Chapter Sixty-Three: Hidden Adversaries

"A million gold coins, you truly are generous!" Qin Feiyang turned to look at the city lord, his eyes flashing with a chilling light.

With a bounty of a million on his head, surviving the day and leaving alive would be harder than ascending to the heavens.

"How dare you show disrespect to the city lord? Die!" A burly middle-aged man charged out from the crowd like a bolt of lightning, his palm striking toward Qin Feiyang with thunderous force and murderous intent. This was none other than the captain of the Black Bear City's guards.

Qin Feiyang's expression changed as he countered with his Wind and Thunder Palm.

A sharp crack sounded as the two palms met. Qin Feiyang's arm broke instantly, his entire body sent flying into the crowd.

The surrounding people’s eyes lit up, and they surged forward as one!

If this continued, Qin Feiyang would surely be torn limb from limb.

The three great leaders of the Pill Hall could no longer remain indifferent.

"Everyone, stop!"

"Anyone who harms Jiang Haotian is making an enemy of the Pill Hall!"

The white-robed elder’s thunderous shout shook the crowd into immediate retreat.

The savage guard captain and the heads of the various families dared not make another move, standing obediently, hearts pounding with dread.

Qin Feiyang had already considered fleeing to the old fortress for refuge, but he never expected the Pill Hall to step forward and protect him at this moment.

The city lord looked at the white-robed elder and said in a deep voice, "Feng Cheng, what do you mean by this?"

Feng Cheng replied forcefully, "Is my meaning not already clear enough? No one is allowed to harm Jiang Haotian!"

The city lord frowned.

At this moment, Ling Sheng stepped forward, cupped his fists, and said, "Elder Feng, killing Jiang Haotian is the city lord’s will. Moreover, Jiang Haotian concealed what he knew, causing the deaths of so many innocent people—he deserves to die. For you to shield him so publicly, is that really appropriate?"

"Elder Feng, please think twice before you act."

"Indeed, to shield such a heartless villain is beneath the dignity of the Pill Hall."

The six young men and women also tried to persuade him.

Feng Cheng glared and snapped, "You snot-nosed brats, what right do you have to speak here? Get out of my sight!"

Ling Sheng protested, "Elder, we're only thinking of your best interests—"

"Enough! Leave!" Feng Cheng barked.

The seven’s pupils contracted as they reluctantly stepped aside, their faces grim.

Clearly, this stubborn old man was determined to protect Jiang Haotian.

The city lord glanced at Feng Cheng, then shifted his gaze to Luo Xiong. "Is this your decision as well?"

Luo Xiong nodded. "It is my decision, and the unanimous decision of the three of us."

"Why?" The city lord’s frown deepened.

The black-robed elder sneered. "Naturally, because—"

"Ahem!" Luo Xiong and Feng Cheng coughed dryly in unison.

The black-robed elder cut off his words abruptly, inwardly relieved he hadn’t let slip too much.

The city lord demanded, "Why, exactly?"

He was clearly growing angry.

Luo Xiong replied, "Because he is a disciple of our Pill Hall. It is our duty and responsibility to protect him."

"What?"

"Since when did Jiang Haotian become a disciple of the Pill Hall?"

"Wasn’t he still in hiding not long ago?"

The crowd was filled with suspicion.

The Martial Hall Master frowned. "Luo Xiong, this morning Jiang Haotian said himself that he would not join either the Pill Hall or the Martial Hall. Elder Feng was present and heard it with his own ears. What you say now is hardly convincing."

Luo Xiong smiled. "Then let us ask the man himself—has he joined the Pill Hall or not?"

With that, all eyes once more turned to Qin Feiyang.

He looked at the three leaders of the Pill Hall. In their eyes, he saw a glimmer of hope. After a brief hesitation, he nodded. "Yes, I have joined the Pill Hall."

Originally, he had no intention of joining any faction. He loathed everything under imperial power. But the events of today made one thing clear: only by aligning himself with one of the great powers could he cultivate in peace; otherwise, he would never know a day of rest.

Of all the choices, the Pill Hall was the best. Within its walls, he would find everything he desired—pill flames, pill furnaces, formulas, rare herbs, and more.

Seeing Qin Feiyang admit his allegiance, the three leaders of the Pill Hall beamed with delight—this young man truly understood the times.

The Martial Hall Master, on the other hand, looked grim. Just this morning, Qin Feiyang had declared he would join neither faction, but now he claimed to have joined the Pill Hall. He felt played for a fool.

The memory of his earlier questioning stung—now, before Luo Xiong, he felt like nothing but a clown, anger surging within him.

"Come, boy, you’re coming with me," Feng Cheng said, rushing to Qin Feiyang, taking a firm grip on his arm, and dragging him toward the city gate.

The city lord called out, "Wait! What about settling the matter of compensation?"

"The Hall Master will stay and discuss that with you at length," Feng Cheng replied without looking back, hurrying Qin Feiyang into the city.

"I shall take my leave as well," the black-robed elder announced excitedly, quickly following.

"Can’t they be a little more discreet?" Luo Xiong thought helplessly. These two old men were being too obvious—once this was over, the city lord and the others were bound to investigate.

"Damn it! He actually joined the Pill Hall." Ling Sheng, Jiang Wei, Mu Fei, and the six young men and women looked on with dark, envious eyes. They could not fathom what virtue or ability this man had to earn such protection from the three great leaders of the Pill Hall.

"Don’t think that joining the Pill Hall means you can rest easy. It won’t be that simple!" Ling Sheng clenched his fists, a violent aura about him.

---

Inside the city, Feng Cheng and the black-robed elder flanked Qin Feiyang, watching him warily as if he might slip away at any moment.

Passersby eyed the trio curiously as they went by.

Qin Feiyang felt like a monkey on display, deeply uncomfortable.

He sighed deeply. "Seniors, must you be like this? I truly mean to join the Pill Hall now—I won’t go back on my word, nor will I run away."

Feng Cheng retorted, "Spare us your tricks. Those lies might fool ghosts, but not us."

"If you really wanted to join, why hide before? If we hadn’t used the pill flame as bait, you’d still be in hiding."

The black-robed elder scoffed.

"Pill flame? Bait?" Qin Feiyang was taken aback.

"Some time ago, I heard you bought a large batch of Gathering Qi Pills at the Treasure Pavilion, so I guessed you couldn’t refine pills. So the Hall Master and I hatched a plan to lure you out: we used the hunting contest, along with the pill flame and a million gold coins, as bait."

"Heh, and you actually fell for it," Feng Cheng chuckled gleefully.

Qin Feiyang could only smile wryly—truly, the older the wiser. He’d sensed something was off at the time, but the allure of the pill flame had made him careless.

"If I hadn’t shown up, or if someone else had won first place, wouldn’t the pill flame have ended up elsewhere? That’s quite a gamble," he said.

"You’re too naïve. As if we’d just hand over the pill flame so easily! We could have made up any excuse to keep it, and even if you’d won but refused to join the Pill Hall, you’d never have gotten it," Feng Cheng cackled.

"So it was just a ruse all along—how shameless of you," Qin Feiyang said with open disdain.

"Those who accomplish great deeds don’t fuss over trifles. Haven’t you heard that?" Feng Cheng replied, unashamed and rather pleased with himself.

"You are the very definition of an old scoundrel," Qin Feiyang muttered, finally understanding the meaning of “shameless invincibility.”

---

"I have explosive news—Jiang Haotian has just arrived at the Pill Hall!"

"Didn’t he say he didn’t want to join? Why has he changed his mind?"

"You should have seen the scene—when the city lord put a million gold coin bounty on his head, joining us was the only way out."

"I thought he was something special, but he’s just a coward after all."

Qin Feiyang had barely set foot in the Pill Hall when word of his arrival swept through the ranks of its disciples.

In a certain alchemy chamber, a youth in a flowing purple robe, exuding an extraordinary air, stood by a pill furnace, fully focused on his craft.

A knock came at the door.

The young man frowned. "Who is it?"

"Senior Brother Cheng Yi, it’s me, Ling Yan," came a respectful voice from outside.

"I’m refining pills. If you have something to say, wait," Cheng Yi replied.

"Senior Brother Cheng, this cannot wait—Jiang Haotian has agreed to join the Pill Hall," the voice persisted.

"Jiang Haotian!"

A cold light flashed in Cheng Yi’s eyes. The herbs he’d just added to the furnace burned with a puff of black smoke, ruined in an instant.

He paid it no mind, turning to sit on a nearby stone bench. "Come in."

The stone door was pushed open forcefully, and a black-clad youth in his late teens strode inside.

Cheng Yi wasted no words. "Where is he now?"

"Elder Feng and Elder Mo are taking him to the Meditation Chamber," Ling Yan replied.

Cheng Yi lowered his head in thought. "The Meditation Chamber… so he hasn’t yet condensed his spiritual power. Have you heard what level his spiritual power is?"

Ling Yan shook his head. "No one knows, except perhaps the Hall Master and the two elders. But for those three to go to such lengths, his spiritual power must be impressive—perhaps enough to threaten your standing here."

Cheng Yi’s brows furrowed. That was his concern as well.

He was the only one in Black Bear City to possess sixth-level spiritual power. Since joining the Pill Hall, he had been the object of everyone’s admiration, with the Hall Master and both elders personally taking turns to teach him.

Within the Pill Hall of Black Bear City, he was the star of the future, unrivaled.

But since Jiang Haotian appeared a month ago, the three leaders had stopped instructing him and had not even visited; all their energy was focused on finding Jiang Haotian.

He felt deeply threatened.

"Senior Brother, there’s only one spot for the Pill King Hall. You must think carefully," Ling Yan urged, his eyes gleaming.

Cheng Yi clenched his fists. "Find out—no matter what it takes, I want to know his spiritual power level."

"Yes," Ling Yan replied, turning and striding away.

"Jiang Haotian..." Cheng Yi muttered, killing intent blazing in his eyes. "If your presence truly threatens me, I swear I’ll kill you!"