After Luo Xiong left, Lin Chen collapsed weakly onto the ground, his face etched with terror.
If word of this reaches the Chief Hall Master of Yan Province, he might not die, but he’ll certainly be skinned alive!
Suddenly, he turned to Feng Cheng and Elder Mo, his eyes pleading. "Elder Feng, Elder Mo, you must help me."
"This matter isn’t easy to help with!" one of them said, his expression grim.
"The one who tied the bell must be the one to untie it. You should go find Jian Haotian yourself," the other added.
Neither of them looked pleased.
Fatty sidled up, chuckling. "Master Lin Chen, who’s the winner now?"
The surrounding disciples all rolled their eyes.
Is that even a question? Of course, it’s Jian Haotian. If someone who can concoct a Top Grade elixir could lose, then there must be some foul play involved.
Fatty continued, "Master Lin Chen, the bet between Brother Jian and Cheng Yi was agreed upon by you personally, wasn’t it?"
"What are you trying to say?" Lin Chen glared at him.
"What Master Fatty wants to say is that Brother Jian had a prior agreement with Cheng Yi. Brother Jian won, and he killed Cheng Yi. You have no say in it.
"Yet you seized on this opportunity to stir up trouble. Don’t you feel hypocritical?
"Do you understand what the Hall Master meant with his earlier remark?
"He was saying that when you smile, you look like you’re asking for a beating.
"No, actually, you naturally look like you’re asking for a beating, whether you smile or not.
"When you have some free time, you should consider getting plastic surgery to avoid being ganged up on and beaten in the future."
Fatty kept snickering, his face full of disdain.
"You..." Lin Chen’s eyes flashed with a cold light.
But suddenly, he looked Fatty up and down, an idea forming in his mind. He got up, grabbed Fatty, and started walking toward the hall exit, saying, "Come outside with me for a moment."
"What are you trying to do?" Fatty yelled anxiously. "Bully someone smaller than you? Use your strength to oppress the weak? Let me tell you, in broad daylight, with everyone watching, Master Fatty isn’t afraid of you!"
"It’s a good thing," Lin Chen whispered.
"A good thing?" Fatty paused, his heart instantly blooming with joy.
Qin Feiyang sat alone in a pavilion.
He just couldn’t understand. Where could he possibly have offended this Lin Chen, for Lin Chen to go out of his way to make things so difficult for him?
"Brother Jian, so you’re here."
Soon, Fatty ran over, smirking. "You finally slaughtered Cheng Yi. You must feel great now!"
"Indeed, quite satisfying," Qin Feiyang nodded, then asked, "Did the Hall Master say anything about holding me accountable?"
"No. You’re now the Hall Master’s favorite; how could he possibly hold you accountable over a dead man? But that Lin Chen is sure in for it; the Hall Master put all the blame on him. You didn’t see how furious the Hall Master was just now. If it hadn’t been for the two Elders holding him back, Lin Chen would’ve been visiting Yama by now," Fatty said.
Qin Feiyang smiled faintly. He hadn’t left the Elixir Fire Palace when Luo Xiong had his outburst, so he had heard it too.
Fatty leaned in closer to Qin Feiyang, asking slyly, "Brother Jian, are you really not planning on going to the Elixir King Palace?"
"Correct," Qin Feiyang nodded. "Now I want to go to the Martial King Palace. With my current strength, it shouldn’t be a problem, right?"
"What? Going to the Martial King Palace?!" Fatty exclaimed, suddenly unable to sit still.
"Brother Jian, to be honest, it was Lin Chen who asked me to convince you. He said that as long as I could persuade you to change your mind, he’d also let me go to the Elixir King Palace.
"Brother Jian, once a boss, always a boss! You can’t abandon your little brother! I’m not like you; neither my martial arts talent nor my alchemy talent is as good as others. There’s no hope for me to enter the Elixir King Palace in this lifetime.
"This is such a great opportunity! Boss, you have to help me!"
Fatty clung to Qin Feiyang’s arm, whining and wheedling, smearing snot and tears all over Qin Feiyang’s sleeve.
"Get away from me now!" Qin Feiyang’s face turned pitch-black as he quickly pushed Fatty away.
This scene is too suggestive! If anyone saw this, they’d definitely misunderstand and think I have a preference for men!
"Promise me, and then I’ll let go," Fatty said.
"Fine, I promise," Qin Feiyang nodded helplessly.
"Thank you, Boss!" Fatty exclaimed, overjoyed, his voice cloyingly sweet.
"Scram!" Qin Feiyang roared, kicking Fatty away. He then quickly stood up, removed his soiled outer robe with a look of disgust, took out a brand-new linen garment, and swiftly put it on.
"You hit so hard! Don’t you have a conscience?" Fatty rubbed his chest as he walked back toward Qin Feiyang, looking at him resentfully.
"You disgusting fatty! You’re utterly revolting! I’m breaking off all ties with you!" Goosebumps erupted all over Qin Feiyang’s skin, and he quickly tried to get away.
"Break off ties?" Fatty chuckled, rapidly catching up. "No way! Master Fatty has decided to cling to you for life, so you’d better take responsibility, you hear!"
Qin Feiyang felt a wave of helplessness.
The saying ’shamelessness knows no bounds’ must have been coined for people like him.
Fatty, with a lecherous grin, ran up beside Qin Feiyang. "Boss, when are you planning to meet your fiancée?"
"Fiancée?" Qin Feiyang was stunned.
"Huh?" Fatty paused, equally stunned. "You don’t know? Your fiancée is also here in Black Bear City."
"Wait, what do you mean? When did I get a fiancée?" Qin Feiyang frowned.
"It’s Old Feng’s granddaughter!" Fatty said.
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"Uh!" Qin Feiyang was taken aback and shook his head. "She’s not my fiancée; that was just a joke."
Fatty scoffed, "Keep up your act. This news has already spread throughout Black Bear City; everyone knows! I’m done talking to you. Master Fatty is heading to the Elixir Fire Palace first. Even though Lin Chen is going to pull some strings for me, I still need to keep up appearances. We’ll talk later when we have time."
"When you get back, don’t say I’ve already agreed. Just tell him I’m still considering it," Qin Feiyang said.
"I get it." Fatty chuckled and dashed off towards the Elixir Fire Palace.
"Fiancée..." Qin Feiyang shook his head and smiled bitterly.
It seems this joke has gone too far.
Composing himself, he changed direction and headed towards Luo Xiong’s private courtyard.
Inside, Luo Xiong was muttering to himself, "Bastard! This is infuriating!" He sat alone on a stone bench, his face livid with anger.
A short while later, Qin Feiyang arrived at the gate. He cupped his fists and said, "Hall Master, this disciple requests an audience regarding a matter."
"Hmm?" Luo Xiong paused, then said hurriedly, "Quick, come in."
Qin Feiyang pushed open the door, entered, and walked to Luo Xiong’s side. Lowering his head, he said, "Hall Master, this disciple was wrong earlier. I shouldn’t have killed Cheng Yi. Please punish me, Hall Master."
Luo Xiong was silent for a moment, then looked up and smiled. "Let’s just let this matter pass. However, you absolutely must go to the Elixir King Palace."
"This..." Qin Feiyang hesitated, looking undecided.
Luo Xiong asked, "Are you worried that Lin Chen will retaliate against you?"
Qin Feiyang nodded.
"Sigh!" Luo Xiong said. "To be honest, I’m worried too. With your alchemy talent, you’ll definitely attract a lot of attention once you enter the Elixir King Palace. The problem is, as they say, ’an open spear is easy to dodge, but a hidden arrow is hard to guard against.’
"After all, this Lin Chen isn’t just a Core Disciple of the Elixir King Palace; he’s also from the Lin family of Yan City."
"The Lin family of Yan City!" A cold light flashed deep in Qin Feiyang’s eyes.
Luo Xiong, thinking Qin Feiyang was afraid, offered some comfort. "Don’t be so nervous. Before you go to the Elixir King Palace, I’ll use an Image Crystal Stone to explain this matter to the Chief Hall Master of Yan Province."
"This disciple will consider it further," Qin Feiyang said.
Luo Xiong frowned, then nodded. "Alright then, think it over carefully. By the way, what did you come to see me about?"
"This disciple wanted to ask if the Elixir Palace has the Elixir Formula for the Vermilion Glazed Pill," Qin Feiyang replied.
"The Vermilion Glazed Pill!" Luo Xiong’s gaze flickered. "Could it be that you’ve found a Red Fire Glazed Tree?"
"No," Qin Feiyang shook his head.
"Then what do you want the Elixir Formula for?" Luo Xiong asked, puzzled.
"Purely out of curiosity," Qin Feiyang said impassively.
"The Elixir Formula..." Luo Xiong pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "The preciousness of the Vermilion Glazed Pill is known to all, so only the Elixir King Palace possesses its Elixir Formula."
"Since that’s the case, then this disciple won’t disturb you any further." Qin Feiyang cupped his fists, turned, and left the private courtyard.
He was sure the Elixir Palace definitely had the Elixir Formula. He also understood Luo Xiong’s intentions—it was nothing more than wanting him to go to the Elixir King Palace. Therefore, pestering him further would be pointless.
Arriving at a secluded corner, he entered the ancient fortress and began to practice writing the fifth stroke of the Counter Curse Manual.
「Evening!」
The examination at the Elixir Fire Palace had finally concluded.
The remaining two spots were claimed by Lu Hong and Fatty. This result left the other disciples quite surprised.
It wasn’t strange for Lu Hong to win a spot, given his Grade 5 spiritual power and impressive alchemy talent. But Fatty’s talent was clearly lacking, and he usually didn’t put in much effort. How on earth did he win?
However, Lin Chen had personally announced the results, with Feng Cheng and Elder Mo supervising, so no one dared to question it.
Perhaps this Fatty, like Jian Haotian, was also just pretending to be weak to prey on the strong.
With the examination concluded, the disciples dispersed. News of Qin Feiyang concocting a Top Grade elixir also began to spread like wildfire throughout Black Bear City.
"So, the Top Grade elixir was concocted by Jian Haotian!"
"No wonder Luo Xiong was so desperate to have him join the Elixir Palace, even resorting to any means necessary back then!"
The entire city was in an uproar! The major powers of the city were also utterly shocked.
「City Lord’s Mansion!」
"What?!" the City Lord exclaimed, shooting to his feet in disbelief upon hearing his guard’s report. "That Top Grade elixir was actually concocted by that little bastard!"
"This information was spread by disciples from the Elixir Palace. It’s definitely true," a guard knelt on the ground, reporting respectfully.
The City Lord’s fists clenched tightly, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
BANG!
Just then, the door was flung open, and two middle-aged men rushed in. They were the Family Heads of the Jiang and Mu families!
"City Lord, you’ve heard the news, haven’t you?" one of them asked as they hurried over to him.
"What should we do now?" the other added, his voice tinged with panic.
They knew very well the value of an Alchemist capable of concocting Top Grade elixirs. Such a person could only be flattered, never offended! Yet, they had already offended him. Now, they had to quickly find a way to resolve this problem!
"This boy cannot be allowed to live, or he will become an endless source of trouble!" the City Lord declared without hesitation.
The Mu Family’s head said, "I also desperately want to kill him, because my two sons were almost certainly murdered by him. But he’s in the Elixir Palace now; we have no opportunity to strike!"
The Jiang Family’s head frowned. "Mu Fei and Mu Yang weren’t necessarily killed by Jian Haotian. Why don’t we go and offer him a formal apology with gifts? Perhaps we can still salvage the situation."
"Impossible!" the City Lord and the Mu Family’s head exclaimed simultaneously.
The Jiang Family’s head asked, "Then tell me, what method do you have to eliminate him?"
"There will always be a way." A cold light flashed in the City Lord’s eyes. He turned to a nearby guard and ordered, "Take some men and monitor the Elixir Palace immediately. The moment Jian Haotian leaves, report back at once."
"Yes, sir!" The guard nodded and quickly ran out.
The City Lord then looked at the two Family Heads and said reassuringly, "Don’t be anxious. Even if we don’t have an opportunity now, we can always strike while they are on their way to Yan City."
The Mu Family’s head nodded thoughtfully. "In that case, we’ll return and await your news."
"Mm," the City Lord nodded.
The two Family Heads turned and departed.

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