"Hehe, if Bu Wuchen loses this time, he might even lose his life!"
"Huh? Surely it won't go that far?"
"Why wouldn't it?"
"You arrived a little late and missed it."
"When the dean publicly displayed their pill duel contract earlier, I saw it perfectly clearly."
"If Bu Wuchen loses, he willingly agrees to have both legs broken and be expelled from the academy!"
"Think about it. With the grudge he already has with the Lin Lineage, once his legs are broken and he loses the protection of his student status, how good could his end possibly be?"
At that moment, the spectators packed in rings around the martial training grounds almost all believed Bu Wuchen was certain to lose!
When roughly one-fifth of the allotted time for this pill competition had passed,
Lin Taoshu, who had been sitting cross-legged, abruptly rose.
His two hands, brimming with mystic force, swept toward the cauldron like a pair of palm-leaf fans-
"Whoosh, hiss..."
As the pill fire beneath the cauldron abruptly went out, wisps of medicinal fragrance were already wafting from within.
"Th-this is the fragrance of Qi Recovery Pills!"
"Master Lin has finished his pills already?"
"He truly deserves to be our academy Pill Hall's 'chief master.' Just a casual move, and he's instantly crushed certain people who don't know how high heaven is or how deep the earth is into dregs!"
At that point, Zhou Wan'en personally stepped forward to inspect the pills.
To prevent any possible underhanded manipulation, the upright dean placed the mystic pills on an open tray, where everyone present could see and touch them.
A moment later, the dean reached his conclusion. "Lin Taoshu has produced seven pills in a single batch, all mortal rank middle grade Qi Recovery Pills of excellent quality!"
At these words, some could not help feeling slightly disappointed-
"Only mortal rank middle grade mystic pills?"
"According to the rumors, hasn't the Pill Hall's chief master's pill-refining cultivation reached the mortal realm ninth layer?"
Others immediately called them ignorant-
"What the hell do you know?"
"Do you think mortal rank upper grade mystic pills are that easy to refine?"
"Exactly! Master Lin produced seven mortal rank middle grade Qi Recovery Pills in a single batch in such a short time, every last one of excellent quality. That's already outrageously impressive, all right?"
"Heh, Bu Wuchen actually dared challenge our master. He's really walking into a latrine with a lit candle-looking for shit, and death!"
On this side, Lin Taoshu had already refined a batch of mystic pills;
over there, Bu Wuchen still looked utterly bored and had not even lit his furnace!
The contrast made Lin Taoshu all the more smug. "Hmph, I saw through you long ago, you swindling piece of trash!"
"How laughable that fellow Song actually considers you a 'master of the pill Dao'!"
"Hehehehe, it's absolutely hilarious!"
Hearing his unbridled mockery, Bu Wuchen merely lifted his eyelids slightly and said nonchalantly, "Can't you tell? I was afraid you'd lose too miserably, so I'm deliberately going easy on you."
"No need to thank me. I'm just the sort who does good deeds without leaving his name."
"Ah, this kindness of mine, with nowhere to go~"
"Pfft!"
Below the platform, many instructors sputtered.
They did not know whether to laugh or cry. "This fellow really has a thick hide, doesn't he?"
In truth, Bu Wuchen had suddenly decided to "go easy" on his opponent because he had received a system notification the instant the pill duel began-
"Ding-dong! God-Level Choice System successfully triggered. Host, please choose from the following options." "Option one: defeat your opponent with all your strength from the outset." "Reward for this option: one jar of 'The Thrill of Crushing Domination' brand chili sauce." "Option two: give your opponent a head start of one-third of the competition time before making your move." "Reward for this option: a pill-refining specialty every pill master yearns for-the Pill Fire Cauldron Rinsing Technique."
Only then had Bu Wuchen chosen to wait a while, dressing it up as going easy on his opponent.
At that moment, on the platform.
After hearing Bu Wuchen's words, the corners of Lin Taoshu's eyes twitched violently. "You? Going easy on me?"
"Aren't you afraid you'll sprain your tongue, talking so big!"
"A useless wretch who still hasn't refined even a single middle grade Qi Recovery Pill has nothing left but a glib tongue."
Bu Wuchen curled his lips disdainfully. "Mortal rank middle grade Qi Recovery Pills?"
"Just look at those paltry ambitions of yours!"
"If I don't refine, so be it. If I do, I'll refine upper grade ones."
"When I actually get started, don't wet yourself in fright!"
Lin Taoshu snorted. "Hmph, such shameless boasting!"
He could not be bothered to argue with Bu Wuchen any further and began preparing another round of pill refining on his own.
Before long, Bu Wuchen stretched his arms and legs and loosened his neck.
Then, whistling nonchalantly, he began tossing ingredients into the cauldron before him.
As Li Quhe watched, his expression changed. "Hmm?"
"Qi-drinking fig, spirit-sinking hanging-leaf bamboo, and the mystic crystal of an initial-tier upper grade mystic beast, a Ben Chrysanthemum Tiger..."
"Everything that boy is putting into his medicinal cauldron now is an ingredient for refining upper grade Qi Recovery Pills."
"Looking at how calm and composed he is now, could he really have been going easy on Old Lin earlier?"
Beside him, Sun Jinwang shook his head with a derisive laugh. "Hehe, I say, Old Li, aren't you a little too gullible, believing something like that?"
"Yes, the ingredients that boy is putting into his cauldron are indeed all used to refine upper grade Qi Recovery Pills."
"But don't forget, Old Lin already went through those very same motions before him!"
"He's clearly just copying Old Lin's opening pill-refining steps~"
"When it comes time to actually light the fire and refine the pills, whether that boy is a mule or a horse will be impossible to hide."
Quite a few people present shared Sun Jinwang's thoughts.
A chorus of boos immediately rose around the martial training grounds!
Dean Zhou Wan'en's face grew so dark that ink could have been squeezed from it!
However, this situation lasted only a very short time before everyone shut their mouths, with remarkably little coordination.
They had discovered that the previously indolent youth seemed to have truly begun refining pills in earnest.
Although the youth kept his chin propped on his left hand throughout, using only his right to control the fire and melt the ingredients,
under his control, the blazing pill fire gathered and scattered, flared and subsided, with remarkable ease and grace!
Under Bu Wuchen's exquisitely refined fire control, the ingredients in the medicinal cauldron rapidly melted and fused at a speed visible to the naked eye...
"His fire control is truly unlike anything I've ever seen!"
Sun Jinwang, who had just been scorning Bu Wuchen for "copying Lin Taoshu's opening pill-refining steps," nearly had his eyes pop out in shock.
His earlier suspicions, judging a gentleman's heart by a petty man's measure, crumbled outright before the facts!
Yet he remained puzzled. "If we're speaking purely of fire control, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call the skill Bu Wuchen has displayed unrivaled in Blood Dragon City."
"But judging by all those ingredients he put into the Pill Cauldron at once, this fellow seems to have turned back into that bluffing 'charlatan' again..."