Huang Xiaolong looked away from the main terrace, his gaze sweeping over the rest of the participants.
Soon, he saw Devil Son Mo Su amongst the participants, but when his gaze moved onto the figure clad in a white dress next to Mo Su, Huang Xiaolong trembled slightly. Excitement rose to his eyes.
Li Lu!
âIs it Li Lu?!â
âYes, itâs her! Itâs Li Lu!â
Although she was wearing a veil, Huang Xiaolong recognized her at a glance. This person could only be Li Lu.
Huang Xiaolong walked over to Li Lu in hurried steps.
It was obvious that she saw Huang Xiaolong walking towards herself. For a split second, there was panic in her beautiful eyes.
In a span of two to three breaths, Huang Xiaolong reached Li Lu, his eyes bright like stars fixed on her, âLi Lu, is it you?â
A second before this, Huang Xiaolong had thought that his past with Li Lu had faded into memories that were sealed away in the deepest parts of him, yet now, seeing her right in front of him again, Huang Xiaolong realized that she has always been on his mind.
âIâm sorry, youâve got the wrong person.â Li Luâs response to Huang Xiaolong seemed cold as she added: âI donât know you.â
Huang Xiaolong was stupefied.
Although Li Lu hid it very well, the flash of agitation in the depth of her eyes was clearly captured by Huang Xiaolong. He was convinced that she recognized him.
She was lying!
That year, after he killed the Deities Templarâs Preceptor, Li Luâs memories and consciousness should have recovered.
Mo Su interjected, his tone hostile, âDid you hear that, Huang Xiaolong? Miss Li Lu says she doesnât know you! Quickly scram!â
After seeing Li Lu, Mo Su was completely conquered. Though his hundred over concubines were beautiful, they couldnât compare to Li Lu. In Mo Suâs heart and mind, she already belonged to him. Once he reined her in, she would be the empress of his harem.
Now, right in front of him, this Huang Xiaolong actually struck up a conversation with his woman, Mo Su was extremely upset. Naturally, if this was someone else instead of Huang Xiaolong, he would have killed the bastard with a punch.
Huang Xiaolong turned to Mo Su, looking at Mo Su with a chilling killing intent as he spoke in a low voice: âGet lost!â
Get lost!
Huang Xiaolongâs voice thundered, containing overwhelming murderous aura.
Other disciples all turned to look in Huang Xiaolong and Mo Suâs direction.
The anger in Mo Suâs heart spiraled into a frenzy. In his life, there were only times he told others to scram, and this, this Huang Xiaolong was telling him to get lost? In front of so many people?! His knuckles turned white from clenching his fists hard, devil qi surged around him, but the scene from two days ago when he was sent flying by Huang Xiaolong flashed in his mind.
The flashback was equivalent to icy cold water poured down Mo Suâs head, extinguishing his anger.
âGood, good!â Mo Su took a deep breath while glaring at Huang Xiaolong. He then fumed through gritted teeth, âHuang Xiaolong, I admit that youâre a tad stronger than me, but dare you compete with me in alchemy refining skills? Later, weâll determine the winner according to our ranking in the semi-finals!â
Huang Xiaolong retorted, âIn terms of strength, youâre inferior to me, and in pill concocting youâre even less qualified to compete with me.â
Mo Su laughed madly in anger, âYou say Iâm not qualified to compete in alchemy with you? Iâm the first ranker of the preliminary round, whereas you, youâre number two! Donât overestimate yourself, donât you feel ashamed to say that Iâm not qualified to compete with you? Itâs you who isnât qualified!â
Huang Xiaolong scoffed, âSince youâre adamant to compete, letâs put our lives on the line!â
Betting their lives! Mo Su choked.
âBet your life and mine. Whoever loses shall implode their godhead on the spot!â Huang Xiaolong coldly stated the terms.
Destroy their own godhead on the spot! Mo Suâs expression was getting uglier. Although he was confident that his alchemy refining skills were a level above Huang Xiaolongâs, he didnât have the guts to stake his life on it.
âWhat? Too scared? No guts? Then donât stand here and bark like a mad dog, scram this instant!â Huang Xiaolong snapped.
Mo Suâs face was on the verge of collapsing but said nothing in the end. He turned around in a huff and left. When he was out of Huang Xiaolongâs sight, killing intent soared in his eyes, surging frenzily. He would let Huang Xiaolong know who was truly unqualified!
Huang Xiaolong turned his attention back to Li Lu, his voice gentle, âI donât know what happened since back then, but after so many years passed I have never given up on finding you. I will not give up on you.â
Without waiting for a reply, Huang Xiaolong turned and left.
The semi-final round of the competition would begin shortly, thus everything would need to wait until after.
Although Huang Xiaolong didnât know what happened to Li Lu at that time, how she fared since then, one thing he could be sure of was that Li Lu still had a pure body. In other words, after so many years passed, she did not have any male cultivation companion, she still hadnât forgotten him.
Li Lu watched Huang Xiaolongâs back. Her eyes turned slightly red, but due to her veil, no one noticed anything. Moreover, her composure returned almost immediately.
In the main terrace, Sun Yiâs face was as black as it could be watching what took place. Huang Xiaolong and Li Luâs relationship seemed to lean towards...
Because of the fact that Li Lu was received as a personal disciple by their Ancestor while passing through a hinterland galaxy, adding the fact that Li Lu had never mentioned her origins, no one in the Fortune Gate knew anything about her past.
Sun Yiâs eyes glimmered, no one could guess what he was thinking.
As time trickled by, about ten minutes later, the semi-final round of the grand competition finally began.
Huang Xiaolong and the other ten thousand participants from various galaxies drew sticks. According to the number on their sticks, each participant went and stood at the allocated location.
A formation was arranged above the competition square and its perimeter, locking down the whole area. The space within was then further separated into ten thousand uniformed spaces of one hundred square meters. When each of these ten thousand spacesâ array was activated, the participants would be isolated from the outside world, hindering any disturbance during refinement.
On the other hand, these arrays were like invisible walls, all the participants could see the situation of other participants.
The semi-finals had a total of twelve rules.
The unionâs twelve Eminent Elders on the terrace each took turns to state one of the rules.
After the rules were announced, Wangu Biran declared the beginning of the semi-final round.
The instant Wangu Biranâs voice sounded, the many chambers below lit up with different colored flames.
Even though it was said there were twelve rules, things were actually very simple.
Each of the divided spaces below was equipped with pill refining ingredients and a cauldron. The participants merely needed to refine the Myriad Cure Holy Pill within three days utilizing the prepared materials and cauldron.
The ranking would be determined by the grade of the pills!
If the grade and quality of the pills were similar, the time used to refine them would be taken into account to determine the ranking.
The Myriad Cure Holy Pill belonged to the category of healing pellets, a top sacred grade divine pill and also the highest grade of pellets in numerous galaxies. It was one of the hardest medicinal pills to refine.
In the past, when Huang Xiaolong was preparing for the Highgod Advancement Tournament, he had spent a large sum in the Wangu Clanâs commerce hall to acquire the Undying God Pills, Extraordinary Divine Pellets, and Myriad Cure Holy Pills. Therefore, the Myriad Cure Holy Pill was no stranger to him.
âThousand Divine Beast Diagram!â Just when Huang Xiaolong was about to begin, some people in the crowd outside the square shouted.
Huang Xiaolong turned to look. Not far from him, following Mo Suâs hand manipulation, the materials in his chamber flew into the air in a row, forming various divine beast manifestations, exactly one thousand divine beasts!
Subsequently, in Mo Suâs refining space, a stream black qi that glittered like crystals rushed up.
âUnderworld River force!â
The crows stirred with excitement.
Seeing Mo Su being able to manipulate the Underworld River force, the Eminent Elders on the main terrace looked on interestedly.