Ye Liuyun's words made a lot of sense. Even Yun Xiao, the Second Elder of the Yunxia Sect in charge of the Alchemy Pavilion, was taken aback by her words.
"Eh? This Little Girl's words make sense. Why didn't I think of that? The Fighting Arena prohibits the use of external force to increase strength, but an Alchemist's Medicinal Pill is something they rely on their own skills to create, so why can't it be used?" Elder Yun Xiao muttered while stroking his chin.
The other Elders also fell into deep thought. Borrowing external force to increase combat power was indeed prohibited in various competition settings. But the problem was that for Cultivators who were not Alchemists, taking a Medicinal Pill could be considered borrowing external force, but for a Cultivator who was an Alchemist, it seemed to be a part of their own ability.
After all, Alchemists devoted most of their energy to Alchemy, which led to weak personal combat power. Not allowing them to use Medicinal Pills was indeed unreasonable.
But in reality, Ye Liuyun's words had led them into a trap.
Because Alchemists were different from those other secondary professions. Where did the difference lie?
First, when an Artifact Refiner uses their own treasures, it requires their own strength to support it. If their strength is too weak, no matter how strong the treasure they refined is, it is useless.
Formation Masters, Talisman masters, and other secondary professions basically all require strength to support them. If the strength is insufficient, then it won't work.
But Alchemists are different. A high Realm only makes Alchemy easier and the success rate higher, but the Realm is not a hard requirement for an Alchemist.
However, generally speaking, it is logical for Alchemists to use Medicinal Pills in combat.
It was just that in the past, it was a blanket ban, and even the Alchemists themselves felt that banning Medicinal Pills was correct, but today, Ye Liuyun's words had exposed the issue.
Chen Dong was also a bit speechless. He didn't know what kind of Medicinal Pill Ye Liuyun had eaten, but since Yun Cheng had said there was no problem, then it must be fine.
The battle between the two continued.
Chen Dong made the first move. This could be considered their first real display. Chen Dong used the Yunxia Sect's introductory Cultivation Technique, the Yunxia Sword Technique, to strike at Ye Liuyun.
Once the Yunxia Sword Technique was unleashed, the sword shimmered with flowing light, making Ye Liuyun's eyes feel somewhat uncomfortable.
This was the mystery of the Yunxia Sword Technique: using the glow to irritate the enemy's vision.
"Good chance." Seeing that Ye Liuyun couldn't open her eyes, Chen Dong immediately thrust his sword toward Ye Liuyun. As long as he hit Ye Liuyun, he would win.
But Chen Dong's thinking was still too simple, because just when everyone thought Chen Dong was about to hit Ye Liuyun, something unexpected happened.
Because Chen Dong's sword felt like it had pierced into a steel plate, blocked easily by Ye Liuyun's body.
"This? What's going on? So hard?" Chen Dong was stunned. He had intended to wound Ye Liuyun and then stop, but the moment his sword landed on Ye Liuyun, it simply couldn't pierce in.
The Disciples watching from the sidelines were all stunned. You have to know that Ye Liuyun didn't use any defense at all, so how could it not pierce through?
Lin Aoxue had been startled just now; she thought Ye Liuyun was about to have her abdomen pierced by Chen Dong.
"Eh? This must be the effect of the Medicinal Pill that Little Girl just took. Could she have taken some kind of defense-enhancing Medicinal Pill?" Some Cultivators with sharp eyes guessed that it was the effect of the Medicinal Pill Ye Liuyun had just taken.
They guessed correctly. The Medicinal Pill Ye Liuyun had taken was the Diamond Pill she had developed. After taking this pill, one could increase their physical strength several times within a certain period, reaching the strength of steel.
"Senior Brother, you were careless." Ye Liuyun looked at the sword stabbing into her abdomen, smiled sinisterly, reached out and grabbed the opponent's sword, and snapped it with force. Chen Dong's sword was easily broken into two pieces.
"This?" Chen Dong retreated a few steps with an incredulous look on his face.
Snapping his sword with bare hands, and resisting his sword with physical defense alone—this was too fake. Was this still the Lingxi Realm?
"You? You?" Chen Dong looked at his broken sword, then at Ye Liuyun in front of him, and for a moment, he didn't know what to say.
"Senior Brother, don't space out. It's my turn." Ye Liuyun reminded him, then, with heavy steps, punched toward Chen Dong.
Chen Dong was still spacing out. Seeing Ye Liuyun's punch coming, he immediately moved to block, but this punch shattered his defense on the spot and landed on him.
This punch was incredibly heavy, like an iron fist. Chen Dong couldn't block it at all and was sent flying. But at the critical moment, Ye Liuyun held back her strength; this punch at most just pushed him away.
The Diamond Pill also had a flaw: after taking it, speed and agility would be significantly reduced. This thing was mainly good for defense, and its offensive capability was not good.
"What a heavy punch. Is this the effect of the Medicinal Pill she just ate? What kind of Medicinal Pill can increase her physical strength to this extent?" Chen Dong began to doubt his life.
After landing, he retreated more than ten steps before stabilizing his body.
Chen Dong was just about to make another move, but at this moment, Yun Cheng stepped onto the stage.
"The match is over. Ye Liuyu wins." Yun Cheng announced the result of the match.
But Chen Dong was not convinced by this result.
"This? What? Deacon, I lost?" Chen Dong was stunned.
Many introductory Disciples didn't see how Chen Dong had lost. Only some old Disciples realized that if Ye Liuyun hadn't held back her strength during that punch just now, this guy's bones would probably have been shattered.
"Correct, you have already lost. Didn't you notice that punch just now?" Yun Cheng reminded him.
Hearing Yun Cheng's reminder, Chen Dong remembered that the punch just now clearly had great power; it had shattered his spiritual energy defense and sent him flying more than ten meters, so why was he completely fine?
That could only mean one thing: after the opponent's fist landed on him, there was only pushing force, not lethal damage.
In a Cultivator's battle, unless strength and experience are similar, the slightest mistake will inevitably lead to one side's defeat.
Chen Dong was no idiot; after calming down and thinking about it, he understood.
"Alright, Junior Sister Ye, thank you for going easy on me. I lost." Chen Dong took a deep breath and then conceded to Ye Liuyun.
After all, since Yun Cheng had stepped down to announce he had lost, it meant that the punch had indeed been merciful.
"You are too kind." Ye Liuyun smiled slightly, then walked with heavy steps, preparing to leave the stage.
But perhaps because her body was too heavy, when she was stepping off the stage, she crushed the edge of the step with one foot, lost her balance, and fell down the steps.
"What the heck? No way?" Ye Liuyun cursed inwardly and fell over.
But fortunately, Lin Aoxue reacted quickly. She appeared in front of Ye Liuyun immediately, wanting to support her, but she underestimated Ye Liuyun's weight at this moment.
The moment she touched Ye Liuyun, she felt like a heavy metal statue was falling toward her.
"Damn? So heavy." Lin Aoxue didn't have time to use her strength.
The next moment, she was directly pinned underneath Ye Liuyun's heavy body.
This scene was quite comical; this was truly making a fool of themselves in public.
"Damn it! Get up quickly, it's so embarrassing, so heavy." Lin Aoxue was pinned tightly by Ye Liuyun.
Everyone present was dumbfounded; two great beauties had just fallen to the ground in public like that.
"I can't get up. The effect of my Diamond Pill hasn't worn off yet," Ye Liuyun said very awkwardly.
"Damn it, you only know how to refine some messy things. Get up." Lin Aoxue took a deep breath, channeled her energy, and used her strength to push Ye Liuyun up.
On the stage, Chen Dong didn't look at anything else, but just by looking at the crushed steps, he knew how great Ye Liuyun's strength was at that moment.
Chapter 35: In-depth Conversation
After Ye Liuyun stood up, she quickly returned to normal. The effect of her Medicinal Pill could only last for five minutes.
"Whew... Alright, the effect has ended." Ye Liuyun stretched her body, then comfortably exhaled a breath of stifled air.
Lin Aoxue just stood up, then dusted off the dirt on her body, straightened her clothes, and then reached out and grabbed Ye Liuyun.
"Let's go, our business is done. Let's go somewhere else to talk; there are too many people here." Lin Aoxue whispered.
Ye Liuyun nodded. Just like that, under the observation of Yun Yun, the two left the Training Grounds. Yun Yun didn't bother with Lin Aoxue.
The two left the Training Grounds and found a quiet area to sit down and talk.
"Hey! What on earth are you thinking about? I've noticed that since you arrived at the Yunxia Sect, your personality has become strange, very different from the you in my memory." Lin Aoxue asked.
It was mainly because Lin Aoxue noticed that Ye Liuyun seemed to be putting on an act. Didn't she know Ye Liuyun's personality? In her previous life, Ye Liuyun was a person who was very afraid of trouble, and in this life, when she was in Qixia Town, she was still afraid of trouble.
But after coming to the Yunxia Sect, she felt that Ye Liuyun was creating a false image for herself. What kind of false image?
Pretending to be innocent, pretending to be pure, sometimes acting very clever, sometimes acting a bit foolish, giving people a strange feeling.
If she didn't know Ye Liuyun's true nature so well, she might have been deceived by Ye Liuyun's appearance.
"Ao Xue, my cultivation Aptitude is not as good as yours. It's different from yours. If you get into trouble, someone will cover for you, but it's different for me. Since I became a woman, I have been thinking about what to do in the future and how to walk this path."
"You just need to bury yourself in Cultivation; you don't need to think about other things. Anyway, the higher your cultivation level, the higher your status in the Yunxia Sect. To say something embarrassing, in this world, many times, even if you don't provoke trouble, trouble will come looking for you itself. To be precise, this is the case in any place where people gather."
"As for this Cultivation World, I am also a novice, and I am also exploring."
Ye Liuyun put away her smile and looked at Lin Aoxue with a serious expression, roughly stating what she was thinking in her heart.
"Sigh! Aren't you tired? Didn't you say you are an Alchemist? Alchemists are quite sought after in the Cultivation World. I think your Alchemy should not be low. If you reveal a little bit of your Alchemy Aptitude to the Sect, I believe the Sect will definitely pay special attention to you. Wouldn't your life in the Yunxia Sect be much easier then?" Lin Aoxue expressed her opinion.
But Ye Liuyun shook her head.
"Everything is a double-edged sword. Keeping a low profile has its benefits, and being high-profile also has its benefits. You have to know that there are always people better than you, and there is always a sky beyond the sky. Don't think that just because you are the Sect Master's Personal Disciple, you can sit back and relax in the Yunxia Sect. That is impossible." Ye Liuyun reminded Lin Aoxue.
In fact, Lin Aoxue was not stupid; it was just that sometimes, she was too concerned to think clearly.
"Don't worry, today was just an accident; my judgment was affected by you. But you, you intentionally stayed out of the public eye, right?" Lin Aoxue asked as well.
Being able to not return to one's residence for three years is definitely not normal.
"As for this, you are wronging me. I just changed to another place to stay. But fading out of the public eye is not bad either. Anyway, in one sentence, you should also keep a low profile. I'm afraid someone will pay special attention to me because of you." Ye Liuyun said with a hint of worry.
Lin Aoxue understood Ye Liuyun's words. Ye Liuyun was telling her that some people might not deal with you openly, but who knows if they will deal with her secretly?
Now everyone can see that Ye Liuyun is very important to Lin Aoxue, so Ye Liuyun is also Lin Aoxue's biggest weakness. This weakness has been exposed by Lin Aoxue's behavior today.
"Then I must Cultivate even harder. Only when I become stronger will they not dare to trouble you easily." Lin Aoxue said seriously.
Ye Liuyun nodded. That is indeed the truth, but relying on others is not always effective. The most reliable thing is to rely on yourself.
These years, while researching the Medicinal Pill to turn herself back into a man, she had concocted many strange Medicinal Pills. She must make good use of these pills. If used well, they would be her greatest self-preservation ability.
She also couldn't rely too much on her Undying Body.
The two of them were still too restricted in the Yunxia Sect. In fact, if only one of them had joined the Yunxia Sect, it would have been very easy.
The key was that both of them were in the same Sect, becoming each other's shackles and each other's weaknesses.
For example, if the Yunxia Sect knew that Ye Liuyun was a Genius Alchemist who could refine many Medicinal Pills that increase cultivation level, any Sect would try every means to control such a person in their own hands.
So, to control Ye Liuyun, they would just need to hold Lin Aoxue firmly in their hands.
Conversely, the same applies to Lin Aoxue. As long as they firmly control Ye Liuyun in the Sect, Lin Aoxue cannot betray the Yunxia Sect.
Of course, these are all subjective guesses and cannot prove that the Yunxia Sect is like this. It can only be said that wherever there are people, there are interests, and where there are interests to be gained, there will inevitably be people with ulterior motives.
As newcomers to the Cultivation World, the only people they can trust are each other. For other people and other things, they can only believe a part of them.
The matches in the Training Grounds were still ongoing, but they soon came to an end.
After the curtain fell, in the evening, inside the main hall of the Yunxia Sect.
"Lin Aoxue, even though you are a Personal Disciple of the Sect Master, what you did today was truly reckless, even if it was a misunderstanding. Since the entire sect saw you pointing your sword at your own master, we must provide an explanation to all the disciples. After our discussion, we have decided to punish you by confining you to the Wind Sword Valley for three months. Do you have any objections?" Yun Ling asked.
The Wind Sword Valley is a forbidden area of the Yunxia Sect, but it is also a place used to punish and test disciples.
Gale winds, sharp as knives, blow there year-round. While being struck by them is painful, they are not lethal. If utilized properly, it is a holy land for cultivation.
"Disciple accepts the punishment." Ao Xue did not try to negotiate at all.
"Very well. I hope you remember today's events and do not make the same mistake again. Otherwise, even the Sect Master protecting you won't be enough," Yun Ling stated seriously.
And just like that, Lin Aoxue's punishment was finalized. They announced it to the entire sect the following morning.
When Ye Liuyun heard this, she immediately grew worried.
"Master, tell me, Ao Xue won't be in danger, right?" Ye Liuyun asked. She had just walked out of the Entry Disciple residences; they were moving to the Outer Sect Disciple' residences, as the former area was only for Entry Disciples.
"Don't worry. This Little Girl is Yunxia Sect's precious darling. How could they possibly let her be in mortal danger? But she'll definitely suffer a bit," Lin Qingyou replied.
Ye Liuyun sighed softly. Ye Liuyun and the others first had to go to the Affairs Hall to upgrade their disciple status.
When Ye Liuyun walked out of the Affairs Hall again, she had changed into a white dress with blue patterns. This attire marked the beginning of adult dressing.
However, Ye Liuyun suddenly felt that the Entry Disciple uniform was more suitable for movement.