Chapter 911. Designated as Young Master?

As Jiang Chen's results for his stage were tallied, the overall score for the alchemy-refining segment was calculated as well.

The combined totals for all three segments were gradually compiled one by one.

To everyone's astonishment, Lin Yanyu—a lone rogue cultivator—sat at the very top of the rankings, surpassing every scion of the great houses in Radiant City.

The moment the final rankings were posted, the entire hall erupted. No one had imagined that among all the elite heirs of Radiant City, among all those prodigies of the alchemy path, a lone outsider rogue cultivator would end up suppressing them all.

Instantly, the crowd below buzzed with heated discussion.

However, these results had been meticulously compiled by the eight judges and were naturally beyond dispute.

Pill King Yi stepped forward to announce the results. "The rankings are now set. The top thirty-six will be the final victors of this Pill Tower Battle. According to their respective standings, they will each receive the opportunity to cultivate within the Pill Tower."

"Furthermore, all rogue cultivators who placed within the top one hundred—you now have an opportunity to choose which great house to join and change your destiny!"

The moment these words left his mouth, the hundred rogue cultivators erupted in cheers. Apart from Lin Yanyu, who maintained a relatively calm demeanor, every other rogue cultivator displayed expressions of wild elation.

Rogue cultivators were rogue cultivators, after all. However proud they might be, they all knew that a rogue cultivator could never compare to the scions of a great house. Having backing versus having none—those were two entirely different things in the martial world.

The descendants of a rogue cultivator would likely remain rogue cultivators for generations. Everything a rogue cultivator toiled a lifetime to obtain might be something a great house's heir possessed from the very day he was born.

And yet, among the top one hundred rogue cultivators, only Lin Yanyu—the number one rogue—also ranked first in the overall standings. The second-ranked rogue genius placed twelfth overall.

This only proved that the gap between the top one hundred rogue cultivators and the top one hundred scions of the great houses remained quite substantial.

Of the top thirty-six, rogue cultivators claimed a mere ten spots. The scions of the great houses occupied the other twenty-six.

Still, anyone who had fought their way into the top one hundred demonstrated a certain degree of potential. Even if they failed to catch the eye of the Seven Great Emperors, there remained a chance of joining an ordinary great noble house.

In truth, the real prize—the ones everyone was truly competing for—were the ten rogue cultivator geniuses who had broken into the top thirty-six.

And naturally, the most sought-after of all was none other than Lin Yanyu, who had claimed the number one spot in both rankings.

The scramble over Lin Yanyu had, in fact, already kicked off a round of open rivalry and covert scheming the moment his preliminary results came out.

Every major faction—with the notable exception of Peacock Holy Mountain, which had made no clear statement—had at one point or another extended an olive branch to Lin Yanyu.

According to the rules, what came next was the segment where the rogue cultivators chose their allegiance.

"Rogue cultivator Lin Yanyu. Ranked first among all rogue cultivators. Please make your choice."

Under the gaze of countless onlookers, Lin Yanyu was ushered to the front of the stage.

Pill King Yi smiled faintly as he regarded Lin Yanyu. "Young friend Lin, now you may, before the eyes of all of Radiant City, make the choice in your heart. Remember—you need have no reservations. Simply follow your true heart."

Though nominally a rogue cultivator, Lin Yanyu was in fact the scion of a powerful family and had received aristocratic training since childhood. The grand spectacle of the stage did not particularly rattle him.

After a moment's thought, his gaze turned firm and resolute. He looked toward Jiang Chen and declared in a loud voice, "I came to Radiant City for one reason and one reason only—to join Pill King Zhen. From beginning to end, I have had only one choice: Pill King Zhen. Wherever Pill King Zhen pledges his allegiance, that is where I will pledge mine. You may find it strange—a lone rogue like me, who has never even met Pill King Zhen before, why would I be so devoted to him? I want you all to know: half a year ago, Pill King Zhen saved my life and pointed me toward clarity when I was lost."

Lin Yanyu was, of course, referring to the events in the Wastelands. However, without Jiang Chen's permission, he did not dare reveal the details of what had happened there.

These words drew sighs of admiration from the entire crowd.

Up among the seats of the Seven Great Emperors, many exchanged glances of barely concealed frustration. The Asura Great Emperor's faction, in particular, had been all but certain that Lin Yanyu would choose to join their ranks.

And the result?

Not only had they failed to win Lin Yanyu—they had even lost Pill King Bu to the bargain. With such an outcome, it was clear that the Pill Tower Battle had been a complete defeat for the Asura Great Emperor's faction.

When Pill King Yi heard Lin Yanyu's declaration, his aged face burst into an endless smile.

Pill King Zhen truly carried weight—his influence was unmatched! Where did Pill King Zhen belong? Pill King Zhen belonged to Peacock Holy Mountain! Was there ever any question about that in Radiant City?

Which meant that this rogue cultivator, Lin Yanyu, was effectively joining Peacock Holy Mountain!

Peacock Holy Mountain's alchemy heritage would grow stronger still—like a tiger that had been given wings.

At that moment, a storm of thoughts churned within the Asura Great Emperor's mind. For the first time, he truly realized that this mysterious Pill King Zhen was genuinely reshaping the power structure of Radiant City. His influence was transforming every facet of the city.

In that instant, the Asura Great Emperor recalled the Peacock Great Emperor's earlier words and suddenly found a glimmer of understanding.

One by one, the remaining rogue cultivators each made their own choices.

Unsurprisingly, because of Pill King Zhen, Peacock Holy Mountain remained the hottest destination. Out of the hundred rogue cultivators, more than thirty chose to join Peacock Holy Mountain.

This instantly gave Peacock Holy Mountain a wealth of promising new disciples.

Of course, that did not mean the others did not admire Pill King Zhen. The rogue cultivators were simply pragmatic enough to analyze the situation. They understood that if they all crowded into Peacock Holy Mountain, the resources they received and the attention they garnered would inevitably be diluted.

After all, a single Lin Yanyu—the top-ranked genius—was already enough to make them feel inadequate. And that was before one even accounted for the near-mythical Pill King Zhen himself.