Night of the Broken Gliph

On the other hand, Mo-Yung Kit was tense as well. Initially, he thought Ping Ching was his only opponent, but now it seemed like Wong Lai was the greater threat. 

“Okay, time’s up. Hand up your elixirs.” 

A servant walked toward the participants with a tray. Frowning, Ping Ching placed her white elixir on the tray, Mo-Yung Kit and Wong Lai following suit. The servant then left for the platform where the clan leaders sat. 

“Since the Ping Clan was the first to finish, the Ping Clan shall go first.” 

The servant walked up to the clan leaders one by one, who each picked up Ping Ching’s elixir to smell and inspect. None of the clan leaders actually tested the elixir, as it was only grade two. With their alchemy expertise, they could easily identify its efficacy.

Ping San Yat didn’t even smell it; he only glanced at it, a gentle look washing over his solemn face. “Sixty per cent effectiveness.” 

“Agreed.” The four other clan leaders nodded in agreement. There was no way Ping San Yat could fake the results in such a situation as everyone present was an elite, and it was below their dignity to do so. 

After Ping Ching came Wong Lai’s turn. Similarly, all clan leaders took an elixir from her bottle, judging it as they did Ping Ching’s elixir. 

“Fifty per cent effectiveness,” Wong Ding Tin said after a short pause, bursting into laughter. 

The other clan leaders agreed with his judgement. “Yes, fifty per cent effectiveness.” 

Wong Lai’s elixir might be less effective than Ping Ching’s, but Wong Lai had beaten Ping Ching since she refined five elixirs at once. 

Now, it was Mo-Yung Kit’s turn. Unlike the other participants, his elixir was purple. It was still a Blood Congealing elixir, but the appearance varied based on the different refining techniques and flames used. 

The efficacy was evident to all five clan leaders. Mo-Yung Yin took a sniff, a thin smile forming on his face. 

He indeed didn’t fail me. 

“Sixty per cent effectiveness.” 

Suen Ho had an ugly expression, but he still nodded and said, “Agreed.”

Cheung San burst out in laughter. “Sixty per cent effectiveness, and five elixirs. I guess we know who’s the winner.” 

However, be it Ping San Yat or Wong Ding Tin, they didn’t look disappointed. Instead, they looked pleased or even excited. Mo-Yung Yin glanced at Ping San Yat and Wong Ding Tin and frowned at their reactions. “Clan Leader Ping and Clan Leader Wong, do you have any opinions about this?” 

“Nope.” Wong Ding Tin had a weird expression. “Such a pity that Siu Lai had such bad luck.” 

“What does Clan Leader Wong mean? Luck doesn’t matter in Alchemy.” Cheung San raised an eyebrow. 

Instead of getting angry, Wong Ding Tin burst into laughter. “Siu Lai didn’t train under my clan’s elders from a young age, and she only started learning a year or two ago. She might be skilled in alchemy, but she doesn’t know many recipes. The Blood Congealing elixir she refined today was based on the basic recipe given in the competition, unlike Mister Ping and Mister Mo-Yung, who already had memorised the recipe. I even believe that the recipe they used was more delicate than the one given in the competition.

“There can be many recipes for the same elixir, and we always strive to improve them. They all had their own versions, be it the Mo-Yung Clan or Ping Clan. Siu Lai has yet to familiarise herself with all our recipes and could only use the most basic version. But if all the participants used the same recipe, it’d be hard to tell who would’ve won this round. Moreover, Mister Ping produced an elixir of the same efficacy despite not having broken through. Once he does, he’ll definitely be able to produce as much as Mister Mo-Yung, and his product might even be more effective in comparison.

“I’m looking forward to the next competition! Hahahaha!” Wong Ding Tin laughed. He spoke so loud that the entire Southern Mountain peak could hear him, and the crowd was in a heated discussion about Wong Lai and Ping Ching, ignoring Mo-Yung Kit, despite him being the actual winner. 

Nobody realised that Mo-Yung Kit had his fists clenched tightly. He knew that his victory was because of his advantages and that his clan had paid a hefty price to bring the competition forward. 

But… So what!? After clinching victory for this event, the Mo-Yung Clan will become the leader of Southern Ping and control the Southern Mountain Elixir! We will improve at lightning speed with more resources and the elixir to study; how will they keep up with me? 

Even though he was being forgotten and ignored, as one of the most powerful cultivators of his generation, having a strong mental state was critical too. He was previously shocked by Chui Yim’s words, which caused a mental breakdown. Also, as the Divine Doctor’s disciple, he was in fact most skilled in medicine, not alchemy! 

Now that the Mo-Yung Clan had won twice, the territory they controlled was slowly catching up to the Ping Clan. If they won again, the Ping Clan would have to step down; the Mo-Yung Clan would become the new leading clan! The five clan leaders looked calm, but they were uneasy and agitated. 

As the leader for several centuries, the Ping Clan always led the other clans to greater heights, and they played a huge role in their meetings. Moreover, they had been a great leader; just the fact that Ping Ching tried to help others improve during the Outstanding Talent Gathering proved their kindness and generosity. As for the Mo-Yung Clan… it was unknown how the city would turn out if they became the leader. 

Mo-Yung Yin plastered a smile on his face, but he couldn’t hide his excitement. It has been centuries since our clan have had to live under the Ping Clan, and I’ll be the first clan leader in the Mo-Yung Clan to overthrow them! 

The thought of this made Mo-Yung Yin unable to hide his excitement. “Clan Leader Ping, it’s time for the last segment, right?” 

Ping San Yat remained silent for a while. He was pleased with Ping Ching’s improvement, but they were still on the losing end after all. The Ping Clan wasn’t as strong in medicine, and the person with the strongest medical skill in the clan was his master, Ping Chi. He was a weird old man who only took him and his daughter as disciples, never taking an actual disciple despite writing countless medical books.

Even though he finally has… Hah, he only started learning a few months ago… 

Ping San Yat didn’t expect much from Chui Yim. Instead, he placed all his hope on Ping Man Bun.