The New Demon Lord?

Chapter 78: The New Demon Lord?

Dong Qing Yan jumped onto the platform, followed by Su Mu and Xia Ning Chang, and seeing someone still dared to take the stage, a round of voices suddenly stirred below, shouting a few words of encouragement, which caused Dong Qing Yan to smile shyly.

However, in the next instant, these people noticed the ornament that Dong Qing Yan had pinned on her chest.

"She's just a Common Grade Mid-Rank Alchemist…"

"Her level is so low; she's probably just another fool."

"Poor little girl, even if she is a fool, how will she be able to show her face after this?"

Listening to these words, Dong Qing Yan bit down on her lip and remained silent.

The three young Medicine King's Valley disciples, however, still smiled at her.

"Young Lady, if you please!"

Dong Qing Yan nodded gently, took a deep breath, and walked to the pot. After pulling out a poison pill, she glanced back once at Su Mu and Xia Ning Chang, silently consulting him.

"Rest assured, we'll observe you first." Xia Ning Chang smiled at Dong Qing Yan, and she nodded in return.

"Thank you, Senior Sister Xia…"

Dong Qing Yan took a deep breath, placed the poison pill into her mouth, and nervously swallowed it before immediately sitting cross-legged and circulating her Secret Art to refine the pill.

In addition to her and the Medicine King's Valley disciples, there were only Su Mu and Xia Ning Chang on the stage now, as most of the participants had lost their will to come forward and swallow the poisonous pill.

"By the way, Brother Su, which Secret Art should I circulate during the test—the Harem God's Cultivation Scripture or the Medicine God's Divine Hands?" Xia Ning Chang leaned towards her side and quietly asked.

"You don't have to circulate any of the Secret Arts…" Su Mu replied. "The Sacred Spirit Medicine Body is immune to all toxins and poisons, remember? All Sister Xia needs to do is surge some of her True Qi, and your body will refine the poisonous pill within a dozen or so breaths."

"Right…" It was something he had told her two years ago, but apparently, that detail skipped Xia Ning Chang's mind since she had never come in contact with any toxins in her life because of Meng Wuya's overprotective nature. "What about Brother Su?"

"I don't need to use any Secret Art, either. The test heavily favours those with high purity of True Yang Qi, and my True Yang Qi is pure enough to refine these pills instinctively."

The test was designed so that anyone who cultivated a True Yang Qi-based Secret Art would pass with absolutely no difficulties, and the Harem God's Cultivation happened to be one of the best Secret Arts in that regard, which improved both his True Yang Qi and Yang Qi. [1]

"I see."

"And since it'll be your first time circulating the Medicine God's Divine Hands, make sure to do it while in secluded cultivation."

Medicine God's Divine Hands was a Secret Art Su Mu had no real experience in cultivating, unlike the Harem God's Cultivation Scripture, as it was completely different from all the other Alchemy-related Secret Arts he had, so Xia Ning Chang could only rely on herself while practising it.

But with Xia Ning Chang's talent and hard work, it wouldn't be a problem for her.

The two of them continued their conversation as time slowly passed, and after around fifteen minutes passed, Dong Qing Yan showed no reaction.

Xia Ning Chang secretly used her Divine Sense to examine Dong Qing Yan, and she quickly discovered that the Yuan Qi in her body was rapidly circulating while burning away the toxins from the poisonous pill.

"Hey, that girl is pretty good; she's managed to last this long!" Someone in the crowd below suddenly called out in surprise.

Of the few hundred or so people who had taken the test already, in addition to a few of those Alchemists cultivated by Great Families and Sects, very few people had persisted for this long, and it wasn't like no Common Grade Alchemists had come up before. It was just that lasting more than ten breaths was already considered good, but Dong Qing Yan's performance now had caused everyone to sit up and take notice.

"How did she do it? She's another Alchemy genius, possibly even greater than Wang Qi Ren."

"I know her; she's the Dong Family's Young Lady Dong Qing Yan!"

"What, the Dong Family's Young Lady?"

As everyone was chattering, a ray of black gas emerged from Dong Qing Yan's brow and quickly became thick. Immediately after, the black gas disappeared back into her body, and Dong Qing Yan hurriedly opened her mouth and spat out a visibly black breath.

At the end of this breath, Dong Qing Yan slowly opened her big round eyes.

For the first time, Qin Ze, the invigilator of the exam, stood up from his chair with a big smile, repeatedly praising, "Good, good! Finally, someone managed to pass Uncle Xiao's test!"

Dong Qing Yan passed?

Hundreds of people suddenly went silent, almost unable to believe their ears.

From the beginning until the end, more than three hundred Alchemists from numerous forces, hailing from all over the world, came to take this test. Many of them had exceptional aptitude and were considered geniuses. Even Earth-Grade Top-Rank Alchemists had appeared, yet they all failed.

But now, a Common Grade Mid-Rank Alchemist had managed to pass?  What kind of profound and mysterious ability did she use to do it?

Even Dong Qing Yan was stunned and stupid, blinking her eyes blankly while staring at Qin Ze.

Xia Ning Chang smiled and called out to Dong Qing Yan, "Little Sister Dong, he said you have passed the Grandmaster's test."

"Uh… huh?" Dong Qing Yan still seemed like she hadn't recovered from the shock.

Qin Ze's previously cold and solemn look had now changed to a warm and friendly smile as he once again said, "Little girl, congratulations! You have passed this test! From now on, you are my Uncle Xiao Fu Sheng's disciple! Wait—this Qin should be calling you Junior Sister now!"

After this third explanation, Dong Qing Yan finally reacted.

Out of nowhere, she jumped high up into the sky, crying out in happiness, and her hands clutched while her eyes immediately turned red.

Only after she carried on like this for quite some time did she manage to barely compose herself and reply, "Yan'er greets Senior Brother Qin!"

Qin Ze laughed heartily, "Junior Sister is too polite!  Uncle Xiao accepting you as his disciple is a blessing for our Medicine King's Valley."

As these two exchanged greetings, the atmosphere between them immediately became harmonious, which caused the crowd gathered below to wear looks of pure shock.

When had someone ever seen Qin Ze of Medicine King's Valley acting so friendly? Each time someone found him to perform Alchemy for them, he would have an extremely displeased expression on his face, as though they all owed him something.

But now, this fellow was laughing so hard every one of his teeth was exposed.

It wasn't like he was somehow incapable of laughing with others. It was that he had never placed anyone else in his eyes.

"Now that Junior Sister has passed Uncle Xiao's test, you are one of our Medicine King's Valley's disciples. If you have no other matters to settle first, you can accompany me into Medicine King's Valley, and if there is something you wish to deal with beforehand, please inform me now." Qin Ze said as he laughed happily.

Dong Qing Yan nodded. About her joining Medicine King's Valley, she had to inform the Dong Family, but after things had progressed to this step, she firmly believed that her brother would no longer try to stop her.

Her becoming a Medicine King's Valley disciple would also bring a lot of face to the Dong Family. No matter which force it was, as long as they belonged to this world, they would desire a good relationship with Medicine King's Valley. Now, the Dong Family's Young Lady was the Medicine King's Valley Grandmaster Xiao's direct disciple. It was simply an incomparable position.

"Senior Brother, Yan'er's friends would also like to try." Dong Qing Yan glanced towards Su Mu and Xia Ning Chang.

"Since they would like to try, then so be it. In any case, there are still a lot of Uncle Xiao's poison pills remaining." Without digging any deeper into it, Qin Ze nodded without much thought. "What level of Alchemists are they?"

"They are the ones who taught me alchemy…" Dong Qing Yan still had no idea about their grades as alchemists, so that was the best answer she could come up with.

"Oh?" At first, Qin Ze thought that Su Mu and Xia Ning Chang were here to accompany Dong Qing Yan because they didn't have their alchemist badges on their clothes, but his evaluation of them increased after the latter's words. "Very well."

Su Mu and Xia Ning Chang took one poisonous pill from the pot and swallowed it before sitting cross-legged.

Nearby, Dong Qing Yan looked at them nervously, while Qin Ze was curious about what his new Junior Sister's mentors had to offer.

'Hmm…'

The moment the poisonous pill reached his stomach, Su Mu felt it completely dissolve and pour directly into his meridians.

'The pill's quality isn't bad for someone from a small world like this; it seems Xiao Fu Sheng has devoted his entire life to alchemy…'

As random thoughts passed through his head, his body refined the poisonous pill on its own, and Su Mu soon felt the last of the toxins completely disintegrate while the remaining dregs rose to his head and gathered into a cloud of turbid gas in his mouth.

It was something Su Mu internationally left behind.

If he hadn't intentionally done so, his body would have refined the poisonous pill without any dregs to exhale, which was the passing criteria for the exam.

To those observing, a ray of black gas emerged from Xia Ning Chang and Su Mu's brows and quickly became thick.

"How…? It hasn't even been that long!" Qin Ze's eyes widened, unable to contain his surprise.

That was the sign that the final step of the test had arrived. Of the hundreds of Alchemists who had participated before now, only Wang Qi Ren and Dong Qing Yan had managed to reach this point; the former falling short, the latter finally succeeding.

Even then, it took a considerable amount of time for them to reach that step, but somehow, these new participants had achieved that within a minute.

Only a true Alchemy genius could do something like this!

Qin Ze suddenly became nervous as he carefully watched the new participants with his heart stuck in his throat. Uncle Xiao had personally told him that for this time's test, as long as he could find even one suitable successor, he would be satisfied.

Now that Dong Qing Yan had already passed, if a second or third person also succeeded, wouldn't his old uncle cry out in joy? If Hidden Cloud Peak were to obtain more than one successor, it was not hard to imagine it flourishing in the future.

'No! It's too early to make a hasty decision!'

Just as Qin Ze felt like his heart might burst from the tension, the wisp of black gas between Xia Ning Chang and Su Mu's eyebrows vanished. Qin Ze immediately held his breath as he intensely focused his attention.

Qin Ze anxiously waited for a few seconds, and the moment Su Mu and Xia Ning Chang opened their mouths to let out a visibly black breath, his expression was left dumbfounded with his mouth wide open.

Dong Qing Yan's mentors completed the test in only one-tenth of the time it took her, the sole candidate who successfully passed.

Even if everyone witnessed it with their own eyes, it was hard to accept, both for Qin Ze and the crowd gathered near the stage.

"Here." Su Mu, who got up first, held his hand out to Xia Ning Chang, which she grabbed with a smile before pulling herself up.

"Thank you, Brother Su."

"So…" Su Mu then turned towards the dumbfounded Qin Ze, and he asked with a smile. "What are the results?"

"Ah, yes…" Qin Ze snapped out of the initial shock and announced loudly, "They both passed!"

These words made the crowd below feel dizzy.

Before now, so many people had gone up on the platform, but not a single one had been successful, and yet, all of a sudden, three people passed one after the other.

It didn't make much sense.

Some people were in shock, some seemed enthusiastic about passing the tests, while those who had previously failed were in denial.

"Senior Qin, these three must have cheated somehow!"

"That's right, Senior Qin. These three must have found some trick to pass. A Common Grade Alchemist and two completely unranked Alchemists, how could they have passed Grandmaster Xiao's test?

"Indeed, they must have used some underhanded means to do this. I am not satisfied!"

Qin Ze's smiling face immediately cramped up in annoyance and disgust, and he glared towards the crowd gathered below before shouting. "This is my Uncle Xiao's personally refined poison pill! No one—I repeat—no one can avoid its effects. Even if an Immortal Ascension Realm Cultivator had consumed this pill without an appropriate aptitude for Alchemy, he would still be unable to bear it. If you are unsatisfied, you can try it yourself, but those who dare question the results are slandering the newly recruited disciples of my Medicine King's Valley and Uncle Xiao!"

As these words echoed throughout the plaza, the crowd fell silent.

"Fuck. How can someone who can barely even perform Alchemy manage to pass? I don't believe it!" One of the Alchemists in the crowd gnashed his teeth and jumped onto the platform.

Many others soon followed behind him, and a moment later, a large group of people got poisoned.

The giant medicine pot contained at least five or six hundred poison pills, but by noon, the participants had consumed all of them. However, in the end, no one managed to pass the test.

Many people managed to reach the final step but ultimately fell short.

It was clear to everyone now that Grandmaster Xiao had issued such a difficult test this time not to recruit disciples but to find a suitable successor.

After the test ended, Qin Ze came over with a smile and asked. "How should I address Junior Brother and Junior Sister?"

"Su Mu."

"I am Xia Ning Chang."

"Good, good! Junior Brother Su and Junior Sister Xia." Qin Ze nodded to himself. "Would you three like to the Hidden Cloud Peak now? If Uncle Xiao were to learn that three people managed to pass his test, he would be very pleased."

Su Mu and Xia Ning Chang had nothing that needed to be taken care of, but Dong Qing Yan wanted to meet her brother, Dong Qing Han, before visiting the Hidden Cloud Peak.

Naturally, Qin Ze didn't refuse her request and accompanied her to her brother's residence.

---

Amongst the Medicine King's Valley's Twelve Peaks, the Hidden Cloud Peak was extremely close to the centre, only separated from the Pill Saint's Peak by two small hills.

As Su Mu, Xia Ning Chang, and Dong Qing Yan approached it and looked up, a rugged mountain path surrounded by lush green forests that led to the top of the peak was vaguely visible. The entire scene was beautiful.

At the foot of the mountain, there was a stone upon which the three characters, "Hidden Cloud Peak." were inscribed.

At the lower right corner of this monument, there was also an additional line of blood-red characters, "Trespassers will die!"

'That's an animal's blood…'

Rather than being intimidating, Su Mu found the Medicine King's Valley's warning sign to be somewhat pitiful.

'The least they could have done was use an Immortal Ascension Realm Cultivator's blood…'

"It's pretty." Xia Ning Chang glanced over at the thousands of herbs that spread as far as the eyes could see, clearly mesmerised by the scene. "Big Sister Su would have loved it…"

{Please don't make it sound like I am dead, Sister Xia.}

Xia Ning Chang yelped in surprise when she heard Su Yan's voice inside her head, but since she and Su Mu had stopped at a distance from the group, no one heard her except him heard her.

"B-Brother Su! I heard Su Yan's voice inside my head!"

"I know…" Su Mu chuckled at her exaggerated reaction, realising that as a newly promoted Immortal Ascension Realm, it was her first time hearing a telepathic message from someone. "I was talking to Su Yan and connected her with you through my Divine Sense."

{I am surprised you never thought about such an implication of the communication function until now.}

"Well, I never had reason to."

"Big Sister Su…"

{It has been a while, Sister Xia. How have you been?}

Xia Ning Chang felt a little awkward as she connected her Divine Sense to Su Mu's, but when she heard Su Yan's gentle tone, the feeling disappeared as soon as it appeared.

"Yes…"

Su Yan and Xia Ning Chang talked for a few minutes until Su Mu asked.

"So, what did you have to talk about?"

{You said you wanted to visit the Ash Grey Cloud Evil Land in the future, remember?}

"Yeah."

{There have been rumours saying that the Sect Master's second disciple, Yang Bai, has conquered the 6 Evil Kings and became the new Demon Lord, so I thought of letting you know about it in advance.}

"The new Demon Lord?"

——

A/N:

1. True Yang Qi is Yang-based Cultivation Energy, not the Yang Qi mentioned during lemons.