They said that in the eyes of the strong, there was no place for the weak.
That saying was very true.
But truth often meant cruel reality.
Whether it was Mandala, an Earth Supreme, or Lu Yuan, a Supreme, neither would pay attention to or care about the feelings of others. Naturally, neither would care about what others thought.
They had no need to explain anything to anyone else.
For instance, why the Great Luo Gold Pond had been sealed.
For instance, why they had disappeared for so many days.
Or what Lu Yuan and Mandala had been busy with.
Of all these matters, only those considered important, or those who absolutely needed to know the truth, knew a little. After all, there was ultimately a barrier between chess pieces and chess players.
Chess pieces did not need to know what chess players were thinking.
They only needed to follow orders.
Chess players did not need to know what chess pieces were thinking either.
It would interfere with their judgment.
Thus, after the contest for the Great Luo Gold Pond ended, while the three victors anxiously awaited notification from the Three Emperors or the Various Kings, the Three Emperors and Various Kings were also anxiously awaiting Mandala's notification. Meanwhile, Mandala was anxiously waiting for the pills Lu Yuan had promised her, while Lu Yuan himself was calmly refining pills.
Pill refinement was meticulous work.
People said that careful work produced fine results.
Of course, meticulous work was meticulous work; it had nothing to do with being slow. Being fast did not mean one could not do a good job, nor did being slow guarantee results.
What determined speed was technique.
If a Third-Rank Alchemist were asked to refine a Fourth-Rank Pill, even if he slowed every step to a turtle's