From the Heavens Descended an Immortal Sister

Chapter 195: Chapter 193: Pill Furnace Shattered_1

Whoosh—

As Ah Si's words fell, the hall erupted into commotion once again.

More examinees began to give up on this competition, as the exam had been disrupted beyond continuation. Their gazes collectively turned to the Seventh Elder. As the chief invigilator who allegedly assisted in cheating, he faced being stripped of all his alchemy privileges for life!

"We demand the pill furnace be broken open on the spot! Expose the truth to all!" A parent from Guizhou yelled from the audience stand.

"Exactly! To think a public figure would break the law, how severely would this corrupt the morals of society? The pill furnace must be broken open on the spot! Give all the examinees an equal chance!"

Some of the audience members, however, retained their composure and frowned slightly, "The alchemy competition takes a very harsh stance on cheating. How could the Seventh Elder commit such a foolish act at this time?"

"But if it's as you say, how then would you explain this fourth-order elixir?"

"We can't let the Seventh Elder smash the pill furnace. If he continues to collude in cheating and secretly takes the ingredients from the furnace, who would know? The pill furnace must be smashed by an impartial invigilator!"

...

Hearing the crowd repeatedly accusing him of cheating, the Seventh Elder's gaze towards Ah Si turned even colder—he had treated Ah Si quite well in everyday life.

Moreover, when Ah Si had previously wanted to attack Fang Ren, the reason he intervened and injured Ah Si was to save Ah Si's life. Unexpectedly, not only did Ah Si fail to understand his intentions, but Ah Si had also chosen this moment to stab him in the back, truly a chilling revelation.

"Hehehe!"

Ah Si, seeing the Seventh Elder's icy gaze, let out a cold laugh, "Seventh Elder, are you perhaps afraid? Do you wish to kill me to relieve your anger? Alas, I'm sorry, but from now on, you'll never have that chance!"

After hearing this, the Seventh Elder's expression turned deeply disappointed. Would he kill Ah Si over this? Ah Si's perspective on him was truly despicable.

Hum—

Just at that moment, a blur shot past from the audience stands and landed not far from Fang Ren.

Everyone looked closely to see an elderly man in a Zhongshan suit. But the old man's visage made some people in the crowd feel it was vaguely familiar.

"Since all of you have doubts about this student's achievements, and the actions of the chief invigilator, I shall personally smash this pill furnace. How about that?" The old man addressed the audience, his voice amplified by the True Qi, and once again quieted the whole spectator stand.

"Butler Liu..."

The Seventh Elder looked at the elderly man who suddenly appeared, his expression faltering slightly. He hadn't expected that for Liu Xifeng's appearance here, he would be escorted by the old butler.

It seemed the Liu Family indeed placed great importance on Liu Xifeng.

As the voice of Butler Liu fell, the majority of people on the audience stand looked at each other in confusion, unaware of the old man's origins. A few from the aristocratic class recognized Butler Liu's identity.

"Since Butler Liu is stepping up to ensure fairness, we naturally have no objections," a noble from the audience stands loudly stated.

"That's right! We trust Butler Liu!" ?????????-%??$-&

...

Following the few voices from the audience stands, the crowd started buzzing again with discussion, and as the words spread, everyone came to understand the identity of the old man—he was the Liu Family's Butler Liu from Tianjiang!

Ah Si, seeing Butler Liu ascend the stage, smiled even more heartily and quickly limped towards him, saying, "Butler Liu! You must uphold justice! Some in the Orchid Bamboo Guild may not be straight, but the subordinates are definitely not crooked! No one who harms the fair rights of the examinees should be spared!"

Butler Liu looked at Ah Si with disdain, thinking this little invigilator to be so articulate in his comments against their guild's elder—truly the behavior of a petty person.

Had it not been for Brother Lin's confession to him about Fang Ren's identity before he stepped up on the stage, Butler Liu might have thought Ah Si's words had merit.

Understanding Fang Ren's identity, Butler Liu also understood why the Seventh Elder had struck the invigilator. It was evident that the Seventh Elder was protecting Ah Si's life, yet Ah Si was not only ungrateful but even willing to stab him in the back—a cold-hearted act most despised by the world.

Butler Liu withdrew his gaze and took three steps towards Fang Ren, stopping half a meter away, leaning slightly forward, his voice polite as he asked, "Young Master Fang, shall I break open the pill furnace for all to see?"

As his not-so-loud voice fell, those in the spectator stands with higher Cultivation Level heard it loud and clear.

"Did... Butler Liu just call him... Young Master Fang?"

"Did I hear that right? Young Master Fang? Could it be... the same one who was the talk of Tianjiang some time ago?"

"No way! Wasn't it rumored that Young Master Fang, who had no talent in both cultivation and alchemy, was in hiding because the Fang Family felt he would bring them shame? This casually produced fourth-order elixir... Is it an illusion, or does he actually possess real talent?"

"What a mess! Today's events are just too chaotic. At such a young age, it would clearly be impossible to concoct a fourth-order elixir, but as the eldest young master of the Fang Family... Does he really need to cheat in this manner?"

...

Fang Ren, hearing Butler Liu's words, couldn't help but glance at Lin Bozhong's position, noticing among those he knew, Chen Cheng and Bai Qi, were two extraordinary elders.

It seemed that Butler Liu's presence to verify his pill furnace was likely at Lin Bozhong's behest. After all, as the head butler of the Fang Family, and with Fang Ren being the young master of the Fang Family, having Lin Bozhong inspect it would surely appear as collusion.

Having another family's butler intervene eliminated any suspicions. No one else would have grounds to question him further.

"Please, go ahead," Fang Ren nodded.

At that, Butler Liu activated a stream of red True Qi in his hand, like a fine needle, and sent it flying towards the pill furnace.

Crack—

In an instant, the old pill furnace shattered, a stream of clear water pouring out, revealing an interior devoid of anything but water, not even leaving behind any ashes from the concocting process on the inner walls of the furnace.

The crisp sound of the furnace breaking was like thunder striking upon the hearts of the crowd.

There were no ingredients inside!

Only clear water!