The Eternal Supreme

Chapter 116: Pseudo-Fourth-tier

Yunxiao smiled as he wiped the sweat off his forehead with a hand, and then held out the pill. “Master Yuan Hao is the judge, so I naturally have to let you have a look.”

The round medicinal pill rolled into Yuan Hao’s hand, and he placed both pills side by side and carefully studied them. Their size and color were almost the same, but there was one significant difference: there was a faint blue line on Sun Zhengzong’s pill while Yunxiao’s had two, one blue and one red.

After comparing them, Yuan Hao could not help but ask, “Master Yunxiao, why are there two lines on your pill? And what happened to that thunder tribulation? Normal thunder tribulation would not be so weak!”

Unknowing to himself, he had begun to address Yunxiao as ‘Master’, which sounded extremely unpleasant in Sun Zhengzong’s ear.

“Oh, I’ve no idea about that thunderbolt. If truth be told, this is the first time I have refined a third-tier medicinal pill.”

“What! First time!”

Everyone was shocked, their faces incredulous. Yuan Hao turned to look at Zhang Qingfan, and when he saw the latter nodd slightly to confirm that, he felt his head reel at such an incredible fact.

Sun Zhengzong felt that his heart was getting more and more overwhelmed by these blows. He did not want to suffer anymore, so he urged, “Master Yuan Hao, what is the result? Who is the winner?”

Yuan Hao carefully compared the pills once again, then pondered in silence. At last, he said, “Master Yunxiao is the winner!”””

“What!” Sun Zhengzong was taken aback, and he flew into a rage in the next instant. “How’s that even possible! Mine is a peak eight-spins pill, the strongest medicinal pill below the fourth-tier! Look carefully again, Master Yuan Hao! Even if his is a peak eight-spins pill as well, the match is a draw!”

All the alchemists present could feel that Yunxiao’s pill was not a fourth-tier pill and should be a peak third-tier pill.

In the face of Sun Zhengzong’s questioning, Yuan Hao was not angry, but patiently explained, “Yes, your Bodhi pill is a peak third-tier medicinal pill, but Master Yunxiao’s is a pseudo-fourth-tier medicinal pill. I presume you know how a pseudo-fourth-tier pill is produced?”

Sun Zhengzong paused for a moment before he screamed, “Impossible! A pseudo-fourth-tier medicinal pill is the result of a mistake during the refinement of a fourth-tier pill! It is not a fourth-tier pill, and only a fourth-tier alchemist can refine it! This boy is clearly just a third-tier alchemist!” His eyes burned with rage. “Master Yuan Hao, are you an accomplice of this boy?”

Yuan Hao’s face grew dark as he bellowed, “What nonsense are you talking about, Sun Zhengzong?”

“Hah,” Yunxiao chuckled, “I’ve told you, Master Yuan Hao, he will definitely refuse to admit defeat.”

After slightly calming down, Yuan Hao threw both storage rings to Yunxiao and said, “These are Master Yunxiao’s things and prizes.” Then, he fixed his eyes on Sun Zhengzong and said in a cold voice, “Honor your words, kneel and kowtow to Master Yunxiao!”

He had been polite to Sun Zhengzong, but he was like an erupting volcano now. All alchemists were proud and noble, and they could never suffer such slander, much less in front of hundreds of thousands of people!

Yuan Hao had thought of interceding for him with Yunxiao. After all, for a noble alchemist, kowtowing to someone was even worse than death. But now, he had given up that idea.

Sun Zhengzong had dug his own grave!

When he saw Yuan Hao throw his storage ring to Yunxiao, Sun Zhengzong screamed in pain. And when he heard the other ask him to kneel and kowtow, he began to shiver violently while his face turned extremely pale.

With all the courtiers on the platform and the eight hundred thousand soldiers beneath looking at him, how was he going to face the world for the rest of his life if he were to kneel and kowtow now?

“Drop to your knees now! Everyone is waiting!” Yuan Hao cried out coldly. “We’ve wasted so much time because of you. If you still don’t want to kneel, I’ll ask Su Xiang to help you.”

Sun Zhengzong turned pale and bit his lip, shivering all over. At that moment, Su Xiang lightly pointed out a finger. Two objects flew whistling across the air and hit Sun Zhengzong’s knees, causing blood to spray out of them.

The pain took the strength out of his legs, and he fell to his knees. Then, his head suddenly smashed to the ground, as though it was being pushed by a force.

With his fingers curled slightly like claws, Yunxiao was holding his head from across the void. “The first kowtow is for being arrogant in front of me!”

Thud!

A splash of blood spilled across the ground. Sun Zhengzong was pushed down on all four, and he was horrified to find that he could not break free from the invisible force in any way.

Even Su Xiang’s pupils were constricted, his heart filled with shock. ‘This young man’s cultivation of martial arts is not as simple as a three-stars Martial Master!’

“The second kowtow is for all the wealth you’ve robbed from the Li Family’s treasury!”

Thud!

The kowtow shook the platform. Sun Zhengzong had blood all over his face, but it was strange that he had not fainted yet.

“The third kowtow is for…”

“Yunxiao!”

Li Chunyang could not stand it anymore, and he could faintly sense the killing intent emanating from Yunxiao. The last kowtow would most probably kill Sun Zhengzong, so he quickly stopped it with a cry. “Spare him! Had it not been because of him, your Uncle Chen would have long died.”

Yunxiao hesitated, but when he thought that this guy would no longer be a threat to him in the future, he kicked him to a corner like a bag of rubbish. “Those who humiliate others will always be humiliated by others. For the sake of my grandfather, I’ll spare your life today. Behave yourself from now on!”

Sun Zhengzong curled up in the corner, unmoving like a puddle of mud, and his forehead was a mess with blood tricking down his face. But, the pain from his flesh was nothing compared to the pain in his heart. His spirits were gone, and he looked as if his soul was gone as well. After today, he would never be able to raise his head again.

Yuan Hao snorted coldly and said, “Master Yunxiao, you don’t have to waste your breath with a low guy like this. First he slandered you, then deliberately came out with a tricky topic, and finally refused to admit defeat when he had clearly lost the match. He is a disgrace to all alchemists!”

When a man was down, everyone would kick him; this was the way of the world. No one gave Sun Zhengzong another look, as if he were just a dog laying in the corner.

Yuan Hao took out a small box from his ring, then walked over and handed it to Yunxiao. “Today’s match has proven that Master Yunxiao does have the strength of a third-tier alchemist. Since I am in charge of assessment in the Firecrow Empire’s alchemist association, I’ll now award you the third-tier badge. Please accept it, Master Yunxiao!”

Inside the box lay a badge that was neither gold nor jade. Yunxiao put it away and said with a smile, “Thank you, Master Yuan Hao!”

Yuan Hao’s eyes flashed with a trace of joy as he said in awe, “You are the most gifted person I’ve ever seen in my life, Master Yunxiao, and I’m sure that you will have great achievements in the future. It is a great honor for me to be here today to present you with this badge of a third-tier alchemist.”

He spoke with great sincerity, because he firmly believed that Yunxiao’s future achievements would definitely reach a height they would need to look up to. And what he did today was somewhat of an attempt to establish a friendship between them.

Yunxiao laughed. “You are flattering me, Master Yuan Hao! By the way, I am not quite used to you calling me ‘Master’. You can just call me Young Master Yun.”

Wang Chen, too, could not help but walk up and speak, “Yun…Young Master Yun, although you are younger than me, I really wish I can stay in Tianshui and learn from you.”

Yunxiao studied him as he smiled and said, “So, you are Yang Di’s disciple? How is he now?”

Wang Chen paused, then a puzzled look appeared in his eyes. He had guessed that Yunxiao must be Jun Ruyun’s disciple. If that were true, then Yunxiao should be addressing Yang Di as Uncle-Master, and not his name. Moreover, his tone sounded like he was asking about an old friend. ‘Could he be a good friend of Master? But his age…’

His head was full of questions, so he just cupped his fist and said, “I am! My Master has already gone to the Sea of Soul Formation a few months ago.”

“Oh?” Yunxiao paused for a moment, then laughed happily. “So, he already has the confidence to break through to the seventh-tier?”

“Exactly! My Master was from Tianshui, and over the years, I’ve been wanting to pay a visit to his hometown. It is not until today my wish was fulfilled.” Wang Chen glanced around and suddenly said, “I heard that when my Master left Tianshui, he left behind a scroll of a painting, saying that if anyone could crack the meaning of the painting, that person could ask him to do anything. I wonder if this painting is still in Tianshui? I’ve always wanted to have a look at it and see if I have the luck to crack it.”

Yunxiao was a little surprised. “Oh, there is such a painting?”

“You don’t know about this?” Yuan Hao asked incredulously.

Yunxiao shook his head and glanced around. Meanwhile, Zhang Qingfan quickly said, “It is true, Master Yunxiao. The painting is being stored in the imperial palace even now, and it is a national treasure of Tianshui!”

“When did Yang Di learn to paint?” asked Yunxiao in surprise.

Zhang Qingfan smiled. “That painting is not Lord Yang Di’s work, but his Master, Lord Gu Feiyang’s. Lord Yang Di had said on the day he left that he used to be very slow in learning, and in a fit of anger, Lord Gu Feiyang had painted the scroll and thrown it at him. For decades after that, he tried very hard to understand the meaning of the painting, but he failed. So, he said that if anyone could crack the meaning, he would do anything within his ability for that person.”

Yunxiao tapped himself on the head as he frowned and thought deep and hard. ‘Did I paint that scroll? Why can’t I remember it?’

Qin Zheng, who had never said a word, suddenly said, “I actually carry this painting with me all the time. Whenever I’m free, I would take it out, hoping to find the meaning. But unfortunately…” He took out an old scroll from his ring and asked someone to unroll it.

Two eunuchs carefully unrolled the painting across the platform, and everyone immediately rested their eyes on it. As soon as Yunxiao saw it, he felt a moment of blankness, and then he burst into laughter. He laughed so hard that he almost got out of breath!