Nonetheless, Frank ignored Kairo and turned toward Mole, demanding loudly, "Are we starting the second trial or not?""Well…"Mole turned toward Yosil, since this was an unprecedented case.Yosil was staring at Frank in turn, seeing the determination and composure in his eyes, devoid of panic or fear.It seemed that he was really not throwing away his life out of sheer pettiness, but to silence all his doubters.And that left Yosil stunned.After a while, he nodded at Mole. "Begin.""Sir—""I said we can begin, or perhaps you don't understand?" Yosil's expression turned cool, projecting such a terrible presence that it left Mole flinching."N-No…"Mole leveled a troubled look at Frank before pointing at the herbs and cauldrons that the Kornac's Keep apprentices brought. "The second trial begins now! Participants, you now have one hour to concoct an antidote in an hour to counteract the poison plaguing you… or you will die!"The participants all felt a chill running down th
Seeing that everyone except Frank had chosen their herbs, Kairo returned on stage, swiping and taking what remained on the table.With that, all the herbs that were not chosen for the second trial were slid into his pocket."Huh?"Yosil and the other Kornac's Keep elders were frowning when they saw what Kairo did.Being sly old foxes themselves, they could certainly tell what Kairo was doing.Frank had certainly stolen the limelight earlier, embarrassing Kairo.As such, Kairo now sought payback by taking away any herbs Frank could use, aside from some useless mudroots.And without any herbs, Frank was not going to counteract the poison in his body."Kairo Wal—"Even before Mole could start, Kairo shrugged innocently. "There's no rule stating how many herbs we can take, is there? I'm going to try every herb to see if I can make a quality pill."Kairo's words left Mole stumped, and he turned with a frown at Frank.Seeing that Frank was still seated meditatively, unaware of eve
It seemed that the herbs were not entirely wasted on Kairo, as he actually showed skill.Still, just as Kairo was done, everyone turned toward Frank again.There were no herbs, and there was just fifteen minutes left.Seemingly sensing their stares, Frank slowly opened his eyes and pushed himself to his feet with considerable difficulty."Hehe…"Kairo smirked at Frank, feeling endlessly confident with the pure white pill in his palm.Even if Frank had profound cultivation, he was not turning the tide when he had neither the time nor the herbs.In fact, Kairo believed his victory was assured, while Frank slowly shambled toward the stage to get herbs as he watched with a smirk. He was actually surprised for once when he saw that only useless mudroots were left.Still, he understood when he looked and saw Kairo's smirk and the pure white pill he was holding.The prick had taken away the other herbs, clearly out of revenge because Frank rubbed him the wrong way.Frank, however,
"Oh… Uh, okay…" Yosil sighed exasperatedly at Frank's refusal.There was nothing he could say now.As time continued to tick away, Frank threw all the mudroots into the cauldron and cooked them with a huge fire.His desperate reaction left Kairo's sinister smile broadening.Beside him, Horey Lindt was frowning instead. "Could it be…"Catching her murmur, Kairo turned toward her with a look of surprise. "What is it?""It's nothing…" Horey shrugged. "But I think there's this technique of using contravening medicinal effects…""What?!" Kairo's heart skipped a beat, at once uncomfortable.Still, Horey quickly assured him, "Oh, don't worry about it. Not many people would even be aware, let alone him. It's just something I read from an old book—the technique itself has been lost to time.""I see…"Kairo nodded, but he remained uncomfortable as he saw the confidence in Frank's expression.Did Frank perhaps know that contravening technique by chance?However, while Kairo was busy
Despite everyone's effort to tell Frank to concede, he breathed a long sigh and turned toward Mole. "Why is that so? I haven't given up yet.""Huh?!"Mole was left frowning, as Frank was still being stubborn even now. "Understand your position! I'm telling you to forfeit so that you won't die senselessly—I'd rather not have your death tarnish our reputation, even if this is your own fault."Suddenly remembering how Frank drank the entire cauldron of poison, Mole smirked at him.His miserable state now was certainly hilarious!That was when Frank said, "I don't need you to worry about my life."His calm words jolted Mole out of his thoughts, and he was left staring at Frank in shock. "Do you have a death wish?""Of course not."Frank looked at him confidently. "But the trial isn't over yet, is it?""No…"Mole frowned, glancing at the hourglass on the table beside Yosil. "But there's only five minutes left. What are you going to—""You don't have to worry about that."Frank s
Yosil had never seen such a technique being employed and therefore presumed it to be nonsensical just like everyone else.Mild flames were used in pill refinement to extract the medical essence within herbs and combined with other essences to shape a pill.It was not just a technique, but a task that required delicate precision.Frank was behaving just like some flunky in an exam, filling in random answers just before the time was up.But this was no exam, and random answers would not do Frank any good.To no surprise, just as Mole announced that the time was up, Frank extracted a jet black pill.Unlike Ira or Kairo's pills that swirled with a herbal aroma, Frank's pill smelled charred like burned minced meat, leaving a stink in the air."Hahahaha!!!"Kairo and the rest of the participants were all laughing when they saw Frank's black pill.The man was certainly amusing and so stubborn that he would cook a mud ball with what time he had.What a laugh!Even Yosil was sighing
"After all that effort, don't tell me this mudball is just a joke?""Look at it, the surface is even losing its color. Anyone who doesn't know might think it's a chunk of coal. But at least coal can burn—what can your mudball do?""Haha..."Kairo laughed without caring about his image. The crowd around burst into laughter too, teasing and gesturing at him.Some even urged the black-robed elder to quickly check the medicinal properties of this mudball. After all, Frank had been wearing a serious expression since the beginning. Now, many people wanted to see the look of panic and embarrassment on his face once he was exposed.Surely this would bring another wave of amusement to everyone."Hmm..."This time, Mole was clearly disappointed by the pill that Frank presented.He did not even reach out to take it and examine it carefully, perhaps afraid of getting his hands dirty.Instead, he let Frank hold it and stood in place to inspect it closely.After staring at it for a while,
"What?!"Everyone present heard Frank's casual words clearly.While others were stunned, Ira gave Frank a thumbs up in surprise."Damn, I didn't expect this. This kid has reached this point, and he's still showing off and pretending!""He really is so damn talented!"Kairo heard Frank's disdainful words. He stepped forward to snatch the pill from Frank's hand and inspected it closely. "You're too arrogant!"After a moment, he threw it to the ground."Hmph, it's just a mudball covered in charcoal ash with no medicinal properties or any effect!"With this kind of trash, you'd dare to criticize the elder who serves as a judge?!"Faced with Kairo's questioning, Frank looked at the pill he had thrown away and did not bother to argue.Seeing Frank's attitude, Kairo became even more furious."Hey, look at me!"Kairo was livid. He stepped forward and stomped on Frank's pill. Then, he sneered and bellowed, "I don't know who gave you the audacity to be so arrogant, but you're going t