Chapter 443: Reward
Chapter 443: Reward
Elder Ru Qi’s face turned aghast when she noticed a faint black spot on the underside of the petal which exactly matched Yi Chen’s words.
’This!’
Instantly grabbing the flower, she carefully checked another petal and the next... and the one after that, as her hand slowly started trembling in disbelief.
’Could it be that he’s correct?... But how?’ she thought, finding it difficult to believe Yi Chen’s words, as despite being a Tier 3 Pill Master and having gone through hundreds of thousands of books in her lifetime, she had neither read nor heard about such a distinct difference between the two herbs.
’But what if he’s just arguing with me to prove himself correct? Although I’ve refined pills with the Hundred Spots Yang Flower several hundred times in my entire life... as ashamed as I am to accept it, it’s still a fact that I’ve never checked the undersides of its petals...’
Elder Ru Qi mused with her lips pursed for a couple of seconds before her head turned towards the crowd.
"Huo Yin! Show me the other Hundred Spots Yang Flowers which you had gathered while preparing the ingredients earlier."
"Yes, Elder Ru!"
Huo Yin instantly stood up, realising that this was a matter Elder Ru Qi was taking very seriously, and made her way towards the teaching stage, placing the ten other Hundred Spots Yang Flowers she had with her on the table.
The moment Elder Ru Qi saw those flowers on the table, her hand instantly reached for one as she checked the underside of its petals with great intensity.
"Not here."
Her hand instantly reached for the next one.
"Not here."
And the next.
"Not here either..."
Like this, her actions only came to a stop after she had thoroughly checked the petals of all ten Hundred Spots Yang Flowers taken out by Huo Yin earlier.
"Do you believe me now, Elder Ru Qi? That flower... It’s definitely the Spotted Spirit Yang Flower and not the Hundred Spots Yang Flower..."
Finding it to be the right moment, Yi Chen finally decided to drop the hammer and seal the deal. However, it was still not enough to make Elder Ru Qi fully believe him.
’N-No... this can’t be. I’m a Tier 3 Pill Master, and this child... he’s not even a Pill Apprentice yet... So how?! How can he be aware of something that even I wasn’t aware of? There has to be a mistake here. It can’t be true... Yes, since it has come to this, I’ll confirm it in front of everyone then... Spotted Spirit Yang Flower, he says? Then I’ll prove it in front of everyone present that he’s wrong...he has to be!’
Despite confirming the fact stated by Yi Chen to be true, she found it extremely difficult to accept the fact that the flower in front of her eyes was in fact a Spotted Spirit Yang Flower and not the Hundred Spots Yang Flower.
Her ego as a Tier 3 Pill Master wouldn’t allow her to accept it so easily, especially when the confirmation method was completely new and something she hadn’t heard about before.
Letting out a deep breath the next moment, Elder Ru Qi slowly turned her head towards Yi Chen and, taking on a serious countenance, said, "You ask whether I believe you or not? I don’t. Although you state that the flower in front of me is a Spotted Spirit Yang Flower, the proof you provided is not a validated one and not something I’ve ever come across in books..."
’What? This distinct difference isn’t stated in any books?’ Yi Chen’s forehead couldn’t help but develop a furrow when he heard these words.
Meanwhile, the intensity behind Elder Ru Qi’s voice didn’t waver even a little as she continued, "...However, there’s indeed a validated way to confirm whether the flower in my hands is a Spotted Spirit Yang Flower or not. We just need to engulf it in fire.
If it burns away, it’s a regular Hundred Spots Yang Flower. However, if it remains unaffected, then it’s truly a Tier 2 Spirit herb, Spotted Spirit Yang Flower."
"Great! Then please confirm it." Yi Chen immediately stated, wanting to win Elder Ru Qi’s favour.
However, unlike him, there was not even a hint of excitement on Elder Ru Qi’s face, and instead, the moment she saw Yi Chen’s excited expression, her countenance darkened.
"Disciple Yi Chen, if it turns out that you’re lying and the flower in my hand is not a Spotted Spirit Yang Flower, then for wasting everyone’s valuable time, you must prepare yourself to face a severe punishment... You do understand that, right?" Elder Ru Qi said with narrowed eyes the very next moment.
As those words escaped her lips, several heads among the crowd nodded in agreement, for they had all spent their hard-earned contribution points to attend this lecture today.
Sensing Elder Ru Qi’s gaze, Yi Chen was able to understand that he had ended up provoking her because of his actions.
However, he was also completely confident about the fact that his status panel wouldn’t show him any wrong information.
Therefore, subtly bowing to her, he said in a humble attitude, "I...I understand, Elder Ru Qi. I’m willing to accept any punishment if that turns out to be the case, as I’ve indeed bothered the entire class because of my actions."
Meeting Elder Ru Qi’s eyes, the very next instant he spoke with confidence brimming in his eyes, "But...what if I’m right?"
"What if you’re right, you ask?" Elder Ru Qi snorted the very next moment, seeing the confidence in Yi Chen’s gaze, and said, "Then I’ll naturally fulfil any one wish you have. Is that enough?"
"Yes, Elder Ru Qi... That’s more than enough." Yi Chen answered with a pleased smile, clearly showing an expression as if he had already won.
’Shameless brat... you’re still trying to continue on with your act?’ Elder Ru Qi clenched her teeth in anger the moment she heard those words.
Wanting to teach Yi Chen a lesson as fast as possible, she didn’t waste her words on him any longer and instantly turned towards Huo Yin, who had been staring daggers at Yi Chen with the same unpleasant expression as Elder Ru Qi’s all this while.
"Huo Yin, use your fire Qi," Elder Ru Qi directed Huo Yin the very next moment.
"Yes, Elder Ru." Huo Yin firmly nodded her head at those words before directing her Qi towards her hands. The very next instant, a ball of fire formed above her palms.
Looking at the ball of fire, Elder Ru’s eyes glimmered with conviction as she momentarily met Yi Chen’s eyes and muttered, "Let’s see for ourselves then, whether you’ll be getting a punishment or a reward..."
With those words, she instantly placed the flower she held in her hand on top of the flames, expecting it to turn to cinders the very next moment.
Just as she expected, the Qi flame slowly engulfed the entire flower the very next instant, but instead of turning it into ashes, the flame intensified exponentially, and a pillar of fire surged towards the ceiling right at that moment.
WHOOOOOSH!
"THIS!!!"
Elder Ru Qi instantly retracted her hand at this unexpected scene, and the moment she did, the large pillar of fire disappeared like it never existed.
She wasn’t the only one who was taken by surprise. Huo Yin was forced to retreat a few steps and was currently sitting on the floor in dismay.
Meanwhile, all the disciples in the hall were on their feet in shock, not understanding the phenomenon they had just witnessed.
However, Elder Ru Qi’s next set of words instantly cleared up the confusion that had begun to plague their minds.
"I-It...It’s really a Spotted Spirit Yang Flower! A Tier 2 Spirit Herb!" Elder Ru Qi exclaimed with disbelief evident on her face as a great commotion burst forth among all the disciples present in the hall.
"T-That’s really a Tier 2 Spirit Herb?"
"To think I’ll personally be able to look at a Tier 2 Spirit Herb..."
"He really was right all along..."
.
.
.
Meanwhile, not minding the commotion at all, Elder Ru Qi’s head instantly turned towards Yi Chen as she asked, "You... earlier you said that you’d read about the presence of those black spots in a book. What’s the name of the book in which you read about those black spots? Do you still have it on you?"
’To think our sect’s library had such a book and I had never gone through it!’ Thinking that the book Yi Chen had just mentioned was something he had found in the sect’s library, Elder Ru Qi asked him the very next moment, with an expectant expression evident on her face.
"Well, Elder Ru Qi, the thing is..."
Thanks to what he had realised earlier from Elder Ru Qi’s words- that the black spots weren’t something the Sect’s Tier 3 Pill Masters were aware of, Yi Chen had enough time to cook up an excuse.
"...the book that I mentioned was something that I had found on a corpse while I was exploring an ancient ruin with a senior before I joined the sect."
"Oh?" A frown instantly formed on Elder Ru Qi’s face as she asked the very next moment, "Then... where’s that book now?"
"That senior... after we had cleared the ancient ruin, she left for the Silver Cloud Kingdom. That book was one of the several items she took for herself."
"I see..." Elder Ru Qi sighed in a disappointed manner when she heard this.
However, immediately being reminded of something, with her gaze slightly lower than usual, she said that very next moment, "About my words from earlier... Disciple Yi Chen, I sincerely apologise for doubting you. It was I as an Elder who fell short, and instead of accepting my ignorance immediately, I ended up doubting you more and more to satisfy my ego..."
Pausing to recover her breath, she raised her eyes to meet Yi Chen’s the very next moment and continued, "However, an apology is naturally not enough, so just as I promised earlier. I’ll fulfil any one wish you have, so freely state it.
Be it rare elixirs, martial techniques, or even taking care of a former grudge, I’ll fulfil any wish that you have, Disciple Yi Chen!"
Hearing exactly the words he wanted to listen to all this while, a wide grin formed on Yi Chen’s face as he stated his reward the very next moment.
"Then, Elder Ru Qi... when it comes to pill refining, can I come to you for guidance at any time I want?"
"???"