"Who is that guy? Is he an idiot? If that good-for-nothing Yu Fan could forge a Seven-Star Spirit Artifact, pigs could fly."
"Hush, watch your mouth! That's the young lady of the Liu Family, Liu Shuying. Her guardian is probably right around here."
"Ah, what a shame. Such a gorgeous beauty, yet out of her mind. What a waste."
No sooner had his voice trailed off than a chilly wind swept up behind him, and a tall figure quietly materialized at his back—it was Uncle Jiang.
Uncle Jiang cast a freezing, condescending glare down at the Yu Family member who had just bad-mouthed Liu Shuying.
Then, with a heavy kick, he sent the man flying.
The Yu Family member crashed heavily onto the flagstone pavement, left unconscious and barely breathing.
"Do not project your attitude toward Yu Fan onto my young mistress. Otherwise, this is what happens."
Uncle Jiang's formidable stance cowed the surrounding crowd into silence.
"Can you give that chunk of iron to me, Yu Fan?" Liu Shuying asked, her eyes full of yearning.
"If you want it, you can just have it. It's not like it's of much use to me anyway."
*(This chunk of iron is neither pretty nor useful for fighting. Why is she so obsessed with it?)*
"Thank you, Yu Fan."
Yu Fan took the chunk of iron from Yu Cheng's hand and handed it to Liu Shuying. She snatched it up instantly without a second thought, as if afraid Yu Fan would go back on his word.
*(Could what this woman said actually be true? Did I really forge a Seven-Star Spirit Artifact? It's just so damn ugly, though.)*
"Ugly as it is, it's still a Seven-Star Spirit Artifact. Its combat power definitely won't be weak."
"Alright, everyone disperse," Yu Fan said, waving a hand. Having so crowd gathered right outside his door felt genuinely awkward.
And with the tribulation over, there really wasn't anything left to see.
At Yu Fan's prompting, the members of the Yu Family dispersed one by one.
"And here I thought Yu Fan had done something incredible to stir up such a massive phenomenon."
"I actually thought Yu Fan was just putting on an act before. Looks like I overthought it."
"You call forging a chunk of iron like that weapon crafting? If that counts, I could just hammer out an iron plate and be a grandmaster craftsman myself!"
...
Outside the Yu Family estate:
"Hey there, brother! Might I ask who caused all that commotion just now?" Luo Jiu approached with a smiling face.
"Who do you think you are? The Yu Family estate isn't just open to anyone who wants to walk in—get lost!" Although the Yu Family was a mid-tier clan, they still maintained proper guards. Because Liu Shuying had prior clearance, she was allowed straight in, but Luo Jiu certainly wasn't.
They didn't recognize Luo Jiu. Although he had a certain reputation in Qingshan City, very few people had actually laid eyes on him.
Since the two guarding Yu Family members didn't know him, they naturally couldn't let him pass.
Luo Jiu smiled faintly, looking the picture of amiability. Anyone who knew him would have been struck dumb with horror at this sight; Luo Jiu was a ruthless monster who devoured people without spitting out the bones, notorious for committing every evil deed imaginable.
If he saw a pretty young woman from any family, he would snatch her away by force or kidnapping.
Oppressing the innocent and dining-and-dashing were just everyday occurrences for him.
All of this was backed by the Wang Family standing behind him.
Luo Jiu pulled two silver ingots from his sleeve and handed them separately to the two guards.
Upon seeing the silver ingots, the expressions of the two guards shifted instantly. After sweeping their gazes around to ensure no one was watching, they pocketed them smoothly.
"Well, my friends, can you tell me what's going on inside now?" Luo Jiu asked with a smile.
"Easily, easily."
"We've been guarding the main gate the whole time, so we don't know all the details, but from what we heard, it seems our family's good-for-nothing young patriarch tried to forge some weapons," replied one of the guards.
"Weapon crafting caused a commotion that big?! Is he a Tier 3 or Tier 4 artificer?" Luo Jiu's expression turned to one of utter shock.
"No way. Our young patriarch is just a good-for-nothing whose actual cultivation is only at the Qi Condensation 3rd Layer. How could he possibly be a Tier 3 artificer? Word is he just forged a lump of iron."
"A lump of iron!"
As an educated alchemist—and since weapon crafting was a profession parallel to alchemy, sharing the exact same underlying principles—if the tribulation just now had been triggered by forging a lump of iron...
That was no different from triggering a heavenly tribulation by brewing a batch of failed pills. This matter was far more complicated than they made it sound.
"May I meet the Yu Family's young patriarch?" Luo Jiu asked, a flutter of excitement in his chest.
"I'll go announce your visit. By the way, what's your name?" Yu Tong asked doubtfully.
"Luo Jiu."
"Alright, I—wait. Luo Jiu? You're the Tier 1 alchemist from the Wang Family!" Yu Tong stared at Luo Jiu in disbelief. People of their status could never hope to touch the upper echelons of Qingshan City.
They had certainly heard of Luo Jiu's fearsome reputation, but they had never actually laid eyes on him.
Never did they expect that the most esteemed Tier 1 alchemist in all of Qingshan City would be standing right in front of them—how could they not be thrilled? If Luo Jiu could casually help them refine some Qi Condensation Pills, the benefits to them would be immeasurable.
One had to know that the cost of medicinal herbs required for alchemy was in a completely different league from the price of the finished pills; you could practically trade a single Qi Condensation Pill for a hundred portions of spiritual herbs.
As the most basic and simplest of elixirs, Qi Condensation Pills did not require expensive ingredients. Find any spirit-rich mountain range, and Qi Condensation Grass would grow in piles. However, because Qingshan City was terribly inconveniently located and the neighboring mountains lacked spiritual energy, even a single stalk of Qi Condensation Grass was hard to come by on ordinary days.
Once the middlemen got involved, the price naturally skyrocketed.
In a prosperous city, the price of Qi Condensation Grass was actually quite cheap.
"Um, Master Luo Jiu, I've been hoping to get some Qi Condensation Pills..." one of the guards stammered awkwardly. The master was right in front of him; standing on ceremony wouldn't get him anywhere.
"Qi Condensation Pills? Consider it done." Luo Jiu readily produced a jade bottle.
"There are a hundred Qi Condensation Pills in here. I'm giving them to you."
Gazing at the jade bottle before him, the light revealed it packed full of Qi Condensation Pills. With this many pills, it would be more than enough to sustain his cultivation for half a year.
Yu He held his breath and carefully took the jade bottle.
Suddenly, he found that this sole alchemist of Qingshan City wasn't so repulsive after all; in fact, he seemed rather amiable and approachable.
Little did he know, Luo Jiu was entirely doing this for Yu Fan's sake. Otherwise, what was the mere Yu Family? He could have just barged right through. He looked down on these two little doorman dogs entirely.
Lately, the Wang Family harbored strong ambitions to swallow up both the Yu Family and the Ye Family. A tiny little Qingshan City didn't need so many ruling clans—one was quite enough.
"Sir, I'll go announce you right away!" With their attitude shifting a full 180 degrees after receiving Luo Jiu's bribes, Yu Tong and Yu He hurried off.