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

Need to think of a way

“Hmph, I thought you were impressive, but it turns out you’re just a clueless fool.” Dian Hua sneered as the cauldron Long Tian was using rattled violently, sounding like a cornered beast thrashing inside. To be honest, for a brief moment, he had been taken in by Long Tian’s mysterious hand seal, but now it seemed nothing more than a facade, a mere display of trickery.

Dian Hua had been exposed to alchemical knowledge since he was eight, served as an assistant for four years, officially became a first-grade alchemist at fifteen, and achieved second-grade status at eighteen. Based on his years of rich experience, he was certain that Long Tian’s cauldron was bound to explode.

It was no surprise; even when using purified herbal essences, there was a risk of failure. Long Tian, however, had done nothing to prepare and simply mixed the herbs together in the cauldron. Different herbs could have conflicting properties, and without removing impurities, it was even more likely to fail. It would be strange if it didn’t explode.

Compared to Long Tian’s alchemy furnace, which seemed to tremble like it had Parkinson’s, Dian Hua’s furnace was noticeably much calmer, the mixed herbal scents gradually transforming into a rich fragrance of elixirs.

“My elixir is about to be completed! What do you have to compare with me!” A confident smile adorned Dian Hua’s face, and the speed of his alchemy was also a testament to the strength of a pill master.

“Open!” Dian Hua infused spiritual energy into the furnace, and the door swung open, instantly releasing a wave of fragrant vapor. Onlookers greedily inhaled a few deep breaths, intoxicated by the aroma.

At the moment the elixir was formed, it would produce elixir qi, which was far superior to ordinary spiritual energy. An alchemist, buried in their craft all day without training, could still experience an enhancement; aside from the benefits gained from insights and understanding, the elixir qi played a significant role.

The overwhelming elixir qi quickly diminished, and everyone shifted their focus to the quality and quantity of the elixirs being produced.

Superior! Three pieces! My goodness!

They were witnessing the birth of a superior elixir!

“Dian Shao is so impressive!” “His future achievements as a master alchemist are beyond doubt!”

Most of the onlookers were new disciples, who had the leisure to come and watch. Moreover, with Ye Yong’s appearance, many female disciples arrived one after another.

Listening to the admiring and infatuated voices around him, though nearly all were male, Dian Hua felt an immense sense of satisfaction and pridefully shot a glance at Long Tian.

On Long Tian’s side, the elixir was still incomplete, and the vibrations of the furnace reached a peak.

“Explode! Explode! Explode!” Some even began to jeer.

Ignoring the surrounding noise, sweat trickled down Long Tian’s forehead. The hand seal he was using was still a bit too strenuous for his current cultivation level, consuming a lot of spiritual energy. However, the final product would definitely surpass Dian Hua’s. What he needed to do now was control the heat, ensuring it did not exceed the critical point.

After a quarter of an hour, the furnace gradually quieted down, much to the displeasure of those who had been jeering. Why hadn’t it exploded? But thinking of the dregs inside, they felt a renewed urge to mock.

“Ha…” Long Tian exhaled deeply and opened the furnace.

In an instant, the entire hall seemed to be filled with an indescribable fragrance of elixirs; just inhaling a breath was more refreshing than meditating for the duration of an incense stick.

Dian Hua’s eyes widened in disbelief as he rushed to the furnace. Inside lay five elixirs, all of superior quality!

“Impossible, this can’t be!” Dian Hua muttered frantically, staring fixedly at Long Tian: “You cheated!”

Long Tian scoffed disdainfully: “In front of so many witnesses, one must speak with evidence.”

Just as Dian Hua was about to retort, a steward suddenly appeared. He gazed at the elixirs in the furnace for a moment: “Indeed, they are of near-perfect quality, quite remarkable.”

The words of near perfection reached Dianhua’s ears, plunging him into an icy abyss, making it hard to breathe: “You must be mistaken, right?”

Dianhua recognized the steward as someone close to the Grand Elder, a fourth-grade alchemist with years of experience and high-level alchemy skills.

“I am not mistaken,” the steward shook his head, sighing, “This time, in the alchemy duel, this young friend has won.”

“Impossible! Mine is also of high quality! And I refined it faster than he did!” Dianhua was making his last desperate struggle.

The steward had personally come forward, hoping Dianhua would know when to retreat and step down gracefully, but he never expected Dianhua to stubbornly refuse to leave. The steward couldn’t help but sigh: “Even high-quality elixirs have their tiers. Though I don’t want to say this, Dianhua, yours can only be considered average, while his is close to perfection. Your refining speed isn’t much faster than his, yet he produced two more elixirs than you…”

In this statement, the distinction between strength and weakness was glaringly obvious.

“Dianhua is a young genius of the Alchemy Hall! How could he lose to an outsider from the Sword Pavilion?” “But the alchemy process was witnessed by all; Long Tian didn’t cheat.” “It’s the hand seal! The seal he formed has issues!”

Dianhua could no longer hear what was being said around him; his face turned pale, like a soulless zombie. He then spat out a mouthful of red liquid, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.

The steward had tried his best not to say anything hurtful, yet Dianhua still couldn’t bear the shock.

Well, if he is a genius, he must accept the trials. If he can’t even overcome this hurdle, his future achievements won’t be very high.

The steward wasn’t afraid of the Third Elder’s blame because he had the even more formidable Grand Elder above him, and he was merely being fair and objective, not making things difficult for Dianhua.

“Carry him back to his room to rest. Here’s a Spirit Nourishing Pill,” the steward instructed, then turned to Long Tian: “At such a young age, I didn’t expect you to know the Xuan Dan Seal.”

“What!? Xuan Dan Seal!? A profound alchemy technique?” Suddenly, someone in the crowd recognized it.

Ye Yong watched as those who had just mocked Long Tian for cheating now turned around and praised the Xuan Dan Seal for its greatness, tsk tsk.

Ye Yong was actually curious if these bystanders were NPCs, acting according to a script, why their attitudes could shift so naturally from ridicule to praise.

But the focus now wasn’t on the bystanders but on the steward who had appeared. If Ye Yong guessed correctly, the steward was likely named Xie Ming, one of the Grand Elder’s trusted aides.

In the novel’s plot, this Xie Ming hadn’t come out; instead, it was the previous Zhen Lipu who helped Long Tian out of trouble. Now Zhen Lipu had left with the two alchemists who were up to no good… perhaps it was the will of heaven restoring balance?

Ye Yong wasn’t too sure, but this development was clearly beneficial for Long Tian; he had caught the attention of the Grand Elder’s people.

He initially thought that Zhen Lipu’s departure would cut off Long Tian’s opportunities, but now he realized it had given him a direct chance to connect with the Grand Elder.

No, he needed to think of a way.

Standing at the front of the crowd, Ye Yong moved slightly, and a jade token slipped from his sleeve, falling to the ground.

Beside him, Ye Gou was like a well-trained hunting dog, quickly picking up the jade token: “Young Master Yong! You’ve dropped something!”

Ye Yong nearly rolled his eyes in exasperation. He was trying to attract the attention of the steward! Ye Yong decided that the next time resources were allocated to the younger generation of the Ye family, while others would receive more, Ye Gou would not only get less but would also have deductions made.

“Eh?” However, the steward was no ordinary person; Xie Ming had been paying attention to this rising young man, Ye Yong. He noticed that the jade token in Ye Gou’s hand seemed to belong to the Grand Elder.

Without bothering to ask how Long Tian had learned the Xuan Dan Seal, Xie Ming stepped forward to Ye Gou: “May I see that jade token?”

Ye Gou dared not make the decision alone. He glanced at Ye Yong, and upon seeing Ye Yong nod, he respectfully handed it over.

The token was inscribed with the characters “Gong Sun,” and it indeed carried the aura of the Grand Elder—there was no mistake.

Heard that the Grand Elder had visited the Sound and Painting Hall yesterday; could it be…

Xie Ming’s gaze toward Ye Yong instantly shifted.