"Yes!" the nine of them shouted in unison.
"Good. In a bit, the third elder will distribute the medicinal pills to you. After that, you can go to the Armory Pavilion to choose a suitable weapon," said Ling Cang.
Just as the third elder was distributing the medicinal pills to the nine of them, Ling Xiao finally arrived.
Immediately, everyone's gazes landed on Ling Xiao.
"Ling Xiao greets the clan leader and the elders." Ling Xiao bowed to Ling Cang.
"Why are you late?" Ling Cang asked unhappily.
He really felt a headache for his grandson. Why did he have to cause trouble every time?
"Reporting to the clan leader, I was cultivating and lost track of time," replied Ling Xiao.
"Since you've worked so hard, I'll let it go this time. But don't do it again. Go to the side and receive your medicinal pills," said Ling Cang.
"I don't think that's appropriate." The fifth elder wouldn't let go of a chance to attack Ling Xiao.
He had long since hated Ling Xiao to the bone.
"What do you think, fifth elder?" Ling Cang asked indifferently.
"Ling Xiao came late, so he should be punished. But since he's been diligently cultivating, he can be exempted from any heavy punishment. But he's not allowed to receive any medicinal pills or weapons as a punishment. Otherwise, in the future, anyone can use the excuse of cultivating to come late. That's clearly looking down on the Elder Assembly. How can our Elder Assembly convince the masses?"
The fifth elder had a good plan. He used Ling Xiao's tardiness as an excuse to cut off Ling Xiao's chance to choose any medicinal pills or weapons.
In the Faction Competition, all the great clans' elites would bring along their clan's best medicinal pills and weapons. This way, they could increase their battle prowess by many times.
If Ling Xiao didn't have any medicinal pills or high-tier weapons, then he would be at a disadvantage in the competition.
This was because the matches were fought one after another until the final victor was decided. Every match would consume a lot of energy. If one did not have elixirs to recover, even if they won, they would be at a disadvantage in the following matches. It was the same for weapons. If one used a low-level weapon to fight against the opponent's high-level weapon, sooner or later, the weapon would be destroyed.
Elder Ling Cang's eyes flashed with anger, but just as he was about to speak, Ling Xiao smiled and said, "Patriarch, Fifth Elder is right. Ling Xiao is willing to accept the punishment, but I don't want the pills and weapons."
At this moment, all the Elders and the nine youths present looked at Ling Xiao in astonishment.
"Did the Grand Elder give him something good?" This thought flashed through everyone's mind.
Of course, Ling Cang had thought of this as well, so he nodded and said, "Then let's do as the Fifth Elder says. Disperse." Then he transmitted his voice to Ling Xiao and said, "Little brat, come with me to the inner hall."
The Elders dispersed, and the nine youths also left one by one. However, there were two hostile gazes that swept across Ling Xiao's body, but Ling Xiao didn't mind it at all.
Ling Xiao's cousin, Ling Li, walked up to him and whispered, "I didn't expect you to be ahead of me again, but I'll surpass you sooner or later."
Ling Xiao knew that his cousin was a cultivation maniac, so he didn't want to discourage him, so he replied, "I'll wait for you."
The crowd dispersed, and Ling Xiao followed Ling Cang to the inner hall.
"Xiao 'er, you're getting more and more impudent," Ling Cang said with a cold expression.
"Grandpa, I really was in seclusion. If you hadn't sent someone to call me, I'm afraid I would still be cultivating," Ling Xiao explained.
"I've sent someone to invite you for a long time, but you're still dawdling. Do you think that you can be arrogant just because you've made some progress?" Ling Cang snorted.
"Xiao 'er wouldn't dare." Ling Xiao hurriedly bowed. He knew that this time, the Grand Elder was angry.
Ling Cang sighed and said, "Forget it. I have two bottles of medicinal pills here, you can take them first."
He then took out two bottles of medicinal pills and handed them over to Ling Xiao.
Ling Xiao caught the pills and opened them to take a look. To his surprise, they were a second-stage Muscle Growing Pill and a Storm Pill. However, the quality was too poor. It was obvious that the alchemist who had refined these pills was only at the beginner level.
Ling Xiao muttered inwardly, "How could he bring out such a worthless pill? How embarrassing."
Ling Xiao's expression fell into Ling Cang's eyes, and Ling Cang thought that he didn't understand pills, so he explained, "One bottle contains the Muscle Growing Pill, which is a higher grade healing pill than the Dew Returning Pill. The other bottle contains the Storm Pill. If you meet an opponent that you can't beat, you can take it. However, you must not be careless. I believe that both the Li and Luo families have these pills."
Ling Xiao closed the bottle and put the two bottles of pills on the table, "Grandpa, the quality of these two bottles of pills is too poor, the effect is not very good, I think you should keep it."
"You little brat, I know that the Grand Elder is protecting you, so he should have some pills for you to use. However, second-stage pills are rare even for the Grand Elder, yet you don't want them? Are you trying to anger Grandpa to death?!" Ling Cang angrily said.
Ling Xiao shook his head and took out two bottles of pills from his Spatial Ring, placing them in front of Ling Cang, "Grandpa, what do you think these are?"
Ling Cang suspiciously took the pills from Ling Xiao, then opened them and closed them again, saying, "So you already have these two kinds of pills. However, Grandpa should also keep these for now, just in case you need them in the future."
"No, Grandpa, please compare these two bottles with mine," Ling Xiao said.
Ling Cang did as he was told and opened all four bottles of pills. Only after comparing them did he realize that the quality of the pills in his two bottles was truly trash.
"It seems that the Grand Elder still has some good stuff. Since that's the case, I'll take them back." Ling Cang smiled bitterly and put away his two bottles of pills.
"Grandpa, please accept these two bottles as well. In any case, I don't need them," Ling Xiao said.
"Bastard, do you know how much these two bottles are worth? Even the family doesn't have more than ten bottles. Moreover, these were given to you by the Grand Elder. He doesn't want anything to happen to you during the Faction Competition, so what's the point of you giving them to me?" Ling Cang loudly rebuked.
Second-stage medicinal pills were extremely precious in Meteor City, and Ling Cang thought that Ling Xiao didn't know how valuable they were, so he immediately reprimanded Ling Xiao to prevent him from becoming too arrogant.
"Grandpa, don't be angry. Look at these." Ling Xiao instantly took out a dozen bottles of pills and placed them in front of Ling Cang.
This time, even Ling Cang was shocked. Opening the bottles one after another, he found that they were all second-stage pills. Besides the Muscle Growth Pill and Haste Pill, there were also Vitality Pills and Vitality Growth Pills …
"You … how can you have so many pills? Is this the Grand Elder's lifetime collection?" Ling Cang muttered in shock. Then he looked up at Ling Xiao and asked, "Xiao 'er, tell me honestly, what happened to the Grand Elder?"
"What do you mean what happened?" Ling Xiao was confused by this question.
"Did the Grand Elder … die?" Ling Cang asked with a pained expression.
"Grandpa, what nonsense are you talking about? Although I haven't seen the Grand Elder for some time, I don't think the Grand Elder would die so easily, right?" Ling Xiao replied helplessly.
"Then why do you have so many pills? Also, what's with the Space Ring on your hand? Didn't the Grand Elder pass them on to you?" Ling Cang asked.
Ling Xiao suddenly understood. It turned out that his grandfather thought that the Grand Elder had passed away and passed on all his possessions to him. His grandfather was really far-sighted.
"Grandpa, you misunderstand. These pills were all refined by me," Ling Xiao said frankly.
"You … you refined them?" This time, Ling Cang was shocked, his eyes filled with doubt.
So, Ling Xiao briefly explained how he became an Alchemist.
The more Ling Cang listened, the more surprised he became, finally bursting into laughter, "Good … good, I didn't expect my Ling family to have an Alchemy Grandmaster, the heavens are truly blessing my Ling family."
"In the past, our Ling family also had an ancestor who was an Alchemist?" Ling Xiao asked.
Ling Cang replied with his hands behind his back, "Our ancestors have long since recorded it. Eight hundred years ago, our Ling family had a Third Grade Alchemist. That was the Ling family's most glorious time in Meteorite City, and it was also at that time that our Ling family rose to prominence. All the clans, big and small, wanted to curry favor with our Ling family. At that time, our Ling family was very prestigious, but now it has gradually declined."
"Grandpa, don't be discouraged. I believe that under your leadership, the family will definitely regain its former glory," Ling Xiao comforted.
"Originally, I also thought so, but Grandpa is old, and my strength is not as strong as my heart desires. So, Xiao 'er, you are the hope of our Ling family's new generation. With your status as an Alchemist, you will definitely be able to restore the Ling family's prestige," Ling Cang said kindly as he patted Ling Xiao's shoulder.
"Grandpa, you think too highly of me. To be honest, I have no interest in becoming an Elder or a Clan Leader. Watching you fight with the Second Elder and the others makes me tired," Ling Xiao replied. Then he paused and asked, "Oh right, have they made any moves recently?"
"Xiao 'er, you don't need to worry about these things. Grandpa has his own plans. Right now, how many people know that you have become an Alchemist?" Ling Cang asked.
"Only you know."
"That's good. You can't make it public right now. It won't be too late to make it public when you become a Spirit Master. Also, don't show your Space Ring in front of others, understand?" Ling Cang reminded.
"Xiao 'er understands," Ling Xiao replied.
The tallest tree in the forest will be destroyed by the wind.
An ordinary man is innocent, but he will get himself into trouble because of his wealth.
Ling Xiao understood this principle.
"Xiao 'er, you must be careful in this competition. I don't think the Li family will let go of any opportunity to deal with you," Ling Cang warned.
"Xiao 'er understands," Ling Xiao replied.
In reality, Ling Xiao didn't think much of it. Could there be another Spirit Master in the Li family?
He wasn't boasting, but he could easily kill anyone below the Spirit Master level.
Thus, after the grandfather and grandson talked for a while, Ling Xiao left.
Ling Cang looked at Ling Xiao's Dignified figure and sighed, "The future of the Ling family depends on you."
Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and the day of the Clan Competition finally arrived.
In the plaza in the middle of the market, there were already six arenas built by the three clans for the elimination matches. The arena in the middle, which was carved out of rock, was reserved for the top ten matches.
Early in the morning, the arenas were already crowded with people.
The scene could only be described in four words — the sound of gongs and drums, and the voices of people!
There were a total of one hundred and fifty people participating in the competition, and each arena was divided into thirty people who would draw lots to determine their opponents.