In the span of a mere ten breaths, one of the alchemists who had consumed the poison pill turned pale, and without any warning, his entire body began to tremble violently, cold sweat pouring from his forehead.
The crowd below erupted in cries of shock—no one had expected that the poison pills refined by Grandmaster Xiao would be so incredibly potent.
Before the cries had even subsided, three muffled blasts echoed from the stage, and immediately after, a bizarre stench wafted through the air on the wind.
The alchemist, in his distraction, had let out several thunderous farts.
Quite a few people standing nearby had inhaled the foul odor before they could react, nearly vomiting on the spot, their faces twisted in disgust.
The participating alchemist's ashen face instantly turned bright red—not from the effects of the poison, but from sheer embarrassment.
Letting rip three foul farts in front of so many eyes—how could anyone bear such humiliation?
Seeing countless gazes filled with pity, disgust, and contempt directed his way, the alchemist felt he had nowhere to hide. He scrambled to his feet in a panic, leaped off the high platform, and fled through the crowd like a stray dog running for its life.
"You don't have the skill yet you still dare to attempt Grandmaster Xiao's trial? Overestimating yourself!"
"What a disgrace!"
"Which clan does this alchemist belong to? How is he ever going to show his face after word gets out?"
The mockery from behind stung like needles in his back, and he didn't dare stop for even a moment, vanishing into the crowd in the blink of an eye.
Before the crowd could recover from the spectacle, a soft thud suddenly rang out from the stage. Looking up, they saw that the two alchemists who had consumed the poison pills earlier had fallen backward, eyes wide open, frozen in their meditation posture—completely unconscious.
Three young disciples of Medicine King Valley exchanged glances, each letting out a cold snort, before walking over to the two fallen alchemists. With a casual flick of their feet, they kicked both of them off the platform.
Their attitude was cold, their expressions haughty—they kicked them as if they were mere objects, not people.
But no one dared criticize them. The organizers had made it clear beforehand that the jar Grandmaster Xiao had refined contained poison pills. Those who dared to climb up and consume them should be prepared to suffer the consequences.
"They're not dead!" Someone immediately went up to check their breathing and discovered that both were still alive. They simply couldn't be woken up—no amount of shouting seemed to reach them.
"So hot! It's so hot!" Another alchemist suddenly scrambled to his feet on the platform, his exposed skin flushed crimson as blood, radiating scorching heat, steam rising from the top of his head. He kept tearing at his clothes, and in no time at all was stripped to the waist—but he seemed oblivious, continuing to tear at what remained.
Dong Qingyan's delicate face flushed red, and she hurriedly raised her hands to cover her eyes.
Several warriors leaped onto the platform from below, their faces ashen with fury, and dragged the man down. These warriors likely belonged to the same clan as the alchemist, unwilling to let him continue embarrassing himself.
In less than thirty breaths from start to finish, the first batch of alchemists who had attempted the trial had been completely annihilated!
A hundred expressions, a hundred reactions. The symptoms after being poisoned were equally bizarre and varied. Such a miserable fate, however, did nothing to discourage the alchemists from their resolve to join Cloud Hidden Peak—on the contrary, it only inflamed their enthusiasm further.
The jar of poison pills Grandmaster Xiao had refined was clearly a single type of pill, yet it could produce so many different effects. Truly worthy of a master's hand.
It was precisely this that made these visiting alchemists feel that Grandmaster Xiao's alchemical methods were as mysterious as the workings of gods and ghosts—far beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.
After that batch had slunk away in disgrace, another thirty stepped forward with swishing sounds.
Time passed, and one after another, people were struck down by the poison. Some fell into unconsciousness, others displayed humiliating spectacles. Over two hundred people took the stage one after another, and not a single one safely passed the trial that Grandmaster Xiao had set.
The entire trial grounds were shrouded in a fog of misery.
Yet another group was poisoned. Among them was an alchemist whose body had gone rigid as stone after being struck, though his mind remained fully conscious. He shouted and raged: "I refuse to accept this! How can a single poison pill possibly measure my extraordinary talent? I refuse! I want to go to Cloud Hidden Peak and see Grandmaster Xiao! Grandmaster Xiao, please give this junior a chance!"
"Drag him off!" Qin Ze barked coldly.
The three young disciples of Medicine King Valley stepped forward with icy expressions, walked up to the man, and simply tossed him off the platform.
The man was still shouting: "Grandmaster Xiao, I can inherit your legacy! Please give this junior a chance!"
"These people have all lost their minds," Yang Kai observed coldly from the sidelines, shaking his head.
Dong Qingyan said softly, "You don't understand Grandmaster Xiao's prestige in the alchemy world, which is why you'd say something like that. Look at that man—disgusting as his display is, has anyone laughed at him?"
Yang Kai turned to look and realized that indeed, no one was mocking the man. Most people wore neutral expressions, and quite a few even looked sympathetic.
"To us alchemists, the Grandmaster is the supreme existence. What does a little suffering or embarrassment matter if it means getting to study under him?" Dong Qingyan bit her red lip, her face full of nervous anticipation.
"Are you really sure you want to go up there and take that poison pill?" Yang Kai grinned. "You've seen how those people reacted. Passing out on the spot would actually be the good outcome. If you don't pass the trial, you might start tearing your clothes off right in front of everyone..."
Dong Qingyan's face immediately paled.
"Hmm, and there are plenty of young men gathered here. I'm sure they'd love to see that show. Tsk tsk—Miss Dong of the Dong family, clothes in disarray... now that would make for great gossip."
"That wouldn't happen... right?"
"Even if it doesn't go that far, what if you let rip a few farts in front of everyone..."
"Stop it!" Dong Qingyan cried, her face drained of color.
Whichever of these humiliations it might be, none was something a young lady like her could endure. Such an experience would be a lifelong shadow—once it happened, she'd never be able to hold her head up again.