Chapter 150: Xia Huanyan

"Ouch, Sis, it hurts, hurts, hurts!"

Xia Dang lay directly on the ground, kicking and screaming in a full-blown tantrum, completely abandoning any shred of his dignity.

Qing Xi, the Dragon Horse, and the Little Vajra Ape stared at this spectacle in utter bewilderment.

Before them stood a tall woman radiating a scorching, fiery aura. With her hands on her hips, she looked down at the rolling Xia Dang with a face full of utter disgust.

She was dressed in a well-tailored red dress and possessed delicate, striking features. Every gesture she made exuded a crisp, decisive efficiency.

In Qing Xi’s words, she was the epitome of a career woman!

【Name: Xia Huanyan】
【Cultivation: Half-step Spirit Realm】
【Age: Thirty years old】
【Constitution: Upper-grade Fire Spirit Constitution】
【Note: Daughter of the current Sect Master of the Medicine God Sect. Although her spiritual roots are mediocre, she possesses the rare Upper-grade Fire Spirit Constitution, which boosts the power of fire-attribute ultimate techniques and martial skills by eighty percent. She excels in alchemy and is currently a half-step Earth-grade Alchemist.】

After reading the useful information, Qing Xi’s expression suddenly turned one of sudden realization.

No wonder Xia Huanyan was radiating a fire spirit aura; it turned out she possessed the exact same constitution as him.

However, Xia Huanyan’s Fire Spirit Constitution had reached the upper-grade, making it far superior to Qing Xi’s.

"You still know what pain is?"

Xia Huanyan snorted and said, "You never stay home, you just run around outside raising hell! You pull every trick in the book to escape alchemy, and you even went so far as to join the Purple Firmament Gate. Let me beat some sense into you!"

She raised her hand, preparing to reward Xia Dang with his absolute favorite: a resounding slap across the face.

"Big Brother, save me!"

Panicking, Xia Dang grabbed Qing Xi’s leg and, wriggling like a slippery loach, darted behind his back.

Xia Huanyan’s strike hit nothing. Her bright, gemstone-like eyes sized up Qing Xi, and she was immediately startled to find that someone so young was exuding the aura of the peak of Xiantian realm.

However, realizing that Xia Dang had actually taken such a young boy as his elder brother made Xia Huanyan’s teeth itch with anger.

"Who might you be?"

Though she was harsh on her younger brother, it was only because she held high expectations and was frustrated by his failure to live up to his potential. Coming from a major alchemy lineage, she had been well-bred since childhood.

Furthermore, she sensed an aura emanating from Qing Xi that shared the same origin as her own, which naturally fostered a trace of goodwill, making her tone gentle when she spoke.

Seeing the sister who usually "tortured" him in every possible way now acting so courteously in front of Qing Xi, Xia Dang felt a surge of secret admiration and mustered the courage to poke his head out.

"This is my Big Brother!"

His words rang out loud and clear, carrying quite a bit of momentum.

"Big Brother?"

Xia Huanyan looked highly skeptical, assuming Xia Dang had simply made this up, and flatly refused to believe it.

Seeing her wear an expression that clearly read, *Do you take me for a fool?*, Xia Dang quickly raised a finger and said with an adulatory expression, "My big brother is the number one on the New Star Roll!"

"Isn't the number one on the New Star Roll Zhou Shitong?"

The look of suspicion on Xia Huanyan’s face deepened.

Though she rarely stepped out and spent all her time refining pills, she was well-aware of the outside world. She knew the current top spot on the New Star Roll belonged to Zhou Shitong, a master of the spear who, at the half-step Spirit realm, could fight the Frost Demon of the Yuan Spirit realm to a standstill.

How could someone so formidable lose to the youthful boy standing before her?

Seeing that she still didn't believe him, Xia Dang stepped forward and argued, "Old Sis, I’m number two on the New Star Roll, would I lie to you?"

Xia Huanyan rolled her eyes, her face full of disdain, and retorted, "With your half-assed skills, if the others didn't give our Medicine God Sect face, I doubt you'd even crack the top thirty."

Xia Dang’s expression shifted, experiencing the awkwardness of being exposed, but he stubbornly kept up a brave face. "You underestimate me! I can at least make the top twenty-five!"

"Hmph! As the Young Master of the Medicine God Sect, instead of diligently refining pills, you go and join the Purple Firmament Gate. Aren't you ashamed? Even if you could become number one on the New Star Roll, so what? Don't forget, our Medicine God Sect is a major alchemy sect, not some ordinary martial sect!"

The more Xia Huanyan spoke, the angrier she grew, and the angrier she grew, the more she wanted to beat Xia Dang.

Twenty years ago, her and Xia Dang’s mother had contracted a bizarre poison and remained bedridden year-round, leaving them unable to guide the siblings.

As the saying goes, an elder sister is like a mother. Xia Huanyan took on that responsibility, and outside of her own alchemy practice, most of her time was spent trying to teach Xia Dang the craft.

Yet this fellow was the definition of in one ear and out the other, showing zero interest in alchemy. By the time he reached twenty, he couldn't even pass the examination for a third-rank alchemy apprentice.

This left Xia Huanyan, an alchemy prodigy herself, utterly exasperated.

To ensure Xia Dang could smoothly become an alchemist, she had no choice but to treat him with strict discipline.

Yet every time she caught Xia Dang and forced him to practice alchemy, he would always conjure up all sorts of excuses to shirk it.

A stomachache, a headache, seasonal lethargy...

Sometimes he even used the excuse of cultivating diligently, claiming he needed to charge for the top spot on the New Star Roll to bolster the hard power of the Medicine God Sect, and become a legendary figure famous in both martial arts and alchemy just like their ancestor.

This drove Xia Huanyan up the wall. Endowed with the Fire Spirit Constitution, she was naturally quick-tempered, and her patience finally snapped completely.

And thus, the nightmare of Xia Dang receiving daily beatings began.

Yet years passed, and though Xia Dang shed dozens of layers of skin, he had only managed to break through to the level of an eighth-rank alchemy apprentice.

This drove Xia Huanyan to absolute despair.

She figured that by the time Xia Dang managed to become a Mysterious-grade Alchemist, the grass on her grave would probably already be waist-high.

Consequently, Xia Huanyan slowly gave up on guiding Xia Dang in alchemy.

Xia Dang, in turn, became increasingly carefree and gradually dedicated himself purely to martial cultivation, growing stronger and stronger.

Starting over half a year ago, he even snuck away and joined the Purple Firmament Gate, relying on his formidable personal financial prowess to secure the second rank on the New Star Roll.

Thinking of this, Xia Huanyan grabbed Xia Dang by the ear in fury and scolded, "Everything you've done is purely to run away! Don't you know that Grandpa and Dad both hope you will take over as Sect Master?"

"Am I doing this to run away? No! I'm not! I'm just trying to build up my strength to protect my dearest sister. As for the position of Sect Master, I couldn't care less!"

Xia Dang said righteously, his expression brimming with sincerity.

Xia Huanyan froze. Her eyes turned slightly red, and then her entire body trembled slightly, as if deeply moved.

*Crack!*

Suddenly, Xia Huanyan delivered another mighty slap to Xia Dang's face, cursing him for failing to meet expectations, "Do you take your sister for a three-year-old child? I don't believe a word of it!"

"No, Sis, listen to me explain, I really want to protect you!"

With Qing Xi present, Xia Dang put on a very tough front, arguing eloquently and logically.

If one ignored the slender red palm print on his left cheek, at a glance, he almost looked like a tough guy.

Regarding Xia Dang's sophistry, Xia Huanyan refused to listen at all. With another crisp *crack*, a matching palm print appeared on Xia Dang's right cheek.

Watching this scene, Qing Xi couldn't help but give Xia Huanyan a mental thumbs-up.

She had truly perfected the art of beating people up. The positions of those two palm prints were dead center—not only were they completely symmetrical, but even the height of the swelling on his cheeks was identical down to the millimeter.

*As expected of a half-step Earth-grade Alchemist; her mastery over physical force has reached the realm of perfection.*

Qing Xi thought to himself, thoroughly enjoying the show as an onlooker.

To him, this was someone else's family business, and it was best not to meddle blindly.

After giving Xia Dang a thorough beating, Xia Huanyan let out a long breath, regained her ladylike demeanor, nodded apologetically to Qing Xi, and hurried away.

Catching the lingering fragrance of medicinal herbs in the air, Qing Xi knew that Xia Huanyan must be an alchemy maniac similar to the eighteenth elder of the Spirit Origin Sect.

As for Xia Dang...

Qing Xi turned back around, and the corners of his mouth twitched involuntarily.