Chapter 178: Duan Yue

　　An alchemist carefully raised his doubts, “Refinement is an irreversible process, so how can damaged materials be repaired?”

　　“Of course, they can be repaired!”

　　Yunxiao glanced at him as if he were an idiot and said, “Resources on the Heavenly Martial Continent are getting lesser and lesser. If every alchemist is as wasteful as you, throwing away everything that is damaged, we will soon run out of materials, especially seventh, eighth, and ninth-tier materials, which are extremely rare. If a damaged mystic artifact can be repaired, damaged materials can be repaired as well. The key is you must have a very deep understanding of the material’s structure. In fact, refining is a process of decomposition and recombination, and once structures that are damaged during the refining process are repaired with reasonable incantation seals, they can be included in the normal refining steps again, and the effect will not be reduced.”

　　His words made everybody sink in thoughts. In theory, it seemed to work, but it would require a terrifyingly fine control in practice. And when they thought of the complicated incantation gestures he used just now, and how fast he had performed them, their faces turned pale.

　　These alchemists, who were well-known in Firecrow Empire and proud of themselves, found out for the first time that the process of refinement could be controlled with such subtlety. For them, it was not only a violation of common sense, but also a blow to their minds and a subversion in the theory they had learned.

　　“Master! I have a question that’s been bothering me for years. Whenever I am refining a third-tier medicinal pill, during the burning step…”

　　“Master! Every time when I’m using an array, I always feel…”

　　“Master! When I’m extracting a raw ore, I always…”

　　For a moment, everyone asked questions that troubled them out loud, fearing the Master could not hear them if their voices were not loud enough. Everyone’s eyes gleamed with enthusiasm. If they missed this opportunity, they did not know when would they get the answers. Soon, the whole great hall was drowned in loud voices.

　　“All right, that’s enough!” Yunxiao waved his hands and shouted, “Quiet down, all of you!”

　　His roar immediately shut all mouths. But, everyone’s face was still red, the enthusiasm in their eyes not weakening at all. Moreover, the way they looked at him was filled with reverence.

　　Yunxiao snorted coldly. “Who do you take me for? Someone who can answer all your questions for free? I’m a very busy person!”

　　His words immediately made everyone distressed and dejected. ‘He’s right. He’s an alchemy master far better than us all, and we were already lucky enough to have him teach us something just now. We have no right to ask him to answer our questions.’

　　“But, I’m not so unkind. Write down your questions and give them to this beautiful girl,” Yunxiao pointed at Xiao Fang. “Each of you cannot submit more than three questions, and I’ll only answer fifty questions in total.” While smiling, he turned to Xiao Fang, who was gaping, and said, “Pretty girl, you will select and organize the fifty questions. You will decide whose questions are to be submitted to me, and just ignore those whom you don’t like. I’ll send someone to get the questions from you a few days later, and then I will answer them all at once.”

　　Ah!

　　Xiao Fang was completely struck dumb. That was tantamount to giving her the right to choose the questions completely, and if these alchemists wished their questions to be answered, they would have to try their best to curry favor with her.

　　All eyes turned to Xiao Fang at the same time, gleaming like those of hungry wolves and tigers. Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the great hall became tense and silence fell, as if a great storm were about to come. They were so focused on her that no one noticed when Yunxiao left.

　　BANG!

　　Suddenly, the door was kicked open. When the group of alchemists waiting outside saw Yunxiao walked out leisurely, they knew it was safe inside, and they rushed through the door immediately. A puzzled look came over their faces when they saw everyone was fine and clustered around Xiao Fang. They did not understand what was going on.

　　“Bi*ch! I asked you to find out what happened and report back to us, and yet you just sit here comfortably? Do you think you are a boss now? F*ck!”

　　Brother Shangguan flew into a rage when he saw Xiao Fang sitting there, and he walked over and gave her a kick. At that moment, almost everyone’s eyes grew wide as they stared at the leg in horror.

　　BANG!

　　The leg hit something, but it was Zhang Hua’s back, who at some point had come between Brother Shangguan and Xiao Fang. A trace of blood ran down the corner of his mouth.

　　“Master Zhang, you…”

　　Xiao Fang was overwhelmed with horror, and she felt her head go completely blank. She could not believe that a third-tier alchemist had just blocked an attack for her with his body.

　　“I’m all right. The kick is nothing. I can protect you even if there are a hundred or a thousand more kicks. Xiao Fang, I only have three simple questions, you must help me submit them to Master. From now on, I will treat you as if you are my sister of the same blood,” Zhang San said slowly in an affectionate tone.

　　That woke everyone immediately while the people who came in later froze on the spot, their heads seeming to have stopped functioning as they could not figure out what was going on.

　　Brother Shangguan was petrified as well, with his leg held in mid-air and his eyes widened. ‘I’ve just kicked Master Zhang in the back…and the atmosphere…’

　　He immediately felt that the people around were looking at him strangely. All of a sudden, someone hit him from the back, and in the next instant, countless punches rained down on him. Before he knew what was going on, he fainted with pain and was thrown to the ground.

　　“How do you want us to deal with this fellow, Sister Xiao Fang? Do you want him flayed, dismembered, or his whole family killed? Just tell us what you want!”

　　“Killing his whole family is too light a punishment! I say we should kill all his relatives as well! Sister Xiao Fang, just nod at me and I will go kill all his relatives now!”

　　“Sister Xiao Fang, you’re not married yet, are you? My cousin came in fourth in the last Super Boy of Firecrow Empire. He’s from a wealthy family and has not yet married.”

　　“Get out of here! Can his family be wealthier than the four major families? My nephew is a collateral descendant of the Cheng family. He is very young, and has already become a Great Martial Master at the age of sixty-four.”

　　With so many people crowded around her, Xiao Fang felt she was about to pass out. For a moment, the great hall in the Alchemy Association was as noisy as a wet market.

　　Yunxiao had long sneaked out of it, and the old man followed closely behind him. They went into an alley and found a random teahouse, ordering two pots of tea.

　　Yunxiao took a sip of the tea and tasted it carefully. “This is a two years old turquoise tea, middle-grade quality. I think the leaves were picked before the rain in March the year before last.”

　　The old man was taken aback. He took a sip of his tea and smacked his lips as he said dubiously, “Really? You can taste that?”

　　Yunxiao gave him a smile instead of an answer. Drumming his fingers on the table, he said triumphantly, “Let me introduce myself. My name is Li Yunxiao, and you just have to address me Young Master Yun. I will pay you one hundred thousand superior-grade Primordial Stones for your service of one year. Do you have any other requests?”

　　The old man pulled a long face and said incredulously, “You’re not really going to let me serve you for a year, are you? I’m a seven-stars Martial Grandmaster! Don’t you have any respect for the strong and the old?”

　　Yunxiao’s eyes grew cold. “So, you do know you are a seven-stars Martial Grandmaster. You’re not fu*king going back on your own words, are you? No more salary for you! I’ll just provide you meals and accommodation!”

　　“No, no, no!” The old man waved hurriedly and said, “I want the salary, I was just asking!” One hundred thousand superior-grade Primordial Stones were very attractive even to a Martial Grandmaster. “So, what do you want me to do during this one year? It’s not murder and arson, is it? What family are you from, boy?”

　　The old man asked a few questions in a row, as he was very interested in Yunxiao’s identity. ‘This boy’s skill in alchemy is incredibly strong! If he continues to grow, he will certainly become a famous figure in the future. It will pay to be on good terms with him now…’

　　Yunxiao held up a finger and said coldly, “I repeat, call me Young Master Yun. As for what family am I from, this is none of your business. You better introduce yourself to me now.”

　　The snub slightly displeased the old man. He narrowed his eyes and said, “My name is Duan Yue, and you just have to address me Sir Duan.”

　　“Oh, I’ll call you Little Yue then,” Yunxiao said indifferently. ‘Trying to act like a senior in front of me? You’re not fit!’

　　“You…”

　　That gave Duan Yue a pause, but then he sighed dejectedly. He found that it was very difficult for him to gain an upper hand in front of this boy. Suddenly, he smiled enigmatically and said, “You are looking for poisonous blood of a demon beast above the fourth-tier, aren’t you?”

　　Yunxiao had just taken another sip of tea. His eyes gleamed, but when he saw Duan Yue’s triumphant look, he snorted and slowly put down the teacup, pretending to be indifferent, “It’s just for fun. Why? Do you have it?”

　　“No, I don’t,” Duan Yue said firmly, but when he saw Yunxiao’s fuming eyes, he quickly smiled and said, “But, I know where you can find it.”

　　Yunxiao looked at him as if he were an idiot and said in disdain, “Do I need you to tell me? The Land of Demon, the Tiandang Mountains, the Ancient Wasteland, Golden Desert, which of these places doesn’t have the demon beast I want?”

　　Duan Yue almost vomited blood. “Who dares to go to these places? Even Gu Feiyang died in the Tiandang Mountains! What I mean is a place we can go to, and yet the odds of finding one are high!”

　　“Oh?” Yunxiao’s interest was aroused. “Are there one or two poisonous fourth-tier demon beasts in a nearby mountain?”

　　Duan Yue smiled and said, “Not a demon beast, but something in the sea.”

　　“A sea beast?” Yunxiao’s eyes flashed, as if he had thought of something. “Are you talking about the south sea adjacent to the Skyfragrance Empire?”

　　“Exactly! It really saves time when talking to smart people!” Somewhat excited, Duan Yue said, “The south sea is teeming with various sea beasts, and many of them are fourth-tier and above. It is extremely easy to hunt a poisonous fourth-tier sea beast there!”