Chapter 194: Stirring Up Hearts

Su Yulin's face was ashen; his gaze at Ye Yuan was filled with murderous intent, as if looking at a dead man.

With Su Yulin's connections, he could have ignored Yang Hao.

But Yang Hao represented not himself, but Yao Qian behind him!

Today's matter was too important; for the Su family, not a single mistake could be tolerated. If offending Yao Qian led to total defeat, he, Su Yulin, would be the Su family's sinner.

Thinking of this, Su Yulin simply closed his eyes and bowed to Ye Yuan: "Su Yulin pays respects to Young Master Ye of the Upper Sect!"

Su Yulin deliberately dragged out the word "Master" to express his displeasure.

Ye Yuan didn't mind; he laughed heartily and said, "It seems the Su family still holds great respect for my Youyun Sect. Not bad, not bad! Ah, it's getting late. Why is everyone still standing here? My legs are sore from standing. Master Wan, is this your way of treating guests?"

Wan Donghai was furious inside!

Who was it that was throwing their weight around and keeping everyone from going inside?

Now that you've finished showing off, you complain about sore legs! He had never heard of a Liquid Realm martial artist getting sore legs from standing a while!

"Young Master Yang, Brother Yulin, please!" Wan Donghai shot a fierce glare at Ye Yuan, then said to Su Yulin.

The group headed into the inner hall. Nanfeng Ruoqing and Ye Yuan exchanged a smile and followed as well.

…

For today's grand event, Drunken Star Tower had specially opened a large hall, enough to accommodate all the major and minor families of the royal city.

This scale was more spectacular than the royal court's state banquet, clearly overstepping bounds.

But at this moment, no one cared about that. After today's contest, one side was bound to exit the stage of history.

After Su Yulin and his party were seated, Wan Donghai came to the center of the hall and announced loudly: "Ladies and gentlemen, today my Drunken Star Tower hosts this Pill Appreciation Assembly, aiming to advance the pill industry of our Qin Kingdom! First, let me introduce a distinguished guest."

With that, Wan Donghai paused, creating suspense.

Sure enough, the nobles all looked toward Yang Hao, as he sat in the most prominent seat!

Everyone was guessing who this young man was, sitting above Nanfeng Lou and Su Yulin.

Yet the two of them looked calm, showing no sign of displeasure.

"This is Young Master Yang Hao, a core disciple from the Upper Sect. He is here on behalf of the Upper Sect to lend support to our Pill Appreciation Assembly!" Wan Donghai introduced loudly.

At Wan Donghai's introduction, the crowd erupted!

A core disciple of the Youyun Sect—such an exalted status!

No wonder he could sit above the royal family and the Su family.

Though these people wielded power in Qin Kingdom, they might never have seen a visitor from the Youyun Sect in their lives.

"No way? The Wan family actually invited a core disciple of the Upper Sect. Looks like there's going to be a good show today!"

"Heh, a core disciple of the Upper Sect comes to support the Wan family—that's quite telling."

"Could it be that the Upper Sect is dissatisfied with the royal family? I thought today was just about seeing new pills, but unexpectedly, this happens! The Su family has pulled out a big move. How will the Nanfeng family respond?"

"Who cares? We're all merchants chasing profit. As long as there's money to be made, who cares who's emperor? I came today to snatch the agency rights for the new pills!"

"Hmph! I'm determined to get the agency rights for these new pills!"

"Heh, may the best man win! I've invested heavily for today's Pill Appreciation Assembly—no way I'm losing to you!"

For a moment, the nobles buzzed with discussion.

Seeing this, Su Yulin felt immense satisfaction.

After years of planning, he could finally realize his ambitions!

With Yang Hao's big move, he had already won half the battle!

Yang Hao represented the Youyun Sect. If even the Youyun Sect supported him, these people should know which side to take without him having to say much, right?

Su Yulin's gaze swept around, finally landing on Ye Yuan, and his face turned cold.

As if sensing something, Ye Yuan looked back at him and grinned.

For some reason, being looked at by Ye Yuan made Su Yulin feel uneasy.

Su Yulin had a feeling that today's biggest variable was Ye Yuan!

Su Yulin couldn't explain why he felt this way, but he felt that Ye Yuan's threat was even greater than Ye Hang's!

This feeling was very strange. Clearly, Ye Yuan was only at the Liquid Realm and couldn't participate in conflicts between Crystal Realm martial artists.

But why was that uneasy feeling still so strong? Was it just because of Ye Yuan's performance outside?

Although Ye Yuan was also a core disciple now, he couldn't compare to Yang Hao.

Even if Ye Yuan revealed his identity, Su Yulin had ways to turn the situation around!

"Ahem, everyone, quiet down!" Wan Donghai made a silencing gesture. When the hall quieted, he announced loudly: "Young Master Yang is a disciple of Elder Yao Qian of the Upper Sect's Pill Hall. Elder Yao and Elder Ouyang Ming are close friends! Today, Young Master Yang has specially come to the Pill Appreciation Assembly. Wan expresses his heartfelt gratitude!"

Another wave of uproar!

Though many had guessed, hearing Wan Donghai say it himself still made everyone gasp.

In many people's minds, the scales had completely tipped toward the Su family!

This was probably the greatest crisis the Nanfeng family had faced since the founding of Qin Kingdom!

Many eyes turned to Nanfeng Lou, filled with sympathy.

They knew the Nanfeng family also had connections to the Youyun Sect, but compared to the entire Pill Hall, they were insignificant!

"No way? What does Wan Donghai mean? Is the Upper Sect's Pill Hall signaling that they want to depose the Nanfeng family?"

"Unlikely! Unless there are special circumstances, the Upper Sect doesn't interfere in secular dynastic changes. If the Su family had the entire Pill Hall's support, they wouldn't have sent just a core disciple, nor would they need to hold this Pill Appreciation Assembly!"

"Hmm, you have a point. But even so, the Su family has borrowed an immense influence!"

"Indeed! The Nanfeng family is in deep trouble this time!"

With just two sentences, Wan Donghai shattered all of the Nanfeng family's hopes.

Nanfeng Lou sat below Yang Hao, his expression grim. Even Nanfeng Ruoqing beside him looked displeased.

The Su family's move was too ruthless!

Both Nanfeng Lou and Nanfeng Ruoqing couldn't help but look at Ye Yuan. Would revealing Ye Yuan's identity help the situation?

They exchanged glances, and Nanfeng Ruoqing shook her head slightly.

It was true that Ye Yuan had obtained the status of core disciple, but he hadn't even entered the sect yet. Even if he revealed his identity, it would do no good.

The terrifying aspect of Yang Hao's identity was not the core disciple status, but the Pill Hall behind him!

Under these circumstances, what should be done? Nanfeng Ruoqing couldn't help but grow anxious.