Chapter 9 – Start of the tournament
As Yao Chen was undergoing closed cultivation, the entire Medicine Clan was finishing the final preparations for the tournament.
The tournament is a grand event where invitations would be extended to other great powers, and the outstanding scions of the clan would be presented to the world.
Currently, the powers were subordinate to the Medicine Clan, as well as those that were on good terms with the clan had all arrived early.
The tournament was not only a grand event for the clan, it was also an excellent opportunity for the other powers to acquire precious and rare pills.
Usually, the pills available externally were limited in supply and it was only during the tournament that the restrictions on the supply were lifted and pills were made freely available.
Though there was still half a month to go before the start of the tournament, transactions were already starting to take place and the various powers, with numerous rare and precious materials in hand, had set up shop along the streets and neighbourhoods by using various methods and had their banners and flags on display listing the pills that they were looking to acquire and the materials they were were using to trade it with.
Normally, these pills were items that one could only wish for. However, this was the Medicine Clan and there were no pills that one could not acquire here, though the only prerequisite for acquiring them was having something that the Medicine Clansmen were willing to trade for.
This was a grand event to the various powers that had the qualifications to enter the Medicine Clan to trade as the pills that were acquired during the tournament were not necessarily for the use of their own clans as the pills, being something produced by the Medicine Clan, would be a priceless treasure that would be worth an entire city with even a single pill being nigh impossible to acquire when brought to the outside world,
The pills that could be acquired in the Medicine Clan, even if there were of tier 3 and below, were still immensely profitable in sufficient quantities.
One of the reason why the Medicine Clan was willing to trade for pills was to establish relations with various powers and to strengthen the alliances between them, and more importantly, to collect and gather rare and precious alchemical materials.
Though the Medicine Clan was strong, the power of their clan alone was limited, and it is only through the assistance of the various powers that all sorts of rare materials could be gathered.
Currently, Yao Lan was strolling along the streets, his eyes glancing at the banners intermittently looking for any materials that he might be interested in.The fact that they were being displayed in the Medicine Clan attests to the rarity of the materials, and though they were also available in the clan treasury, they had to be exchanged for using contribution points.
“Elder Yao Lan !” Suddenly, a voice sounded out from behind.
Yao Lan stopped and turned around.
“Eh? It’s brother Liao. What’s the matter?”
“Can i speak to you for a moment over here please.”
The person who had arrived was the patriarch of a subordinate family of the Medicine Clan named Liao Yun Tu who was ardently inviting Yao Lan over.
“Sure.”
Yao Lan had encountered situations like this more than once in the past few days.
Truthfully, Yao Lan would gracefully decline such private discussions as any trades would have to be in accordance with the rules but the Liao family was of high standing in the Medicine Clan, having greased quite a few palms and a little face had to be given to them.
As expected,when the both of them had walked to a secluded area, Liao Yun Tu made his request.
“I know that elder Yao Lan is a busy man so i’ll get straight to the point. I beg your pardon if any offence is caused.”
“Brother Liao is exaggerating. What does the Liao family need? If it’s something minor, i can be of assistance.”
Yao Lan thought that the Liao family wished to purchase large quantities of low tier pills that were commonly used for replenishing energy, healing wounds. While pills like these were common in the outside world, their efficacy paled in comparison to those produced by the Medicine Clan as pills produced by other alchemists could not compete with the Medicine Clan and immense profits could be guaranteed person buying large quantities of such pills.
The problem was,the only ones that would stoop to refining such ordinary low tier pills in the Medicine Clan, and nine times out of ten, the people approaching Yao Lan, who was in charge of the educating the clan’s youths approached him with exactly this reason in mind.
Yao Lan was accustomed to this. The youths in the clan had to refine large quantities of low tier pills if they wished to improve and since the pills they refined would only be rotting in storage so it was better to sell them as a favour to others and make a profit at the same time.
“Ahem… I heard that in the recent school competition there was a pill called the VioletFlame pill. How would the VioletFlame pill fare in comparison to the AzureFlame pill?”
Liao Yun Tu coughed lightly, his words startling Yao Lan.
“Brother Liao,why are you interested in this pill? It’s only an ordinary tier 3 pill and furthermore, it can’t be produced in large quantities.”
“Haha, it may be so but i’ve heard that elder Yao Wan Huo praised this pill highly and said that for flame attributed martial practitioners, it was a good pill used for breakthroughs. I’m not in this for the profit but for my son, he’s been stuck at the nine star Martial Practitioner level for over a decade….and this might be his only chance.”
Yao Lan furrowed his brow. It was one thing for the clan to trade with the outside world but solicitations towards the clan’s outstanding youths by the various powers was frowned upon in order to maintain order in the clan.
The nature of naive youths tend to make them feel favorably towards such solicitors and the clan tries to prevent the youths from being influenced by such people when they were still young and did not know much about the ways of the world.
As such, if the Liao family wished to approach Yao Chen, who created the VioletFlame pill, they had to do so through the school.
As the Liao family was a subordinate of the Medicine Clan and a contributor to the clan’s power and influence, the clan was willing to close an eye to private solicitations like this so long as nothing untoward happens.However, if something were to actually happen, it would instantly sour all relations with the clan and the clan would have to be compensated fully.
The reason why Yao Chen could beat Yao Tong who had restored an ancient pill formula was because the VioletFlame pill could assist in breakthroughs; Though it wasn’t a hundred percent success rate, it mere fact that it was possible was astonishing and though the Still Wind Lunar Invitation pill was great, it’s origins were unclear.Furthermore, no matter how good the Still Wing Lunar Invitation pill was, it was still a pill that was to be consumed before an impending battle but the VioletFlame pill could also do what the Still Wind Lunar Invitation pill could and moreover,it’s effect of assisting in breakthroughs made it the superior pill by far.
Truth be told, the Medicine Clan does have pills that could assist in making breakthroughs but the cost involved in producing them were exorbitant and the clan would only produce one or two such pills every few years,though even if the clan were to produce them every year, these pills would still be in short supply.
Apart from the refinement of such pills being tough with low success rates, the materials for such pills were also scarce and rarely seen. As such, though the VioletFlame pill’s effect only had a chance of breakthroughs, it was still a priceless pill.
However, upon further investigation, the VioletFlame pill was a specialty of Yao Chen and no one else in the Medicine Clan was able to refine it.If anyone wished to acquire the VioletFlame pill they had to contact Yao Chen immediately; If news of it were to leak, it would be tough for the Liao family, given their current standing and influence to acquire the VioletFlame pill and furthermore ,this was only if Yao Chen was willing to refine the pill.
While the Medicine Clan acts for the benefit of the clan as a whole, it also takes in account the wellbeing of its individual members because a clan that forces its members against their will would never survive through the ages.
“Sure, if a chance arises, i’ll make the introductions .However, you should be aware of what you have to fork out.”
“Rest assured elder, i’m willing to pay the price and will not disappoint you.”
Liao Yun Tu rejoiced and after giving his thanks, turned around and left.
Yao Lan lost interest in strolling the streets after this encounter.
Yao Chen hadn’t been to school recently, and form what Luo Shu said, seemed to be in closed cultivation.Yao Lan disapproved of Yao Chen’s closed cultivation; Yao Chen has been noticed by the upper echelons of the clan ever since he refined the VioletFlame pill and obtained the qualifications to participate in the tournament and there would be a lot of resources dedicated to cultivating him in the future and first first course of action would be to assist him in using the TriFlower Flame Concentrating method to establish his foundation after which he would be provided with the high level flame attributed techniques of the clan.
At this point of time, if Yao Chen was smart, he would be participating in more activities to network, thereby securing more benefits for himself in the future.By going into closed cultivation immediately, he was giving others the impression of being arrogant and aloof.
Yao Lan never would have thought that what was on Yao Chen’s mind was not his future, but being the champion of the tournament, the revival of his family name and inscribing his name onto the ancestral stone stele.
Qualifying for the tournament was something that brought joy to some and misery to others; Yao Chen’s qualification caused Yao Yun to lose his place and the resulting grudge was something that Yao Yun would not forget, and was akin to a venomous creating biting his heart without letting go.
“Brother Feng, i’m incompetent.”
Currently, Yao Yun had his head lowered and was standing before a tall and handsome youth with a face like white jade whose wide eyes were curved by his gaze, as if he were smiling.
This pale faced youth was Yao Feng,an elite amongst the clan’s youths, who had advanced to the level of a Martial Master at the age of sixteen.
“It doesn’t matter, i had originally thought that you would only be able to enter the top eight and didn’t expect that Yao-whatever he’s called to appear. Though he may have risen up suddenly, you are not to blame.”
Yao Yun did not dare raise his head and could only meekly reply.
“Brother Feng, are you going to recruit him?”
“Haha, since he caused you to lose your spot in the tournament, naturally i’ll take care of him. Recruit him? He’s just a poor disciple who just got lucky, so long as you do what is required of you, you will have a share in any future benefits.”
Yao Yun nodded his head, his face full of gratitude, and left after expressing his loyalty and determination.
After Yao Yun’s departure, a sharp look flashed across Yao Feng’s narrow eyes as the corner of his lips curled as he muttered to himself.
“Yao Chen? A branch family member whose great grandfather’s name is inscribed onto the ancestral stele. Interesting indeed….”
Half a month flew by in the blink of an eye.
Unexpectedly Yao Chen, who had caught the attention of everyone, did not even appear once in this half a month, and no one ever saw him as he was still in closed cultivation.
Today was the start of the tournament and the whole clan was in a festive mood with families hanging lanterns and ten tall platforms were erected in the school field where the ancestral stele was located; The platform in the middle was for the elders of the clan, and the other platforms were filled with the esteemed guests who were gathered for the tournament.
There were over a hundred cauldrons in front of the stele, with a stone table beside every cauldron. On top of every table was a spatial ring which contained various materials for pill refining and the area was surrounded by the clan’s guards who cleared the area of onlookers.
The tournament was different from the school competition because in the tournament, while numerous materials would be provided for by the clan,competitors were also allowed to use the precious materials that they had painstakingly gathered themselves. Yao Chen’s future did not depend on the tournament, as it was something he earned himself by being the champion of the school competition where he made a stunning debut after he refined the VioletFlame Pill.
Even his TriFlower Flame Concentrating method would not hinder him in the future as he could simply stop practicing it and pick up a higher tiered cultivation method and catch up with his peers. There was no reason why he could not become an expert in the clan, in fact, almost all the youths of the clan took this exact path as Yao Chen as it was the one that offered the brightest future.
Even a genius like Yao Tong was no exception as he had to also gain the attention of the clan and fight for resources for an easy path of cultivation without any obstacles.
As for Yao Chen, after his shocking debut in the school competition, the opportunity he won for himself was every bit as great as Yao Tong’s if not greater.Not only did elder Yao Wan Huo personally proclaimed him the champion, the VioletFlame pill he refined had the effect of assisting flame attributed practitioners in breakthroughs and regardless of whether the formula for the pill was turned over to the clan or not, he would never be lacking in cultivation resources in the future.
This was the exact reason why in the eyes of Yao Lan and the other elders from the school,Yao Chen undergoing closed cultivation after refining the VioletFlame pill was due to him becoming arrogant after a little success, just like a typical young upstart.
“This Yao Chen couldn’t have gotten cold feet right? Was the pressure of being the champion in the school competition too much for him to handle?”
After waiting for half a day and not seeing Yao Chen, Liao Yun Tu, who was anxiously waiting for a chance to get the VioletFlame pill could no longer restrain his tongue.
After the school competition, Yao Chen had been avoiding all human contact; This was exceedingly unusual and the only reason for this unusual behaviour was that the pressure was too much for Yao Chen to bear.
No one would have expected that Yao Chen was attempting to break through to the Martial Master level; Everyone thought that attempting a breakthrough with the TriFlower Flame Concentrating method in just two short months was a fool’s dream.
Yao Lan looked at Liao Yun Tu placidly.
“It’s up to him if he chooses to come or not.”
Yao Lan walked towards the elder’s platform as it was about time to announce the start of the tournament; Liao Yun Tu smiled bitterly and to be honest, was extremely displeased but regardless of how displeased he was, Yao Chen was still a member of the Medicine Clan and as such, he could only bear with his displeasure and force out a smile. Furthermore, it was him who came requesting a favour though he did not expect the Yao Lan, who had always been neutral and impartial, to be dissatisfied with Yao Chen as well.
Truthfully, there had been plenty of negative rumours about Yao Chen surfacing; Unremarkable aptitude, embarrassing family background, and other negative rumours spread like wildfire and Liao Yun Tu has heard them all. However, he thought that the rumours were all false and were likely spread by people who were jealous of Yao Chen’s success though looking at the situation now, there seemed to be a grain of truth in the rumours.However, all these did not matter to him as his only goal was to obtain the VioletFlame pill and he could care less about what sort of person Yao Chen was.
However, the worse off Yao Chen became and the lower his position in the clan became, the better it was for him as it would heighten the chances of him acquiring the VioletFlame pill though unfortunately, he probably wasn’t the only one who thought this way.
Sadly, it seems that the only people who truly cared for Yao Chen in the clan was Luo Shu and his family.
Currently, Luo Bing was leading his squad to maintain order in the surrounding area with his eldest son Luo Shan following right behind him.Though it was said to be maintaining order, in actual fact, all they were doing was just standing there as if they were nothing more than decorative statues as their roles were more ceremonial than functional. The area Luo Bing was in charge of was the competitor’s entrance though no matter how much Luo Bing craned his neck, Yao Chen was nowhere to be seen.
As he looked towards the elder’s platform, he saw that elder Yao Wan Huo had already stood up and was speaking to the patriarch Yao Dan; The elders of the main houses and the branch families were all standing by as well and it seemed as it the tournament was able to begin.
“Has that brat Luo Shu actually found Yao Chen?”
Luo Bing asked Luo Shan with his brows furrowed; He was feeling anxious because if Yao Chen was not present when the tournament starts, he would be immediately disqualified and everyone on the refining platform will begin competing.
“Father, allow me to go search for him.”
Luo Shan knew his brother best; That brat Luo Shu has always given others an air of unreliability whenever he did something and as a team leader, Luo Bing had the qualifications to dispatch Luo Shan.
However right at this moment, there were two shadows running towards them and one of the shadows was noticeably fat, instantly recognisable as Luo Shu.