Whatever it was, he still had to maintain a good relationship with Ling Han.
Qi Yong Ye was an expert at manipulating the mood, and very quickly, everyone’s attention was again focused on him. There was a round of laughter in the Main Hall, as everyone felt that this prince really had a unique charm, causing many of them to be of a mind to swear loyalty under his banner.
“Announcing the arrival of the First Prince!” It was at this very moment that a loud shout was heard from outside.
The First Prince has arrived?
Everyone was extremely shocked. Who didn’t know that the First Prince and the Fourth Prince were currently embroiled in a fierce competition for the King’s position? Why had he suddenly come here?
“Fourth Brother!” Very soon, the First Prince appeared at the doorway of the Main Hall. He was a very handsome man in his thirties. He had a tall and sturdy figure with an exceptional bearing. He was all smiles as he took great strides towards Qi Yong Ye, looking nothing like a rival or enemy of the latter.
Qi Yong Ye stood and walked forwards to greet the First Prince. He was also all smiles as he said, “Eldest Brother, what are you doing here?”
When the two of them neared each other, they both tacitly stopped their advance. They both watched each other with smiles, yet neither had any intention of extending their arms to embrace the other in greeting.
“My Fourth Brother is hosting a banquet. I, as the Eldest Brother, must of course come to show my support,” the First Prince said, smiling.
Qi Yong Ye could not help but frown slightly at this. The reason he was hosting this banquet was to gain the will of the people to gather support for when he ascends to the position of the king in the future. There was no way that the First Prince did not know this. Then the reason he was here was obvious–he was here to ruin things for him.
“Hehe, then I’ll thank you, Eldest Brother!” He said in a very false manner, though his face still wore a dazzling smile.
The First Prince paused, and said, “I’ve also brought a noble guest with me!”
“Oh, and who might that be?” Qi Yong Ye asked. He knew that the First Prince would not have come just to show his face. The latter would definitely have a more substantial move planned.
“Brother Guo, please!” the First Prince called in the direction of the doorway.
Everyone turned to take a look at the First Prince’s ‘noble guest’ and saw a young man in gray walk in. He was of medium height and his features were very ordinary, but when they saw the badge that hung on his chest, there was a slight change in all of their expressions.
Yellow Grade medium level alchemist!
Alchemists were an existence that would be welcomed anywhere, as well as an existence that no self-respecting party could lack. If a party possessed the aid and support of an alchemist, then to individual cultivators, or even smaller powers, this party would be very attractive as an ally.
Martial artists were too dependent on alchemical medicines.
“Fourth Brother, let me introduce to you. This here is Guo Ding Quan, Brother Guo, and he’s a Yellow Grade medium level alchemist. And Brother Guo’s Master is even more impressive. He is the one and only Grandmaster Duanmu, who has been acclaimed as one who excels in both sword skill and alchemy!” The First Prince wore a dazzling smile, and was feeling very cheerful.
On the other hand, Qi Yong Ye felt a bitter taste on his tongue. He knew that the First Prince was here to ruin things, and unfortunately, it seemed like he was going to succeed!
The fact that Guo Ding Quan was a Yellow Grade medium level alchemist was not the main point. The crux of the matter was that his Master, Duanmu Chang Feng, was an actual Black Grade low level alchemist! Although currently, the First Prince was only close with Guo Ding Quan, but a disciple could also in a sense represent the master’s partiality.
The First Prince was issuing a signal to everyone: he had a very good relationship with Duanmu Chang Feng and has obtained the latter’s support.
This definitely added a very heavy bargaining chip to his pile, while also being a very heavy blow to Qi Yong Ye.
The weight of an alchemist was too much!
“Brother Guo!” Qi Yong Ye said in greeting, still maintaining a wide smile. He could not chase the First Prince and Guo Ding Quan away, or rumors would definitely spread, saying that he was a petty character–as a person who was seated in the upper echelons of society, he definitely had to present himself as a generous man. If he couldn’t do even this small thing, then what right did he have to inherit the position of the king?
Guo Ding Quan was very arrogant. Even towards the Fourth Prince’s greeting, he only replied with a ‘hn’. He was really displaying an all-out arrogance and pride of an alchemist.
This profession was really too scarce, so all alchemists were treated with utmost respect and as a result, completely spoilt.
“Brother Guo, please sit!” Qi Yong Ye was secretly angered, but still displayed a very polite demeanor.
Guo Ding Quan’s eyes swept over the scene, before walking forwards in a straight line.
If he was sitting, then he was naturally going to sit in the first row. Otherwise, how could he preserve his pride? Because all the tables here were arranged five in one row, and there was not much of a gap in between tables, so on both sides, there was a very wide aisle; so, Guo Ding Quan could only choose to walk up the left aisle or the right aisle.
The unfortunate thing was that he chose to walk straight up the left aisle, and arrived at Ling Han’s table–but whether or not it was because he had spotted Liu Yu Tong, that was something that only he himself knew.
“You can get lost now!” He said coldly.
How overbearing. The first thing he said upon opening his mouth was to tell someone else to get lost. Did he really think he was the emperor?
However, he himself was a Yellow Grade medium level alchemist, while his Master was a Black Grade alchemist, so he really did have the confidence to be so overbearing.
Ling Han smiled. In the eyes of others, this meant that he was apparently going to give in to Guo Ding Quan’s overbearing demand, but Liu Yu Tong knew that it was the exact opposite. Ling Han was angry. Not only that, he was very angry. He said, “Why don’t you try saying that again?”
“Get lost! Get lost! Get lost!” Guo Ding Quan naturally did not feel scared of this subtle threat. He not only said it again, he even emphasized his demand three times.
A coldness flashed through Ling Han’s eyes. In an instant, his hand flashed out, taking hold of Guo Ding Quan’s neck. With a harsh tug and a ‘peng’, Guo Ding Quan’s face was instantly pressed firmly onto the table. The shock wave of his face meeting the table caused the wine jar to topple over, and immediately, wine splashed all over his face.
“Wu-” Guo Ding Quan was firmly pressed down onto the table, and he started struggling vigorously, intending to get out of Ling Han’s hold. Yet it was all pointless effort.
The Main Hall was dead silent.
This guy was really too great, he even dared to hit an alchemist!
Everyone sucked their breath in shock. He had balls, he was a real man!
The First Prince was initially startled, before suddenly erupting in fury. He never imagined that someone would actually dare to beat up Guo Ding Quan. Initially, his aura had completely overwhelmed Qi Yong Ye, but with this show of force, Guo Ding Quan was not the only one who had lost his face. He was also embarrassed.
He strode quickly towards Ling Han and his right hand flashed out, intending to grab onto Ling Han’s neck, shouting, “I command you to release him!”
“Shua,” a strong wind blew past, and Liu Yu Tong had already acted, blocking the First Prince’s action.
The First Prince was stunned by her beauty at first, but immediately his gaze regained focus. Everything could be sacrificed for the king’s position, and Guo Ding Quan was a trump card that decided whether or not he could defeat the Fourth Prince, thus he could not
allow any problems to emerge.
“Step down!” He shouted. He did not counterattack immediately because he did not want to harm such a beautiful maiden if he could avoid it.
Liu Yu Tong only gave a wave of her hand, and said, “Get lost!”
Get lost…! She actually told the First Prince to get lost… she was indeed extremely daring.
When Qi Yong Ye saw this, he could not help smiling. He was the only one who knew that Liu Yu Tong was a noble daughter of the Liu Clan. If the First Prince offended her, that was definitely not anything good for him. But while this would be a bad thing for the First Prince, for himself, this would be a good thing indeed.
Chapter 62
Translator: _Dark_Angel_ Editor: Kurisu
“Get lost!” With a casual wave of his hand, Guo Ding Quan was easily flung away by Ling Han, and with a ‘peng’, he crashed into the nearest wall.
“Bastard!” Guo Ding Quan got back to his feet and shouted in a towering rage. He was really about to die from his utmost fury. As an alchemist, someone who was respected and revered by everyone, he had actually been pressed onto a table, wine had splattered all over his face, and he had even been flung away to crash into a wall.
Thankfully, dinner had not been served yet. Otherwise, his face would have been even more colorful, decorated by a myriad of dishes.
“You want to try it again?” Ling Han asked coldly. This was not the first alchemist he had thrashed, and definitely wouldn’t be the last.
“I want you to die!” Guo Ding Quan roared furiously. “Teng, teng, teng,” with heavy steps, he charged over to Ling Han again. As a an alchemist, he had never experienced such great shame. If he did not avenge himself, then he could not live with himself!
Ling Han moved. “Peng,” Guo Ding Quan was once again held by his neck, and as expected, slammed onto the table face first. The difference was that Ling Han had used more strength this time, causing the table to be broken in half by the force.
“Ah-!” Veins were protruding all over Guo Ding Quan’s face in his anger, and his eyes looked like they were about to spit out fire.
However, he did not charge a second time, because he had finally sensed that the gap between Ling Han and himself was far too wide. Damn it, based on aura, Ling Han could only be about the same level as he himself was. At most, they were both in the fourth layer of Element Gathering Tier, but why was he so strong?
He turned his head to look at the First Prince. The latter was stuck in a confrontation with Liu Yu Tong, so could not possibly assist him at this time. He raised his voice and said, “Whoever helps me thrash this brat, I will gift him with ten Embracing Origin Pills!”
“What, Embracing Origin Pill!?”
“For anyone below the ninth layer of Element Gathering Tier, this is a valuable treasure. It can help one in the formation of the origin nucleus and increase the chances of success by about thirty percent!”
“To give out ten pills in one go, what opulence!”
Everyone was discussing this spiritedly, but there were not many who were really interested in taking up Guo Ding Quan’s offer, because who amongst those invited was not a genius? For a genius, if they even had to depend on external support just to form their origin nucleus, what right did they have to the name of ‘genius’?
When Guo Ding Quan saw this, he could not help grit his teeth and finally announced, “An Earth and Fire Pill!”
“Damn, an Earth and Fire Pill!” This time, everyone could no longer just stay in their seats calmly. Even Qi Yong Ye and the First Prince seemed tempted by this new offer.
The Earth and Fire Pill had similar effects as the Purple Origin Pill. It was also used to help a martial artist break through to the Gushing Spring Tier, but its effects were much weaker than the latter. At most, it could only raise the chance of success by twenty percent. But still, it was a very rare and extremely valuable Spiritual medicine.
Even for a genius like Qi Yong Ye, he also had been stuck at the peak period of the ninth layer of Element Gathering Tier for over half a year. Normally, if one could manage to break through to Gushing Spring Tier within three to five years’ time, that was already a feat worthy of praise.
Meanwhile, the First Prince had already reached the peak period of the ninth layer of Element Gathering Tier seven years ago, yet his cultivation level remained unchanged even until now, showing the extreme difficulty of breaking through to the Gushing Spring Tier.
An Earth and Fire Pill could very possibly save quite a few years’ time of cultivation for even a genius, so it was extremely valuable. However, although the ingredients required for the concoction of an Earth and Fire Pill were not as costly as the ingredients for a Purple Origin Pill, they were still extremely rare and while there were many willing to buy, none were willing to sell. Otherwise, with the financial resources available to the Royal House of the Da Yuan King, they would have been able to afford a few of them.
As a result, everyone immediately turned to stare feverishly at Ling Han, as if he himself was an Earth and Fire Pill.
“What impudence, where do you people think this place is?” Qi Yong Ye immediately spoke coldly. He was a man that knew what his role was, so he naturally suppressed the covetousness he felt in his heart–Guo Ding Quan was working for the First Prince, so he of course would not bother to assist the former. Moreover, Ling Han had an unknown relationship with Liu Yu Tong, and with this, his position was extremely clear.
He’d help Ling Han!
With this exclamation from the Fourth Prince, everyone immediately regained their composure. This was the residence of the Fourth Prince, and if they dared to come to arms here, then in a sense, it was no different than rebellion.
Guo Ding Quan breathed heavily and glared at Qi Yong Ye fiercely before suddenly turning around and leaving.
There was no way that he could swallow this great offense. He was going to fetch his Master. No one could insult an alchemist in this manner!
“Brother Guo! Brother Guo!” The First Prince hurriedly called as he chased after Guo Ding Quan’s heels.
As sudden as the two’s arrival was, they left just as suddenly. There was a temporary calm in the Main Hall. Some of the guests felt sorry for missing out on an opportunity to obtain the Earth and Fire Pill, while some other guests were curious about the future development of this matter.
“Come, replace the table!” Qi Yong Ye began to manipulate the atmosphere and once again displayed his personal charm, causing the atmosphere of the banquet to regain its liveliness.
All of them were extremely interested in Ling Han. It was not difficult to restrain Guo Ding Quan. In fact, eighty percent of the people present here would be able to do so easily, but to dare to do so… perhaps only Ling Han possessed such courage.
“Brother Ling, may I know where do you originate from?” Someone finally asked.
“Gray Cloud Town,” Ling Han had no intention of concealing it. After all, since he was intending to participate in the Da Yuan Tournament, he could not falsify his identity.
“Gray Cloud Town?” All of them gave a start at this. Wasn’t that a small place under the jurisdiction of the Da Yuan City? Then where did Ling Han get his confidence from? He was not the only one who had made a great display of power, for even the girl beside him appeared to be very proud. She had not even taken the First Prince seriously.
Qi Yong Ye was even more surprised. Ling Han came from Gray Cloud Town? Then how had he developed a relationship with Liu Yu Tong?
Even though he himself was of nobility, when compared to Liu Yu Tong, there was still a bit of a gap between them. After all, they could only be considered as one of the branch families of the imperial family, and after so many generations, their relation with the imperial family was not really very close.
Unless he could ascend to the position of the Da Yuan King, even he would not be qualified to marry Liu Yu Tong. Yet Ling Han could have Liu Yu Tong follow closely by his side. A brat from a tiny little Gray
Cloud Town, what right did he have to do such a thing?
As the various dishes were served, everyone too felt slightly famished and so began eating. Martial artists expended a lot of energy, and so would become hungry more easily than normal people.
“Hahahaha, apologies, apologies. Fourth Prince, I’ve arrived late,” a long bout of laughter was heard and a tall, young man walked in. He appeared to be about twenty years old, and had an astonishing aura to him.
The third son of the Jin Clan, Jin Wuji.
Jin Wuxiang followed right behind, imitating the former’s steps slavishly. He seemed a bit like a mouse that had seen a cat, and there was absolutely no sign of his prior arrogance.
“Brother Jin, why are you so late?” Qi Yong Ye asked, smiling as he stood.
“I had some trifling matters to deal with!” Jin Wuji said, as he continued to walk forwards.
Alchemy Emperor of the Divine Dao c1-1294 Page 38