Chapter 513 - 513: Complication

Any Alchemist with a discerning eye could tell.

The elixir in Chu Qingyun's hand was still faintly warm, a clear sign that it had been freshly refined.

It couldn't possibly have been prepared in advance.

Besides, even if he had wanted to prepare it, he would have had to know which elixir the competition required.

Weren't Elder Huang's words, spoken in a fit of rage, implying that Yu Liyuan had colluded with Chu Qingyun to help him cheat in the competition!?

It was no wonder such a stupid, thoughtless accusation infuriated Zhou Qian.

What's more, Elder Huang had just admitted that Chu Qingyun had originally wanted to join the Saint Extreme Sect, only to be turned away by him...

'This doesn't look good,' Zhou Qian suddenly thought.

He lifted his head and glanced around. As expected, he saw many people looking toward Chu Qingyun, their eyes filled with contemplation.

Instantly, Zhou Qian's brow furrowed slightly.

Yu Liyuan took the elixir from Chu Qingyun's hand, inspected it carefully, and announced in a deep voice, "That's right. It is indeed a Youthful Appearance Pill—an Upper-Grade Youthful Appearance Pill!"

The Emperor Realm Alchemists beside him, Zhou Qian included, also took turns inspecting it.

Everyone nodded, confirming that it was indeed a freshly refined, Upper-Grade Youthful Appearance Pill.

"Is the champion of the Celestial Martial City Pill Battle Conference really going to be some kid from the Land of Hundred Dynasties?"

A voice suddenly called out from the crowd.

A shock went through everyone present.

These people were either King Realm Alchemists or Martial Emperor Level experts, all of them figures of immense status. It wasn't that they couldn't bear to part with the reward.

Rather, they simply found the fact of the matter difficult to accept.

People from the sect lands, particularly the Fifteen Major Sects, had always been arrogant. They believed they held absolute supremacy over the Blood-soaked Land and the Land of Hundred Dynasties in both the Martial Dao and the Alchemy Dao.

But now, a young alchemist they viewed as some rogue practitioner had actually defeated all the geniuses they had so meticulously nurtured. The outcome was simply staggering.

Of course, what they didn't know was that Chu Qingyun had once received the Alchemy Dao legacy of a senior expert from the Central State.

They thought Chu Qingyun was a rogue alchemist.

But in reality, strictly speaking, when compared to Chu Qingyun's Alchemy Dao legacy from the Central State, *they* were the ones who were truly unorthodox...

At this moment, of the seven remaining contestants, the one with the darkest and most sullen expression was Wu Xinghai of the Talisman Puppet Sect.

He had been dead set on winning the prize for this Pill Battle Conference.

And from the start of the competition until the moment Chu Qingyun produced the Upper-Grade elixir, he had been calm, composed, and supremely confident.

But he had never expected it.

He had defeated Zhou Ling, Zhu Tianyun, Li Ruoguang, and Wan Jianping, only for some nobody named Chu Qingyun to pop out of the woodwork at the last second and refine an Upper-Grade Youthful Appearance Pill!

Wu Xinghai had personally experienced the difficulty of advancing from Middle Grade to Upper Grade.

Although he had succeeded in refining a Youthful Appearance Pill that was just shy of Upper Grade, he knew that he might not be able to bridge that tiny gap even if he tried ten more times!

"Heh, Wu Xinghai... Looks like I won't be getting that Broken Sword. But then again, neither will you! Hahaha..."

Wan Jianping suddenly burst out laughing at the sight of Wu Xinghai's dark expression.

As for the Broken Sword, Wan Jianping had only been giving it a casual try; he didn't take the failure to heart.

But for Wu Xinghai, it was a different story entirely.

It was like watching a sure thing vanish into thin air.

Wu Xinghai snorted, his face dark. His eyes darted about as his mind raced.

He then suddenly stepped forward and declared, "Venerable Seniors! Even if Chu Qingyun did refine an Upper-Grade Youthful Appearance Pill, that alone doesn't prove he's qualified to win the Celestial Martial City Pill Battle Conference!"

At his words, everyone's expression changed.

Yu Liyuan's face darkened even further. "Xinghai, what is the meaning of this? Are you suggesting that I conspired with him to cheat?"

"Dean, please, calm yourself. That is not what I meant at all..."

Wu Xinghai hurriedly explained, "Venerable Seniors, what I mean is that although the Youthful Appearance Pill is an extremely obscure elixir, it's not impossible that someone could have obtained the Pill Formula beforehand and already mastered it."

Suddenly, it dawned on everyone.

Wu Xinghai was implying that Chu Qingyun had just gotten ridiculously lucky, obtaining this Pill Formula beforehand and practicing it until he was proficient.

And that was how he managed to snatch the championship in the Pill Battle Conference.

The more they thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

"So that's how it is. No wonder, no wonder he managed to refine an Upper-Grade Youthful Appearance Pill after failing only once. He must have learned it long ago."

"What a cunning brat. He clearly knew the Pill Formula all along, yet he still pretended to be 'deciphering' it for half the day."

"Hmph, nothing good ever comes from the backwaters. Just a bunch of uncivilized riffraff!"

Many people on the high platform, and even many in the inner and outer circles of the surrounding crowd, began to murmur amongst themselves.

Most of those present were Martial Spirit Level experts with keen senses. Since the people on the high platform weren't trying to be quiet, their words carried clearly to the audience.

On a stand in the outer circle, Mu Xiaoxiao gritted her teeth in anger, feeling indignant on Chu Qingyun's behalf.

"What's wrong, Big Sis?" Dai asked, not understanding what was happening.

"Hmph, those people from the sect lands are always looking down on people from the other two regions!" Mu Xiaoxiao snorted.

Just then, on the high platform, a King Realm Alchemist who didn't belong to any sect suddenly stood up and said, "Everyone, this Chu Qingyun did not win through true strength. Therefore, I propose that the championship should be awarded to Wu Xinghai."

"He has a point. Wu Xinghai may not have produced an Upper-Grade elixir, but he did refine two at the Middle Grade. It's hard to say which achievement is greater."

"That's right. The champion should be Wu Xinghai."

Hearing these words, Chu Qingyun couldn't help but shake his head and let out a cold, humorless laugh.

"Brat, what's so funny!?"

The moment he saw Chu Qingyun shake his head and sneer, Elder Huang, who had been watching him intently, snarled the question, pouncing on the opening like a vicious dog.

"I'm laughing at how certain people can call black white. It's utterly ridiculous!"

"So two Middle-Grade elixirs are equivalent to one Upper-Grade elixir? By that logic, are two Upper-Grade elixirs equivalent to one Top-Grade elixir? Can the quality of an elixir be measured by quantity? And you have the nerve to call yourselves Alchemists with that kind of understanding?"

Chu Qingyun retorted with a cold smile, completely unintimidated by the fact that he was addressing King Realm Alchemists.

This particular point earned him a few secret nods of approval from the Martial Emperor Realm experts.