Led by the young disciple, the Grand Elder and the others were soon seated in a simple reception room.
The room was not large. The furnishings were plain but meticulously clean. Several hard wooden chairs surrounded a square table; herbal and alchemical diagrams hung on the walls, and the air carried a faint medicinal fragrance.
The disciple respectfully seated them, and soon someone came in to serve tea.
Chen Yi picked up his cup, but his eyes were filled with curiosity as he glanced at the composed Grand Elder beside him. He lowered his voice and asked with interest:
"Grand Elder, that jade box you just took out…"
Across from Chen Yi, Ye Cien and Ye Lingling, who had both been sitting quietly, couldn't help looking over as well, their gazes probing.
The Grand Elder smiled faintly, took a sip of tea, and swept his eyes over the three of them.
"Just an old item," he said casually. "Something tied to matters from long ago."
"There's no need to worry. You'll find out in due time."
Hearing this, Chen Yi and the others could only suppress their curiosity and quietly savor their tea as they waited.
The reception room fell silent. Only the faint aroma of tea and the distant shouts of clan members training in the courtyard drifted in through the window.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before the silence was broken by approaching footsteps—quick and powerful, without the slightest effort to hide the urgency behind them.
The very next moment, a stocky figure strode in like a gust of wind.
The newcomer was tall and broad-shouldered, with a thick back. Though his hair and beard were streaked with gray, his face was ruddy, and his eyes were as sharp as an eagle's. His entire being exuded a piercing and unparalleled aura, like a spear that could pierce the heavens at any time.
He was none other than the current head of the Breaking Clan and Yang Wudi's younger brother—Yang Wushuang.
Yang Wushuang's gaze swept quickly across the room. Based on his disciple's account, he locked onto the middle-aged man seated in the main seat—the Grand Elder.
His eyes scrutinized the Grand Elder's appearance and aura carefully, his brows knotting faintly.
The man looked nothing like the figure in his memories.
His mind involuntarily returned to the desperate, tragic scene four years ago outside Clear Sky City. The four affiliated clans had fallen into an ambush, their elites suffering devastating losses; the clans had been pushed to the brink of annihilation.
At the final hour, a figure in black robes had appeared like a ghost. Yang Wushuang hadn't seen that man's face clearly, but the domineering, world-crushing momentum radiating from him was carved into his soul like a burning brand.
With his power alone, that man had forced back all the enemies—and then drifted away.
Yet the middle-aged man before him, though he gave an unfathomable impression, possessed a completely different aura. His presence was extremely restrained, as calm as a deep sea. The surface was tranquil, but it concealed unimaginable might—yet it was utterly distinct from the overbearing, sun-like pressure of the black-robed figure.
Yang Wushuang suppressed the doubts in his heart, stepped forward, and tightly clutched a somewhat worn booklet in his hand. On its cover were seven bold characters: On the Alchemy of Yang Wushuang.
He gazed solemnly at the Grand Elder, his tone containing a hint of barely concealed expectation.
"May I ask where Your Excellency hails from…"
The Grand Elder had already noted the subtle changes in Yang Wushuang's expression upon entering. Hearing his question, he simply smiled, not answering directly.
In the next instant, the initially bland aura around him suddenly awakened. A terrifying pressure surged out like a sleeping dragon rousing from its slumber.
The aura was extremely condensed—accurately locked onto Yang Wushuang alone.
Beside him, Chen Yi, Ye Cien, and Ye Lingling merely felt the surrounding air grow slightly heavy; otherwise they sensed no abnormality.
But for Yang Wushuang at the center of that pressure, the feeling was vastly different.
The moment that breath enveloped him, his entire body stiffened. It was as if an invisible mountain had fallen upon his shoulders. Even breathing became incomparably difficult.
His pupils shrank to needle points as a tidal wave of shock swept through his heart.
This man's strength was definitely not that of an ordinary Title Douluo.
Yang Wushuang was a Rank 82 Soul Douluo. His martial soul, the Broken Dragon Spear, was renowned for its overwhelming offensive power and ability to break all defenses. He was confident that, below the Title realm, few could match him. Even against those who had just stepped into the Title Douluo level, he was sure he could at least fight evenly, swinging his spear with the edge of soul-shattering sharpness.
But under this sudden, crushing aura, he felt like a flat-bottomed skiff in a storm-tossed sea—insignificant and helpless, on the verge of capsizing and being annihilated at any moment.
This was pure suppression. The other party wasn't even actively circulating soul power. With just a waft of his aura, he left Yang Wushuang unable to even muster the intent to resist.
This feeling was even more suffocating than when he'd once faced the black-robed man.
That black-robed expert had been like a blazing sun—domineering and dazzling, impossible to ignore.
But this man before him was like a bottomless abyss, capable of swallowing everything.
An instant later, that terrifying pressure vanished like a mirage. Yet the cold sweat soaking Yang Wushuang's back and the slightly sluggish flow of his soul power were enough to remind him that everything he had just experienced was real.
He exhaled a long, shaky breath, forcibly steadying his emotions. When he looked at the Grand Elder again, his gaze was now full of respect—with a trace of awe.
Whether or not this man was the same black-robed expert from that year, he was without question a peerless powerhouse. Neither he nor the entire Breaking Clan could afford to offend him.
The Grand Elder was not surprised by Yang Wushuang's reaction. To him, it was as if he'd done something as trivial as brushing away dust. He picked up his cup and took another sip of tea before speaking unhurriedly.
"Elder Yang, there's no need to be nervous."
"Back then, outside Clear Sky City, the person who saved your four clans' surviving members was my Sect Master."
"And today, I've come here on behalf of my sect with a request for your esteemed clan."
"Sect… Master?"
The words struck Yang Wushuang like a bolt of lightning. That terrifying black-robed powerhouse… had been the Sect Master of this man's sect?
And this calm, unfathomable middle-aged man before him was actually a core figure of that sect?
Questions tumbled through his mind. Why had he never heard of such a sect in all the rumors across the continent? Why had this power remained hidden until now?
But soon, he forced himself to calm down. No matter where the other party came from, one fact would never change: the strong deserve respect. Moreover, when the Grand Elder mentioned that deed from back then, his tone remained polite, even using the phrase mutual request rather than giving an order.
He immediately cupped his fists, his voice sincere.
"So that's how it is. If not for your Sect Master's righteous intervention back then, my broken clan would already have been wiped out. Such great kindness is engraved in the hearts of everyone in the Breaking Clan."
"If there's anything we can do for you now—no matter what it is—just say the word. As long as it's within our power, we will do our utmost!"
His words were clear and firm, containing not only gratitude but also deep reverence toward absolute strength.
The Grand Elder lightly shook his head, his expression remaining composed.
"Elder Yang, there's no need to overstate it. When my Sect Master acted back then, it wasn't for free. Your clan already exchanged your ancestral alchemy inheritance with us. In that matter, neither side owes the other anything."
"In other words, what we're discussing today is a new deal, not repayment for an old favor."
Hearing this, a trace of embarrassment flickered across Yang Wushuang's face.
The Grand Elder was right. It had indeed been a transaction back then. But in the past four years, both the shattered Breaking Clan and the other three surviving clans had been licking their wounds, slowly restoring their vitality while constantly being harassed and probed by impatient forces from outside.
Whenever things reached a critical point, they would always hint—intentionally or not—at their connection to that mysterious powerhouse. They spoke vaguely of an unfathomable expert who once intervened for the sake of the Four Clans.
They had never explicitly used that as leverage, yet in an invisible way, this borrowed tiger's skin had deterred many small and mid-sized factions, winning the Clans precious time to breathe.
This intangible protection was a great boon. So at this moment, to have the Grand Elder declare so bluntly that neither side owes the other inevitably left Yang Wushuang a little abashed.
The Grand Elder had lived many years. His insight into human nature was razor-sharp. Seeing Yang Wushuang's conflicted expression, he did not press further on the awkward topic, nor did he expose the Breaking Clan's current predicament in detail. He merely went straight to the point.
"This time, I've come to invite your honored Old Ancestor Yang Wudi and Elder Yang Wushuang to visit my sect's mountain estate, to assist us with the refinement of several important medicines."
He paused, then continued.
"All the required medicinal ingredients will be provided by us. The two of you only need to be responsible for the actual refining. Once the matter is complete, our sect will offer suitable recompense. We will by no means allow you two to labor in vain."
"Invite my elder brother and me to refine medicine together?"
A hint of hesitation flashed across Yang Wushuang's face.
It wasn't that he was unwilling to repay a favor, nor that he wanted to haggle over this new deal. On the contrary, he was still inwardly excited by the heavy gratitude the Grand Elder had hinted at. He did not doubt that a mysterious sect capable of sheltering them and possessing such terrifying power would offer a reward worth yearning for.
What truly troubled him was the Breaking Clan's situation.
In the battle outside Clear Sky City, nearly half of the clan's elites had been lost, and both he and Yang Wudi had been grievously wounded. Over the past four years, they had barely managed to nurse themselves back to health, yet their overall strength was still not what it once was.
Right now, he at Rank 82 and Yang Wudi at Rank 84 were the twin pillars of the Breaking Clan, the deterring the greed of the surrounding forces.
If both of them left and any ambitious enemy learned of this, the clan's few Soul Sage-level elders alone might not be able to hold the line. The consequences would be unthinkable.
The Grand Elder caught his hesitation at a glance. After a brief moment of thought, he understood Yang Wushuang's concerns. His expression did not change as he spoke leisurely.
"Elder Yang is worried that once you and Old Ancestor Yang Wudi leave, there will be no one left to guarantee the safety of the clan, correct?"
Seeing his thoughts laid bare so directly, Yang Wushuang could only give a bitter smile and stop trying to conceal it.
"Your Excellency, it's not that I don't wish to go. It's that the clan truly cannot withstand any more upheaval. If my elder brother and I both leave, I fear…"
"I fear that the clan will fall into panic, and the small and mid-sized powers circling around us won't miss such a chance."
"It's quite all right."
The Grand Elder waved his hand, his tone still calm.
"There's no need to rush this matter. Wait until Old Ancestor Yang Wudi returns. Discuss it carefully between yourselves, and give me your answer before it's too late."
"Our sect indeed has urgent need of these elixirs, but we also understand the difficulties faced by your clan."
Hearing this, joy flooded Yang Wushuang's face. Most of the heaviness clouding his features dissipated at once.
Not only was the other party immeasurably strong, he was also reasonable—this put him at ease.
He quickly bowed deeply.
"Thank you for your understanding! My elder brother left to collect a rare medicinal herb and planned to be back within two days."
"As soon as he returns, we'll discuss the matter carefully and give you a reply as soon as possible."
...
Bonus chapter at 100 PS