"Here, take this."

Su Yang suddenly tossed a storage ring at Xie Wang and said, "There are 100 million spirit stones inside; it should be enough to buy every single ingredient on that list and still have a few million leftovers."

"A hundred million spirit stones…" Xie Wang looked at him with wide eyes. Although he can imagine where he'd obtained this massive wealth, it was still shocking to see someone tossing around 100 million spirit stones without any hesitation.

"Anyway, how's your body, Xing'er?" Su Yang looked at her next with a gentle smile on his face.

"It's growing properly," Xie Xingfang said while rubbing her bloated stomach.

Su Yang chuckled and said, "That's good. Since there are no problems, why don't we show it to your father?"

"Now?" Xie Xingfang asked.

"Yes. The longer we wait, the more he'll feel left out. Although I like messing with him, I am not cruel enough to devoid him of such experiences." Su Yang nodded.

Xie Xingfang also nodded and slowly got off the bed.

"I will speak to my father," she said as she wrapped herself with a thin blanket that covered her bloated stomach.

Sometime later, Xie Wang left to gather the medicine whilst Su Yang and Xie Xingfang went to speak with Lord Xie, who is currently in a meeting with a dozen high-standing individuals from around the Eastern Continent.

"Your Majesty, I think we should do something about the Burning Lotus Sect and their monopoly in the pill industry. This is extremely unhealthy for the business and other competitors as a whole. We cannot allow the Burning Lotus Sect to grow anymore or they'll sooner or later become unstoppable." One of the individuals at the meeting suddenly said.

"I agree with what Senior Ruan just said, Your Majesty. The Burning Lotus Sect currently monopolizes over 95% of the market in pills and medicine, leaving the rest of us without any business. I'm afraid that they might threaten the Xie Family once they are powerful enough."

"The Burning Lotus Sect has been only an above-average sect at best previously, but they suddenly rose to fame after the Earth Advancement Pill was discovered. I understand that this pill was given to them by the Alchemy Master but such an important pill… I think its recipe should be shared so that the cultivation world can see further development." Another one said.

"Indeed. I also find it quite ridiculous that only one person in this world besides the Alchemy Master has the pill recipe for the Earth Advancement Pill. What are we going to do if she suddenly disappears?"

"Your Majesty, perhaps you can persuade Wang Shuren to share the pill recipe. I won't discredit her recent achievements but I don't think someone who was only an auction house manager recently should bear such a heavy responsibility that affects the entire cultivation world."

"Speaking of the Alchemy Master, I heard from the Xiang Family that he's actually Su Yang from the Profound Blossom Sect."

"Su Yang… that number one genius from the Regional Tournament? I also think we should do something about him, as he's getting too powerful too quickly."

"But the Xie Family formed an Alliance with the Profound Blossom Sect… What can we do to him?"

"..."

Lord Xie listened to these people with a pondering expression on his face.

Once they've stopped talking, Lord Xie spoke, "I understand where all of you are coming from, and I only have one thing to say— that you guys have no idea what the real situation is."

"Huh?"

The people there looked at Lord Xie with wide eyes. What is the real situation then?

"Su Yang— he's not who you think he is. As for Wang Shuren… if she's working with Su Yang, I'm afraid there's nothing we can do about her either," Lord Xie said.

"What?! That's absurd! Even if Su Yang is from one of the Four Great Families, he shouldn't hold so much authority and power! He's still only 18 years old!"

Lord Xie shook his head again and said, "As I'd already said, you don't understand the situation. There's nothing you nor I can do about him. However, you are welcomed to try. Just remember what happened to the Million Snakes Sect when they offended him."

"The Million Snakes Sect…"

The experts there looked at each other with their backs soaked in cold sweats.

"What's this? A conversation about me without my presence? That's not very respectful."

A calm voice that did not belong there suddenly resounded.

Everybody in the room then turned to look at the door.

"Y-You are!"

One of the individuals there suddenly stood up and pointed at him with a trembling hand.

"Y-You are that little bastard who trapped me and my disciples for nearly two months at the border of the Southern Region!" Sect Master Qian exclaimed in a shocked voice, as he would never forget Su Yang's face after what had happened before.

Su Yang looked at the old man he'd met during his trip to the bandits' hideout.

"Oh, you're alive." Su Yang spoke in a nonchalant voice.

"H-How dare you lie to me! You said the formation would only last for a month! It lasted for nearly two months! My disciples nearly died of starvation and dehydration!" Sect Master Qian roared loudly.

'What? Su Yang was the one he met at the Southern Region?' Lord Xie's eyes widened with surprise after realizing this. Sect Master Qian had complained to him about this mysterious young man who had unfathomable skills with formations. However, because Sect Master Qian didn't know his identity, there was nothing they could do about it.

'I should've known it was Su Yang when Sect Master Qian called him a handsome young man!' Lord Xie nearly facepalmed himself.

"I didn't lie to you. I merely underestimated my own strength," Su Yang shrugged, and he continued, "I didn't know I was that strong. I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

"Bullshit!" Sect Master Qian nearly puked out a mouthful of blood after hearing Su Yang's half-assed response that did not sound apologetic at all!