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

A Bitter Taste

Returning the jade token to Ye Yong, Xie Ming revealed a slight smile: “Young Master Ye, is it?”

For a steward of lower status, it was normal to address Ye Yong as “Young Master” or “Young Master Ye,” but Xie Ming was a fourth-grade alchemist and a late-stage Yuan Ying powerhouse, with a status not to be underestimated. The fact that he also referred to Ye Yong as “Young Master” was quite intriguing.

Everyone was curious about what the jade token was, and at that moment, someone with keen eyes recognized it.

“It’s the passage token of Elder Gong Sun!”

“Is that true? With it, doesn’t that mean you can go anywhere in the Dan Huo Hall?”

Upon hearing this, many people revealed envious expressions.

“Could it be that the esteemed one is Steward Xie Ming?” The shift in attention was successful, but Ye Yong was not pleased. He had originally planned to pick it up himself, casually flaunting the jade token to subtly attract some attention. However, Ye Gou’s involvement felt like a deliberate act to draw attention to him.

Ye Yong was worried that Long Tian might misunderstand him as someone who couldn’t stand to see him shine and was putting on a show. Although, in truth, he had indeed done it on purpose.

“Indeed, that is I. May I ask what brings Young Master Ye here today?”

“Junior intends to find a few alchemy books to read; recently, I’ve found alchemy quite interesting and want to understand it a bit more.”

“In that case, let me guide Young Master Ye. If there’s anything you don’t understand, I can explain it along the way.”

“No need to trouble Manager Xie; I just want to take a casual look.”

“Not a trouble at all; I happen to have some free time.”

“Then… I shall humbly accept your offer.” Ye Yong waved to Ye Gou, who was overjoyed, following behind like a little tail.

This is the Danhuo Hall. People can enter and exit the main hall, but the inner hall is off-limits. Today’s events will be enough for Ye Gou to boast about for a while.

However, Ye Yong called him not to broaden his horizons, but simply because he was worried that Ye Gou might stay here and do something reckless, provoking Long Tian’s displeasure.

“By the way, I heard from others that this disciple is here to borrow an alchemy furnace.” Ye Yong took the important figure away, naturally not neglecting Long Tian.

Xie Ming touched his head, almost forgetting. He looked Long Tian up and down; his appearance was unremarkable, but learning the Xuan Dan Seal at such a young age was enough to prove his potential and talent. Moreover, he had passed the alchemist assessment and could refine second-grade pills, already a named disciple of Danhuo Hall, a second-grade alchemist. There would be time to learn more about him later; the immediate priority was Ye Yong.

Xie Ming had immense trust in the judgment of the Grand Elder, Gongsun Yao, the current head of Danhuo Hall, who had once been ridiculed as not being cut out for alchemy. And now? A fifth-grade alchemist! The head of a hall! Other hall masters had to treat him with respect and calmness when they came to see him.

When Ye Yong received the jade token, in Xie Ming’s eyes, it meant that Elder Gongsun had high hopes for him. Regardless of whether Ye Yong would step into the path of alchemy in the future, Xie Ming would treat him well.

“This young friend can borrow the alchemy furnace, and he is a second-grade alchemist; he should be given the respect he deserves.” After instructing the other managers, Xie Ming led Ye Yong and Ye Gou into the inner hall.

Long Tian watched Ye Yong’s departing figure, feeling quite uneasy.

Of course, it wasn’t as Ye Yong thought, that he was stealing his thunder; on the contrary, Long Tian was very grateful to Ye Yong for helping him out. Because in that situation, Xie Ming would definitely ask about the origin of the Xuan Dan Seal, with so many people watching. Compared to lying in public, Long Tian preferred to handle it privately.

After all, with so many people around, the more intense the discussion, the faster the truth would come out. Xie Ming was at least an older cultivator; even if he knew Long Tian was lying, he wouldn’t press too hard. But the young people present were different; they were eager to see Long Tian make a fool of himself, and Long Tian was well aware of this.

He owed him again.

The reason Long Tian felt uneasy was undoubtedly because he felt he owed Ye Yong too much.

Long Tian’s principle in life was to repay kindness with kindness and enmity with enmity. Ye Yong and those around him had helped him so many times; he hadn’t repaid their kindness, and instead, it kept piling up. It was no wonder Long Tian felt uncomfortable.

However, the disparity in their statuses made him hesitant to approach, fearing others would say he was trying to cling to the Ye family’s young master… Ultimately, it came down to his own weakness. After deciding to break away from Elder Bai, Long Tian was determined to cultivate diligently, striving to stand on the same level as Ye Yong, and to repay his kindness whenever the opportunity arose.

“Long Tian, right?” A manager approached him: “You wish to borrow the Xuan-grade alchemy furnace?”

—

“That’s right, please do me a favor.”

“You are a second-grade alchemist, so borrowing the alchemy furnace is naturally no problem, but there’s one more step to complete: you need to become a nominal disciple of the Danhuo Hall.”

“Is there an assessment?”

“No, even if there were, you would be fully qualified.” The steward handed Long Tian a badge of the Danhuo Hall: “Just drop a bit of blood on it, and after establishing the connection, you will be a nominal disciple of the Danhuo Hall. However, there isn’t much difference between a nominal disciple and a formal disciple. When you have time, you can come here to refine pills; the furnace can be used for free. As for the raw materials, you can purchase them directly here, and the refined pills can also be sold here. Although the prices will be slightly lower than outside, you can accumulate contribution points for the sect.”

Contribution points are a good thing; they can be exchanged for items that are hard to buy with spirit stones. Successfully borrowing the alchemy furnace and becoming a nominal disciple, most importantly without causing any trouble, this visit to the Danhuo Hall has been very rewarding.

Of course, Long Tian could not forget Ye Yong’s help. If there truly is a benefactor in his life, Long Tian felt it must be Ye Yong. He was both a target to chase and a source of assistance.

——

Following Xie Ming, Ye Yong inexplicably shivered, as if something bad had happened.

Could it be that Long Tian holds a grudge against him!?

Ye Yong couldn’t help but feel anxious, glaring at Ye Gou, blaming this guy.

Thinking carefully, he had unintentionally helped Long Tian many times. Not to mention anything else, just the life-saving grace from his own Seventh Master should be enough for Long Tian not to harbor murderous intent over such trivial matters. Those antagonists who steal the spotlight from the protagonist are all those who take advantage and then act coy, mocking the protagonist in front of others, only to end up with a cold fate. Ye Yong hadn’t done anything like that… so there shouldn’t be any issues, right? Probably. Maybe.

After a bit of self-comfort, Ye Yong was taken to the library within the Danhuo Hall, where the collection of books was quite impressive, spanning three full floors.

However, there were few people among the many books. Alchemists are very particular about talent, and the total number of people in the Danhuo Hall is only a few hundred. Moreover, practical experience in alchemy outweighs theory, so there were very few people coming to read or look for information.

“If you haven’t been exposed to alchemy, I recommend starting with the basics.” Xie Ming waved his hand, and several alchemy books flew out from the shelves.

“Thank you.” Ye Yong actually didn’t want to read any alchemy books at all. If it weren’t to prevent the protagonist from attracting the attention of the alchemy big shots, he wouldn’t even want to step out of the door; staying at home and being affectionate with the female lead was obviously much more enjoyable.

But no matter what, he had to spend a couple of hours pretending, so Ye Yong could only grit his teeth and turn the pages.

However, he flipped through them for half a day, and by the time he came to his senses, he had already set down several books.