Chapter 1054: Chapter 1054: Elixir
Relying on his means to win, given Di Xin’s usual character, he would certainly have mocked his opponent a few times by now, to vent the pent-up frustration accumulated during his initial suppression. But looking at the furious Pei Yan across from him, recalling his reckless demeanor in the past, he knew that if he angered him with a careless word, a massive conflict between realms might erupt right here in the arena.
Having already secured the victory in this match in advance as his teacher requested, there was no need to provoke further complications. Thinking of this, Di Xin replaced his expression with a smile, stepped aside, looked at Pei Yan, and asked, "Do you remember the wine I treated the whole arena to when I competed with Ning Quanchen? Almost all the Child of Origin contestants present, including you and Gu Shenghui, who are participating in this match, drank it, didn’t you? You wouldn’t think I simply did it for some so-called gathering of heroes of the world, would you?"
"Is there something wrong with the wine?" Not only Pei Yan, but everyone there who drank the wine that day had their faces change slightly, glaring at Di Xin, waiting for him to give an explanation.
"Relax! The wine isn’t poisoned! If it was really poisoned, with your and your master’s abilities, you would have discovered it long ago, right? It’s just a trigger lurking in your bodies, guiding my Divine Wine to attack accurately." As he said this, Di Xin looked at Pei Yan and sneered, "I defeated Gu Shenghui with my own abilities. Your teacher in you should see this clearly. I did not break any competition rules; you have no reason to bother me!"
Hearing this, Pei Yan frowned deeply. Lin Junzhao indeed couldn’t see if he borrowed anyone’s methods. Even if the wine they drank before was a trigger he placed, Gu Shenghui was hit and taken down when he was fully defended, and now he’s still in a coma that even the self-healing Array of the arena cannot resolve. Everything seems too strange.
"I can let go of the match’s outcome, but I’m asking you why Gu Chu is still in a coma. Is it poison? Where is the antidote?" Pei Yan was not in the mood to tangle with Di Xin; the priority was to wake Gu Shenghui, so he compromised and asked.
"There’s no antidote," Di Xin said, spreading his hands casually. Seeing Pei Yan about to erupt, he quickly added, "Because he isn’t poisoned; he’s been hit with a tonic."
"A tonic?" Pei Yan asked in astonishment.
"Yes, as I said earlier, if he manages to survive, he’d thank me. The bowl of wine shot into his body contains the finest essence of my Divine Wine, combined with the rare materials from various realms, refined and concentrated by over ten Alchemy Masters. Usually hiding within my abilities, only awaiting critical moments to be used, this wine can help a person break through bottlenecks smoothly, progressing to the next level, and even allowing the source energy reserve after advancement to reach three times its supposed amount for that level, at the mere cost of a deep dream."
Though there was pride on Di Xin’s face when saying this, his heart was in pain. His twisted mindset made the corners of his mouth twitch into a wry smile, "Precisely because it’s a tonic and has already merged with the source energy in Gu Shenghui’s body as a guide with the wine’s trigger, his protective source energy embraced it readily, which is why it didn’t serve a defensive role. All in all, I won this match, yet I’ve bestowed upon you a top-tier Child of Origin at the ninth tier, with his source energy greatly enhanced. Pei Yan, you didn’t lose that badly, did you?"
Upon hearing this, Pei Yan looked down silently. After confirming the truth of his words with Lin Junzhao within him, Pei Yan raised his head and asked, "How long will this coma last? Are there any aftereffects?"
"That depends on his previous level. If he was at the peak of the eighth-tier awakening, the coma will be brief, otherwise longer, ranging from three days to a month. Aftereffects? Apart from headache and weakness akin to a hangover upon waking, there won’t be any discomfort."
Getting the answers he wanted, Pei Yan didn’t linger on stage. He turned and exchanged a glance with Ye Ruozai. A group of people carried the unconscious Gu Shenghui down from the arena back to the seating area. On the other side, the Blood Scourge team sighed in relief as the conflict dissipated seamlessly and returned to wait in the stands for the matter to be handled by the investigation hall, so the competition could continue.
In the audience, everyone gathered around Pei Yan. After listening to Pei Yan’s recount of Di Xin’s explanation, Wang Wenze snorted, "I wondered why Di Xin didn’t use such a foolproof tactic at the start of the match! Turns out this so-called killer move was an experience gifted to the enemy; if he could truly win with his own strength, he naturally wouldn’t want to use it. Looks like Gu Chu pushed him to the brink where he had no choice."
"Hehehe, thinking about it now, I was indeed foolish. Blood Scourge really covered all bases for this match, laying down hidden dangers in advance during the last competition, ensuring that whoever Di Xin faced, whether us or the Daoist Realm, once tricked into drinking that bowl of wine, he would secure victory in the following rounds, regardless of whether his opponent could defeat him."
Reflecting on how his impulsive actions cost the team greatly, Pei Yan’s anger burned even fiercer, while Jiang Feiyang sadly noted, "That wine was likely meant for you, yet it was used on Gu Chu. Although, because of it, Gu Chu gained unexpected benefits, but with the current two-out-of-three wins, we’re only second."
"Second? Who said so?" Pei Yan’s low shout silenced everyone around him. Instead of continuing to speak, he questioned internally, "Sister, would Di Xin’s wine work on me?"
"Uh? Not to mention how expensive that wine is and whether there’s more; even if there’s another portion, if he attacked without your awareness, maybe he’d succeed. But now, with Gu Shenghui’s precedent, if he employs this tactic again, you could build a defensive wall, precisely catch and store the attack in a container without contacting your body, then drink it when the time is ripe!"
Lin Junzhao’s explanation matched Pei Yan’s thoughts, and he nodded, "That’s not my concern. It’s just that the Blood Scourge’s tricks are endless. Sister, do you think they have any more insidious tricks like those used on Lin Daozi and Gu Chu, leaving us defenseless?"
"That I can’t say for sure, but as the match has progressed to this point, the Blood Scourge’s cards should mostly be revealed. The reason Di Xin didn’t challenge you first to eliminate you was, one, you might not accept the challenge, and two, they feared I could impair the effect of the wine while dwelling in you. Snagging two wins first indicates they aren’t confident any one of them could guarantee victory over you. Of course, this is just my hypothesis. Regardless, you needn’t worry; if they pull any shady tactics again, I wouldn’t mind lending you a helping hand in secret!"
