Alex stepped out of the arena as if the oue meant nothing to him-no triumph, no defeat, no lingering attachment. His expression was calm, almost indifferent.
But the truth ran deeper.
He wanted to lose.
Because standing at the top didn''t just bring glory-it brought attention. Pressure. Endless trouble that never stopped knocking at your door.
The tallest tree always caught the strongest wind.
And eventually... the woodcutters came.
Across the arena, Elder Yu approached Li Qingxue, his robe swaying with quiet authority. His eyes, however, were fixed-sharp, intent.
"Give me the pill," he said, extending his hand. "I need to examine what kind of medicine he created."
As a respected elder of the Medicine Pavilion, his words carried weight.
Li Qingxue hesitated for only a moment before reaching into her sleeve and taking out one of the pills Alex had refined. She ced it carefully into Elder Yu''s palm.
The elder lifted it slowly, studying its surface... then brought it closer to his nose. He inhaled.
And froze.
His eyes widened—just slightly, but enough to betray the shock beneath hisposure.
"Just the scent..." he murmured, voice low with disbelief. "My entire body feels refreshed... as if every cell has awakened."
A ripple of whispers spread through the crowd.
"But..." Elder Yu continued, "I cannot determine its full effect without testing it myself."
Before anyone could respond before Li Qingxue could even react-he tossed the pill into his mouth.
Gasps echoed.
Without asking permission.
Without hesitation.
Elder Yu immediately sat down, crossing his legs as he entered a meditative state.
The arena fell into an uneasy silence.
All eyes locked onto him.
Minutes stretched.
Ten... twenty... thirty.
The tension thickened, pressing against every breath as the crowd waited for his verdict.
Then-
Elder Yu opened his eyes.
But instead of rity, there was only confusion.
A deep, unsettling confusion.
"This is... strange," he said slowly, his brows furrowing. "The effect... it''s difficult to define."
He turned to Li Qingxue, his gaze now sharper-hungrier.
“I need another pill," he said. "Only then can I urately determine its true value—
how much cultivation it provides."
Li Qingxue hesitated this time.
Something felt... off.
But under the weight of countless watching eyes—and the authority of an elder- she still took out another pill and handed it over.
The moment it touched his hand, something in Elder Yu''s expression shifted.
Subtle.
But unmistakable.
Greed.
Still, no one spoke.
No one dared.
He swallowed the second pill without dy and returned to meditation.
Again, the crowd waited.
Half an hour passed.
When Elder Yu opened his eyes this time—
A surge of energy rippled outward.
Even those with weaker cultivation could feel it.
He had advanced.
A breakthrough.
The crowd erupted into murmurs, shock spreading like wildfire.
But Elder Yu''s face...
Wasn''t triumphant.
It was troubled.
Deeply troubled.
“This pill...” he muttered, his voice strained now. "Sometimes it''s potent... unbelievably so. And other times..... it''s almost nothing.”
His gaze flicked toward Li Qingxue again—more urgent now, more desperate.
"I must test it again," he insisted. “One more pill. This time, I will be absolutely certain. There will be no mistake."
But now...
Everyone could see it.
Something was wrong with Elder Yu.
"Elder Yu," Another elder stepped forward, his expression dark with irritation, "have you suddenly gone senile? You''re from the Medicine Pavilion-yet you can''t even judge a pill''s potency? You''ve already consumed two, and you''re telling us you still don''t understand?"
Elder Hou stepped to Li Qingxue''s side, his tone shifting instantly, smooth and persuasive.
"Miss Li Qingxue," he said, offering a faint smile, “those pills are extremely valuable. Only five were created—two have already been used. That leaves three."
His eyes flicked briefly toward Elder Yu, then back to her.
"Don''t waste another one on him," he continued calmly. "Give it to me. I''ll evaluate it properly. I''ll tell you exactly how potent it is."
Li Qingxue hesitated... then nodded.
She handed him a pill.
Elder Hou took it with careful reverence, lifting it to his nose. He inhaled slowly, eyes narrowing.
Fresh.
Pure.
Powerful.
A trace of excitement flickered across his face.
Without another word, he sat down, crossing his legs as he slipped into a meditative
state. The pill disappeared into his mouth.
The crowd held its breath once again.
Time dragged.
Another half hour passed.
Finally, Elder Hou opened his eyes.
His gaze met Elder Yu''s.
For a brief moment too brief for most to notice something passed between them.
Understanding.
Then Elder Hou let out a long, heavy sigh.
"This pill..." he said slowly, shaking his head. "It''s... unusual. Difficult to fullyprehend."
He turned back to Li Qingxue, his tone now measured, almost reluctant.
"I believe I''ll need another one to be certain. Only then can I determine its true
value."
Li Qingxue frowned.
Something didn''t add up.
Testing a pill... measuring its cultivation effect... it shouldn''t be thisplicated. For
elders of their level, this should have been effortless.
Yet here they were uncertain, confused, asking for more.
Still...
She wasn''t from the Medicine Pavilion.
She didn''t fully understand their methods.
"Miss Li Qingxue," Elder Hou pressed gently, "you still have two pills left. Give me
one more. I promise you—I''ll tell you exactly how much cultivation it provides.”
"Enough."
A voice thundered across the arena.
The Peak Leader stepped forward, his presence instantly silencing the crowd.
His gaze swept over Elder Yu and Elder Hou—sharp, piercing, seeing far more than they intended to show.
"Give the pill to me," he said coldly. "These two are clearly ying games.''
Li Qingxue didn''t hesitate this time.
She handed him the pill.
The Peak Leader took it without ceremony, sat down, and entered meditation.
The arena fell silent once more.
Half an hour passed.
Then-
He opened his eyes.
And his face turned red with fury.
“Elder Yu! Elder Hou-you bastards!”
His voice exploded like thunder.
But the two elders were already gone.
Vanished.
The realization spread through the crowd like a shockwave.
"Peak Leader..." Li Qingxue stepped forward, confusion written across her face.
"What happened?"
His jaw tightened.
"That pill," he said, his voice heavy with anger, “contains the equivalent of fifty years
of cultivation at the Foundation Building stage."
Gasps erupted.
"It''s pure energy-refined, adaptable, usable across multiple elements."
His eyes burned with fury.
"And those two... pretended they couldn''t understand it—just to consume more."
His fists clenched.
"They weren''t testing the pill."
"They were stealing it."
Only then did the others begin to understand what had just happened.
Fifty years of cultivation energy at the Foundation Building stage.....
That was nearly equivalent to a hundred years of Qi Condensation.
A pill like that wasn''t just rare.
It was terrifying.
And now it was obvious.
Elder Yu and Elder Hou hadn''t been confused.
They had been greedy.
But by the time the truth settled over the arena-
They were already gone.
Fled without a trace.
The Peak Leader''s gaze hardened as it shifted toward Elder Ang.
Vol
"This time he said coldly, "your disciple, tu Nan, could at best produce a pill worth ten years. cultivation at the Of Cond level."
His voice dropped, each word deliberate.
"But Jun Jiu..."
"He created something worth a hundred years at that same level."
Silence pressed down on the arena.
"I believe you understand who the winner is."
"Impossible!" Elder Ang snapped, his voice rising sharply. "This is absurd! All three
of you must be conspiring against me!"
His eyes burned with disbelief.
"There is no logic-none that could allow such simple ingredients, refined in mere
hours, to produce a pill of that level!"
The Peak Leader didn''t argue.
He simply turned his head.
"Li Qingxue."
She stepped forward immediately.
"Give him thest pill,” he said. "If he doesn''t experience it himself... he will never
ept the truth."
Li Qingxue hesitated.
This was the final one.
Thest proof.
But if Alex was to win-if the truth was to stand unchallenged there was no other
way.
Slowly, she took out the final pill...
.......and ced it in Elder Ang''s hand.
The entire arena held its breath as he sat down, crossing his legs, his expression
still full of defiance.
He swallowed the pill.
Closed his eyes.
And began to circte his energy.
Time stretched.
Thirty minutes passed.
Then-
Elder Ang''s eyes snapped open.
Wide.
Shaken.
“Amazing.....” he whispered, his voice trembling. "This is... truly unbelievable."
He looked down at his own hands, as if feeling something he couldn''t fully grasp.
“I never imagined... that such simple ingredients could produce this level of
power..."
"This... this is extraordinary."
A flicker of greed of ambition-shed across his face.
“If we could mass-produce this... the Wudang Sect would rise above all others. We
could lead the entire martial world... dominate the alliance..."
The Peak Leader''s voice cut through his rising excitement like a de.
"So."
"Do you now admit that your disciple has lost to Jun Jiu?"
Elder Ang froze.
His face darkened instantly.
Slowly, he turned his head toward Lu Nan—
And his expression twisted with fury.
Without warning, heshed out and kicked Lu Nan off the tform.
"You useless fool!" he roared.
Lu Nan crashed to the ground, pain exploding through his body.
"How can you be this ipetent?!”
Elder Ang''s voice burned with humiliation and rage.
"Not only are you weak-you dared to insult Jun Jiu''s parents?!"
"You should be grateful he didn''t kill you!"
Lu Nan stood there, stunned.
The pain in his body hadn''t even
settled yet he had barely managed
to stabilize himself with
?? ????
medicine-and now his own master
had kicked him aside like he was
nothing content
His mind reeled.
What did I do wrong?
The question echoed, hollow and desperate.
“Referee,” the Peak Leader said. “Elder Ang has already acknowledged the result.
Announce it."
The referee swallowed, then raised his voice.
"The match between Jun Jiu and Lu Nan-"
A brief pause.
"The winner... is Jun Jiu!"
The words rang out across the arena.
But instead of cheers, there was confusion.
The disciples looked at each other, whispering, unsettled.
Jun Jiu... had already left.
He hadn''t stayed to hear the result.
Hadn''t waited for praise.
Hadn''t even looked back.
It was as if none of this mattered to him at all.
And that only made it more unsettling.
"How...?" someone muttered under their breath. "How can he be this good at
everything?"
No one had an answer.
The Peak Leader turned to Li Qingxue.
“Call him back,” he said. “This afternoon, he will fight for first and second ce.”
Li Qingxue nodded, though her thoughts were still tangled in everything that had just
happened.
On another arena, the final opponent had already been decided.
A young woman stood at the center-calm, poised, her presence sharp as a de.
Hou Mei.
Daughter of Elder Hou.
"Daughter."
A figure appeared beside her-Elder Hou himself, his expression carrying a strange
confidence.
“This time,” he said quietly, “you will take the top rank.”
Hou Mei frowned slightly.
"What do you mean, Father?” she asked. “I don''t think I can defeat him. Jun Jiu.....
he''s on another level."
Her voice lowered.
"He''s like a king among us."
"Don''t worry daughter. Even if you lose,” he continued, “you will still win.”
She turned to him, confusion clear in her eyes.
Elder Hou leaned closer, his voice dropping to a whisper.
He said something only she could hear.
And Hou Mei froze.
Her cheeks flushed instantly, a deep red spreading across her face.
"Father..." she whispered, her voice trembling between embarrassment and disbelief Are you serious? You
want me to do that during the fight?"
Elder Hou nodded,pletely unfazed.
"Whether you win or lose," he said, "we still win."
Hou Mei bit her lip, her heart pounding.
"This... this isn''t right..."
"No," Elder Hou cut in, his tone firm, leaving no room for refusal. "You don''t get to
protest."
His gaze sharpened.
"Don''t you see? He''s talented, powerful... and rare. A genius in both cultivation and
pill refinement."
There was something calcting in his eyes now.
"We must secure him-no matter what."
Silence stretched between them.
Hou Mei lowered her gaze, her fingers curling slightly at her sides.
Then, slowly...
She nodded.
"Fine," she said quietly. "I''ll do it... for our family."
A satisfied smile spread across Elder Hou''s face.
"Good," he said. "You won''t regret this."
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