Chapter 33 : Chapter 33
Chapter 33: Using Pills
Under the puzzled gazes of the crowd, Ye Liuyun walked toward Duanmu Xiaorong.
The surrounding disciples all watched the beautiful woman passing by them with looks of amazement.
“She is so beautiful… Wait, isn’t that the junior sister who was with Senior Sister Lin? Why did she come over here?” The disciples’ eyes could not help but fall upon Ye Liuyun’s face and figure.
“Excuse me… sorry, please let me through,” Ye Liuyun said.
Being stared at by so many people made her feel slightly embarrassed.
Their gazes were far too intense. However, compared to three years ago, her tolerance had improved considerably. She no longer felt as awkward as she once did.
Very quickly, Ye Liuyun arrived in front of Duanmu Xiaorong.
“Senior Brother, hello. I am Ye Liuyu. I am Lin Aoxue’s elder sister. Are you alright?” Ye Liuyun greeted him politely.
When Duanmu Xiaorong saw the gentle, fairy-like beauty standing before him and asking about his condition, he was momentarily stunned by her appearance.
To be honest, in the entire Yunxia Sect, it would be difficult to find even a handful of women whose appearance and temperament could match Ye Liuyun’s.
“Ah? I am fine, I am fine. You are the junior sister who was standing beside Senior Sister Lin?” Duanmu Xiaorong immediately stood up, completely forgetting about his injuries, and greeted her somewhat awkwardly.
“Yes. Senior Brother, my younger sister has not been cultivating for very long, so she does not yet know how to properly control her strength. She could have used much less force earlier. On her behalf, I apologize to you,” Ye Liuyun said with a gentle smile.
Duanmu Xiaorong froze.
Such a beautiful girl apologizing to him in front of everyone caused most of the resentment in his heart to disappear instantly.
“It is fine, it is fine. Arena sparring always comes with injuries,” Duanmu Xiaorong said quickly. “Besides, I could tell that Senior Sister Lin had already restrained her strength. If she had used the move she used earlier against Deacon Yun Cheng, I would have been defeated instantly.”
Duanmu Xiaorong clearly knew his own limits.
Ye Liuyun nodded. Then she took out a small porcelain bottle containing pills.
“Even so, my sister still injured you. I am an alchemist and have refined some pills. Please accept this pill as compensation for the injury my sister caused. It will also be beneficial to your cultivation,” Ye Liuyun said as she handed the porcelain bottle to him.
Duanmu Xiaorong stood there blankly.
He had originally intended to refuse, but after seeing Ye Liuyun’s sincere expression, he ultimately accepted it.
“Then… I will accept it with gratitude,” Duanmu Xiaorong said as he took the pill bottle.
After exchanging a few more polite words, Ye Liuyun turned around and returned to Lin Aoxue’s side.
The moment she came back, Lin Aoxue glared at her.
“So you went over there to play the good person, and now I am the villain,” Lin Aoxue muttered quietly.
“You do not understand anything,” Ye Liuyun replied while rolling her eyes. “Your identity already attracts a lot of attention within the Yunxia Sect. After what happened today, some people might think you disrespect your seniors. That would greatly lower their impression of you. It is not good for your standing within the sect.”
Lin Aoxue could not refute that statement at all, so she could only silently accept it.
Meanwhile, Duanmu Xiaorong watched Ye Liuyun return to Lin Aoxue’s side before lowering his gaze to the pill bottle in his hand with a foolish grin.
“Duanmu, look at that expression of yours. She already left and you are still grinning like an idiot. Hurry up and see what pill that junior sister gave you,” one of the disciples beside him urged.
“Why should I look now? I will check it later,” Duanmu Xiaorong replied.
In truth, he did not take the bottle very seriously.
After all, it was merely compensation from a Spirit Stream Realm cultivator. How valuable could it possibly be?
Ye Liuyun’s actions were noticed by many people, especially Yun Yun on the high platform. She was very satisfied with what she saw.
“Not bad. She is far more mature than that girl Aoxue. With her beside Aoxue, the troubles Aoxue faces in the future should be greatly reduced,” Yun Yun said with a sigh of approval.
Meanwhile, the arena sparring continued.
However, Yun Cheng seemed to be doing this deliberately. For the second match, he called out Ye Liuyun’s name.
He probably wanted to see whether Ye Liuyun truly had real ability. After all, the earlier assessment had only required her to stand still and endure an attack. That was completely different from an actual fight.
“Second match: new disciple Ye Liuyu versus new disciple Chen Dong. Please step onto the arena,” Yun Cheng announced as he looked toward Ye Liuyu standing beside Lin Aoxue.
When Ye Liuyun heard this, she was equally surprised.
“The second match is me? Are you kidding me? Is that deacon doing this on purpose?” Ye Liuyun exchanged a glance with Lin Aoxue.
Lin Aoxue shrugged. It was obvious that Yun Cheng was targeting the two of them.
With no other choice, Ye Liuyun walked onto the arena again.
Her opponent was a disciple with fairly good talent among the new disciples. He had already reached the late stage of the Spirit Stream Realm and had even been selected for the inner sect.
“Hello, Senior Brother. Please show mercy later,” Ye Liuyun greeted him politely as soon as she stepped onto the arena.
“Ah… haha… You should be the one showing mercy,” Chen Dong replied awkwardly.
After all, Ye Liuyun had been evaluated as being at the peak of the Spirit Stream Realm, while he was only at the late stage.
After exchanging greetings, Ye Liuyun took a deep breath.
Then she took out a pill and placed it in her mouth before swallowing it.
“Huh? Little girl, what are you doing? This is arena sparring—why are you taking a pill?” Yun Cheng clearly noticed Ye Liuyun’s small action.
Yun Yun and the others were also stunned.
“Huh? Deacon, is there a rule that pills cannot be taken during arena sparring?” Ye Liuyun asked in return.
Yun Cheng was speechless. After a moment, he explained seriously,
“In arena sparring, cultivators must rely on their own abilities to win. External objects cannot be used.”
Hearing this, Ye Liuyun immediately relaxed.
“Oh, I see. But, Deacon… I am an alchemist. If an alchemist uses pills they personally refined during battle, does that not still count as relying on their own abilities?” Ye Liuyun asked with a cheerful smile.
Yun Cheng froze.
Everyone else froze as well.
Because Ye Liuyun’s words actually made sense.
Most alchemists had weak combat abilities. Using pills they personally refined to enhance their combat strength did not seem unreasonable.
“Well… how do you prove that you are an alchemist?” Yun Cheng asked, unsure how to argue back.
“That is easy. I have the Alchemy Pavilion disciple token,” Ye Liuyun replied as she took out the exclusive token from the Alchemy Pavilion.
Any veteran disciple of the Yunxia Sect would recognize that token. It served as proof of identity.
“Oh… fine. I suppose that does not count as breaking the rules,” Yun Cheng said with a slight headache.
This was the first time he had encountered such a situation, and he had no idea how to handle it. Moreover, judging from Ye Liuyun’s cultivation level, he assumed that even if she used pills, it would not cause any major complications.
However, Ye Liuyun’s actions gave many disciples from the Alchemy Pavilion a sudden realization.
“Hey… this junior sister just gave me a brilliant idea. Artifact refiners can fight using the artifacts they forge. Talisman masters can use their talismans. Formation masters can deploy their formations. Beast tamers can command their spirit beasts. So why can we alchemists not use pills during competitions?” several alchemists exclaimed in realization.
Ye Liuyun’s actions had effectively changed the future structure of arena sparring within the Yunxia Sect.
In the past, alchemists were notoriously weak in combat. Among cultivators of the same realm, they were almost always the weakest because their focus was on refining pills rather than improving their fighting ability.