Chapter 78: The Supreme Pill Master (Part Six)

Su Chen was speechless.
He dodged Song Wanqing's furious attack by sidestepping.
"Miss, this is our first meeting, isn't it a bit too fast?"
Song Wanqing looked at his face, suppressing the urge to tear him apart.
The alchemy competition was about to begin, and the notification to invite the contestants inside sounded.
Song Wanqing calmed down: "You presumptuous fellow."
She was a noble alchemist.
How could she act like a crude martial artist and take matters into her own hands?
She was determined to defeat Su Chen fair and square at the alchemy competition and wash away her shame!
Watching Song Wanqing leave in anger, Su Chen thought women were truly strange creatures.
"It seems she is the disciple of the Ghost Valley Pill King."
Su Chen made his own guess and then entered the alchemy competition.
The alchemy competition was simple: each participant randomly drew a pill formula, starting with first-grade, then second-grade, third-grade, and so on.
This was an elimination tournament, testing the alchemists' skill and adaptability. Each type of pill required a different refining method, and some mediocre alchemists would be eliminated even if they refined a pill one or two grades lower.
Su Chen felt that this kind of competition was an opportunity for ordinary alchemists; with good luck, they could learn new pill formulas.
"Indeed, alchemists are all wealthy!"
The last time such extravagance was seen was during the selection of disciples for the Xuan Yuan Holy Land, where an ancient Xuan Yuan stele was placed, allowing participants to comprehend cultivation techniques and martial arts.
First-grade...second-grade...third-grade...fourth-grade pills didn't stump Su Chen.
When it came to refining fifth-grade pills, only nine people remained.
Su Chen refined a fifth-grade pill, followed by Song Wanqing.
Most people's furnaces exploded, but with a Transcendent Realm expert present, the explosions didn't cause much of a stir.
"It's done...I did it!"
A disheveled young man held a purple pill, gesturing wildly and laughing loudly, "I finally refined a fifth-grade pill!"
Su Chen recognized this young man; he followed the Flame Ember Pill King and was undoubtedly his disciple. Having managed to refine a fifth-grade pill, he was now practically a fifth-grade alchemist.
The competition reached its final showdown.
The three had to use their most proficient alchemy techniques to refine the pills they were most familiar with. The pill with the highest grade would be selected.
Su Chen chose the Heavenly Body Overlord Pill, a fifth-grade pill created by Su Weichang himself, extremely difficult to refine. It was this very pill that led to Su Weichang's defeat against the Ghost Valley Pill King.
"If I can win with this pill, it will put an end to the old man's worries."
Su Chen thought to himself.
Then he began to concentrate on refining the Heavenly Gang Overlord Body Pill.
Song Wanqing, sharing the same idea as Su Chen, began refining the Ghost Valley Pill King's signature pill, the Zhou Tian Ning Shen Pill!
Seeing that both of them chose to refine fifth-grade pills, the disciple of the Flame Ash Pill King gritted his teeth and had no choice but to follow suit.
However, this time, luck wasn't on his side. A mistake soon caused the pill furnace to explode. Fortunately, a Transcendent Realm expert intervened in time; otherwise, he would have been in grave danger.
On the stage, only Su Chen and Song Wanqing remained.
On the platform, the Flame Ash Pill King smiled and said, "These two little fellows are truly just like you and your fellow disciples!"
Guigu Danwang looked helpless, yet his eyes held anticipation.
Who among the two would ultimately prevail?
Soon... three days passed.
Song Wanqing successfully refined the Zhou Tian Ning Shen Pill.
She breathed a sigh of relief. The Zhou Tian Ning Shen Pill was incredibly difficult to refine; even she couldn't guarantee success every time.
Fortunately, this time she succeeded, and the quality was quite good.
Song Wanqing glanced at Su Chen and saw that he was still refining pills.
Suddenly, Su Chen's alchemy furnace flew high into the air and exploded with a bang.
"He failed to refine the pill?"
Song Wanqing was astonished, a complex mix of emotions surfacing within her.
Disappointment, anger...
She had been hailed as the number one genius alchemist of the Dragon Sky Dynasty for far too long, even surpassing her master, Guigu Danwang, in alchemy talent. Su Chen's appearance made her believe that a formidable opponent might have emerged.
But her opponent... made the mistake of exploding the furnace, which greatly disappointed Song Wanqing.
"Cough cough..."
A coughing sound came from within the smoke.
Immediately afterwards, wisps of golden light shot out from the smoke, enveloping the entire area.
Su Chen stepped forward, holding a golden pill. Golden veins covered the pill, radiating a domineering power, and a halo enveloped it, hovering in the center of his palm.
The alchemists in the arena fell into a deathly silence.
Even Song Wanqing, holding her prized pill, stood frozen, oblivious to the pill rolling to the ground.
"Pill patterns...he actually refined a pill with pill patterns!"
Pill patterns have always been legendary among alchemists, the pinnacle of the best, capable of easily increasing the price of a pill tenfold.
Of course, price is secondary.
This is an honor for an alchemist; perfect timing, favorable location, and the right people are all indispensable!
Song Wanqing didn't wait for the announcement of the winner; she walked off the stage without looking back.
The outcome was self-evident.
Su Chen won first place in the Alchemy Competition.
He was hailed as the number one alchemy prodigy of the Dragon Sky Dynasty.
A constant stream of powerful figures wanted to hire Su Chen, but he refused them all.
Finally, Su Chen encountered a familiar face.
The Ghost Valley Alchemist King found Su Chen.
"If you don't mind, you can call me Senior Uncle?"
The Ghost Valley Alchemist King spoke with a smile.
Su Chen was stunned.
The Ghost Valley Alchemist King sighed, "Actually, your master, the Eight Desolations Alchemist King, and I are fellow disciples. We are from the same school; I am the senior brother, and he is the junior brother."
Su Chen: "..."
Ghost Valley Eight Desolations, huh?
"Greetings, Uncle-Master."
Seeing that the Ghost Valley Pill King genuinely had no designs on him, Su Chen followed up, asking, "Uncle-Master Ghost Valley, I want to know what happened back then? Why did Master's lifespan decrease so much?"
Faced with Su Chen's desire to know the truth, the Ghost Valley Pill King didn't hide anything.
Su Chen learned the truth.
It turned out that after the old man lost to the Ghost Valley Pill King at the Pill Refining Conference, he became obsessed, single-mindedly wanting to defeat the Ghost Valley Pill King. However, he was caught up in the Cheng King's rebellion, helping the Cheng King provide pills, but was discovered and defeated by the Ghost Valley Pill King in time. Later, realizing he had been used, coupled with his defeat, his mentality collapsed, and he simply went into seclusion.
Su Chen: "..."
The old man was so brave in his youth; he participated in a rebellion and still survived. It seems that falling in cultivation level was a minor matter.
Ghost Valley Pill King asked, "Is your master well now?"
Su Chen shook his head: "My master's time has come. He will either be buried in the mountains or by the sea."
A trace of sadness flashed in Ghost Valley Pill King's eyes, and he murmured, "Junior brother, oh junior brother, why did you do this?"