Alchemy Master

Chapter 1118, Taking Advantage of Another’s Misfortune

Translator: Silavin

A Supreme Expert…

Was the very symbol of a Top Tier Race.

Without the slightest exaggeration, were a Supreme Expert to be provoked, annihilating a mere Giant Spirit Race would require not much effort whatsoever.

This was also precisely why, when word spread from the Myriad Beasts Domain that the Supreme Expert, Mo Sheng, was taking a Disciple, so many prodigies from every Race had come flooding in from all directions.

So long as one latched onto the leg of a Supreme Expert, even a Supreme Expert whose final days were drawing near, the power standing behind them would ascend to an entirely new level.

And those casually spoken words of Qin Yichen caused a thick sense of dread to rise instantly in Li Shan’s heart.

[Is he actually a Disciple of some Supreme Expert?]

In truth, his conjecture was not entirely wrong. Qin Yichen had received the inheritance of the Demon Subduing Great Saint, which genuinely made him the man’s Disciple in every meaningful sense. Moreover, standing behind him was the very existence of the Saints Heavenly Manor Master.

However, the Saints Heavenly Manor Master would certainly not rashly make a move over such a trifling matter.

His final days were, after all, drawing near. Were it not for his reluctance to release his attachment to the Human Race, he would likely have already departed this world long ago.

Furthermore, were he to act again, his end would come even sooner.

Fortunately, Li Shan’s thoughts had not drifted toward the Human Race at all. He regarded Qin Yichen as nothing more than the favoured child of some Top Tier Race.

For a figure of that nature, even if Li Shan held a grudge, he absolutely dared not take the initiative to provoke him again.

Qin Yichen, for his part, walked straight down from the Blood Boulder Platform beneath a multitude of wary gazes.

“Ha ha ha! Brother Li Shan, it has been a long while. Today, it seems we ought finally to settle the grudge between us!”

No sooner had Qin Yichen descended than a rough, booming laugh rang out.

Then, the bear-like Xiong Xiong, who had been watching from below the Blood Boulder Platform all along, curled one corner of his mouth into a savage grin, stamped his foot, and leapt up onto the Blood Boulder Platform.

At this sight, the crowd, who had moments ago been rather stunned by Qin Yichen’s strength and conduct, felt their expressions become distinctly more entertained.

The Blood Boulder Platform had no rules whatsoever. So long as one was upon the platform, any behaviour would go unopposed, even in a situation precisely like this one.

At this juncture, Li Shan was injured. He could barely move, and what remained of his strength was less than a tenth.

Xiong Xiong’s action, without any question, was aimed at settling Li Shan while the opportunity was ripe.

The grudge between the two of them had been no matter of a day or two, and the Monster Bear Race and the Giant Spirit Race had never seen eye to eye. Xiong Xiong clearly had no intention of letting such an opportunity slip by.

On the other hand, Xiang Linzi and company saw this scene without any look of surprise in their eyes.

After all, were it any one of them who encountered an opportunity like this with their own mortal enemy, they would not let it pass either.

Moreover, with the day of the Supreme Expert’s Disciple selection drawing near, being able to eliminate some troublesome opponents before then was, for them, an altogether good thing.

One fewer fierce rivals meant one more measure of certainty for oneself.

“Xiong Xiong!” Seeing Xiong Xiong step forward at precisely this moment, Li Shan’s expression darkened abruptly, and a sense of despair surged within his heart.

At this juncture, he could not muster the faintest shred of strength. He could not even leave the Blood Boulder Platform. How was he to be a match for Xiong Xiong?

“Li Shan, don’t say that I am bullying you. I will give you one incense stick’s worth of time to recover!” Opposite him, Xiong Xiong declared this with an expression of complete seriousness.

Upon hearing those words, every corner of every mouth present twitched involuntarily.

Wasn’t he too shameless?

With injuries like Li Shan’s, even in possession of decent healing medicine, one would need to lie in bed for at least ten days to half a month.

One incense stick’s worth of time?

What possible difference was there between that and simply killing him where he lay?

And yet he had somehow contrived to make his opportunistic taking of advantage sound positively righteous and principled…

“Xiong Xiong, I…”

Li Shan’s expression grew icy, and he was just about to curse aloud when, abruptly, he heard the sound of something cutting through the air coming at him from the side.

“Hmm?”

Li Shan’s brow furrowed, and then he saw a Pill floating in the air before him.

Following that line of sight, he saw that beside Qin Yichen, a ‘maid’ with a graceful figure was holding a jade bottle, and it appeared to be Qin Yichen himself who had sent the Pill drifting over.

“What is the meaning of this?”

“What is he playing at?”

“Probably some Young Master who’s only just ‘come out of the mountains’ and doesn’t know how the world works. Perhaps he felt guilty, and this is his way of making amends.”

“Such pretence. One incense stick’s worth of time, and what, does this young man actually think he can produce a miracle?”

Seeing Qin Yichen’s action, a large group of people let out snorts of contempt, and the gazes that fell upon him afterward carried several shades of mockery.

Perhaps in their eyes, Qin Yichen was genuinely naïve, a boy who had never experienced much of anything.

“Li Shan, by all means eat whatever Pill you like. I said I’d give you one incense stick’s worth of time, and I’ll not go back on it!”

Seeing this, Xiong Xiong burst out laughing as well and called out rather magnanimously.

Only, everyone understood perfectly well that though he said as much, in his heart he had absolutely no intention of letting Li Shan go. So even with one incense stick’s worth of time, the moment Li Shan made any move to descend from the Blood Boulder Platform, the latter would immediately strike him down.

“This Pill…” Li Shan withdrew his gaze and looked at the Pill floating before him, and then, all at once, his pupils contracted sharply.

The Giant Spirit Race’s particular weakness lay, in truth, Pills.

The roundness and lustre of this Pill surpassed even the most precious Pills he carried from within his own Race. Clearly it had been produced by a peerless Master’s hand.

Perhaps, for Qin Yichen, this Pill was just some healing medicine. Yet Pills of different Races produced almost negligible effects when used across racial lines.

Still, at this juncture, Li Shan had no options remaining whatsoever. Even knowing that Qin Yichen’s gesture might have been born of nothing more than guilt, he could only bite down, muster what little strength he had, open his mouth just slightly, and swallow the Pill down.

For his part, Xiong Xiong showed not the slightest inclination to stop him.

At a time like this, moving against someone in this fashion was, for his own reputation, an exceptionally poor look. Were it not for the fact that this opportunity was simply too good, he would not have wanted to carry such a name into the time of the Supreme Expert’s Disciple selection.

As it stood, Li Shan was taking medicine, and he had granted one incense stick of time. Though it did nothing to salvage his reputation, he would at least have something to say for himself, and most importantly, regardless of how one looked at it, within that one incense stick’s span, the outcome of Li Shan dying at his hands would absolutely not encounter any unexpected turns.

“This Pill…!”

And yet, at this very moment, amid the rubble, Li Shan’s expression changed abruptly.

The instant he swallowed the Pill, it dissolved into a rush of warm current that slid down from his throat and flowed toward every corner of his body.

In almost a single instant, his injuries began to mend, and at the very least, he had already regained the ability to move.