“I hope Young Master Hei Mu won’t look down on my daughter!” Meng Ying said softly to Lin Xiao.
“How could I? It’s my honour,” Lin Xiao replied.
“Haha!” At that moment, Ye Fenghua’s faint laughter rang out, “I didn’t expect Emperor Meng to come in person.”
“As the Emperor of the Lanlan Empire, how could I not come to support such a grand event as the Spirit Controller’s alchemy contest?” Emperor Meng smiled politely at Ye Fenghua.
As he spoke, he glanced at Ye Yu beside Ye Fenghua and praised, “The Alliance Leader’s nephew truly inherits the Ye family’s bloodline. Nephew Ye Yu is quite exceptional, carrying the same flair as the Alliance Leader in his youth. He has a strong chance of winning this contest’s championship.”
“Emperor Meng overpraises him. Ye Yu’s talent is decent, but his temperament still needs some refinement,” Ye Fenghua shook his head slightly, speaking candidly, though to the crowd, it seemed like modesty.
“Hahaha, Alliance Leader Ye, Emperor Meng, you’ve arrived early!” Just then, a hearty laugh echoed through, and the crowd saw a robust elderly figure leading a large group towards them.
“Patriarch Zhou, you’ve arrived too,” Emperor Meng greeted casually.
Seeing this sturdy old man, who bore some resemblance to Zhou Xiong, Lin Xiao’s expression shifted slightly. This must be Zhou Xiong’s grandfather, Zhou Morui, Patriarch of the Zhou family and one of the Lanlan Empire’s Martial Venerables.
“So this is the young Hei Mu who defeated Zhou Xiong?” Zhou Morui’s gaze turned to Lin Xiao, his tone mildly surprised.
The eyes of Zhou Xiong and Zhou Ruoyi, following behind him, also fixed on Lin Xiao.
Zhou Xiong’s glare burned with anger, as if he longed to rush forward and thrash Lin Xiao.
Zhou Ruoyi’s face darkened; it was she who had told her brother about Chen Qing’er, hoping Zhou Xiong would teach Lin Xiao a lesson, only for him to lose to Lin Xiao instead.
“Patriarch Zhou, greetings!” Ignoring Zhou Xiong and Zhou Ruoyi’s stares, Lin Xiao addressed Zhou Morui calmly and confidently.
“Haha, my grandson has always been untamed, but now he’s finally met his match. Lad, you did well to knock some sense into him, let him see that his talent isn’t much among the younger generation,” Zhou Morui said.
His attitude caught Lin Xiao off guard.
“Hmph, this score, I’ll settle it with you sooner or later, just you wait!” Zhou Xiong said coldly to Lin Xiao.
“Anytime,” Lin Xiao replied nonchalantly. To such a brash, bear-like brute, he had nothing to say. If Zhou Xiong wasn’t convinced, Lin Xiao would beat him until he was, though whether Zhou Xiong even qualified to challenge him again depended on Zhou Xiong himself.
“Haha, it’s good for young people to have goals. In the future, I hope Young Brother Hei Mu will also spend time exchanging with my granddaughter Ruoyi,” Zhou Morui said with a smile.
Zhou Ruoyi’s face stiffened instantly. Exchange with Hei Mu? Impossible!
Lin Xiao brushed it off with a smile, exchanging with Zhou Ruoyi? He had no interest!
“Most of the people have arrived, let’s take our seats,” Ye Fenghua said, glancing over the crowd.
Emperor Meng and Zhou Morui nodded slightly. From the imperial side, only Meng Ying and an elderly personal guard followed Emperor Meng forward, while the others headed to the imperial seating area. Zhou Morui gestured to his group, and the Zhou family members moved towards their designated seats.
Only he, Zhou Xiong, and one elder stepped towards the main platform.
“Hei Mu, on the contest field, I hope your alchemy skills aren’t too shabby,” Ye Yu said with hostility before departing.
“You too,” Lin Xiao replied indifferently, uninterested in engaging with Ye Yu.
“Hmph!” With a cold snort, Ye Yu flicked his hand and strode towards the Spirit Controller Guild’s seating area.
“Brother Ye Yu is so cool!” Xuan Xuan called out from behind.
“Overseer Fan, are you planning to return to the Spirit Controller Alliance this time?” After a few steps, Ye Fenghua suddenly recalled something, turning back to glance at Fan Renlou before leaving, asking.
Fan Renlou froze briefly. Ye Fenghua had finally noticed him, though the attention felt dismissive.
“I’ve brought my disciple back to compete in the contest, to prove that your decision back then was wrong!” After a pause, Fan Renlou finally spoke.
He had been brimming with confidence, but seeing the current situation, his assurance wavered.
Even if Wu Gong won the alchemy contest, with Lin Xiao’s talent, if the Alliance Leader insisted the past decision was correct, Fan Renlou would have no recourse.
“Comparing alchemy with Hei Mu?” Ye Fenghua glanced at Wu Gong and said, “In that case, go ahead and compete.”
Shaking his head with mild disappointment, Ye Fenghua continued onward.
“Hmph, once Wu Gong takes first, we’ll see what you say!” Fan Renlou snorted inwardly, gesturing to Wu Gong, “Let’s go!”
With that, he shot a glance at Lin Xiao and strode off.
They had no fixed seats; aside from the major factions, everyone else went to the open seating area.
Wu Gong’s expression hardened as he said to Lin Xiao, “Hei Mu, I admit I can’t match you in combat, but in alchemy, you’re far behind me. We’ll settle this on the contest field!”
With that, he followed Fan Renlou.
“Yap!” Lin Xiao said lightly.
“You!” Wu Gong spun around in fury, his eyes practically spitting fire, before turning helplessly and storming off.
