Chapter 2187 - Proposal
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Although Xia Sheng’s words were light, everyone present was a Master so they could clearly hear what was said. For a time, everyone glared at Yang Kai, thinking that he was both despicable and shameful, even daring to use such open intrigue.
“I’m not simply bluffing!” Yang Kai smiled confidently and said proudly, “I am a Dao Source Grade Alchemist!”
As soon as these words came out, everyone stopped talking and stared at Yang Kai with even stranger expressions, the scene so quiet that even the light breeze could be heard.
“Hahaha...” After a long time, a burst of loud laughter rang out as Xiao Chen pointed to Yang Kai and said contemptuously, “You, a Dao Source Grade Alchemist? What do you think Alchemists are? Random people you can just grab off the street? Boy, you’d best think carefully before spewing such nonsense, or misfortune will befall you!”
Saying so, he did not even try to hide the contempt in his eyes, despising Yang Kai ferociously.
“Oh? It seems that Brother Xiao is quite familiar with me?” Yang Kai tilted his head and looked at Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen coldly snorted and said, “If it weren’t for our little meeting in this Four Seasons Realm, how could this Xiao possibly recognize some unknown person like you?”
He didn’t put Yang Kai in his eyes at all.
“Indeed,” Yang Kai smiled slightly and said, “Since Brother Xiao doesn’t know anything about me, why are you so confident that I am not a Dao Source Grade Alchemist? Your logic is so strange.”
“This...” Xiao Chen frowned as he didn’t have a good retort, but soon insisted, “In any case, someone like you can’t be a Dao Source Grade Alchemist. If you just want to fish in troubled waters, this Xiao advises you to dismiss such frivolous thoughts as soon as possible, otherwise... hmph!”
As soon as he finished speaking though, Zhuang Bu Fan suddenly opened his mouth and said, “Brother Yang, you have been guarding this place since the beginning, ensuring that no one approached this Extraordinary Treasure Lotus... Was that because you already knew what it was and what it was used for?”
Although he had just fought against Yang Kai, and even suffered a small loss at his hands, that did not lessen his good impression of Yang Kai.
Just as Yang Kai thought Zhuang Bu Fan was an upright character, Zhuang Bu Fan also thought highly of Yang Kai, so at this time he deliberately tried to assist him by saying a few words.
“Oh?” Hearing what Zhuang Bu Fan said, Lan Xun raised her delicate brow in surprise, “Brother Zhuang means that, Brother Yang had been guarding this place since before?”
“En, when I arrived, only Brother Yang was here. It seems that when this Extraordinary Treasure Lotus first appeared, he was the first to arrive,” Zhuang Bu Fan nodded lightly.
“Brother Yang, is what Brother Zhuang said...” Lan Xun looked at Yang Kai.
“Yes!” Yang Kai gently nodded, “When the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus first appeared, I was nearby and the first to arrive. I also knew what it was and what its purpose was, so I stood guard by it to ensure those who were unable to judge its true value would not ruin it. Originally, I had wanted to guard it and then pick it when it matured before anything was the wiser, but I had not anticipated so many would return early... And that’s what led to this situation.”
Having said so, Yang Kai gave a wry smile.
“Are you really an Alchemist?” Lan Xun’s eyes flashed lightly.
If he was not an Alchemist, how could Yang Kai have accurately identified such a rare spirit flower like the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus when even characters like Zhuang Bu Fan could only speculate about its identity? Only an extremely skilled and knowledgeable Alchemist would be able to quickly identify the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus.
If Lan Xun had the same thoughts as Xiao Chen, that Yang Kai was faking being an alchemist, she would have said so. However, she was confident that what Yang Kai said was true.
“Yes!” Yang Kai nodded sincerely.
“Are you really a Dao Source Grade Alchemist?” Lan Xun asked.
“I am, unfortunately, some people don’t believe me,” Yang Kai spread his hands while his gaze swept across Xiao Chen intentionally.
The latter couldn’t help feeling sullen as he spat, “Anyone can make outlandish claims. If this Xiao said he was an Emperor Grade Alchemist... would you believe it?”
Yang Kai shrugged his shoulders, looking helpless.
Lan Xun smiled and said, “In that case, we can simply verify the truth with our own eyes! As long as Brother Yang can refine a furnace of Dao Source Grade Spirit Pills here, all doubts can be resolved. There’s still enough time for Brother Yang to refine a furnace of pills now, but I don’t know what Brother Yang thinks...”
Before Yang Kai could respond, Xiao Chen cut in, “How could he have the courage? If he really agreed, wouldn’t his lies immediately be exposed?”
Lan Xun couldn’t help glaring at Xiao Chen, causing his mouth to snap shut.
Yang Kai frowned and said with a look of embarrassment, “Must we do this?”
Lan Xun smiled and said, “Is Brother Yang not confident in himself? Although I also believe Brother Yang is not one to speak such malicious lies, but... this matter is too important to leave to chance. If Brother Yang doesn’t have the ability to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pill, it will be best to not even try, otherwise, it would simply be wasting Heaven’s precious gifts.”
“What her Highness says makes sense!” Zhuang Bu Fan agreed, “Although refining it into pills can increase the number of people who will benefit, if the spirit flower is ruined in the process, then the gains will not be worth the loss. In that case, it would be best to just wait until the spirit flower matures and then everyone will compete with their own means. Brother Yang, think carefully before you decide.”
He wanted to give Yang Kai an opportunity to back down, which was why he spoke up.
But to his surprise, after Yang Kai pondered for a moment, he nodded, “It’s not a problem to prove myself, after all, everyone here does not trust me...”
“You’re really a Dao Source Grade Alchemist!?” Xia Sheng was shocked as he stared at Yang Kai like he was some kind of monster.
As for Xiao Bai Yi and Zhuang Bu Fan, they wore completely dumbfounded expressions, like they had just been smacked on the head.
Only the two of them knew just how strong Yang Kai was. One of them had fought an all-out battle against Yang Kai, while the other had a Source Qi competition with him!
Yang Kai had defeated both of them with just his First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivation.
With such cultivation, achieving such a feat was already incredibly astonishing. It was conceivable that Yang Kai had put in an enormous amount of effort into his cultivation, so how could he also have time to dabble in Alchemy? What’s more, becoming a Dao Source Grade Alchemist was not on the level of mere dabbling. Even if a person began cultivating in their mother’s womb, reaching such heights in both the Martial and Alchemic Dao at such an age should be impossible.
But from Yang Kai’s tone and demeanour, it was quite clear he was indeed a Dao Source Grade Alchemist! This shocked Xiao Bai Yi and Zhuang Bu Fan enormously.
“But... even if I prove that I am a Dao Source Grade Alchemist, I can’t refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pill!” Yang Kai frowned.
“What do you mean?” Lan Xun asked in surprise.
“Alchemy requires materials, does it not?” Yang Kai looked at her and said, “The Extraordinary Treasure Pill requires a total of nineteen kinds of herbs. I have been collecting the necessary materials for the past few days, but unfortunately, I have only managed to gather eighteen of them, one is still missing!”
“So, you were checking other people’s Space Rings for the materials to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pill!?” A light went off in Zhuang Bu Fan’s mind as he suddenly understood why Yang Kai had been snatching other people’s Space Rings and searching for them.
Rather than robbing them, Yang Kai had simply checked the Space Rings of his Junior Brother and Junior Sister, but returned them afterwards without taking anything. If robbing them wasn’t his goal, then why bother acting this way in the first place?
Only now did Zhuang Bu Fan understand!
Realizing this, Zhuang Bu Fan no longer doubted Yang Kai’s claims of being a Dao Source Grade Alchemist.
If he wasn’t searching for the materials for the Extraordinary Treasure Pill, why would Yang Kai use such a detrimental method? He was probably forced to do this as he was trapped in the Four Seasons Realm and the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus was about to mature. This left him with no way to summon help and no way to leave its side. As such, he could only hope those who were attracted to the Heavenly Manifestation would have what he needed.
[This guy...] Zhuang Bu Fan was shocked, but through incredible self-control managed to not show anything on his face.
“In that case... what ingredient is Brother Yang still lacking? If you don’t mind, please inform us. With so many people present, perhaps someone will have what is necessary,” Lan Xun smiled and asked, but after speaking, she seemed to suddenly realize something and immediately added, “Wait a moment, this Alchemy material must be extremely precious, so even if someone has it, they may not be willing to contribute it.”
“Yeah, what Princess said is the crux of the matter.” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
“If anyone dares to refuse, we can just snatch it,” Xiao Chen snorted coldly.
Wu Chang sneered hearing this and snapped, “Idiot, if others don’t say they have it, how are you planning on snatching it? Do you want to snatch everyone’s Space Ring and search them?”
“Why not?” Xiao Chen replied.
“Oh? So, if I want to check your Space Ring, would you hand it over to me?”
“If I have that material, I will definitely contribute, there’s no need to check!” Xiao Chen replied solemnly.
“That’s enough,” Lan Xun frowned, waving her hand to interrupt him before taking a moment to think and then saying in a serious tone, “I have a proposal, one that I believe will be able to resolve this matter... How about if someone has what Brother Yang needs, as long as they willingly contribute it, they will be entitled to take one of the Extraordinary Treasure Pills after they are refined!”
“Your Highness... is that really acceptable?” Yang Kai was shocked.
Everyone’s expressions also changed dramatically, not having expected Lan Xun’s suggestion to be so shocking!
After all, even if Yang Kai was really a Dao Source Grade Alchemist and the refining was successful, how many Spirit Pills could be refined from one furnace of pills? Setting aside one in advance would no doubt make everyone quite reluctant.
Lan Xun, however, just smiled lightly and said, “In front of great opportunities, everyone is equal. Don’t you men all like to gamble? Why are you shrinking back at this moment?” As she spoke, she swept her beautiful eyes over everyone one by one. “Brother Yang hasn’t even said what herb he still needs, so what are you all afraid of? Perhaps the necessary spirit medicine is in your Space Ring and all you need to do is contribute it to obtain an Extraordinary Treasure Pill! It’s nothing less than an incredible bargain!”
“There’s a chance you won’t get anything as well!” Xiao Bai Yi muttered.
If Yang Kai failed his refinement, then there really would be nothing to gain.
“But... this Zhuang still has a question!” Zhuang Bu Fan said.
“Brother Zhuang, please,” Lan Xun looked at him with a smile.
“If two or more people have the final material Brother Yang needs, how should we resolve this issue?”