I Just Wanted To Live but I Somehow Became Better Than the Protagonist

Dan Fire Hall

After settling Wu Xue and Hua Ningyan, Ye Yong entered the closed-door training room to begin consolidating his cultivation.

It was quite common for one to emit holy light upon breaking through; he had grown accustomed to it. The manifestation of anomalies didn’t seem to occur so easily. After all, Ye Yong’s first experience was at the twentieth layer of Foundation Establishment, where he broke through to the first layer of the Stone Stage, resulting in a spectacle of colorful clouds.

“I wonder what kind of commotion will arise as I continue to cultivate,” Ye Yong mused helplessly.

Controlled displays of prowess, when timed correctly, often yield more benefits than drawbacks. But passive displays of power, which one cannot control, are merely the heavens setting one up for failure.

Anomalies are impressive? Colorful clouds are remarkable? If one dares to show off repeatedly, the villains will come knocking at the door.

“However, there’s still quite a gap between the sixth and tenth layers. Conservatively estimating, I’ll need to consume pills for two months straight. We’ll see how it goes then.” What’s meant to come will eventually arrive; worrying is futile. So, Ye Yong stopped overthinking, circulating his mental techniques to stabilize his cultivation.

Two hours later, Ye Yong had fully adapted to the sixth layer of the Stone Stage. Compared to the fifth layer, his spiritual awareness had broadened, the intensity of his spiritual power had increased by 20%, and his reserves had grown by 30%. The improvement was quite significant.

No wonder ordinary cultivators look down on those below them when they reach a higher layer; although the gap may not be as vast as that between divine bodies, a mere 10% advantage is enough to surpass an opponent.

However, this standard doesn’t apply to geniuses and prodigies, who often engage in battles across levels as a matter of course, differing from ordinary cultivators. Moreover, the outcome between cultivators is closely tied to the techniques they learn; the techniques mastered by geniuses and prodigies are unlikely to be inferior.

In any case, Ye Yong felt that without employing heavenly-level sword techniques, he could easily defeat an average early Golden Core cultivator with his current cultivation and the techniques he had mastered. Of course, he wouldn’t be arrogant; after all, if others built their towers with ten load-bearing pillars while he used twenty, and he hadn’t crossed a significant boundary advantage, then his cultivation would have been in vain.

Suddenly, the communication stone stirred. Ye Yong activated it, and the voice of Ye Gou came through.

“Young Master Yong, there’s something I think you should know.”

“What is it?”

Ye Gou didn’t beat around the bush and said directly, “It’s Long Tian. He’s currently at the Dan Fire Hall, dueling with the young alchemists there.”

“So soon?” Ye Yong was quite surprised. Although the protagonist in the novel indeed went to the Dan Fire Hall to use the alchemy furnace, showing off and gaining the favor of a big shot, it wasn’t as if he went right after the duel ended. What had he done to trigger the butterfly effect?

Ye Gou didn’t understand what Ye Yong meant by “so soon” and didn’t dare to ask further: “The duel is about to begin, and many people are watching the excitement. Young Master, I won’t disturb you any longer. I’ll inform you of the results later.”

—

Ye Gou was indeed well-suited to be a lackey, demonstrating his loyalty to Ye Yong while avoiding unnecessary chatter that might annoy his master.

“Wait, why are you paying attention to Long Tian’s affairs?”

“Aren’t you keeping an eye on him? As soon as I heard the news, I came to confirm it right away, and only after verifying it did I notify you.”

Ye Yong didn’t regard Ye Gou as a lackey; he simply felt that the resources he had provided were not wasted. The saying goes, “It takes a thousand days to train an army, but only a moment to use it,” and even a side character has its role: “You can watch the show, but don’t get yourself involved, understand?”

“Absolutely! I always remember what Young Master Yong said!”

“Good.” Ye Yong put away the communication stone and immediately left the closed-door room, preparing to head to the Dan Huo Hall.

Wu Xue was already up, cleaning the courtyard. Upon seeing Ye Yong, she recalled the rather vivid dream from last night that left her feeling heartbroken and unwilling. She instinctively placed her hand over her chest: “Young Master, is something wrong? You seem quite anxious.”

“Nothing, just taking a stroll. Later, Shi Meng and the others might come looking for me; please have them wait for me inside.”

“Okay.” Wu Xue wasn’t foolish; she could clearly sense that Ye Yong had something urgent. She quickly finished sweeping the ground and began practicing her knife dance. Wu Xue felt she was too weak. Since the young master didn’t speak of his troubles, it must be to spare her worry. If that was the case, then she had to grow stronger, to be able to share his burdens.

——

At this moment in the Dan Huo Hall, although it was barely dawn, more and more people had gathered to watch the excitement.

Long Tian had arrived at the Dan Huo Hall last night with Qiu Li Gao, intending to showcase his alchemy skills under the pretense of borrowing the alchemy furnace, but he was met with rejection.

The doorman mocked Long Tian for being overconfident, claiming he wanted to refine pills without even having the qualification certificate of an alchemist.

Of course, Long Tian wouldn’t argue with such a minor character. He patiently inquired about how to obtain the alchemist qualification certificate, and the doorman informed him that the Dan Huo Hall had alchemist assessments, with a batch scheduled for midnight.

After spending ten low-grade spirit stones to register, Long Tian joined over ten disciples from the Tian Luo Sect who also wanted to affiliate with the Dan Huo Hall for the assessment.

The so-called affiliation with the Dan Huo Hall was essentially a desire to take up alchemy as a secondary profession. Among the various halls of the Tian Luo Sect, the Dan Huo Hall and the Lian Qi Hall were relatively special, allowing outsiders to come in and learn.

However, whether one could successfully affiliate depended on individual assessments, and without a doubt, the most basic requirement of the Dan Huo Hall was to obtain the alchemist qualification certificate.

The ten low-grade spirit stones that Long Tian paid didn’t actually profit the Dan Huo Hall; they were all spent on the medicinal herbs needed for alchemy. In fact, the Dan Huo Hall was at a loss for providing their venue and furnace.

Of course, the Dan Huo Hall wouldn’t truly suffer a loss; the Tian Luo Sect received annual subsidies for the maintenance of the alchemy furnaces. After all, alchemists were rare, and if a potential alchemist was truly discovered, then these minor losses were nothing.

Long Tian could be considered an experienced alchemist, with a nearly one hundred percent success rate for second-grade pills and the ability to refine third-grade pills. There was no doubt he would pass the alchemist qualification assessment with ease.

—

The previously sarcastic doorman instantly became honest and meek. After all, he was just a doorman, not an alchemist. Long Tian had obtained his qualification certificate, which meant he was now considered an entry-level alchemist. As long as he could raise the success rate of first-grade elixirs to over fifty percent, he would be recognized as a first-grade alchemist. The status of an alchemist was too noble to mention; anyway, it was incredibly easy to find trouble with this little doorman.

However, Long Tian, having obtained his qualification certificate, felt it was far from enough. He had to showcase his potential, making the elders believe it was worth offending the Bai family for him. Thus, he expressed to the doorman his desire to borrow a first-grade Xuan-level alchemy furnace.

The first-grade Xuan-level furnace could be used to refine third-grade elixirs, and it was quite difficult to borrow one. Yet, fearing Long Tian might cause him trouble, the doorman steeled himself and went to find those disciples of the Dan Huo Hall with whom he could speak.

As expected, news of a novice who had just received his qualification certificate wanting to borrow a Xuan-level furnace quickly spread, drawing dissatisfaction from some first and second-grade alchemists.

“If you don’t have the ability, don’t even think about borrowing the furnace. If you want to borrow it, first beat me.”

Thus, Long Tian had no choice but to defeat those provoking first and second-grade alchemists in alchemy battles. After much effort, everyone agreed that Long Tian indeed had the strength to borrow the furnace. However, just then, a young genius alchemist emerged.

Ye Yong rushed to the Dan Huo Hall as fast as he could, relieved to find that it hadn’t started yet; the medicine boys were still preparing the materials needed for alchemy.

There were too many people around, and Ye Yong vaguely noticed a few managers observing in the shadows… Was there any way to prevent the big shots of the Dan Huo Hall from focusing on Long Tian?

Ye Yong began brainstorming.