The Imperial Martial Pill Venerable

Within the Imperial Palace, wine cups clinked and conversation flowed freely...

"Come, We shall toast Teacher Qin."

Nangong Wen was clearly in a fine mood, a broad smile on his face as he raised his cup to Qin Ya. Qin Ya, for his part, did not demur. He smiled faintly and downed the wine in a single gulp, smacking his lips. ’This Imperial Wine is good, but it’s still a bit lacking compared to Huaa Que’s Jade Fall Cold.’

When the other guests saw this, they too swarmed to toast Qin Ya. He refused no one, and his calm demeanor as he drank made the eyes of the young ladies in attendance sparkle. They cast admiring glances his way, their opinion of him soaring.

’A young prodigy so handsome and extraordinary, with monstrous talent, and a Seventh-Grade Alchemist to boot... where could you find another one like him? Isn’t he the absolute best choice for a husband?’

At this thought, the young ladies began to use every trick in the book to try and capture Qin Ya’s attention. But Qin Ya remained as impassive as a block of wood, completely unmoved.

This made the lovestruck young ladies secretly resentful.

A young lady who had just finished a dance performance muttered, "Could it be that Teacher Qin has some strange tastes? With so many stunning beauties here, he won’t even spare them a glance. It’s so odd."

Nangong Luoyu, who was standing nearby, heard this and scoffed. "With Teacher Qin’s caliber of talent, how could ordinary rabble like you possibly enter his sight? You should all stop embarrassing yourselves. He is not someone you can aspire to."

Hearing this, the young lady’s face flushed red, and she gritted her teeth, yet she dared not let even a hint of displeasure show. The gap in status between her and Nangong Luoyu was simply too vast.

"The Seventh Princess... is right," the young lady said meekly.

A flicker of contempt passed through Nangong Luoyu’s eyes. She then turned her gaze to Qin Ya, and a fiery passion ignited within them. ’A man like that,’ she thought, ’is the only one worthy of me, Nangong Luoyu!’

The banquet was filled with laughter and cheerful conversation, but some people could not bring themselves to smile.

These were the Lingyun Marquis and his cohorts.

"What now?" the Lingyun Marquis muttered under his breath. Qin Ya’s successful refining of a Seventh-Grade Elixir had completely ruined his plans. Not only had his own faction suffered a heavy blow from Nangong Wen, but now even the coveted position of Commander of the Red Flame Army, on which he had pinned his hopes, was about to go up in smoke. The blow was simply too great.

"Damn it! Who would’ve thought that kid could actually refine a Seventh-Grade Elixir? Where the hell did he even come from?" General Xiao muttered hatefully. With Muui Yunlie stepping down, he had been the most likely candidate in the army to become the next Commander of the Red Flame Army. But Qin Ya had interfered, and now all of it was ruined. His hatred for Qin Ya was every bit as intense as the Lingyun Marquis’s, if not more so.

"Calm yourselves, you two," the Left Minister whispered. "While it’s true Qin Ya is a heaven-sent genius who refined a Seventh-Grade Elixir, the poison in Muui Yunlie’s body has been incurable for years. There’s no guarantee this elixir will work."

"Yes, that’s right! It definitely won’t work."

"There are thousands upon thousands of poisons in this world, each with a different cure. This poison from a Barbarian Race Wizard is unheard of. A Seventh-Grade Elixir isn’t a guaranteed solution."

"As long as it doesn’t work, we still have a chance!"

At this thought, the Lingyun Marquis strode forward and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, since the Divine Pill has been successfully refined, why not move quickly and have Marshal Muu cured of his poison?"

Nangong Wen frowned. "The Divine Pill is complete, so why the rush? Besides, Teacher Qin went through great trouble refining it. Let Us first host him properly. We can discuss the antidote later. Why are you in such a hurry?"

The Lingyun Marquis’s lips twitched as he glanced at Qin Ya, who was still drinking calmly and showed no signs of fatigue. He said, "Your Majesty, your subjects are only thinking of the Empire and of Marshal Muu. The sooner this matter is settled, the sooner we can all see the Marshal restored to his former heroic self. Only then will this great weight be lifted from our hearts."

The Lingyun Marquis’s words sounded grand and selfless, but how could Muui Yunlie and Nangong Wen not see through his intentions? Muui Yunlie let out a cold laugh. "There’s no need for the Lingyun Marquis to concern himself. Once my poison is cured, I will naturally pay each and every one of you a personal visit to set your minds at ease."

"But delays can bring complications. There is no time like the present..."

"Enough!" Nangong Wen snapped. "Lingyun Marquis, Our patience has its limits. You would do well to restrain yourself."

"Your subject... is filled with apprehension."

The Lingyun Marquis froze, then immediately knelt. His face was flushed red, whether from anger or humiliation, it was hard to say. But he still hadn’t given up hope and was about to press on when...

"If they want it cured now, then why not?"

All eyes turned to the source of the voice—Qin Ya, who was still drinking with a calm expression.

If Nangong Wen could see what the Lingyun Marquis and his group were plotting, how could Qin Ya not see it as well? He wasn’t afraid. On the contrary, while he appeared calm on the surface, a wave of annoyance was rising within him...

For an Alchemist, one of the most intolerable things was to have the efficacy of their refined elixirs looked down upon—and this was *his* elixir they were doubting!

’How dare they doubt the efficacy of my elixir?’

’Fine. In that case, I’ll let you see for yourselves just how effective an elixir refined by me, the Pill Venerable, truly is. What’s a mere Barbarian Race Wizard’s poison in comparison!’

"Teacher Qin, what do you mean by this?"

A hint of delight flashed across the Lingyun Marquis’s face as he asked, his voice tinged with excitement.

’The heavens are helping me! The kid actually suggested it himself!’

"Heh," Qin Ya sneered. "Isn’t this exactly what you wanted?"

"I am thinking of the Empire’s best interests," the Lingyun Marquis said grimly.

Qin Ya sneered. "In one breath you say it’s for the Empire, then you say it again. I have no idea what you’ve actually done for the Empire, but all I see right now is you scheming unscrupulously for power. Is *that* what you call ’for the Empire?’"

The Lingyun Marquis’s actions had already cast a strange pall over the banquet’s atmosphere. Now, with Qin Ya’s open denunciation, everyone drew in a sharp breath. The Lingyun Marquis was an incredibly powerful figure in the Empire; not even the Princes would dare to offend him so easily. Yet here was Qin Ya, dressing him down to his face.

But on second thought, given Qin Ya’s status as a Seventh-Grade Alchemist, perhaps this wasn’t such a shocking act after all. No matter how powerful the Lingyun Marquis was, he was not more powerful than the ruler of the Empire, Nangong Wen. And a Seventh-Grade Alchemist was an existence that even Nangong Wen himself had to treat with care—someone he would spare no expense to win over.

"You... You’re spouting nonsense!" the Lingyun Marquis sputtered, his face ashen with fury.

"That’s enough! Is this how the Royal Family and Relatives should behave?" Nangong Wen said coldly, then turned to Qin Ya. "Teacher Qin, are you sure you want to administer the antidote now? Won’t you reconsider?"

Qin Ya smiled indifferently. He naturally knew what Nangong Wen was worried about, but he had the utmost confidence in his own abilities. "Yes," he said. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Hearing this, Muui Yunlie turned to Nangong Wen and said, "Your Majesty, this poison has plagued your subject for ten years. I do not wish to live with it for a moment longer. Please, let Teacher Qin detoxify me. I have faith in his skills."

"Then... let it be as you wish, my beloved subject."

A sinister glint flashed in the Lingyun Marquis’s eyes. ’The poison of a Barbarian Race Wizard isn’t so easily cured,’ he thought. ’Qin Ya, Nangong Wen... I’d like to see how you’re going to clean up this mess when it fails.’