Chapter 152: Chapter 152 Are you teasing me? (Six more)
Translator: 549690339
Yang Zhen, dragging Medicine Elder out the door, had his naughty cat sitting on his shoulder, looking at people pretentiously as if itching for a fight, especially when there were many people around. The cat behaved in such an obnoxiously way as if it owned a gold mine.
“Where is the young lady, and what happened?”
A look of anger swept across Medicine Elder’s face. After a sigh, he said, “Miss Youyue has had a tough time. Ever since she became the master of Changyue Tower, she has devoted all of her cultivation time to the affairs of the tower.” “Get to the point!” Yang Zhen narrowed his eyes.
Medicine Elder glanced at Yang Zhen and said, “We went to see the same Grandmaster today, and unexpectedly Grandmaster Ma and Elder Tie were also there, humiliating her with their words. In a fury, Miss Youyue decided to engage in a ‘bial dan’ match with them!”
“Bian dan?” Yang Zhen blinked. “What on earth is ‘bian dan’?”
Medicine Elder stumbled and looked at Yang Zhen with a miserable expression. He slapped his chest and stomped his feet, saying, “In my desperation, I shouldn’t have asked for your help. This is… I must have been out of my mind… No, I must go and seek Elder Ci’s help.”
Yang Zhen quickly pulled Medicine Elder back and said, “You haven’t finished. What is ‘bian dan’?”
Medicine Elder paused and said, “‘Bian dan’, or Pill Debate, means recognizing the scent of pills, judging from their medicinal properties and characteristics, the quality of the pill concocted by the alchemist. This method requires a thorough understanding of all kinds of materials and alchemical ingredients, but it’s more than just that…”
With Medicine Elder’s explanation, Yang Zhen had a rough idea of what ‘bial dan’ was. It was like a tasting master on the blue planet. Not necessarily being an alchemist, but mastering the medicinal properties and compatibility of various materials.
If it was simply this, then it wouldn’t be a challenge for anyone—just a matter of putting in the time. The greatest challenge for a Pill Debater was being able to distinguish the various levels and details of different refining methods used by various alchemists, so that practitioners could gain an in-depth understanding of a pill, and feel safe taking it without worrying about potential side effects.
With a sudden understanding, Yang Zhen listened and his naughty cat contemptuously licked its claws, occasionally scratching itself leisurely.
After finishing, Medicine Elder turned to Yang Zhen, asking, “Do you now understand ‘bian dan’?”
Yang Zhen nodded, patted Medicine Elder on the shoulder, and said, “So, that’s it. Then you’ve found the right person. This kind of thing, ‘bian dan’, I happen to be most proficient at.”
The naughty cat paused while licking its paw, curled its lips, and gave Yang Zhen a scornful look. But Yang Zhen paid no attention to it.
Medicine Elder widened his eyes and looked at Yang Zhen suspiciously. “You really know how to identify pills?”
Yang Zhen nodded, and said seriously, “It was a rainy and stormy night…”
“Stop, stop, stop, I believe you, you little devil!” Medicine Elder shook his head and sighed.
“Don’t stop! Continue! What happened that night?” The naughty cat rocked Yang Zhen’s shoulder and said.
Yang Zhen went on, “It was a stormy night, and I was alone, admiring the moon at the entrance of the village, when an old man with white beard fell from the sky…”
“I love listening to your humorously serious nonsense. Keep going?” The naughty cat curled its lips.
Yang Zhen was furious. “No more!”
“Tut tut!”
Medicine Elder couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.
When the two of them arrived at Grandmaster Fan’s residence with the cat, they heard a strange voice laughing before they got through the door. “Flower Tower Master, let’s get started. Unless Elder Medicine can invite Elder Ci, you’re bound to lose today.”
Upon hearing this, Yang Zhen was intrigued. He pushed open the courtyard door and said in a peculiar voice, “I say, Elder Tie, you run even faster than a rabbit. Did you rush over here just to show off?”
“Impudent!”
A thick and steady voice echoed, an old man with bushy eyebrows in the yard scowled and looked over, his face filled with fury. He scolded, “Who’s there? Why are you so impudent?”
Upon entering the yard, Yang Zhen was startled, seeing a crowd of people, it was almost as though he’d stumbled into an informal gathering. Was Master Fan this accommodating?
The crowd in the yard parted suddenly, revealing two men and a cat in the line of sight.
“Yang…Yang Zhen!” Elder Tie exclaimed in shock, his voice filled with rage, “How dare this ignorant child show his face here? Truly fearless, or perhaps ignorant of the danger he’s in. With so many Practitioners present today, there’s no chance for you to escape!”
Yang Zhen was startled, glanced around at the crowd, and asked, “Are all these people your relatives?”
Damn, that’s quite a crowd!
Elder Tie’s face stiffened, and he coldly snorted, “Even if they aren’t old…”
“What did you just say?” Yang Zhen interrupted, turning to the burly elder in the middle, he said, “I came here out of respect for Master Fan. With all your talk of fighting and killing, you’re not exactly showing him much face. If you want to fight, come on! Let’s take it outside. We can have a real showdown, swords and all. Whoever backs out is a coward!”
The faces of the crowd beside Elder Tie turned angry, as they glared at Yang Zhen.
“How dare you! Who do you think you are to speak here?”
Yang Zhen looked over at the elderly man who’d spoken beside Elder Tie and asked curiously “And just what are you?”
“I am… a damn, are you making fun of me?”
Yang Zhen smirked, walked up to Hua Youyue, completely ignoring the surrounding crowd.
Master Fan relaxed his furrowed brows and spoke firmly, “Since this young man came to visit me, could you all please calm down? Give me some face. If there’s anything to be discussed, let’s do it outside my house.”
The elder next to Elder Tie chuckled, “Well, if that’s the case, then we’ll continue discussing the issue of debating on elixir. Flower Tower Master, as you said, if you win the debate on the elixir against my disciple, I’ll concede the Spirit-Mind Elixir and moreover, I won’t interfere in your business with East Forest Island’s elixir meeting. How does that sound?”
Hua Youyue’s face turned sour. He stared at the disciple next to the elder and asked with frustration, “Alchemist Refining Grandmaster Ma, what did Changyue Tower do to you that makes you act so against me?.”
Alchemist Refining Grandmaster Ma chuckled and responded, “Flower Tower Master, you are wrong. I am devoted to refining elixirs and nothing else. I stand for what’s beneficial to the development of the refining method.”
Hearing this, Yang Zhen had an understanding, so that skinny, mean-looking elder was Alchemist Refining Grandmaster Ma, the one who was in cahoots with Elder Tie.
At that moment, a young disciple next to Alchemist Refining Grandmaster Ma revealed a smile and stepped forward, “Yan Feng feels honored to be accepted as a disciple by Alchemist Refining Grandmaster Ma for a mere three months. Flower Tower Master, however, has been involved in the refinement field for many years. He is accustomed to all kinds of conventional elixirs. But does he even have the courage to compete?”
At this, everyone present drew in a sharp breath and looked at the confident young man in surprise.
Among those present, other than the elderly persons who were highly respected, there was only one young woman, Hua Youyue. But given her position as the Tower Master of Changyue and her identity, she was naturally different and could sit on par with the present Grandmasters or the Practitioners at the Void Cultivation Stage.
But now, Alchemist Refining Grandmaster Ma’s freshly accepted disciple dared to act so arrogantly, he truly did not take the Changyue Tower or Hua Youyue seriously.
The look of anger fleetingly crossed Hua Youyue’s face, just as she was about to retort, Yang Zhen stepped forward, looking at Yan Feng.
“You’re Alchemist Refining Grandmaster Ma’s disciple?”
“Who are you?”
Yang Zhen waved his hand dismissively, “An Alchemist Refining Grandmaster, and the disciple of an Alchemist, both significant figures capable of shaking East Forest Island, are here planning to compare their elixir debate skills with a young girl?”
With that, Yang Zhen closed in on Yan Feng, their foreheads almost touching, he pointed at himself and said, “Are you fucking kidding me?”