[Here's another chapter. Enjoy, and I apologize for any mistakes. I'll come back tonight to correct or edit if anything is wrong. For now, Happy Reading.]
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Xiang Yun smiled and looked away. He walked over and sat beside her, with only the table separating them.
"Sister Yang Xin, about the trade with my master, I think we can talk about that, right?" he asked. His eyes rested on her for a moment. The expression he wore as he looked at her held nothing but appreciation, which wasn't exactly what Yang Xin expected from someone his age.
Yang Xin noticed, and with a smile, slowly crossed her legs, the tight dress naturally molding to every curve of her body.
She tilted her head slightly, her lips curving into a smile that didn't seem intentional, and that made it all the more charming. Her eyes still observed Xiang Yun with interest, but the spark of curiosity in her gaze became even harder to ignore.
"I wonder what thoughts Little Brother's master has to share..." she said softly, resting her chin on her hand, her fingers tapping gently on the table. "And about those other pills..." she hesitated, her eyes half-closed, as if weighing her words carefully.
Xiang Yun just smiled.
"Sister Yang doesn't need to worry. I have all of them with me, and I can guarantee — on the honor of the Xiang family , that they are genuine." He spoke, making six aged pages appear in his hand. "But... as my master instructed, he wants fifty percent of the profits."
Yang Xin straightened slightly, her eyes narrowing as she saw those pages. For a moment, her breath seemed to stop.
She didn't know what formulas were written on those pages, but if they were anything like the pill she had taken earlier, they could bring a significant change to Glory City. And consequently, could bring the Alchemist Association back to the top.
"Naturally, I see no issue with that division..." she murmured, her lips curving into a smile that seemed more spirited than sweet. Her well-manicured fingers tapped the table at a slow, elegant rhythm. "...as long as your formulas are truly worth the price."
Xiang Yun nodded. "Since Sister Yang is so open to this, I believe there's no problem in letting you have a look."
With a subtle motion, he tossed the six pages toward her. Yang Xin caught them in midair with a grace that seemed almost rehearsed.
The six were the formulas: Spirit Gathering Pill, Soul Nourishment Pill, Soul Focus Pill, Soul Tempering Pill, Scarlet Body Enhancement Pill, and Nine Transformations Pill...
...
Xiang Yun talked with Yang Xin for several hours. In the end, both agreed on the profit split, and Xiang Yun also found a way for her to release the pills gradually instead of revealing them all at once.
He also "accidentally" mentioned that his master was at odds with the Sacred Family — something Yang Xin seemed to grasp perfectly, storing the information for future use.
After a while, Xiang Yun left. When he arrived at the inn, he sat down and began cultivating. He was on the verge of Five-Star Bronze rank. So, with a few hours of meditation, a burst echoed within his body — Boom!
Five-Star Bronze!
He had been taking some pills that he personally prepared for himself, so reaching this level in just a few days was not surprising.
Xiang Yun opened his eyes. With a soft sigh, a small golden crystal sphere appeared in his hand. It was a Demon Spirit Stone — Tiger With Dragon Wings— of Gold Rank.
That Demon Spirit Stone had been acquired by his father during one of the Demon Beast raids on Glory City in the past. Xiang Yun had received it from him before leaving for the Institute.
It wasn't an incredibly powerful demon beast, but it had a trace of dragon bloodline and granted the ability to fly to whoever fused with it. This spirit would also enhance speed and other attributes, as well as grant retractable claws and sharp fangs.
"It's not the perfect match for me, but it should help for a while until I get my hands on the Nightmare Demon Pot." He sighed, storing the Demon Spirit Stone back into his interspatial ring.
After stabilizing his strength, he stood and left the inn. He walked for a while until he arrived at the Holy Orchid Institute. It had been some time since he'd last been there, so he decided to stroll around and see how things were.
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Xiang Yun walked calmly through the entrance of the Holy Orchid Institute, drawing glances wherever he went. Even though he had been away for over a week, his presence still made an immediate impact.
"Is he back?"
"It's Xiang Yun! He disappeared for days!"
"I heard he had problems with Shen Yue..."
In the classroom where he studied, activity stopped for a moment the instant he entered. All eyes turned to him. Shen Xiu, who was preparing the lesson for that day, looked up, and her expression immediately darkened.
"Xiang Yun!" Her voice was sharp. "Looks like you didn't forget the way to the Institute. Go to your seat and sit down! Now!"
She shot him a piercing look, every line of her face full of dissatisfaction and resentment. The memory of her nephew being beaten by that boy in front of so many students still burned in her mind.
Speaking of which, Shen Yue, who was sitting near the front of the class, shuddered at the sight of him. His fists clenched with anger, but he restrained himself. The humiliation was still fresh, and the power gap between them was not something he could overcome quickly. With a contorted face, he looked away, swallowing his rage.
'Xiang Yun! Just wait. Do you think you're strong? Let's see how you handle someone even stronger than you.' He smiled coldly, thinking of his brother Shen Fei, who had recently advanced to the Gold level.
Xiang Yun, on the other hand, appeared completely calm. His eyes passed over Shen Xiu's cold gaze as if she were irrelevant, pausing for a second on her sensual figure, then looking away and walking slowly to the seat in the corner.
"Xiang Yun! Here."
Seeing him, Xiao Ning'er gave a small smile. She discreetly pushed her chair aside, creating space next to her. A silent invitation.
Xiang Yun smiled and gave a slight nod to Ning'er, then walked to the seat beside her and sat down calmly. But before the two could start talking, a figure at the front of the class suddenly stood up.
Ye Ziyun.
Her movements were calm as she put away her materials and took two seemingly ancient scrolls from her interspatial ring. She cast a brief glance at Shen Yue, without any particular emotion, which caused a bad feeling to rise in his heart. When she left his side, her expression hardened.
"Ziyun... where are you going?" he asked, trying to sound purely curious, but his voice betrayed the hidden anger.
Ye Ziyun paused for a moment before giving him one last look, empty of meaning, then turned to Shen Xiu. "Teacher Shen, I have something to ask my classmate Xiang Yun. I'm going to change seats."
Shen Xiu bit her lip so hard it looked like it might bleed hearing that, but she nodded. She couldn't refuse without a good reason, or it would reach the ears of the city lord. And she did not want that.
Shen Yue still wanted to say something, but before he could open his mouth, Ye Ziyun moved away with elegance and walked to the empty seat next to Xiang Yun. Without looking at Shen Yue a second time.
Xiang Yun heard this with a raised eyebrow.
'Ask me something? What could it be?' he thought. But seeing Ning'er beside him, he quickly understood. Ye Ziyun probably noticed that he and Ning'er were friends, and wanted to try to get closer to her using him as a bridge.
Thinking that, a faint glint of ridicule passed through his eyes as he faced Shen Yue's furious expression, but he didn't have time to fully savor the scene.
To his surprise, Ye Ziyun really came up to him: "Classmate Xiang Yun, could you help me take a look at these two scrolls? They seem to be defective." She asked, and without waiting, calmly sat next to him, completing the shock among the students.
Ye Ziyun, Xiang Yun, and Xiao Ning'er — the two most beautiful girls at the Sacred Orchid Institute — were now around him as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Damn! He's really between the two of them..."
"No way... Goddess Ning'er and Goddess Ziyun? Both?"
"I'm jealous! I'd be happy if I could have one by my side. I wouldn't die of happiness if I had both."
"I don't know about you. But Shen Yue is probably about to die spitting blood now."
The comments spread like poison in Shen Yue's ears, every word a needle. His face reddened, then paled, then reddened again.
His fists clenched little by little. His eyes burned with envy and frustration, and there was a venom in his gaze hard to hide. Not only for seeing Xiang Yun beside Ning'er, the fiancé promised to his brother, but also because Ye Ziyun, who was supposed to be his fiancée, now completely ignored him.
Shen Xiu, meanwhile, was still holding the scroll with trembling hands, listening to all those comments. Her fury seemed to be making smoke rise from her head.
But she knew she could not let this continue. She slammed the scroll sharply, the dry sound echoing through the room like a thunderclap.
"Silence!"
Her voice cut through the whispers and nervous giggles like a blade. "This is a classroom, not a fish market," she snapped, her tone colder than before.
She gave the class an icy glare, lingering a second longer on Xiang Yun, the cause of all this, before turning her back.
"Let's continue the lesson."
Once everyone was settled again, Shen Xiu took a deep breath and finally unrolled the evaluation scroll, which she used to measure the students' levels. She stared at it, then looked at Xiang Yun.
"Let's see what level he's at now, since he's been so busy to come to class."
She raised the scroll to eye level and focused her soul power on it.
But as soon as she did... her expression froze.
The scroll glowed briefly. The inscriptions moved and changed, rising from the one-star Bronze level it had been before, climbing without stopping.
Finally, it updated, and Xiang Yun's current cultivation realm was revealed before her eyes: Bronze Five Stars!
The class had already fallen silent after her outburst. But for her now, that silence was deafening.
Shen Xiu went pale.