Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Where is he? Why isn’t he here yet?”
“Ha! Did he run away?”
Everyone looked around, waiting for Tang Ritian to arrive.
They looked relaxed as if waiting for the comedy to start.
Today’s challenge was a farce. How could Tang Ritian, a mere unaffiliated medicine maker, be a match for Cloudcore Valley? Moreover, Cloudcore Valley had sent a grand lineup this time. There was practically no suspense.
On the stage, the Cloudcore Valley people were chatting and laughing with the representatives of the various sects.
They did not take the challenge seriously either. They sent so many people to show off their power.
After waiting for a long time, they suddenly heard a commotion from the edge of the crowd.
“He’s here! Tang Ritian is here!”
Someone shouted loudly.
The surroundings were in an uproar. Everyone stretched their necks and looked in that direction.
The people on the stage stopped talking and looked over as well.
The crowd parted, and a figure handsomely dressed in simple white clothes walked over. Judging from his age, he was in his early twenties.
He walked over and looked at the people on the stage.
“Haha! He’s probably wetting his pants now!”
The crowd burst into laughter.
They expected the kid to be scared out of his wits when he saw such a grand lineup. At the very least, his legs would at least be shaking.
However, the kid remained impassive. He even said, “Wow! That’s a lot of people!” His tone was especially casual.
Everyone was startled. Then, they laughed mockingly.
“Heh! Look, that kid is quite arrogant!”
On the stage, the expressions of the people from Cloudcore Valley sank.
“How dare a mere child be so arrogant!”
An old man grunted and looked at Tang Hao disdainfully.
Tang Hao ignored the mockery around him. “What’s up with all those old geezers?” He said contemptuously.
The expressions of everyone from Cloudcore Valley changed drastically.
Every “old man” present was a renowned master medicine maker. The three in the embroidered robes were respected pill makers. Ordinary people would have to bow respectfully when they saw them.
Not only did the kid not bow to them, but he also called them old geezers!
“This is outrageous! Where’s your respect for your elders, you brat?”
“How dare you!”
Many elders suddenly stood up, pointed at Tang Hao, and cursed angrily.
“Respect for my elders?” Tang Hao said. His expression suddenly turned cold as he shouted, “Do you think you’re worthy of being elders? You’re nothing but a bunch of shameless thugs who pretend to be virtuous!”
“You… have a death wish!”
The people from Cloudcore Valley were already furious.
There was an uproar below the stage too.
Everyone was shocked by the brat’s brazen declaration.
The three pill makers frowned, and their expressions became increasingly icy cold.
“I’m afraid that you are mistaken, you brat! You’re the one who’s a shameless thug! Not only have you stolen recipes from Cloudcore Valley, but you even claimed that you formulated the recipe yourself!
“I’ve never seen someone as shameless as you!”
The pill maker on the left sneered.
The one in the middle added, “There’s no point in talking. Let’s get to the duel, and whoever wins will get to claim ownership of the recipe. The truth doesn’t matter anymore.”
As he said that, his gaze became mocking.
Even a fool knew that the kid had no hope of winning. The recipe was already theirs.
“Alright!” Tang Hao looked at him and replied coldly.
“Then let’s begin!” The pill maker replied, “We won’t bully you. We’ll send the young ones first. Chang Hui, you’ll go up first!”
“Yes! Elder!”
A young man in his mid-twenties stood up and strode forward.
When he got close, he lifted his chin and said proudly, “How dare you challenge Cloudcore Valley, Tang kid! I’d like to see your capabilities. I’m not going to go easy on you.”
Tang Hao rolled his eyes and did not say anything.
Someone brought two chairs onto the stage and placed them facing each other.
Tang Hao and Chang Hui took their seats.
Chang Hui waved his hand and said in a grandiose manner, “You can quiz me on anything! If you can defeat me, I’ll give up my pursuit of being a pill maker!”
A prodigy like him could not be bothered to be a mere medicine maker.
Tang Hao rolled his eyes again.
That guy’s face was begging to be punched.
“OK!” Tang Hao nodded.
He thought for a while and said, “Here’s the first question. Have you heard of blue narcissus? Please tell me its characteristics, medicinal properties, and uses.”
As soon as Tang Hao said that, Chang Hui’s face stiffened, and the smile on his face froze.
‘Blue narcissus?
‘What the hell? I’ve never heard of it!’
He frowned and racked his brains, but he could not think of anything. He became more and more anxious. It would be very embarrassing if he could not even answer the first question.
‘Damn, the kid came prepared! He must have read about it from some obscure manual.’
The first part of a duel between medicine makers was to quiz each other about all sorts of questions related to medicine.
Certain medicine makers would flaunt their medicine-related trivia in this part.
“Blue narcissus?”
The masters on the stage were also thinking hard.
“I’ve heard of the herb before. It’s quite rare. I don’t think Chang Hui would be able to answer the question,” a master said.
Their expressions became quite unpleasant.
Chang Hui scratched his head and thought hard.
“Heh, you don’t know?”
At that moment, Tang Hao feigned surprise and said, “I thought you knew everything!”
“You…”
Chang Hui glared at him. His face was flushed red.
“That’s only one question! That’s nothing!” Chang Hui grunted angrily.
There were millions of herbs in the world, and even the best pill makers could not memorize every one of them. Getting one wrong was nothing out of the ordinary.
“Next question!” Chang Hui shouted.
“Then… what do you know about wyrmling bone?” Tang Hao asked.
“What?”
Chang Hui was stunned.
‘What the hell? Just what? I’ve never heard of that before! Where did he find all of these?’
“You don’t know? Never mind, let’s move on to the next question!” Tang Hao said.
Chang Hui’s face turned beet-red.
“Next question! I can answer the next one!” He roared.
“Alright then! Tell me, what do you know of nonamillennia?”
“What?”
Chang Hui was dumbfounded.
‘What the hell is that?’
He pulled at his hair, and he was almost going crazy.
‘Wyrmling bone? Nonamillennia? Why are all their names so strange? I’ve never heard of them before. Do they even exist?’
However, he dared not say that. His elders had remained quiet, which meant that there was no problem with the questions.
