Chapter 238: Determined to Prevail! (2/2)

Besides, if a Furnace Lord lost, it would be far too embarrassing for the East Pill Division. If a master alchemist lost, at least it wouldn’t be so embarrassing.

“Would the Violet Fate Sect please respond?” said the Golden Frost Sect’s Dharma Protector Tang Shicang, smiling.

An Zaihai, brow furrowed, glanced over at the master alchemists. Suddenly, his gaze fell upon Meng Hao. It was only a glance, but he instantly recognised him.

“It is beneath a Furnace Lord to concoct such a heretical pill,” replied An Zaihai quickly. “However, there is definitely one amongst the thousand master alchemists of the East Pill Division who can concoct such a medicinal pill.”

Lin Hailong had just been thinking about how to avoid the whole situation, but hearing An Zaihai’s words, he nodded slightly. His heart, however, was pounding. He looked over at Li Tao, who was standing next to Meng Hao. “Li Tao, please step forward and concoct a pill,” he said, completely ignoring Meng Hao.

Li Tao’s eyes filled with concentration, and he took a deep breath as he clasped hands and bowed to Lin and An. Considering he was a master alchemist of the East Pill Division, he didn’t need to formally greet Wu Dingqiu and the others from the Violet Qi Division.

Lin Hailong looked at Li Tao with an expression of praise. He had been paying attention to the man for some time. He may have been eclipsed by Pill Cauldron at the Pill Auction, but as far as Lin Hailong was concerned, Pill Cauldron was a mystery. Li Tao, however, had the potential for much future growth. “Take this Earthly fire,” he said “Quickly concoct the pill!” He flicked his sleeve, and a violet-colored crystal flew over to land on the ground. The limestones seemed as if they were about to melt from the intense heat of the Earthly fire.

Li Tao looked thoughtful for a moment, then produced a pill furnace and some medicinal plants and began to concoct.

The Earthly fire given by Lin Hailong made the concocting process go fairly quickly. Li Tao carefully performed his catalyzing and concocting, and after the time it takes two incense sticks to burn, the pill furnace roared, and a white medicinal pill flew out.

Li Tao had condensed hundreds of various hard medicinal plants into the pill. The concoction time had been relatively short, but he had employed all the skill he possessed. He was confident that even a fierce tiger would break its teeth if it bit such a pill!

When the pill emerged, Li Tao didn’t even look at it. He simply tossed it over to Fatty, who grabbed it from mid air. He cleared his throat, and then, as everyone watched, placed it into his mouth. With a crunch, the pill shattered.

“I can’t even grind my teeth with this crappy thing,” said Fatty, his face filled with disdain. He spit out the remnants of the pill, looking quite proud of himself.

Lin Hailong’s face was filled with embarrassment. He singled out one master alchemist after another, but the pills they concocted were are easily crushed by Fatty, then spit out onto the ground. Fatty’s dialogue grew even more arrogant.

“Ai, it seems it really is difficult to find a medicinal pill that my teeth can’t destroy. What a lonely life…. Do any of you have any skill? Come, concoct something I can’t crush.” He looked more and more complacent. The same gall he had shown at the Pill Auction, was now in full force. He seemed very much in his element.

Lin Hailong’s face grew more unsightly, and he slapped his palm down onto the table. Looking at Eternal Mountain’s expressionless face, his heart filled with fury. Suddenly, he said, “Master alchemists of the East Pill Division! Whoever of you can concoct a pill that this kid can’t crush will instantly be promoted to Furnace Lord!” His words echoed out through the mountains, all the way down to the master alchemists who were congregated at the foot of the mountain. Everyone’s faces filled with shock, and their eyes began to glow.

Meng Hao’s pupils constricted, and he stared at Lin Hailong, his heart pounding.

Being promoted to Furnace Lord was a very important matter. Barring unusual circumstances, before being considered for promotion, one usually needed to be a master alchemist for a full sixty-year cycle, be at the Foundation Establishment stage, and concoct over a thousand different types of medicinal pills with fifty percent medicinal strength. Even more importantly, the Sect required that the candidate master alchemist have concocted ten million medicinal pills for the Sect.

After meeting all those requirements, the approval of all the other Furnace Lords was also required. If there was more than one candidate, then a rigorous pill concocting competition was required, whereupon one person would be selected for promotion.

Meng Hao had previously thought about becoming a Furnace Lord, and had even considered using his identity as Grandmaster Pill Cauldron to attempt to do so. However, he was still hesitating and analyzing the whole matter. Hearing Lin Hailong’s words caused him to take a deep breath. His eyes began to glow.

To him, this was a chance that might only come once in a hundred years!

Of course, many other master alchemists were thinking the same thing. All of them began to pant; if they seized this opportunity to be promoted to Furnace Lord, it would be as if the gate of the Dao of alchemy had been opened. Granted, being promoted in such a way would arouse the ire of the other Furnace Lords, and would likely lead to scorn from others. However, it was still an incredible opportunity.

It didn’t matter if one was qualified or not. After becoming a Furnace Lord, one would have access to many special techniques, as well as secret formulas regarding various interactions of plants and vegetation. This in itself was enough to enable a master alchemist to advance by leaps and bounds. They would suddenly have access to plant and vegetation combinations that they would never otherwise be able to comprehend. The respect commanded by a Furnace Lord was enough to send almost all of the master alchemists into a frenzy.

Furthermore, the words had come out of the mouth of Lin Hailong himself, the most senior of the Violet Furnace Lords, and a sub-Grandmaster. No one would disbelieve him.

Meng Hao took a deep breath and looked at complacent Fatty. Feeling a bit guilty, he thought, “Fatty, brother, I don’t want to cause problems for you, but this is my only chance…. I am determined to prevail!”