Everyone watched as Huo Zhouchen stepped inside.
So felt pity.
A renowned alchemist, soone respected across the region, had been forced to bow before even entering the gates. It was not a sight one could witness easily.
Others, however, felt like laughing and gloating.
After all, before, when they had to see soone like Huo Zhouchen, they would be treated like soeon who owed them sothing and looked down on them. Now that they have suffered the sa, they can't help but feel that it was their karma catching up to them.
Zhao Wutian and Li Jianhong exchanged glances, their expressions filled with a strange sense of satisfaction.
So even the Vermillion Pill Empire's famous Huo Zhouchen couldn't handle that brat.
For once, they didn't feel alone in their suffering. If anything, they even felt a faint sense of camaraderie with Huo Zhouchen.
They almost wanted to ask him how it felt.
Of course, they didn't dare say it aloud.
anwhile, as Huo Zhouchen entered, Bai Zihan suddenly felt a gaze on his back.
He turned slightly, only to see that it was Huo Shenyu.
The young alchemist stared at him, his eyes filled with anger and bloodlust. It was easy to understand why.
The person he respected, his father, had just been forced to bow, and the one responsible stood right before him.
Bai Zihan only glanced at him briefly before looking away, uninterested.
To him, Huo Shenyu was nothing more than a young phoenix who had yet to grow.
Others might praise his talent, might even call him unrivaled among his generation, but in Bai Zihan's eyes, such praise ant little.
Not to ntion, compared to Mu Linyue, his so-called talent was hardly worth ntioning.
Bai Zihan shook his head slightly.
If this Huo Shenyu ever t Mu Linyue and still believed himself to be unmatched, his Dao Heart might not be able to endure it. It wouldn't be strange if a Heart Demon ford.
Of course, that was only if he remained arrogant enough to believe he had no equal.
Bai Zihan didn't dwell on it.
He stepped forward and entered the hall.
Then, as if nothing had happened, his voice rang out casually.
"Sorry for the disturbance. Now that we've dealt with so audacious people, let the celebration continue."
Many people's expressions twitched slightly but no one said anything.
Thus, the brief tension quickly faded.
As if nothing had happened, the celebration continued.
One after another, guests stepped forward to congratulate Mu Tianxuan.
Voices of praise filled the hall once more.
"Grandmaster Mu, your breakthrough has shaken the entire region."
"The Mu Clan's future is limitless!"
"To witness such a mont is truly an honor!"
Cups were raised again.
Laughter returned.
Music resud its rhythm.
The atmosphere regained its earlier liveliness.
Mu Tianxuan responded calmly, nodding to each guest, occasionally exchanging a few words.
His deanor remained steady, neither arrogant nor overly humble, yet his presence now carried a weight that could not be ignored.
However, not everyone shared in that harmony.
On one side of the hall, Huo Zhouchen and his group stood isolated.
People avoided them.
No one approached them and even those with little acquaintance seed to deliberately keep their distance.
Even those who would normally rush to curry favor with the Vermillion Pill Empire now kept their distance.
After all-
Who knew whether Bai Zihan had truly let the matter go?
What if they approached Huo Zhouchen-
And Bai Zihan suddenly turned his attention toward them?
Wouldn't they be dragged into unnecessary trouble?
No one wanted that.
So, they chose the safest option: completely avoid the Vermillion Pill Empire's
representatives.
To the Vermillion Pill Empire's alchemists, this was infuriating.
Their expressions darkened.
In any other situation, these sa people would be surrounding them and
couldn't wait to flatter them.
But today, they were being treated like a plague.
When had they ever suffered such humiliation?
Even if Huo Zhouchen remained composed, the others could barely contain
themselves.
Their fists clenched.
Their eyes burned with suppressed anger.
They couldn't wait to humiliate the Mu Clan.
There were also those from the younger generation whose gazes toward Bai
Zihan had completely changed.
So looked at him with admiration.
To them, what Bai Zihan had just done was sothing they could only dream
of.
To stand before so many powerful figures, even representatives from empires, and speak without restraint-without fear-was sothing far beyond their
reach.
But not all gazes were so simple.
So were complicated.
There were those who had once competed with Bai Zihan.
Those who had stood on the sa stage as him.
Those who had suffered defeat at his hands.
Now, looking at him, they couldn't help but fall silent.
He was the sa age as them. So were even older than him.
And yet-
The level he stood on now was completely different.
They were still competing within their own generation.
But Bai Zihan was already playing a different ga.
Facing elders.
Clashing with empire-level figures.
Even influencing the stance of an entire clan like the Mu Clan.
The gap was no longer sothing that could be closed.
It wasn't even sothing that could be asured.
A few of them could only shake their heads bitterly.
They had already accepted it.
Whether in politics or on the battlefield, they simply could not compete with
Bai Zihan.
And perhaps
They never would.
On another side of the hall, Bai Xueqing and Chu Ziyan had also witnessed
everything.
Bai Xueqing let out a quiet breath.
The mont Bai Zihan opened his mouth, she already knew he was going to
stir up trouble.
And not just any trouble but against the Vermillion Pill Empire's representative.
A group of Grade-7 Alchemists were not soone to be provoked lightly.
Yet the result had unfolded exactly as she expected.
Bai Zihan had not only provoked them but they had to apologize to him instead.
On the other hand, Chu Ziyan's reaction was entirely different.
Her eyes sparkled as she remained fixed on Bai Zihan.
To her, everything that had just happened only made him appear even more
dazzling.
She watched him as if he were the most handso and captivating person in the entire hall, completely enchanted. Well, she wasn't the only one.
Many girls seed to have their heart chard by Bai Zihan's performance.
***
The lively atmosphere continued to ripple across the grand hall, but beneath that surface-
Tension quietly gathered once more.
From within the ranks of the Vermillion Pill Empire, another figure stepped
forward.
Unlike Huo Zhouchen, he was less renowned but he was also a Grade-7
alchemist.
His presence alone was enough to draw attention.
He stepped into the open space calmly, his robes swaying slightly, before
cupping his fists toward Mu Tianxuan.
"I would like to congratulate the newly ascended Grandmaster."
His voice was clear and carried throughout the hall.
"I have long heard of the Mu Clan's excellence in alchemy."
A polite beginning, flawless on the surface.
But then a subtle shift.
His gaze swept across the hall, lingering for just a fraction of a second on Bai
Zihan before returning forward.
"Since today is such a grand occasion..."
A faint smile ford.
"How about we liven things up a little? Why not have a small competition
among the younger generation?"
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