Ye Qian looked like he had lost his soul. The impact of this defeat was immense to him. Ever since he had learned alchemy, he had progressed smoothly, reaching the peak without ever suffering such a miserable defeat.

He looked at the Pill Doyen in dismay and slowly took out the Heavenly Flame Orb.

At this moment, the division head said, “Wait a minute. We have yet to test Long Chen’s pill. How do we know whether it’s really the Hundred Dao Merger Spirit Pill? Although his pill-”

“Shut your mouth. There is no need to test the pill. It’s Qian-er’s loss.” The Pill Doyen coldly glanced at the division head before turning back to Ye Qian. “Qian-er, you should know what to do.”

Ye Qian nodded. With his head drooping, he walked over to Long Chen and handed the Heavenly Flame Orb over. “You win. I, Ye Qian, am not one to renege on my debts. Here.”

Long Chen smiled and received the Heavenly Flame Orb. Sensing the fluctuations inside it, he knew that he hadn’t worked for nothing.

“Many thanks.” In front of countless envious gazes, Long Chen put the Heavenly Flame Orb away. He tossed it inside the primal chaos space.

Huo Long let out a heaven-shaking roar and devoured the orb. Long Chen had never sensed such excitement from it.

“The competition is over, so I won’t disturb you any longer. Senior Pill Doyen, goodbye.” Long Chen cupped his fists at the Pill Doyen.

“You can go. If you have time, come visit the Divine Pill Division.” The Pill Doyen nodded. He smiled, seemingly not at all displeased by Long Chen’s win over Ye Qian.

Long Chen nodded and began walking away slowly. Wan Qing held his hand and walked away with him.

Seeing them walking away, the Divine Pill Division’s experts’ expressions were extremely unsightly. They felt hatred as though he wasn’t giving them any face. But then they thought that if he had lost and had to bark like a dog, would they have given him any face?

…

Elder Long and the Deputy Elder were watching from their chessboard. Elder Long curiously asked, “Are they really going to let Long Chen go just like this?”

The Deputy Elder laughed. “What else can they do? Although the Heavenly Flame Orb is precious, the face of the Divine Pill Division is more important.”

“But Long Chen isn’t giving the Divine Pill Division any face. Just look at the division head’s face. It’s purple,” said Elder Long.

“You’re still lacking experience. The division head doesn’t matter. Just watch the Pill Doyen,” said the Deputy Elder.

…

Seeing that Long Chen was about to vanish from sight, Feng Fei rose and prepared to leave as well.

This competition had definitely been worth coming to. She had truly been amazed by Long Chen’s skill in alchemy.

“Hm? Why has he stopped?” asked one of Feng Fei’s attendants.

Feng Fei looked back to see that Long Chen and Wan Qing had paused suddenly just before vanishing from sight.

Long Chen sighed and turned back. Looking at the Pill Doyen who was still smiling faintly, he said, “Senior wins. This medicinal pill can be left for everyone as a lesson.”

Long Chen sent the Hundred Dao Merger Spirit Pill flying toward Ye Qian. He then left with Wan Qing, going straight to the treasury.

Once they were out of sight, Wan Qing couldn’t help asking, “Why would you give them such a precious pill? You clearly won.”

That Hundred Dao Merger Spirit Pill was the strongest and most perfect pill that Wan Qing had ever seen, but Long Chen had given it away. She couldn’t help feeling some pain over that loss.

Long Chen sighed, “The Pill Doyen is just too smart. If someone had blocked our way or made things difficult while we were leaving, I could have kept the Hundred Dao Merger Spirit Pill without a care. But the Pill Doyen let us leave without any trouble at all. I was even walking slowly so that someone would stop us, but regretfully, no one did. Having taken a priceless treasure like the Heavenly Flame Orb, if I didn’t leave behind something as well, it would be too much. Although I don’t need to give face to anyone else within the Divine Pill Division, the Pill Doyen is someone I respect.”

Long Chen was actually disappointed, but there was no way around it. The Pill Doyen had been smart, and having obtained the Heavenly Flame Orb, an absolutely priceless treasure, he couldn’t not give something back without offending the Pill Doyen.

After all, the Pill Doyen was currently the only one that Long Chen could truly admire when it came to alchemy. He had given his life to alchemy. Such a person was a true alchemist.

Although he did feel like the Pill Doyen had seen through this aspect and intentionally set it up this way, Long Chen had to accept it.

In the end, he had been ‘forced’ to leave behind his pill. As a result, this became a trade. Everyone within the Divine Pill Division, including Ye Qian, had ended up saving some face.

Long Chen’s original plan was to give the Divine Pill Division a vicious slap without giving any face due to how irritating Ye Qian was. But in the end, Ye Qian hadn’t really touched Long Chen’s bottom line, and he was a pampered child that Long Chen couldn’t be bothered to quibble with. So he left the Hundred Dao Merger Spirit Pill with him.

Despite how incredibly pampered he was, Long Chen also saw that he was truly talented. The Divine Pill Division would be relying on him in the future. The Pill Doyen was also focused on his growth.

“Big brother Long Chen, I never knew your Pill Dao is so amazing. I was actually worried for nothing.” Wan Qing looked at Long Chen with a somewhat wronged expression.

“Foolish girl, didn’t I tell you? Your big brother Long Chen is the strongest reincarnation of a Warrior of the Starry Sky. I’ll never lose,” said Long Chen. “Let’s go pick some medicinal ingredients. Hehe, I want to experience what it’s like being rich.”

Seeing that expression of his, Wan Qing laughed. The two of them stepped into a transportation formation and vanished.

…

Ye Qian was stunned. He instinctively caught the Hundred Dao Merger Spirit Pill. In that instant, a vast energy shook his soul, almost making him cry out.

Just touching this pill was enough for him to sense a vast and majestic energy that he felt like it might explode.

“He… he actually…”

Ye Qian simply stared. Long Chen had given him this pill? His mind was a mess.

This action also dumbfounded everyone else. Only the Pill Doyen smiled as if he had expected it.

“Is this really the Hundred Dao Merger Spirit Pill? It looks different from when I refined it.”

“The energy inside it is crazy. If someone consumed it, wouldn’t they explode?”

“Could we have been tricked? This is basically a poison pill.”

The various Elders began to examine and discuss this pill, causing the Pill Doyen to say, “Who told you that this pill was to be consumed?”

Those people immediately shut their mouths and looked at the Pill Doyen. The other disciples also looked at him expectantly, hoping for an explanation. Even the non-alchemists were curious about this pill.

Feng Fei was also seated once more, looking for an explanation. 

Looking at everyone, the Pill Doyen solemnly said, “Fine, then I’ll give a lecture on how Long Chen has refined this Hundred Dao Merger Spirit Pill. Disciples of the Divine Pill Division, listen closely. The tuition fee for this lecture was truly high.”

It truly was a high price. To trade a priceless Heavenly Flame Orb for a Hundred Dao Merger Spirit Pill was a huge loss. Ye Qian blushed, but there was no hole for him to hide himself in.

“Qian-er, you don’t need to blame yourself. This Heavenly Flame Orb was given to you by the Divine Pill Division, so you simply lost your own item. In exchange, you’ve given a lesson to everyone here. Although it was expensive, as long as everyone is able to understand this lesson, it’s not a loss. Perhaps we even profited. Fortune or calamity are decided by yourself. Whether something is a blessing or a disaster is decided by the final result, not a temporary win or loss.”

The Pill Doyen’s words made Ye Qian feel better about his loss. He was extremely grateful to him.

The Pill Doyen’s gaze swept across all the disciples of the Divine Pill Division. He finally said, “Perhaps you aren’t aware of this, but this competition was actually set up by myself.”

“What?” Everyone present was startled, unable to believe their ears. Ye Qian looked at him in disbelief.