NOVGO.NET Chapter 311: A Critical Situation
Chapter 311: Chapter 311: A Critical Situation
Chapter 311: A Critical Situation
Inside the main hall of the Celestial Elixir Pavilion, Fourteen Domain Masters, along with thirty elderly Grandmaster Alchemists from the Valdris Royal Academy, Vulcan and Lyra, all gathered around the dignified, middle-aged figure of Grandmaster Korryn.
Rhain took a seat at the central chair in the hall, his dark grey eyes sweeping across the tense faces.
"Speak," Rhain commanded calmly, "Tell me exactly what is going on."
Vulcan stood up, his scarred face heavy with exhaustion.
"Master," Vulcan began, bowing his head respectfully. "It happened at an incredibly unnatural speed. Rumors began circulating through across the Inner Province claiming that our flawless pills were forged from forbidden demonic arts, and they were laced with corrupted essence designed to rot a cultivator’s mind and body, turning them into addicts."
"We didn’t even get the time to control the narrative," one of the seven Domain Masters added bitterly. "Before we could dispatch our men to silence the agitators, the rumor had already engulfed every major commercial district."
Rhain’s eyes narrowed.
"What was the basis for this rumor?" Rhain asked coldly. "Did any of our pills show such signs?"
He asked the question, but in his heart, he knew with certain that it was impossible.
Every single pill sold under the Pavilion’s name was refined personally by him, purified by the Red Tribulations Heavenly Flame.
There was not a single speck of impurity, let alone demonic corruption.
"None, Master," Vulcan confirmed immediately, his fists clenching. "There was not a single confirmed case of our pills being defective. After these rumours soread, a few rogue cultivators suddenly appeared in the public squares claiming they had suffered severe adverse effects after consuming our elixirs."
Vulcan’s eyes flashed with murderous anger. "But we checked our records instantly. Those men had never purchased a single pill from us. They were all paid actors, sent to stage a public spectacle. It was a highly coordinated, deliberate campaign to defame us."
Rhain leaned back in his chair, his expression placid but his mind spinning with rapid calculations.
"If the rumors had no real substance and the claimants were exposed as frauds," Rhain analyzed rationally, "then how did it escalate to the point that the Royal Family issued a formal Imperial Decree against us?"
Vulcan replied bitterly.
"Because of the Alchemy Emperor, Master."
The title dropped like a boulder in the silent hall.
"The Alchemy Emperor?" Rhain repeated, a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes.
The sole Emperor-rank Alchemist of the Solathane Dynasty.
"Yes," Vulcan nodded grimly. "At first, we were actually succeeding in controlling the rumors. The quality of your flawless pills was our greatest deterrent. The experts who had consumed them knew the truth, and they were defending us. But then..."
Vulcan gritted his teeth.
"The Alchemy Emperor himself issued a public statement. He didn’t explicitly say the pills were demonic. He simply stated that he had personally examined them and found that ’there was something fundamentally wrong with the ingredients.’ Yet, just saying that the pills were wrong... coming from the mouth of the highest alchemical authority in the kingdom... it instantly gave those previous baseless rumors an unbreakable foundation."
"The situation became completely uncontrollable since then," Vulcan sighed, "And then came the final nail in the coffin: the decree from the Royal Family. Since that day, we have lost more than ninety percent of our customers. The pills we had planned to sell a week prior are still sitting in our stocks. Not just that... multiple merchant houses and regional powers we had struck deals with instantly broke their contracts out of fear."
Vulcan paused, turning his head to gesture toward the seven Domain Masters standing quietly to the side.
"We originally recruited twenty Domain Masters to serve as guest elders," Vulcan explained in an ashamed tone, "But thirteen among them broke their oaths and fled the moment the rumors and the Royal Decree spread."
Rhain’s dark grey eyes shifted, locking onto the seven Domain Masters who had chosen to stay.
Seeing the Grandmaster’s gaze, the seven experts immediately stepped forward, bowing respectfully.
"Grandmaster," one of the middle-stage Domain Masters spoke, his tone filled with conviction. "We have personally consumed your pills. The bottlenecks we were desperately struggling against for decades... we shattered them overnight after taking your pills. We know for a fact that your Pavilion is being falsely accused."
Another Domain Master nodded fiercely. "We are not cowardly dogs who bite the hand that feeds us. We refused to leave the Pavilion when it is being unjustly targeted!"
Rhain slowly nodded.
He could see that Vulcan had truly taken character into consideration when recruiting these people.
In the face of the Emperor’s wrath, true loyalty was rarer than heavenly treasures.
Vulcan then pointed toward the large group elderly men and women standing respectfully in the hall.
"Master, when things were getting difficult for us to control, the Grandmaster Alchemists of the Valdris Royal Academy personally came to our Pavilion to help us manage the chaos, and the crowds turned violent" Vulcan said gratefully. "If they hadn’t stood at our doors and vouched for our integrity, the mob might have torn this branch down before the Royal Envoys even arrived."
Hearing this, the leading grey-haired elderly alchemist stepped forward, bowing deeply.
"Grandmaster Korryn," he spoke passionately. "We have learned so much from your profound guidance. In our hearts, we consider ourselves to be your half-disciples! We could not simply stand by and watch our master’s Pavilion be slandered and destroyed by malicious lies! We have not only consumed your pills, but we have learned your profound knowledge! We know better than anyone that your pills are pure without any doubt."
Sitting slightly to the side, Lyra finally couldn’t hold her tongue any longer.
"I left the Academy with the task to deliver those spatial rings full of pills," Lyra interjected, her crimson eyes flashing with frustration as she glared at him. "But I couldn’t even hand them over! The previous stock hasn’t cleared at all! Even today, I had to come for the exact same reason!"
Vulcan sighed heavily, confirming her words. "Our current situation is incredibly critical, Master. The branch in Stormveil City is in the exact same condition, entirely deserted. Even Patriarch Thorian himself had personally come to the Pavilion in Stormveil, desperately requesting a meeting with you."
Rhain fell silent, his mind rapidly pieced together the puzzle.
He could see the truth of the matter now.
The real reason the Celestial Elixir Pavilion was reduced to such a miserable state wasn’t the petty rumors.
It wasn’t even the Royal Family’s decree.
It was that one, single statement from the Alchemy Emperor.
’Why would the only Alchemy Emperor of the dynasty target my Pavilion?’ Rhain analyzed coldly.
Then, a piece of information he had acquired from the Vaelstrum Clan flashed through his mind.
Alchemy Emperor was secretly supporting Crown Prince Lucius.
’Could it be that Lucius was behind all this?’ Rhain thought, a chilling, bloodthirsty light flickering deep within his pupils.
If Lucius had orchestrated this, did that mean Lucius already knew that he—Rhain Voss—was Grandmaster Korryn?
’No,’ Rhain deduced rationally. ’If Lucius knew I was Korryn, he wouldn’t have bothered with a smear campaign. He would have announced to the entire world that the Pavilion was owned by a wanted fugitive who committed regicide, instantly justifying an all-out military strike to crush it.’
Lucius was simply targeting the Celestial Elixir Pavilion because it had repeatedly rejected his royal envoys, and because he suspected the Pavilion was backing his enemy. It was a ruthless political maneuver to force "Grandmaster Korryn" into submission.
Rhain slowly lifted his head.
His calm, penetrating gaze swept across everyone in the hall—the seven loyal Domain Masters, the Grandmaster Alchemists who had volunteered to help, the exhausted mercenaries, and even the haughty Lyra.
"I thank you all," Rhain’s dignified, middle-aged voice echoed with a mysterious magnetism that instantly commanded absolute respect. "I will always remember your willingness to stand firm with my Pavilion when the entire dynasty was arrayed against us. Your loyalty will not be forgotten, and you will all be heavily rewarded for it."
His voice suddenly dropped, turning as cold and merciless as a frozen blade.
"As for those thirteen Domain Masters who fled, and the partners who broke their deals with the Celestial Elixir Pavilion..." Rhain sneered, a terrifying, overlord-like pressure leaking from his form. "They will never have anything to do with us again. Even if they crawl back on their hands and knees and beg, they are permanently blacklisted."
The sheer dominance in his tone made the entire hall shiver.
"Now that I have returned," Rhain declared smoothly, waving his hand, "I will personally handle this situation. You do not have to worry about it anymore."
Vulcan’s eyes lit up with hope, but confusion quickly followed.
"Master," Vulcan asked hesitantly. "Do you have a way to solve this? The public opinion is completely poisoned."
Rhain stood up from his chair.
His dark grey eyes blazed with an unyielding arrogance.
"The entire base of this disaster rests upon a single statement from the only Alchemy Emperor of the dynasty," Rhain stated, his voice resonating through the grand hall like a descending thunderclap.
He looked at the stunned faces of his subordinates and the trembling elderly alchemists.
"Since he claims my pills are flawed... then I will simply challenge the Alchemy Emperor to a refinement duel, right before the eyes of the whole dynasty."