Chapter 443: Chapter 443: Reputation in Tatters
"Commander Sun."
Upon seeing this man, Vice Commander Jia Fang, who was already at the scene, hurriedly bowed in respect.
This man was Sun Xiong, the Commander of the Celestial Dragon Guard, Vice Commander of the Imperial Guard, a personal guard of the imperial family, and a powerful Tier Seven Martial King.
"Commander Sun, you’ve arrived just in time." Qin Feng spoke up immediately upon seeing him. "There was a minor incident at my Qin family’s pharmacy. Some petty scoundrels started smashing the place up. When your Vice Commander Jia arrived, not only did he fail to seek justice for my family, but he even insisted on shutting down our pharmacy and taking everyone away."
"My Qin family has always been diligent and cooperative with the Celestial Dragon Guard. But this time, you’ve gone too far. Are you deliberately trying to embarrass us?"
Qin Feng declared loudly, his tone full of indignation, as if the Qin family were the innocent party in this conflict.
"Commander Sun, it was like this..."
Jia Fang quickly stepped forward to explain, recounting the preceding events exactly as they had happened.
"Commander Sun, the Qin family disregarded the laws of the Sky Empire, openly resorting to violence in the marketplace. They broke their word, and when faced with our investigation, they even tried to attack us. Such behavior is completely lawless! If we don’t take them in for severe punishment, what will become of the Celestial Dragon Guard’s authority? What will become of the Empire’s authority?"
Jia Fang said, his expression furious.
Commander Sun waved his hand and said coolly, "Vice Commander Jia, I am already aware of the situation here. You’ve handled this well."
As soon as he said this, Qin Feng’s expression darkened. He had a bad feeling about this.
Commander Sun then turned to him and said, "Patriarch Qin, the Celestial Dragon Guard is commissioned by the imperial family and tasked with maintaining order in the Imperial Capital. Today, regardless of who was right or wrong, a mass brawl broke out in your Qin family’s pharmacy. The Qin family bears an undeniable responsibility for that. Therefore, I must ask you to cooperate with our work. Hand over the perpetrators, allow us to temporarily seal the pharmacy, and come with us."
Qin Feng’s expression completely soured. "Commander Sun, do you have any idea what you’re doing?"
Commander Sun said flatly, "I know exactly what I’m doing. I don’t need you to teach me, Patriarch Qin."
"Men."
"Take everyone who was involved in the previous disturbance back with us."
"Seal the Qin family Pharmacy. Remember to preserve the evidence at the scene."
Commander Sun issued his orders swiftly. Immediately, a large group of Celestial Dragon Guard soldiers advanced from the rear, their gazes menacing.
"Stop." Qin Feng barked, his eyes locked on Sun Xiong. "Commander Sun, are you determined to give the Qin family no face at all today?"
"Patriarch Qin, if I give you face, who will give the imperial family face? Who will give the Celestial Dragon Guard face?"
The Celestial Dragon Guard soldiers began to take away the Qin family guards who had fought earlier.
"Patriarch!"
"Patriarch!"
The guards cried out nervously, looking at Qin Feng with pleading eyes.
"Go with the Celestial Dragon Guard for now. I trust they will give our Qin family a clear account of this matter."
Qin Feng said, gritting his teeth.
Even if he were ten times bolder, Qin Feng wouldn’t dare to truly fight the Celestial Dragon Guard. His only hope now was to seek help from his backer, the Third Prince.
Because only the Third Prince had enough influence to sway Commander Sun.
Under the watchful eyes of all the Martial Artists, a large contingent of the Celestial Dragon Guard took away the guards and Martial Artists who had been fighting, one by one.
The Qin family guards looked dejected, while the Martial Artists who had fought back looked terrified.
In their view, was there any hope of survival after being taken away by the Imperial Capital’s most fearsome force, the Celestial Dragon Guard?
"Sir, we’ve been wronged! We’ve been wronged!"
"The Qin family clearly promised unconditional refunds before their grand opening, but they didn’t honor their word! They’re market tyrants! That’s what caused all this!"
"We only banged on their counter a couple of times, and the Qin family’s guards pounced on us like wolves! We had no choice but to defend ourselves!"
"If we hadn’t fought back, we’d all be corpses by now! Sir, we’ve truly been wronged!"
As the large group of Martial Artists from all over the Sky Empire was being led away by the Celestial Dragon Guard, they cried and pleaded their case.
The other Martial Artists and nobles present began to speak up for them.
It was true that the Qin family had been the ones in the wrong.
For a moment, public sentiment boiled over.
"Everyone, quiet down! Anyone else who causes a disturbance will be taken away as well."
Commander Sun’s brow furrowed as he shouted coldly.
In an instant, everyone present fell deathly silent.
"Commander Sun, this matter was indeed the Qin family’s fault. My Profound Pill Pavilion can testify on their behalf."
Just then, Ye Xuan suddenly stepped forward and said calmly.
"And who are you?"
Commander Sun’s gaze turned cold.
"I’m just an ordinary person, but I must speak a word for justice," Ye Xuan said evenly.
Upon hearing Ye Xuan’s words, the Martial Artists in the crowd nearly shouted "Well said!" in unison. His statement had voiced the very thoughts in their hearts.
"Commander Sun, Master Xuan Ye is right. These Martial Artists are indeed innocent."
"When the trouble started, we were right across the street. We saw everything clearly."
Master Lu Li, Patriarch Yuan Fei, and others also stepped forward to speak up.
Commander Sun glanced at the Martial Artists and said flatly, "Rest assured, everyone. The Celestial Dragon Guard enforces the law impartially. If they are truly innocent, we will not wrong a single good person."
After saying this, Commander Sun sealed the Qin family Pharmacy and led his troops away.
After the Celestial Dragon Guard had left, all the Martial Artists present looked at Ye Xuan and his group with gratitude.
’The Profound Pill Pavilion really is the best,’ they thought. ’At the critical moment, they knew to speak up for us common Martial Artists. Compared to them, the Qin family is just treacherous and ungrateful.’
In an instant, business at the Profound Pill Pavilion became even more explosive.
At the same time, news that a brawl had erupted at the Qin family Pharmacy, that they had broken their promise, and that they had been shut down by the Celestial Dragon Guard swept through the Imperial Capital like wildfire.
The Qin family’s prestige was dragged through the mud in an instant.
But even more explosive was the news that the Profound Pill Pavilion was selling two types of age-defying pills: the Rejuvenation Pill and the Beauty Pill.
Countless families, Martial Artists, and factions flocked to the news, swarming the Profound Pill Pavilion until it was packed to the gills.
The entire Profound Pill Pavilion was immediately plunged into a state of frantic activity.
Seeing this, Ye Xuan could finally relax.
’As long as there are no major mistakes, the Profound Pill Pavilion’s rise is unstoppable,’ he thought. ’And the decline of the Qin and Qu families is only a matter of time.’
The boom at the Profound Pill Pavilion lasted for a full week. Even after seven days, the line of Martial Artists queuing at the entrance every day was still endless.
In contrast, the Qin family Pharmacy was so deserted you could catch sparrows at its door.
Of course, Ye Xuan hadn’t been idle during that week. He had to manage numerous collaborations with the Divine Walk Commerce Association, the Artifact Refining Workshop, and the Yuan family.
With more collaborators, the risk of pill formulas being leaked also increased. It wasn’t that Ye Xuan distrusted these three factions; it was just that sometimes, leaks happen unintentionally.
Just like with the Luo family, their two most precious pill formulas eventually fell into the hands of the Murong family. It wasn’t that they wanted to leak the secret, but that they were powerless to protect it.
Therefore, Ye Xuan added another layer of "encryption" to the pill formulas to ensure their secrecy.
Ye Xuan was confident that even if all the Alchemists in the entire Dream Realm Plain were gathered, they might not be able to crack his "encryption."
At the same time, Ye Xuan also sent a letter to the three great families of Black Stone City, requesting that they cooperate with the Luo family.
Black Stone City would provide the raw materials, the Luo family would provide the techniques, and the Divine Walk Commerce Association, the Artifact Refining Workshop, and the Yuan family would handle sales. At that rate, their wealth would accumulate at an astonishing speed.
But while Ye Xuan and his allies were developing comfortably, the Qin family was in a complete mess.
The commotion the Qin family had caused in the marketplace that day was simply too great. It was said that the Sky Empire’s imperial family was furious, so naturally, the Third Prince didn’t dare to speak up for them.
And the Qin family guards who had been taken away by the Celestial Dragon Guard that day were all thrown into the dungeons.
Even Qin Feng himself was "invited" to the Celestial Dragon Guard for investigation.
The Qin family was a powerful and influential noble house in the empire, but under the pressure from the imperial family, they didn’t dare show the slightest sign of dissent. They could only obediently accept their punishment.
Because of this, the entire Qin family fell into a slump from which they couldn’t recover.
In contrast, Ye Xuan’s reputation spread far and wide across the empire in just a few short days.
「After finishing his work on the collaboration with the Divine Walk Commerce Association, Ye Xuan entered closed-door cultivation.」
At the auction, he had won the Soul Crystals of a Breathing Vine and a Nightmare Beast. It was time to properly raise his strength.
Originally, using the Breathing Vine’s Soul Crystal was just an experiment for Ye Xuan.
What he hadn’t expected was that his Life Martial Soul would actually have a strong reaction to the aura of the Breathing Vine’s Soul Crystal.
As the Soul Power from the Breathing Vine’s Soul Crystal flowed into his Life Martial Soul, the Martial Soul within his Gate of Heaven began to grow rapidly. It transformed from a palm-sized, tender green shoot into a vine over a foot long.
Tender, emerald-green leaves sprouted from the vine, and an aura of life so powerful it was terrifying to Ye Xuan emanated from the Life Martial Soul.
At the same time, a deep red star ring began to form around the vine. The contrast between the red and green made it even more striking and brilliant.
SQUEAK SQUEAK!
Sensing the life aura from Ye Xuan, the Little Purple Mink suddenly appeared on his shoulder. Its purple, gemstone-like eyes darted around as it snuggled against him, reveling in the dense aura of life.
If one looked closely, they would see streams of purple light flowing across the Little Purple Mink’s satin-like fur, forming strange and complex mystical patterns that gave off a profound and abstruse aura.
The Breathing Vine’s Soul Crystal vanished bit by bit as the deep red star ring gradually took shape.
Just as the star ring was about to fully form, at the most critical moment, the Breathing Vine’s Soul Crystal was completely depleted.
CRACK!
The red star ring outside the green vine instantly became unstable and began to tremble.
’This is bad,’ Ye Xuan thought, his heart sinking in an instant.
This was a clear sign of insufficient Soul Power, causing the Martial Soul’s star ring to fail to form. If this red star ring shattered, not only would the Martial Soul’s advancement fail, but his Martial Soul itself would also suffer immense damage.
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