Martial Peak

After just ten breaths of time, one of the Alchemists who had taken the poison pill had their face go pale, and soon after his whole body also began to tremble and cold sweat appeared his forehead.

Gasps arose from within the audience. None of them had expected this poison pill Grandmaster Xiao had refined to be so potent.

As these gasps continued, three puffing sounds suddenly rang out from the stage, and soon a bizarre stench began wafting through the air.

It was that struggling Alchemist on stage inadvertently releasing several loud farts.

A lot of people who were standing close to the platform were caught unaware and inhaled a big mouthful of this stench, which almost caused them to vomit on the spot. All of them showed expressions filled with disgust.

The Alchemist’s pale face immediately turned bright red, not from the effects of the pill, but from the stench.

Under the watchful eyes of his peers, suddenly releasing three farts, such a result was obvious.

Seeing countless members of the crowd gazing towards him with looks of both pity and disdain, the Alchemist, who was now thoroughly embarrassed, hastily stood up, jumped from the high platform, panicked and fled like a stray dog.

“Hmph, having no ability yet wanting to participate in Grandmaster Xiao’s test, Truly overconfident!”

“You will bring shame to your grandmother! You might as well go back home now.”

“Which Alchemist was that? How is he going to live in the future?”

With the constant mockery stabbing into his back like thorns, this youth did not dare to stick around, and in the blink of an eye disappeared into the crowd.

The crowd had not yet recovered from this farce when from the high-profile two “thud” sounds suddenly came. As everyone turned back to look at what had happened, their eyes were greeted with the sight of two Alchemists who had swallowed the poison pills completely slumped over. Their eyes were unfocused, but they still maintained a posture of meditation, yet they were clearly unconscious.

The three Medicine King’s Valley young disciples only spared these two a single glance before coldly snorting, walking over, and kicking them down off the platform.

Their attitude was extremely arrogant and overbearing. It was like they were kicking aside two pieces of trash rather than people.

However, no one dared raise an objection. Prior to the test beginning, everyone had been clearly told that this was a poison pill refined personally by Grandmaster Xiao. If one was going to try participate they would have to be psychological prepared to be poisoned.

“They’re not dead!” Someone called out after going up and checking the breath of the two Alchemists who had failed, but it was also true that neither of them were moving and would not wake up no matter how much they were yelled or prodded at.

“It’s hot!” One of the remaining Alchemists on the platform suddenly cried out, every last piece of his exposed skin showing a blood red sheen, exuding a scorching heat. As steam began rising from his head, as he viciously tore at his clothes until his entire upper body was exposed. However, it seemed he was so hot he did not realize he was already half naked and kept clawing at his chest.

Dong Qing Yan’s pretty face flushed as she quickly covered her eyes.

A few cultivators soon jumped up onto the platform and dragged this suffering man down. These cultivators were likely from the same Family or Sect as this Alchemist and did not want to see him shame himself.

After less than thirty breaths of time, the first group of Alchemists to take this poison pill test was annihilated!

Everyone here had watched these unfortunate souls go through a strange and tragic myriad of poisoning symptoms, but this not dampen these Alchemists’ determination to enter Hidden Cloud Peak; in fact, it only further increased their enthusiasm.

These poison pills that Xiao Fu Sheng had refined were clearly all the same type of pill, but they could actually produce a wide variety of different effects. There was no doubt he was truly an amazing master.

Because of this, the group of Alchemists here could only randomly guess how they should refine Grandmaster Xiao’s poison pill.

As soon as this first group of people came or were forced down, *Shua Shua Shua*, thirty more went up.

As time passed, those who went up were continuously poisoned, falling unconscious, and embarrassing themselves. In the end, after more than two hundred of those gathered went up not a single one managed to pass Grandmaster Xiao’s test.

The whole test site was surrounded by gloomy atmosphere.

Amongst the latest group of Alchemists to go up and be poisoned, one of them that had his entire body go stiff as stone yet remain conscious cried out, “I’m not satisfied, I’m not convinced! How can just a single refining a puny poison pill measure my extraordinary aptitude? I demand to visit Hidden Cloud Peak and speak directly with Grandmaster Xiao, Grandmaster Xiao, please give this junior a chance!”

“Kick him down!” Qin Ze coldly replied.

One of the three young Medicine King’s Valley disciples walked over in front of this youth and coldly booted him off the stage.

However, despite being already kicked off the stage, the young Alchemst kept shouting, “Grandmaster Xiao, I am worthy to inherit your mantle, please give this junior a chance!”

“These people have gone crazy.” Yang Kai looked around and shook his head.

Dong Qing Yan quietly whispered, “It’s because you don’t understand just how prestigious Grandmaster Xiao’s position in the Alchemist community is that you can say that. Just look at that guy, even though he’s behaving so ugly and disgracefully, is anyone here ridiculing him?”

Hearing this, Yang Kai glanced around and found that there really was no one who was ridiculing him; most people were simply indifferent while the others wore looks of sympathy.

“Grandmaster Xiao in the eyes of us Alchemists is a supreme existence, and in order to worship him as a master, who would care about eating bitterness and losing face?” Dong Qing Yan said as she bit her lip, her face was filled with a mix of of tension and anticipation.

“Are you sure you want to go up and take that poison pill?” Yang Kai grinned meaningfully, “You’ve also seen those people’s reactions; just passing out and falling to the ground could be considered lucky, if you fail the test and you rip off all of your clothes in the process…”

Dong Qing Yan’s pretty face suddenly went pale.

“Well, there are a lot of young people gathered here. I think many of them would be happy to see that scene. Heh, the Dong Family’s Young Lady stripping off all her clothes, it’d make for a great after-dinner conversation.”

“That’s unlikely …”

“Even so, if you were to publicly put out a few farts…”

“Don’t say it!” Dong Qing Yan beautiful face contorted.

No matter which of these ugly performances it was, it was not something this little girl could accept. Were she to embarrass herself in front of all these people, it would undoubtedly become a permanent shadow that loomed over her life, and once it happened, she would never be able to raise her head in public again.

Turning a firm gaze towards Yang Kai, Dong Qing Yan gripped her little fists, “I know you’re trying to scare me so that I’ll go back to my brother, but even seeing everything that’s happened I still want to try this test. I prepared so much just for this single opportunity, and now that I’m here, how could I just give up so easily and go home?”

Pausing here for a moment, her voice gradually becoming a whisper and her face blushed a bright red, “If things really turn out like you said… please take me away quickly…”

Yang Kai slightly shook his head, seeing his little cousin’s determined expression. He knew that no matter how he discouraged her it would be to no avail.

All of a sudden a burst of noise rose up from the crowd, “An Earth Grade Top-Rank Alchemist! Isn’t he the genius Alchemist the Wang Family has been raising, Wang Qi Ren? He also came?”

“If he tries, maybe he really can pass Grandmaster Xiao’s test.”

“Good, we’ll finally get to see something interesting.”

“Look there, that Earth Grade Mid-Rank Alchemist, he’s the young talent from the Xiong Family.”

“And him, another Earth Grade Mid-Rank Alchemist from the Chang Family.”

“The Alchemists from the various Great Families are finally coming out; this will be a good show.”

This group of young Alchemists were actually those who had been cultivated by the various Great Families. Each of them had come here hoping to inherit Xiao Fu Sheng’s mantle.

Up till now, the people who had gone up were just Alchemists from smaller unknown forces, so being unable to pass was actually to be expected. But now seeing these people about to try, many in the crowd became excited.

The crowd quickly became abuzz with noise, and as this sound drifted over to the ears of these ten or so Earth Grade Top-Rank Alchemists, their expressions couldn’t help but become slightly proud.

However, each of them maintained proper etiquette and calmly boarded the platform and then first paid their respects to Qin Ze one by one before walking over to the poison pill pot.

“After you, Brother Wang. Among us, only Brother Wang has managed to reach the Earth Grade Top-Rank, naturally you should be first.” The Chang Family’s young Alchemist said with a smile on his face, as he opened up the way. The others on stage also followed suit.

Wang Qi Ren smiled, cupped his fists, and said, “Many thanks, then this Wang will partake.”

Finished speaking, he turned and faced towards Hidden Cloud Peak and bowed before reaching out, taking a poison pill, tossing it into his mouth, and then sitting down nearby to begin refining it.

From his gestures, he was clearly extremely confident about passing this test, otherwise he would not have rushed to pay respects to Hidden Cloud Peak.

After all, that was Xiao Fu Sheng’s peak.

The three young Medicine King’s Valley disciples couldn’t help laughing to themselves.

So what if he was an Earth Grade Top-Rank Alchemist? In front of Uncle Xiao’s personally refined poison pill, even if it was a Heaven Grade Alchemist, if his aptitude was not good enough the end result would be the same.

[This Wang Qi Ren really thinks too highly of himself!] The three young disciples exchanged a glance and secretly sneered as they waited to see this Wang Qi Ren make a fool of himself.

A moment later, all the young Alchemists who had gone up this round had taken one of the poison pills and found a place to sit down.

As the youths onstage began refining these pills, the members of the audience down below all held their breaths. One by one they stretched their necks to get a better look, many of them felt even tenser than when it had been their turn.

These young Alchemists were indeed talents cultivated by great forces, and each of them had outstanding achievements and aptitude. Before now, those who had gone up had at best managed to last half a cup of tea’s worth of time.

But it was a full cup of tea’s time before the first one in this group showed a reaction.

The first to be eliminated was an Earth Grade Low-Rank Alchemist who suddenly began foaming at the mouth.

Soon after someone on the high platform let out a few loud farting sounds.

One after another, these great forces’ Alchemists gradually failed. This result left everyone in the crowd stunned.

None of the crowd gathered here thought these young talents weren’t worthy of their names, but instead they all felt that Grandmaster Xiao’s recruitment test was far more difficult than they had imagined.

After a stick of incense, Wang Qi Ren was the only one left on the platform. Everyone else had already made a sad exit.

Countless people felt their chests tighten. If Wang Qi Ren couldn’t pass this test, they really didn’t know if anyone amongst them could.

A moment later, Wang Qi Ren suddenly began to tremble and a whiff of black gas began to emerge from his eyebrows.

Seeing this, Qin Ze, who had been sitting there like a stone statue ever since the tests had begun, suddenly sat up, and his eyes flashed a faint light as he began to carefully observe Wang Qi Ren’s situation.

As time passed by slowly, the whiff of black gas became more and more obvious as it further condensed.

Suddenly, the black gas disappeared without a trace, and at the same time, Wang Qi Ren loudly coughed and vomited out a mouthful of black blood!

Cries quickly rang out from the crowd below. Wang Qi Ren’s reaction was the first of its kind during this test, so no one knew whether it was a sign he had passed or failed.

A few cultivators from the Wang Family immediately jumped up on stage and hurriedly came over to support Wang Qi Ren.

However, Wang Qi Ren waved his hand at them, and after struggling a bit, managed to stand on his own before turning towards Qin Ze with a trace of expectation on his face.

But to his disappointment, Qin Ze shook his head and sighed, “Failed!”

Wang Qi Ren’s expression suddenly went dark, but he did not give up, cupping his fists and asking, “May I ask respected senior, how can we pass this test?”

Qin Ze could see that this question was purely driven by alchemic curiosity, so he still patiently explained, “In fact, you were just one step away from passing, but unfortunately… you fell short!”

“Junior thanks Senior for his guidance!” Wang Qi Ren wore a wry smile and thanked Qin Ze before jumping down the platform along with his family Disciples.