Heaven rewards diligence; he fought his way through chaos to become a saint.

Chapter 139: Not far from the second level

Yan Qian straightened her skirt, elegantly picked up the plum juice on the table, took a small sip, and sighed, "In fact, the fistfight is just a facade. The fact that you can hire an ordinary Dan-level martial artist in this area shows that your family is powerful and qualified to do business here. If you ask me, you should hire one sooner or later. Mad Blade Zhou Lie is at the third level of Dan-level; hiring him would be a one-time solution, which shows that your Shen family can afford the price, and that's the most important thing."

"The Wu family that's been giving you trouble has a Dan-level expert stationed in their household year-round, which is why he dared to challenge you to a fistfight. As far as I know, quite a few people have fought with him before. Those who lost were bullied by the Wu family, making business extremely difficult. But those who won would have the Wu family come to apologize and form an alliance with you."

Shen Yixi paused, then gave a bitter laugh: "Does he think he's a litmus test?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Qian immediately nodded in agreement: "That makes sense! That's exactly the point."

Shen Yixi took a breath and asked again, "How powerful is that retainer of the Wu family?"

"First level of the Core Formation Realm," Yan Qian replied calmly.

"Martial City has many experts, yet a family's retainer is only at the first level of the Core Formation stage?"

"Isn't the first level of the Core Formation stage enough?"

Yan Qian was surprised: "The items you deal in are only for ordinary people, even if they are silks and satins or cultivation supplements."

Medicine is a consumable item for wealthy families or low-ranking martial artists; ultimately, it's not much of a deal.

"Only dealing in high-level spiritual materials and exotic beasts, elixirs and rare beasts, and superior weapons can be considered a big business, and only then is it worthwhile to hire some real experts."

At this point, Shen Yixi understood.

Although the Shen family was wealthy, it was accumulated over generations and was nothing special in the Great Qian Dynasty. Compared to the truly powerful and noble families, their own business was not even worth mentioning.

Similarly, true masters would naturally not covet these low-level cultivation supplements.

They would not help ordinary families.

She knew that only families like the Yan family needed to support true masters to prevent others from coveting certain elixirs and rare beasts.

For example, the "spirit meat" that everyone ate at the last banquet could not be prepared by oneself.

Just then, footsteps came from outside the pavilion. Looking in the direction of the sound, they saw Yan Zhan walking over. When he saw Shen Yixi, he said, "I've sent the twenty Gathering Yuan Pills and the hundred sticks of Tranquil Contemplation Incense you requested directly to the Yanqing Sect."

Thank you for your trouble.

Shen Yixi bowed and thanked her.

In fact, she paid a high price to buy these things, and only families like Yan Qian's could deal in such cultivation items.

"By the way, Qianqian, did you get the antidote pills I asked you to buy?"

Yan Qian smiled and, as if by magic, produced a small brocade box from her bosom: "The Cleansing Pill, as you requested, cures all poisons—this pill is of a very high grade, generally unnecessary, and ridiculously expensive, equivalent to your Shen family's annual revenue!"

Why did you buy this kind of elixir?

"My family's ancestor is upright and honest, but there are some things he might not consider—it's always good to be wary of others."

Shen Yixi opened the brocade box, glanced at it, and then hid it in her bosom.

She felt that she had considered poisoning Zhang Guan before, in case other women took advantage of getting close to Ye Ci and wanted to poison him as well!

Yan Qian stepped forward and took Shen Yiqian's arm: "Qian'er is really moved! So many cultivation items and antidote pills, all given to a third-tier talent. If you say you don't admire him, I absolutely don't believe you."

"Don't talk nonsense."

Shen Yixi raised an eyebrow slightly: "My feelings for Ye Gongfeng stem from two reasons: first, I admire him—and second, he was invited by the old master and is a close friend of his through thick and thin. As far as the family is concerned, we will naturally do our best to help him—"

Yan Qian smiled and waved her hand: "The price you paid was too high. To be honest, if outsiders knew how generous you were, they might be able to directly invite a Dan-level guest elder."

"Besides, you're willing to spend so much for a third-tier talent. What are you hesitating about hiring Zhou Lie, the Mad Blade?"

Shen Yixi placed the papers on the table, picked up her plum juice, and took a sip: "I wouldn't even consider a single copper coin too much to spend on outsiders, but it's a different story when it comes to spending money on our own people—"

"not to mention----"

Shen Yixi suddenly laughed out loud: "I think my family's Grandmaster of Transformation Realm is not necessarily worse than that Wu family's Dan-Positioning Realm cultivator. He reached Transformation Realm in just over a year."

Suddenly, she thought of Ye Ci's previous performance, and her eyebrows curved into a beautiful smile.

First level of the Elixir Embracing Realm —

She had asked Manager Chen and Wang Ya, and they said that although Ye Ci was at the Transformation Realm, he was not afraid of ordinary Core Formation Realm cultivators. However, she was also a little worried, since there were many experts in Wucheng. What if the other person was not an ordinary Core Formation Realm cultivator?

"Hey, what's with that expression?!"

Seeing Shen Yiqian raise her eyebrows as if she were in love, Yan Qian pretended to be disgusted and said with a smile, "You—thinking about Ye Ci again? If you compare him to ordinary martial arts masters, he might be considered exceptionally talented, but compared to those outstanding men, he is still far inferior."

"Leaving aside other things, take the Xuanqing Academy of the Bayue Sect for example. They recently accepted a disciple with an eighth-level root bone named Shi Zhuo. He is also a disciple from another prefecture. I heard that he mastered the Embracing Core Technique in just over ten days."

"It is evident that in addition to his innate talent, this person's comprehension is also extremely extraordinary. Some people have good innate talent but lack comprehension, and even after a year or two, they still can't find the right approach. It is clear that Shi Zhuo is truly a prodigy."

"This matter has caused quite a stir, and the heads of the other academies are all green with envy. You should know that he actually offered himself up to join the Xuanqing Academy."

At this moment, Yan Zhan, who was standing nearby, had not left yet, and he also knew about this matter.

When I sent Ye Ci to Baichuan Academy that day, Elder Wang mentioned this matter, saying that he was hoping Yan Zhan could send me a good disciple.

As a result, they gave me a level 3 root bone.

Shen Yixi considered for a moment and said, "Forget it, I'd better not fight. Peace brings wealth. Let's be patient a little longer—what if Ye Ci breaks through in a while?"

Yan Qian chuckled upon hearing this, gently pinching Shen Yixi's slender waist: "A breakthrough is definitely still a long way off, otherwise I would have come to you long ago. By the way, Yuan Mulin refuses to resell the Breakthrough Pill used for breakthroughs," he said, adding that he was dissatisfied with your attitude and wanted you to go and beg him yourself."

Shen Yixi rolled her eyes at her: "No way!"

Yan Qian shrugged and said, "The Limit-Breaking Pill is unlike other cultivation items. It is strictly controlled by both the imperial court and sects. For some people, it's a small matter, but for others, it's something they can't obtain even after going to great lengths. Ultimately, there are certain levels that we can't access."

You can see it too—I also treat Yuan Mulin with great respect—”

Shen Yixi sighed, "I had Manager Chen ask Ye Ci, but he said he didn't need the Breakthrough Pill," sounding very confident that he could break through on his own.

"Let's wait a bit longer. After all, we've only been in Wucheng for a short time. We'll find a way in the future."

Shen Yixi comforted herself, thinking that Yan Qian's help was limited, and that it was only natural that no one would use the resources of their entire family to help an outsider.

Yan Qian smiled and said, "If all else fails, ask Du Ruofeng for help. After all, without the Breakthrough Pill, it will be very difficult for your Ye Ci to cultivate the Core Formation."

******

For Ye Ci, daily life was monotonous and dull.

If the beginner's version of "Qingyuan Longevity Skill" can be practiced to the third level of strength, then you can continue practicing it.

This almost ascetic training actually continued for another month while he was breaking through.

[Qingyuan Longevity Technique, First Level (1203/2000)]

Compared to the previous speed, the daily proficiency points decreased by about 10 points, but this did not have much impact on Ye Ci.

He even felt that he was moving too fast.

Upon closer reflection, perhaps the cheat code was always very strong, but his own innate talent was indeed lacking.

However, with the help of his cheat system, Ye Ci felt that even with a ninth-tier root bone, he would catch up sooner or later.

Unlike others who need to break through barriers, mastering each level of strength is a natural process for him.

"take a break----"

Ye Ci felt that she should also balance work and rest, and that she was afraid that if she only focused on rigorous training, she would turn herself into a wooden person.

The reason he was willing to go out was because Yan Qing told him a name, Shi Zhuo, who had been able to cultivate his inner essence for more than ten days.

It turns out that geniuses are always this outstanding.

If I'm a little worse than them, everyone should be able to accept that.

In other words, if it weren't for his inherent limitations preventing him from succeeding, he would have been invincible.

Since we can't be invincible, we should still blend into the everyday life.

Therefore, he decided to go and see the Shen family.

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