Martial Master

Everyone was momentarily stunned as they saw twelve pills appearing in Qin Chen's palm. However, what was puzzling was that eleven of those pills had a very dull color, with no medicinal fragrance emanating from them, as if the essence within the pills had completely dissipated.

In contrast, there was one pill that looked somewhat decent, giving off a strange feeling, but it also did not release any medicinal aura and appeared lifeless.

At first glance, the twelve pills in Qin Chen's hand seemed nearly all ruined, completely worthless.

"This... twelve worthless pills?"

"Did Qin Chen fail in his alchemy?"

Someone exclaimed in shock. Although they had long questioned Qin Chen's alchemy skills, seeing him produce such a pile of useless pills, without a single intact one, still left them astonished.

Qin Chen was the champion of the previous two rounds, after all. Even if his cultivation was a bit weaker, it shouldn't have come to this, right? Moreover, during Qin Chen's pill refinement earlier, everyone had clearly seen the brilliant pill light bursting forth, dazzling like a sky full of clouds. How could it be that in the end, he produced nothing but useless pills?

"Hahaha, Master Xuan Cheng, it seems your Alchemy Pavilion in the Northern Sky Domain is going to face a major disaster this time."

The masters of Taiyuan Pavilion, who had been nervously clenching their hands, finally relaxed and burst into laughter.

The other pavilion masters of various Alchemy Pavilions also laughed, looking mockingly at Xuan Cheng. In the previous two rounds, Qin Chen had been overwhelming, winning consecutively and completely suppressing the talents of their Alchemy Pavilions. To be honest, everyone felt rather displeased.

Just a moment ago, when they saw the divine light shooting up from the pill furnace, they were startled, thinking Qin Chen might have refined a high-grade seventh-tier pill. Their hearts were tense, but now everyone felt relieved. No matter how strong Qin Chen had been in the first two rounds, as long as he failed in this third round, it would mean all his achievements were for naught. Forget about winning the championship; even making the top eighty would be difficult.

Xuan Cheng's face turned pale. At this moment, he couldn't care less about the mockery of others; he just tightened his hands, eyes bloodshot as he stared at the pills in Qin Chen's hand, drenched in sweat.

Twenty trillion! If Qin Chen couldn't secure the championship, his Alchemy Pavilion in the Northern Sky Domain would have to pay out a whopping twenty trillion. Selling everything wouldn't even cover that amount!

In the audience, Master Kang Sidong of Wanbao Building had been watching the competition, twirling two emerald dragon eyes in his hand. After the first two rounds, he had been smiling, but now his smile froze. With a loud thud, the two chicken egg-sized emerald dragon eyes fell to the ground, but he remained oblivious.

"It can't be! How could Master Qin fail to produce even a single intact pill in this third round? How is that possible?"

Cold sweat instantly broke out on Kang Sidong's forehead, his lips turning pale. Among everyone present, he was the only one who had witnessed Qin Chen's alchemy and had the most confidence in his abilities.

After seeing Qin Chen refine pills the first time, Kang Sidong firmly believed Qin Chen had at least a sixty to seventy percent chance of winning the championship, which was why he agreed to his request to have the Northern Sky Domain's Alchemy Pavilion collateralize and offer such odds.

But now, the grand master of Wanbao Building was panicking. "It's over, this is completely over. Twenty trillion! Even with the Northern Sky Domain as a guarantee, Wanbao Building would still have to bear some responsibility. What... what should I do? How am I supposed to explain this to my superiors later?"

The master of Wanbao Building, a figure who could command the winds and rain in Zhongzhou City, was now utterly flustered. He looked nothing like a top-tier expert, an eighth-tier peak Martial Emperor; instead, he resembled a desperate gambler, one who had lost.