Chapter 280 - Poison Showdown (1/2)

With a signal from Elder Beilan, the poison masters hurriedly sank their perceptions within their respective jade slips and began the assessment.

This was a test of speed, and every second mattered to them.

Standing by the side, Lu Tianzi could not help but wonder how the assessment was being done within the jade slip.

After all, all he could see was just the thousand over poison masters closing their eyes in concentration.

Lu Tianzi stole a glance towards Elder Ximo beside him.

From his interactions with Elder Ximo so far, Lu Tianzi guessed that as long as he just asked, Elder Ximo would probably be more than likely to get him one of those jade slips to have a look. After all, Elder Ximo seemed unnaturally eager to befriend them.

However, Lu Tianzi was still hesitant to do so, afraid that Elder Ximo might blow up the matter. There was a high chance that Elder Ximo would just blatantly shout for a jade slip to be delivered to him, drawing even more attention towards them.

Lu Tianzi was only here as a spectator, and did not want to attract any unnecessary trouble.

Forget it, he would just ask Beiwei Jinguo about it when the Healers' Meet was over.

Just like that, hours passed, and the first person finally completed the assessment.

To everyone's surprise, it was Beiwei Jinguo who the first to slowly opened his eyes, his jade slip in his hands giving off a gentle white light.

Most of the people present already knew of his identity of Elder Beichang's student and expected him to do well. However, they still did not expect a youngster who was only at the Essence Building realm to be the very first to complete the assessment.

Not even Lu Tianzi did.

Even though Lu Tianzi had always known that Beiwei Jinguo's knowledge in the poison arts was fundamentally solid, he had never expected the latter to be this good as compared to his peers.

Or, perhaps he had been overestimating the other competitors?

No, that was not it.

One had to know that there were over a thousand poison masters taking part in this assessment, and every single one of them had probably dedicated a large part of their lives to learning the poison arts. All things considered, there was no way that their knowledge in the poison arts would be lacking.

For Beiwei Jinguo to emerge at the top, it simply showed how excellent he truly was!

Just like most others, the second place Xiquan Chong could not believe his eyes either when he finally completed his assessment, finishing only a few minutes after Beiwei Jinguo.

Except for a few areas where he spent a bit more time on, everything had gone relatively well for him during the assessment.

Yet he was still slower?

And he had to be slower than Beiwei Jinguo of all people?

Xiquan Chong gritted his teeth in frustration. But the first thing he did was actually to take a guilty glance towards the wooden platform at the end of the open area.

What he saw sent a shiver running down his spine.

Just as he had expected, his father was glaring right at him, his gaze as cold as ice.

A few days ago, his father had been furious upon finding out how Xiquan Chong had gone against his instructions to pick on Beiwei Jinguo at the Fireaxe Inn.

However, what's done is done.

Elder Xiquan knew just as well that there was no way for him to undo what his son had already done. Not wanting to affect Xiquan Chong's performance in the Healers' Meet, Elder Xiquan did not mete down too harsh a punishment on Xiquan Chong then.

But that did not mean Elder Xiquan would let the matter go just like that.

Xiquan Chong had to assure Elder Xiquan that he would certainly get the top place in the Healers' Meet before Elder Xiquan was finally appeased.

This was also why Elder Xiquan decided not to meet the Overlord rank Nanlan Qianxue in the meantime. Depending on Nanlan Qianxue's relationship with Beiwei Jinguo, calling for a meeting could appear hypocritic now that Xiquan Chong had done such a thing.

Nevertheless, seeing his son actually lag behind Beiwei Jinguo in the assessment triggered the rage within Elder Xiquan once again, and Xiquan Chong definitely felt it through his gaze.

Xiquan Chong gritted his teeth in frustration and turned his glare towards Beiwei Jinguo. ”Don't be too happy just because you were the first to clear the assessment. What comes next will truly decide our final ranks!”

Hearing his words, many among the crowd could not help but feel sorry for Beiwei Jinguo.

Indeed, the assessment only determined the people who would be in the top eight, but not their respective ranks.

Even though Beiwei Jinguo had been the first to clear the assessment, it was unlikely that he would be able to hold onto that position until the very end.

Beiwei Jinguo snorted in response, not caring to reply Xiquan Chong.

Xiquan Chong's lackey Jiesheng had acted like that earlier, and now Xiquan Chong was doing the same. Birds of a feather truly flocked together!

Just like that, the rest of the participants completed the assessment one after another.

Before long, the top eight were decided, and they stepped up upon being called by Elder Beilan.

As the eight of them stepped forward, everyone's attention naturally fell upon them.

These were the top eight of the Healers' Meet, and the rest of the participants could not help but be filled with envy at this moment.

The eight of them felt immensely proud as well.

At least for the next three years until the next Healers' Meet, they would be known as the eight most talented poison masters among the younger generation!

Elder Beilan did not allow them to relish in the moment for long, immediately announcing the start of the next round.

The eight of them would proceed to eliminate each other in Poison Showdowns, until there was only one person left.

This last man standing would officially be crowned as the top ranker of the Healers' Meet, the very most talented poison master among the younger generation.

Beiwei Jinguo took a look at his seven competitors, and could not help but feel slightly nervous.