Chapter 642 - 636: The Second Round Ends

In the end, Shen Haoran and Long Aotian decided to warn the nearby Alchemists. These were innocent people, after all; they would save whoever they could.

"What? Someone’s trying to kill us? Are you kidding? This is the Medicine Hall’s Medicinal Garden, and the Pill Emperor competition is happening right now. Who would dare cause trouble here?"

"Exactly! You’re not just saying this to stop us from completing our tasks, are you? And you even dragged Long Aotian into it!"

But no one believed what Shen Haoran said. Even with Long Aotian there to corroborate his story, everyone just gave Shen Haoran strange looks. They mistook his good intentions for a scheme to stop them from completing their tasks.

Seeing that the Alchemists didn’t believe him, Shen Haoran didn’t bother explaining further. He had warned them, and that was enough. Whether they listened was their own business. Shen Haoran wasn’t so benevolent that he felt compelled to persuade them; to him, they were nothing more than strangers.

Afterward, Shen Haoran bade farewell to Long Aotian and resumed his search for Spirit Medicines. Along the way, he was ambushed by the black-robed figures several more times, but he killed them all outright, and no word of it spread.

...

Six of the seven days had now passed, and Shen Haoran had gathered all the Spirit Medicines required to concoct the Great Heaven Creation Pill. That evening, he stood silently atop a towering tree, his icy gaze fixed on two black-robed figures below. With a flicker, he vanished. A flurry of fighting sounds erupted, and by the time silence fell, Shen Haoran had already struck the two figures down. A long spear formed from condensed Fire Spirit Black Obsidian pinned them mercilessly to the ground, rendering them immobile.

"I know you won’t say a thing, so you can die." Shen Haoran gazed expressionlessly at the two on the ground. Wasting no breath, with a stir of his Heart Spirit, the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian instantly enveloped the pair, burning them to nothing.

"The eighth," Shen Haoran muttered, recalling the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian. This was the eighth black-robed person he had killed. He wondered how many more were lurking in the Medicinal Garden.

"Since my task is complete, I’ll spend the rest of my time hunting these black-robed figures!" A cold smirk touched Shen Haoran’s lips. ’This Pill Emperor competition must not be ruined by them,’ he resolved. Then, his figure flickered and vanished into the dense woods. What followed was the beginning of the end for the black-robed assassins.

...

Somewhere in the forest, several black-robed figures gathered once more. In stark contrast to their previous relaxed mood, the atmosphere was now incredibly grim.

"One, we’ve suffered heavy casualties these past few days. It seems someone is hunting us in return!" one of the black-robed figures said grimly.

"This person is incredibly strong. Could Long Aotian and Feng Miaoke’s group have discovered our secret?" another black-robed figure asked.

"Impossible. We’ve been deliberately avoiding the areas where Long Aotian, Feng Miaoke, and the other two are active. It can’t be them. And it’s not anyone from the twenty major branch halls either!" One stated flatly. He was perfectly clear on the movements of those four, and he had a basic understanding of the people from the twenty major branch halls. None of them were strong enough to hunt his people down.

"There is one person we still haven’t managed to eliminate," One said, a cold light flashing in his eyes.

"Who?" everyone asked in unison.

"Shen Haoran! We seem to have underestimated his strength. He managed to get into the Medicinal Garden and survive for almost seven days. Clearly, he’s not as weak as we thought. Furthermore, the assassins I dispatch always leave a message, success or failure. But with Shen Haoran... there’s been nothing. It’s as if the ones sent to kill him simply vanished into thin air," One said in a low voice.

The others were stunned. Hearing One lay it out like that, it had to be true. At first, they had assumed the assassins simply hadn’t made their move yet. But it seemed more likely that Shen Haoran had killed all of them.

"Don’t make any more moves. We’ve cleared out most of the Low-Level Alchemists, and we can’t afford any more mistakes. If even one more of us dies, we won’t be able to activate the Hundred-Refinement Soul-devouring Array!" One ordered.

Hearing One’s order, the other black-robed figures nodded grimly. Then, with a flicker, they all vanished into the woods.

Time flew by, and another day passed in the blink of an eye. Shen Haoran found no further trace of the black-robed figures, so he had to give up the hunt and head for the Medicinal Garden’s exit. Today was the final day of the second assessment, and everyone was supposed to gather at the entrance.

When Shen Haoran reached the entrance to the Medicinal Garden, a large crowd had already gathered. They were likely the ones who had finished their tasks early. But the crowd was a shadow of what it had been seven days prior. Several thousand contestants had entered the Medicinal Garden back then. Now, after accounting for those disqualified by Spirit Beasts, fewer than seven hundred remained. He could only wonder how many Alchemists the black-robed figures had killed.

Suppressing his shock, Shen Haoran went to Elder Shi and handed over his ingredients. Elder Shi glanced at the three primary Spirit Medicines and the other herbs in Shen Haoran’s Storage Ring, then gave a slight nod, confirming he had completed the task.

Shen Haoran returned to the crowd, making his way to Long Aotian’s side. His brow was still furrowed in thought.

"Still worrying about those black-robed figures?" Long Aotian asked softly, noticing Shen Haoran’s furrowed brow.

"Yeah. The black-robed figures seem to have vanished over the last two days. But I have a feeling they’re still hiding among us—right here, in this group of people who completed the task." Shen Haoran’s sharp gaze swept across the crowd, but he couldn’t spot anything out of the ordinary. Everyone looked perfectly normal.

"Their concealment techniques are superb. Even my Flood Dragon Race’s Tracking Technique can’t detect them," Long Aotian added, frowning.

"Hm?" Just as Shen Haoran was about to reply to Long Aotian, he suddenly felt a piercing gaze on his back. He whirled around, but the sensation vanished instantly.

Shen Haoran turned back around. His eyes fell on a young man in a golden robe not far away, who wore a warm, pleasant smile. "Who is that?" he asked Long Aotian quietly.

"That’s the Saint Child of Holy Light City. His Alchemy is by no means weaker than any of us four top seeds. Who knows where Holy Light City found a genius like him. Even Hall Master Yao Wuchen praises him constantly," Long Aotian explained.

’Oh, the Saint Child of Holy Light City?’ Two tangible, dark flames flickered in Shen Haoran’s eyes. The feeling of being watched had been fleeting, but it hadn’t escaped Elder Yan’s senses. ’It was him. There’s something strange about that Saint Child...’