Chapter 115: Acupoint Soothing Pill
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Frappe
Even though the person in front of them had only pointed out the flaws in the pill forging techniques of three apothecaries, the abilities he had revealed in doing so induced fear and terror in the remaining few.
Not just them, even Chen Jiang's swift and fluid actions—factoring in the short duration he took to forge the pill—were clearly seen through by Zhang Xuan, who had also analyzed the origin of his movements, and deduced that he had stolen the forging techniques of others….
That ability of discernment and knowledge of his was something none of the people here could match up to.
"Three apothecaries have admitted defeat, seven more to go. Who will go first?"
Seeing all of them silence, Zhang Xuan continued to stare at them.
Pill Debate required ten apothecaries to admit their defeat before Zhang Xuan could be declared victorious.
"This…"
Silence continued to linger about the remaining seven apothecaries.
It was one thing if the other party's ability to discern matters was impressive, but of the three apothecaries he faced previously, one was exposed for being cuckolded, one turned out to be on the verge of death, and the last one had his reputation tarnished….
They were only here for the Pill Debate. They didn't want their secrets exposed because of this!
The other party's ability to discern was so incredible that he could immediately tell a difference if their state of mind was in the slightest bit off. Given such circumstances, who would still dare to challenge him?
Furthermore… they couldn't admit defeat without competing in Pill Debate!
If they did so, it was equivalent to going easy on the other party, which was considered as an act of cheating. Once revealed, they would be stripped of their apothecary qualification.
As such, the awkward silence continued to linger in the atmosphere as no one dared to step forward.
"Please hurry up, we can't possibly continue to drag this matter on like this!"
Sensing the awkward atmosphere lingering about, Ouyang Cheng couldn't help saying, "I'll go!"
After a momentary silence, Apothecary Du Man stood up.
He was acquainted with Zhang Xuan and had even bet over him. What he thought to be an arrogant fellow turned out to be a figure with incredible capability and outstanding discernment ability.
Even he himself was far from a match for him in this aspect.
However, he didn't have a choice either way. After all, they couldn't continue stalling time here like this.
"Apothecary Du Man, allow me to go instead!"
Just as Du Man was about to start forging so that Zhang Xuan could point out the flaws in the process, an elder stood up.
"It's Apothecary Bai Ming!"
"Just now, Zhang Xuan exposed that Cheng Jiang had secretly learned his Illusory Silk Hands. He was extremely furious. Why would he make a move now?"
"I have no idea. Let's watch!"
……
Upon seeing this elder, the others shuddered.
Even though Apothecary Bai Ming wasn't the oldest of the group, he was the most qualified and respected one.
That was because he wasn't just a mere apothecary; he was also the de facto head of one of the Four Great Clans in Tianxuan City, the Bai clan.
He was a person who held great authority and strength in his hands.
"Since Apothecary Bai is going to make a move, I'll back down first!"
Apothecary Du Man returned to his seat.
He was unable to match up to Bai Ming in terms of qualifications and standing.
"Zhang Xuan, you possess incredible ability of discernment and analysis. However… you just happened to be lucky. In actuality, you don't really possess much knowledge on pill forging!" After the examiner had been confirmed, Bai Ming glanced at Zhang Xuan, his tone hostile.
It was no wonder that he was so angry. While he was angry at Cheng Jiang for stealing the secret manual passed down within his family, being exposed in public also made him feel humiliated.
After all, it was shameful for the powerful Bai clan to be unable to prevent a lone apothecary from stealing from them. If word spread, the Bai clan would become a laughingstock.
"Lucky? Why would Apothecary Bai say that?"
Zhang Xuan was taken aback.
"Simple. Regardless of whether it was Meng Yan, Chen Xiao, or Cheng Jiang, the flaws you said may seem to make sense. However, if we think deeper into things, it was also possible for you to have investigated their personality flaws and the recent happenings around them beforehand, and worked backward to infer the flaws in their forging techniques!"
Bai Ming harrumphed.
"Worked backward?"
"Now that Apothecary Bai said so, it does make sense!"
"Indeed! For example, in Meng Yan's case, if you knew he killed his concubine in the morning in advance and that he had killing intent and rage within him, you could safely deduce that the Tranquil Heart Pill he forged would be ineffective!"
"The same for Apothecary Chen Xiao as well! If you knew he was sick and didn't have much time to live, you could infer that there would be a problem with the pills. After all, the Tranquil Heart Pill reflects the forger's state of mind. Even a pig could tell that something would be wrong with those pills if it had heard of that information beforehand!"
"Now that you all have put it in such a way, it truly explains a lot of things. If he had made preparations beforehand and dug up the matter of Cheng Jiang stealing our forging techniques, it would be a simple matter to guess the references in his forging technique!"
……
Bai Ming's words were like a rock thrown in water, generating countless ripples on the surface. Everyone "came to a realization," seemingly understanding what had just happened.
It was because they were unable to understand how the other party was able to see through those flaws that they felt fear. Now that they understood the "reason," the fear they felt vanished.
In fact, if they they of this information beforehand, they could also make the same judgement that Zhang Xuan did on the flaws of the forging techniques of the previous three.
"Oh? Working backward? What an interesting thought!" He didn't expect Apothecary Bai Ming's imagination to be so vivid. Smirking, Zhang Xuan continued, "Regardless of what methods I used, I can pass as long as I can identify the flaws in your forging techniques!"
"Indeed. It will be your win if you manage to see through the flaws in my forging technique. However, I want to change the rules as well!" Apothecary Bai Ming said.
"Oh?"
"The gist of it will still be the same, I will forge a pill while you identify a mistake in my forging technique. However… I want you to point out true mistakes in my forging process, such as in my skills, ability to control flames, and the way I mixed the medicinal herbs together rather than involving emotions and other miscellaneous stuff. This way, you can't use the knowledge you know of beforehand to work backward to identify the flaws in my forging technique!"
Bai Ming harrumphed.
"That's right!"
"This way, he won't be able to talk about emotions and the sort!"
"With these rules, he can't work backward to deduce the flaws even if he wants to!"
"This is what I call pointing out flaws..."
……
The apothecaries nodded their heads in agreement.
To speak the truth, everyone had been frightened by Zhang Xuan's ability to point out the flaws in them. As a cultivator, charging forward and emerging victorious among millions of people, who hadn't done anything against their conscience before? It would be embarrassing if this lad were to reveal their darkest secrets.
Thus, the new rule that Apothecary Bai Ming came up with immediately received everyone's approval.
He was only allowed to point out flaws in pill forging. Bringing in external matters such as murder or being on the verge of death was prohibited.
Even if they were apothecaries… such scares weren't what humans could handle!
"Are you certain?"
Upon hearing the rules set by the other party, how could Zhang Xuan possibly remain oblivious to what they were thinking? One corner of Zhang Xuan's mouth curved upwards.
"Of course!" Apothecary Bai Ming flung his sleeves. "Now, it is a question of whether you're brave enough to accept the challenge!"
Zhang Xuan could not be bothered to argue with him over the matter.
"Great!"
Seeing him agree to it, Apothecary Bai Ming heaved a sigh of relief. After pondering for a moment, he grabbed a few ingredients and walked to the cauldron.
Fwoosh boosh!
The fire started burning furiously and Apothecary Bai Ming began his pill forging.
Not too long after, the fire weakened and three round pills were extracted from the cauldron.
Grade-1 pill, Acupoint Soothing Pill! It was specially prepared for Fighter 6-dan experts to soothe their acupoints, allowing them to travel further in the Pixue realm.
Back then, Elder Shang Chen spent a huge price to purchase one for Shang Bin. The latter gave it to the Sky Shattering Lion as the cost of teaching Zhang Xuan a lesson.
Even so, the Sky Shattering Lion eventually betrayed him, filling Shang Bin with resentment against it.
No matter what, the Acupoint Soothing Acupoint was considered one of the superior grade-1 pills, something that Tranquil Heart Pill was far from matching up to.
