From the Heavens Descended an Immortal Sister

"Brother Lin, may I ask, which one is the Fang Family's Young Master Fang that we have not yet met?" the Butler of Liu Family inquired.

"Let's just wait and see," Lin Bozhong replied with a smile, choosing not to point out who it was to the crowd.

Bai Qi, standing to the side, was completely dumbfounded by Lin Bo's words. Was this Elder Lin really planning to dig a grave for his own Young Master? After Fang Ren had selected materials for a fourth-order elixir, Lin Bo even lured out his identity for these aristocratic families' stewards to see. How much face would Fang Ren lose then?

As Bai Qi pondered, he silently made up his mind: if Lin Bozhong continued to set traps for Fang Ren, he would take on any loss of face himself, claiming any embarrassment as his own.

However, Lin Bozhong shouldn't have any reason to trap Fang Ren… right?

Although Chen Cheng maintained a smile, confusion swirled in his mind. He grabbed Lin Bozhong by the arm, turned his back to the three elders, and started gesturing wildly with his eyebrows and eyes to communicate secretively.

"Aren't you risking revealing the princess' identity by doing this?" he meant.

Lin Bozhong just smiled and briefly isolated the sound with True Qi: "Brother Chen, rest assured. They only know the Young Master's identity, not that the princess is present. Plus, today's competition doesn't involve any roll call, so who would know the princess is here?"

Chen Cheng's frown deepened: "Will that work? Once they figure out Young Master Fang's identity, they'll definitely guess who the girl constantly at his side is."

"Just adamantly deny knowing her," Lin Bozhong advised.

Having said that, Lin Bozhong immediately dispelled the sound isolation True Qi and turned back to continue chatting with the three old men.

The three of them, seeing him disengage the sound barrier, didn't overthink it, because everyone knew about Tianjiang by now. It was understandable for stewards of the Bai and Fang families to have some secret conversations, especially with the families soon to become in-laws.

...

On the field, other aristocratic students all watched their Pill Furnaces with nervous expressions, occasionally adding more ingredients. However, Fang Ren, situated by Yangming University, simply sat there, propping up his chin with his hand and staring vacantly at the flames below.

As time ticked by, the jeers directed at Fang Ren gradually ceased, for even mockery becomes tiring when repeated, and they had lost interest in taunting an "idiot." Instead of watching an idiot practice Alchemy, it made sense to pay more attention to the geniuses.

"It seems Liu Xifeng from Liu Family is quite confident; he's chosen the Sonic Pill, the most challenging second-order elixir to create. It looks like Liu Family will soon have another Grandmaster Alchemist," noted the Steward of the Cao Family, eyeing a male student in Brilliant Academy's uniform within the competition area.

"My respects, but Wang Ye from your family is the true standout of this generation," the Butler of Liu Family remarked with a smile: "The Alchemy Method used by Wang Ye comes from the unique creation of Master Han Sheng from Zone Three. Judging by the fluidity of his execution, the elixir could very well be of high-grade among the second-order ones."

The Butler of Wang Family shook his head slightly, "Ah, but how could Cao Wendong of the Cao Family be any less? Look at how he controls the temperature of the fire, he already possesses some of the style of a college instructor. With such proficiency, the elixir he creates will at least be of a medium grade, with a strong possibility of being top-grade."

After mutually praising their respective families' Alchemy geniuses, Chen Cheng also nodded in agreement, offering his own critiques of the Liu, Cao, and Wang families' younger generations.

Lin Bozhong simply smiled along, lavishly complimenting the three families' Alchemy geniuses, yet internally, he was calm and greatly amused by the sight of Young Master Fang in the field.

He had seen Fang Ren use this particular Alchemy Method once before, seemingly to help heal Madame Xuan's injuries. This method was incredibly fast, and not only did it have a high success rate, but the quality of the resulting elixir was also unquestionably excellent.

Therefore, Lin Bozhong had a deep impression of Fang Ren's method of Alchemy—even using Cold Fire full-water method left an indelible mark on him.

"Brother Lin, by the way, at which university is Young Master Fang studying?" asked the Steward of the Cao Family. "Even if you don't tell us who he is now, at least give us a rough idea so we can make some guesses."

"Yes, I am quite curious about Young Master Fang," added the Butler of Wang Family.

Lin Bozhong smiled and replied, "The first to turn off the fire and stand up, that'll be Young Master Fang."

"Oh?" the Butler of Liu Family expressed his surprise: "Since Brother Lin has said so, it seems that Young Master Fang's talent in Alchemy is not merely a matter of 'interest.'"

"Let's just watch," Lin Bozhong said with a smile.

"Brother Lin, why do you enjoy keeping us in suspense like this?" the Butler of Wang Family laughed: "The more you do so, the more we look forward to Young Master Fang's performance."

Lin Bozhong smiled and said no more, calculating the time; he felt Fang Ren should be making a move soon, because according to Fang Ren's Alchemy Method, this moment should be the purification stage.

Indeed, just seconds after Lin Bozhong had this thought, Fang Ren finally made his move in the competition area.

He directly poured out half of the water from the Pill Furnace, which already had taken on some of the colors of the ingredients.

When the crowd saw what he was doing, they couldn't even be bothered to mock him anymore. The ingredients had been soaking in the water for so long, and now he was pouring out half of the infused water; this meant that at least one-fifth of the efficacy had been discarded, making it highly unlikely for any elixir to form.

The elder from Liu Family saw this and shook his head, sighing: "If one can come decently, why not leave just as decently? Why waste all these ingredients?"

The Butler of Wang Family spoke up: "Elder Liu, though I genuinely admire your teaching philosophy, I think you should tailor your approach to the student. Some students are simply beyond guidance."

"Let's just focus more on the other students," suggested the Steward of the Cao Family.

Lin Bozhong, hearing how these three elders spoke, secretly snickered even more. A bunch of folks who hadn't seen the scope of the world were probably going to drop their jaws when they witnessed the Young Master's capability.

Seeing this, Chen Cheng quickly pulled Lin Bozhong aside again and effortlessly created a Qi barrier to shield their conversation, speaking with furrowed brows: "Brother Lin, what exactly is Young Master Fang doing? Are you sure you haven't deceived me?"

"Of course I haven't deceived you," Lin Bozhong said earnestly. "Brother, just wait another 15 minutes. If Young Master Fang hasn't produced an elixir within that time, I'll pay for all the drinks you have this year."

Chen Cheng was taken aback; his fondness for drinking was well-known in Tianjiang's major family circles, and he had a palate for expensive liquors.

Lin Bozhong's assurance indicated his confidence.

"Brother Lin, since you've stated your case so confidently, I won't argue. I'll just sit back and await the result," Chen Cheng said.