Chapter 428: Winner
Everyone was silent; no one dared utter a sound as all eyes were focused on the servant seated on the stage. Strong gales were blowing, and the energy had been sucked into a whirlwind around the servant as his body greedily absorbed it.
The pained groans of the servant turned louder and louder, however, his perseverance was outstanding. It was at a level that even Hui Yue had to acknowledge as he curiously observed the man. He was curious to see if this man was as determined as his children.
While most of the people present were shocked and amazed, there were two people who had ugly expressions on their faces. One was Zhong Hei, and the other was the alchemist who had expected to show off with his formula. Both of them understood that they did not have anything which could rival a pill that allowed for someone to rise to the King rank.
At first, Zhong Hei tried to see if it was possible for him to interrupt the trance the servant was in, but he soon found that it was simply impossible to get into reach of the servant.
Eventually, he could do nothing but hope that the servant would succumb to pain before he reached the King rank. Still, even while wishing for this, Zhong Hei already knew that everyone was convinced that the pill could make him a King ranked expert. The only thing which determined whether or not he would reach such a realm was his own determination and ability to resist the pain.
Hui Yue had a small smile on his face, but even he was worried. He had used the Silvermoon's Pill because he wished to save Sha Yun, but now he would need to deal with the after effects of this pill. Many people would be willing to do almost anything to get their hands on the pill, the formula, or the materials for it. Every major family would kill for this pill, but Hui Yue believe that his allies would back him. He believed that that the experts in Muchuan City were frightened by his background with the Shenyuan and would not dare to do anything too dangerous like kidnapping or blackmailing.
His sight almost turned black as he thought about how Sha Yun had been taken from him. He thought about how she was imprisoned by the Frozen General and how he was incapable of seeing how she was doing or even knowing if she was fine and he was enraged.
Suddenly a roar caused Hui Yue to snap out of his thoughts and looked at the servant. A smile appeared on his face as the man forcefully broke into the upper dantian. Everyone was silent as slowly the whirlwind and the vast amounts of energy around them slowly vanished. The man, who had roared in pain, was still sitting with his eyes closed, but now the aura around him had become stable. It was, without a doubt, the aura of a King rank expert. An early stage King rank expert, but a King ranked expert nevertheless.
"The pill has indeed proven to be as outstanding as Master Hui Yue said." The woman's voice rolled through the square breaking the trance-like silence and causing an uproar to begin.
"Silence!" She called out, and instantly the uproar died out. Yet even still a slight murmur continued as everyone was simply too shocked by what they had seen.
"It is now time to see the final two pills. The winner will be announced after a swift discussion by our grandmaster alchemists." The woman announced, and the next person stepped forward. This person was Zhong Hei. "This is the Pill of Advancing Dreams; a pill which allows for the cultivator of the lower and middle dantian to increase a full rank upon consuming."
Zhong Hei spoke through gritted teeth. The words should have been enough to floor the entire audience because it was a pill which allowed for someone to skip a whole rank. Something that previously would have been simply inconceivable. However, they had seen a true miracle just now. They had seen Hui Yue make a Disciple into a King with just one pill. Such a monumental, heaven-defying even, had they not seen it themselves they would have never believed it.
"Thank you," the woman said as she took the pill from Zhong Hei. Only the unknown expert was left, and he too had a foul expression on his face. "My pill cannot compete with Master Hui Yue's," he said seriously. "dDue to this I wish to forfeit."
Having said that he did not give the medicinal pill to the woman, and instead left the stage walking away from the square. Nodding her head, the woman seemed slightly annoyed, but she did nothing but watch the figure vanish into the distance.
"Please excuse us for some time," the woman said as she left the stage and entered the Alchemist Guild. Every alchemist was standing in a line waiting patiently. However, there was no tension of being uncertain. It was clear who the winner would be.
The decision did not take long and soon after the woman returned with a storage stone in her hand. Coming to the stage, the woman said, "the winner of this year's annual alchemist’s contest is Master Hui Yue! His Silvermoon's Pill was the most outstanding of all the pills we have seen; we congratulate Master Hui Yue as the winner of this annual alchemist contest and for being the most outstanding alchemist this year!"
Her words boomed in the silence, and although many cheered and clapped their hands, the majority of the major families were silent. They were too deep in thought to focus on this contest. What mattered to them was not who won this small contest but instead the pill which had been shown. A pill that could make anyone become a King ranked expert. Surely there was some way for them to get their hands on this pill.
Hui Yue, who was smiling on the outside, sighed inwardly. He knew that many would now find him for the sake of this pill, but unlike the flying swords, these pills were not something he was willing to share with others. These pills were simply too powerful.
Even the Alchemist Guild looked on with greed at him. A formula which was able to create such pill, one could only think about the background of Hui Yue, and many assumed that this formula was just one of many. One of many which he had obtained from a supreme expert of alchemy deep within the forests of Shenyuan.
Although no one said it out loud, this was the conclusion everyone reached. Hui Yue could only have gotten the pill formula from Shenyuan since no one in the human world would have been able to hide such a remarkable pill.
Hui Yue was clearly able to guess what these people were thinking but didn’t bother to explain any further. He was not willing to give out any information about the pill he had created.
"Master Hui Yue, we are proud to present you the reward for winning first place." The woman said as she curtseyed slightly in front of Hui Yue. Her curtsey was only because she had now acknowledged Hui Yue as a great alchemist, and even more so, the heir to a large and powerful master who could teach such amazing abilities to Hui Yue.
Accepting the stone with gratitude, Hui Yue bowed to the woman before he shot a glance towards Zhong Hei. The pale man had a sour expression on his face, but he understood that he had lost the battle.
"Follow me." He said, and the two descended from the stage and left the square. Jo, Lao, and Wang Ju Long all looked at one another with uncertainty in their eyes before they decided to head back to the mansion. Following Hui Yue and Zhong Hei was not their job.
Walking through town, Hui Yue noticed that many experts were followed behind him. They were not in sight, but he could feel their auras pressing down on him. Regardless of this two of them decided to keep moving as though they did not feel anything at all. Soon the two of them reached the Black Lion. Entering the mansion they went together to the upper levels where Zhong Hei's room was. After entering his room, he picked up a memory stone. Closing his eyes, he imparted the words 'Hui Yue won, bring Sha Yun to Muchuan City,' before he strapped it to the leg of a Silent Black Raven.
Picking up the black raven and setting it on the window, the bird shook its wings twice swiftly taking to the sky.
Zhong He’s feelings were in turmoil. He truly hated this man whom his master had taken such interest in but even so, he understood that Hui Yue was not as simple as he had first thought. The Silvermoon's Pill had managed him to understand that he had been thoroughly defeated, and he did hold some curiosity towards this pill of his. He was also curious about his blue flame and the herbs as he had never seen them before.
But although he was curious, he was also aware of the enmity between the two and that it would be stupid to ask about anything.
"Master will personally bring her here. He wants to talk with you, and it will take about a month for my master to arrive."
Nodding his head, Hui Yue turned around and left the inn. He had no intention of staying longer than needed, and even more so when he knew that many experts were waiting for him outside.
The moment he left the inn, a black sword appeared under his feet, and he shot off in the distance. He flew at a speed so swift that everyone left behind was deeply shocked. Only now did they understand that their own flying swords were trash compared to the one Hui Yue had.
Reaching home, Hui Yue entered the mansion from the garden for the sake of not letting the guards know. If someone came to ask for him, they could honestly say that they did not know where their master was.
Inside the mansion, Hui Yue went straight to his room. In the middle of his room, he found Jo, Lao, and Wang Ju Long. All three of them lifted their heads as Hui Yue entered. At first, he was confused, but his confusion quickly vanished. It was clear that his family was as worried about Sha Yun as he was if nothing else than because they understood how much it meant to their father.
"So?" Wang Ju Long asked worried as she looked at Hui Yue with expectations clear in her eyes. "Will we be going to pick up Sha Yun, or..."
"She will be here within the month," Hui Yue said with a smile on his face. His words caused everyone to become relieved and relaxed. They had waited for so long and now waiting for just another month was not a problem.
"What will you do about the Silvermoon's Pill?" Wang Ju Long asked worried, but Hui Yue just smiled and shook his head, "don't worry about it. I thought of the perfect solution earlier."
Looking at Hui Yue, Wang Ju Long was not certain as to whether or not Hui Yue was honest, but after giving him a long glance, she decided to believe him.
"I am going to cultivate for a bit," Hui Yue said with a smile. "I need to increase my strength so that I can deal with the likes of the Frozen General. If I cannot even deal with the Frozen General how am I to deal with An He and his personal Generals?" The question was simple, but hearing Hui Yue say this, the other's eyes turned serious too as they nodded their heads. They wished to be by Hui Yue's side when he took on the Generals and An He, but to do so they too needed to cultivate.
Soon all four were seated on the ground, all of them were fully focused on cultivating as the day turned to night and the night turned to morning.