“No.”
Li Tan denied it firmly. The old man let out a cold, distrustful snort, holding the freshly made Blood Pill in his hand as he questioned him.
“This Blood Pill is of exceptional quality, among mid-grade pills it’s the best, nearly top-grade. Without the aid of high-level talismans, could someone like you produce it?
Hmph, you couldn’t even create a single layer of pill skin.”
“To the point where suppressing its quality still made it too high,” Li Tan muttered helplessly. He had deliberately tried to lower the pill’s quality while refining it, intending to make a low-grade pill, but unfortunately lost control slightly and nearly produced a top-grade one.
“I see! Heaven’s net is wide, yet it lets nothing through. Li Tan, you indeed attempted to cheat. Too bad you can’t even distinguish between low-grade and others. Elder, we should punish him according to the rules.”
The man, excited, fearing something unexpected might happen again, couldn’t help shouting out.
Li Tan smirked and asked,
“How do you intend to punish me?”
“One hand disabled!”
The man almost immediately replied.
Li Tan chuckled, then relaxedly turned to face the elder. Though he didn’t speak, the expression on his face clearly said, “What will you do then?”
The elder glared at the man unhappily until the latter fearfully shrank back and lowered his head. Then, speaking loudly enough for the surrounding people to hear, he said,
“For this exam, Li Tan has passed.”
The man was instantly stunned, like a child who had lost a toy already in hand, anxiously leaning forward.
“But he cheated!”
“Silence!”
Before the man could say more than two words, the elder’s furious voice stopped him.
“When did I permit you to interrupt my words?
I said Li Tan didn’t cheat, so he didn’t!”
The man swallowed hard, lowering his head in fear.
Li Tan smirked again, lazily leaning his upper body against the wall.
“What he said about me cheating isn’t entirely wrong. I indeed used external fire for refining.”
Li Tan’s sudden words instantly furrowed the elder’s brows, and the already despairing man was startled, raising his head with a face full of confusion.
Of course, Li Tan didn’t do this out of kindness; he had his own purposes, one of which was probably because he disliked the old man.
“What do you mean?”
The man, fearing the elder and thus too scared to speak freely, looked at Li Tan while the elder fixed him with a gaze, a hint of killing intent arising, his voice turning slightly cold, so much so that even the bystanders sensed it and instinctively stepped back a few paces.
“Nothing in particular, just telling the truth.”
But Li Tan showed no reaction, even wearing that irritating smile one might receive ten beatings for displaying on the street.
This only intensified the elder’s anger.
“I’ll give you one more chance to organize your words properly.”
Li Tan pointed his finger at the man.
“Haven’t I already told you the truth?
It’s exactly as he said.”
Caught off guard, the man was momentarily stunned, looking from Li Tan to the elder, completely confused.
Though he thought this was a good opportunity to condemn Li Tan, he was afraid of angering the elder with another wrong word.
“Do you think I tolerated your behavior out of kindness? Hmph, truly ungrateful.
Since it’s come to this, we’ll proceed according to the rules, and you should already know the consequences!”
As a revered elder and branch leader of the Pill Pavilion in Linjiang, he was always treated with utmost respect wherever he went. This was the first time he had been so openly disrespected.
Thus, every wrinkle on the elder’s face was filled with barely restrained fury.
Li Tan, however, simply smiled faintly, meeting the elder’s gaze directly. An aura of authority, usually belonging only to those in power, naturally emanated from him. When the elder met his gaze, he inexplicably felt a twinge of fear.
“Do you have anything else to say?”
“Yes.”
“Then speak.”
Li Tan shifted his gaze to the flustered man.
“He’s right. I indeed used external fire for refining.”
“So what more do you have to say? Isn’t this a clear case of being caught red-handed?”
The elder’s tone was quite impatient, yet still hesitated slightly about condemning Li Tan.
The instigator, however, clearly hadn’t given up on punishing Li Tan, his eyes flashing with naked hostility.
It was still about face; there were still people outside waiting for the result. If he lost this bet, not only would he be ridiculed as “inferior to a nobody,” but even Li Tan’s small request might cost him dearly.
“Elder, one alchemist position is trivial, but if we let him off easily today, won’t the Pill Pavilion’s rules become a laughingstock?
People will say that as long as one has power and connections, cheating doesn’t matter.”
The elder frowned slightly; the man’s words had hit the mark.
Leaning lazily against the wall, Li Tan watched their “performance” with the calmness of a spectator, unhurriedly speaking up.
He said,
“What you just said has a problem. When did I ever cheat?”
“You admitted it yourself just now. Are you going to deny it now?”
The man sneered at Li Tan.
Li Tan, however, remained completely calm. If he couldn’t handle such a small matter, how could he hope to contend with the mysterious forces hidden in the darkness of Linjiang?
He smiled lightly and asked,
“May I ask, which rule of the Pill Pavilion explicitly forbids using another’s inner fire for refining pills?”
The man was stunned, and so was the elder. Their first reaction upon hearing this was to find it ridiculous, but upon slight reflection, they realized there indeed was no such rule.
Still unwilling to let the cooked duck fly away, the man said word by word,
“Rules are rigid, but people are flexible!”
“Indeed, that’s true. But if you can fabricate things at will, won’t the Pill Pavilion’s rules become a joke?
Won’t people say that in the Pill Pavilion, as long as you get along well with certain people, you can do whatever you want?”
This deadly counter-question immediately silenced the man.
His face changed rapidly from anger to panic.
He looked pleadingly at the elder, whose expression was also somewhat grim, mainly filled with anger.
Li Tan had provoked him repeatedly and pushed his patience to the limit.
However, before the elder could erupt, Li Tan decisively extinguished the fuse.
With an annoying smile, Li Tan said,
“Fire for refining is merely an auxiliary tool. What truly needs testing is control over temperature and timing. Many renowned elders in history have records of using inner talismans. According to your logic, should we consider them all despicable cheaters?”
The elder looked at Li Tan, who spoke with conviction, a trace of surprise flickering in his eyes. Though the principle wasn’t particularly profound, originally, the elder had planned to use this reasoning to defend Li Tan, partly due to his previous connection with the mysterious young lady. But he hadn’t expected Li Tan himself to articulate such reasoning, which caused him to regard Li Tan with a bit more respect.
“That’s sophistry!” The man still tried desperately to resist.
But as soon as he finished speaking, he met the elder’s icy gaze.
The elder scrutinized him, secretly thinking, This person seems to be the root of all evil here. He then shouted,
“Silence! It’s not your place to lecture me!”
Instantly, the man fearfully lowered his head. The elder’s eyes flashed with menace as he slowly spoke,
“According to the Pill Pavilion’s regulations, Li Tan was qualified to participate in the examination, but what have you done?
You have openly disregarded the rules. What punishment does that deserve?”
The man’s voice trembled.
“According to the rules, I should be expelled.”
“If you remember that, then quickly disappear from my sight!”
Without mercy in his words, the elder commanded. Instantly, the man’s face turned deathly pale, and with a thud, he knelt down.
“I was wrong, Elder, please give me another chance!”
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