Second-floor hall.
The alchemy trial was nearing its end.
On the floor, ten Three-Pill Little Doctors wore extremely grave expressions. They controlled the flow of oxygen into their furnaces by blowing through the vents, using their breath to adjust the flames.
Of the ten small furnaces, five had already exploded before the incense burned out, turning the medicines inside to ashes.
The failed candidates were covered in soot and looked thoroughly dejected.
The remaining ones grew even more cautious, visibly tense.
When the incense finally burned out, the whole hall held its breath, and everyone’s eyes locked onto the furnaces in front of the last five.
"Time's up."
The overseeing Doctor spoke blandly, flicking his sleeve to snuff out the incense entirely.
"Alright, open the furnaces."
As soon as he finished, the remaining five took a deep breath and slowly opened their furnaces.
All eyes were glued to them. Leo Liu and Byron Liu stared so hard they almost wanted to rush up and see for themselves.
Bang!
The first person's furnace had barely opened before it exploded—his pill was completely ruined, instant failure.
Out of the five, only one succeeded, but even then, the Three-Essence Pill he produced was embarrassingly poor.
"This round’s Three-Pill Little Doctor promotion test is over. No one qualified."
The Doctor above lazily announced the result.
A wave of sighs and disappointed murmurs swept through the crowd.
"Let’s go, nothing worth watching here."
Right now, Evan Lin just wanted to find a quiet spot and check out the iron box he’d just acquired. If it really was what he suspected, he could at least turn it into a half-decent magic artifact.
Unlike the Soul-Sacrifice Beauty Scroll or the Scarlet Flame Command, which rely on yin energy and fire power, this was more like a formation-type magic artifact.
Just as everyone was about to leave, Gary Liu raced down from the third-floor stairs, darting over to the Doctor overseeing the test.
He leaned in and whispered a few words. The previously lazy Doctor’s face instantly turned excited and flushed red. He double-checked with Gary several times, then spun around and shouted, "Just received a sect-master decree! All Miracle Hand Doctors inside the Pavilion can, by presenting their Doctor tokens, go up to the third floor and participate in the Pill King Tournament hosted by the sect master himself!"
Pill King Tournament!
The moment he said it, the crowd below erupted.
"The last Pill King Tournament was over twenty years ago! Every time it’s held, it’s not just an honor—there’s a chance to get personal guidance from the sect master!"
"No way it’s that simple! The Pill King reward is always huge. Last time, they gave out a Bone-Shedding Pill!"
The crowd buzzed with excited chatter.
Those who failed the Three-Pill Little Doctor test earlier were stomping their feet in regret.
If only they’d succeeded, they’d be eligible for this competition now.
"Huh?"
Evan Lin had just taken a step to leave, but hearing this, he paused and glanced back.
"The reward for this Pill King Tournament is half a piece of Thousand-Year Nirvana Leaf!"
The Doctor took a deep breath and practically shouted the last line, unable to hide his excitement.
"Thousand-Year Nirvana Leaf! Isn’t that our Miracle Hand Sect’s sect-suppressing treasure?"
"I heard the Thousand-Year Nirvana Leaf can revive the dead and regrow flesh on bone! The sect master’s had it for years and never used it himself, but now he’s putting it up as the Pill King Tournament prize!"
"Damn! Wonder who’ll be lucky enough to get it!"
Onlookers went wild.
Even more people stared with greedy eyes, wishing they qualified to join.
If you managed to get half a piece of Thousand-Year Nirvana Leaf, you’d basically ascend in one step! Even if you couldn’t use it yourself, you could sell it anywhere and never worry about money again. Or if you found a hidden great clan and used the leaf as your ticket in, who knows what amazing things you could trade for!
A heaven-sent opportunity!
"Thousand-Year Nirvana Leaf, Miracle Hand Sect actually has something like that?" Evan Lin’s heart stirred, and he stopped in his tracks.
Even half a piece was enough to make Evan head up to the third floor and check it out.
"Master?"
Leo Liu was walking and didn’t notice Evan suddenly stop—he nearly bumped into him.
"Don’t rush off yet—let’s check out the third floor."
Evan grinned, then waved his hand and headed for the third floor.
"The third floor? Are you trying to get yourself killed? Didn’t you hear him say only Doctors with tokens can go up!"
While Leo was still stunned, Byron Liu nearly fainted from panic. He stomped his feet in anxiety.
"Master’s got a token," Leo Liu reminded at just the right moment.
"That token’s probably a fake! Sure, he can fight, but alchemy? Does he look like someone who can refine pills?" Byron was freaking out more and more.
But Evan was already heading for the third-floor stairs.
Not many people walked this path—most weren’t qualified and could only stare from the second floor, eyes glued to the action.
At the foot of the stairs, Gary Liu was checking tokens. Anyone wanting to go up had to hand over their Doctor token for inspection.
"Doctor Qi, please proceed."
"Doctor Zhao, long time no see—please head upstairs."
"Doctor Ge."
Gary checked each token one by one, smiling—these Doctors all outranked him, so making a good impression could pay off later.
"Doctor Dong?"
Gary glanced down and suddenly received a Doctor token engraved with the character Dong. Remembering what he’d heard upstairs, his hand couldn’t help but tremble.
This was the guy who killed Doctor Dong! The one who could take out an Inner Strength peak expert!
Gary fought to hide his nerves and forced a smile, but when he looked up and saw the calm youth in front of him, his smile froze.
"It’s you!"
Gary blurted out in shock, his mind going blank for a moment.
"What about me?"
Evan glanced at him, amused.
Gary snapped out of it, remembering what Leo had said about a guy named Lin, and what A Fu mentioned about the person who killed Doctor Dong also being named Lin…
In that instant, Gary finally realized something, and a flash of terror crossed his mind.
But he quickly got his act together, forced a smile, and hurriedly said, "Sorry, sorry, I didn’t know you were Doctor Dong! Sorry for being rude earlier—please don’t hold it against me!"
"Please, go right up to the third floor!"
Gary quickly stepped aside.
"Can they come too?" Evan asked.
"Of course, of course! If you’re bringing them, how could I say no?" Gary made the call on the spot, letting Leo Liu and Byron Liu go up too.
Watching the three head upstairs, Gary’s smile faded from warm to cold.
He raised his eyebrows, muttering under his breath.
"Who would’ve thought, who would’ve thought… If you’re really that guy, then take your people and go die together upstairs!"
"You dared hit my brother and mess with me? You’re just asking for trouble!"