The moment "Pill Fire Cauldron Scouring" appeared, Lin Taoshu's heart had already leaped into his throat.
After all, as time passed, Lin Taoshu had gradually realized-
That youth who had spent so long fooling around at the start of the pill duel really did have a few tricks up his sleeve once he got to work!
If he really refined a Mortal Rank Upper Grade Qi Recovery Pill, Lin Taoshu might very well lose!
After all, the pill he had refined earlier as his "fallback" was only Mortal Rank Middle Grade...
Just as Lin Taoshu's nerves were stretched taut, he heard Dean Zhou announce that Bu Wuchen had not only refined Mortal Rank Upper Grade Qi Recovery Pills;
He had even refined seven of them in one go!
His emotions surging, Lin Taoshu's hand trembled, and the flames abruptly soared, causing the subsequent cauldron explosion.
To think that a distinguished chief master like him would end up like this before everyone's eyes.
Humiliating!
Utterly humiliating...
Boundless shame and anger flushed the old fellow's face red, and he instinctively refused to admit defeat.
Thus, Lin Taoshu kept shaking his head. "No, impossible! This is absolutely impossible!"
"There must be some mistake!"
At those words, Dean Zhou's face darkened, and he snorted coldly. "Hmph, impossible? A mistake?"
"It seems you're questioning this old man!"
Only then did Lin Taoshu come to his senses.
In truth, he had merely spoken recklessly in his shock and anger.
Once he calmed down a little, the wafts of pill fragrance drifting into his nose alone were enough to convince Lin Taoshu that the youth had indeed refined Mortal Rank Upper Grade Qi Recovery Pills!
Lin Taoshu had just been about to say something when Zhou Wan'en's next words shut him down completely-
"Since you don't trust me as the judge..."
"Very well. I hereby announce that anyone may come forward and take a look."
"Let this fellow surnamed Lin see that his dean's eyes haven't grown dim with age yet!"
The instant Zhou Wan'en finished speaking, two figures rushed forward impatiently.
They were the academy Pill Hall's other two masters!
When it came to their obsession with the Dao of Alchemy, these two old fellows were no less devoted than Dean Zhou.
Especially after witnessing that spectacular moment of "Pill Fire Cauldron Scouring," the craving gnawing at their hearts had long since become impossible to suppress!
With those two taking the lead, the Pill Hall students and the other instructors keenly interested in this field also came up onto the platform.
Soon, the pill appraisal was complete.
Li Quhe was the first to exclaim in wonder. "Had I not seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed that an alchemist below the Mystic Realm could actually refine Mortal Rank Upper Grade pills with 'seven pills from a single cauldron'!"
Beside him, Sun Jinwang nodded vigorously in agreement. "Indeed."
"What's even more breathtaking is how little time Master Bu took, from starting the refinement to completing the pills!"
"To achieve seven pills from a single cauldron at such speed, with every single one a treasure..."
"This is simply unimaginable!"
Only a short while earlier, Sun Jinwang had thought very little of Bu Wuchen;
He had believed the youth was merely deliberately imitating Lin Taoshu's opening pill-refining steps, while actually being a charlatan without a damn bit of ability!
Who could have imagined that, with this sudden turn of events, the "brat" Sun Jinwang had spoken of with contempt would become the "Master Bu" he now admired beyond measure...
With these two Pill Hall masters' approval, along with the appraisals of everyone else who had come onto the platform, no one questioned Bu Wuchen's achievement any longer!
"Then doesn't that mean..."
"Bu Wuchen's attainments in the Dao of Alchemy have reached at least the Mortal Realm Ninth Layer?!"
"I think Senior Bu must be beyond that. His alchemy cultivation might even rival Dean Zhou's!"
"Heavens, a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old alchemy master! Here in Blood Dragon City, wouldn't even calling him a 'genius' be an insult?"
"Exactly! How could an ordinary genius compare to someone like Senior Bu? He's clearly a monster!"
For a time, all the teachers and students erupted in excitement.
Especially the female students.
The way each of them screamed wildly, they would absolutely have been expert celebrity chasers in Bu Wuchen's previous life-
"Senior Bu, I, Little Linlin, swear that I'll become your woman in this lifetime!"
"Senior, Senior, please, let me bear you a whole litter of little monkeys~"
"Master Bu, could you take this humble girl as your disciple? I'm good at everything-washing clothes, cooking, massaging shoulders and legs, warming beds and heated brick beds!"
"Ah, Senior Bu just glanced at me out of the corner of his eye! Oh, oh, oh, I can't take it! I'm going to faint..."
On one side were countless voices cheering for Bu Wuchen, full of admiration and worship;
On the other was Lin Taoshu, looking as though his parents had died, utterly disgraced.
This stark contrast drove the ever-arrogant and conceited Master Lin completely mad!
He suddenly sprang to his feet, channeled mystic sound into his throat, and shouted with glaring eyes, "All of you, shut the hell up!"
"The time isn't up yet! What gives you the right to decide he's won?!"
Had Lin Taoshu been a little more polite and said something like, "The competition is still ongoing, so please quiet down," quite a few people would probably have shown him some respect.
Unfortunately, he was so accustomed to throwing his weight around that he offended everyone the moment he opened his mouth.
Scornful voices immediately rose from below the platform-
"Tch, someone who blew up his cauldron refining pills actually has the nerve to order everyone around?"
"As the Pill Hall's chief master, he not only lost a pill duel to a boy of fifteen or sixteen, but he can't even accept defeat. How disgraceful!"
Lin Taoshu's aged face instantly turned as black as charcoal!
At that moment, Bu Wuchen shook his head with a look of disdain. "Seriously? You just blew up your cauldron, and you still want to continue?"
"You'd better pay more attention this time. Don't blow up another cauldron!"
"Embarrassing yourself would be one thing, but you're polluting the environment too..."
Hearing this, Lin Taoshu was so furious that his mouth nearly twisted out of shape.
He roared in rage, "Didn't you just stumble into some dogshit luck and produce 'seven pills from a single cauldron'?"
"Do you really think I can't surpass you?!"
With his reason burned away by rage, Lin Taoshu erupted with unprecedented confidence;
He picked up a spare cauldron and started over!
Just then, Dean Zhou cleared his throat. "Since there's still a little time left, I shall recount Lin Taoshu's many offenses for everyone!"
Zhou Wan'en had not exposed Lin Taoshu's misconduct to the public right from the start.
One reason was that he had not yet been certain whether Bu Wuchen possessed genuine ability.
Perhaps the youth really was a "charlatan," just as Lin Taoshu had claimed?
Only after witnessing Bu Wuchen's outstanding alchemy skills with his own eyes had the scales in Zhou Wan'en's heart tipped completely toward Bu Wuchen...
"Holy shit, so this old bastard went that far?!"
"Thank goodness Senior Bu didn't give in."
"Exactly! If Senior Bu hadn't stepped forward and beaten that fellow this time, who knows how many students applying to the Pill Hall would have suffered his bullying in the future!"
Indignant condemnations and curses rose in wave after wave, each louder than the last.
Amid such a clamor, Lin Taoshu's pill refinement could be described as a struggle at every step!
At a certain moment-
"Bang!!"
Black smoke billowed, and medicinal dregs sprayed everywhere.
Once again, the cauldron had exploded...
Overwhelmed by shame and fury, Lin Taoshu broke down completely and spat out a great mouthful of blood with a "Wah!"