188 MATTER OF CONFLICT
The crowd was getting larger as time passed by. As the time of the pill-brew competition drew near, the activity seems to have increased exponentially. Guilds were out listing the top candidates taking part in the competition. Long Tao needed some top tier news, like information regarding the top seeds of each major alchemy clan and the possible black-horses appearing this time.
“Did you manage to gather information regarding the participants this time?”
The receptionist handed a big bundle of documents to Long tao. ” It contains all the information I have managed to gather about the seeded participants. You need to careful while roaming around the city master. It is better to not show your skills until the day of the competition.”
“Is there a reason behind this advice?”
“The families which constitute the ancient lineage of Pill valley stand strong even today. The 10 families who continue the lineage of the ten alchemists hold the biggest amount of influence in the Pill-bloom city. The Pill-brew competition marks the entrance of many of their descendants into the Pill valley. Hence it is a matter of prestige for them.”
“The top seeds are always people from these ten clans. On rare occasions does the pill-brew competition get a winner who is not affiliated with the 10 clans. Some of the most dazzling examples are the current lord and one of the great elders of the pill valley.”
“The Lord is known as the Life emperor, while the great elder I mentioned is known as the Black fire emperor. ”
How could Lu Ming forget about his master? He should be on his way with the sect leader. He wanted to know more about the incident which caused his teacher’s injury.
“Does the leader and the great elder reside within the pill valley as of now?”
.....
“The Lord resides within the centermost mansion of the pill valley. He doesn’t make many public appearances because of his addiction to alchemy. He is known to cultivate and concoct pill all year round.”
“No one knows his actual cultivation level, but the rumor indicates that he has already entered the monarch realm.”
Long Tao’s master was a level 6 Qii emperor before the injury. The sect leader must have been within a nearby realm. To think that he has already entered the monarch realm, just long ago did the event happen.
“What about the great elder?”
“Although it is an abomination to bring that event up, it is related to the last succession war. The new lord as you know was from a common background, but both his martial prowess and alchemy level was the very best of the organization. It was the reason that he was one of the three disciples who was undertaken by the previous lords.”
“The new lord was to be chosen from those three. The other two were both people of the ten families. It is said that the current great elder was one of the two candidates. He was known to be an alchemy heretic and had no interest in the throne. It now came down to the first and the third disciple.”
“The third disciple was a contender from the ten families and hence had the support of many of the elders from the valley. A stalemate was reached, One had support, while the other held power. The only way to bring an end to this feud was to make the great elder choose sides.”
“No one knows the reason behind his action, but apparently, he chose the current sect lord rather than someone of his camp. The reason could be attributed to the fact that he appreciated the prowess and achievements of the current lord.”
“It led to civil strife which caused a bloodbath with the pill valley, and the great elder was to said to have brought about an end to it single-handedly. He took down the third disciple and pushed the first to the position of king. Some even say that the great elder was the most capable one among the three. It was only due to his efforts that the internal strife came to an end.”
“It was during this time that Pill valley was attacked by the people of the evil path, spearheaded by the medicine ghost hall. The Pill valley went through tribulation with the great elder taking on the highest amount of opponents. Although the medicine ghost hall was wiped out, all the elders and even the sect lord were injured. The great elder is said to have been ambushed by around 6 cultivators, one of which was a member of the clan which the third disciple belongs to.”
“Although he managed to kill his way through, the injury acquired was too grave to neglect. He is said to have disappeared since then. Some even say that he dies from the injury. The sect lord reserved the seat of the great elder for him, which remains empty. We are hoping that someday, he or one of his descendants would return to pill valley.”
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“The ranks within the ten families were reshuffled after his disappearance, with the great elder’s clan getting demoted to the last. The reason was the disappearance of the biggest power with their ranks. The families take the pill-brew competition quite seriously. There has never been an outsider winning the competition since the current lord.”
“The ten families even take special measures to make sure that the talented individual couldn’t perform well during the test.”
Long Tao understood the logic behind their actions. It was to preserve their standing within the pill valley. But the process destroyed many talented individuals, who might be able to perform well.
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The Crimson lord world-
“I guess the reason behind master wanting me to win the competition was this. He wants my win to be a lesson for the ten families. Is this his way of recreating the miracle which happened ten years ago? I guess only time will tell.”
“You need to be alert during the whole competition. Your win seems to be natural at the moment, but you shouldn’t make an enemy out of the ten families. Although the emperor level practitioner wouldn’t act directly against you, they will try their best to hinder your progress in the future.”
“My master wouldn’t send me to face such a huge force alone. He must have some plan in mind.”
“Are you hinting that he is lurking in the shadows looking out for you?”
“I guess he is trying to use my win as the moment to reappear in front of the world. I need to help him through the process. Initially, I thought about suppressing myself to the top ten as to not attract too much attention, but I have decided to win the competition as of now.”
“You should concentrate on breaking the barrier to the fourth level. No need to distract your attention to other people. You win is already confirmed.”
“I can’t take chances now. The win is vital to the master’s plan. I need to enter the land of flame. It might be a mysterious place for all, but with you beside me, it is just a treasure trove left to be looted.”
The Keeper couldn’t help but smile. The artifact was something that transcends this world. He could find and store every single resource within the land of fire. The future seemed to be quite bright for him.
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At an inn nearby to the central pedestal-
An old man was currently sitting on his bed with eyes closed. A woman was also meditating while sitting on the floor. Both of them looked quite ordinary from the outside, but when looked at properly, they were the two masters of Long Tao.
“I guess he entered the city by now.”
“The preparation is already done. The results now depend on the child. It depends on how high he can climb within the competition, only then can the plan be successfully executed.”
“We can only hope for the best.”
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