Chapter 415 - 421: A Gathering from All Sides

As disciples of the Medicine King Sect, their arrival attracted a great deal of attention.

The Medicine King Sect’s rankings were always excellent, and the top prize almost always went to one of their own, so the disciples who came were extremely confident.

They reveled in the admiring gazes of the crowd.

After checking into their rooms, the group headed upstairs.

"This competition is ours to win. Afterward, the three of us will travel to the Central Domain together and see for ourselves just how legendary the Dan Sect is!"

"Of course! Look at those people. I bet they can’t even refine a Seventh-grade Elixir."

The few disciples from the Medicine King Sect conversed in low voices, their eyes filled with disdain as they looked at the disciples from other Sects in the main hall.

They were elite Pill Masters handpicked by the Medicine King Sect; these other disciples were no match for them.

Hearing this, Wu Qingfeng glanced down below and rebuked them in a cold voice, "Keep a low profile."

"If you get careless and let the championship slip away, you know the consequences!"

’A bit of pride is a good thing—it can motivate disciples to learn—but once it turns into arrogance, it becomes a disaster.’

’If the Medicine King Sect were to suffer a humiliating defeat in Alchemy...’

Wu Qingfeng shook the thought away. The Medicine King Sect might be lacking in other areas, but their Alchemy was absolutely first-rate.

"Yes, we understand!"

The three of them immediately shut their mouths, not daring to utter another word.

However, the disdain in their eyes remained.

Just as they were about to enter their rooms, a sudden loud explosion startled everyone in the entire inn.

"This—"

"Did someone’s cauldron just explode?"

Hearing the noise, everyone’s eyes flashed with astonishment. After all, the guests at this inn were all outstanding Pill Masters from various sects. How could someone make such a low-level mistake like a cauldron explosion?

Everyone’s gazes involuntarily turned toward a certain room on the fifth floor, a hint of mockery showing in their eyes.

Fourth Elder, Lu, and Wu Feng were also startled by the sudden noise. They were closest to Song Wanning’s room, so the impact was even greater for them.

The group hurried out of their rooms but saw the adjacent door was tightly shut with no sign of anything unusual, and they breathed a small sigh of relief.

’Song Wanning must have been challenging herself by refining a higher-grade elixir, which led to the cauldron explosion, right?’

They exchanged glances, each understanding what must have happened, and finally relaxed.

Just as they were about to return to their rooms, they heard someone mock them. "Mei Dao You, I never thought your Ancient Cold Sect had fallen so far. You can’t even find three Pill Masters who won’t blow up their cauldrons?"

The speaker was checking in on the first floor. The group looked down and immediately recognized him as Gu Yan, an elder from the Eastern Domain’s Qingyun Sect.

With him were Xiao Heyun, Xie Qinglan, and two other Pill Masters.

"And who might this be? Ah, if it isn’t Mr. Gu from the Qingyun Sect."

Fourth Elder’s eyebrow twitched, her gaze turning cold as she looked at Gu Yan.

"I heard your Qingyun Sect can barely feed its own disciples, forcing them to run off to my Southern Domain’s Secret Realms. If I were you, I’d be worried sick. How could you possibly be in the mood to attend the Alchemy Dao competition?"

Her words dripped with thick sarcasm, causing Gu Yan’s expression to change instantly.

Xiao Heyun’s heart also sank. His face turned frosty as he stared at the Fourth Elder, killing intent radiating from him.

As soon as she spoke, the Southern Domain sects in the inn all stepped forward to show their support.

When did it become the Eastern Domain’s turn to steal things from the Southern Domain?

This was simply going too far!

"Mr. Gu, the Qingyun Sect is supposed to be one of the five major sects of the Eastern Domain. Have you really fallen so low?"

"TSK... How tragic. Maybe the Qingyun Sect will be kicked out of the five major sects one of these days. After all, if their True Disciples can’t even survive, wouldn’t their ordinary disciples just starve to death?"

"Alas, Mr. Gu, for the sake of our many years of acquaintance, why don’t you let those few disciples of yours join us instead? We can afford to raise them!"

"That’s right. Although we’re just a small sect in the Southern Domain, we can still afford to raise a few True Disciples..."

The elders from several sects chimed in one after another, their words ganging up on Gu Yan until his face turned black with rage and his fists clenched, knuckles cracking.

Rage burned in his heart, but he couldn’t find the words to refute them. Xiao Heyun had been caught red-handed by an elder from the Canglan Sect, who was still hunting him down everywhere.

However, now that they were inside Wuyang City, no one would dare make a move on Xiao Heyun, at least not before the Alchemy Dao competition was over.

Gu Yan shot a dark look at Xiao Heyun. He was counting on him to win the championship in this Alchemy Dao competition; he had to protect him.

"Our Qingyun Sect is doing just fine! We don’t need others worrying about us!"

He could only change the subject, turning his aim toward the Medicine King Sect.

"The Medicine King Sect must have come well-prepared this time. Mr. Wu, are you confident you can take all top three spots?"

’This time, the Medicine King Sect is just asking for a slap in the face!’

’Xiao Heyun’s talent for Alchemy is unparalleled in this world. Even the disciples of the Medicine King Sect can’t compare.’

"Haha, thank you for your concern, Mr. Gu. With so many outstanding Pill Masters from all the sects gathered here, our Medicine King Sect still has much to learn from everyone."

Wu Qingfeng was no fool. He wasn’t about to let the Medicine King Sect become the center of attention. His mouth was full of self-deprecating words that made Gu Yan’s teeth ache.

But fortunately, this diversion temporarily moved the conversation away from Xiao Heyun’s matter.

Everyone was weary from their travels. After some simple pleasantries, they all returned to their own rooms to rest.

Meanwhile, Song Wanning, the cause of all the commotion, was still in her room, reflecting on a pile of ruined elixir dregs.

Just now, she had tried to combine several techniques, but she wasn’t sure where she had miscalculated, causing the final batch of Elixir Pills to explode into ashes.

She felt a pang of regret for the high-quality medicinal ingredients and began carefully analyzing what went wrong.

Just then, an unwelcome voice suddenly rang out.

’Dammit, these Southern Domain Cultivators should all drop dead! They almost made me lose face in front of Junior Sister Xie!’

’If my favorability with her drops again, I’ll have to kill them!’

’System, I must take first place in this Alchemy Dao competition!’

’I wonder if that bitch Song Wanning is here. This time, I’m definitely going to kill her!’

Another familiar string of curses followed, and Song Wanning furrowed her brow.

’Xiao Heyun really did come, after all.’

’The Canglan Sect couldn’t do anything to him, just like the Medicine King Sect can’t do anything to me.’

’After all, being a Child of Fortune is no joke.’

’As long as they don’t run into me, these invaders can get whatever they want.’

’However...’

’Xie Qinglan came with him?’

A malicious glint flashed in Song Wanning’s eyes.

’Then I’ll just have to make Xie Qinglan’s favorability toward Xiao Heyun drop even more!’

’The lower it drops, the better. It would be best if he gets punished again!’

Pushing the voice from her ears, Song Wanning went back to studying her alchemy methods, putting everything else out of her mind.

In the days that followed, the entirety of Wuyang City was flooded with countless new arrivals.

The vast city was packed to the brim.