Cultivation Begins with Daily Intelligence Reports

173: Alchemy duelsLin Jingyu, at the center of the pressure, showed no fear. His posture was as straight as a pine, and he didn’t even frown.

His powerful Mental Energy acted like an invisible barrier, subtly dissolving the Spiritual Pressure into nothingness. Instead, he sneered, turning the tables, his voice still steady:

”Oh? According to Manager Li’s profound theory, should Great Masters like Alchemists, Artificers, and Formation Masters—who diligently cultivate various arts and provide Medicinal Pills, Magical Artifacts, and Formations to thousands of Cultivators—all die?

They pour their hearts and souls into studying their crafts, enhancing the foundation of the entire cultivation world, yet in your eyes, they’re not even as good as brute force used for reckless fighting?

Then why did you eagerly run to Tianfa Pavilion today, pleading with Great Master Chunyu Xian to take action? Isn’t this self-contradictory, slapping yourself in the face?”

As soon as he said this, not only did the surrounding crowd show thoughtful expressions, but even Chunyu Xian, who had been expressionless, instantly looked at Li Duoduo with a colder gaze, subtly tinged with displeasure.

These words cleverly took the side of all skill practitioners, instantly isolating Li Duoduo.

Li Duoduo’s heart immediately panicked. She realized she had misspoken, offending a group she shouldn’t have, and quickly argued:

”I... I didn’t mean that! I wasn’t talking about the Great Masters! I was talking about you! You, you brat!

What else can you do besides run your mouth, you good-for-nothing? If you have the guts, show some real skill!” She hastily redirected her attack towards Lin Jingyu, trying to shift the focus and salvage the situation.

Lin Jingyu was waiting for exactly that!

He smiled proudly, straightened his back, and his clear voice resonated throughout the surroundings:

”I am not very talented, but I do know a thing or two about Alchemy, having studied it for a few days. Although I dare not compare myself to experts like Manager Qin Yue and Fairy Momo, still...”

He deliberately paused, his gaze contemptuously sweeping over Liu Lili, ”Compared to this ungrateful, glib-tongued person beside you, I am confident I am much stronger!”

His words weren’t entirely boastful. With the Heaven-Defying Legacy of the Taihao Elixir Canon, he had already surpassed the scope of ordinary Alchemists in terms of theory and foundation.

He had enough confidence to say that!

Li Duoduo seemed to have heard the most absurd joke in the world, and she exaggeratedly burst into laughter, looking up at the sky:

”Hahaha! You? With your impoverished appearance? You can do Alchemy? What a huge joke!”

”Our Lili is a prodigy among the younger generation of Alchemists in Southeast Market Town, a Genius who is expected to enter the top twenty in the next Pill Refining Grand Competition.

What are you? How dare you speak so presumptuously here!”

She once again brought up Liu Lili’s ”talent” to try and suppress Lin Jingyu, although this talent originated from Miaoling Pavilion’s cultivation.

Liu Lili also recovered from her initial shock, as if grasping at a last straw, finding a way to regain face and prove herself.

She shrieked, her voice distorted by excitement:

”Right! All talk and no action is useless! If you have the guts, let’s have a real fight! Whoever loses will kneel and kowtow to admit their mistake! Do you dare?”

She desperately needed a victory to prove her choice was correct and to cover up her inner cowardice.

Lin Jingyu was waiting for her to say that!

A barely noticeable arc of a successful scheme appeared at the corner of his mouth as he held up the stack of incredibly conspicuous red Spirit Stone cards:

”Just kneeling and kowtowing, how boring? Since it’s a gamble, there should be a decent stake to make it exciting, shouldn’t there?”

He took the opportunity to raise the stakes, aiming to maximize his gains.

Anyway, he was already an opponent of Daling Pavilion, so there was no need to hold back.

Then he paused and clearly stated, ”If I lose, not only will these seven thousand Spirit Stones be returned as they are, but I, Lin Jingyu, will immediately kneel and kowtow to you, Liu Lili, to admit my mistake!”

The price was not insignificant, showing his determination and confidence.

”But if you lose, I don’t need you to kneel; I find kneeling would dirty the floor. You just need to compensate me seven thousand Spirit Stones! How about it? Fair and reasonable, do you dare to accept?”

He threw the choice back to the other party, his tone full of provocation. He knew the other party almost certainly wouldn’t have that many Spirit Stones.

But the gullible Li Duoduo beside her did!

If he could fleece another seven thousand Spirit Stones from her, it would also be a good way to vent his anger for Qin Yue and Yun Momo.

When Liu Lili heard this, the resentment in her eyes intensified, but she didn’t have seven thousand Spirit Stones on her, let alone seven hundred, that she could produce immediately.

To acquire a suitable Pill Furnace, she had borrowed a lot of resources from Daling Pavilion.

She could only cast a pleading gaze at Li Duoduo. At this moment, she could only rely on Daling Pavilion.

Li Duoduo was furious, and Lin Jingyu’s words had backed her into a corner. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, she absolutely could not back down.

Without almost any hesitation, she abruptly pulled out seven brand new, bright red Spirit Stone cards from her Storage Pouch and slapped them heavily onto the nearby counter with a ”pah”.

She glared fiercely at Lin Jingyu and encouraged Liu Lili:

”Good! Lili, perform well! Show all your abilities! I want him to kneel and beg for mercy, to lose completely convinced and without anything!”

Li Duoduo knew every Alchemist in the Southeast Market Town like the back of her hand, and clearly, this unknown fellow Lin Jingyu was not among them.

Even when uniting various forces to carve up Miaoling Pavilion, there was no such Alchemy force mentioned.

She estimated he was from some declining minor Family, with some fragmented Alchemy Legacy.

And he thought he was something special.

This time, she would trample Miaoling Pavilion’s last shred of dignity underfoot and crush it mercilessly.

Her eyes darted around, and a malicious thought arose.

Li Duoduo quickly seized the opportunity, turned to the increasingly large and chattering crowd, and announced loudly, her voice echoing throughout the first floor of Tianfa Pavilion:

”Fellow Daoists! Today, I ask you all to bear witness! This battle is a competition between the Alchemists of my Daling Pavilion and Miaoling Pavilion!”

”Everyone, just wait and see my Daling Pavilion’s Alchemist take action; we will definitely trample Miaoling Pavilion underfoot.”

With a single sentence, she cleverly elevated the personal bet between Lin Jingyu and Liu Lili into a direct confrontation and battle for reputation between the two major elixir pavilions, Daling Pavilion and Miaoling Pavilion.

She elevated a personal act to the level of a confrontation between two elixir pavilions.

Qin Yue’s heart tightened, and her palms became slightly sweaty.

She knew Liu Lili’s true skill. Putting aside her character, she indeed had a talent for Alchemy. More than half a year ago, she could stably refine several types of First-order Low Grade Spirit Pills, with a success rate that wasn’t low.

Although Lin Jingyu’s theoretical knowledge, as demonstrated in their previous conversation, was incredibly solid—some of his views even secretly astonished her—what about his actual hands-on operational ability?

Alchemy places the most importance on practice and control of heat. Could he really do it? Qin Yue felt utterly uncertain and filled with worry.

The stakes were too high, involving not only a huge amount of Spirit Stones but also Miaoling Pavilion’s precarious reputation.