Chapter 345: Chapter 345: Yun Country Royal Family
“Young man, what did you say?” The elder named Yan suddenly fumed with rage, pointing at Fang Lin and roaring angrily. A faint ripple of inner strength circulated around him, sending shivers down anyone’s spine.
The people of Yun Country also glared at Fang Lin with displeasure. As members of the Yun Country’s Pill Alliance, they already disliked people from Qian Country and Meng Kingdom. Thus, with Fang Lin’s stunning remarks, their anger intensified naturally.
The people from Meng Kingdom, however, smirked. They eagerly anticipated a clash between Qian Country and Yun Country and hoped for a bigger chaos, so their members could take advantage of the situation.
Zhuge Cang and his men were somewhat taken aback by Fang Lin’s audacity. Even though they had heard about a brash man named Fang Lin in the Qian Country’s Pill Alliance, they hadn’t expected him to be this arrogant, brazenly making such outrageous remarks.
This wasn’t just arrogance anymore, it was a lack of respect.
“Hehe, Baldhead Yan, you present yourself as an unworthy elder, disappointing the young generation. How can you blame them?” mocked Elder Su with a laugh.
This comment made the elder named Yan jump with anger.
“Elder Su, that’s a bit too much. Despite his status as a younger generation, Fang Lin is disrespectful towards Elder Yan and should be taught a lesson,” Chen Mu frowned, clearly disatisfied with Fang Lin’s behaviour.
Lu Wuwei, however, just snorted dismissively and gave the elder named Yan a sidelong glance, “What skill is there in competing with a child?”
Zhuge Cang revealed a wry smile; Qian Country and Yun Country were on the brink of a squabble, and these two were singing off-tune. Truly a mess.
At this juncture, Zhao Shenkong stepped forward, coldly regarding Fang Lin, a hint of contempt playing on his lips.
“You’re quite jumpity now, but we’ll see if you can hold up in the great gathering,” Zhao Shenkong sneered.
Fang Lin grinned but chose to remain silent.
“Everyone, let’s calm down. After all, we’ve all travelled a long distance and it has been quite a taxing journey. Please follow me into the city for some rest,” suggested Zhuge Cang, trying to mediate the situation.
Fang Lin casually raised the roasted meat in his hand, “We’re not tired at all, we’ve already eaten.”
The people from Yun Country and Meng Kingdom treated Fang Lin with disdain, as if townspeople looking down upon a countryman. Zhuge Cang was left speechless.
Despite some minor upheavals, members from all the three sides eventually entered Black Cauldron City, following Zhuge Cang’s lead.
Once inside the Black Cauldron City, Fang Lin finally got a taste of the splendor of the largest city in the Lower Three Kingdoms.
Whether it was Qian Country’s capital, or Meng Kingdom’s or Yun Country’s, while they all were majestic and splendid, none of them could compare to Black Cauldron City.
The entire Black Cauldron City revolved around pill refining; Pill Refiners could be seen strolling throughout the city, and every store sold pills, medicinal herbs, Pill Furnaces, and other such items.
In the city’s central place, stood a tower, known as the Pill Pole Tower.
The Pill Pole Tower consisted of seven levels, each enveloped by different arrays. It stood in the heart of the Black Cauldron City, emanating dazzling radiance.
The people from the three countries looked up at the Pill Pole Tower, their eyes filled with yearning.
If Black Cauldron City was a pilgrimage site for pill refiners, Pill Pole Tower was the most sacred place in the city, inviolable to all pill refiners.
Entering Black Cauldron City did not necessarily guarantee opportunity, but entering the Pill Pole Tower certainly did.
Any pill refiner who could enter the Pill Pole Tower would definitely emerge with an unimaginable advantage over their peers.
To put it simply, even the most ordinary pill refiner would emerge as a sought-after Alchemy Tao prodigy after entering the Pill Pole Tower.
Inside the Pill Pole Tower lay a miraculous power that every pill refiner dreamt of— the ability to change one’s aptitude!
That’s right, people with mediocre aptitude could transform into geniuses after entering the Pill Pole Tower by harnessing its powers. And those who were already geniuses would emerge as the rarest of prodigies.
Of course, the conditions to enter the Pill Pole Tower were extremely stringent. For this Alchemist Great Meeting, only three could enter the Pill Pole Tower.
These three spots would go to the three most outstanding competitors at the meeting.
Yet, in everyone’s opinion, at least one spot was presumably reserved for Zhao Shenkong of Yun Country. This left the Alchemists of Qian Country and Meng kingdom to compete for the remaining two spots.
Fang Lin and his group arrived at their rest area, located in the northwest corner of the Pill Pole Tower. Leaving the area would lead them onto a bustling street full of attractive shops.
The Alchemist Great Meeting would not truly start until the next day. Hence, in the meantime, everyone took a leisurely stroll around Black Cauldron City.
While strolling, Fang Lin and his group ran into the members of the Meng Kingdom.
The ten members from Meng Kingdom, including the silver-haired young man, were also loitering in the city, taking in the sights of Black Cauldron City, when they unexpectedly bumped into the people from Qian Country.
“This seems fun?” Just as both groups were sizing each other up, the people of Yun Country appeared out of nowhere. Leading them was Zhao Shenkong.
Just like that, all participants of the Alchemist Grand Competition from the three countries ended up gathering together.
With Zhao Shenkong at the forefront, the other nine people of Yun Country adopt a defiant attitude as they stand behind him.
The silver-haired young man led the Meng Kingdom group, with the other nine people distancing themselves slightly from him, seemingly in awe of the silver-haired young man.
Qian Country’s formation was the most peculiar with the bewildered Su Xiaotong standing amidst everyone while being the focus of all.
Obviously, whether it was Yun Country or Meng Kingdom, they considered Su Xiaotong as the biggest threat among the ten people of Qian country.
Zhao Shenkong briefly appraised the ten people of Qian country and then shifted his gaze to the ten people of Meng country, lingering a bit longer on the silver-haired young man.
The silver-haired young man maintained his indifferent expression, showing no fear in the face of Zhao Shenkong. On the contrary, a faint glint of excitement could be seen in his eyes.
Snorting lightly, Zhao Shenkong might have appeared haughty but refrained from underestimating the silver-haired youth.
Fang Lin looked at Zhao Shenkong and suddenly asked, “May I ask, Brother Zhao, are you from the Yun Country’s royal family?”
Everyone present was momentarily stunned upon hearing this, including the people from Qian country, who wore strange expressions.
Looking at Fang Lin, Zhao Shenkong wondered if he was playing dumb.
“Fang Lin, the Zhao Family is the royalty of Yun Country.” A pill refiner from Qian Country whispered to Fang Lin, embarrassed by his faux pas.
Fang Lin responded with an extended “Oh” reflectively wearing a thoughtful expression.
Indeed, Fang Lin still remembered that Han Xiaoxing once mentioned that her mother’s demise was at the hands of the royal family of Yun Country — the Zhao Family.
“Since all three sides have coincidentally meet here, why don’t we go somewhere more exciting?” Zhao Shenkong suddenly proposed.