Chapter 182: Bestowing a Pill

"Don't tell me you think the Wan and Su families will let your Ye family off? This Pill Appraisal Conference, though covertly aimed at the royal family, is openly targeting the Ye family!" After a long silence, Nanfeng Yi finally spoke.

Ye Yuan laughed and said, "Your Majesty, don't get it wrong! At this point, everyone in the Qin Kingdom can surrender except the Nanfeng family! Isn't it a bit weak to threaten me with that?"

After Ye Yuan finished, Nanfeng Yi's expression changed again.

He had thought that Ye Yuan, being young, would be easy to handle. But who would have guessed that Ye Yuan saw things more clearly than anyone?

Although Nanfeng Yi had been watching Ye Yuan for a long time, this was their first real interaction.

All his previous impressions came from Nanfeng Ruoqing and her niece.

Nanfeng Yi now felt that Ye Yuan was even harder to deal with than his father, Ye Hang!

Nanfeng Yi took a deep breath before saying, "Ye Yuan, I wonder when your father will emerge from seclusion. If he doesn't come out soon, even if the Ye family wants to pledge allegiance, it will be useless, right?"

Ye Yuan laughed and said, "Your Majesty, since my father is in seclusion, all matters of the Ye family are naturally decided by me! Since Your Majesty came to me, I'm afraid you've already seen this point, haven't you?"

Nanfeng Yi looked embarrassed, as Ye Yuan had hit the nail on the head.

He was truly anxious. With Ye Hang still in seclusion, the royal family had no buffer left. Forced to, he came to Ye Yuan, hoping to get Ye Hang out of seclusion through him to resolve the current predicament.

But who knew that Ye Yuan would be much harder to deal with than he imagined!

Nanfeng Yi took a deep breath, finally placing Ye Yuan on an equal footing for this conversation.

"Speak, what does the Ye family want?" Nanfeng Yi said in a deep voice.

"Heh, Your Majesty has finally shown some sincerity. However, the Ye family has no demands; instead, we can give the Nanfeng family centuries of prosperity! My only request is that the Nanfeng family never harbor any suspicion toward the Ye family for these centuries, allowing the Ye family to exist independently of the Qin Kingdom's system!" Ye Yuan said calmly.

"What did you say!" Nanfeng Yi never expected Ye Yuan to make such a request.

Ye Yuan laughed and said, "Your Majesty, I, Ye Yuan, will play this pawn! The Pill Appraisal Conference is nothing but a farce to me! I can not only cooperate with the royal family to sabotage the conference but also help destroy the Wan and Su families! I just wonder if Your Majesty has the courage!"

Nanfeng Yi gasped. Destroying the Wan and Su families—how he wished for it—but he had never dared to entertain such a thought.

The Ouyang family of the Nethercloud Sect was not a family the Nanfeng family could afford to offend. Nanfeng Yi dared not take that risk.

And now, Ye Yuan was directly talking about destroying the Su family!

"This... perhaps we should wait until your father comes out of seclusion to discuss further?"

Ye Yuan curled his lip, disdainful of Nanfeng Yi's lack of courage. As an emperor, how could he be so indecisive?

It was true that the Su family had a strong backing, but if the Nanfeng family kept retreating, the Su family would only become more aggressive.

This was something Nanfeng Yi still couldn't see!

Ye Yuan sighed and said calmly, "It seems Your Majesty still doesn't know me well enough. I suggest Your Majesty talk more with Teacher Nanfeng and Senior Sister before making this decision. I'll leave Your Majesty with just eight words: 'Hesitation in decision leads to disaster.'"

With that, Ye Yuan fell silent, and the conversation naturally ended there.

...

The next day, Ye Yuan returned to the Danwu Academy, causing a huge stir!

"Hey, did you hear? Ye Yuan and Senior Sister Feng were missing for nearly a month in the Boundless Trial, and now they're back!"

"Yeah, I thought they died in the Boundless Forest, but who knew they'd come out!"

"Heh, Ye Yuan is favored by heaven; he's not so easy to kill. But... Ye Yuan is back, while Su Yishan hasn't returned yet!"

"Uh... is there a connection?"

"...Are you brain-dead? Isn't it obvious? The major figures missing in this Boundless Trial, besides Ye Yuan and Feng Zhirou, are Su Yishan. And now only Ye Yuan and Senior Sister Feng have returned, I'm afraid..."

"You mean..."

"Shh..."

Returning from the Boundless Trial was no big deal, but Ye Yuan and Nanfeng Zhirou had been missing for too long, far beyond the academy's stipulated time.

And the simultaneous disappearance of martial arts list expert Su Yishan hinted at something highly unusual.

Now that Ye Yuan and Nanfeng Zhirou had returned together, with only Su Yishan still missing, many had already guessed what had happened during that month.

After all, such incidents had occurred before: conflicting students participating in the Boundless Trial, with only one side returning.

The other side remained permanently in the Boundless Forest.

Ye Yuan naturally paid no heed to the rumors. He was currently visiting Hu Yanyong.

"Haha, Ye Yuan, I knew you wouldn't die so easily!" Hu Yanyong laughed heartily upon seeing Ye Yuan.

"Thank you for your concern, Teacher Hu! This trip was indeed a narrow escape, but fortunately, it ended safely, and I even gained a little something." Ye Yuan smiled.

"Mm, not bad! Going to the Boundless Forest and breaking through to Liquid Essence Layer 2—you haven't disappointed me!" Hu Yanyong praised, but inside, he was shocked.

Although Hu Yanyong had high hopes for Ye Yuan, his progress was too fast!

In just a few days, Ye Yuan had broken through to Liquid Essence Layer 2!

Since when did breaking through the Liquid Essence realm become so easy?

"Heh, may I ask how long Teacher Hu has been stuck at Liquid Essence Layer 9?" Ye Yuan suddenly asked.

"Why do you ask? Hmm, let me think—about five or six years. I just can't find the breakthrough opportunity!"

Speaking of this, Hu Yanyong looked dejected.

The threshold from Liquid Essence to Crystal Coagulation was not easy to cross. Many Liquid Essence martial artists spent their entire lives unable to cross it.

Hu Yanyong had good talent, having condensed four drops of liquid essence, but to break through to Crystal Coagulation, without ten or twenty years of accumulation, it was simply impossible!

"I see. If Teacher Hu were to break through to Crystal Coagulation right now, how confident would you be?" Ye Yuan asked.

Hu Yanyong was even more puzzled but still replied, "Ye Yuan, are you joking? I haven't even reached half-step Crystal Coagulation; breaking through directly to Crystal Coagulation—I don't have even a tenth of the confidence!"

Ye Yuan smiled, took a pill from his storage ring, and handed it to Hu Yanyong, saying, "Teacher Hu, this is a Crystal Coagulation Pill I refined. It can increase the chance of coagulation by sixty percent. Do you think you can break through to Crystal Coagulation?"

"What? Sixty percent! You... you're not joking, are you?" Hu Yanyong nearly jumped up.