Jin Huang glanced toward Yuan Zhi. "Are you accusing your father, I, of cheating? I have half a mind to bend you over my lap and spank you fifteen times!"
Numerous people failed to stifle their laughter; a number of forced, dry coughs were heard.
Yuan Zhi's face contorted in a wrathful scowl, "I'm saying that no one can produce three divine-grade pills from such ordinary ingredients!"
"Then your knowledge is limited," Jin Huang shook his head sadly.
Yuan Zhi's face twisted. "You—"
The Herb Sage suddenly turned around. "Enough!"
Yuan Zhi's body stiffened. The old man's gaze was cold.
"I personally watched the entire refinement process. There was no tampering, no substitution, and no external assistance."
He held up the three pills. "These are genuine supreme-grade pills. Every one of them possesses a divine pill halo."
A wave of shock spread through the arena once more.
The Herb Sage's expression grew solemn. "More importantly, they are not all identical."
He held up the first pill. "This one has the added effect of nourishing the body with mana and can be consumed even at the Body Tempering Realm."
Then the second. "This one nourishes the soul, and will even be effective once one takes steps beyond the Spirit Spring Realm. It can aid Sea Expansion- even Mana Core Realm experts."
Finally, the third. "And this one seems to nourish the connection between life and the natural laws. I fear..."
The old man stared at Jin Huang.
"I fear that young Jin Huang is truly a disciple of Lord Duotian, that monstrous old genius."
Jin Huang smiled mysteriously.
The Herb Sage's eyes narrowed. For the first time, the old man felt that the person in front of him was truly incomprehensible.
Xiao Chen remained motionless behind his mask as Meng Lan's voice echoed in his mind.
"Master, that really is the Spring Nurturing Pill, but it's been changed. The medicinal structure is completely different."
"I know."
"And the light that shot into the sky... That was a divine pill phenomenon."
"I know."
Meng Lan fell silent for a moment. "Master... Could Uncle Duotian have left behind another inheritance?"
Xiao Chen looked at Jin Huang.
The young man was currently holding one of the three pills between his fingers, smiling as though he had merely completed an ordinary assignment. Yet beneath that smile was something else that Xiao Chen was certain he was seeing.
A deliberate provocation. A message. Perhaps Jin Huang had truly been taught by Old Man Duotian. Perhaps he had merely inherited a portion of his legacy.
Perhaps, Xiao Chen thought, he knew something about the disappearance of the ancient master that no one else did.
Xiao Chen's gaze sharpened. At that moment, Jin Huang suddenly looked toward him. Their eyes met across the stage.
For a brief instant, Jin Huang's playful expression vanished. His eyes denoting something that caused Xiao Chen to be taken aback. There was... relief in them. As though he was both surprised and grateful
Then he raised the supreme-grade Spring Nurturing Pill in his hand and smiled.
"Well, Owner, I did my part."
Chapter — Poor Yuan Zhi
"Well, Owner, I did my part."
Jin Huang raised a supreme-grade Spring Nurturing Pill between two fingers, smiling brightly. Xiao Chen stared at him from beneath the shadow-demon mask.
For a moment, neither spoke, then Xiao Chen slowly nodded as he approached the stage under everyone's watchful eyes.
"You certainly did." His disguised voice carried across the gathering.
Yuan Zhi's expression darkened. The old alchemist had already endured more humiliation in a single afternoon than he had experienced in decades.
First, the Divine Opening Pill had failed to produce the result he had promised. Then Jin Huang had somehow refined three variations of his Spring Nurturing Pill, each superior to the original.
And now the Herb Sage himself had effectively declared that the young man's claims might be legitimate.
Yuan Zhi clenched his fists. "This proves nothing, Obsidian."
The crowd took a collective breath.
Xiao Chen turned toward him. "Does it not? Do you need to be embarrassed further, Brother Zhi?"
Yuan Zhi glared. "Don't play dumb with me! I am the original creator of the Spring Nurturing Pill!"
"This so-called disciple of Old Lord Duotian is a lie! You expect us to believe that he somehow produced supreme versions of a pill whose formula took me decades to perfect?"
Xiao Chen gave a slight shrug. "I don't expect you to believe me."
He looked toward the crowd. "I expect them to judge what they have witnessed."
A murmur spread throughout the gathering.
Xiao Chen slowly raised one hand. "Today, we have witnessed a young man with no cultivation refine a pill that even experienced alchemists struggle to reproduce. Who else could do such a thing but a disciple of Old Man Duotian?"
His gaze settled on Yuan Zhi. "We have witnessed three supreme-grade pills emerge from ingredients that were, by all accounts, entirely ordinary. And, if Herb Sage would be so kind as to finish his assessment..."
Directing the attention to Herb Sage, who was still standing near Jin Huang, Xiao Chen waited for the words that he already knew were coming. After all, his sensory capabilities were no less than the old sage.
Herb Sage cleared his throat and said, "These pills are all indistinguishable from those refined by an Empyrean level existence. For Jin Huang to do this, he can only be a disciple of Lord Duotian."
Yuan Zhi's face twitched, his tongue clicking sharply. "Obsidian."
Xiao Chen continued as though he hadn't heard him. "So, hearing Herb Sage's assessment, and seeing how intimately Jin Huang knows the pill formula, I must ask..."
His voice echoed throughout the enormous gathering.
"Which is more likely? That Yuan Zhi invented these pills himself, after thousands of talented, genius alchemists failed to invent any new formulas for centuries? Or that Yuan Zhi chanced upon Lord Duotian's research and claimed it as his own?"
Silence.
Yuan Zhi's expression became ugly. "Obsidian! Enough!"
"No." Xiao Chen's answer came immediately. "You've spent years presenting yourself as the inventor of these formulas."
Xiao Chen lifted one finger. "The Spring Nurturing Pill."
Another.
"The Divine Opening Pill."
Another.
"And the other medicinal formulae and techniques that have made your reputation."
The crowd stirred; Yuan Zhi's eyes widened.
"Your reputation has been built upon the work of others!"
A collective gasp swept through the gathering. Yuan Zhi's face turned red.
"You dare!"
Xiao Chen's voice remained perfectly calm as he said, "I dare."
He turned toward the audience. "Think carefully, everyone. The Pill Tower has accepted Yuan Zhi's claims for years because his pills were brand new and effective."
He gestured toward Jin Huang. "But today, you witnessed something that should have been impossible."
"We all know how well-guarded Yuan Zhi's secrets are, yet this stranger knows the formula inside-out. In fact, Jin Huang knows the formula even better than it supposed creator!"
Yuan Zhi's jaw tightened.
Xiao Chen smiled beneath the mask. "Perhaps the creator was never the creator."
The crowd erupted. Some shouted in disbelief as others began arguing. A few older alchemists exchanged nervous looks. Even those who disliked Yuan Zhi were reluctant to accept such a monumental accusation without further evidence.
After all, Yuan Zhi had spent centuries establishing himself. His name was synonymous with alchemy and he had produced countless miraculous medicines.
But now... There was a possibility that everything had been built upon stolen knowledge.
Yuan Zhi took a breath and spoke calmly. "You have made your accusations, and you have brought forth your evidence."
He pointed toward Xiao Chen. "But you still cannot prove that I stole anything."
Xiao Chen tilted his head. "I just did."
"No. All you demonstrated was that this boy possesses an unusual technique. He may be a disciple of Lord Duotian, but that alone says nothing!"
Yuan Zhi's breathing became heavier as he stepped down from his seat. "Come, Obsidian. We will continue this discussion in private."
Xiao Chen remained where he stood, looking at the varying expressions of the onlookers. "Why?"
Yuan Zhi's expression stiffened. "Because these matters do not just concern me. They also involve Pill Tower itself."
Xiao Chen shook his head. "You misunderstand."
He looked toward the thousands gathered around them. "This matter concerns everyone."
His voice rose slightly. "Every alchemist who has ever purchased one of your pills, every cultivator who has consumed them, every merchant who has sold them, and every person who has ever believed that Yuan Zhi was a genius."
The crowd became silent again as Xiao Chen spread his hands.
"If your reputation is legitimate, then surely you have nothing to fear from discussing it publicly."
Yuan Zhi stared at him, the silence becoming unbearable.
Then the old man beside the stage spoke. "Lord Obsidian."
The Herb Sage's voice was calm. "Do you possess evidence beyond what we have witnessed today?"
Xiao Chen turned toward him. "Not yet, Herb Sage. After all, given the fact that Old Man Duotian disappeared so long ago, it is proving quite difficult to disprove Yuan Zhi's claims."
Several people immediately began whispering.
Yuan Zhi scoffed as he pointed toward Xiao Chen. "There! He admits it himself!"
Herb Sage silenced Yuan Zhi with a raised hand. "Although this is an important matter that the public should not be left in the dark on, I also agree that the ramifications this will have on my Pill Tower cannot be ignored. We must first get to the bottom of this."
Xiao Chen smiled behind the mask, but the only thing anyone saw were his eerily glowing eyes.
The Herb Sage studied him, and Jin Huang who was making his way off the stage to return to his seat.
Xiao Chen was silent for several seconds before he finally nodded. "Very well."
Yuan Zhi exhaled, thinking that he could still salvage this somehow. Although things weren't looking all that great, the fact remained that he had actually invented the pill formulas he claimed to have invented.
All he needed to do was find a way to explain Jin Huang's mastery of a formula that belonged to him. Which... the more he thought about it... was going to be impossibly difficult.