Chapter 1062: Personality
Duan Ling Tian merely smiled at Huang Chun's words.
'Was it certain he would become a foreign disciple of the Northern Mountain's Lu Clan?'
The reason he came was not to become a foreign disciple of the Northern Mountain's Lu Clan. Instead, he came so that the Northern Mountain's Lu Clan would grant him the position of an Interim Advisor or a Revered Elder.
He could imagine the Martial Monarch of Northern Mountain's Lu Clan greeting him politely if his identity as a grade one alchemist was revealed.
'However, I'll give this Alchemist Competition a try. When the competition officially begins, I can show off my grade one Pill Fire. I'm sure things will get interesting at that time,' Duan Ling Tian thought to himself as a smile crept up on the corner of his mouth.
Huang Chun did not miss the smile that appeared on his face. In his opinion, that smile seemed to show his confidence. It was as though he was confident he would be able to enter the top thirty in the Alchemist Competition and become a foreign disciple of the Northern Mountain's Lu Clan.
If Huang Chun could read the thoughts in Duan Ling Tian's mind, he would probably faint from shock.
The Alchemist Competition had not begun yet. Everybody, including Duan Ling Tian, stood at the same spot, patiently waiting.
As time went by, fewer and fewer people came.
In the end, people finally stopped coming.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Suddenly, the sound of wind whistling reverberated and took everybody, including Duan Ling Tian, by surprise.
When Duan Ling Tain and the others looked in the direction of the sound, they noticed two old figures joining the crowd.
Between these two old men, one was wearing green while the other wore grey.
The green-clad old man had a sturdy body, and he had a determined expression on his face. His manner was imposing even though no hints of anger could be seen in his eyes. He exuded an inexplicable sense of oppression that was not visible to the eyes.
The grey-clad old man, on the other hand, looked emaciated with his thin body. He looked glum and exuded a gloomy aura.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
...
After the appearance of the two old men, five more figures appeared behind them like shadows.
Among these people, some were old and some were middle-aged. They stood impassively behind the two old men. They stared straight ahead and did not waver at all from the beginning until the end.
"The Lu Clan's people are here!" Somebody bellowed. Everybody, including Duan Ling Tian, immediately regained their senses and re-examined the seven people before them.
"The two people at the lead are at the Eighth Level Void Transformation Stage. As for the other five, the weakest is at the Fourth Level Void Transformation Stage and the strongest is at the Sixth Level Void Transformation Stage." Duan Ling Tian's immediately extended his Spiritual Energy and probed the seven people's cultivation base.
Judging from the fact that Northern Mountain's Lu Clan was a second-rate force, the cultivation base of these seven people could not be considered strong.
However, Duan Ling Tian knew they did not need to have strong cultivation base.
"These seven people must be the Northern Mountain's Lu Clan's people who will preside over the Alchemist Competition since they appear just before the Alchemist Competition raises its curtains! The people who preside over the Alchemist Competition are all alchemists themselves. Moreover, their grades must be high. Considering the fact that they're high-grade alchemists, their cultivation base is quite impressive." Duan Ling Tian's eyes gleamed. His gaze was so sharp. It was as though he could easily see through the seven people from the Northern Mountain's Lu Clan.
As it turned out, Duan Ling Tian had guessed correctly.
"Ladies and gentleman, a great welcome to all of you who came to participate and observe the Alchemist Competition that's organized by our Lu Clan. First of all, I'd like to represent the Lu Clan to thank you for your enthusiasm. Secondly, our Lu Clan will only recruit the top 30 people in this Alchemist Competition. If some of you are unfortunate enough to be disqualified, please don't feel discouraged. Our Lu Clan will organize another Alchemist Competition in three years time," the green-clad old man said in a thunderous voice.
"I'm Lu Sou, the elder of Lu Clan. This person standing next to me is also an elder of the Lu Clan. I'm sure all of you must have heard of him before. He's none other than Elder Lu Zhao," the green-clad old man continued to speak. As he introduced himself, he also introduced the grey-clad old man by his side to the crowd.
"Elder Lu Zhao? Is he the Lu Clan's elder who always refined grade three pills with a 70% purity or above?"
"It must be him! I previously heard that one of the judges for the Alchemist Competition is Elder Lu Zhao!"
"Although Elder Lu Zhao is only a grade three alchemist, he's one of the best among all the grade three alchemists due to the fact that he can refine grade three pills with a 70% purity or above."
...
Many people whispered as they discussed the grey-clad old man — Lu Zhao, the Lu Clan's elder.
"Elder Lu Sou's also a grade three alchemist from the Lu Chan. He has also refined grade three pills that has a purity of 70% or above. Although he's not as good as Elder Lu Zhao, he's not that far behind either."
"That's right! Elder Lu Sou is also very remarkable! If I can get some pointers from him, my progress in the Medicine Refinement Dao will be tremendous!"
"Apart from that, I heard that Elder Lu Sou is kind, and he doesn't put on any air. This is something that Elder Lu Zhao can never compare to."
...
People continued to whisper again.
Meanwhile, Lu Zhao's face had darkened a little even though he did not react outwardly.
As for Lu Sou, a hint of happiness could be seen in the depth of his eyes even though his expression was devoid of joy or anger. Everybody, no matter who it was, loved to be praised and not criticized.
"Today, Lu Zhao and I will be the chief judges for the Alchemist Competition. The five people behind us are all excellent alchemists from our Lu Clan. They are the judges responsible for inspecting the results of your medicine refining," Lu Sou announced to the crowd.
"Huh?" Duan Ling Tian only heard half of Lu Sou's words. He did not hear the second half of it.
Naturally, it was not that he intentionally did not listen. However, his attention was caught by someone else.
His gaze was originally on Lu Sou and the other six people from the Northern Mountain's Lu Clan so it was easy for him to notice whose expression was not right.
At this moment, his attention was focused on Lu Zhao.
He noticed Lu Zhao was looking at a green-clad middle-aged man and nodding his head intermittently as though he was communicating with the green-clad middle-aged man.
Lu Zhao's eyes gleamed. It was as though he wanted to devour a certain someone.
"He..." Duan Ling Tian had originally found the silhouette of the green-clad middle-aged man to be slightly familiar, but he did not give it much thought. However, the green-clad middle-aged man suddenly turned his head to look at him at this moment.
Ridicule and scorn could be seen in the other man's eyes as a scheming smile appeared on his face.
"It's him!" Duan Ling Tian finally recognized the green-clad middle-aged man after seeing his face. "No wonder I find him familiar..."
The green-clad middle-aged man was one of the three middle-aged men whom he had punished outside of the Northern Mountain's Lu Clan's territory.
"It seems like he and that Lu Zhao know each other. Moreover, they appear quite close." Duan Ling Tian narrowed his eyes.
Needless to say, he could guess the content of the exchange between the green-clad middle-aged man and Lu Zhao. They were most likely discussing how to make things difficult for him.
However, he was not concerned about it at all.
If he was only a grade six alchemist, he would most likely fall for their tricks. However, he was not a grade six alchemist.
"Silence!" Soon after, Lu Sou's voice reverberated and suppressed the noise that was increasing in volume. The entire place immediately fell silent.
For a moment, everyone, including Duan Ling Tian, looked at Lu Sou.
When Lu Sou saw everyone's eyes were on him, he continued saying, "The Alchemist Competition is divided into three stages: preliminary, semi-final, and final. Before the preliminary round, all of you need to draw lots and obtain your number. The preliminary round will be carried out according to the order of the numbers."
"It's about to begin!" Most of everyone's eyes lit up instantly.
The preliminary round indicated the start of the Alchemist Competition. Only by passing the preliminary round could one enter the semi-finals.
After the semi-finals, the final round would begin.
Only the most outstanding thirty people could enter the final round.
Each of those who entered the final round would be able to enter the Northern Mountain's Lu Clan and become a foreign disciple.
The final round would determine the specific ranking of the thirty people. Those who were ranked at the top would receive lavish rewards. They would also become the focal trainee of the Lu Clan.
"In addition to obtaining physical rewards, I heard the top three in the finals will also be the personal apprentices of Lu Clan's grade two alchemists and get guidance from them!"
"My goal is to enter the top three in the finals! If I can get some guidance from a grade two alchemist, I believe I'll be a grade four alchemist in no time!"
"Those who came to the Alchemist Competition and who are quite capable do not only wish to be a Lu Clan's foreign disciple. All of them hope to get some pointers from the Lu Clan's high-grade alchemists!"
...
Many people buried their heads together in a discussion as their eyes burned brightly.
There were many grade five alchemists among them. These people's biggest aim was to become the personal apprentice of a Northern Mountain's Lu Clan's high-grade alchemist.
As the proverb went, 'Those who are in a favorable position would gain special advantage.'
The personal apprentice would be able to work alongside the grade two alchemist. As long as he served the grade two alchemist well, he would be able to get some pointers from the grade two alchemist.
"Let them draw the lots," Lu Sou ordered as he turned to look at the middle-aged man behind him.
"Yes," the middle-aged man replied respectfully. He was prepared to fly out and take the items needed to draw lots so that the people who came to participate in the Alchemist Competition, including Duan Ling Tian, could draw their lots.
"Wait a minute!" At this moment, a voice suddenly resonated in the air. It halted the middle-aged man's movement.
"Elder Lu Zhao." The middle-aged man looked at the old man standing next to Lu Sou and did not dare to act recklessly.
"Lu Zhao, do you have something to add?" Lu Sou asked. He raised an eyebrow as he looked at Lu Zhao.
Lu Zhao nodded slightly before he stepped forward. He looked around before he opened his mouth to speak. "Today is the day of the Alchemist Competition organized by our Northern Mountain's Lu Clan to recruit outstanding foreign disciples. I'd like to give a warm welcome to all of you who made it here today. However, apart from looking for someone who's talented in Medicine Refinement Dao, the foreign disciples that our Lu Clan recruit must have a good personality as well! From what I've heard, some of you are short-tempered and would casually injure others. Such people are not qualified to participate in the Alchemist Competition organized by our Lu Clan!"
As Lu Zhao reached the end of his sentence, his eyes gleamed when they landed on the purple-clad young man and the middle-aged man standing in the distance.