Heaven-Surpassing Divine Emperor

Holding the pill with its coiling Golden Dragon Pill Pattern, Duan Xu strode forward, his head held high.

Duan Xu, Gu Dan, and the beast-hide-clad youth, Tuoba Yan, stood shoulder to shoulder at the very front.

The others automatically fell in behind them.

With the Sixth-Grade Alchemists of the Eastern Continent, the living legends, not making an appearance, the Fifth-Grade High-Level Alchemists were able to reign supreme in the Alchemy Realm, their positions unshakeable.

Evidently, the three of them stood at the very pinnacle of Fifth-Grade High-Level Alchemists!

Duan Xu looked at Gu Dan with a mocking smile. "Not bad, old man. You got lucky and managed to refine a Yellow Spring Rebirth Pill. This must be the greatest pill you’ve ever made in your life, right? Hmm, retiring from the world of alchemy at your peak and never refining a pill again... that would actually be a good thing for you!"

Gu Dan’s face fell. He retorted angrily, "Hmph, it’s not over ’til it’s over!"

Duan Xu grinned.

His smile was filled with smug satisfaction, and he completely ignored Gu Dan’s words.

Utterly confident!

Wei Lihuang stood up, surveyed the crowd, and said with a smile, "Everyone, first and foremost, thank you for attending the Alchemy Conference hosted by my Celestial Secret Pavilion. In a moment, you will all present your pills one by one to be evaluated by our ten judges. Each judge holds ten points, for a maximum total of one hundred. In the end, whoever’s pill receives the highest score will be the champion of this Alchemy Conference."

"Let’s welcome the judges!" Wei Lihuang beckoned.

Immediately, a group of seniors from the Alchemy Realm, all dressed as alchemists with white hair and beards, walked onto the stage.

These ten individuals were all top-tier alchemists from the Celestial Capital City’s Alchemy Master Guild.

Six Fifth-Grade Alchemists and four Fourth-grade Advanced Alchemists!

Wei Lihuang said in a deep voice, "Next, please present your pills!"

"I’ll go first!"

A Fourth-grade Advanced Alchemist stepped forward and presented a Spirit Pill. It was a Fourth-grade High-level Spirit Pill, the Qilin Pill. The pill’s body was perfectly round, its medicinal fragrance assailed the nostrils, and it was a rare masterpiece.

After some deliberation, the ten judges gave their score: "This Qilin Pill has no major issues overall; it is a fine product among pills of its grade. However, during the final Solidifying Pill stage, the heat was a bit excessive. You’ll need to pay attention to that in the future. After our joint evaluation, the final score is sixty-one!"

"Sixty-one? That’s a good score!"

Wei Lihuang nodded.

The alchemist looked thrilled. After saying, "Thank you, seniors, for your guidance," he promptly stepped down.

"My turn. Seniors, what I refined is a Fifth-grade Low-level Spirit Pill, the Bright Moon Pill..."

"Total score: seventy-two!"

One by one, the experts presented their pills.

The ten judges were quite professional, offering critiques for each pill and giving relatively fair scores.

"Fifty-three!"

"A scrap pill... zero points!"

"The heat was far too high, destroying the medicinal properties. Zero points!"

"Thirteen points!"

"Sixty-seven..."

"Thirty-six..."

Pill after pill was scored.

Some were happy, some were dejected.

Before they knew it, only Duan Xu, Gu Dan, and Tuoba Yan remained on the stage.

Tuoba Yan took a step forward and said flatly, "This is a Five Elements Spirit Pill."

"A pill refined with the Witchcraft and Gu Technique? Huh? The medicinal properties inside are perfectly preserved. Truly impressive!"

"The heat control, essence refinement, and so on are all executed flawlessly. This is definitely a fine pill!"

The ten judges all looked astonished. They whispered amongst themselves before finally giving a score: "The appearance, medicinal properties, and other aspects of this Five Elements Spirit Pill are all quite perfect. The only flaw is that a necessary Spirit Medicine, the Gold and Silver Grass, was not old enough, which disrupted the balance slightly. We unanimously agree that it deserves ninety-five points!"

"Holy shit, ninety-five points?"

"Isn’t that too high?"

"With a score that high, he’s definitely the champion!"

"Not necessarily. Master Gu Dan’s and Duan Xu’s pills haven’t been judged yet!"

Everyone gasped in amazement.

Tuoba Yan raised an eyebrow, took back his Five Elements Spirit Pill, and immediately stepped down.

He didn’t say an unnecessary word from beginning to end.

Duan Xu looked at Gu Dan and grinned. "Gu Dan, you go first! If I go first, you probably won’t even have the confidence to have your pill judged!"

"Hmph, we’ll see about that!"

Gu Dan snorted coldly. With a dark expression, he handed over his pill.

Several judges nodded at him, then began to inspect the pill. Astonishment filled their faces. "Old Gu really outdid himself this time! This Yellow Spring Rebirth Pill is simply perfect!"

"Incredible. This is absolutely a Top Grade pill. Full marks!"

"I also think it deserves full marks!"

"Full marks!"

The ten judges unanimously agreed: the Yellow Spring Rebirth Pill refined by Gu Dan was a perfect pill, worthy of one hundred points!

One hundred points!

When this score was announced, Gu Dan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced at Duan Xu and sneered, "Junior, I told you before, don’t be so arrogant. Do you have anything to say for yourself now?"

"Tch!"

Duan Xu pursed his lips and snorted with disdain. The fact that Gu Dan had actually received a perfect score stirred a trace of dissatisfaction and anger in him. With a dark expression, he walked up and took out the Golden Scale Dragon Transformation Pill in his hand. "Everyone, what I have refined is the Golden Scale Dragon Transformation Pill, ranked first among the ten great Fifth-Grade Spirit Pills. Please, have a look!"

"It’s actually the Golden Scale Dragon Transformation Pill? This junior is so confident, daring to refine such a Spirit Pill!"

"There are actually Golden Dragon Pill Patterns on it? One, two, three, four... a total of seven Golden Dragon Pill Patterns? Incredible! If this junior advances one step further and refines a pill with nine Golden Dragon Pill Patterns, he’ll be a Sixth Grade Pill Emperor!"

"The quality of this pill is in no way inferior to Old Gu’s Yellow Spring Rebirth Pill. Moreover, its refining difficulty is a notch higher than the Yellow Spring Rebirth Pill. How should we judge this?"

"Full marks as well?"

"Two perfect scores... that’s not exactly conventional..."

"Although both pills are nearly perfect, look at Duan Xu’s age. He’s only twenty-eight and has refined a pill of this quality, whereas Old Gu is already over a hundred years old. In my opinion, we should encourage the younger generation. I feel the champion’s title belongs to Duan Xu!" the Fifth-Grade High-Level Alchemist sitting in the center declared.

This person held an extremely high status among the ten judges.

The moment he spoke, the others immediately agreed without objection.

The central alchemist immediately announced, "After our deliberation, we believe the champion of this Alchemy Conference is Duan Xu!"

BOOM—

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire Alchemy Conference venue erupted.

Duan Xu pumped his fist, a triumphant and mocking look on his face as he gazed at the crestfallen Gu Dan. "Master Gu Dan, the winner has been decided. You should fulfill the terms of our bet!"

"I... I..."

Gu Dan looked completely lost.

He hadn’t expected to actually lose.

’To be forbidden from refining pills ever again? For an alchemist, this is a punishment more severe than death!’

Gu Dan looked at Duan Xu and said in a low voice, "Duan Xu, this old man admits my skills are inferior, but I hope you can, on account of this old man’s..."

Before he could finish,

Duan Xu was already sneering, "Master Gu Dan, are you begging me?"

"I..."

Gu Dan’s face turned pale then livid. He felt that everyone’s gaze was filled with thick mockery and schadenfreude, but in order to continue refining pills, he could only brace himself and grit out, "Yes, I am begging you!"

"Is that how you’re supposed to beg?" Duan Xu asked.

Gu Dan’s expression shifted several times. He finally let out a soft sigh, seeming to age decades in an instant. His legs gave way, and he knelt directly on the ground. "Duan Xu, I’m begging you!"

"HAHAHAHA..."

Duan Xu burst out laughing, the mockery on his face growing even stronger. He leaned forward slightly, narrowed his eyes, and said, word by word, "The great Master Gu Dan is actually begging me? How pathetic! But it’s a pity. I, Duan Xu, am not some charitable person. Master Gu Dan, you’d better honor your promise!"

BOOM—

Despair washed over Gu Dan’s face. He glared at Duan Xu with furious eyes, finally realizing he had been played.

Duan Xu had no intention of letting him go.

Not only were his alchemy skills inferior, but now even his last shred of dignity was being trampled underfoot.

A flush of red surged over Gu Dan’s pale face. "ARGH!" He spat out a mouthful of blood, so enraged that he fainted on the spot.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. And he calls himself a master? With such little fortitude?"

Duan Xu shook his head with disdain. His gaze then shifted, landing on Jiang Chen up on the high platform. He suddenly raised a finger and crooked it, saying provocatively, "Jiang Chen, I hear you’re also proficient in the Alchemy Technique. I wonder, do you dare to compete with me?"

「On the high platform.」

Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow, stared at Duan Xu, and slowly spoke, "Are you sure you want to challenge me?"