Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 332 – Reexamination

Ming Siyuan paled, his face turning a tint of blue. He coldly snorted again and again. What sort of status did the young master have? She was related to the legacy of the Great Desolate Lake and it was impossible for her to enter Cleansing Temple. However, the bet had been made in public view of everyone. If they reneged on their promise, he feared this would draw the condemnation of the people.

Moreover, how could Cleansing Temple give up on such a wonderful opportunity?

Just how would he be able to resolve this matter?

Revered Ming felt as if his head would explode. He also couldn’t help but complain a bit towards that fellow daoist Baoyu he had yet to see. If it weren’t for that person, he would never have allowed this bet between the miss and Zhao Jiutian to proceed. Even if they reneged on their promise back then, at least they could have found a reason to do so. But in this present situation, it was far too embarrassing.

Yun Yilan faintly smiled. “Why is Revered Ming so worried? The Great Desolate Lake and Cleansing Temple are both lofty and pivotal influences within my Southshine Nation. Perhaps Miss White’s trip this time can be a turning point for both sides to cooperate. Afterwards, we can all coexist in harmony and both sides can help promote each other’s development. Wouldn’t that be a wonderful ending?”

Yuan Tiangang spewed out a line of vicious curses in his heart, but his smile only widened. His sincere expression seemed to say, ‘Old Cloud, you are so right and I also give you thirty-two praises.’

As for Ming Siyuan, his complexion was even uglier.

These three were all Blue Sea realm super powerhouses. Their eyesight far surpassed that of other cultivators. By the time the ape broke the cage, they already knew what the result would be. On the high platform the ten alchemy grandmasters argued for a moment before making a decision through a vote.

White Fengfeng’s name vanished from the jade peak without warning, then appearing on the second row.

What replaced her was Cleansing Temple’s Zhao Jiutian, No. 5428!

“Hahaha! Miss White, you might as well follow me back today and be a guest at my Cleansing Temple!” After the dust settled, the still pallid Zhao Jiutian wasn’t able to suppress his excitement and he laughed out loud. His eyes swept around, disdain and pride in his gaze.

Looking throughout the entire audience, most of the young elites of the Southshine Nation were gathered here. Now, he had climbed atop them all and looked down at them from above. He naturally had the qualifications to be arrogant.

At this time, he was the center of the world!

Countless cameras swiveled their high resolution lenses towards Zhao Jiutian, capturing his regal bearing and spreading it through the entire Southshine Nation.

Through countless screens, innumerable young female cultivators felt their hearts quicken. They looked at Zhao Jiutian’s handsome face and dashing appearance, and their innermost feelings began to stir restlessly.

“Impossible! How could my miss’ upper fifth-grade Sky Soaring Pill possibly lose!?”

“There is a behind-the-scenes plot, there has to be!”

“We request another appraisal!”

The cultivators from the Great Desolate Lake all roared out together, shock and rage etched on their faces.

White Fengfeng suddenly shouted out, “Shut up!” Her eyebrows furrowed together and her face was ice cold at this moment. Her dignified appearance was like a great stone, pressing down on their chests and making it hard for them to breathe. “A loss is a loss. My White Family hasn’t fallen to the point where we cannot accept defeat. My Great Desolate Lake has no objections to the outcome of the competition.”

These words caused the ten gloomy-looking alchemy grandmasters on the high platform to brighten up. Today, almost every broadcasting station and network platform through the entire Southshine nation was live streaming the competition. They absolutely would not allow anyone to slander their professional integrity and skills.

Black Beibei had a dark expression. “Cousin…”

White Fengfeng lightly said, “I know, cousin.”

Black Beibei opened his mouth to speak, but in the end he just sighed. He knew that White Fengfeng’s current actions were correct. But since she acknowledged defeat, she had to accept the conditions of the bet and enter Cleansing Temple for half a year. This was something the Great Desolate Lake could not accept.

Things had become troublesome now!

Zhao Jiutian laughed, “Miss White is indeed straightforward. I profess my deep admiration.”

White Fengfeng’s gaze was frosty. “Ten days from now, I will head towards Cleansing Temple. You can wait for me.”

Zhao Jiutian cupped his hands together, “If so, then I will respectfully await your arrival.”

Shua –

Ming Siyuan appeared, his expression solemn. “Young master, before I leave, the master and madam ordered me to bring you back. They have an important matter to discuss with you.” He turned and said, “The bet with Cleansing Temple can be fulfilled after the miss returns.”

Zhao Jiutian’s complexion changed. He could naturally see that this was a way of delaying for time. But facing Ming Siyuan, no matter how willing he was, he didn’t dare to speak too much.

However, Cleansing Temple also had Blue Sea realm masters standing guard.

Yuan Tiangang had a calm expression. “Revered Ming, since this is a bet between two juniors, it’s better to let them discuss it amongst themselves. With our statuses, why should we interfere in their business?”

There was a cold intent in his words.

Ming Siyuan’s expression didn’t change. “The Great Desolate Lake’s young master keeps true to her word. She naturally won’t go back on a promise. It’s just that this will be pushed back a little; there is no need for Revered Yuan to care so much.”

Yuan Tiangang’s lips curled upwards. “Revered Ming, why do you have to use such words to fool me? You and I have cultivated for so long, what sort of scene have we not seen before? Let me just ask you one question today – do you plan on having Miss White fulfill her end of the bet? If not, then I will immediately bring Zhao Jiutian away and not mention this matter again in the future. How about it?”

Ming Siyuan paled. What a good move of retreating one step before advancing forwards. If he were to continue intervening, then the Great Desolate Lake would be said to be people that didn’t keep their word. If it were any other time, he wouldn’t mind going back on his word. At worst he’d suffer a hit to his reputation. After all, the Great Desolate Lake had found Cleansing Temple displeasing to their eyes, and this wasn’t something that had lasted for a day or two. action

But today…

Behind cameras, excited pairs of eyes told Ming Siyuan that if he didn’t handle this matter correctly, then tomorrow negative press about the Great Desolate Lake would flood the entire Southshine Nation.

Yuan Tiangang added another strike. “If the one who lost today was Zhao Jiutian, I wouldn’t have said a single word and would have allowed Miss White to handle him however she pleased. Unfortunately, people are always different.”

White Fengfeng suddenly said, “Uncle Ming, please tell mother and father that I will be heading to Cleansing Temple to cultivate for half a year. If there is anything important, then you can come and see me.”

Father, mother, you definitely have to come. If I go to Cleansing Temple it will be the same as meat on the chopping block. If you don’t hurry over, your daughter will be miserable.

Big Brother Baoyu, where are you? How come you haven’t revealed yourself and helped me? Could it be that you don’t like me anymore?

Cough cough…hum, then again when did you start liking me? Even I don’t know!

Qin Yu was watching the liveliness. The battle between the Great Desolate Lake and Cleansing Temple drew all attention. Even the newly minted champion Zhao Jiutian was receiving a cool reception. Thus, even though Qin Yu had arrived in front of the platform, there was no one willing to glance his way more than once.

“Fellow daoist, I would like to apply for a reexamination of the pill I refined.” With no other option, Qin Yu found a security guard and explained his intention.

That was right. The competition placed fairness above all, thus if a contestant believed that the disparity in their result was too great, they could apply for a reexamination of their pill. However, in all the previous competition years, there was only an extremely small number of cultivators that applied for this. The official judge panel included numerous strong alchemists and in addition to their strict evaluation criteria, it was rare for an accident to occur.

The security guard seemed to not hear clearly. He reluctantly shifted his gaze towards Qin Yu and impatiently asked, “What did you say?”

Qin Yu was helpless. He could only repeat his words.

At this time, the security guard seemed to recognize Qin Yu. His complexion changed and his attitude warmed. He immediately swept his eyes around, and when he didn’t see any cameras on him he let out a sigh of relief. Before, there was an official that had treated this boy poorly, and thus had been shouted at and cursed at by countless people. That official’s reputation would remain thoroughly destroyed for the rest of his life, and this security guard didn’t wish to follow in his footsteps.

“Fellow daoist Ning Qin, you are asking to have your pill reexamined, right?”

Qin Yu didn’t care about the change in attitude or how much the security guard was crying inside. He simply nodded.

The security guard said, “Please wait a moment, I will immediately send a message.”

Seeing the security guard turn and hurry away, he wanted to ask, ‘Can’t you just make a call? How come it looks as if you’re fleeing into the wilderness!’

He looked at the field and saw the atmosphere worsen between the Great Desolate Lake and Cleansing Temple. Qin Yu wryly smiled. He really didn’t want to get involved in their affairs and steal their limelight, but there was nothing else he could do.

The security guard left and didn’t return. But, it was clear he had passed on his request. Many eyes atop the platform were already looking towards him.

While the officials gave everyone the right to ask for a reexamination, not every person was approved. After all, if every person were to ask for a reexamination, then everyone would die of exhaustion before the event ended. However, Qin Yu did have these qualifications. Even ignoring all else, just the ruckus he had created on the network was enough to make the officials scared of belittling him.

Drawing back 10,000 steps, even the Exalted Yun Yilan was interested in him. Just this point alone was enough to change their attitude towards him.

“Cough! Revered Ming, Revered Yuan, please wait a moment. We have received a request to reexamine a pill.” An official responsible for managing the appraisals politely said. He cursed Qin Yu inwardly. To have him come here and speak out at this moment, this was absolutely looking for trouble.

“Yes!”

“No!”

The first reply was Ming Siyuan and the second was naturally Yuan Tiangang.

It was normal for their reactions to be complete opposites. One wanted to find an excuse to refute this matter, and the other wanted to use this momentum to pursue the matter and force the Great Desolate Lake into a situation where they had no choice but to agree.

The managing official froze in place. A cold sweat dripped down his forehead and he was unsure of what to do.

Ming Siyuan’s gaze was icy cold. “Revered Yuan, the matters between you and me are inevitably a private affair between two sides. But right now, this is the Southshine Nation’s great competition. Don’t you think it’s a bit excessive to waste the time of all our fellow daoists?”

At this moment, the audience watching were all screaming out in their hearts. We aren’t afraid of wasting time, just continue as you were!

Reexamining a pill or something like that, who the hell wants to watch that!

Yuan Tiangang frowned. Ming Siyuan’s words were logical so there was no way to stand against them. But if he missed such a good opportunity, he feared that there would be some additional variable in his efforts to force White Fengfeng to go to Cleansing Temple.

His thoughts raced and a smile lifted his lips. “Revered Ming is indeed correct, but I’ve always hated waiting. Please wait a moment, everything will be fine soon.”

“Who is it that wants to reexamine their pill?”

A low and deep voice, stimulated by a powerful cultivation, instantly spread throughout the entire audience.

Qin Yu’s lips twitched. He braced himself and walked forwards. “Greetings, Revered Yuan. It is this junior.”

In front of a Blue Sea, it was never wrong to be respectful, unless you wished to die.

Yuan Tiangang frowned before immediately composing himself. “Ning Qin, I know who you are, so I will be brief. If you cancel your reexamination request, you can join Cleansing Temple and I will provide you with a good position.” He suddenly switched his tone, his eyes sweeping around. “Of course, if anyone else wishes to apply for a reexamination then don’t blame me for being impolite.”

Ming Siyuan cursed inwardly at such a trick. But before he could say anything, his last path was blocked. Yuan Tiangang said, “Revered Ming, it’s not that I am trying to bully you, but the affairs of people are difficult to transverse and it is always best to be a bit more cautious. Of course, I believe that Revered Ming wouldn’t ask the cultivators of the Great Desolate Lake to apply for a reexamination to deliberately make things hard for me, right?”

Ming Siyuan’s complexion stiffened and darkened. If he did do that after his thoughts were exposed, then it really would be shameless. But that wasn’t the problem…the key was that junior Ning Qin. As long as he insisted on the reexamination, there wasn’t anything that Yuan Tiangang could do. Just as this thought popped up, he pushed it back down. How could a mere Nascent Soul realm junior defy the will of a Blue Sea? Moreover, Yuan Tiangang offered him such great advantages.