Chapter 327: Korryn VS Marcellis - II

Chapter 327: Chapter 327: Korryn VS Marcellis - II

Chapter 327: Korryn VS Marcellis - II

"Half an hour?"

Marcellis stared at the dignified, middle-aged man standing before him, entirely convinced he had misheard.

Then, he threw his head back and burst into a harsh, mocking laugh that reverberated across the serene mountain peak.

"Half an hour to learn an Emperor-Grade pill formula?" Marcellis sneered, "You ignorant fool! An Emperor-Grade formula is not some beginner’s recipe for brewing a cold remedy! To master a completely new Emperor-Grade formula, an alchemist needs to meticulously practice and comprehend the elemental clashes for decades! Even the most unparalleled genius would need months just to memorize the essence circulation routes!"

Behind him, the revered Grandmaster Alchemists of the Royal Court murmured in agreement, openly laughing at the sheer absurdity of the claim.

"Did you hear him? He thinks he can comprehend an Emperor-Grade pill in thirty minutes that took Lord Marcellis years to fully comprehend? What a fraud!"

"This is intolerable! He is making a mockery of our sacred path of Alchemy!"

"Now I know why he dared to challenge Lord Marcellis. He is a complete madman."

"He must realize he has already dug his own grave. This is nothing but a pathetic delay tactic to squeeze out a few more minutes of life!"

Down in the capital, and across the millions of projection arrays in the dynasty, the crowd erupted into a chaotic frenzy.

Even Vulcan and others behind Rhain exchanged deeply worried glances.

They didn’t know what their Master was planning to do.

To learn an Emperor-Grade pill in thirty minutes? It sounded like utter madness.

Marcellis raised his hand, haughtily silencing his subordinates.

He looked at Rhain with an expression of unassailable arrogance. With a flick of his wrist, a glowing ancient scroll materialized in his palm and sailed through the air, stopping perfectly in front of Rhain.

"Very well!" Marcellis sneered, crossing his arms over his chest. "I am a generous man. I will give you your half hour! Let me, and the entire Solathane Dynasty watch you decipher an Emperor grade art within half an hour."

Rhain caught the ancient scroll.

His expression remained perfectly placid. He didn’t bother to react to the mocking sneers raining down upon him.

His eyes scanned the contents of the ancient and mysterious Emperor Grade Pill formula.

His Eyes of Truth rapidly dissected the profoundly complex essence circulation routes, elemental clashes, and temperature thresholds recorded within.

The entire mountain peak fell silent.

Hundreds of millions of people across the dynasty held their breath, watching the unmoving figure of Grandmaster Korryn.

One minute passed.

Five minutes.

Then, exactly ten minutes later...

Swoosh—!

Rhain casually tossed the glowing ancient scroll back across the arena.

Marcellis caught it instinctively, his white eyebrows knitting together in a deep frown.

"I am done," Rhain stated calmly.

The entire Cloud’s Apex, and the millions watching through the projection arrays, were struck entirely dumb.

Ten minutes?

He didn’t even use the full half hour he requested!

"He tossed it back?" a rogue cultivator in a faraway tavern shouted in disbelief, "Ten minutes isn’t even enough time to read the introduction of an Epic-Grade formula, let alone an Emperor-Grade one!"

"He’s just bluffing to save face! He has to be! He realized he couldn’t comprehend it and just gave up!"

The crowd’s murmurs swelled into a deafening uproar of disbelief and scorn.

To them, it was glaringly obvious.

The so-called Grandmaster was just pretending.

Perhaps, the rumours of demonic corruption in the pills were true, and this is so called Grandmaster Korryn was just a clown.

Marcellis simply let out a cold, disdainful snort, entirely convinced that his opponent had already surrendered internally.

He let out a cold, condescending snort. "A pathetic attempt to maintain your dignity before your execution. But it matters not."

Marcellis waved his hand authoritatively toward the Royal Court attendants standing nearby.

"Go and gather the herbs! Two identical batches!" Marcellis commanded loudly, ensuring his voice reached the entire dynasty. "Ane freshly harvested!"

This was the exact reason Cloud’s Apex had been chosen for this monumental duel.

The mountain was not just a scenic paradise; its impossibly dense spiritual essence nurtured some of the most exceptionally rare Mystic and Emperor-Grade herbs in the entire dynasty.

The attendants bowed respectfully and hastily scoured the designated gardens of the mountain peak.

Less than a quarter of an hour later, they returned.

Two golden platters were brought forward, each laden with identical sets of fresh, radiantly glowing Emperor-Grade and Mystic-Grade herbs. The profound medicinal fragrance instantly flooded the entire area.

Marcellis gestured graciously toward the two platters, putting on an impeccable display of royal impartiality.

"I wouldn’t want you to cry later, claiming that the Royal Court handed you defective ingredients," Marcellis sneered, "Choose your batch first, Grandmaster Korryn."

Rhain didn’t decline.

He stepped forward, his dark grey eyes sweeping over the two platters.

A faint golden light ignited deep within his pupils.

His gaze instantly pierced through the cellular structure of every single herb on both trays.

There were no hidden traps, no subtly poisoned roots, and no tampered veins. The Royal Court was far too arrogant to cheat in front of the entire dynasty; they genuinely believed they could crush him with pure skill.

Rhain simply extended a finger, casually pointing to the tray on the left without a second thought.

"I will take that one."

With the materials decided, the atmosphere on the mountain peak underwent a clear shift.

"Clear the arena!" Emperor Haldrion’s voice echoed with the boundless pressure of a Half-Step Monarch.

At the Emperor’s command, the Imperial Patriarchs, the Princes, and the Royal Grandmasters immediately retreated, moving to the very edge of the severed mountain peak.

The vast, multi-colored circular floor was left entirely empty, left for the two men standing at its center.

Rhain and Marcellis walked toward their respective sides of the golden ring.

Without a word, they both sat cross-legged on the polished stone floor.

The duel had officially begun.

Marcellis was the first to move.

With a grand, sweeping gesture of his hand, a blinding flash of golden light illuminated the mountain.

THUD!

A massive golden cauldron crashed onto the arena floor.

It was intricately carved with soaring dragons, and the moment it appeared, it radiated an overwhelmingly oppressive aura that forced the surrounding clouds to scatter.

"The Dragon-Vein Golden Furnace!"

"A False Emperor-Grade Cauldron! The greatest alchemical artifact in the Royal Treasury!"

The crowd gasped in awe.

For any alchemist, just laying eyes on a False Emperor-Grade cauldron was the dream of a lifetime.

Marcellis stroked his white beard, a satisfied smile gracing his ancient features.

He turned his condescending gaze toward the middle-aged man sitting opposite him, waiting to see what pathetic, battered furnace the ’wandering alchemist’ would pull out.

Rhain didn’t even look at the golden cauldron.

A flash of spatial light momentarily blinded the arena.

THUD—!!!

The sound was so heavy that the entire mountain peak of Cloud’s Apex seemed to tremble once.

A cauldron forged from mesmerizing, starlight-infused purple metal crashed onto the stone floor before Rhain.

The moment it appeared, an ancient, suppressing aura of supremacy exploded outward.

It was so overwhelmingly tyrannical that the majestic aura of Marcellis’s False Emperor-Grade cauldron was instantly crushed, its golden light dimming like a candle placed before the sun.

Every single Domain Master, Imperial Patriarch, and Royal Alchemist on the mountain stopped breathing.

Emperor Haldrion’s unfathomable eyes also widened slightly.

"T-That..." one of the Royal Grandmasters stammered, his entire body shivering uncontrollably as he pointed a shaking finger at the purple furnace. "That is not a False Emperor-Grade..."

"A TRUE EMPEROR-GRADE CAULDRON!"