Chapter 1309
After the Sword Saint realized he couldn't vomit the poison out, he completely lost control and lunged at the members of the Regulatory Board, attempting to snatch the Golden Crown Elixir from their hands. Unfortunately, after only a few steps, two massive hands formed from stone erupted beneath his feet, binding him in place.
"You have two minutes and twenty-two seconds left."
Leon watched the Sword Saint with an indifferent expression, calmly beginning the countdown.
Watching his own skin slowly turn black, the Sword Saint finally broke down completely.
"It's not my fault, I swear it's not my fault! The Grand Elder of my family sent me here. As long as I completed the task of framing the Gilded Rose, I would receive enormous resources...
Save me, please save me! I'll tell you everything, I don't want to die, I'm still young, I still have a chance to break through to Sky Rank, I don't want to die here! Give me a Golden Crown Elixir, please, I'll pay, I'll pay double..."
The Sword Saint directly confessed to framing the Gilded Rose, causing an uproar among the crowd. Everything was happening in full view of everyone present—two Worldshapers, six Sky Rank powerhouses, seven Grandmasters—and none of the people involved were from the Gilded Rose. Anyone could see what the truth was...
"You have one minute and forty seconds left."
Leon continued the countdown, while the Sword Saint was on the verge of madness.
"Hughes Family! I'm from the Hughes Family! My name is Bush. Derrin's Three-Hour Curse was given to me by the Grand Elder. The corpse was just some random Greatsword Master grabbed from outside—I don't even know him.
And him, too—this guy, William, the inspector. After poisoning that man, he immediately gathered the Regulatory Board members for the test.
Save me, save me! I've told you everything, just give me a Golden Crown Elixir..."
Mid-sentence, the Sword Saint's face twisted beyond recognition as he began to cough up blood, his life force rapidly fading.
One member of the Regulatory Board turned pale, then a look of ruthlessness flashed across his face. He cast a Wind Blade at the frenzied Sword Saint, but the blade suddenly dissipated before it reached him.
Leon spat out a rune, completely sealing the Sword Saint's magic.
The rapid succession of events left everyone stunned, while blood gushed from the Sword Saint's mouth like a stream...
His skin had turned completely black, the color distributed evenly—some places darker, some lighter—like rings of black bands. Now there were only a few seconds left...
At this moment, the Regulatory Board members seemed to remember something: this was a crucial witness. If he died, their mistake would be impossible to explain, especially since some of them had participated in the framing—an enormous scandal...
One member quickly forced a Golden Crown Elixir down the Sword Saint's throat. In less than five seconds, he stopped coughing blood; in ten seconds, his blackened skin returned to normal, though he looked extremely weak, barely clinging to life.
Five seconds later, the Sword Saint's frail body rapidly returned to normal. At least outwardly, he looked healthy again; even the swollen pustules on his face burst and disappeared, his features restored to their original appearance.
With his face revealed, someone in the crowd immediately recognized him.
"Oh, damn it, it's Bush, that filthy little thief! He still owes me thirty Purple Gold Coins. I can't believe he showed up here."
"That guy's notorious—a villain through and through. Robbery, theft, fraud, you name it. I can't believe he'd dare pull something like this. The Hughes Family bastards have gotten so arrogant since cozying up to the Rodney Family..."
Though Bush had recovered, he now lay on the ground, eyes filled with terror as he watched himself nearly die. For a scoundrel who thrived on deception and trickery, nothing was more terrifying than this...
There was nothing more to say—the facts were clear. The one who claimed the Golden Crown Elixir was poisonous had, when dying, confessed everything just to get a dose of it...
Anyone present who wasn't an idiot understood what was happening. On the brink of death, the thing he trusted most was the so-called 'poisonous' Golden Crown Elixir...
The Regulatory Board took Bush away. All the sealed Golden Crown Elixirs belonging to the Gilded Rose were naturally returned, and even the bottle they used was paid for, in Purple Gold Coins, no less.
Leon paid no attention to these matters. The facts had already proven just how powerful the Golden Crown Elixir was—the villain who tried to frame it, when dying, chose it as his only hope for survival.
And within fifteen seconds of taking the Golden Crown Elixir, the dying man was completely restored—no lingering weakness after detoxification. Anyone with eyes could see that clearly.
There was no need to say more about the Gilded Rose's potions. On that day alone, sales soared by thirty percent, and every bottle of Golden Crown Elixir in stock sold out. Keep in mind, one bottle costs two hundred thousand Purple Gold Coins—and a single Purple Gold Coin has nine times the purchasing power of an Andalusia Kingdom gold coin!
Leon left these matters alone, but the next day, three announcements and research findings appeared in Astral Academy's internal journals.
The first was issued by the Astral Academy Potion Regulatory Board, containing a detailed analysis and explanation of the Golden Crown Elixir. Unfortunately, the scandal had tainted the Regulatory Board, and many now doubted the report's credibility.
The second was published by Cyrus, the Vice Dean of Astral Academy, expressing regret over the Regulatory Board's mishandling and apologizing to the Gilded Rose. Issued in the academy's name, it declared the Hughes Family a permanently unwelcome faction—no Hughes member would ever be allowed on academy grounds or in affiliated shops.
With this stern notice, the Hughes Family could forget about doing business in Odin Kingdom—especially with alchemical goods. Except for the black market, they had nowhere left to go...
The third research report surprised everyone, yet was universally accepted, because its author was Gregory House, the House Family's Worldshaper specializing in botanical and alchemical research.
His report described the Golden Crown Elixir's effects in an objective tone: it neutralized every low-grade toxin tested, and even the House Family's entire collection of toxin specimens had been tried—none resisted its antidotal power.
Moreover, the Golden Crown Elixir enhanced the user's resistance to toxins. For seven days after taking it, one was nearly immune to all poisons, and even after seven days, resistance remained noticeably higher.
Of the three reports, Gregory House's was the most convincing. His world was pure alchemy, and everyone knew his eccentricity. Anyone who claimed Gregory House had been bribed would be drowned in spit...
"Idiot, you think that eccentric Gregory House could be bribed? Is your brain broken?"
The Rodney Family's Grand Elder spat in the messenger's face, nearly stomping on the man who claimed Gregory had been bribed by the Gilded Rose...
Even as enemies, the Grand Elder would never believe that someone as unchanging as Gregory, nearly a thousand years old, could be bribed. That only meant one thing: the report was true...
When the news reached Wyatt Rodney, his face turned so dark it looked like it could drip black water.
"Idiots, Hughes Family idiots! This is what they did—how did they guarantee it would work, yet end up confessing to framing the Gilded Rose in front of everyone? Are all Hughes Family members brainless maggots?
Abandon the Hughes Family. Cut ties with them completely—they can't be allowed to drag our family down. Put aside the matter of dealing with the Gilded Rose for now; the Astral Auction in Neverwinter City is about to begin.
The once-a-decade auction is our chance to showcase the family's power—and also a chance to strike at the Gilded Rose. Is the item for the auction ready?"
The Grand Elder nodded, glancing nervously at Wyatt Rodney.
"It's been chosen. The fragment we acquired from the Destruction Black Dragon's magical artifact is being sent to the auction. It's useless as a tool, but for research, it's a real prize—just the sort of thing alchemists love.
We've already studied it thoroughly—it's just raw material, unfortunately already forged and only a part of the artifact, and not an important one. It can only be used for research..."
Wyatt Rodney nodded.
"Get the auction list as soon as possible."
After giving his orders, Wyatt Rodney turned and left. The Grand Elder watched his back, sighing softly.
Wyatt Rodney's temperament was growing more arrogant and domineering by the day. Was this really a good thing? Would his leadership truly make the Rodney Family stronger? Strength alone doesn't make a family flourish...
And if we keep opposing the Gilded Rose like this, the outcome won't be good. This time, even a Vice Dean from Astral Academy wrote a report, and that eccentric House Family Worldshaper did too. Maybe the Gilded Rose isn't as easy to crush as we thought.
Their alchemical skills—at least in potions—have already surpassed ours, and not just by a little, but by a lot. The fact that Gregory himself wrote a research report for someone else means trouble...
It's not that complicated, really. Gregory only did the research because he discovered a completely new plant in the Golden Crown Elixir. To get his hands on it, he had no choice but to use this chance to do the Gilded Rose a favor...
The Golden Crown Herb Leon cultivated only grows in the semi-plane; there's nothing like it in Northend World. No matter how skilled Gregory is with plants, he couldn't identify it just by analyzing the potion...
The framing incident quickly blew over, and business at the Gilded Rose became even more prosperous. All the Rodney Family's scheming had ended up giving the Gilded Rose priceless publicity...
Everything at the Gilded Rose was going smoothly. Of the planned thirty-eight branches, the first eight had already opened and were thriving. Leon's understanding of the rules was advancing rapidly, and his research into the Rune of Truth could continue.
A few days later, Astral Academy sent an invitation.