Number One Under Heaven

Chapter 73: Begin!

...

... Nobody spoke after a whole minute of silence. Even the three Spirit King on the stage sat there with wide eyes.

This voice Xuan Wanshan narrowed her eyes.

Is it fun to mess with the weak as the strong? The voice resounded once again.

... This time the people could hear the voice clearly--- It was a young mans voice.

Was it fun bullying her? The voice was warm sounding, yet when people heard it, their Soul shivered uncontrollably as if it was near freezing from coldness.

... Nobody dared to answer this young voice.

Tian Yi? Xuan Wanshan sighed in her heart. How could she not recognize her own Disciples voice?

... Even Xuan Cheung and Xuan Yuming noticed it.

I will ask you again. Is it fun bullying the weak? The warm voice was suddenly gone, replaced with a cold and ruthless one.

N-No, S-Senior Someone who was just insulting the blind girl whispered in a trembling tone while looking at the sky.

Then what other reason do you have for your actions?

B-Because that girl d-dared to disgrace our Guo Familys name by associating herself with us... Someone else from the Guo Family answered.

Hoooh... And how is she doing that?

Shes just a mere bathroom caretaker, yet she dared to participate in this Pill Contest without asking for permission. She also participated with the knowledge that only geniuses would appear in this Pill Contest, so she is clearly trying to lose on purpose while associating herself with us! If she is not trying slapping my Guo Familys face with her evil actions, then what is she doing? One of the contestants said. It was a young lady only two figures away from the blind girl.

And you are?

This little one is called Guo Canyin, the eldest daughter of the Guo Family! Senior, this is a matter within our Guo Family, so if Senior can turn a blind eye to our Family affairs, this little one will be forever grateful to Senior!

She does not know who this mysterious Senior was, but she knew that it would be troublesome if the Guo Family got on his bad side, so she decided to lower herself to please this Senior.

Is that so? Then I will excuse myself, The voice returned to its calm tone.

Hearing that, Guo Canyin laughed in her heart and said, If Senior would like, this one would like to respectfully invite Senior to our Guo Family for tea after this Pill Contest. Our Family is ranked second in the entire Xiangliu Continent, so I am confident that Senior will enjoy our hospitality!

What a fearsome Young Lady!  The audience thought. Not only did she calm this mysterious Seniors down, she even went as far as to invite him to tea so she could gain some connections!

Yes, excuse me for what I am about to say. Guo Family! Let me hear one more insult to this young lady come out of your mouth! I will personally level your entire Family! The voice spoke with an arrogant tone.

Guo Canyins heart suddenly skipped a few beats hearing that, W-W-WHAT?! S-Senior! What is the meaning of that?! Why would you want to create yourself trouble just for this little bathroom caretaker? She is not worth your life! Senior, please reconsider!

My life? Just by your Guo Family? Hahaha!"

"Senior! Please stop while you can! If you do not, then I cannot guarantee your safety!" She continued trying to scare him. No matter how mysterious and powerful this Senior was, she is confident that he will not be able to shake her Guo Family that had a Sky Realm Expert!

"If your Guo Family can bully the weak, then why can't I?!

*RUMBLE*

The entire Xiangliu Continent began to shake again, but it was many times more violent than before! The sky dimmed, and the clouds moved like water in a river!

An invisible pressure suddenly enveloped everyone that cursed at the blind girl, scaring the piss out of them. This pressure was not physically harming them. Instead, it had this domineering Aura to it as if an Emperor was staring down at them from Heaven.

Ahhhh! Many people screamed in terror.

Stop! Xuan Wanshan suddenly stood up and screamed.

... The shaking came to a sudden stop.

That was only a warning from me. There will not be a second time. The voice said before disappearing, leaving behind thousands of people scared silly.

*Plop*

... Guo Canyins legs suddenly gave up on her, and she fell to her knees. She just realized what kind of existence she was threatening! What Guo Family? What ranked second within the Xiangliu Continent? Even if her entire family were here with her, none of them would be able to retaliate that kind of enormous power! If it wasnt for Xuan Wanshan, she might have already died!

She slowly faced the frowning Xuan Wanshan and kowtowed while crying, T-T-Thank y-you Senior Wanshan f-for---

I dont need it. Xuan Wanshan interrupted her with an indifferent tone before sitting back down.

... Guo Canyin did not say anything. Instead, she stood up a few minutes later and walked away from the stage followed by these who were from the same family. She was in no condition to continue with the Pill Contest anymore and decided to go home to report what just happened to her parents. Maybe they will figure a way out of their current situation.

... The blind girl stood there with her mouth wide open. She could not believe what had just happened. Some mysterious Senior came to stand up for her even if it meant offending the entire Guo Family? Who was that Senior? Why did he help her? She had so many questions in mind, but one thing she knew for certain is that Senior stood by her side despite nobody else in this World would.

*Drip*

A narrow line of tear slowly traveled down her face. This is the first time in a long time that she has cried. She did not cry when her supposed family insulted her. She did not cry when people showed obvious disgust every time they saw her. She did not cry when everybody treated her like shit. But for some unknown reason, tears continued to flow down nonstop.

Thank you, Senior She bowed deeply.

*****

This troublemaker... What was he thinking to pull such a crazy stunt? Xuan Wanshan thought while looking at a particular spot in the crowd.

She is already used to his crazy stunts, but this one was more crazy than usual, and she could not think of why.

*****

Master Wasnt that a bit too much for one random Mortal? Were you trying to go on your first killing spree? A blue looking bird whispered near the ears of a young man.

Yan Yan, I only wanted to scare them a bit. I never intended to kill anyone, and nobody even got hurt. I will be damned if I have to sit here for half a day while listening to these idiots rambling. Although I do not know her situation, that does not mean I will just sit here and watch her slowly break down. Furthermore, with a Soul as beautiful of hers, how could she have done something to deserve such a nasty treatment? Tian Yi said.

Master Even Yu Yue was stunned at what her Master did just now! He would go that far just to help out a random Mortal that he does not even know? Her already maxed out opinions on him just increased again!

Master, you are too nice But this is... Yan Yan sighed and looked around at her surroundings. Most people were still trembling on the floor unable to get back up, let alone sit back down.

Isnt this a bit too much? She thought.

Tian Yi also noticed the after effect, and a drop of cold sweat slid down his neck, Maybe I overdid it a bit? He thought.

You also forgot to mask your voice Yan Yan said.

"Ah..." Tian Yi released a low cry, and then suddenly felt the need to look at the stage, and when he did, Xuan Wanshan was staring at him with sharp gazes.

He smiled innocently that sharpened the gaze even further.

*****

After an hour of chaos and recovery, the Pill Contest resumed.

The next one up to introduce himself was a handsome young man.

Phoenixs Continent, 20 Years Old Thats all-- Ah, Gin Seng from the Gin Family He was nervous to the point of forgetting to introduce his own name in an introduction!

...

... It has already been 10 seconds in, yet not even a single clap could be heard from the crowd!

It was not that they did not care about Gin Seng, but it was because they were too scared to make any sound when they have no idea if that mysterious Senior was still around! Even though Tian Yi only wanted to stop the insults that were being directed at the blind girl, everybody took it as shut the hell up and do not make a sound!

... Unable to bare the awkwardness, Gin Seng bit his lips and sat back down silently! This is the second time he has received such humiliation and in such a short amount of time! Just a week ago he accidently offended some Spirit King in disguise, and now some other Senior had unintentionally put him in such an awkward situation!

Seeing the scene in front of them, the contestants that have yet to introduce themselves started sweating! They were all geniuses from powerful families, yet they have to endure introducing themselves while knowing that they wont receive any recognition?! If this was not a slap in the face to them, then what is?!

Even after many seconds after Gin Seng had sat back down, the next contestant did not dare to stand up to introduce himself!

What do we do about this? Xuan Yuming whispered.

What can we do at this point? It was our fault for not stopping it when we had the chance Xuan Cheung sighed.

Father, Mother, sorry for the trouble that my Disciple has caused Xuan Wanshan said in a low voice.

You What part of him is a Spirit King?! He is already strong enough for us to call him Senior! Just where on earth did you pick up such an existence?! No, how did you even get him to accept you as his Master in the first place?! Xuan Cheung wanted to cry but had no tears.

This Xuan Wanshan was unable to answer and could only turn quiet.

... Even Xuan Yuming could only sit there silently and regret not stepping in sooner. They already knew of this nameless girls situation but was hesitant to stop it because they did not want to get in the way of the Guo Familys personal affairs.

However, it was because of their hesitation that such a huge ruckus occurred.

What are you waiting for? Hurry up and introduce yourself so we can get on with the Pill Contest! Xuan Cheung shouted.

Y-Yes, Pill Grandmaster! Jong Jiang, 19 Years Old! He said at a quick pace before sitting back down right away, not even waiting a second for someone to clap.

The next one instantly stood up and said, 20 Years Old, Lie Long! And he sat back down without pausing.

This 'whoever can introduce themselves faster contest' continued until all the contestants introduced themselves.

What the hell kind of Pill Contest is this?! The crowd cried in their heart.

*****

Xuan Cheung looked at the middle-aged man and nodded, indicating something.

The middle-aged man noticed and returned the nod, Ahem. Now that we are finished with the introduction let us begin with the Pill Contest! He waved his sleeves, and 10 Cauldron flew out, each landing in front of a contestant.

All the Cauldrons looked the same, brown and new looking.

You will be using these newly made Cauldrons to make your Pill. They are all regular Cauldrons that can be bought from anywhere. This way everybody will be on the same stage!

Hmph, like changing our Cauldron will change anything. However, this will decrease my chances of success by a large margin--- No, we have half a day and many chances; it will be fine! The contestants sneered in their heart. If they could only make Pills with their treasured Cauldron, would they have enough face to accept being called a Pill Making Genius?!

Now here are your ingredients. The middle-aged man waved his sleeves again, placing 10 tables filled with many different types of things from herbs to weird looking fruits.

The contestants all glanced at ingredients on the table for a split second before turning away with confidence. However, not even a second later their head snapped back to the ingredients with amazement.

Huh? Senior, why are there so little ingredients being shown? That amount of ingredients is only barely enough for one try! One of the contestants asked with a puzzled face.

Hah? Why are you stating the obvious?---- Ah! You thought you were going to get at least a few chances, huh? Well, great news! You only have enough ingredients for one try, so there can be no failures! The middle-aged man said with a mocking tone.

What?!?!? The contestants all cried in their heart. They only have one chance to succeed in such a weird atmosphere?! How will they be able to concentrate?! Although they may be geniuses, a True Qi Pill is something that even Pill Scholars have a hard making, let alone Pill Students like them!

Most of them thought it was going to be a walk in the park because they would normally get a few chances, but little did they know that was not the case!

But we have a time limit of half a day---

Ah, thats been changed. The deadline is now changed to 4 hours instead of half a day. The middle-aged man said with a playful smile.

What?!?!? This time they could no longer contain their shock and screamed out loud.

It takes them around 4 hours to finish one True Qi Pill with a 30-40 Percent chance of success, that was why they thought that half a day time limit was for them to have enough time for three tries! Hell, that only applies when they are in peak conditions, yet what about now? Their mental strength was already in a mess after experiencing that terror, and now with the sudden change in the rules, how will they be able to make such a hard Pill?! What kind of contest is this?! What the hell was going on?!

Xuan Cheung suddenly stood up and said, Your time starts now! Begin!

Huh? Wai--- Huh--- WHAT?!? They were instantly dumbfounded.