A Chaotic World

Chapter 280: Poison Showdown

With a signal from Elder Beilan, the poison masters hurriedly sank their perceptions within their respective jade slips and began the assessment.

This was a test of speed, and every second mattered to them.

Standing by the side, Lu Tianzi could not help but wonder how the assessment was being done within the jade slip.

After all, all he could see was just the thousand over poison masters closing their eyes in concentration.

Lu Tianzi stole a glance towards Elder Ximo beside him.

From his interactions with Elder Ximo so far, Lu Tianzi guessed that as long as he just asked, Elder Ximo would probably be more than likely to get him one of those jade slips to have a look. After all, Elder Ximo seemed unnaturally eager to befriend them.

However, Lu Tianzi was still hesitant to do so, afraid that Elder Ximo might blow up the matter. There was a high chance that Elder Ximo would just blatantly shout for a jade slip to be delivered to him, drawing even more attention towards them.

Lu Tianzi was only here as a spectator, and did not want to attract any unnecessary trouble.

Forget it, he would just ask Beiwei Jinguo about it when the Healers' Meet was over.

Just like that, hours passed, and the first person finally completed the assessment.

To everyone's surprise, it was Beiwei Jinguo who the first to slowly opened his eyes, his jade slip in his hands giving off a gentle white light.

Most of the people present already knew of his identity of Elder Beichang's student and expected him to do well. However, they still did not expect a youngster who was only at the Essence Building realm to be the very first to complete the assessment.

Not even Lu Tianzi did.

Even though Lu Tianzi had always known that Beiwei Jinguo's knowledge in the poison arts was fundamentally solid, he had never expected the latter to be this good as compared to his peers.

Or, perhaps he had been overestimating the other competitors?

No, that was not it.

One had to know that there were over a thousand poison masters taking part in this assessment, and every single one of them had probably dedicated a large part of their lives to learning the poison arts. All things considered, there was no way that their knowledge in the poison arts would be lacking.

For Beiwei Jinguo to emerge at the top, it simply showed how excellent he truly was!

Just like most others, the second place Xiquan Chong could not believe his eyes either when he finally completed his assessment, finishing only a few minutes after Beiwei Jinguo.

Except for a few areas where he spent a bit more time on, everything had gone relatively well for him during the assessment.

Yet he was still slower?

And he had to be slower than Beiwei Jinguo of all people?

Xiquan Chong gritted his teeth in frustration. But the first thing he did was actually to take a guilty glance towards the wooden platform at the end of the open area.

What he saw sent a shiver running down his spine.

Just as he had expected, his father was glaring right at him, his gaze as cold as ice.

A few days ago, his father had been furious upon finding out how Xiquan Chong had gone against his instructions to pick on Beiwei Jinguo at the Fireaxe Inn.

However, what's done is done.

Elder Xiquan knew just as well that there was no way for him to undo what his son had already done. Not wanting to affect Xiquan Chong's performance in the Healers' Meet, Elder Xiquan did not mete down too harsh a punishment on Xiquan Chong then.

But that did not mean Elder Xiquan would let the matter go just like that.

Xiquan Chong had to assure Elder Xiquan that he would certainly get the top place in the Healers' Meet before Elder Xiquan was finally appeased.

This was also why Elder Xiquan decided not to meet the Overlord rank Nanlan Qianxue in the meantime. Depending on Nanlan Qianxue's relationship with Beiwei Jinguo, calling for a meeting could appear hypocritic now that Xiquan Chong had done such a thing.

Nevertheless, seeing his son actually lag behind Beiwei Jinguo in the assessment triggered the rage within Elder Xiquan once again, and Xiquan Chong definitely felt it through his gaze.

Xiquan Chong gritted his teeth in frustration and turned his glare towards Beiwei Jinguo. "Don't be too happy just because you were the first to clear the assessment. What comes next will truly decide our final ranks!"

Hearing his words, many among the crowd could not help but feel sorry for Beiwei Jinguo.

Indeed, the assessment only determined the people who would be in the top eight, but not their respective ranks.

Even though Beiwei Jinguo had been the first to clear the assessment, it was unlikely that he would be able to hold onto that position until the very end.

Beiwei Jinguo snorted in response, not caring to reply Xiquan Chong.

Xiquan Chong's lackey Jiesheng had acted like that earlier, and now Xiquan Chong was doing the same. Birds of a feather truly flocked together!

Just like that, the rest of the participants completed the assessment one after another.

Before long, the top eight were decided, and they stepped up upon being called by Elder Beilan.

As the eight of them stepped forward, everyone's attention naturally fell upon them.

These were the top eight of the Healers' Meet, and the rest of the participants could not help but be filled with envy at this moment.

The eight of them felt immensely proud as well.

At least for the next three years until the next Healers' Meet, they would be known as the eight most talented poison masters among the younger generation!

Elder Beilan did not allow them to relish in the moment for long, immediately announcing the start of the next round.

The eight of them would proceed to eliminate each other in Poison Showdowns, until there was only one person left.

This last man standing would officially be crowned as the top ranker of the Healers' Meet, the very most talented poison master among the younger generation.

Beiwei Jinguo took a look at his seven competitors, and could not help but feel slightly nervous.

Aside from Beiwei Jinguo, the other seven were all Essence Condensation realm martial artists. Not just that, but only one of them was at the Advanced Essence Condensation realm, while the other six were all at the Peak Essence Condensation realm.

This also meant that the difference in cultivation level between them and Beiwei Jinguo was more than an entire cultivation realm!

"This might be a little harsh on you, Beiwei Jinguo," Elder Beilan said. "But we cannot help you out just because of your lower cultivation level. I hope you can understand."

"I understand," Beiwei Jinguo nodded.

He expected as much.

In fact, this was what he would have preferred as well. If he received any sort of assistance from the elders of the Healer Circle, others would never recognise him even if he managed to get a high rank in the end.

"Very well then," Elder Beilan nodded. "Let the next round begin."

With a wave of his hands, the jade slip in Beiwei Jinguo's hands started emitting a different coloured light.

"Hmm?" Beiwei Jinguo glanced at the bright orange light coming from his jade slip in surprise, then turned to look at the other seven.

All of their jade slips had begun to give off a different coloured light as well, but these lights were shining in pairs. Apart from Beiwei Jinguo, there was one other person who had a jade slip that was emitting bright orange light as well.

"I'm sure you have already guessed it as well. Those with the same coloured jade slips will be facing off against each other," Elder Beilan explained. "Now, please proceed."

After Elder Beilan passed down the instructions, tables were brought out and set up in front of the wooden platform in four sets of two.

"I guess you are my opponent then?" the other participant with the orange light jade slip approached Beiwei Jinguo. "Please go easy on me, Sir Beiwei!"

Beiwei Jinguo frowned.

The other party was a young lady who was wearing a smirk on her face.

Despite what the other party just said, it was obvious from her expression that she thinks she got the luck of the draw.

"Let's just begin," Beiwei Jinguo walked over to one of the tables.

"Sure," the young lady grinned as she walked to the table that was set up directly opposite his. "Let's get this over and done with."

On each of their table was a small cage that held a tiny beast within.

It looked just like a rabbit, only it was covered in scales instead of fur.

Lu Tianzi had never seen this particular beast before, but he could easily guess its identity from the looks of it. After all, it was a beast that all poison masters were extremely familiar with.

It was called a Tank Hare, and was known for its unnaturally high vitality.

Unfortunately for the Tank Hares, its high vitality also made it the perfect apparatus for Poison Showdowns.

"Participants, you have half an hour to prepare your poisons. Please begin now. If you fail to administer your poison by then, you will be considered to have forfeited," Elder Beilan announced after seeing that everyone was in position. "All fellow Origin Core realm poison masters are welcome to participate in the assessment as well. If the participants make any unnatural actions that could possibly interfere with the integrity of the competition, please feel free to point it out."

At Elder Beilan's signal, all eight of the participants immediately sprung into action, and Beiwei Jinguo was no exception.

Each of them pulled out their respective sets of mortar and pestle, though their grades differed from person to person. Some were relatively ordinary, but others gave off energy undulations, which showed that they were treasures of at least a certain degree.

Beiwei Jinguo's were the same as the ones he used back in the mountain inn.

In fact, compared to the others, the quality of Beiwei Jinguo's items was considered among the top. They were items of the Intermediate Essence Condensation rank, passed down to him by his teacher.

It served to regulate the condition within the mortar, such that materials would not be damaged as easily in the case of any mistakes by the user.

Not that Beiwei Jinguo needed this little assistance.

His hands moved in a blur, pulling out herbs and plants from his spatial ring one after another, tossing them into the mortar and mixing them together in a flash.

It was like an art, but he was not the only artist here.

At the table across of him, the young lady moved with a similar level of precision. Rapidly mixing things together to form a concoction of her own.

Both of them were seasoned poison masters, and it truly showed right now.

From afar, Lu Tianzi watched on motionlessly, a silvery light flashing across his eyes.

But instead of focusing on Beiwei Jinguo or his opponent, Lu Tianzi was actually watching all eight of them at the same time.

Right now, eight extremely talented poison masters were exhibiting their skills right in front of him, and he would be a fool not to absorb everything that he could.

Every movement of the hand.

Every leaf of a plant.

Every pound of the pestle.

With his Limitless Mirror Eye, nothing escaped his sight.

Even the entire flow of Essence energy used by each of these eight poison masters was captured and stored within his brain.

He was meticulously observing every single action, as well as the respective reactions caused by these actions.

These poison masters might all be below the Origin Core realm, but that did not matter here.

What mattered most was that Lu Tianzi was given the rare opportunity to observe the moves of all eight poison masters, each with differing styles and techniques.

In his mind, the system of herbalism had started growing rapidly once more.

This time, rather than theoretical knowledge, everything gained was in practical terms.

Without him even realising it, Lu Tianzi was already rapidly closing in on the Law of Poison.