At this moment, Tang Yan's swordsmanship was exquisite. Among peers, it was hard to find a worthy opponent.

Winter Snow had to unleash her strength at the Yellow stage.

Breaking through a hundred strikes with one move!

Below the Yellow stage, everyone else was like ants. With sufficient strength, Winter Snow was confident that this time she would break through Tang Yan's defense.

Facing her fierce strike, Tang Yan didn't retreat but advanced. His sword, like a white cloud, swiftly enveloped Winter Snow’s slender sword.

Clang! Clang! The sound of metal clashing echoed, and to the astonishment of both women, Tang Yan’s long sword successfully blocked Winter Snow's attack and swiftly aimed for her throat.

One force breaks a hundred strikes! But one clever move can break a thousand pounds!

Tang Yan's technique was agile, his movements swift, and this strike, full of momentum, was extremely dangerous. Winter Snow stood stunned, her eyes filled with fear as the sword approached her rapidly.

"Stop!" Seeing Tang Yan breaking through her defense, Wuxuan cried out in anger, raising her palm to block him.

"You've lost!" Tang Yan’s long sword stopped a mere inch from Winter Snow's throat, just as he was about to flash a self-satisfied smile when he suddenly felt an intense gust of wind and was forcefully pushed away.

Bang! Tang Yan was sent flying, crashing heavily into an ancient cypress tree. The thick trunk shook violently.

"Pfft!" A mouthful of blood spilled from the corner of Tang Yan's mouth. His mind was in chaos. What did I do to deserve this?

"Tang Yan!" Winter Snow gasped and immediately rushed over to check on him.

"Young Master Tang, are you alright?" Wuxuan didn’t expect Tang Yan to stop at such a crucial moment. She was conflicted but quickly took out a healing pill and placed it in Tang Yan's mouth.

From the scent, Tang Yan immediately recognized that the pill was a healing medicine, a second-grade low-tier one. Before he could swallow it, the Heaven and Earth Cauldron, which had remained still for so long, suddenly emitted a low hum and began to vibrate. A refreshing, cool aura spread from within the cauldron, circulating throughout his body and forcefully suppressing the restless Qi. Though the injury wasn’t instantly healed, most of the damage was alleviated.

Tang Yan felt the changes in his body and was pleasantly surprised. The Heaven and Earth Cauldron is actually protecting me!

Pretending to remain calm, Tang Yan swallowed the pill, then frowned and exhaled.

It was lucky that Wuxuan didn’t use her full strength; otherwise, if she had struck with all her might, Tang Yan would have been in real trouble.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"Young Master Tang, I’m terribly sorry. I… I didn’t mean to..." Wuxuan looked at Tang Yan with a hint of guilt and whispered, "Are you alright?"

"You asked me to be the sparring partner, and now it’s you who injured me," Tang Yan responded sharply, "Winter Snow raised her strength to the Yellow stage without any warning, and you didn’t stop her either. Miss Wuxuan, I want an explanation."

Seeing Tang Yan’s insistence, Wuxuan seemed flustered. She murmured, "Young Master Tang, I thought you couldn’t stop in time, and it slipped out of my control."

"Slipped out of your control? You sent me flying with one palm? Miss Wuxuan, do you think I’m just some disposable pawn?" Tang Yan demanded angrily.

"Young Master Tang, Wuxuan didn’t do it on purpose. Now that things have come to this, there’s no need to keep arguing. I’ll compensate you," Winter Snow intervened, trying to ease the tension.

"Do you think I only want compensation because I was injured?" Tang Yan feigned anger and asked, before swiftly turning the conversation, "What will you compensate me with?"

"Three first-grade mid-tier pills and one first-grade upper-tier pill. What do you think?" Winter Snow proposed.

If it were someone else, hearing such an offer would undoubtedly cause great excitement. First-grade mid-tier pills could be found by some families in Yun City, but first-grade upper-tier pills were extremely rare, and they could be considered treasures, nearly impossible to obtain.

However, Tang Yan was different. As a Ninth-Grade Alchemist in his past life, even second-grade or third-grade pills were worth little more than the cost of the materials to him.

Tang Yan calculated in his head. He was short about ten thousand silver and had just forced Winter Snow to use her Yellow stage strength. They had sparred for nearly an hour, so he figured he could demand a fair amount as sparring compensation. Furthermore, with the Tang family currently in a precarious situation, if he could once again have the Miaodan Sect owe them a favor, it would add some security for the family.

With this decision made, Tang Yan feigned weakness and said, "Since Miss Wuxuan also acted unintentionally, asking for material compensation feels too petty. I happen to have some doubts about martial arts, so if Miss Wuxuan has time in the near future, I’d appreciate it if you could come to the Tang family to guide me."

"Just now, Young Master Tang showed such impressive martial arts talent that Wuxuan couldn’t help but be in awe. I wouldn’t dare to give guidance, but in a few days, I will definitely visit and discuss it with you," Wuxuan’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Tang Yan, her meaning obvious.

Although Tang Yan said this matter could be settled, Wuxuan knew that as the chief alchemist of Miaodan Sect, if she visited the Tang family, it would raise suspicions about the relationship between the Tang family and Miaodan Sect. This could cause those watching the Tang family to hesitate before attacking.

"Since that’s the case, I’ll wait for your visit, Miss Wuxuan. By the way, Miss Winter Snow, about our bet, is it still valid?" Tang Yan, still thinking about the silver, immediately asked.

"It’s still valid!" Winter Snow replied, secretly annoyed. How come this guy, who had been so refined and poetic when they last met, was now so greedy for money? Was his grandfather still withholding his allowance?

Taking the two million silver note from Winter Snow, Tang Yan smiled widely as he put it away. He then feigned exhaustion and said, "Since that’s the case, I’ll take my leave and rest."

Without waiting for further conversation, he staggered towards the door.

"Young Master Tang, wait! I’ll have someone escort you back," Winter Snow called out, immediately having someone guide Tang Yan outside.

Looking at Tang Yan’s departing figure, Winter Snow pouted. "This guy doesn’t even know what kind of swordplay he’s using, but it’s so strong. I used my Yellow stage strength and still couldn’t defeat him."

"He truly is a monster." Wuxuan thought back to the stunning martial arts talent Tang Yan had shown during their sparring session, as well as the cleverness in his words. Could this really be the same spoiled young master everyone talks about?

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Back in the Tang family residence, Tang Yan rode in the city lord's carriage, drawing attention from many onlookers. However, Tang Yan didn’t care about this. He was focused on one thing: strengthening the Tang family.

Returning to his residence, he immediately got to work, writing down the required medicinal materials and asking Xiao Cui to go buy them at the local pharmacy.