Over the Technique Refining Square, the atmosphere hung as oppressively heavy as storm clouds blotting out the sky.
After three rounds, every nation except the Three Star Nation was down to just two competitors. On the Garo Kingdom’s side, those two were Yan Zhen and the Garo Crown Prince.
The Garo Crown Prince furrowed his brow deeply as he eyed the mysterious figure in black robes—Wolf Poison—a faint unease stirring in his heart.
He had watched Wolf Poison throughout, and every technique and mudra the man employed was something the crown prince had never seen, or even heard of.
Faced with an opponent of such formidable and enigmatic strength, the Garo Crown Prince felt a creeping fear of defeat, a reluctance to even clash with him.
Yet Wolf Poison, having fought three bouts in a row, was quite drained. He stepped down after the third to rest.
The Garo Crown Prince snapped back to his senses. He steadied his resolve and promptly volunteered to take the stage.
Without Wolf Poison as his foe, the Garo Crown Prince unleashed his divine might and smoothly claimed a victory, turning the tide for his side.
The faces of the Garo Kingdom’s dignitaries and commoners finally brightened a little.
“Truly worthy of our crown prince,” Huangfu Can said quickly, seizing the chance to praise him. “Now that upstart Pill Refiner from that little nation won’t be rampaging anymore.”
Huangfu Wenqing sneered inwardly, while Yun Xiu shook her head gently.
Both women knew full well that Wolf Poison hadn’t even gone all out yet. The Garo Crown Prince was no match for him.
Even Yan Zhen, at present, lagged a bit behind Wolf Poison in technique refining—not that it was surprising, given their age difference.
The reason Yan Zhen had won his matches was the Great Crimson Heaven Flame.
Seated beside Eighth Palace Lord Yun Ye, Yunbai frowned and said, “That Wolf Poison is a bit eerie. The crown prince is formidable, but I’m afraid…”
Before he could finish, Yun Ye smacked the back of his head hard.
“Don’t boost others’ morale while crushing your own!”
Yunbai immediately shrank back like a deflated ball.
Not far away, the Garo Country Lord nodded.
“The crown prince performed well, but we can’t get complacent. He won this round smoothly only because Wolf Poison sat it out. If they faced off, victory would be far from certain.”
The other dignitaries chimed in with their assessments, mostly words of praise that swelled the Garo Crown Prince’s confidence onstage.
He had studied under Lord Fengxiao since childhood, gaining broad knowledge and experience. He had been a fourth-tier Pill Refiner for two full years now. If not for his divine soul realm holding him back, he could have advanced to the fifth tier already.
Among fellow fourth-tier Pill Refiners, no one could match him.
Little did he know, Wolf Poison was actually a fifth-rank Pill Refiner specializing in poison pills.
At this point, the Garo Kingdom had only the crown prince and Yan Zhen left. The Three Star Nation still had four, including Wolf Poison. Everyone else was down to one.
After a brief recovery, Wolf Poison took the stage again. As a fifth-tier Pill Refiner who had falsely reported his rank and suppressed his divine soul realm, facing fourth-tier opponents was like a father pounding on his son.
The only one he deemed remotely worthy was the Garo Crown Prince. If he beat him this round, the outcome of the competition would be beyond doubt.
More than six hours had passed since the matches began; it was nearing midnight now. Great lamps illuminated the venue, piercing the thick night, but they could not dispel the gloom on people’s faces.
The fifth round—a pivotal one. The assigned pill was the Vitality Pill, a general term for medicines that could revitalize the human body. Most were not easy to refine, and the time limit was one hour.
Thus, the Pill Refiners had few choices: they could only attempt second- or third-tier Vitality Pills.
Everyone opted for third-tier.
Under the pressure, however, some failed midway, with no time for a second try. They could only forfeit in frustration.
Nearly an hour later, Wolf Poison’s pill emerged first from his furnace, followed by the Garo Crown Prince’s. The others succeeded one after another.
Refining complete, it was time for unified judging.
The Garo Crown Prince brimmed with confidence. Under pressure, he hadn’t made a single mistake; if anything, he had performed beyond his peak. He could already gauge his pill’s quality without judging—no way he’d lose, at worst a tie. He could rest and face off next round.
Wolf Poison stepped forward first and presented his product.
Third-tier superior grade nine—tantalizingly close to supreme grade.
When the judge called out the rating, the Garo Crown Prince froze in place. He lacked even the courage to present his own pill.
He wasn’t alone; the others stood stock-still too, faces twisted in bitterness.
This black-robed man’s strength was on another level entirely!
The spectators, seeing the bizarre scene, began to grasp what had happened.
The Garo Crown Prince forced himself to submit his pill. As expected, third-tier superior grade seven, edging toward eight—but still short of nine.
In terms of effects, superior grade seven to nine were similar, but this was a contest testing Pill Refiners’ skill. A single point’s difference was a difference!
He had lost.
The others had even less hope.
The Sunward Kingdom and Shadow Moon Kingdom representatives scored third-tier superior grade four. Among the remaining four minor nations, the highest was third-tier superior grade one, the lowest merely third-tier medium grade. Two more had forfeited midway.
The overall situation was set!
Wolf Poison claimed another win in the fifth round!
Of the ten teams, only the Three Star Nation’s four and the Garo Kingdom’s lone survivor remained. All other nations had been wiped out.
Wolf Poison glanced toward the handsome youth in the rest area, who was playfully teasing the pink-haired loli. He was tempted to end the Grand Dan Fighting Competition right then, but his condition wasn’t optimal. Wary of an upset, he hesitated and decided to rest a bit longer, letting his teammates take the next bout.
In stark contrast to Wolf Poison’s caution, the Garo Kingdom side was plunged into near despair. Some were even ready to leave their seats, unwilling to waste more time.
To host a grand event at home, with home-field advantage, only to be utterly dominated across the board by a Pill Refiner from some piddling nation—they had lost all face!
Even Huangfu Xiong and President Lin Fen, who knew Yan Zhen well, held little hope for him.
Wolf Poison might be offstage for now, but once recovered, Yan Zhen would fall without question. What was the point of watching?
Ji Ya and Huangfu Wenqing shared that pessimism. In their past lives, they wouldn’t have bet on Yan Zhen against Wolf Poison either. Only Long Ying—past life or this one—had unshakable faith in him. Right now, she was fiercely dragging those would-be deserters back, refusing to let them go!
After a fifteen-minute break, the sixth round—the decisive one—began in earnest.
Back to Healing Pills, with a one-hour limit.
Yan Zhen approached his furnace. As soon as the judge called “begin,” he ignited his Gold-Silver Fire.
The dual gold-and-silver flames blazed forth, instantly drawing every eye in the arena.
Though merely ranked one hundredth on the Extreme Flame List with no overwhelming aura—any Mystic Lord powerhouse present could suppress it—the sight of such a flame on a mere mystic general was still quite shocking.
Huangfu Xiong stroked his beard approvingly.
