An old man in a red robe spoke to an old man in a gray robe beside him. Both were respected figures in the alchemy world, capable of refining very advanced elixirs.
Therefore, they were undoubtedly outstanding individuals in the alchemy community. If anyone heard the names Hong Dou and Hei Dou, they would immediately associate them with these two.
These two were brothers, both belonging to the alchemy sect, and disciples of the Medicine King, Yao Fang Ku, from Medicine King Valley. The Medicine King had many disciples, including those from the medicinal study sect and the alchemy sect.
Among the disciples of Medicine King Valley, there were not many elites like them.
Of course, Confucius educated three thousand disciples, but only seventy-two became famous. Thus, those who achieved prominent positions must possess extraordinary abilities. It is not that a renowned teacher can only produce outstanding students; all achievements rely on one's own hard work. If you lack such capability, even a sage cannot educate you to success.
As the saying goes, whether one can embark on the path of cultivation depends on the individual. If you are incapable, even an immortal cannot teach you to become accomplished. If these two elders knew that Ye Tiancheng could refine elixirs using the Yellow Springs Flower, they would undoubtedly pay homage to Ye Tiancheng and be utterly impressed.
Sometimes, comparing oneself to others can be disheartening. To make wild guesses without knowing someone's background is truly laughable. Ye Tiancheng naturally would not bother with these elders; he knew his own worth.
He would not pretend to be foolish or reveal his true abilities unnecessarily. The reason he acted as if he was idle and incompetent was because he needed to.
If he didn't act this way, he would certainly not become a successful person.
By hiding his abilities, he wouldn't care how others perceived him. Such a person could naturally stand out and be superior to others. In this situation, how others viewed him was not excessive.
The primary objective was to hone his skills and then let others witness them.
Sometimes, he went too far, hiding his abilities instead of displaying them. Those who wished to do him harm were completely unaware of his true capabilities, leading to situations that were later both amusing and regrettable.
Sometimes, certain problems arose because he deliberately acted that way. This was done to feign weakness and surprise others, a tactic he called "playing the pig to eat the tiger." Ye Tiancheng felt that he had successfully lured the fish into his trap and was secretly chuckling.
If his efforts were to succeed, he would become even more successful. Therefore, for Ye Tiancheng, becoming more formidable entirely depended on his understanding and contemplation of all matters.
Sometimes, acting overly arrogant was simply outrageous, an excess of excesses.
Giving up meant losing many things. Ye Tiancheng constantly pondered a fundamental question, which now presented itself before him.
If he didn't eliminate the troublesome individuals before him, how could he create opportunities for his own development in this situation?
If everything was lost, there must be an opportunity. If the opportunity was gone, then nothing would remain.
Therefore, he had already decided to use his waist token to sort out those who were detrimental to him and his affairs. What lay before Ye Tiancheng was a very profound principle. If he couldn't accomplish what he wanted according to his ideals, he would be unable to do anything well.
This point was now severely placed before him.
When a person abandons their dreams, there is only a simple reason. Within this profound principle, they are almost incapable of achieving anything.
Upon thinking of this, his heart almost completely collapsed.
This is because humans are creatures motivated by self-interest; given sufficient incentive, they can do anything.
Now, for Ye Tiancheng, he wanted to see what these fellows were thinking. It was evident that they were all engaging in despicable acts for their own benefit. And himself?
He was also an animal in this concrete jungle.
What they thought was merely for a better survival.
For anything that could be gained, he, like many others, was in constant pursuit. To live better, that was the sole purpose.
He should persist in his own endeavors as he ought to.
Such actions truly burdened Ye Tiancheng's heart with negative thoughts and negative approaches.
That was all...
To succeed in such matters, he had to make great sacrifices.
Although he had wanted to take drastic actions against these people before, he had done nothing, quietly waiting for everything to unfold.
Chen Xue, seeing Ye Tiancheng's demeanor, became angry. Regardless of what was said, Ye Tiancheng had truly made too many sacrifices for something.
She felt these sacrifices were ultimately not worth it.
Ye Tiancheng did not object. He understood very well that by continuing like this, he was creating an awkward situation in the eyes of others. In this situation, he almost wished to completely negate all these things.
That was why he was thinking so much.
Chen Xue considered Ye Tiancheng a complete idiot, doing something outrageous when it was unnecessary.
This made Ye Tiancheng's heart almost collapse. There was no way out, no choice. He could only be that way. His true state was something that was very difficult to describe in words.
He had almost fallen into complete despair.
"There's no other way... If you don't come up with a way to suppress them, you truly won't be able to do anything."
"Is that so?" Ye Tiancheng did not believe any of this.
In his opinion, he could resolve certain matters completely, but in his view, what he had done was something only an idiot would do.
Now, these problems had severely formed the greatest burden.
Those few fellows didn't take him seriously at all because they believed Ye Tiancheng could not possibly be a successful alchemist.
It was likely that he was deliberately acting this way to put on a show; in reality, his skills were shallow and posed no threat to them. Hong Dou and Hei Dou thought this way, so their eyes were filled with contempt for Ye Tiancheng.
However, Ye Tiancheng hoped they would look down on him.
If they respected him too much, it wouldn't be a good thing. If everything was seen through by others, what fun would there be? He couldn't play the game anymore. The best way to continue playing this game was to appear on the surface as a complete idiot, incapable of doing anything.
He felt this facade was excellent; at least it allowed him to remain exposed. However, his actions did not earn Chen Xue's approval at all.
Chen Xue naturally did not understand. If this woman could understand, everything would be simple. Because she didn't understand, everything fell into great trouble.
Now, Ye Tiancheng had managed his emotions very well. Therefore, even if others couldn't understand his actions, as long as he himself understood them, there was infinite pleasure.
If he could maintain such a good mindset and act with it, then he would truly be worthy of being called a smart and wise choice. If all his efforts appeared childish and ridiculous, then what he truly did would be meaningless.
For Ye Tiancheng, there were still many problems he truly worried about, mainly because these problems could cause him to lose important things. However, he didn't want to care about so much at the moment.
What lay before him was to still accomplish the idealized things he wished to achieve. Regardless, he still needed to earnestly execute his so-called dreams.
This sense of déjà vu held a certain attraction for Ye Tiancheng, so he wouldn't easily reveal these things or let others see them.
It was for him to better conceal himself, because this sense of déjà vu could trace back to things that had happened before. Things from a long, long time ago, he certainly wanted to know and understand any events he had experienced in the past.
For him, these matters were certainly complex and could even cost him his life. Therefore, a person should maintain a secret that others cannot pursue. This secret lay in anything hidden within his life, which needed to be carefully observed. Others saw him as if he were performing for monkeys, but he himself was enjoying it immensely.
Regardless, concealment was for the better protection of his interests. If he could survive better, that was more important than anything and seemed less complicated.
He understood what this completely meant.
To better protect his interests and his state, he appeared very pathetic. In everyone's eyes, he seemed like someone who heavily relied on the beautiful woman beside him. Because from any angle, Chen Xue, standing beside him, looked like she was protecting him, while he himself seemed like a kept man, completely dependent on powerful women.
"I never expected to become another kind of character by your side. This greatly exceeds my expectations and thoughts," Chen Xue said with a light smile, her expression radiant.