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"Especially that Leader Xuan Yi— ever since she found out that Yao Zun Zhe's Heavenly Flame and his spatial ring were taken by you, she's gone completely mad. She nearly attacked me on the spot."
As she spoke, Cao Ying's fair jade hand flipped over. A violent cyan flame ignited out of thin air, burning fiercely a dozen centimeters above her palm.
Then, gazing at the blazing fire, she continued, "Not only that, those two even went to the Cao Clan several times, trying to force me to hand over the Green Lotus Core Flame through the clan elders."
"I really had no choice, so I came here to the Ye Courtyard for some peace and quiet. After all, this is the Holy Pill City — and if the Ye Clan doesn't allow it, even my teacher wouldn't dare to break in by force."
Toward the end of her words, Cao Ying's enchanting and delicate face revealed a trace of grievance.
Hearing her explanation, Lin Feng finally understood. So much had happened in Holy Pill City while he had been staying with the Ye Clan. However, what truly surprised him was that Cao Ying hadn't given up the Green Lotus Core Flame.
At that thought, his impression of her instantly improved by several levels. Meanwhile, Xiao Yixian and Feng Qing'er, upon hearing that she had endured so much pressure just to protect their husband's Green Lotus Core Flame, both softened considerably.
Their gazes toward Cao Ying changed from hostility to genuine warmth. After all, just imagining what she must have gone through these days was enough to give them a headache.
Lin Feng, a little curious, asked, "But by doing this, aren't you offending the three Pill Tower Leaders? Didn't the Cao Clan have any objections?"
"Of course they did. Some elders complained that offending the three Pill Tower Leaders for your sake wasn't worth it — they thought it'd be better to just hand over the Green Lotus Core Flame."
"Especially since that Leader Xuan Yi promised that if the flame was surrendered, she'd persuade Tian Leizi to jointly recommend Cao Xiu as a candidate for the next Pill Tower Leader. After hearing that, quite a few elders' eyes went red with greed."
Cao Ying rolled her eyes at him, charmingly annoyed, and went on, "But there were also many elders who felt that since I borrowed your Heavenly Flame, it's my duty to keep it safe for you. If we handed over the Green Lotus Core Flame, the Cao Clan's reputation would take a huge blow. That would be an incredibly foolish move."
"In the end, neither side could convince the other, so they've been bickering endlessly. I bet even now, they're still arguing back at the family."
Seeing this, Lin Feng couldn't help but look at the Cao Clan in a new light.
If it had been any ordinary clan, they'd likely have given up the Green Lotus Core Flame without hesitation. They'd use this as an opportunity to maintain — or even strengthen — their relationship with the three Pill Tower Leaders.
After all, from an outsider's perspective, on one side was him — a mere Pill Tower disciple with some connection to the Ancient Void Dragon Clan. On the other side were Three Leaders who effectively controlled most of the Pill Tower's external affairs.
Not only was their most talented junior a student of one of the Leaders, but the other two even agreed to support Cao Xiu's nomination as a Leader candidate.
That meant that as long as the Cao Clan maintained this relationship, one of the future Pill Tower Leader seats would certainly belong to them. If their luck held, they might even claim two. The potential benefits of that were beyond imagination.
As for him — from an outsider's point of view — his connection to the Ancient Void Dragon Clan likely wasn't particularly deep. The dragons certainly wouldn't risk offending the continent's most revered alchemist sanctuary over a single human.
But despite all that, the Cao Clan still didn't side with Xuan Kongzi and the others. It seemed their integrity wasn't bad at all.
At this moment, Cao Ying gave a helpless little laugh. "Those old fogeys only ever think about that Pill Tower Leader seat. They don't even consider that while Cao Xiu's talent is decent, he's still clearly a level below Song Qing."
"Even if he becomes a Pill Tower Leader candidate, those one words 'candidate'—will probably stick with him until his dying day."
Hearing this, Lin Feng's brow twitched slightly; it seemed Cao Ying remained quite clear-headed when it came to matters of profit.
However, he immediately shook his head and said, "Still, by doing this you've made it risky for you to become a Pill Tower Leader in the future."
"No matter. At worst I'll just give up the Pill Tower Leader position. With my talent I'm confident I can later enter the Small Pill Tower's Grand Elders' Council. Although it's a step below a Pill Tower Leader who's both a Grand Elder council member and the highest external administrator, it's fine."
Cao Ying waved her hand and forced a smile as she spoke.
After a brief hesitation she continued, "But you must be careful. Before my teacher knew I had your Heavenly Flame, I overheard them discussing tactics with Xiao Yan. They originally thought your strength would be at most a Three-Star Dou Zun, so having many experts ambush you would have been an easy matter. They didn't expect things to blow up like this."
"They also said that judging from your actions this time, you're not someone who easily lets things go. Since things have reached this point and there is no turning back, no matter what forces back you, they must be eliminated before you rise—otherwise the trouble will be endless."
At that, Cao Ying knit her brows and then asked in puzzlement, "But when they talked, they mentioned Xiao Yan's girlfriends several times.
They said that if they could gain the support of their clans, even if you have some ties to the Ancient Void Dragon Clan, the other side still wouldn't dare do anything."
"Once the rear is secured, they can prepare secretly and gather strong fighters. When the time is right and you let your guard down, they'll strike with a fatal blow and eliminate the long-term threat."
Thinking that she was almost at odds with her teacher already, Cao Ying bit her silver teeth and decided to tell Lin Feng everything she knew straight through.
"What? They would even do that?!"
Lin Feng was suddenly stunned by her warning, an expression of alarm flashing briefly through his eyes. If not for her reminder, he really wouldn't have known any of this.
Originally, he had thought that after this incident the Three Leaders would only give him some trouble elsewhere at most. He believed he would have enough time to woo and integrate other forces, grow stronger himself, and then find a way to eliminate those Three Leaders.
After all, Xiao Yan was able to bring so many powerful people and successfully intercept him in the spatial wormhole. Those three surely provided considerable help. As for those who wanted his life, Lin Feng naturally would not let them go unpunished.
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