Yet, it wasn’t important whether it was Xin Qiu or someone else. What mattered was that, right at this very moment, Xin Qiu was Gu Zuo’s opponent. Gu Zuo had to defeat him and save Qingyun Sect’s face.
Xin Qiu was probably around eighteen years old. By becoming a mid-level pharmacist at this age, even though his aptitudes couldn’t compare to Xu Lingxiu’s, they weren’t too far off. He was also the City Lord’s son, so he was also Xin Bailin’s biological younger brother.
In the household of the City Lord’s Mansion, those with direct relations to the bloodline were truly out of the ordinary.
Previously, one couldn’t just look at when Xin Qiu was ferreting out information from Gu Zuo and speaking in a roundabout manner. Now that it was a pill battle, his entire person was completely different.
One would only see that Xin Qiu looked at Gu Zuo and had given him a smile: “This time, I hope Brother Gu won’t hold back. I’ll certainly give it my all.”
Gu Zuo also returned a smiling expression to him: “Everyone’s no better or worse than one another.”
Following which, the two no longer spoke.
Gu Zuo closed his eyes, and started pondering.
There were so many pill prescriptions. Currently, what category would be more suitable to refine?
He could send out his psychic power to see what Xin Qiu would refine and then make his selection… Eh, if he looked, would that be considered cheating? That wouldn’t be too good…
After hesitating for a moment, Gu Zuo was suddenly struck by inspiration.
It wasn’t necessary to look! Wouldn’t it be good if he chose the Steadfast Heart Pill? He’d watched this one many times. It would be very reasonable to say that he could refine it completely. Moreover, wouldn’t using the Steadfast Heart Pill, which the defeated Xu Lingxiu had refined, to faceslap the City Lord’s Mansion be considered avenging a friend?
So long as he restrained himself and only refined a mid grade pill, it would be okay…
Putting thought to action, Gu Zuo promptly instructed the medicine runner to fetch the medicinal herbs.
This medicine runner had been standing on the side to serve all pharmacists coming from Qingyun Sect. When he heard that the herbs Gu Zuo mentioned were the exact same ones as the last pharmacist, his expressionless cheeks suddenly showed traces of a weird look. However, he was dedicated to his work, and swiftly went to get the corresponding medicinal herbs to deliver them into Gu Zuo’s hands.
Gu Zuo recalled the scene of when Xu Lingxiu normally refined the Steadfast Heart Pill. He reached out a hand, and each of those medicinal herbs were flung into the pill cauldron.
After that, sizzling noises could be heard. All the herbs were producing splendid dissolving sounds.
Gu Zuo’s every movement was taken into the eyes of the surrounding people.
Xu Lingxiu’s eyes flashed with a hint of astonishment: “He’s actually&#k2014;”
He also remembered the matter of himself often instructing Gu Zuo to watch and learn on the side. Seeing Gu Zuo’s current actions again, he immediately understood Gu Zuo’s way of thinking. A trace of a smiling expression welled up from the bottom of his heart.
As for whether or not Gu Zuo could refine it successfully… In his opinion, Gu Zuo’s guts were small and he was too dependent on that young master, but he was also very pragmatic. If he couldn’t guarantee success, he wouldn’t be so reckless.
On the side of the City Lord’s Mansion, many people also witnessed Gu Zuo’s actions.
However, they hadn’t carefully seen which herbs Gu Zuo had selected. They could only see that Gu Zuo’s movements were along the same vein as Xu Lingxiu’s just a moment ago. It was to the point that, sometimes, they were exactly the same. The crowd guessed that the two studied the same type of pill seal.
The dainty young girl who previously sparred with Qiu Qian then tilted her head. Her gaze moved from place to place: “What does everyone think about this Pharmacist Gu’s medicine refining skills?”
The beautiful woman who sparred with Li Yunquan had a gentle emotion in her eyes: “The fourth young master previously made some inquiries. This Gu Zuo is favored by Xu Lingxiu, but he’s only a nominal disciple attending to another disciple in Qingyun Sect. While he has received some of Xu Lingxiu’s pointers, because there hasn’t been any development in his reputation, his specific abilities are unknown.”
The dainty young girl’s eyes faintly rolled: “It seems that he’ll be given a defeat under the fourth young master’s hands. Mother, isn’t that what you’re saying?”
The beautiful woman smiled, clearly thinking the same way.
On the contrary, that Xin Bailin suddenly opened his mouth: “No.”
The dainty young girl and the beautiful woman both looked over: “Third young master’s meaning is?”
Xin Bailin said: “This Gu Zuo isn’t as simple as he seems on the surface.”
The other couple of people heard this, and their expressions all changed slightly.
Qiu Qian and Zhu Hong were also carefully observing Gu Zuo refining pills.
Their understanding of Gu Zuo was no more than that of the City Lord’s Mansion side, and they didn’t know anything about Gu Zuo’s capabilities at all. Right now was the time to properly have a look.
With this look, they made a discovery. Not to mention how strong Gu Zuo was, just by looking at the refining method for this type of medicinal pill and the hand seal he was currently using, they realized that his foundations were in no way beneath their own.
But Gu Zuo was clearly just a nominal disciple. In the end, was it because the person he followed had outstanding abilities, or because Xu Lingxiu treated him favorably?
They were unable to figure this out.
For a moment, Zhu Hong’s heart was filled with envy.
Right now, she had a conjecture. The hand seal Gu Zuo used must’ve been taught by Xu Lingxiu! That Xu Lingxiu was too biased and his behavior was too willful!
Although Qiu Qian wasn’t as envious, he also felt that everything that Gu Zuo knew was mostly due to Xu Lingxiu’s teachings and pointers. With Xu Lingxiu’s identity and attitude, he never once had such kind intentions towards any other individual!
Xu Lingxiu also watched the spectacle of Gu Zuo using this hand seal.
His state of mind was somewhat complicated. It was because Gu Zuo wielded the hand seals with no less familiarity than he himself did… He recalled that the period of time since Gu Zuo obtained this hand seal was very short, but he himself had started practicing since childhood. It was hard to avoid feeling that he’d lost to some degree.
In addition, because he was very familiar with refining the Steadfast Heart Pill, Xu Lingxiu discovered that Gu Zuo’s smooth and unhindered refining was no weaker than his own. He even felt that Gu Zuo’s comprehension was extremely startling — Previously, when he refined medicine, he once received key information from his own master’s careful directions. The entire sum had been broken down and explained. It was only then that he could refine successfully and greatly improve his own strength.
However, he’d never carefully explained any of the matters on how to refine the Steadfast Heart Pill. Even though he’d given some pointers, it was less than one percent of what his master had originally taught him. One could see that Gu Zuo was capable of refining it successfully. And it was really because he’d figured it out on his own…
It seemed that Gu Zuo’s potential was still vastly untapped. Gu Zuo’s capabilities were also not limited to what one could see now.
Gu Zuo, who was in the middle of pill refining, was completely unaware of the perceptions that other people had of him.
In his opinion, refining the Steadfast Heart Pill was no trouble at all. This wasn’t saying that he tried to refine it before. He never had. In addition, refining one or two mid grade pills didn’t give him the least bit of pressure. Merely, since he decided to use the Steadfast Heart Pill to give a faceslap, he could only refine a mid grade Steadfast Heart Pill that was very close to high grade. The idea of refining two pills was directly thrown out.
Gu Zuo was hardly careless when refining medicinal pills, and estimated that the timeframe was just about there. He even reached the period of pill formation a bit earlier than that of Xu Lingxiu. He took out his pill at the same time that Xin Qiu, who was slower by a few seconds, formed his own medicinal pill.
That medicinal pill seemed to become a streak of light as it rushed straight to Gu Zuo’s palm. His outstretched hand had already captured it.
It was at this time that Xin Qiu also collected his medicinal pill, and unfolded his hand.
The one Gu Zuo refined was a Steadfast Heart Pill. Its product grade and qi energy were exactly the same as the previous Xu Lingxiu. The one Xin Qiu refined was a Myriad Particle Pill, which was among the type of pills that replenished true qi. Compared to the Qi Accumulating Pill, its medicinal power was even stronger, but compared to the Steadfast Heart Pill, its degree of difficulty in refining was a bit inferior.
Moreover, the one Gu Zuo refined was a mid grade pill that was very close to high grade. The one Xin Qiu refined was just a mid grade pill. With such a comprehensive comparison, Gu Zuo was indeed the winner!
The City Lord announced the outcome, and the people on the City Lord’s side all sighed.
At first, they thought Gu Zuo looked young and had a low realm. Qingyun Sect also shouldn’t have had two “Xu Lingxius”. Most of all, Gu Zuo had been put at the end by Xu Lingxiu — Normally, the first four matches could decide victory or defeat — So, his strength must’ve certainly been inadequate. They couldn’t have imagined the facts didn’t meet their expectations. Gu Zuo had actually refined the Steadfast Heart Pill, and had directly and efficiently handed Xin Qiu a loss! This was truly difficult for a person to believe…
On that side, someone praised: “I didn’t expect this noble Sect to have hidden away such a talent. It’s truly not simple.”
The corner of Xu Lingxiu’s mouth curled into a grin, and he exchanged pleasantries with the person: “You’re too kind. Junior Sect Brother Gu still has many areas where he needs to forge ahead.”
No matter what, Gu Zuo’s ability had brought both sides to a draw. This had spared the Sect’s face, so it was only fair that he protected this Junior Sect Brother Gu.
Merely, now that both sides had fought to a draw, the following matters were a bit difficult to deal with.
T/N: Thanks for the corrections, Charysa.
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