Chapter 142 - Pill Breaking Wind (1/2)

Since there was no way to block him, kicking him out was option B! This was Zhuo Fan’s plan cooked up from the moment he heard of the third round’s condition.

As this round was based on speed, cutting the old coot’s speed would make it harder for him to enter the finals.

With an evil smile, Zhuo Fan watched Vicious Pill King. The latter had been duped already, so why would he keep paying the brat any more attention?

He was going as quickly as he could to finish the refining. And indeed, the best alchemist in the empire wasn’t one to disappoint, speeding through the process like a bullet. In but a few breaths, he was done with refining the ingredients.

Next was forming the pill.

Raising an eyebrow, Zhuo Fan wasn’t the least bit worried. There were some things that even though one knew they were wrong, they still couldn’t stop themselves from doing them. Because they were still holding an interest in those things, and Vicious Pill King was no exception.

“Ahe-he-hem…” Zhuo Fan coughed lightly, “Elder Yan, I noticed your pill’s ingredients and decided to run by you the Ninth Heaven Roaring Dragon Claw’s secret I used in the second round.”

His ears perked without his knowledge, despite knowing it was one of Zhuo Fan’s ploys, despite being certain that this secret was bogus. No matter how bad it looked, and felt, the temptation was too great. He wanted to know more about such a magical refining skill, especially since he was an alchemist.

He was only a breath from forming the pill’s shape but now the process was halted. His speed was now under Zhuo Fan’s complete control.

Laughing inside, Zhuo Fan still kept a serious face, “Oh, going by its name, it has a dragon and claw in it. So your hand must also take the shape of a dragon claw…”

[What a load of obvious bull!]

Vicious Pill King was clear as crystal of Zhuo Fan’s scheme and didn’t want to listen, but he only got his ears to blame for betraying him.

Yet, hearing the mention of a secret, he stopped to listen more closely. But what reached his ears was nothing more than some superficial talk from Zhuo Fan.

He felt like crying. So wretched that he wanted to cut his ears off.

With no choice, he turned to Xiao Ya and blabbed like a little kid to his teacher, “Judge, this brat is disrupting my refining!”

“What, Grandmaster Song is hindering you? How?” Xiao Ya looked skeptical.

With a red face, Vicious Pill King gnashed his teeth, “The brat keeps gallivanting in my ear and distracts me!”

Silence followed throughout the arena, then shortly followed by rambunctious laughter!

An alchemist’s most important feature was his state of mind. [What kind of alchemist are you to mess up your refining from a few words? How did you become the best alchemist in the empire anyway?]

Everyone looked out with mocking smiles. This never ever happened before.

How could they have known Zhuo Fan’s words struck a nerve? He didn’t want to listen, but his ears were a whole nother matter.

Everyone would feel the same if they were in his stead.

The more he heard the maniacal laughter, the redder Vicious Pill King got. His face was thoroughly caked in mud.

Xiao Ya’s eyelid twitched, and cursed, “Elder Yan, you’re not a child. Why are you complaining to me about such a simple matter?”

“Yeah, we’re just chatting and getting to know each other. Why did you have to go out and tattletale?” Zhuo Fan liked to make a mountain out of a molehill and jested.

This launched the crowd into another round of laughter!

Getting his anger under control after a few breaths, Vicious Pill King shouted at Xiao Ya, “Wench, aren’t you a judge? Do you even care? Why aren’t you kicking this brat out?”

“Fine, fine, fine, I do care, alright?” Xiao Ya shook her head helplessly and giggled an apology to Zhuo Fan, “Grandmaster Song, I appreciate it if you would not speak with Elder Yan as he refines. Why not come into the guests’ corner for a drink?”

Raising an eyebrow, Zhuo Fan said, “Fine, I’ll listen and won’t talk!”

True to his words, Zhuo Fan’s lips were sealed. Then, the next second, Vicious Pill King found the world around him got quiet and turned to see the other competitors. Most of them reached the step to complete their pill while he was only at the molding phase.

He sped up at once and gathered all the refined mixture into one place and took the final form of a pill.

“5th-grade pill, completed!”

Another shout, another finalist. In total, there were seven who qualified for the Pill King round.

Vicious Pill King wiped the cold sweat from his brow and rushed urgently to finish the pill. Although worry had not left him in regards to a certain punk, fearful he might be up to something.

For the remainder of the process, he divided his attention to Zhuo Fan’s every move. Who, at this point, was on his best behavior, as if he abandoned any thoughts of thwarting Yan Song’s progress.

[This punk is faking again! The last time, you got me out of carelessness, but this time, I will be on guard. The more this punk is at ease, the more certain it is he is waiting for me to show the slightest slip-up!]

Squinting, Vicious Pill King laughed coldly inside, while his heartstrings were also stretched taut.

[You won’t get me a second time!]

“Judge, I finished!”