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

Turning Point

“You are… Ye Yong?” The alchemist’s status is noble, and as a little genius, Dian Hua is naturally quite proud, but he cannot maintain that pride in front of Ye Yong. Dian Hua witnessed the entire competition from his seat, and Ye Yong’s displayed abilities truly shocked him.

Using a sword technique that even a nascent soul would find difficult to master at the crystallization level is akin to a second-grade alchemist refining a fourth-grade lower-tier elixir.

It’s worth noting that Dian Hua has refined elixirs a hundred times, and only a few times has he produced third-grade lower-tier ones; the concept of fourth-grade lower-tier is self-evident.

Of course, alchemy and swordsmanship are not the same system, so they cannot be directly compared, but Ye Yong’s formidable talent in swordsmanship is evident to all. Dian Hua is unwilling to offend such an existence, and his tone noticeably softens: “Is there something you need?”

“It might just be my illusion, but I feel like these herbs have some issues.” Ye Yong did not approach Long Tian, instead pointing at the herbs placed before him from a distance.

Long Tian’s heart jolted, looking at Ye Yong in disbelief.

When the herbs were brought out, the old man from the Fallen Immortal had already mentioned that there was a problem with them. Long Tian picked up one of the herbs and sensed it carefully, discovering that the spiritual energy contained within had been diminished by more than half, significantly reducing its medicinal properties. It only appeared to be overflowing with spiritual energy on the surface, making it hard to detect. Long Tian hadn’t noticed anything wrong at first glance, yet Ye Yong, from such a distance, managed to perceive it… Could it be that Ye Yong also has a talent for alchemy!?

“Whether he has talent for alchemy is uncertain, but I can confirm that he is very sensitive to spiritual energy,” the old man from the Fallen Immortal said.

Upon hearing this, Long Tian felt somewhat reassured. Aside from the miraculous space of the jade pendant, alchemy was his means to catch up to and surpass Ye Yong. If even this were to be outdone by Ye Yong… No.

Long Tian shook his head. Even if Ye Yong learned alchemy, he had no reason to feel jealous; jealousy would not make him stronger, it would only blind him.

Long Tian secretly rejoiced that he had reacted in time and hadn’t gotten stuck in a rut; otherwise, he would have developed a heart demon.

Jealousy has always been a terrifying heart demon. When he first started cultivating, the old man from the Fallen Immortal repeatedly reminded him that the greatest taboo in cultivation is comparison. As the saying goes, there are always people beyond people, and immortals beyond

“Is there a problem? That can’t be right?” If it were Long Tian saying this, Dian Hua would only think he was making excuses out of cowardice. However, the one speaking was Ye Yong, and he had to take it seriously. With a mix of skepticism and concern, he walked over to the medicine box Long Tian was about to use, picked up one of the herbs, and after a moment, his expression changed: “Who did this!?”

No one responded.

Dian Hua was a third-layer cultivator, so it was quite simple for him to use his spiritual power to pull out the young apothecary from the crowd. The apothecary, pulled from the void, looked terrified and panicked: “It has nothing to do with me, Lord Dian Hua.”

“Who told you to do it?”

“I don’t know anything, Lord Dian Hua.”

“I’ll ask one last time! Who is it!”

Seeing no way out, the apothecary could only tremble and reveal the names of the two second-tier alchemists.

“You little apothecary! Spouting nonsense!” “Are you looking for death!? Who told you to frame us?” The two alchemists were furious.

“From today on, you are no longer the apothecary of the Dan Fire Hall!” Dian Hua coldly released the apothecary, who quickly knelt down, his head knocking against the ground: “Lord Dian Hua! Please forgive me! I won’t dare again!”

Though just a bystander, seeing the apothecary quickly injure his head, Ye Yong couldn’t help but speak up: “There are countless others to run errands; don’t mistake the target of your punishment.”

As fellow disciples of the Dan Fire Hall and both second-tier alchemists, those two were much older than him, making them his seniors. Dian Hua couldn’t openly punish them, and Ye Yong speaking up for the apothecary put Dian Hua in a difficult position.

At that moment, Zhen Li Pu stepped out from a corner. As a disciple of the hall master and a third-tier alchemist, he had a significant say: “You two, come with me.”

Ye Yong glanced at Zhen Li Pu, who looked quite handsome. The companions of the protagonist usually weren’t unattractive, and most importantly, they were solely passionate about one thing and wouldn’t vie for the harem.

Zhen Li Pu’s appearance and his taking away the two alchemists were not part of Ye Yong’s calculations. He simply felt that the young apothecary, being so young and without background or strength, was innocent and pitiful for silently enduring everything. Now, not only had he done a good deed, but he had also inadvertently caused Zhen Li Pu, who originally admired the protagonist, to leave early, thus cutting off a small opportunity… so-called good deeds bring good rewards?

“Thank you, Lord Ye Yong! I have no way to repay you, in the next life…”

“Stop.” Ye Yong interrupted the apothecary’s chant: “Some things are beyond your control; you can’t clearly refuse, but you can seek help, like from Young Master Dian. If he knew he won in this way, would he be happy? Just tell him in secret, and he will naturally stop all of this from happening. Instead of knowing it’s wrong and stubbornly going through with it.”

Ye Yong’s words were quite skillful, as if he were not helping Long Tian but rather maintaining Dian Hua’s dignity.

Indeed, after hearing this, Dian Hua’s expression improved significantly: “That’s right! I hate this kind of behavior. If those two seniors come to trouble you because of this, just come to me, but remember, don’t do such disgusting things again.”

Ye Yong almost laughed out loud, not knowing who it was that, after losing, engaged in even more disgusting acts.

“I will remember this!” The apothecary knocked his head a few more times, ignoring the wound on his forehead, and hurried to the pharmacy to replace Long Tian’s herbs with a batch of normal spiritual plants.

This matter can be considered settled; even if Long Tiansheng wins next, the attention will surely wane a bit. The task is complete, and Ye Yong should step back and watch the show: “Sorry to interrupt, please continue.”

Back in the crowd, the alchemy competition quickly began.

This was Ye Yong’s first time witnessing alchemy, and he found it quite interesting.

Dian Hua employed standard techniques, first removing impurities from the herbs, then mixing various ingredients in precise proportions. This was a challenging process; one misstep could lead to either an overly potent or too weak elixir, resulting in failure. In contrast, Long Tian simply tossed the herbs into the cauldron haphazardly, like a complete novice.

The onlookers immediately switched to mockery mode: “Look, Long Tian knows he can’t win, so he’s given up on himself.”

“Throwing them in without removing impurities? It’s definitely going to explode!”

Listening silently to the disparaging remarks around him, Ye Yong felt an inexplicable envy.

First, endure the humiliation and insults, then deliver a resounding slap in the face! That’s the authentic flavor!

Unlike him, who kept boasting and flattering until he fell flat on his face.

Sigh, how he wished to experience the treatment of a protagonist just once.

Ye Yong sighed inwardly, and at that moment, the crowd erupted in exclamations: “What is that? A hand seal?”

Snapping back to reality, he looked at Long Tian, who was forming a mysterious hand seal in front of the cauldron, chanting incantations. Ye Yong knew that Long Tian was using advanced alchemical techniques, capable of directly purifying and removing impurities from the herbs within the cauldron.

“Just a chaotic mess, confusing everyone; it’s definitely going to blow up!”

“Exactly! If it doesn’t explode, I’ll eat the cauldron!”

The derisive comments reached a peak, and the cauldron Long Tian was using began to shake violently, as if something trapped inside was thrashing about. However, to Ye Yong, all of this only signified the arrival of a moment for a dramatic reversal.

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