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**
"Jie jie jie~"
Amid the raucous celebration filling the arena, a chilling laugh suddenly echoed from a corner, resounding in everyone's ears.
The noisy crowd gradually quieted down. Frowning, everyone turned with disdain toward the gray-robed young man standing on a stone platform in the corner, letting out his eerie laugh.
Nobody held the slightest goodwill toward this alchemist from the Chu Yun Empire.
Not only because of his previous arrogance and smugness, but his very identity rubbed people the wrong way.
Let alone the natural regional animosity and a host of other factors.
In the VIP section, the various powerhouses suddenly straightened up, gazes turning sharply toward him.
They had tolerated him earlier only because the tournament was still ongoing.
But now the competition was over, and he still dared jump out to seek attention?
Was he trying to give them a reason to act?
Wei Yang couldn't hold back any longer. He stood up eagerly, walked to the edge of the platform, and rested a hand on the railing as he said softly, "He's mine."
Jia Xingtian and Hai Bodong were a step slower. Seeing this, they could only shrug and signal they had no objections.
...
The entire arena fell deathly silent.
On the platform, Fa Ma folded his hands into his sleeves, gazing coldly at the gray-robed youth. A sneer curled his lips.
"The competition is over. You may leave. Our Jia Ma Empire's alchemy world does not welcome you."
Jia Xingtian also spoke, "We are celebrating our new champions, and yet you interrupt with that unpleasant laughter. Are you provoking our empire?"
"Uh..." The gray-robed youth's smile froze instantly. He shot a glare at Jia Xingtian.
Your laugh is unpleasant!
Then—
"Jie jie jie, of course I'll leave." The youth chuckled coldly. "However, I'm quite interested in the champion's reward and would like to see it for myself."
"The champion's reward?" Fa Ma smiled faintly. "And what does that have to do with you? This is an internal matter of our Alchemist Association. We'll award it to the champions shortly. You are not involved."
"But I am very interested in that pill recipe," the gray-robed youth said, restraining his smile and sounding rather polite. "Might I be allowed to take a look? Of course, I'm willing to pay a price."
"Let you see it? A price? Are you joking?" Fa Ma scoffed. "A Tier 6 pill formula—champion's reward, no less—how could it be casually shown to outsiders? If we did that, what would be the point of anyone competing for the championship?"
He didn't hesitate at all.
What a joke. Everyone's looking for an excuse to stir up trouble right now—who wants to waste time making deals with you?
The gray-robed youth wasn't surprised by the rejection. Truth be told, he already knew what the answer would be.
Spreading his hands, he sighed, "So... no deal, huh?"
"Correct." The various powerhouses all smirked coldly—thank goodness there's no deal, they had been hoping for an excuse to act.
You want to see the Soul Mending Pill formula?
Dream on.
Countless eyes were watching this scene—tense, yet full of anticipation.
At this point, anyone with half a brain could tell:
That gray-robed youth was unhappy about losing and wanted to make a scene, and the big shots... well, they seemed eager to escalate things too.
This was a collision both sides were walking toward willingly.
...
"Jie jie jie~ Since there's no deal, then let's not waste any more time talking!"
The gray-robed youth burst into a wild laugh once more, then suddenly lashed out with a kick—sending the cauldron in front of him flying.
Clang—!
The half-man-tall medicinal cauldron tumbled off the stone platform and crashed against the flagstone ground with a deafening bang, the sound echoing through the now-silent square.
Everyone was dumbfounded.
They hadn't expected him to be this bold.
He flipped the table—right in front of the top powerhouses?
After a brief silence—
"Outrageous!" came a chorus of furious roars from the VIP seats.
Hai Bodong couldn't hold back anymore. He slammed his palm forward. "You freak—neither human nor ghost—I've tolerated you long enough!"
Rooaaar—!
A massive ice dragon, dozens of meters long, emerged with a terrifying roar and shot down toward the gray-robed youth in the corner.
Wherever it passed, a freezing chill spread, causing the air itself to crackle, and even coating the ground with a layer of thin frost.
In an instant, the entire square was enveloped in cold.
The Ice Emperor Hai Bodong—after decades of silence—was announcing his presence to the world once more.
The gathered powerhouses all turned their eyes toward the attack.
They wanted to see: what gave this youth the confidence to make the first move?
And Hai Bodong's strike—it was also a test.
The ice dragon descended with overwhelming force.
Yet, as the icy beast rushed down, the gray-robed youth remained unmoved atop the stone platform. Hands behind his back, he wore a faint, mocking smile at the corners of his lips.
In an instant—just as the dragon came within five meters of him—
The space in front of him rippled like water. A black-robed figure appeared silently before the gray-robed youth. No one saw how or when.
A hand emerged from the black figure's sleeve and calmly pressed forward—directly meeting the ice dragon's ferocious charge.
Then, with a mere flick—
Boom!
A muffled blast rang out as the entire ice dragon shuddered violently.
The next moment, before the eyes of the shocked crowd—
Crash—!
The massive ice dragon, over ten meters long, completely disintegrated into countless shards of ice. They scattered and rained down across the stone plaza, splashing like droplets of water.
"Hmph." Hai Bodong grunted, the backlash disturbing his aura slightly.
The arena fell into a deathly silence.
In the spectator stands, countless people instinctively shrank back, not daring to make a sound.
That mysterious black-robed figure who had appeared out of nowhere was now floating in midair—standing with both feet unsupported, levitating above the ground, guarding the gray-robed youth.
It was as if there was an invisible platform beneath his feet holding him aloft.
His entire body was shrouded in a wide black cloak, his face hidden by a hooded mantle, rendering his appearance completely indiscernible.
Only a pair of eyes could be seen beneath the hood—two deep, dark voids resembling black vortexes, radiating a chilling aura that seemed capable of devouring one's very soul.
"A... Dou Zong expert!"
The VIPs around the square all gasped in unison. The atmosphere turned grim in an instant.
No wonder this youth dared to flip the table. With this kind of backing?
Currently, the Jia Ma Empire had no Dou Zong-level powerhouses. The strongest among them were only at the peak of Dou Huang.
(At this time, Yun Shan of the Yun Lan Sect had not yet emerged from seclusion, so the world remained unaware of another Dou Zong's existence.)
...
"Contestants—leave the arena immediately!" Fa Ma called out sharply.
The many alchemy contestants snapped to their senses and immediately began to move to retreat—
But then—
Boom!
A terrifying pressure swept down from above, engulfing the entire arena and directly locking down all of the contestants.
The force was as heavy as a mountain, pressing down on every young alchemist, rendering them unable to move.
It was the mysterious Dou Zong's doing.
"Jie jie jie~ Don't move now," the gray-robed youth laughed arrogantly, "or I can't guarantee your safety."
The contestants instantly broke out in cold sweat, fear written across their faces. None dared to move again.
Xian'er and Xiao Yan instinctively moved closer together, subtly positioning themselves between the others and the threat.
"Despicable!"
"Who are you really? For someone at the Dou Zong level to bully a bunch of juniors—aren't you ashamed?" Fa Ma's chest rose and fell with fury. He stared coldly at the mysterious powerhouse.
Jia Xingtian and Hai Bodong, who had originally prepared to make a move, slowly stopped in their tracks. Their inner auras surged but remained suppressed. They dared not act rashly.
Those dozens of contestants in the arena were all young, top-tier alchemist talents—standouts of this grand competition. If anything happened to them, the loss would be catastrophic.
It would leave an entire generational gap in the Jia Ma Empire's alchemy world.
And that was a price no one could afford.
Held hostage.
At that moment—
The mysterious Dou Zong powerhouse, still silent under all eyes, didn't even spare Fa Ma a glance.
Instead, he slowly turned around.
Then—under everyone's horrified and disbelieving gazes—he knelt in midair on one knee.
And the person he knelt to—
Was that very gray-robed youth!
Raising his clasped fists, the figure spoke in a hoarse yet utterly respectful voice:
"Di, pays respects to Master."
"Hahahaha! Di, you came at just the right time! Very good—excellent!"
The gray-robed youth threw back his head and laughed gleefully. He nodded with satisfaction, his face filled with pride.
Master?!
Everyone was nearly scared out of their wits by what they saw.
A Dou Zong, a being akin to legend within the Jia Ma Empire...
Now, right before their eyes, was kneeling to a boy of merely sixteen or seventeen... and calling him master?!
For a moment, everyone thought they were dreaming.
A powerful, surreal absurdity washed over them.
Many couldn't help rubbing their eyes.
And when they came to their senses—
They felt their entire worldview... had just collapsed.
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