You People Are Destined to Be the Suckers — Where's the Doubting and Face-Slapping?
You People Are Destined to Be the Suckers — Where’s the Doubting and Face-Slapping?
The elder in the crimson-red robe was named Elder Red Flame, the current Sixth Elder of the Violet Supreme Alchemy Sect.
He had lived for who knew how long. Rumor had it he was formed from a wisp of red sun heavenly flame, and his alchemy skills were extremely renowned throughout the Beyond.
Behind him followed quite a few elders and disciples in order, but it was obvious he was the leader.
Among that group of disciples, both men and women wore cyan robes, with pill-script runes condensed at their chests to display their status.
Inner disciples of the Violet Supreme Alchemy Sect.
Their cultivation wasn’t particularly strong—basically all at the Mighty-Transcendent Realm.
At this moment, they were all curiously sizing up Gu Changge.
The legendary Young Master of the Gu Family—what was he doing at the Violet Supreme Alchemy Sect? And why was the cultivation of the blue-dressed woman beside him so weak? She was actually only at the Transcendent Realm.
Given how esteemed Gu Changge’s status was, they only dared sneak a few glances, not daring to make a sound, lest they show disrespect.
At this moment, everyone was speculating in their hearts about Gu Changge’s purpose in coming.
“Young Master Changge, please come into the sect for a chat. Standing at the mountain gate would be far too discourteous of us.”
Immediately, Elder Red Flame made an inviting gesture, welcoming Gu Changge forward.
Gu Changge smiled faintly and followed behind.
Soon, divine rainbows rose beneath everyone’s feet as they headed toward the depths of the Violet Supreme Alchemy Sect.
Inside a grand palace, the fragrance of pills wafted through the air, giving it an ancient and time-honored feel.
Quite a few beautiful female disciples came forward to serve Gu Changge tea, then withdrew to the side.
“May I ask what brings Young Master Changge to our sect in person today?”
Elder Red Flame took a sip of tea, then couldn’t help asking with puzzlement.
The Violet Supreme Alchemy Sect actually had quite good relations with the various powers, with very few frictions occurring, so Gu Changge’s visit shouldn’t be about any conflict.
At this point, Gu Changge also spoke, a faint smile on his face.
“Elder Red Flame, no need to be so polite. The truth is, there is indeed a matter behind my visit to the Violet Supreme Alchemy Sect today.”
“Oh? The matter Young Master Changge speaks of—could it be about this... young lady?”
Hearing this, Elder Red Flame’s gaze couldn’t help but sharpen.
It finally landed on the blue-dressed woman beside Gu Changge.
She was very beautiful, but her cultivation was unremarkable.
He couldn’t pin down Lin Qiuhan’s identity, so he merely called her “young lady,” though judging by appearances, she seemed quite close to Gu Changge.
Rumors all said the Gu Family’s Young Master was cold and indifferent, high above everyone, difficult to deal with—but now it seemed the rumors were wrong.
At least while speaking with Gu Changge, he sensed nothing amiss; he even felt as if bathed in a spring breeze, giving off a gentle, jade-like warmth.
How could such a person be the sort of temperament described in the rumors?
Elder Red Flame couldn’t help shaking his head inwardly.
“Qiuhan is someone I brought up from the Overworld. At the time, I saw that her talent in the Dao of Alchemy was quite good, and on a whim, I thought to bring her to the Beyond—perfect for delivering her to the Violet Supreme Alchemy Sect, so her talent wouldn’t go to waste.”
Gu Changge smiled faintly, not directly saying anything like “I saw your Violet Supreme Alchemy Sect has been rather down on its luck lately, so I thought I’d send you a good seedling.”
That would have been far too heartless.
After all, he was still counting on the Violet Supreme Alchemy Sect to help him cultivate Lin Qiuhan—to be the suckers.
Slapping someone’s sore spot right to their face would be a bit much.
So he had put it very tactfully.
Translated, it meant: Lin Qiuhan is someone I brought up from the Overworld, her alchemy talent is quite good, and seeing that your Violet Supreme Alchemy Sect has no presentable disciples lately, I delivered her to you.
Elder Red Flame was a shrewd old fox—hearing it put that way, he naturally understood. His face showed some embarrassment, but also some anticipation.
After all, Gu Changge was the Gu Family’s Young Master. If he sent over someone with merely average talent, wouldn’t that be slapping his own face?
“Young Master Changge is truly thoughtful. This old man will first thank Young Master Changge for his kind intentions on behalf of the Violet Supreme Alchemy Sect.”
Elder Red Flame chuckled, and only then began to seriously examine Lin Qiuhan.
Under the pressure of his gaze, Lin Qiuhan grew somewhat nervous, but remembering what Gongzi Gu had told her, she calmed down considerably.
At a time like this, she couldn’t panic—behind her stood Gongzi Gu!
Lin Qiuhan told herself this in her heart.
Gu Changge’s face, meanwhile, maintained its calm smile the whole time, never changing in the slightest.
He was naturally well aware of Lin Qiuhan’s terrifying alchemy talent. The Violet Supreme Alchemy Sect was destined to be the sucker, the honest mark.
Though at this moment, no one had jumped out to doubt her and get face-slapped, which left him feeling a bit bored.
After all, by the normal script...
Shouldn’t the Violet Supreme Alchemy Sect’s inner disciples, seeing Lin Qiuhan’s weak cultivation and that she came from the Overworld, start a round of mockery and disbelief?
Too bad—with her immense Fortuity, things just didn’t follow that script.
Seemed that after following him for so long, even the trash-to-genius face-slapping routine had lost its flavor.
Gu Changge suddenly felt rather listless. Nowhere he went did anyone doubt him and get face-slapped; he couldn’t even throw his weight around if he wanted to.
Everyone feared him this much.
“Eh...”
At that moment, Elder Red Flame suddenly let out a soft sound of surprise, looking at Lin Qiuhan with an expression of disbelief.
“You don’t know until you look, and one look gives you a shock”—that described him perfectly.
After all, talent wasn’t written on one’s face. No matter how profound his cultivation, he couldn’t possibly see it at a glance.
It required a process of sensing.
And upon sensing, he discovered that this little girl Lin Qiuhan actually carried a dense Pill Intent on her person—innate Pill Intent?
One must know that even a single wisp of Pill Intent was something grandmasters of the alchemy path dreamed of obtaining.
Yet on this little girl, there were far more than thousands upon thousands of wisps.
This left him somewhat shocked and incredulous.
If she walked the path of alchemy, her future would simply be boundless!
“This young lady’s talent...”
Elder Red Flame was overjoyed, somewhat excited, but still uncertain. He ordered the disciples behind him to fetch a testing artifact, preparing to measure it.
“Elder Red Flame, Qiuhan’s talent is acceptable, yes?” Gu Changge smiled faintly. He had long anticipated this result, but naturally, the proper procedure still had to be followed.
“This young lady’s talent is somewhat frightening. To think it would appear in the Overworld, and be discovered by Young Master Changge no less...” Elder Red Flame was also all smiles, looking at Lin Qiuhan the way one would look at a supreme treasure.
“Young lady, would you be willing to take this old man as your master?”
He suddenly spoke, and his very first sentence left Lin Qiuhan a bit dazed, her little head unable to process it. Was her alchemy talent really that good?
She turned a pleading gaze toward Gu Changge.
“This matter is for you to decide yourself.”
Gu Changge said with a smile. He definitely had to respect her opinion—if even taking a master had to be decided by him, that would be no fun.
That said, this Elder Red Flame really was a shrewd one, actually preparing to snatch up Lin Qiuhan first.
“However, I think Qiuhan, you can wait a bit longer. The Violet Supreme Alchemy Sect has no shortage of elders—pick one you find suitable.”
This time, Gu Changge directly used the word “pick.”
Elder Red Flame looked a bit sheepish. After all, he had indeed been planning to snatch her up first, and Gu Changge had seen right through him.
As for the word “pick,” he felt it was quite apt.
Right now, it wasn’t a question of whether they were willing to take Lin Qiuhan as a disciple, but whether she was willing to take them as masters. Once the other elders heard the news and rushed over, they wouldn’t be as polite as him—they’d probably start outright fighting over her.
The Violet Supreme Alchemy Sect’s inner disciples were also stunned at this moment. They had never heard of anyone getting to pick an elder as their master!
Was this blue-dressed woman’s talent really that terrifying?
“Little girl, if you take this old man as your master, whatever pill flame you want, just name it. In the art of flame control, in the entire Beyond, this old man dares to pat his chest and guarantee that few can surpass me.”
Elder Red Flame began his gentle persuasion, ready to pay a heavy price to get Lin Qiuhan to choose him as her master.
And at that moment, outside the great hall, a swarm of elders came pouring in—all of advanced age, all famous figures and living fossils in the Dao of Alchemy, possessing terrifying connections and resources!
“We heard Young Master Changge has delivered us a fine seedling...”
“Young Master Changge is truly thoughtful. Our Violet Supreme Alchemy Sect is endlessly grateful.”
The auras of these elders were all terrifying. They first greeted Gu Changge, then turned their gazes directly onto Lin Qiuhan, looking exactly like a pack of hungry wolves eyeing meat.
On the way over, they had already heard the whole story.
“Innate Pill Intent, and more than one wisp... no wait, holy shit, there’s this much? How is that possible...” One ancient fossil who had lived for ages widened his eyes and blurted out a curse.
“Could this little girl be an ancient divine pill that took human form?”
“This kind of talent hasn’t been seen once in a million years. I feel like at this year’s inter-sect tournament, we can finally hold our heads high!”
“Sss!”
Someone couldn’t help sucking in a cold breath and hurriedly took out a testing artifact, sending it down behind Lin Qiuhan.
Weng!
Along with a soft tremor!
It began to bloom with resplendent radiance, all manner of colors illuminating the great hall, dazzling and brilliant, as if about to light up the entire palace.
Quite a few disciples could only shut their eyes to avoid being blinded by the light.
“The talent test doesn’t lie. This little girl has the constitution most suited for alchemy. Hand her to this old man, and in no more than twenty years, she’ll surely be an alchemy grandmaster renowned across the land.”
“Why not hand her to this old woman instead? How could a little girl be taught by you bunch of stinky old men? What if you teach her wrong? Little girl, come with me. I only need eighteen years to make you a generation’s alchemy grandmaster, revered by countless people!”
“This old man only needs fifteen years!”
“Fifteen years? This old man only needs thirteen! Heh, is that all you’ve got? Little girl, choose this old man as your master. Of Tianzhu Peak, where I reside, the next Peak Master will surely be you—even the Sovereign’s seat isn’t impossible.”
Watching the Peak Masters and elders—figures the disciples normally couldn’t even catch a glimpse of—begin fighting over the master position, even with the bickering faces of vendors squabbling in a street market...
The Violet Supreme Alchemy Sect’s disciples were all utterly shocked, even a bit dazed, simply frightened silly.
“Gongzi...” Lin Qiuhan blinked her eyes, looking pleadingly at Gu Changge.
When had she ever encountered such a frightening spectacle?
Her brain was all muddled right now.
“You choose for yourself,” Gu Changge said.
“No, I’ll only listen to Gongzi.” Lin Qiuhan pouted, tossing the hot potato right back to Gu Changge.
Where’s this cleverness of yours on normal days?
Gu Changge really wanted to knock her on the head and say just that.
“Little girl, why not come with me? I only need ten years to make her an alchemy grandmaster.”
At that moment, along with a gentle voice, a beautiful woman in palace attire slowly walked in through the hall’s entrance, a smile on her face.
Her figure was hazy, as if she had walked over from another world, her cultivation depth unfathomable.
“Sovereign!”
All the disciples and elders in the hall saluted in unison.
Her words just now had clearly been directed at Gu Changge.