Ye Xuan smiled. "Thank you for your kind offer, Master Lu Li. If I need the Artifact Refining Workshop’s help, I definitely won’t hesitate to ask. But I already have a plan to deal with the Qin family."

"Oh? Do tell."

Master Lu Li’s interest was immediately piqued.

The Qin family was a major power in the Imperial Capital, with a complex web of connections throughout the empire. Even his Artifact Refining Workshop could only suppress them to a certain extent.

Yet here was Master Xuan Ye, an outsider, claiming to have a plan to deal with them. How could Lu Li not be curious?

Ye Xuan gave a faint smile. "My method is simple. The Qin family’s primary business is Pills, isn’t it? If that’s the case, I’ll strike them where it hurts most. I plan on opening a medicine pavilion in the market myself."

What?

Upon hearing this, Master Lu Li was dumbstruck. The look in his eyes wasn’t one of shock, but rather as if he were looking at an idiot.

"Kid, it’s not my place to say, but do you have any idea how many families are in the Pill business in the Imperial Capital? There are dozens, even hundreds. So why is it that the Qin family has managed to stand firm and dominate the field?"

Master Lu Li continued, looking at him like he was an idiot. "The Qin family controls about twenty percent of the Pill market share in the Imperial Capital. Countless families drool over that twenty percent, and countless factions are green with envy. But for hundreds of years, the Qin family has remained unshaken in this area. That’s because one of their elders is also an elder in the imperial Alchemist Association—a Sixth Grade Alchemist."

"On top of that, the Qin family has many expert Alchemists and holds several exclusive secret Pill recipes. That’s what allows them to be such a powerhouse."

"These days, Pills are the most consumed item by Martial Artists, and also the most competitive. There’s barely any profit in conventional Pills. If you want to fight your way through, the only option is to rely on exclusive Pill recipes."

At this point, Master Lu Li paused, looked at Ye Xuan, and frowned. "You aren’t planning to use the Tengguang Pill and Obstacle Clearing Pill to go after the Qin family, are you? If that’s your plan, I advise you to give up on that notion right now."

"I’ve seen the Luo family’s Tengguang Pill and Obstacle Clearing Pill. They are indeed unique and can capture a certain market share, but they’re still rather niche, not commonly used Pills. More importantly, the market for those two Pills doesn’t overlap with the Qin family’s core products at all. No matter how much you dominate the market for those two, you’ll never be able to affect the Qin family’s business or profits."

Master Lu Li spoke eloquently; it seemed that despite being an Artifact Refiner, he had a considerable understanding of the Pill market.

But before Master Lu Li could finish, Ye Xuan shook his head. "Master Lu Li, the Tengguang Pill and Obstacle Clearing Pill are no longer the Luo family’s exclusive recipes. The Return Light Pill and Obstacle Removal Pill sold in the Qin family Medicine Pavilion have the exact same effects, and they’re sold at a lower price."

"Is that true?" Lu Li was taken aback for a moment, then nodded. "I heard the Murong family has already driven out the Luo family. If that’s the case, this is perfectly normal. It’s said the Murong family took in the Luo family back then precisely because of their Pill market. Since the Murong family was bold enough to cast them aside, they must have already gotten their hands on the recipes for those two Pills."

Lu Li was sharp; without a moment’s thought, he had already grasped the crux of the matter.

"If you’ve lost even those two exclusive recipes, what do you have left to fight the Qin family with? Your plan is simply not viable."

Lu Li went on at length, analyzing the situation from every angle in an attempt to talk Ye Xuan out of his idea.

Ye Xuan just smiled lightly. "Master Lu Li, rest assured. If I’m doing this, it’s because I’m confident I can succeed."

As he spoke, a look of complete certainty flashed in his eyes. "When it comes to the field of Alchemy, I have at least this much confidence."

Seeing Ye Xuan’s confident expression, Master Lu Li was taken aback, clearly unable to understand the source of his conviction.

"If you need anything, just ask. As for how it all turns out... I suppose we’ll leave that to fate."

Lu Li shook his head, still not believing Ye Xuan could shake the Qin family’s position in the Pill market. However, if Ye Xuan needed help, he wouldn’t be stingy.

"By the way, I’ve gathered most of the supplementary materials for your flying Spiritual Treasure. There’s just one more that’s extremely rare. I’ve commissioned one of the empire’s commerce associations to deliver it; it should arrive in half a month. We can start forging then. And don’t you forget about your Hundred-Turn Tempering Skill."

Master Lu Li had never stopped thinking about Ye Xuan’s flying Spiritual Treasure and the Hundred-Turn Tempering Skill he’d mentioned; it was constantly on his mind.

"Rest assured. I’ll give you the payment I promised."

Ye Xuan was speechless. ’Is Master Lu Li really worried I’ll go back on my word?’

After chatting for a while longer, Master Lu Li took his leave.

After Lu Li left, Ye Xuan summoned Luo Min, who had just returned from the Celestial Dragon Guard.

When he heard Ye Xuan planned to open a medicine pavilion, Luo Min was also stunned.

"Young Master Ye, are you really planning to use the Pill business to go after the Qin family?"

His face was etched with disbelief.

Coming from a family of Alchemists, Luo Min understood the Imperial Capital’s Pill industry inside and out.

If the Luo family’s share of the Pill market was a small stream, then the Qin family’s was a mighty river. The outcome of a stream trying to challenge a river was obvious before it even began.

Especially now that the Luo family had lost its market for the Tengguang Pill and Obstacle Clearing Pill, their strength was greatly diminished. They were in no position to clash with a behemoth like the Qin family.

"Patriarch Luo, the Qin family stole your ancestral recipes. Are you really just going to let it go?" Ye Xuan asked, looking at him.

"Of course not. It’s just that, in the Pill market..."

Luo Min sighed, devoid of any confidence.

Ye Xuan knew Luo Min had been hit hard recently, so he offered some reassurance. "If I’m this bold, it’s because I’m confident. Your family should have information on the Imperial Capital’s Pill market, right? Bring it to me."

Know your enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles without defeat.

Soon, Patriarch Luo Min brought over the data on the Imperial Capital’s Pill market.

The information was exhaustive. It not only included the many factions in the Imperial Capital involved in the Pill business but also provided detailed records of the market share each power controlled and their primary products. This was a great help to Ye Xuan.

According to the documents, there were over a hundred factions in the Imperial Capital’s Pill business.

Four of these were considered top-tier.

They were the powerhouse Qin family, the Alchemist Association, the Royal Pill Pavilion, and the Vast Light Commerce Association.

Each of these four controlled twenty percent of the Pill market share in the Imperial Capital.

The second-tier Pill factions numbered around ten to twenty families. The Luo family, in its prime, and the Qu family were both part of this group. Together, they occupied one of the two remaining tenths of the market—that is, ten percent of the total share.

The last hundred or so families were third-tier factions, and they occupied the final ten percent.

As for any lesser powers, they weren’t even included in the statistics.

That was the breakdown of the factions. As for their primary businesses, aside from some basic Pills, their core products did not overlap. This was especially true for the four top-tier powers, who all operated in very different sectors.

Some specialized in Healing Elixirs, some in cultivation Pills, others in advancement Pills, and still others in supplementary medicines, among other things.

The Qin family specialized in advancement-type Pills.

Three of the Qin family’s Pills were the most popular on the market.

These were the Third Grade Chongxuan Pill, the Fourth Grade Breaking Profound Pill, and the Fifth Grade Nixuan Pill.

Of these three, besides the Breaking Profound Pill being somewhat difficult to craft, the Chongxuan Pill and the Nixuan Pill were both considered common advancement-type Pills.

What was a common Pill? Like Healing Medicine, it was a type of Pill that existed at every grade.

For example, the Nixuan Pill. There were First Grade Nixuan Pills, Second Grade Nixuan Pills, Third Grade Nixuan Pills, and even Ninth Grade Nixuan Pills.

Back when Ye Xuan was at Xingxuan Academy, Feng Rouyi had given him a First Grade Nixuan Pill.

The recipes for such common Pills had long ago spread across the continent. Basically, every alchemical institution had them, so any Alchemist of the required grade could craft them.

However, the Qin family’s versions of these three Pills were different from others on the market.

The vast majority of the ingredients for the Qin family’s three Pills were the same as those in the publicly circulated recipes. However, a brilliantly talented Alchemist among the Qin ancestors had improved the formulas, swapping out one or two of the ingredients.

As a result, the three Pills refined by the Qin family were significantly more effective than their counterparts on the open market.

Take the Chongxuan Pill, for example. The Third Grade Chongxuan Pill is a Pill taken by Tier Three Earth Martial Artists when attempting to break through to a new layer. Whether breaking from the First Layer to the Second Layer or from the Second Layer to the Third Layer, one could take this Chongxuan Pill.

Upon consumption, a Martial Artist’s chance of successfully breaking through to the next layer would increase by ten to thirty percent, with the exact probability fluctuating based on the pill’s quality.

This was the success rate for an ordinary Chongxuan Pill.

But with the Qin family’s Chongxuan Pill, even their lowest-quality version could increase a Martial Artist’s success rate by twenty percent. A mid-quality one offered a thirty percent boost, and a high-quality one reached forty percent.

Because of this, the Qin family’s Chongxuan Pill immediately surpassed those of all other major powers.

This meant that any Earth Martial Artist looking to break through to the next layer, provided they had the financial means, would invariably think of the Qin family’s Chongxuan Pill first.

This was the source of the Qin family’s core competitive advantage.

The same was true for their Fourth Grade Breaking Profound Pill and Fifth Grade Nixuan Pill.

As long as it was one of the Qin family’s Pills, its effects would be much better than an equivalent Pill from any other faction. As a result, any Martial Artist in the Imperial Capital preparing for a breakthrough would certainly consider the Qin family’s products first.

This had also caused the research and development of these three Pills by other factions to stagnate.

Therefore, in the Imperial Capital, the Qin family held a complete monopoly on these three types of Pills.