Dean Zhou's oppressive might, backed by his Divine Communion Realm Fifth Layer cultivation, filled Lin Taoshu, who had never excelled in Mystic Qi cultivation to begin with, with terror!
"Principal, sir, actually, this, this, I..."
Before he could get much more out, Zhou Wan'en cut him off sharply. "The facts are right before our eyes, and you still intend to argue your way out?"
"To think I once entrusted you with great responsibility as the 'chief master.' I truly misjudged you!"
"How could a scoundrel without a shred of teaching ethics like you deserve to teach in the Pill Hall?!"
With that, the lean old man casually beckoned-
With a ripping sound, several streaks of sharp Sword Qi shredded the "Pill Hall chief master" armband worn on Lin Shutao's arm, that symbol of supreme honor and exalted status!
Having done all this in the flash of a spark, Zhou Wan'en said impassively, "From today onward, you are no longer an instructor at Blood Dragon City Academy."
"Get out!"
Lin Taoshu froze.
He had long guessed that trouble would be inevitable once Dean Zhou caught him in the act.
But until that final moment came, Lin Taoshu had still clung to his illusions.
After all, his own alchemical skills were considerable;
And the Lin Lineage backing him carried considerable prestige that could not lightly be slighted!
Yet the result was...
Blood vessels instantly flooded Lin Taoshu's old eyes!
Thinking that things had already come to this, and could hardly end any worse;
The man surnamed Lin threw caution to the winds and roared like a madman, "Dean Zhou, you're being foolish!"
"Xia Nuoyi and Song Hechuan were both brought here by that little bastard Bu Wuchen specifically to deceive you!"
"Calm down and think carefully: how could a brat whose hair hasn't even grown in yet possibly be some 'master alchemist'?"
"This is Blood Dragon City, not the royal capital of Great Liang, where geniuses cluster and experts are everywhere!"
Lin Taoshu's eyes shifted as another piece of supporting evidence occurred to him. "Besides, you've looked into that scoundrel Bu Wuchen's background before, haven't you, Principal?"
"You even sighed over the strange phenomenon of this boy's continuously plummeting cultivation!"
"Tell me, if this little bastard really had the skills to be revered as a 'master alchemist,' how could he have kept shamefully repeating grades all the way down to the beginner class?"
"Wouldn't revealing his extraordinary alchemical talent and transferring into the Pill Hall have been the reasonable thing to do?"
Having finished, Lin Taoshu keenly caught a flicker of doubt in Dean Zhou's eyes.
He immediately perked up!
Thinking it over again, what he had just said had not all been spur-of-the-moment excuses.
Perhaps this was an act of revenge aimed at him?
Otherwise, why had Dean Zhou and Song Hechuan appeared at such a coincidental moment?
Once that thought arose, he could no longer shake it off!
Lin Taoshu abruptly turned toward Bu Wuchen and said, stressing each word, "Doesn't that man surnamed Song revere you as a 'master alchemist'? Then compete against me in an alchemy duel!"
"You don't have to beat me;"
"As long as you demonstrate strength befitting that so-called 'master alchemist' Song Hechuan spoke of, I'll accept whatever punishment I'm given!"
"But if you can't show any real ability..."
"With charges of maliciously deceiving the academy and framing its senior staff hanging over your head, expulsion would be getting off lightly!"
Lin Taoshu thought viciously, Once this little bastard loses the protection of his status as a Blood Dragon City Academy student, I'll personally hack him into eight pieces!
Hearing this, Bu Wuchen merely curled his lips in disdain. "Tch, right now, you're nothing but a beaten dog stripped of your 'Pill Hall master' status!"
"Bark all you like. I won't stoop to your level."
Lin Taoshu pressed aggressively. "Ha, your guilty conscience is showing! You're scared!"
"Dean Zhou, surely you believe I'm telling the truth now?"
Zhou Wan'en frowned, saying nothing for a moment.
Just then-
"Ding-dong! God-Level Choice System successfully triggered. Host, please choose from the following options." "Option one: refuse to compete against Lin Taoshu in an alchemy duel." "Reward for this option: one 'No, I won't, I absolutely won't' triple-combo T-shirt." "Option two: accept Lin Taoshu's alchemy duel challenge." "Reward for this option: one Crystal-Devouring Spirit-Transforming Token." [Crystal-Devouring Spirit-Transforming Token]: Depending on the user's cultivation realm, devours corresponding mystic crystals to greatly advance their cultivation while randomly awakening a type of mutated mystic power.
Bu Wuchen's eyes immediately lit up. Ha, I have to pick the second option!
The next moment, Bu Wuchen's languid voice suddenly rang in Lin Taoshu's ears. "Heh, I'd be afraid of a beaten dog like you?"
"What a joke!"
Lin Taoshu raised an eyebrow and continued his provocation. "Not afraid? Then come face me in an alchemy duel!"
Bu Wuchen clicked his tongue. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. I have to say, your attempts to goad me are truly pathetic..."
"But it doesn't matter."
"Since you're so determined to get thrashed, I don't mind granting that degrading request of yours!"
"But first, you'll have to offer a price tempting enough to make me act!"
The youth's face was full of a frivolous, teasing young wastrel's expression as he said, "An alchemy duel ought to determine a winner and loser!"
"If I lose, I'll accept what you said, whether that means expulsion from the academy or banishment from the city!"
"But if you lose..."
Bu Wuchen's lips curved, instantly giving him a wicked air-
"Besides paying me two hundred thousand gold for damage to my reputation, you'll kneel before me in front of all the academy's teachers and students, kowtow in apology, and call me grandmaster ten times."
"Well? Still dare to play?"
Lin Taoshu snorted coldly. "You think I can't see you're bluffing?"
"Come on, bring paper and a brush! We'll sign a blood pact for this wager right now. Whoever refuses is a fucking turtle bastard!"
Soon, the written agreement for the alchemy duel was signed, bearing both parties' bloody fingerprints.
Dean Zhou was also a decisive man and immediately ordered all the academy's teachers and students to assemble at the martial grounds to witness the most unusual wager duel since Blood Dragon City Academy's founding!
"Hurry, hurry! If we get there late, we'll be too far from the main arena at the martial grounds to see this unparalleled showdown clearly!"
"Oh, come on, what 'unparalleled showdown'? It's obviously going to be a one-sided thrashing!"
"Exactly. How could Bu Wuchen possibly beat the Pill Hall's 'chief master,' Lin Taoshu, at refining pills and making medicine?"
"Bu Wuchen? The same Bu Wuchen who defeated Lin Zhuxian in that wager duel at the martial grounds the day before yesterday?"
"That's right, him."
"Uh, if he were challenging Master Lin to a martial duel, surprised as I'd be, I'd still admire his courage in daring to challenge an academy instructor;"
"And judging by his earlier performance against Lin Zhuxian, he might even have a chance of winning!"
"Who would've thought... this guy was actually challenging Master Lin to an alchemy duel?"
"Has he gone mad?!"