Shen Yuan Ring

"Unexpectedly, there was such a reversal. I thought Ye Fan would be able to win with this result, but I didn't expect that he was one step behind."

"That's right, Ye Fan has really lost face this time. He lost both his wife and his army. If he runs into Ji Daoyi in the Pill Hall in the future, he will probably avoid him like a mouse seeing a cat."

"Hmph, I think Ji Daoyi's Qi-Nourishing Pill was probably premeditated and prepared in advance, otherwise why would he be so low-key?"

The disciples of the Pill Hall around them were also discussing it animatedly.

"This is absolutely impossible, how could this be?"

Ye Fan, utterly distraught, resembled a mad dog, muttering to himself.

He then overheard the discussions among the disciples around him, as if they had discovered Ji Daoyi's secret. Grasping at this last straw, he hurriedly reported it to Dan Daozi.

“He cheated… Yes, he cheated. How could a country bumpkin like him possibly refine a full-strength pill, let alone a high-quality Qi-Nourishing Pill?”

"Even Senior Brother Hong Yu would find it difficult to do, so what merit or ability does he possess!"

“Elder, he must have prepared the Qi-Nourishing Pill in advance to do this. I knew why he kept saying that he only knew how to refine Qi-Nourishing Pills. It turns out that from the beginning, he set a trap to lure me in. All of this was carefully planned by him.”

"Elder..."

Before Ye Fan could finish speaking, the alchemist's face turned as cold as frost. With a stern expression, he roared, "Shut up!!"

"Isn't this humiliating enough? Losing is losing. As a disciple of the Pill Hall, how can you be so narrow-minded as to not even be able to handle this small setback!"

"Or do you think this old man's eyesight is failing, and that he doesn't know whether Ji Daoyi cheated or not!"

"In this competition, Ji Daoyi emerged victorious. He did indeed refine nine high-quality Qi-Nourishing Pills, and their quality was among the best of the high-quality ones!"

After saying that, Dan Daozi took out the prize money that Ye Fan and Ji Daoyi had won before, and handed it to Ji Daoyi as if it were a rare treasure, saying slowly, "These are your prize money from before, and now they are all yours!"

"Now that the competition has ended, this elder should take his leave!"

After Dan Daozi finished speaking, his figure flashed and he disappeared from the spot like a ghost.

As he left, Dan Daozi transmitted a message to Ji Daoyi: "Forgive others when you can!"

Ji Daoyi never expected that Dan Daozi would leave him with such a message before parting.

This was clearly Dan Daozi's intention, wanting him to be lenient with Ye Fan and not wanting him to fulfill the bet that Ye Fan had to crawl between his legs.

Ji Daoyi seemed to be deep in thought, pondering to himself. Although on the surface it seemed that Dan Daozi's actions were somewhat biased towards Ye Fan, in reality, Dan Daozi was secretly reminding Ji Daoyi.

If Ji Daoyi insists on forcing Ye Fan to act according to the duel agreement, then he will really offend everyone else in the Pill Hall.

"Since the elders have personally vouched for the absolute perfection of this alchemy competition, then you should obediently fulfill the bet you made back then!"

Ji Daoyi stared intently at Ye Fan and spoke righteously.

However, at this moment, Ye Fan's face turned deathly pale, as if all the strength had been drained from his body, and he collapsed straight to the ground.

His head, which had been held high, drooped limply. Where was the spirited and smug look he had before?

At this moment, Ye Fan was like a defeated rooster, disheveled and completely devoid of his former glory and confidence.

The surrounding crowd watched this scene and began to whisper among themselves, pointing and gossiping about Ye Fan.

Ji Daoyi stood quietly in place, coldly watching Ye Fan, waiting for him to fulfill his bet.

Although he already had a plan in mind, how could he let Ji Fan and the others off so easily?

Otherwise, how will he gain a foothold in the Pill Hall in the future? Wouldn't the others see him as a pushover?

At some point, Cheng Ke'er appeared like a ghost beside Ji Daoyi, looking at him with the eyes of someone who had discovered a new continent.

Although she had heard Ji Daoyi say that he had gained some insights from the character "Dan", she never expected that Ji Daoyi would win this competition in such a unique way!

"Dao Yi, I really wish I could crack open your head and see what kind of wonderful ideas are inside. Your alchemy skills are so superb, they are simply unparalleled! Why don't you come and follow my master and become my junior brother!"

"Let me tell you, my master is an honorary elder of the Pill Hall. His status is comparable to that of Elder Dan Daozi!"

Ji Daoyi turned his head helplessly and looked at Cheng Ke'er, who kept trying to sell him her master.

"Ke'er, I appreciate your kindness. If I hadn't yet become an apprentice, I might have considered your suggestion."

Ji Daoyi politely declined, and Cheng Ke'er did not continue the topic. She simply said, "It's truly enviable that your master has such an outstanding disciple like you! It's just a pity that my old man doesn't have such good fortune."

Upon hearing this, Ji Dao simply smiled slightly. He knew in his heart that if he hadn't become an apprentice, he probably wouldn't have had the chance to come here at all, let alone get to know Cheng Ke'er and the others.

If it weren't for his master, how could he possess the Heavenly Fire—the Azure Wood Yang Fire?

Therefore, he never felt that his master was inferior to others in the slightest; in fact, he was somewhat fortunate to have such a master!

"What, Ye Fan! Are you trying to renege on your promise? We agreed beforehand that if you lose this match, you'd obediently crawl between Ji Daoyi's legs and then shout 'I, Ye Fan, am a piece of trash' three times in front of everyone!"

Cheng Ke'er looked at Ye Fan, who was lying on the ground panting, but she didn't feel sorry for him.

"Let him crawl between your legs; that would damage the reputation of the Pill Hall. As long as he shouts 'I, Ye Fan, am a piece of trash' three times in front of everyone, that's enough!" Ji Daoyi didn't want to be too aggressive; otherwise, how would he be any different from Ye Fan and the others?

At this moment, Ye Fan was like an eggplant hit by frost, a defeated rooster lying lifelessly on the ground.

However, when he heard Ji Daoyi's words, despite his reluctance, his body trembled involuntarily.

Finally, Ye Fan gritted his teeth, suppressed the humiliation in his heart, and slowly straightened up.

He raised his head, staring directly at Ji Daoyi, then took a deep breath, used all his strength, closed his eyes, and shouted three times to the surrounding crowd: "I, Ye Fan, am a piece of trash!"

Having said that, Ye Fan felt too ashamed to stay and quickly cleared the area.

Some of the people present showed sympathy, while others laughed gleefully.

After Ye Fan finished his duel, Ji Daoyi said nothing more and left side by side with Cheng Ke'er.

Ji Daoyi originally planned to have Du Xiaolong and the others go with Ye Fan, but when he looked for those figures, he found that they had quietly left and disappeared.

Clearly, seeing that Ye Fan had lost the match, these people were afraid of being implicated, so they secretly slipped away when no one was paying attention.