Chapter 560: Pre-match Conflict

Chapter 560: Chapter 558: Pre-match Conflict

In the early morning, a din began to rise from within Medicine King Valley. As time passed, the clamor grew louder, and by the time the sun hung high in the sky, the valley’s plaza was like a boiling cauldron, churning with an energy that threatened to overturn the entire Medicine King Valley.

The great alchemy competition was to be held in this very plaza, known as Dragon Cauldron Plaza. The name came from the massive Dragon Cauldron that stood in its center.

This Dragon Cauldron was actually a supreme-grade Divine Artifact, typically used to refine large quantities of Elixir Pills or pills of a very high grade.

The event was always incredibly lively, drawing everyone from Medicine King Valley to spectate, observe the different alchemy techniques, and absorb the experience.

Dragon Cauldron Plaza was built specifically for hosting festivals and was large enough for the entire population of Medicine King Valley to gather within. For the alchemy competition, work had begun long ago to set up the required competition stages and spectator stands, all of which were now complete.

In the sweltering summer heat, the dense crowd raised the temperature in Dragon Cauldron Plaza considerably, but it did nothing to dampen the people’s enthusiasm!

After all, the great alchemy competition was not an annual event; it was typically held only once every five years. For this reason, no matter the hardship or the heat, everyone had to come witness it. They absolutely could not miss this grand alchemy tournament.

However, the real point of interest wasn’t the competition itself, but Lin Xuan! His appearance had put him on everyone’s radar. But this wasn’t a martial contest; if Lin Xuan couldn’t keep up, he would be eliminated naturally, without anyone needing to target him specifically.

DONG! DONG! DONG!

A series of drumbeats echoed from Dragon Cauldron Plaza, signaling that the great alchemy competition was about to begin. Spurred on by the thunderous sound, the crowd roared with excitement and flooded into the plaza.

In no time, Dragon Cauldron Plaza was a sea of people, the clamor spreading to every corner of Medicine King Valley! Over many years, the valley’s population had grown considerably, now numbering several thousand.

Compared to other families, this number was but a drop in the ocean. However, the skill of every person in Medicine King Valley was exceptional, making them all elites. Their strength lay not in numbers, but in quality!

The plaza had been reconfigured with different arenas set up for various trials. Though it was called the great alchemy competition, contestants had to pass through several qualifying rounds to reach the true finals. These different trials were designed to identify the most talented individuals, but they all revolved around alchemy.

On a high platform near the competition grounds was a long row of seats. Naturally, these were for the competition’s judges. The remaining seats were for Long Xingyun and the other Elders. Shortly after, they all appeared and took their places, projecting an air of solemn authority.

Next, the contestants entered the arena. They were all, without exception, Cultivators at the Spirit Pill Stage Level. Only those with a Spirit Pill Stage Cultivation could participate in this competition. It wasn’t that those with lower cultivation were barred from competing, but that they couldn’t display sufficiently powerful alchemy abilities.

The Spirit Pill Stage was considered the perfect benchmark—not too high and not too low. Nearly a hundred contestants had appeared, which meant nearly a hundred Spirit Pill Stage experts. This number was truly terrifying; in the Soaring Dragon Empire, a single Spirit Pill Stage expert was usually on par with a Patriarch.

Here, however, they were merely talented and remarkably young disciples. In both numbers and overall strength, they undoubtedly far surpassed the likes of the Bu Family. Medicine King Valley’s environment was ideal, and it never lacked for Elixir Pills. While others used Primordial Stones for their Cultivation, they used Elixir Pills, which of course resulted in a vastly different rate of progress.

“So you’re Lin Xuan, the traitor’s son?” Long Bin said, looking Lin Xuan up and down with a sneer. “It seems you really have a death wish, thinking you can take on the entire Medicine King Valley by yourself. You’re far too naive. It’s a miracle you’ve even survived this long!”

“I think so too. Daring to challenge us with some outside Alchemy Technique? What a joke! A traitor is a traitor, what an utter disgrace!” Long Fan walked over, sneered, and then looked at Long Bin. “It’s time for us to clash again. First place is definitely mine this time. The prize is a stalk of Resurrection Grass, and I must have it!”

These two were the strongest geniuses of their generation in Medicine King Valley. Their alchemy skills were both at the Fourth Grade Level, a grade comparable to that of a Pattern Master. Alchemy was by no means easy; its difficulty was similar to Artifact Refining, especially since some Elixir Pills required Essence Blood as a core component, which was incredibly difficult to control.

They completely ignored Lin Xuan, repeatedly calling him a traitor’s son without a shred of respect. From a young age, they had been indoctrinated with the belief that Long Yuwei was a traitor. Her departure from Medicine King Valley had become a major embarrassment, causing the outside world to mock the valley’s lax discipline.

It was an ancestral precept they had always followed and would never betray. The core issue was her marrying an outsider. In the eyes of Medicine King Valley, everyone outside their ranks was inferior!

It was like a Princess marrying a commoner—what an immense disgrace it was for them! After investing so much effort in raising her, she had ended up marrying an outsider. How could they not be furious?

“And what if I win?” Lin Xuan retorted.

“Win?” Long Fan and Long Bin exchanged a look, then burst into laughter. “You actually think you can win! Do you even know what a Pill King is? Only Medicine King Valley has Pill Kings; there isn’t a single one in the outside world. Compared to Medicine King Valley’s Alchemy Technique, all others are trash. They can’t even produce a single Pill King, yet you have the nerve to talk to us about winning?”

Their gazes were filled with derision, mocking Lin Xuan for his ignorance.

Once again, Lin Xuan was confronted with their arrogance—the kind that came from believing they were invincible. But they did have the capital to back up their words; both their talent and their abilities were first-rate.

“But what if I really do win?” Lin Xuan asked again.

“Are you ever going to shut up?!” Long Bin scoffed. “If you win, we’ll hand the prize over to you with our own two hands and call you our boss for the rest of our lives, how about that! But the question is, can you win? It would be a miracle if you made it into the top ten! No, even making it into the top fifty would be a miracle, and you’re still talking about winning against us!”

“Idiot,” Long Fan chimed in with a sneer. “If you actually win, I’ll walk backward for the rest of my life, I’ll never practice alchemy again, and I’ll cut off my own hands and throw them into a Pill Furnace!”

They hurled all sorts of taunts and made increasingly harsh wagers, all because they believed it was impossible for Lin Xuan to win. So, they made their boasts as exaggerated as they could.

“I look forward to receiving your prize. And I also look forward to seeing your hands cut off and thrown into an Alchemy Furnace.” Lin Xuan smiled faintly, then turned and walked toward the front, ignoring them completely.

“You!” Long Bin’s expression turned cold, and he let out a sharp huff. “You’ll soon find out what you’ve gotten yourself into! If you lose, we’ll make you regret it for the rest of your life!”

A cold glint entered their eyes as they pictured the scene of Lin Xuan’s inevitable defeat.