Meanwhile, in one of the squares, Líng Ruòlán was standing on a podium, explaining formation techniques to a gathering of disciples.
As a Grandmaster of Formations, her daily routine consisted of crafting formations and lecturing the disciples on the subject. Today happened to be her once-a-month teaching session.
Midway through, a disciple suddenly asked a question regarding an ancient grand formation, hoping for an explanation from Líng Yānrán. But the moment she heard the question, her mind went completely blank.
She had never heard of this ancient grand formation in her life. In the past, Yun Xiaoyao had always prepared her lectures for her, so everything she knew came exclusively from him. As for ancient grand formations, Yun Xiaoyao had considered her too young at the time to comprehend them and therefore had never taught her.
Later, after becoming a formation grandmaster with Yun Xiaoyao’s assistance, her arrogance had grown. On several occasions when Yun Xiaoyao offered to teach her about primordial formations, she had brushed him off dismissively. She believed that since she was already a formation grandmaster, there was no need to bother with basic knowledge she would never use.
Seeing Líng Ruòlán's rigid expression and prolonged silence, the inquiring disciple blinked in surprise.
"Senior Sister Ruòlán, could it be that even you know nothing about ancient grand formations?"
As soon as these words fell, an uproar broke out among the disciples below. In their eyes, Líng Ruòlán was a formation prodigy who knew everything. Whenever they ran into difficulties, she could always calmly and clearly explain things to them.
What they did not know was that behind every successful lecture, Yun Xiaoyao had been working behind the scenes to make it happen. Without his guidance and insight, she would never have understood the principles at all. She was even starting to forget some of the basic formation knowledge she had taught in the past.
Seeing the discussion among the crowd growing more heated, Líng Ruòlán's expression grew increasingly awkward. Eventually, she claimed she was feeling unwell and abruptly cut the lecture short.
After she left, a scoff broke out among the gossiping disciples.
"I knew Líng Ruòlán wouldn't last long! If Senior Brother Yun Xiaoyao hadn't been doing her homework for her, Líng Ruòlán would be a complete nobody!"
Under normal circumstances, the disciples who usually defended Líng Ruòlán would have already started shouting curses. But today was different; the air was filled entirely with agreement.
"So that's how it is! No wonder she used to disappear for stretches of time every now and then. Turns out she was going to ask Senior Brother Yun for help."
"Yeah! I used to look up to her as my idol. To think it was all thanks to Senior Brother Yun—I must have been blind!"
***
Meanwhile, Líng Yānrán was facing a similar predicament. An unexpected mishap had occurred while she was teaching alchemy to her disciples.
In the grand alchemy hall, a group of disciples stared at Líng Yānrán in dumbfounded disbelief. Right before her eyes lay a smoking cauldron that had blown apart, its contents reduced to a charred lump of waste.
That was right—she had blown up her cauldron yet again today.
In the time since Yun Xiaoyao had left, she had blown up her cauldrons well over a hundred times. These repeated explosions had thoroughly shattered her once-unshakeable self-confidence.
Today, she had intended to teach the disciples how to brew a Tier 3 pill known as the Qi-Enhancing Pill, only for this accident to occur. She had brewed this same pill for Bái Chén some time ago; though that batch had also resulted in a blown cauldron, she had simply blamed it on a temporary lapse in her condition and brushed it aside.
Yet here she was, blowing up a cauldron on such an important occasion, and right in front of so many disciples. As a Tier 5 Alchemist, she had never once blown up a cauldron—not even when concocting Tier 5 pills. Yet lately, she was frequently failing at brewing mere Tier 3 pills.
This was precisely why the disciples were in such shock.
"What is going on? I remember Senior Sister Yānrán never blew up her cauldron even when refining Tier 5 pills. Why is she blowing them up now over Tier 3s?"
"I'm not sure, but I heard this has something to do with Senior Brother Yun. I wonder if it's true."
At that moment, another disciple chimed in.
"It definitely has to do with Senior Brother Yun! Do you all remember how Senior Brother Yun used to stand right beside Senior Sister Yānrán whenever she practiced alchemy?"
Hearing this, the others mentally retraced the past and realized it had indeed been that way, nodding repeatedly.
With a cold chuckle, the disciple continued, "Did you really think Senior Brother Yun was just standing there to watch the show? Not at all! He was cleaning up after Senior Sister Yānrán the whole time!"
"You all thought she never blew up her cauldron when making Tier 5 pills, but the truth is, every single time was on the verge of disaster."
"If Senior Brother Yun hadn't been secretly helping her from the sidelines, she wouldn't even have become a Tier 5 Alchemist. At best, she'd be a Tier 3."
Hearing this, the disciples' eyes widened.
"So that's how it was! No wonder I always sensed faint spiritual fluctuations coming from Senior Brother Yun back then. He was helping her."
"I never imagined Líng Yānrán was all show and no substance! Without Senior Brother Yun, she can't even brew a Tier 3 pill without blowing up the cauldron!"
Although the group kept their voices low, their words still reached Líng Yānrán's ears.
Spoiled rotten by Yun Xiaoyao in the past, she had run amok within the Sacred Land. Relying on Yun Xiaoyao's backing, she had looked down upon everyone else. Confronted now by such mocking words, her pride was smashed to pieces.
Unable to suppress the fury in her heart a second longer, she pointed a trembling finger at the group and shrieked, "What does me becoming a Tier 5 Alchemist have to do with Yun Xiaoyao?! What are you yapping about here?! This is all my own genuine skill!"
"Yun Xiaoyao is nothing more than a good-for-nothing trash! What makes you think he's the reason for my achievements?!"
"If Master hadn't ordered me to come, do you really think I'd lower myself to teach a bunch of good-for-nothings like you?!"
Líng Yānrán roared frantically, venting the frustration of all those exploded cauldrons, completely oblivious to the shocked gazes fixed upon her by the surrounding disciples.
Faced with her sudden tirade, the disciples froze. They had never imagined that the usually gentle Senior Sister Yānrán would curse them out like a deranged shrew.
They themselves possessed natural talent that was not the least bit inferior to Líng Yānrán's; in any other sacred land, they would be considered generational geniuses. If not for Yun Xiaoyao tutoring Líng Yānrán and granting her a slight mastery over alchemy, she wouldn't even be fit to stand in the same breath as them.
The disciple who had made the initial sarcastic remark sneered. Unfazed by Líng Yānrán's fury, he met her glare head-on.
"Aren't we just speaking the truth? Blowing up your cauldron is proof of your own incompetence, yet you curse us just because we speak the facts. Who do you think you are?"
"Before now, we showed you a shred of respect only for Senior Brother Yun's sake. Are you really trying to stick green onions up your nose to look like an elephant?"
His merciless words made Líng Yānrán tremble with rage.
"You...!"
Furious as she was, Líng Yānrán ultimately swallowed her next words.
The disciple's name was Lǐ Cháng'ān. Among the disciples of the Qilin Sacred Land, his talent ranked easily in the top five. Possessing such extraordinary gifts, he had already reached the Void Refinement stage in his early twenties; only her older sister, Yun Xiaoyao, and the First Senior Sister could suppress him.
And she, Líng Yānrán, was merely at the early Deity Transformation stage and was no match for him whatsoever.
Most importantly, Liǔ Yúnyān held this person in extremely high regard and had even entertained the thought of taking him as a personal disciple.
*If I report this to Master right now, I probably won't come out ahead either,* Líng Yānrán thought to herself, growing only angrier the more she dwelled on it.
*I am a direct disciple of the Sacred Lord! Why on earth should I have to take crap from an ordinary inner sect disciple like you?!*