Chapter 2728 — The Smug Kang Jingming

The Xuan Dan Sect even brought out the long-lost Mid-Grade Qi-Gathering Pill for Kang Jingming to consume. Every ancient sect kept a small stock of such pills, but never many, for with the pill formula lost, they could not be refined—each one used meant one fewer, and none would be touched save in the direst necessity.

Even Tian Canbian had never taken one in all his years of cultivation. That they now gave one to Kang Jingming showed plainly just how crucial the Life-Extending, Poison-Expelling Pill he was refining had become.

Of course, none of them knew that this Life-Extending, Poison-Expelling Pill was a formula Wei Zhao had tampered with, working from the alchemy notes of Zhang Lifeng. Not only had he made the refining far more difficult, but he had also buried a hidden flaw within it.

Yet even Xuan Zhen could not see through the trick. Unless Elder Bai himself were to examine it closely and perhaps catch a hint of something amiss, only Wei Zhao and the vanished Zhang Lifeng knew the truth.

Still, had Wei Zhao known of Kang Jingming's good fortune, he might well have sighed that in these times a good master and a good sect beat all else in the world. A man could eat his way to becoming a Heaven-rank expert—never mind that he was a pill refiner with only the rank and none of the substance, like a pig fattened on hormones. A Heaven-rank expert he nonetheless was.

There was also the Blazing Flame Pill, which granted Kang Jingming a fire attribute, making him a refiner of both fire and wood. Since his body held only two attributes, they did not conflict and needed no cycling—he had only to bring them into play.

And with the guidance of a renowned master like Old Ancestor Xuan Zhen, becoming a Third-Grade pill refiner was as easy as turning his palm.

Now, as the Eighth Elder, Kang Jingming's standing in the Xuan Dan Sect had risen sharply overnight, and the many restrictions once placed upon him were gone. The sect held a ceremony to install its elders, and Kang Jingming formally became one of their number.

Tian Canbian's maidservant came to fetch him again—only this time her manner was far warmer, and she led him respectfully to make his call.

Kang Jingming first dialed the Hidden You family. His tone, however, was anything but respectful.

"Hello? Is this the You family head?" Kang Jingming said carelessly into the phone.

"Yes, this is he. And you are?" The call had come from the Xuan Dan Sect, and the tone was so brusque that Old Master You assumed it must be some great personage of the sect, so his own voice turned exceedingly deferential.

"This is Kang Jingming," he said mildly. "Family head You, what did you wish to see me about?"

"Kang Jingming?" Old Master You's irritation flared at once. What was the matter with this fellow? A few days in the Xuan Dan Sect and he no longer knew his place? To speak to him in such a tone! Truly, the young were flighty. He had not even used the respectful "you"—only the plain "you"—and that sat poorly with Old Master You.

Small wonder, though. Old Master You had not given it much thought, for the last time Tian Canbian's maidservant had spoken of Kang Jingming with little warmth, a cool sort of perfunctoriness, so it never occurred to him that Kang Jingming could now be so formidable.

"It is I. Have you business with me or not?" Kang Jingming had meant to call his own family, but when Tian Canbian's maidservant told him that Old Master You of the Hidden You family was asking after him, he returned the call first out of gratitude for the old man's recommendation. Yet Old Master You hemmed and hawed and would not come to the point, and Kang Jingming was growing impatient.

"Your elder brother Kang Jinglong cannot reach you by phone, so he asked me to inquire after your circumstances..." Old Master You swallowed his anger and said, "How have you been lately?"

"Oh? And why can he not call me?" Kang Jingming gave a cold snort and said imperiously, "You tell him to call the Xuan Dan Sect directly and ask for the Eighth Elder. He can reach me at any time!"

"Ask for the Eighth Elder?" Old Master You was taken aback. Was Kang Jingming's master not the Fifth Elder? And the Xuan Dan Sect had only seven elders—where had an Eighth Elder come from?

"That is right. I am the Eighth Elder," Kang Jingming said.

"Wh—what? You... you are the Eighth Elder?" Old Master You's mind could not keep up. Kang Jingming... had become the Eighth Elder of the Xuan Dan Sect?

"Of course. Do you think pretending to be an elder is some amusing game?" Kang Jingming snorted. "If I impersonated one at random, would I not fear punishment?"

"Ah... my apologies, my apologies. This one pays his respects to the Eighth Elder..." Old Master You was startled. So Kang Jingming's great undertaking had succeeded, and the Xuan Dan Sect had raised him to Eighth Elder. No wonder his tone was so sharp—his standing was plain for all to see.

Old Master You hastened to make amends. An elder of the Xuan Dan Sect held a revered position, and he could ill afford to offend one. In that instant he set his mind right, realizing that Kang Jingming's family was no longer the Kang family of old. When one man attains the Way, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven—that was just how it was, and You Panhu had guessed it aright after all.

"No matter. Is there anything else?" Kang Jingming asked.

"N—nothing else. Eighth Elder, do you have any instructions for me?" Old Master You said, trembling with fear.

"Nothing. I am going to call my elder brother," Kang Jingming said.

"Very well, please go ahead..." Old Master You heard the line go dead, then wiped the cold sweat from his brow. He had been frightened half to death! He had nearly offended Kang Jingming—who would have thought the lad would rise so high and all at once become an elder of the Xuan Dan Sect?

"Grandfather, has Kang Jingming... truly become an elder of the Xuan Dan Sect?" Old Master You had made the call in front of You Panhu and You Zhentian, so both had heard every word. You Panhu asked, somewhat shocked.

"Indeed he has... he would not dare lie about such a thing!" Old Master You sighed. "Panhu, you saw further than any of us. It was wise to keep on good terms with Kang Jinglong all this while. Otherwise the Hidden You family would be in a fine fix this time."

You Zhentian said nothing, his face dark. He had nearly made a disastrous decision just now. Had they offended the Kang family, they would have offended Kang Jingming, and the Hidden You family would have been in peril.

"Grandfather, then in the future, I..." You Panhu asked hurriedly.

"We stick to the strategy I proposed before: do not offend Wei Zhao to his face!" RS