Yunlan Sect.
Back Mountain.
Inside a pavilion.
Yun Du and Yun Sha had prepared a few small dishes and two pots of wine.
Yun Du took a sip of wine and said curiously, "Did you see it? The Sect Master rushed back in a hurry last night, and this morning she left in a hurry again."
Yun Sha nodded. "Of course I saw it. I even heard the Great Elder say that the Sect Master spent the entire night in the treasure vault searching for medicinal herbs, and she wouldn't let anyone help her."
Yun Du continued, "I wonder what the Sect Master has been busy with lately. Elder Gu He is about to compete with someone, yet she isn't helping at all."
After all, Gu He was still an elder of the Yunlan Sect.
At first, they thought Yun Yun had taken those medicinal herbs to ask Gu He to refine pills.
Who would have thought that early the next morning, after finding the herbs, she simply left.
She did not go to see Gu He at all.
If Gu He knew about this, his mentality might collapse before the competition even started.
Yun Sha suddenly smiled mysteriously.
"So you don't know about this, huh? I heard that the Sect Master went to the Miteer Auction House and was looking everywhere for someone named Ye Hao."
Ye Hao?
Yun Du was stunned and said in surprise, "Why would she look for him? Isn't Gu He going to compete with him? Don't tell me the Sect Master went to help him?!"
"Don't ask me, I don't know anything."
Yun Sha laughed and raised his wine cup.
"Those matters have nothing to do with us. Stop worrying about it. Come, come, let's keep drinking."
In the courtyard separated by a wall.
Nalan Yanran had heard every word of their conversation clearly.
"So that's why Teacher locked me up. It was to make me train properly while she personally went to help my Brother Hao. I misunderstood Teacher. Teacher loves me. I like Teacher so much!"
The previously dejected expression on Nalan Yanran's face instantly turned into overwhelming joy.
She happily jumped and skipped around the courtyard.
Her excitement was hundreds, even thousands of times greater than when she broke through in her cultivation.
Hearing the commotion, Yun Sha and Yun Du were extremely puzzled.
They had no idea why Nalan Yanran suddenly behaved like this.
They even thought that being locked up for too long had made her mind go strange.
At that moment, Yun Yun happened to return.
Yun Sha and Yun Du quickly stored the food and wine on the table into their storage rings.
"Sect Master."
The two immediately bowed.
Yun Yun glanced at them and said coldly, "Next time, remember to wipe your mouths clean."
"Huh?!"
The two old men blushed and quickly wiped their mouths with their sleeves.
They watched Yun Yun enter the courtyard.
The two exchanged a glance. Both could see that Yun Yun's expression and mood were extremely bad.
Didn't she go to find that Ye Hao?
Could it be that she swallowed fire?
Her temper was so explosive.
Bang!
Yun Yun suddenly pushed open the courtyard gate.
The sight before her made her already raging anger burn even stronger.
The entire courtyard looked as if it had experienced the end of the world.
All the flowers, grass, and trees had been chopped into pieces.
Even the artificial rock formations were crooked and scattered.
The doors and windows were full of holes.
"Nalan Yanran!!!"
Yun Yun shouted coldly.
Nalan Yanran rushed over from the side and tightly hugged Yun Yun.
Sobbing, she said,
"I'm sorry, Teacher. I misunderstood you."
"I didn't realize that locking me in confinement wasn't meant to stop me from chasing Brother Hao, but to let me cultivate better."
"And you even delayed your own cultivation to prepare the medicinal herbs for Brother Hao's competition. Teacher, I love you so much."
After hearing Nalan Yanran's words,
Yun Yun froze.
She even forgot to question her.
She herself did not even know that this was the meaning behind her actions.
Since things had turned out like this, Yun Yun decided to go along with the misunderstanding.
By the time raw rice was cooked into cooked rice in the future,
and her child with Ye Hao was born,
even if Nalan Yanran could not accept it, she would have no choice but to.
Surely she would not go crazy trying to compete with her own teacher for the same man.
…
Time passed quickly.
In the blink of an eye, the day of the competition between Ye Hao and Gu He arrived.
Jia Ma Sacred City.
In the square of the Alchemist Guild.
It was already packed with people.
Those who came to watch gathered in small groups, chattering endlessly in discussion.
At first, Fa Ma had people spread the news that Gu He would be competing with Ye Hao.
But as the message spread from one person to ten, and ten to a hundred, it gradually changed into Ye Hao overestimating himself and challenging Gu He in order to become the new Pill King of the Jia Ma Empire.
"Tsk tsk, if it were a fight against Gu He, I wouldn't pick on him. There are quite a few people who could defeat him in battle. But competing in alchemy…"
"That's simply overestimating himself!"
"Exactly. Everyone in the Jia Ma Empire knows that Gu He's alchemy is number one. Even President Fa Ma is far behind him."
"This Ye Hao even dares to create such momentum. He truly doesn't know how the word 'death' is written."
"We can just quietly watch Master Gu He perform."
"But speaking of which, being able to personally witness Master Gu He demonstrate alchemy in public again after so many years is truly a feast for the eyes."
"Right, right. Thinking about it that way, we should even thank that overconfident fellow. It gives us a chance to learn something."
…
Discussions like these continued to spread throughout the crowd.
It was not that they deliberately wanted to belittle others while praising Gu He.
It was simply that over the years, Gu He's reputation had become too great. His alchemy skills stood at a level far above everyone else.
Many who had gone to the Yunlan Sect to challenge him had all been defeated.
This time would likely be no exception.
On the viewing platform.
The President of the Alchemist Guild, the Vice President, and several elders had all arrived.
They surrounded Fa Ma.
Elder Fu Yan asked, "President Fa Ma, who exactly is this Ye Hao? How dare he challenge Master Gu He? Isn't that a bit too overconfident?"
Vice President Qie Mi'er also felt extremely restless.
He was eager to know.
"President, the competition is about to start. Just tell us already."
"Oh, please. If he wanted to say it, he would have said it long ago. Why would we need to waste our breath here?"
Fu Lan Ke said irritably. (TL/N: I just realized this guy called Frank in English lmao.)
Fa Ma pushed up the large hat on his head, which was actually a strangely shaped medicine cauldron.
"You're asking me, but I don't know either."
Fa Ma also felt troubled.
"Old Jia, you met that young man that day, didn't you? Tell us about him."
Jia Xing Tian clasped his hands behind his back and pondered for a moment before speaking.
"I don't know about his level as an alchemist. But if we're talking about combat… at the same realm, even I would find it difficult to withstand his terrifying Dou Technique."
This statement was rather modest. If they truly fought at the same realm, Jia Xing Tian believed his chances of defeat would be even greater.
"What?!"
Fa Ma and the others widened their eyes in shock.
Jia Xing Tian was a peak Dou Emperor with earth-attributed Dou Qi.
What he excelled at most, and what he was most proud of, was his defensive ability.
Back when the Jia Ma Empire fought against the Snake-People Tribe, Jia Xing Tian relied on his terrifying defense. Even the infamous Queen Medusa had failed to break through it.
Yet now he was praising that young man named Ye Hao like this.
It was simply unbelievable.
After a long pause,
Fa Ma said with a dry throat, "Old Jia… you're not joking, are you?"
The others stared at Jia Xing Tian without blinking.
"Do you think I would joke about something like this?"
Jia Xing Tian asked in return.
"If you don't believe me, look. Gu He has arrived. You can ask him, the person involved. He has more right to speak on this matter than I do. If Ye Hao had not shown mercy that day, Gu He would already be dead."
Naturally, they did not dare to ask such a question.
"Everyone, I will trouble you all to act as judges for this competition. Please ensure fairness. Afterward, Gu He will certainly offer generous thanks."
Gu He landed in front of them and cupped his fists.
He wanted to defeat Ye Hao openly and honorably.
He would let him know who the true King of Alchemy in the Jia Ma Empire was, and who was the insurmountable mountain in the alchemist world of the Jia Ma Empire.
"Master Gu He, you are too polite. With your strength, how could those random nobodies possibly compare with you?"
Fu Yan said with a flattering smile.
Qie Mi'er also agreed.
"That's right. Master Gu He, rest assured. Even if we closed our eyes, we would know the result of this competition. The winner will certainly be you."
Gu He walked onto the arena, placed his hands behind his back, and quietly stood there waiting.
"Master Gu He is already here. Why hasn't that person arrived yet?"
"Could it be that he got scared and doesn't dare to come?"
"Don't tell me we made this trip for nothing?"
"Look quickly, what is that…"
"…"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bonus chapters every 100 Power Stone!
10, 20, 30 Advanced chapters in my Patr(e)on!
patr(e)on.com/hollyrisk