Unrivaled Miracle Doctor: The God-Defying Demonic Consort

Chapter 804: Chapter 239: Qingge, You’re Finally Here! (Three Updates)

"Today is the last day for registration." Suddenly, Shang Zisu glanced at the crowded street outside and said.

Her words made the other three subconsciously look toward the street.

On the street, among the people coming and going, there were quite a few rushing figures; they were all hurrying to the Alchemy Institute to register before the final day ended.

Only by successfully registering could they take part in the following assessment.

If they missed the registration time, they would have to wait another three years.

Mei Zizhong furrowed his brows slightly and said in a low voice, "Qingge was supposed to come with me, but back in Xipu City, something seemed to suddenly happen and she needed to handle it urgently. She told me that if she couldn’t make it back before the registration deadline, I should register for her."

"Yesterday, when you registered, Senior Brother, you already submitted Qingge’s name," Zhu Ling said.

Mei Zizhong gave the barest nod, but there was still worry in his eyes. "Even so, if she is long delayed and doesn’t return. What about tomorrow’s assessment?"

That sentence made the three of them fall silent.

This was indeed a fatal problem.

Someone could register on another’s behalf, but no one could take the assessment for them.

After a moment of silence, Zhao Nanxing raised his eyes and said, "Here’s what we’ll do. When I go back today, I’ll first speak with the master in charge of tomorrow’s assessment and ask him to make an exception. If Qingge still can’t make it before the assessment starts tomorrow, we’ll see if he can bend the rules a little and let her take a make-up assessment when she arrives. Anyway, with Qingge’s abilities, those assessments are nothing but child’s play to her, just a formality."

This plan was actually quite good.

The three of them all nodded in succession.

In these past few years at the Alchemy Institute, Zhao Nanxing had been doing quite well. His talent was already decent to begin with, and coupled with his previous status as a Prince, he looked extremely noble and carried himself with extraordinary bearing. He was also good at socializing and handled people from all sides with ease, so he got along well with many figures in the Alchemy Institute.

The only regret was that Shang Zisu’s attitude toward him was still lukewarm at best.

This left him helpless, yet secretly pleased. At least, aside from him, there was no other man who could make Shang Zisu say a single more word, or show even a single smile.

"I wonder what has entangled Qingge, and whether there’s any danger." Shang Zisu pursed her lips and frowned.

This question made the four of them sink slightly inside, each of them feeling a bit worried.

After a short while, Mei Zizhong said, "I suggested that we go help together, but Qingge refused. The progress she’s made over these years is unimaginable. With her current strength, and the trump cards in her hand, her life should not be in danger."

"Right. Senior Brother Mei, did Qingge ever say where she would meet you if she came?" Zhu Ling asked.

Mei Zizhong frowned and fell silent.

He shook his head slowly. "Neither Qingge nor I have ever been here. At the time, we only said we’d meet at the Alchemy Institute." A faint bitter smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "We didn’t know the Alchemy Institute would be this big."

Just looking for a single person in the outer area alone was practically like searching for a needle in the sea.

"This is also something we failed to think through," Zhao Nanxing said. "Knowing you two were coming, we should have arranged a specific meeting place in advance."

Zhu Ling also said, "Exactly! If Senior Brother Mei hadn’t run into a disciple who knew Senior Brother Zhao outside the Alchemy Institute gates, we probably wouldn’t have been able to meet up at all."

"Let’s not worry too much. With Qingge’s cleverness, she’ll definitely find a way to locate us," Shang Zisu comforted them.

Zhu Ling thought for a moment and suggested, "Why don’t we go wait at the registration area? If Qingge manages to make it back in time, she’ll definitely head to the registration place."

"That’s indeed a good idea." Mei Zizhong’s eyes lit up and he nodded.

His approval made Zhu Ling beam with joy.

Her feelings for Mei Zizhong had never changed. However, she also knew that she had no place in his heart, so she didn’t push nor force anything.

Anyway, just being able to see him, or receiving a few words of his favor, was enough to make her happy for half a day.

"Why make it so troublesome?" A voice suddenly cut into their conversation.

They were all very familiar with this voice.

Especially Mei Zizhong. Almost the moment that voice sounded, he rose from his chair and looked toward the newcomer with a smile.

"Qingge!"

"Qingge!"

"It really is Qingge!"

"You finally came! But how did you find this place?"

The four of them turned to look. That handsome young man in red walking toward them with a smile—who else could it be but Mu Qingge?

Mu Qingge’s sudden appearance truly delighted them.

Within their joy was a trace of pleasant surprise.

The hearts that had been hanging in suspense gradually settled. Mu Qingge had appeared safe and sound, and she hadn’t missed the assessment time.

Mu Qingge walked up to the four of them and, instead of rushing to answer their questions, said to them, "Senior Brother Mei, Senior Brother Zhao, Senior Sister Shang, Senior Sister Zhu, long time no see!"

Aside from Mei Zizhong, it had indeed been almost five years since she’d seen the other three.

Meeting again, they were no longer the inexperienced youths they once were; each of them now carried a bit more maturity between their brows.

The five old friends reunited, and after meeting each other’s gaze, they couldn’t help but share a knowing smile.

Even an ice-beauty like Shang Zisu revealed a faint smile, her beautiful eyes sparkling as she looked at Mu Qingge. That past mistaken affection hadn’t made things awkward between them.

On the contrary, it had added an extra layer of tacit understanding.

"Sit, quickly!" Zhao Nanxing said to Mu Qingge with a smile.

The four of them tacitly gave up a seat for Mu Qingge. After she sat down, Zhao Nanxing poured her a cup of tea and handed it to her.

"Qingge, how did you find us?" Zhu Ling asked with a smile.

Mu Qingge picked up the teacup and took a light sip. After putting the cup down, she finally explained under the four pairs of expectant eyes, "I put Tracking Incense on Senior Brother Mei."

As she spoke, she looked at Mei Zizhong, her smile carrying a hint of mischief.

Mei Zizhong, on the other hand, was stunned. He stared for a moment, then asked in surprise, "When did you put Tracking Incense on me? I didn’t notice at all."

Mu Qingge looked at him with a smiling gaze. "I quietly put it on you the day we parted. I was going to tell you, but then I felt it was too much trouble to explain, so I simply kept quiet. Anyway, even if Senior Brother noticed it, you wouldn’t wash it off—you’d only be more careful to keep it safe."

Mei Zizhong gave a helpless smile. "But I actually didn’t notice."

He was an alchemist himself, yet he hadn’t sensed Mu Qingge’s actions in the slightest. How could he not feel discouraged?

He suddenly started doubting his own alchemy.

"Ahem, Senior Brother Mei, don’t be disheartened. That Tracking Incense is naturally colorless and odorless. Aside from me, no one would be able to detect it," Mu Qingge explained.

Mei Zizhong nodded lightly and said to Mu Qingge, "You don’t need to comfort me. Losing to you, I’m completely convinced."

The five of them all burst out laughing, as if they had gone back to their days in the Yu Country Medicine Tower.

Meeting old friends again really was a refreshing, invigorating thing.

After chatting for a while, Shang Zisu asked, "Qingge, you left halfway on the way here—did you run into something urgent? Is it settled now? If you need our help, just say the word."

It was rare for her to say so many words at once.

That was only because the person she was talking to was Mu Qingge.

Mu Qingge had originally planned to refuse, but when she thought of Si Mo’s condition, she probed, "How many Holy Level Alchemists are there in the Alchemy Institute?"

"Holy Level Alchemists?"

"Holy Level?"

Her question made Zhao Nanxing and Zhu Ling exclaim in surprise, and even Shang Zisu looked at her curiously.

Zhao Nanxing spoke up. "The Alchemy Institute does have Holy Level Alchemists, but not many. And they can’t produce Holy Level Elixirs every time they refine. Even when they do, the quality of those Holy Level Elixirs isn’t very high. The strongest among them is the Inner Courtyard dean of the Alchemy Institute. But I’ve heard that the highest quality he’s ever produced in a Holy Level Elixir was only Advanced."

"Holy Level Elixirs are extremely hard to refine. In the Alchemy Institute, countless Alchemy Masters have stopped at this bottleneck. Spending a whole lifetime trying to break through to Holy Level Alchemist ends up being in vain," Zhu Ling continued.

"Only Advanced..." Mu Qingge frowned slightly.

She had originally thought that if someone in the Alchemy Institute had already reached Holy Level in alchemy and could refine Top Grade elixirs, she might be able to ask them to refine an elixir for Si Mo. But from the looks of it, although the Alchemy Institute was the gathering place for Pill Masters in the Middle Ancient Realm, there still wasn’t anyone who met her requirements.

’Looks like I’ll have to wait until I break through myself.’ Mu Qingge said to herself inwardly. She had confidence in herself, but it meant Si Mo would have to keep enduring his bodily pain for a while longer.

"Qingge, you need Holy Level Elixirs?" Shang Zisu asked.

Mu Qingge lifted her eyes and saw that the four of them were all looking at her with concern. She gave a slight smile and slowly shook her head. She didn’t want too many people to know about Si Mo—not because she didn’t trust them, but because she felt there was no need to say it.

Her denial made them drop the matter and stop asking.

Zhao Nanxing laughed. "Good thing you made it here today, or we’d have to think of a way to have the examiner master open a back door for you."

Mu Qingge’s lips curved. "I remembered clearly the enrollment time of the Alchemy Institute, and didn’t dare delay even a little. I could’ve arrived earlier, but I don’t know if it was because the Institute was recruiting that the Teleportation Array in Xipu City was completely packed. I had no choice but to come by ferry instead, which delayed me quite a bit and made you worry. That’s my fault."

Zhu Ling covered her lips and giggled. "Since it’s your fault, the welcome banquet we were going to give you tonight will be on you."

"Sure!" Mu Qingge agreed readily.

Zhao Nanxing joked, "Great, then we’ll properly fleece Qingge tonight. This Mu City Lord of Luoxing City is much richer than we are. Tonight, we’ll eat meat and order all those dishes we usually only drool over."

Seeing Mu Qingge being teased like this even made the taciturn Shang Zisu and the cloud-like, elegant Mei Zizhong smile slightly.

"You’re Pill Masters—how poor could you possibly be?" Mu Qingge said with a helpless, wry smile. These people just wanted to bleed her dry, yet they insisted on painting themselves as pitiful.

Would a Pill Master ever lack money?

They could casually refine a single elixir and sell it for a steady stream of gold.

Pill Masters were probably the profession least short of money in this world!

"Anyway, no matter what, we still can’t compare to you, Great City Lord Mu," Zhao Nanxing teased.

Mu Qingge laughed. "Senior Brother Zhao, you’re making fun of me too."

Zhao Nanxing’s eyes curved as he laughed, his expression saying everything.

The five of them sat for a while in the teahouse before Mu Qingge suggested, "Let’s go take a look at the registration area." When she’d first arrived, she’d followed Mei Zizhong all the way here and actually hadn’t had a proper look at the Alchemy Institute.

Zhao Nanxing pondered for a moment, then said, "The registration area is set up outside the Outer Court gate. It’s good if we go take a look now. In another one or two hours, registration will be closed."

With that said, the five of them stood up, left some money for the tea, walked out of the teahouse, and headed toward the Outer Court gate of the Alchemy Institute.

Along the way, everyone rushing to the registration area was in a hurry. As they passed by the five of them, they couldn’t help being drawn by their looks and stole a few extra glances.

When they arrived outside the registration area, the line of people signing up was still a sea of heads.

"Looks like I didn’t arrive that late after all," Mu Qingge joked.

Zhao Nanxing, however, countered, "Today’s crowd is actually the smallest. You should’ve seen the situation a few days ago when registration first started."

Mu Qingge was taken aback and looked at him in surprise.

This sea of people was considered a small turnout?

Mei Zizhong smiled at this point. "Junior Brother Zhao is telling the truth. When I came to register yesterday, I couldn’t even get near this place. In the end, it was Junior Brother Zhao who went through the back door to get you and me signed up."

Mu Qingge clicked her tongue inwardly and glanced at the people lined up, then swept her eyes over the wide, layered steps outside the Alchemy Institute and its towering buildings. In her heart she thought, ’This Alchemy Institute is really too popular in the Middle Ancient Realm!’

Suddenly, her gaze narrowed slightly and landed on one of the people squeezed into the registration crowd.

’Song Jinsan!’

Mu Qingge silently spoke that name in her heart. The woman who had taken the ferry with her all the way from Yanghai—she had said she was coming to the Alchemy Institute. It seemed she was here for this recruitment as well.

"What are you looking at?" Shang Zisu noticed Mu Qingge’s odd expression and asked curiously.

Mu Qingge calmly retracted her gaze and slowly shook her head. "Nothing." She had no intention of going over to greet her. She and Song Jinsan didn’t really have any ties, so she hadn’t planned on explaining anything to the people beside her.