“Tsk tsk, so it’s him…” Looking at the burly man in the room, Fa Ma suddenly chuckled coldly. “Does Elder Fa know him?” Hearing this, Xiao Yan inquired softly. “Hehe, of course… He’s the vice president of the Alchemists’ Association from the Cloud Empire. I believe his name is Yan Li. I met him once back then. This guy has quite a reputation in the Cloud Empire. Moreover, he strongly advocates for the combination of alchemists and poison masters, hence he is highly trusted by the poison masters in the Cloud Empire. Therefore, he is a strong candidate for the next president of their association.” Fa Ma explained. “I didn’t expect that this guy would dare to come alone to the Jia Ma Empire. He’s indeed bold with great skills,” Fa Ma said with a faint smile. “What should we do next?” Hai Bo Dong asked casually. “Let’s watch for now…” After a brief pause, Fa Ma signaled the others to remain calm. Nodding slightly, Xiao Yan remained silent, fixing his gaze on the burly man in the room. He secretly sighed in relief. Thankfully, this guy was not just seventeen years old. Judging from his appearance, he was probably over thirty-seven. Although his talent could still be considered remarkable, compared to before, his potential value in Xiao Yan’s mind had drastically decreased.
…
In the room, as the gray-robed figure transformed from a young boy into a middle-aged man, a robust aura surged from his body. The strength of this aura was so powerful that it vaguely exuded the might of a Dou Wang expert. It seemed that the level of this middle-aged man should be around a seven or eight-star Dou Ling.
“Ah… it’s more comfortable to return to my original appearance. At least I can exert my full strength…” Feeling the surging power within him, the middle-aged man smiled contentedly. Touching his face, he seemed to remember something and hurried to the bedside. From behind the curtain, he found a black thread and gently tugged it. On the roof, when Xiao Yan saw the middle-aged man pull the black thread, his expression changed slightly. He quickly shifted his gaze, fixating on where the bell had been turned to powder earlier. The black thread suddenly moved slightly, but not only did the bell fail to ring, the thread was directly pulled down. “Damn…” Muttering inwardly, the room fell silent for an instant before a sharp shout rang out, “Who’s up there?”
“Attack!” Hearing the shout, the elder Gamma sneered, waving his hand. His body disappeared instantly, his terrifying speed making Xiao Yan’s eyes narrow. Following Gamma, Hai Bo Dong and the others also vanished from the rooftop in an instant, turning into a gentle breeze.
…
In the room, the middle-aged man stared at the end of the empty black thread, initially stunned, then shouted sharply. As he shouted, he stomped his foot on the ground, transforming his body into a gale, dashing towards the window. When he was just a few meters away from the window, the middle-aged man’s expression suddenly changed. His forward momentum abruptly stopped, and he slapped hard against the nearby pillar. Using the counterforce, his body instantly shifted several meters to the side.
*Boom!*
At that moment, the window shattered explosively, with a powerful force containing a tyrannical aura shooting in, striking the huge pillar. Instantly, cracks spread across the pillar like a spider web.
“Who is it?” Staring at the cracked pillar, the burly man narrowed his eyes and roared. Ignoring his shout, a shadow flashed through the window. With a wave of its sleeve, a fierce force mixed with sonic booms swept through the room, sounding like muffled thunder. Under this roar, all the glass objects in the room shattered explosively.
The burly man, his face grim, watched the approaching blurry figure. Raising his right hand, a deep yellow flame rose from his palm. Tilted slightly, his hand formed a blade shape, chopping viciously at the incoming person.
“Hmph!” Seeing the burly man attempt to resist, the shadow could not help but sneer. A hand like an eagle’s claw suddenly extended, and extremely domineering waves of energy spread from the palm, causing the burly man’s ears to ring from the sonic boom.
The eagle claw and the burly man’s hand blade collided, then separated. As they parted, the burly man’s face flushed red, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. Dragging his feet, he left a deep scratch on the ground.
“Fa Ma, I know it’s you! If I, Yan Li, dared to come to your Jia Ma Imperial City, I’m not afraid of you killing me. But after you kill me, your Alchemists’ Association will be finished too!” Wiping the blood from his mouth, the burly man snarled at the shadow, who was preparing to attack again.
The burly man’s shout made the shadow’s attack slow, but soon, a chilly murderous intent erupted. The eagle claw twisted, clearly aiming to take the burly man’s life.
“Elder Gamma, wait!” Just as the shadow was about to finish off the burly man, Fa Ma’s voice suddenly boomed.
Hearing this, the shadow paused, then reluctantly retreated, appearing beside the table, glaring coldly at Yan Li, who was slumped on the floor.
“How ruthless,” Xiao Yan, on the roof, stared in shock at the merciless Elder Gamma. If it weren’t for the quick reaction of this Yan Li, the Dou Ling, who was almost at the Dou Wang level, might have perished in the first clash.
“Fa Ma, it’s really you!” Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Yan Li snarled coldly.
In the room, a light breeze stirred, and then Hai Bo Dong and Fa Ma appeared, their icy gazes fixed on Yan Li.
“Elder Fa, why not just kill him? Why give him a chance to breathe?” Gamma frowned, seemingly indifferent to the difference in status between them.
Fa Ma shook his head. As Yan Li said, as the vice president of the Cloud Empire, coming alone to the capital of the Jia Ma Empire, which was filled with powerful figures, he must have been prepared for exposure. Killing him here would likely lead to some trap.
“Hehe, President Fa Ma sees far ahead. If you kill me, the news that the Jia Ma Alchemists’ Association manipulated the championship and killed participants will spread rapidly among the surrounding empires. I wonder how long your association will last then?” Yan Li laughed coldly, struggling to stand. “Whether you believe me or not, if you’re willing to gamble with the honor of the Alchemists’ Association, go ahead.”
“Yan Li… You disguised yourself to participate in our Jia Ma Empire’s alchemist competition, violating the rules. According to the regulations, our association has the right to deal with you,” Fa Ma said calmly.
“Disguise? Haha, you say it’s a disguise, so it’s a disguise?” Yan Li suddenly burst into laughter, flipping his hand to reveal three red pills. A deep yellow flame surged, burning the pills to ashes in an instant.
“Fa Ma, with your knowledge, you must have heard of the ‘Facial Reformation Pill.’ That’s right… It’s that thing that turned me into a young man.” Yan Li smiled smugly. “This red pill is specially made by our association, allowing me to revert to my true appearance for ten minutes. After ten minutes, I’ll return to the youthful appearance. The three remaining pills have been destroyed. Do you think, with such a young appearance, who would believe I am the vice president of the Cloud Empire’s Alchemists’ Association? People will say you, Fa Ma, are afraid of someone from the Cloud Empire winning the championship and disgracing your association, so you secretly killed me!”
Fa Ma’s face darkened, his turbid eyes flashing with cold light. Yan Li, watching Fa Ma’s changing expression, felt uneasy. Facing three Battle Emperor experts, he would be easily killed. Though, as he had said, if he died, rumors would be spread to destroy the Jia Ma Alchemists’ Association. But no one was unafraid of death. He, Yan Li, was not some hot-blooded zealot. If it weren’t for the impending vacancy of the president position in the Cloud Empire’s Alchemists’ Association and the intense competition, he wouldn’t risk his life to increase his prestige in the alchemy world.
“As long as I can return, the position of the association’s president will surely be mine. No effort, no gain. Moreover, although Fa Ma is strong, he cares too much about the association. He won’t take such a big risk…”
Before coming, Yan Li had analyzed Fa Ma’s personality thoroughly. But analysis was one thing; if any changes occurred, he would be done for.
In the tense room, Fa Ma suddenly exhaled, his voice cold. “Alright, I won’t kill you now, but don’t think it will be easy to win the championship.”
“Hehe, that’s not for you to worry about. In this competition, besides that young man named Rock, the rest are not particularly impressive. If I can’t even compete with these juniors, how can I become the association’s president?” Yan Li sneered, secretly relieved.
“Then let’s wait and see…” Fa Ma’s lips moved, his voice devoid of warmth. “Also, I hope you can return to the Cloud Empire and succeed in becoming the president…”
“Go.” With a wave of his sleeve, Fa Ma ordered, his body turning into a black shadow, flashing out of the room. Hai Bo Dong and the others followed, albeit reluctantly.
“Damn old man, daring to threaten me… Once I win the championship, my exposure will naturally be high. I doubt you’ll dare to lay a hand on me then.” Biting his teeth, Yan Li whispered coldly, taking a big gulp of tea, but his arm trembled, perhaps from fear. If he failed to win, the three Battle Emperors chasing him would leave him with no way out.
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