The entire city was thrown into a state of shock.
A tremendous wave of upheaval swept through the various major powers.
Ling Qingyun's name, as the news spread, became known to every strong individual in Tianchu City.
After all, he was a super prodigy capable of slaying a Grandmaster!
It was heard that this Ling Qingyun was incredibly young, not even twenty years old.
Everyone was even more astonished and shaken.
What kind of breathtaking, peerless prodigy could achieve such a feat!
Qi Refining to challenge Heaven Yuan!
In an instant, the prestigious titles of the Four Young Masters of Tianchu City seemed to dim and lose their luster before Ling Qingyun.
What is a genius?
This is a true genius!
He was already playing in a league far beyond that of the Four Young Masters.
The name Ling Qingyun became incredibly sought after.
...
However, the instigator of the great upheaval in the outside world.
Was currently in seclusion, completely unaware of any of this.
After an unknown amount of time.
At least several days had passed.
Ling Fan finally opened his eyes.
His internal power was now even more contained. Let alone a Heaven Yuan realm Grandmaster, even a Martial King of the Giant Spirit realm would likely find it difficult to detect the hidden power within him.
After all, the grade of his Primordial True Qi was too high, surpassing even the Heaven Yuan power of a Heaven Yuan realm Grandmaster.
Although he had absorbed a massive amount of various elemental powers, practically depleting the entire treasure vault of heavenly materials and earthly treasures.
His Primordial One Qi Art had still not reached complete perfection.
To push the Primordial One Qi Art to perfection, sheer quantity was not enough; it required the aid of elixirs to fully fuse all the elemental true qi.
Alternatively, without elixirs, it would require the painstaking effort of dripping water wearing away stone, slowly refining the Primordial True Qi to a state of pure flawlessness.
However, this would take too much time.
Ling Fan's lifespan was less than a year, and he could not afford to wait.
So, after some thought, Ling Fan summoned Liu Han.
"A place for refining pills? Mr. Ling, are you looking for someone to refine pills for you?"
Liu Han asked.
Ling Fan did not confirm or deny.
He himself was a master alchemist; why would he need to hire someone to refine pills?
Moreover, what he intended to refine now was the Profound Grade Primordial Pill, a concoction whose refining difficulty far surpassed ordinary Profound Grade pills.
It was likely that no one in Tianchu City could refine it.
Seeing that Ling Fan was unwilling to answer, Liu Han dared not ask further.
He respectfully said, "Mr. Ling, the most authoritative place for pill refining and the most complete in terms of refining materials in our Tianchu City is the Pill Pavilion. It is the official organization of alchemists backed by the Pill Alliance. If you have any needs regarding pills, seeking out the Pill Pavilion is never wrong."
After Liu Han finished speaking, he looked up, but Ling Fan had already vanished.
"Mr. Ling is truly decisive, never procrastinating."
Liu Han sighed inwardly.
...
The Pill Pavilion of Tianchu City.
Numerous powerful individuals brushed shoulders, coming and going, creating a lively scene.
Even the attendants at the entrance of the Pill Pavilion held their heads high, exuding an air of supreme arrogance.
As the largest official organization for pills in Tianchu City, and even Tianchu Province, the Pill Pavilion naturally possessed its own pride.
For martial artists, the higher they ascended, the more they relied on pills for assistance.
Thus, they inevitably had to approach the Pill Pavilion.
Even peak Profound Gang realm experts had to behave themselves and be courteous, without the slightest hint of overstepping.
Anyone who dared to cause trouble or act presumptuously would be blacklisted by the Pill Pavilion.
Their supply of pills would be cut off, and they would be left to lament their fate.
At this moment.
A grey-haired youth, dressed in plain cloth, walked into the Pill Pavilion.
A attendant glanced at him and immediately frowned, his expression turning unpleasant as he rudely shooed him away, "Go, go, go. Do you know what kind of place this is? Is this a place for scruffy beggars like you to come to? Scram, scram, scram!"
The attendant's words drew the attention of those around.
But no one stepped forward to speak up for the grey-haired youth.
This was because the grey-haired youth appeared far too ordinary.
There was no fluctuation of martial cultivation on his person.
Nor were there any luxurious adornments.
Clearly, he had no background or status.
Such a person was naturally not fit to enter a place like the Pill Pavilion.
Therefore, they felt it was only natural for this youth to be driven out by the attendant of the Pill Pavilion.
"Is the Pill Pavilion not open for business?"
The grey-haired youth said calmly, without any hint of panic.
The attendant paused for a moment, then said with utter contempt, "Our Pill Pavilion is naturally open for business, but with your useless appearance, do you think you are worthy of doing business with our Pill Pavilion! Ptooey!"
"Hahaha!"
A burst of laughter erupted from the surroundings.
The attendant of the Pill Pavilion became even more smug and said, "Hurry up and leave, don't ask for trouble. My staff and their cudgels are not to be trifled with."
*Slap!*
A loud slapping sound echoed.
The attendant's arrogant and smug smile had not yet faded when the grey-haired youth, with a swift backhand, struck him across the face, sending him crashing to the ground.
Everyone was stunned by this scene.
This grey-haired youth appeared refined and gentle, yet he struck without hesitation.
"You dare to hit me!"
The attendant, covering his face which had swollen into a pig's head, glared at the grey-haired youth with gritted teeth, disbelief etched on his face.
"Are you all dead? Don't you see I've been hit? Hurry up and help me, beat him to death!"
The attendant shrieked.
"This youth is in trouble. What kind of place is the Pill Pavilion? Even the dogs here are ten times more precious than those elsewhere. Moreover, as the saying goes, don't hit a man in the face! He actually hit someone from the Pill Pavilion. I fear he won't have a good outcome."
The onlookers, strong individuals of Tianchu City, shook their heads, feeling very pessimistic about the youth's fate.
Soon, other attendants and guards from the Pill Pavilion arrived, their imposing presence surrounding Ling Fan.
"Kid, I'm telling you, you're dead today! To act so presumptuously in the Pill Pavilion! Quickly kneel down and kowtow to apologize, and let me slap you a thousand times – no, a thousand times! – and perhaps I'll spare your dog's life. Otherwise, I'll ensure you don't leave the Pill Pavilion today!!"
The attendant took off his shoe and slapped it against his palm, as if testing the effect of hitting a face with a shoe sole.
The grey-haired youth glanced indifferently at these people from the Pill Pavilion, his expressionless face conveying, "Good dogs don't block the way. If you delay my affairs, you cannot afford the consequences."
Upon hearing this statement.
The onlookers all turned their heads.
And the people from the Pill Pavilion sneered dismissively.
"Oh ho! Such big talk!"
"Damn your mother, who do you think you are? Are you one of the Four Young Masters of Tianchu City? Or a young master from some prestigious family? If you were one of them, I'd immediately kneel and kowtow to you. But you haven't even peed to look at your own reflection! Do you deserve it? Do you deserve a damn thing!!"
"Brothers, let's go together! I'll take responsibility for beating this good-for-nothing to death!"
The attendant, with an extremely arrogant expression, gave the signal.
Just as a chorus of strong individuals from the Pill Pavilion responded and prepared to act.
Suddenly, a voice came from the second floor of the Pill Pavilion.
"Stop! Such a racket, what kind of decorum is this."
Everyone couldn't help but look up.
On the walkway of the second floor, a group of people stood.
The speaker was wearing the uniform of a Yellow Grade High-Rank Alchemist from the Pill Pavilion.
He, along with other alchemists from the Pill Pavilion, seemed to be attending to an important guest.
Seeing the commotion on the first floor, he appeared displeased.
Upon seeing this person, the attendants and guards of the Pill Pavilion immediately became respectful and said, "Greetings, Alchemist Qian!"
The attendant who had been slapped by the grey-haired youth complained, "Alchemist Qian, you must uphold justice for me! This little bastard trespassed into our Pill Pavilion and struck me without reason. If this person is not properly punished, where is the dignity of our Pill Pavilion!"
Hearing the attendant's words, Alchemist Qian frowned slightly.
He glanced at the grey-haired youth, who had remained calm throughout. Seeing no true qi fluctuation on him and his simple attire, he did not take the youth seriously.
He casually waved his hand.
His intention was for the people from the Pill Pavilion to make the youth disappear immediately.
The attendant immediately became arrogant.
His gaze fixed on Ling Fan with ill intent.
The other people from the Pill Pavilion also flexed their muscles.
Just as they were about to make their move.
Suddenly, the distinguished guest accompanying Alchemist Qian happened to glance at the grey-haired youth.
He first froze for a moment, seemingly not recognizing him immediately.
In his memory, that person had black hair!
How did it turn grey?
But as he vigorously rubbed his eyes and confirmed repeatedly, he quickly exclaimed, "Wait!"
"Seventh Young Master, what is this?"
Alchemist Qian was taken aback. He knew how noble the identity of the young man beside him was.
It could be said that in all of Tianchu City, there were few of the same age whose status and background were more powerful than his.
Why would such a noble and extraordinary scion intervene in such a trivial matter?
Could it be that the Seventh Young Master, seeking a favor from the Pavilion Master, wanted to deal with the grey-haired youth on behalf of the Pill Pavilion to show goodwill?
After much thought, Alchemist Qian could only come up with this one explanation.
As for the possibility that the Seventh Young Master might know the ordinary youth, he hadn't even considered it.
While Alchemist Qian was frowning and pondering.
The Seventh Young Master had already hurried down the stairs.