Chapter Thirty-Three: Who Bears the Burden?

Before the words had even faded, a sword aura slashed through the air.

Wan Yi instinctively moved to channel the "Emperor-Slaying Art," but he forced himself to stop at the last second. He knew that the attacker must be an Emperor-realm powerhouse from the Cauldron Sect, which meant the experts from his own sect and others were likely watching. If he were to use the "Emperor-Slaying Art," his secret would surely be exposed. Besides, he trusted that his cunning old sect master would never just stand by. After all, if he allowed a Cauldron Sect member to kill one of his own disciples right in front of so many other sects, he would lose face.

Clearly, Wan Yi had bet correctly.

At the critical moment, the figure of Lin Qiaosheng appeared in mid-air, waving his hand to deflect the sword aura as he shouted indignantly, "Old Man Ge, what is the meaning of this?!"

Seeing his lethal strike blocked, the other party shrieked, "Ah! Lin Qiaosheng, don't you go too far! This brat killed five of my beloved disciples; why shouldn't I take revenge for them?! Furthermore, since my disciples died within your Vast Expanse Sect, as the sect master, shouldn't you give me an explanation?!"

Before Lin Qiaosheng could even respond, Wan Yi, standing on the stage, would have none of it.

"Old fossil, I've seen shameless people before, but I've never seen anyone as shameless as you lot at the Cauldron Sect! We agreed on a friendly exchange, but your disciples came up here wanting a fight to the death. They signed the death waiver, and because they were inferior in skill, I killed them—and now you come jumping out to get revenge? What is this? When we try to reason with your Cauldron Sect, you play the rogue; when we play the rogue with you, you turn into a complete scoundrel, don't you?!"

Ge Laoguai had been in the Emperor realm for many years and was long accustomed to being treated with reverence. When had he ever been scolded like this by a mere junior? His blood began to boil, and a burst of rage clogged his chest. In his fury, he lashed out at Wan Yi with another palm strike!

Lin Qiaosheng’s expression turned grim. He flickered across the space to intercept the blow, roaring, "Ge Honggen, do you really think my Vast Expanse Sect is easy to bully?!"

At the sound of Lin Qiaosheng’s roar, Ge Laoguai instantly cooled down. Although it was commonly believed that the Cauldron Sect and the Vast Expanse Sect were evenly matched in power, in reality, there was a significant gap between them. Setting aside Lin Qiaosheng, a mid-stage Emperor-realm sect master, the Vast Expanse Sect had five genuine peak-stage Emperor-realm powerhouses sitting in their Elder Hall! In contrast, the Cauldron Sect only had Ge, an early-stage Emperor-realm elder, and their sect master at the mid-stage.

The reason the outside world considered them equals was entirely due to the Cauldron Sect’s unique status. After all, everyone wanted to be on good terms with a sect that specialized in alchemy, especially since the Cauldron Sect Master was an eighth-grade Grand Alchemist. However, the Vast Expanse Sect was the exception; they had the Alchemy Peak, which never needed to beg for pills from others, so they had no fear of being coerced by the Cauldron Sect’s supply of elixirs.

Now, barely composed, Ge Laoguai seethed with anger, glaring at Lin Qiaosheng. "Lin Qiaosheng, my Cauldron Sect disciples died in your sect today. How do you intend to handle this?"

Lin Qiaosheng turned to look at the stage, wanting to clarify the sequence of events. To his surprise, when he recognized the person on the stage, his brow furrowed. He thought to himself, *Why is it this brat again? Yesterday he provoked Lin Junxiu, and today he dares to lash out at Ge Honggen. Does he really think Emperor-realm powerhouses are just ornaments? You manure-shoveler, how are you so good at causing trouble!*

Though annoyed, he still had to maintain appearances, so he asked, "Speak, what is going on here?"

Wan Yi curled his lip and pointed in the direction of the Cauldron Sect disciples. "Reporting to the Sect Master: While you giants were discussing important matters in the hall, we disciples thought we would engage in some friendly exchange with those from other sects. Who knew these guys from the Cauldron Sect would start spewing insults? Not only did they curse our Vast Expanse Sect, but they even insulted you, Sect Master, in front of everyone!"

The Cauldron Sect disciples exploded at this! "Don't you dare slander us! When did we ever insult the Vast Expanse Sect or Sect Master Lin?"

Wan Yi let out a cold snort. "Do you think you don't know whether you said it or not?! The brothers from the other sects standing around us just heard it all. You claimed we were frauds, that our hearts were crooked, and that our sect elders were practitioners of heretical arts. Everyone present here can bear witness!"

The onlookers wore strange expressions, thinking to themselves, *What did we hear?*

The Cauldron Sect disciples grew anxious. "Stop talking nonsense! We were talking about your Alchemy Peak being crooked and heretical, not the Vast Expanse Sect as a whole!"

Wan Yi laughed. "Is the Alchemy Peak not part of the Vast Expanse Sect? By attacking the Alchemy Peak, aren't you attacking our Vast Expanse Sect?"

Cauldron Sect disciple: "You're lying, we didn't..."

Before they could finish, Wan Yi interrupted, "Whether you did or not, you know, and everyone heard it clearly and saw it even more clearly. Besides, everyone knows what kind of scheme your Cauldron Sect is playing. Outside, you’ve been spreading rumors and smearing our Alchemy Peak. Isn't your goal to have our Alchemy Peak disbanded? That way, your Cauldron Sect can stand alone and monopolize the alchemy market in the Eastern Continent. Then, you'll be the ones setting the prices for pills—charging whatever spirit stones you want—and the major sects will have no choice but to swallow the loss! What a clever calculation; aren't you just despicable!"

Wan Yi exposed their secret right in front of everyone, and the expressions of the representatives from the various sects changed instantly. They hadn't thought of it from that perspective before, assuming that while the Cauldron Sect was overbearing, it wasn't necessarily malicious. The smaller sects had limited alchemy skills and inconsistent quality, so they hadn't minded the idea of a major sect like the Cauldron Sect consolidating production. But now, listening to Wan Yi, the more they thought about it, the more sense it made. Their gazes toward Ge Honggen shifted, turning hostile.

Ge Honggen felt as if his lungs were about to burst with rage. He hurriedly explained to the crowd, "Everyone, do not listen to this brat's nonsense! Everything we do is for the greater good. You wouldn't want to consume cheap, inferior pills, would you? Besides, for so many years, when have we ever raised our prices!"

The crowd fell into deep thought. Seeing this, Wan Yi mocked, "Right, right, you're doing it for everyone’s good! You haven't raised prices yet, but what about later? Once you use your dirty tactics to clear out all the other alchemy sects, won't prices go up? Even if you raise them bit by bit, what will the cost of pills be in ten years, or a hundred years?! Furthermore, why would you say the pills from our Alchemy Peak are inferior? Everyone here, who hasn't taken pills from our Alchemy Peak? Our pills are made with honest materials, high quality, strong efficacy, and most importantly, they are cheaper than what you sell! You’re jealous, you can't sit still, so you spread rumors to smear us. You even sent your disciples to look for opportunities to murder our Alchemy Peak disciples! Is there no justice? Is there no law?!"

Wan Yi’s words were spoken with such raw, tearful conviction that it seemed as if he had suffered an immense injustice. The representatives from the other sects were convinced, and they turned their unfriendly glares back toward Ge Honggen!

To be continued...