"Hmph..."
Seeing the pill he had longed for presented before everyone present, Master Hu's aged face broke into a satisfied smile. His gaze swept over Xiao Yan and then fell upon the other four families, whose expressions were far from pleasant.
Clearly, they were not satisfied with this answer.
"Hehe, it seems the Hu Clan is still the victor in this alchemy competition. In that case, I shall respectfully accept the offer."
Master Hu's lips curled into a cold smile. He gave a perfunctory bow to the crowd, then turned his gaze to his young master and said with a smile:
" Lin'er, hurry up and collect all the pills; these are all your spoils of victory."
Upon hearing this, the young man grinned coldly, took a step, and came to stand in front of Xiao Yan, intending to take his pills and the other four pills from his hand.
According to their competition rules, the winner has the right to decide the ownership of the other four pills. It can be said that this competition itself is a battle of plunder, with the winner taking the pills and the loser only able to return in defeat.
With resentful expressions, the four families, including the other four young men, watched Hu Yonglin approach Xiao Yan. Although they were unwilling, they could only swallow their anger and suffer in silence.
"However... please wait a moment."
Just as Hu Yonglin was about to take the pill from Xiao Yan's hand, Xiao Yan flipped his hand and took the pill back into his grasp, while simultaneously stopping Hu Yonglin.
Among the crowd, the disheveled old man nodded with a strange smile, thinking to himself, "Not bad." Then, with a flash, he disappeared silently into the crowd.
"Mr. Xiao Yan, what do you mean by this?"
Master Hu frowned and said in a slightly low voice.
Upon hearing the latter speak, he felt a faint unease. Could it be that this kid was going to say something more?
Meanwhile, the other four families, as well as the passersby, all turned their gazes to Xiao Yan, their faces filled with suspicion and their hearts filled with curiosity. Now that the answer had been announced, the winner should rightfully be Hu Yonglin, so what was the meaning behind Xiao Yan's actions?
" Master Hu, you ask me what this means? I think you understand the reason better than I do. This pill is indeed the best among the five, but its medicinal power has been greatly diminished. This is probably due to its prolonged storage."
As we all know, the medicinal power contained in a freshly refined pill is extremely concentrated and abundant. This is why most people choose to swallow the pill immediately after it is refined. However, this particular pill is clearly not like that.
" Master Hu, what's going on?"
The other eight people each stepped forward, looking at Master Hu with questioning expressions. At the same time, the surrounding onlookers also looked at Master Hu with strange eyes.
"Damn it... they're really like a calf that doesn't fear a tiger!"
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Master Hu's Elder Zhang turned ashen, and the muscles on his face twitched slightly. He was speechless, as if searching for an excuse in his mind.
After a long while, Master Hu finally raised his old eyes and his gaze suddenly fell on Xiao Yan, his cloudy old eyes filled with a burning anger.
"Hmph, Mr. Xiao Yan, we've only just met. There's no need for you to target us like this. You say the medicinal power of this pill is diminished? That's a joke. How could a pill fresh from the cauldron be diminished?"
" Master Hu, are you implying that I've been spreading rumors and distorting the truth?"
Xiao Yan frowned and said in a deep voice.
"But what if this isn't a freshly refined pill?"
"You mean I switched the pills?"
Master Hu's face darkened, and he looked extremely displeased. At the same time, the other eight Fourth-Tier Alchemist also stepped forward and came to Xiao Yan's side, wanting to check the authenticity of the pills.
"Mr. Xiao Yan, we hope you can hand over the elixir to us. This is a matter between our five families. If, as you say, the elixir's potency is compromised, then this matter should be resolved by ourselves."
Among the eight people, a slightly older middle-aged man stepped forward, politely cupped his hands in greeting to Xiao Yan, and smiled.
Meanwhile, Master Hu watched the situation unfold, his Elder Zhang face growing even more somber. He hadn't expected that Xiao Yan would be so ungrateful for his request to appraise the pills. Knowing he had no powerful backing, Xiao Yan still tried to meddle, which was tantamount to courting death.
At the same time, Xiao Yan smiled and slowly extended the pill he was holding, offering it to the middle-aged man.
" Master Hu, if this matter is truly as Mr. Xiao Yan said, then I'm afraid you, Master, must give us a clear answer."
The middle-aged man's face was cold, and his eyes held a hint of anger. They had held similar alchemy competitions more than once before, but almost every time someone would interfere halfway through like Xiao Yan, and the Hu Clan would usually win. However, Xiao Yan's appearance this time broke the routine and also made the four families see the Hu Clan's methods.
"Whoosh!"
However, the moment the middle-aged man finished speaking, Master Hu flashed like a ghost and appeared among them in an instant. With a wave of his hand, he grabbed the pill from Xiao Yan's hand.
"Hmph, brat, I've treated you so politely, yet you dare to slander my clansmen in public, claiming we switched the pills. In my opinion, it was you who switched them!"
The old man uttered words of slight anger, as if he had truly suffered some injustice. At the same time, his descending hand did not slow down in the slightest, and it looked as if he was about to grab the pill.
However, it was at this moment...
"Buzz!"
A surge of powerful Dou Qi erupted from Xiao Yan's body. Without using any Dou Technique, the mere overflow of energy easily pushed back the people around him, including Master Hu was currently standing in front of him.
With just one strike, the ten High-Level Dou Di experts in the center of the arena, as well as the five young people, were easily blasted back dozens of steps by this energy wave. They only stopped when they fell into the crowd, looking slightly disheveled.
The moment the ten people looked up, their eyes were filled with shock. They never expected that this young man in black robes, who looked so young, not only possessed Spiritual Strength, but also had such formidable Dou Qi qi!