yixian had been closely following the events and was aware of Jia Xing Tian’s wariness towards Nalan Yanran.

Even though from her brief conversations with Nalan Yanran, Xiao Yixian could tell that Nalan Yanran had no connection with the people from Yun Lan Sect, this was just her personal assessment and not necessarily the truth.

Therefore, for now, it was best to follow Jia Xing Tian’s instructions and keep these matters from Nalan Yanran.

Xiao Yixian’s words made Nalan Yanran’s brows furrow slightly, and she asked softly.

“Is this… Lord Jia’s idea?”

“…Yes.”

Xiao Yixian hesitated for a moment but finally nodded. At least, Nalan Yanran should be aware that Jia Xing Tian was suspicious of her. Even if Xiao Yixian didn’t say it, Nalan Yanran could figure it out herself.

“I understand.” Nalan Yanran sighed softly, leaned against the wall with her hands behind her back, and murmured, “It seems the issues with Yun Lan Sect are more serious than I imagined…”

Because of her position as the Young Mistress of the Yun Lan Sect, she was being suspected by the Royal Family, and her teacher had forbidden her from returning to Yun Lan Sect for the time being.

This was definitely not a small matter.

At this moment, the doors of the Alchemist Association opened, and Xiao Yan walked out, smiling at the three of them.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Xiao Yan, have you finished your examination?”

Nalan Yanran looked at Xiao Yan as Xiao Yixian stood up and asked softly.

“How did it go?”

“It wasn’t too difficult. I passed successfully.”

Xiao Yan said as he took out the badge representing a Tier 3 alchemist and showed it to the two of them. Xiao Yixian didn’t react much since she wasn’t very familiar with alchemists.

However, Nalan Yanran’s expression was one of shock. She grabbed Xiao Yan’s wrist with both hands and stared intently at the badge.

“Tier 3?!”

Xiao Yan’s ability to refine pills had already exceeded Nalan Yanran’s expectations. She had thought he might be a Tier 1 alchemist, and Tier 2 at best.

But she never expected that Xiao Yan had achieved the qualification of a Tier 3 alchemist!

A Tier 3 alchemist!

How old was Xiao Yan? This level of talent was rare even in the Jia Ma Empire.

Gu He’s personal disciple, Liu Ling, who had been pursuing her, had only recently advanced to Tier 3.

As expected of my fiancé!

Nalan Yanran felt extremely excited and was about to shout this out loud, but she suddenly felt a tightness in her chest and held back, beginning to silently reproach herself.

Her old habit had resurfaced…

What did it mean to say, “As expected of my fiancé” as if only someone like Xiao Yan could be worthy of her?

Her feelings for Xiao Yan had nothing to do with these achievements.

“Let’s go home. Grandpa will be very happy to hear about this!”

Nalan Yanran said excitedly. Nalan Jie was already very pleased with Xiao Yan as his grandson-in-law. If he learned that Xiao Yan had successfully obtained the qualification of a Tier 3 alchemist, he would be overjoyed. Who wouldn’t want their future grandson-in-law to be so outstanding?

As they prepared to return to the Nalan residence, the once empty street ahead suddenly became lively, with many people standing on either side of the road, seemingly waiting for something.

After a while, Xiao Yan saw a procession slowly making its way through the crowd. Leading the group was an elderly man on horseback, whose dignified presence was strikingly similar to that of Nalan Jie.

Behind the elderly man on horseback was someone Xiao Yan recognized: Princess Yao Ye of the Jia Ma Empire.

Xiao Yan quickly understood that Yao Ye was heading to the Tager Desert to officially sign a treaty with the Snake-People on behalf of the Jia Ma Empire.

The Royal Family’s involvement in the slave trade run by the Mo Clan hadn’t been widely publicized yet, so only a few people knew Yao Ye’s true destination. By the time everyone found out, the treaty would likely already be signed.

At this moment, Yao Ye noticed Xiao Yan among the crowd, raised her hand to signal a stop, dismounted, and approached Xiao Yan under the curious gazes of the onlookers. Xiao Yan smiled and greeted her with a clasped fist salute.

“Your Highness.”

Hearing Xiao Yan address her as “Your Highness,” Yao Ye frowned slightly, but since it was a public setting, she didn’t dwell on it and joked lightly.

“Are you here to see me off?”

“No.” Xiao Yan gently denied, pointing to the Alchemist Association behind him. “I came to take the alchemist examination and happened to run into you.”

“…”

Xiao Yan’s response made Yao Ye’s mouth twitch, and everyone around them was inwardly speechless at his straightforwardness. Even Xiao Yixian and Nalan Yanran covered their faces with black lines.

How could they fall for someone like him?

Even Yao Chen in the ring was at a loss for words. Her disciple was such a straightforward man!

Yao Ye prided herself on being straightforward and easy-going, but Xiao Yan’s honest answer left her momentarily speechless. She took a deep breath.

Forget it, this is just his nature. Didn’t I already understand this when we were in the Tager Desert?

Before, Yao Ye had admired Xiao Yan’s unparalleled honesty, but now she realized that being too honest could also be a flaw.

Yao Ye looked at Xiao Yan and said,

“This time, I’m going to the Tager Desert to meet with your sister and the others on behalf of the Jia Ma Empire. The Snake-People’s migration can proceed smoothly.” Yao Ye said with a hint of helplessness, “But this trip will take two to three months.”

“Is your safety assured?”

Xiao Yan asked with concern. The matter of the Snake-People was important, but Yao Ye was the future queen of the Jia Ma Empire. If anything happened to her on this journey, it wouldn’t be a small issue.

“Don’t worry, General Mu is with me.” Yao Ye turned slightly and introduced the leading elderly man to Xiao Yan. “This is General Mu Chen, the head of the Mu family.”

“Greetings, General Mu.”

After Yao Ye’s introduction, Xiao Yan clasped his fists and saluted General Mu Chen. Mu Chen didn’t respond but nodded slightly, his old eyes scrutinizing the young man before him.

As Jia Xing Tian’s most trusted confidant, Mu Chen knew all about the events involving the Snake-People and had heard Jia Xing Tian lavish praise on Xiao Yan.

Jia Xing Tian had even joked that if Xiao Yan weren’t engaged to the Nalan family, he would marry Yao Ye to him, showing how highly he regarded Xiao Yan.

Aside from Jia Xing Tian’s personal opinion, Mu Chen was also impressed by Xiao Yan’s actions during the Snake-People incident. Xiao Yan’s courage in entering the strange flame to save Medusa was particularly admirable.

Mu Chen was sure that if he were in Xiao Yan’s position, he couldn’t have done what Xiao Yan did. Just this point alone made Mu Chen feel inferior.

Lack of strength could be compensated for through training.

But lack of character was much harder to improve.

Mu Chen had once thought that his grandson, Mu Zhan, was a standout among the younger generation. Despite being a bit of a playboy, Mu Zhan was still an exceptional young man, often achieving great merits in the military, making his grandfather proud.

However, compared to Xiao Yan, Mu Zhan’s excellence suddenly seemed lacking.

And this wasn’t Mu Zhan’s fault. Mu Chen didn’t expect Mu Zhan to match Xiao Yan’s character.

Such character was simply not something normal people could attain.