The words that Master Mu said put the geniuses in a daze. Especially Bai Zhiqui. In the years that she had been with her master, she never saw her give that sort of praise to anyone.
They were in the same daze when they entered the arena as they were told. The crowd cheered hard enough to put them out of it and they all returned to the moment.
Opposite to them, three young men stood solemnly in front of their furances. The fires were already burning, and they were getting ready for whatever round came for them.
Glaring at them, the three geniuses took their positions as well. On either side though, surprisingly, one person was missing. It was impossible for Master Mu to find a suitable replacement for Liu Tian, and as for the person missing from the Handu Kingdom, it was not known who it was yet.
Ding Yan leaned towards Gu Hua and asked, "Which one is Han Dingsun?"
Gu Hua did not respond to him though. She just snorted in reply.
"Put your ego aside for a day. This is an important moment, and we have to be a team. Otherwise, there will be absolutely no way for us to beat our opponents." he said.
"He isn't here." finally, after this convincing, Gu Hua said.
Bai Zhiqui also heard this, and nodded. She also never saw Han Dingsun before, and was curious to see who this extraordinary genius was.
"Haha! People of Tiandu! Today, we are going to make things a little easier for mu friend Qingshan here. He already struggled to keep things going when the pill meet of Tiandu happened. So I will help you all here. This day is important. Two kingdoms and their geniuses will learn from each other and everyone can observe this display of talent!" a middle aged man stood up and said.
His voice reached everyone in the arena with ease, and all of them scoffed at what he said. The two kingdoms came here to learn from each other? What a joke.
Every one knew that this was nothing but a mere gesture at saving face of whoever was about to lose. They were still neighboring kingdoms, and no one wanted to go to war.
But the fact remained that this was a competition between the two kingdoms, and whoever would win would have the final laugh.
"The pill competition will be happening in four rounds. The first round is flame control. One person from each kingdom can come forward to participate in this trial." the middle aged man said.
The entire arena cheered, but there was a lot of discussion as well. The most obvious thing of all, was that the two most important people of the entire meet were missing.
"Where are the last alchemists of the kingdoms?"
"I don't know! I came all the way here because I heard that Liu Tian is a match for Han Dingsun according to the people who were here in the pill meet. I am skeptical of that, but they both aren't here!"
"Why are the two most important alchemists not here? I came here to see Han Dingsun perform alchemy in the way that he does it, but all that talk about Liu Tian made me curious. Still, where are they?"
"This is pointless. Having a pill meet where the strongest alchemists of each kingdom isn't present, are they trying to make this competition a joke?" another speculated.
But one thing was completely unanimous among everyone: They wanted to see the two geniuses of each kingdom go against each other.
To the side, a black robed man was chuckling at the discussions that were happening. He was looking at the proceedings as well.
"A bit idiotic, don't you think? Comparing some upstart to someone who is such a groundbreaking alchemy genius like you?"
The black robed man did not turn around, but he just nodded slightly.
"Truly idiotic. That man is just someone who got there by look, whilst you are someone who is hailed as a genius who can even enter the Ancient Realms?"
Now, the black robed man turned around. It was clear that this was Han Dingsun.
"Who are you?" Han Dingsun asked, looking at the similarly dressed mystery man who managed to see through his identity in just a glance.
"I did not think that such a young alchemist could enter the Xiantian stage. Once again, you prove to me that you are above all those who are on the stage right now." the mystery man chuckled.
They locked eyes for a second, and Han Dingsun also chuckled.
"You were also bored of the show that they put for this?" he asked.
"You and me are very different. You are the prince of Handu. You want to win. Meanwhile, I am the person they want to rely on, when one of their teammates tried to kill me." the mystery man sighed.
"I see. Are you trying to sell yourself to Handu?" Han Dingsun asked. This was no longer a joke, but a serious question.
"No. I would rather not downgrade myself that much. I am a man of principle. You might be bored, but I am here because I do not want to go there and stay in that place with those filthy rats. Of course, when the time comes, I will have to show myself along with you." the mystery man was also clear now. It was Liu Feng, or rather, Liu Tian.
"Fine then. Whatever you say." Han Dingsun shook his head and continued to look at the round that was about to start.
A thin man with beady eyes took the stage from Handu, while Gu Hua stepped up in the case of Tiandu.
"Well, all of this is still boring, no matter where you watch from. I'll be going then." Liu Feng said and he headed back where he came from.
Ping!
Ping!
[New Story Quest! Defeat Han Dingsun in Pill Battle.]
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