The Extreme Alchemist of the Mighty Cauldron - Chapter 1117 1116 Elder Tiangangs Strategy

Chapter 1117: Chapter 1116: Elder Tiangang’s Strategy? Chapter 1117: Chapter 1116: Elder Tiangang’s Strategy? Two figures, majestic in their presence, glided through the clouds with the wind, drawing the eyes of everyone below.

When the crowd caught sight of these two figures, they all showed a look of reverence—even the high-ranking members of the Pill Alliance felt the same.

The person coming from the east was dressed in an ink-black robe with flowing white hair. Despite his advanced age, his spirit was vibrant; he was none other than Elder Tiankui.

The individual flying in from the south had a buzz cut, his face a bit sallow, clad in a black robe, and carried a mountainous authority.

This person was also one of the Eight Great Elders and the lifelong rival of Elder Tiankui—Elder Tiangang.

The two Elders arrived nearly simultaneously, yet their paths were separate; one from the east and one from the south.

“Greetings, Elders!” Outside the Peaceful Hall, pill refiners of all ranks and statuses bowed deeply to the two Elders, maintaining a humble demeanor.

Nobody had expected two such hostile Elders of the Pill Alliance to appear at the same time.

It was relatively understandable for Elder Tiankui to hurry over personally—he certainly wanted to witness the unprecedented glory Fang Lin was about to create for the Pill Alliance and to bolster Fang Lin’s momentum.

But why Elder Tiangang had come was worth speculating—perhaps he did not wish to see Fang Lin achieve a perfect victory and wanted to pressure Fang Lin, or even take measures to prevent Fang Lin from winning this competition.

This was indeed very likely; if Fang Lin secured a perfect victory, defeating Yang Ligong, there would no longer be any opportunity to target Fang Lin. Elder Tiankui’s influence within the Pill Alliance would surge, entirely surpassing Elder Tiangang.

As sworn enemies, Elder Tiangang naturally could not stand idly by and watch such an event unfold; he surely had come with a purpose.

The two Elders stood firm in the sky, facing each other from a distance, each observing the other.

Neither opened their mouths, simply watching in silence, casting a heavy and delicate atmosphere.

The grudge between these two Elders was no secret within the Pill Alliance—it was almost common knowledge.

When they were younger, the two Elders had a good relationship, but Elder Tiankui’s innate talent for the Alchemy Tao was superior to Elder Tiangang’s, so he received more attention from the Pill Alliance’s higher-ups at the time.

Later, Elder Tiangang found a stroke of luck that allowed him to begin standing out, gradually reaching a status comparable to Elder Tiankui’s.

At that time, although their relationship was no longer as it had been, it did not deteriorate either; they simply had fewer dealings with each other.

What really turned the two into enemies was a specific Alchemy Tao competition where Elder Tiankui lost to Elder Tiangang, causing Elder Tiankui to miss an important opportunity for advancement.

However, it was later revealed that Elder Tiangang had resorted to underhanded tactics to secure his victory over Elder Tiankui.

And when this affair was exposed, it caused a commotion within the Pill Alliance. Many voiced their injustice on behalf of Elder Tiankui, but there were also those who defended Elder Tiangang.

Due to this incident, the two became adversaries, continuously rising in rank, step by step ascending to the peak of the Pill Alliance’s hierarchy, yet their relationship never softened, with frequent public and private clashes.

There were even rumors that the mastermind behind the deaths of Elder Tiankui’s son and daughter-in-law—Ye Mengxian’s parents—was none other than Elder Tiangang.

Although there was no evidence, the relationship between Elder Tiankui and Elder Tiangang was extremely poor, a fact that was well-known.

“You have a good disciple,” Elder Tiangang suddenly said, seemingly praising Fang Lin, but from the tone of Elder Tiangang’s voice, it was completely devoid of any compliment.

Elder Tiankui smiled slightly, “Of course, my disciple is far stronger than those few of yours.”

This statement was quite impolite, essentially saying, “My disciple is stronger than yours, what’s it to you?”

Elder Tiangang, completely unconcerned, albeit begrudgingly acknowledged in his heart that Fang Lin was an exceptional Alchemy Tao genius. Compared to Fang Lin, his own disciples indeed fell short.

But that didn’t stop Elder Tiangang from suppressing Fang Lin, for no matter how talented or outstanding Fang Lin was, he was still Elder Tiankui’s disciple, and that made him an enemy.

“Defeating seventeen hall masters in succession, Fang Lin surely deserves the position of the Lord of North Town Hall, but today’s battle is truly meaningless,” Elder Tiangang said indifferently.

Elder Tiankui laughed, “Indeed, there’s no significance, defeating eighteen hall masters is no different from defeating seventeen.”

Many Pill Refiners below agreed with Elder Tiankui’s statement. Fang Lin had already defeated seventeen hall masters, and this last battle, win or lose, ensured that no one could question Fang Lin’s abilities anymore.

Yang Ligong was then in an awkward position, questioning what his purpose was. Was he destined to be just a stepping stone for Fang Lin?

Fang Lin stood unaffected by honor or disgrace, his demeanor calm and collected, showing no joy though he had won seventeen consecutive battles.

It was precisely this poise that garnered even more admiration—a true genius who was neither arrogant nor hasty, who remained the most composed even as the entire Pill Alliance boiled over with his victories.

Elder Tiangang glanced at Fang Lin below, his eyes cold as he said flatly, “Yang Ligong is unwell, it’s inappropriate for him to compete with Fang Lin today.”

At this, the crowd below was taken aback, Yang Ligong himself was stunned. What did this mean? He was unwell? When had he ever been unwell?

But those capable of sitting in the position of a hall master weren’t foolish; the next moment, he grasped Elder Tiangang’s intention.

This was a deliberate strategy to prevent his own competition with Fang Lin. Though it wasn’t a clever strategy, it could still serve its purpose at this moment.

Immediately, Yang Ligong spoke, “Elder is astute. I was indeed injured during an excursion some time ago, and have not yet fully recovered. However, I can still muster the strength to compete with Lord Fang.”

Elder Tiangang shook his head. “If you are unwell, step down. There’s no need to overexert yourself.”

“I shall obey the Elders’ command,” Yang Ligong said, promptly taking advantage of the situation to back down.

The crowd was confused. What was happening? Could it be that after all this buildup, the final match was no more? Yang Ligong was unwell? He seemed more robust than the young folks, what illness could he possibly have?

It was clear to any discerning eye that this was Elder Tiankui’s tactic, preventing this match from proceeding, thus Fang Lin couldn’t achieve a perfect streak of eighteen victories.

But what was the point of doing so? Would stopping this match from happening change the overall situation?

Even if this last match didn’t take place, and Fang Lin didn’t secure a glorious series of eighteen consecutive wins, the previous seventeen victories were more than enough.