The Sword God of the Universe

Chapter 525: Chapter 525 Qing Ru’s Relief [Third Update]

In Bai Lan’s view, Jing Yan simply didn’t recognize good fortune!

He had agreed to let Jing Yan represent Golden Sparrow Commerce at the Alchemy Ceremony and had even paid him a reward of one hundred thousand Spirit Stones. Although one hundred thousand Spirit Stones wasn’t a lot, he had mentioned that Jing Yan could join Golden Sparrow Commerce for further cultivation—an opportunity not just any Pill Master could get.

Yet Jing Yan did not cherish this rare opportunity at all!

Jing Yan would definitely regret it.

”I heard some news,” a director said indifferently, ”that this person has gone to Youhai Commerce, presumably to represent them!”

”Youhai Commerce really couldn’t find anyone else. Haha, I wonder how much they paid this kid,” Bai Lan commented offhandedly, ”Anyway, let’s focus on preparing for the Pill Spirit Conference. It’s held once every century, and making a name in the Alchemy Ceremony could greatly impact our Golden Sparrow Commerce.”

”Yes, our Golden Sparrow Commerce is currently ranked third among the five commerce guilds. If the Alchemist Rong Jie we invited makes it onto the new Pill King List this time, then we might just surpass the second-ranked Winter Sun Trading House,” the director said, full of anticipation.

...

Time swiftly passed. The day of the Pill Spirit Conference finally arrived.

Jing Yan, Zhou Shangyun, and others including Qing Ru, President of Youhai Commerce, set out from the commerce house towards Pill Spirit City.

Pill Spirit City, located in Pill Country, is not a real city, more aptly called a residence or estate.

However, Pill Spirit City is sanctified by the Holy Master of Holy City. The lord of Pill Spirit City is a Pill King who has achieved great accomplishments in the Alchemy Dao and is one of the few Ninth-level Alchemists on the Heavenly Origin Continent.

The lord’s reputation on the continent is second only to that of the Holy Master. It is said that even the Holy Master, upon meeting the lord of Pill Spirit City, would show great courtesy and defer by three points.

In fact, although there are rumors of three Ninth-level Alchemists on the Heavenly Origin Continent, the only one currently appearing before the public is the lord of Pill Spirit City. The other two Ninth-level Alchemists have not been seen for at least a few hundred years, and it’s unknown if they are still alive or have long since passed away.

The lord of Pill Spirit City, named Hu Donghe, has numerous disciples, many of whom are High-level Alchemists.

The High-level Alchemists living in Pill Spirit City also constitute the largest number on the entire Heavenly Origin Continent, far surpassing any Alchemy Dao family.

As they proceeded, Jing Yan and the others smoothly entered Pill Spirit City.

Along the way, many people greeted the charming President Qing Ru. Being the president of Youhai Commerce, she naturally knew many people.

Eventually, Jing Yan and his group arrived at a massive plaza within Pill Spirit City.

The plaza itself was quite unique, appearing in the shape of stairs.

At that moment, Jing Yan and the others stood at the lower part of the plaza. The area was packed with people, an unbroken crowd that likely numbered at least a hundred thousand Martial Artists who had come for the day.

However, though most were here for the Pill Spirit Conference, only a small part would participate in the preceding Alchemy Ceremony. According to Jing Yan, the number of Alchemists participating in the Alchemy Ceremony was just over a thousand.

It was not that other alchemists did not want to participate, but rather, they didn’t have the opportunity. The slots for the Alchemy Ceremony were fixed. For instance, in Lanqu County, there was only one slot for the Alchemy Ceremony, which was the one Jing Yan used.

”Isn’t that President Qing Ru?” While waiting, a voice came from behind Jing Yan and the others.

The speaker was none other than President Bai Lan of Golden Sparrow Commerce. Accompanying Bai Lan were dozens of people from Golden Sparrow Commerce. Like Youhai Commerce, almost all their directors had come too. Besides the directors, there were also some young alchemists prepared to participate in the Alchemy Ceremony.

Bai Lan also noticed Jing Yan and quickly swept his gaze over, letting out a cold laugh.

”President Bai Lan, you’ve arrived too!” Qing Ru smiled at Bai Lan and said, ”With such a grand event occurring once a century, how could I miss it?”

”Indeed!” Bai Lan responded with a forced smile, ”President Qing Ru, let me introduce you, this is Alchemist Rong Jie. You should know him already.”

Bai Lan introduced the pill master standing beside him to Qing Ru.

Jing Yan also looked at the alchemist named Rong Jie, who was dressed in a golden robe with the big characters ’Golden Sparrow’ on his chest.

Jing Yan’s own attire had ’Youhai’ on the chest as well. As soon as he saw the ’Golden Sparrow’ characters, he knew that this Rong Jie was one of the representatives for Golden Sparrow Commerce.

Looking at Bai Lan’s demeanor, it seemed that this Rong Jie was quite capable in alchemy. Bai Lan’s show-off attitude was palpable to everyone present.

”Alchemist Rong Jie, hello!” Qing Ru greeted Rong Jie with a smile, her expression still cheerful.

”President Qing Ru, hello,” Rong Jie returned the smile, his stature somewhat lofty, but polite nonetheless. His eyes sparkled as they landed on Qing Ru, his fervor barely concealed.

Bai Lan frowned slightly because he didn’t see the reaction on Qing Ru’s face that he had hoped for. He had thought that Qing Ru would show some emotional change upon meeting Rong Jie, who was a well-known alchemist in Pill Country, a Sixth-level Alchemist under a hundred years old—a status not to be underestimated.

But he was disappointed. No change of expression was visible on Qing Ru’s face.

Indeed, if Youhai Commerce did not have Jing Yan representing them, Qing Ru might have been shaken upon knowing Rong Jie was representing Golden Sparrow Commerce. But now with Jing Yan around, she cared much less. After all, Rong Jie was a Sixth-level Alchemist in his seventies, while Jing Yan was a twenty-something Sixth-level Alchemist—the difference was immense.

Moreover, Jing Yan had refined seven First-class quality Zhu Ying Pills in one batch, a feat incomparable to Alchemist Rong Jie.

At that moment, Zhou Shangyun whispered something to Qing Ru, which changed her expression to something odd. Zhou Shangyun had spoken so softly that even Jing Yan hadn’t heard clearly what was said. However, he could guess that Zhou Shangyun might have told Qing Ru about President Bai Lan’s attitude towards Jing Yan.

”President Bai Lan, I have a feeling,” Qing Ru looked at Bai Lan with a smile and spoke, ”that after the Alchemy Ceremony, you might regret some decisions you’ve made.”

She felt somewhat fortunate!

Fortunate that Bai Lan had failed to see Jing Yan’s exceptional talent, fortunate that Bai Lan had rejected such a prodigy. Otherwise, Jing Yan would now be representing Golden Sparrow Commerce instead of Youhai Commerce.