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Translator: Silavin & PewPewLaserGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Ai Ou might have been criticizing in his heart but none of that could be seen on his face. With his current strength and status, Ai Ou could keep a straight face even if a mountain collapsed before him.
“Haha, Sir President, Honoured Teacher has finished refining already. What about this friend?” Zhan Yuan walked out from the crowd and asked, pointing at Yang Kai.
In the past, he wouldn’t dare to address Yang Kai as ‘friend,’ no matter what. Although he was an Origin Grade Alchemist, Yang Kai was an out and out Second-Order Origin King master.
He wasn’t qualified at all.
But now that the die had been cast, Zhan Yuan didn’t need to be polite to someone who would be his teacher’s slave for the next two thousand years.
Addressing Yang Kai as a friend was a matter of course.
“It doesn’t seem to be finished yet,” Ai Ou’s expression remained dull even when he laid the truth.
Zhan Yuan smiled, “Sir President, you are mistaken. I think he has failed, he won’t be finished ever. It has been two days already, there should be some pill fragrance coming out of the furnace.”
Just as he said this, the few hundred Alchemists present were momentarily taken aback. They realized that Zhan Yuan was indeed right.
No matter how slow Yang Kai’s progress was, it’d been two days. Grandmaster Zuo De had already finished refining his Soul Source Restoration Pill. Even if Yang Kai was a little slower, there should be some fragrance wafting out of his furnace.
But they couldn’t smell even a whiff. Obviously, there was something wrong here.
“He is right!” The nearby Zong Ao, who had been absorbed in his enlightenment, nodded lightly.
Ai Ou couldn’t help but glance at Zong Ao. [Which side are you on exactly?]
“I’m just stating the fact.” Zong Ao added again.
Ai Ou didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He knew that these Alchemists had one-track minds. They were extremely conscientious towards the Alchemic Way and would not desecrate the Alchemic Dao just because of some close relationships.
“Indeed…” Ai Ou didn’t know how he should respond. He didn’t know anything about Alchemy; he dared not make any comments.
“Even if there is no pill fragrance, there is no burnt smell either. Which means that the herbs in Yang Kai’s pill furnace are still alright.” Suddenly, Xue Yue took the stand. “This means that he hasn’t failed in refining, right!?”
Zhan Yuan was dumbstruck, mouth agape. He was rendered speechless.
Indeed, although no pill fragrance was coming from Yang Kai’s furnace, the smell of burning wasn’t coming either. Everyone was a little confused. They couldn’t tell what exactly was going on.
“Furthermore, Grandmaster has already agreed that there was no time limit for Yang Kai. It has only been two days. Everyone might as well wait a little while,” clarified Xue Yue.
“Honoured Teacher has indeed said that there was no time limit.” Zhan Yuan furrowed his brow before quickly adding, “But if this guy keeps refining like this, then wouldn’t be waiting here for like forever? We would never be able to tell who is the winner!”
As he said this, he suddenly appeared to have been struck with a realization. He clapped and said, “I understand! Now I understand what he is up to! He must have thrown all the herbs into the pill furnace and stopped paying attention thereafter just to waste time. He is waiting for us to grow impatient. At that time, no one will pursue this matter.”
Although Zhan Yuan was just making conjectures, it made sense to everyone when everyone gave it a thought.
[Grandmaster Zuo De has indeed given Yang Kai no time limit because of his identity. If Yang Kai proceeded with this in mind, it would definitely resolve the impending crisis.]
[After all, it’s impossible to wait for him for one or two years, or even five or ten years…]
[He’s a Second-Order Origin King master. It’s normal for him to enter a retreat for a few decades. And in case he’s trying to comprehend some profound Secret Technique…]
[He isn’t wasting time but that‘s not the case for others.]
Zhan Yuan’s words immediately made all the Alchemists understand Yang Kai’s intention. They started looking at Yang Kai with a displeased and disgusted look in their eyes.
[He has already committed blasphemy by competing with Grandmaster Zuo De in Alchemy. And now, he is trying to delay using this. This is simply outrageous!]
Immediately, a High-Rank Origin Grade Alchemist stepped out. He cupped his fist to Ai Ou and said, keeping a straight face, “Sir President, please give us an explanation. If this guy is really as contemptible as Grandmaster Zhan says, Sir President must uphold justice for Grandmaster Zuo De.”
“Yeah! Alchemic Dao is sacred. It can’t be desecrated. What this guy is doing is an insult to Alchemic Dao we pursue. It’s an insult to all the Alchemists of the Star Field. We can’t tolerate this!”
“We beg Sir President to uphold justice!”
“If you don’t give us a satisfactory answer, we will immediately leave the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce!”
“Count me in. This man is utterly disgusting!”
Most of the Alchemists spoke up, asking Ai Ou for an explanation. These Alchemists weren’t afraid even if they were facing the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce President. They were looking straight into Ai Ou’s eyes.
Ai Ou was in a predicament.
He never expected things to turn out like this. Just because of a competition, two to three hundred Alchemists had become furious!
He knew that if he didn’t handle this properly, then the Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s foundation would be severely damaged.
He had paid a great deal of money to hire all these Alchemists; none of them were trained by the Chamber of Commerce itself. They were free to leave the Chamber of Commerce for other forces. And presumably, other forces would more than welcome them.
An anxious Ai Ou was secretly vexed by the ignorance of these people; they had no appreciation for the things and were making a fuss blindly.
On the other hand, Zhan Yuan could not help but grin. He himself hadn’t expected that just a casual comment from his would cause the things to take such a turn.
Both Zuo De and he were delighted by this. He furtively glanced at Zuo De and found that the other party was looking at him approvingly, like he was praising his boundless prospects.
Zhan Yuan hurriedly straightened his waist!
He stood straight like a javelin.
“Sir President, it’s already obvious. Please give us an explanation!”
Getting no reaction from Ai Ou even after so long, those Alchemists couldn’t help but urge.
Ai Ou immediately furrowed his brow. He pondered for a moment before speaking in a deep voice, “Does everyone believe that Yang Kai is deliberately trying to delay time? Isn’t everyone quick to jump to conclusions? This King thinks that we should observe for a while longer.”
“What’s there to watch?” Someone voiced their dissatisfaction.
Right then, Zuo De interceded, “Everyone, please stay calm. President Ai Ou is right. Furthermore, this old man has indeed not given him a time limit. Let’s wait, it was negligence on this old man’s part!”
Those Alchemists couldn’t take it even more so after Zuo De said this. In their opinion, Yang Kai was a rascal who had forced the honourable Grandmaster to compete in Alchemy. And he deserved to die!
“Grandmaster, you are just too kind!” An Alchemist shook his head and sighed. “Grandmaster, if you say so, others will only treat your tolerance as weakness. This matter cannot be tolerated and delayed anymore.”
“Indeed!” The Alchemist, who spoke at the very beginning, let out a cold snort. He was an old man. His face was filled with wrinkles; he appeared to have one foot in his grave already. But at this moment, he looked straight at Ai Ou and said aggressively, “President, just look at him. Have you seen any Alchemist so relaxed and at ease when refining pills? Even someone like Grandmaster Zuo De seemed to be on the verge of collapsing after refining for two days straight. But just look at this guy. He looks so calm and relaxed. His eyes are closed like he is meditating. You can’t sense a bit of Saint Qi fluctuation from him. And neither is he drawing the Earth Fire. He might have the Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, but I can’t sense any signs of him stimulating his Conflagrated Knowledge Sea! If he isn’t delaying time then what is he doing? President, if you happened to be taking his side, then that would be too disappointing!”
A gloomy look appeared on Ai Ou’s face. This had given him a big headache!
He raised his eyes, glancing at the void. He was hoping for an answer on how to deal with this from Long Tian Shang, who was hiding in the void.
But Long Tian Shang had no intentions of interfering.
Just as Ai Ou was in a dilemma, wondering how to calm the furious crowd, a sneer suddenly rang in everyone’s ears.
Everyone was taken aback by this sneer. They immediately turned their heads to find its source.
Everyone was immediately surprised to find Yang Kai, who had been sitting with his eyes closed all the while, watching with his head leaning on one side, listening to everyone with interest.
He gave the impression that he had nothing to do with this.
“Friend, it seems you are done with your cheap tricks!?” Zhan Yuan sneered without reservation. He believed that there were just herbs lying in Yang Kai’s Alchemy furnace. He might not have even refined them into medicinal liquid. Thus, his words were filled with provocation.
“Do I even need to play any tricks?” Yang Kai glanced at him.
“Hmph, you yourself are clear about it,” Zhan Yuan sneered.
“Kid, what are you laughing at?” Zuo De narrowed his eyes as he asked indifferently, flaunting his old age.
“Naturally, I’m laughing at your own ignorance!”
“What did you say?” Everyone flew into a rage, immediately glaring at Yang Kai. Everyone was an Alchemist. They had never been despised like this.
“Aren’t you guys ignorant?” A sardonic smile slowly appeared on Yang Kai’s lips. “Who told you that an Alchemist needs to be tired and exhausted while refining pills? Who told you that an Alchemist can’t close his eyes and meditate while refining pills? Who told you that there should be pill fragrance while a pill is being refined?”
“What are you implying?”
“I’m not implying anything.” Yang Kai curled his lips as asked, looking at Zuo De, “Grandmaster, will you break a sweat and gasp for breaths if you are asked to refine a Yuan Restoring Pill?”
“Hmph, of course not!” Zuo De snorted coldly.
“That’s right! The reason why you won’t is because the Yuan Restoring Pill is too low for you. You can refine it with your eyes closed. You don’t need to go all out. Your Saint Qi could easily meet the demand for refining the pill. So naturally, you won’t be exhausted.”
“You mean to say that the Soul Source Restoration Pill to you is like the Yuan Restoring Pill is to this old man!?” Zuo De’s eyelids twitched.
“Of course!” Yang Kai nodded with a smile.
“Outrageous!”
“Shut up!” Yang Kai turned his head and shouted at the speaker, “This King is a Second-Order Origin King. I’m not exhausted while refining the pill because I don’t need to expend all my Saint Qi. I can close my eyes and meditate because I don’t need to worry about it too much. You can’t sense me stimulating my Conflagrated Knowledge Sea because you are not strong enough! You don’t know anything but started making a fuss. Don’t you think that you guys are too ridiculous?”
The crowd of Alchemists were rendered speechless by Yang Kai.
[Damn it, this guy makes sense!]
All of them were Alchemists. They had never tackled the problems as cultivators. But now, when it was pointed out by Yang Kai, they didn’t know what to say.
Probably the trash-est alchemy arc i’ve ever seen. Even the epitome of generic novel like Nine Star Hegemon Body Art handled alchemy battle much better than this shit.
haha! yk finally putting things straight! feels good man.
Author was like “Random bullshit, go!”