Chapter 85: The Alchemical Prodigy (2)

"You can't do this! I've already conceded. What I said just now was just out of anger—I never intended to kill you..." Li Danteng hurriedly explained, desperate to avoid being written off so easily.

"All villains say that at moments like this. So, you’re a villain too. You deserve to die!" Ye Lang replied, pulling the trigger. The alchemy cannon began to glow...

"Stop!!" The First Sword Saint leaped into the air, shattering the barrier with a single stroke, displaying his extraordinary prowess. In an instant, he teleported to stand before Li Danteng.

"You arrived just in time," Ye Lang said with a smile, a remark that left everyone bewildered. What did he mean by 'just in time'? Wouldn’t that prevent him from killing Li Danteng?

"Ice, Fire, Wind, Earth—full power!"

A sizzling sound echoed as four beams of light in different colors intertwined and spun rapidly, merging into a magnificent new pillar of four hues.

If the previous beam from Ye Lang’s alchemy cannon was the size of a small arm, now it was as thick as a thigh—a fat man’s thigh, no less! The difference was immense, and thus, the destructive power...

Boom!

The First Sword Saint had no choice but to unsheath his sword, unleashing his strongest battle energy to clash with the four-colored pillar. He knew that if he dodged, Li Danteng would certainly die!

Why didn’t he simply carry Li Danteng away? Not because he was unwilling, but because he couldn’t. Ye Lang’s net not only bound its target but was also connected to mechanisms fixed to the ground, anchoring the victim in place. Unless Ye Lang disengaged the mechanism, separation from the ground was impossible in the short term.

The arena was ablaze with light!

The First Sword Saint truly lived up to his reputation, matching the four-colored pillar blow for blow...

Yes, matching it evenly—a result that astonished many. Not because of the First Sword Saint’s might, but because Ye Lang’s contraption was powerful enough to keep him from gaining the upper hand.

Everyone knew that under normal circumstances, that device could never hit the First Sword Saint—certainly not face-to-face! But if used for a surprise attack, the threat was considerable...

As the light faded, the First Sword Saint’s figure emerged, and his appearance left everyone even more astonished by Ye Lang’s alchemical weapon.

Panting, the First Sword Saint seemed drained. That last clash had left him somewhat weakened, so he gazed at Ye Lang in silence…

"Hmm, blocked it? Not bad. Let’s try spatial power… Special mode—Space..." Ye Lang's words and actions nearly caused eyes to pop from their sockets!

He was going to try again? Unbelievable—this thing was truly monstrous...

Many now believed that if Ye Lang fired again, the First Sword Saint might be finished. It could become the strangest and most unjust death in Sword Saint history—the most pitiful Sword Saint ever!

Ye Lang would instantly become famous, but it felt wasteful—was the illustrious First Sword Saint to be written off so casually?

But perhaps, this was Ye Lang’s hobby—squandering!

Wasn’t it? To let the First Sword Saint fall like this was indeed wasteful; from a certain perspective, it was a kind of squandering, only this time the "family" was the nation!

He must be stopped!

Many began to shout for Ye Lang to halt, including the emperor, but their words seemed to have no effect—until—

"You little brat, stop right now!!" Long Anqi’s furious voice rang out.

"..."

"Oh, what a pity..." Ye Lang withdrew his device, not just the alchemy cannon but also the net on Li Danteng. He knew that today’s events had reached their end.

As for what he regretted, it wasn’t failing to kill Li Danteng; in truth, he never cared about Li Danteng at all. He simply wanted to test the First Sword Saint’s true strength, to see if his alchemy cannon could defeat someone of that caliber.

His claim that he wanted to kill Li Danteng was, in fact, a ploy to lure out the First Sword Saint; that’s why he spoke and waited, instead of firing straight away.

Now, he regretted that the test ended before he was finished, though his goal was achieved. From the result of the four-element barrage, he had already deduced the corresponding equation!

In other words, he now knew the complete comparison—except for the special element!

"Ye Lang!!" As soon as the net was withdrawn from Li Danteng, he growled at Ye Lang with hatred.

"What is it? Want to invite me to dinner? I’m busy, you know." Ye Lang dusted off his hands and walked down from the stage.

"I demand a fair duel with you. You’re not allowed to use those strange contraptions!" Li Danteng protested stubbornly.

"Let me remind you again: I am an alchemist; I fight with these things. If you’re not satisfied, wait until I become a warrior someday!" Ye Lang replied offhandedly, continuing on his way.

Someday become a warrior? Was that even possible? He was a talentless, attribute-less failure—with no hope at all!

Yet…

This attribute-less failure possessed such extraordinary alchemical skill—something no one expected!

Only the alchemy masters present could appreciate this notion; others believed Ye Lang’s alchemical weapons were simply a product of wealth. Without money, he would be nothing!

Indeed, without funding, Ye Lang’s alchemical weapons would lack such power and variety. But that was merely the foundation—without innate talent, such creations would be impossible.

Because of this, in the days that followed, alchemy masters frequently visited Ye Lang, studying his inventions, and their recognition of his talent grew day by day!

But let’s set that aside for now. At present, everyone was slowly realizing: Ye Lang had won!

"Wow, Thirteenth Young Master actually won!"

"Yeah, who would’ve thought!"

"Good thing I supported him, otherwise I’d have lost my money for nothing!"

"Me too! I backed Thirteenth Young Master—won a fortune, I can treat everyone to dinner!"

"Tsk, treat us? Are you as generous as Thirteenth Young Master himself? He’s inviting everyone—tens of thousands!"

"Uh…"

"..."

The atmosphere in the arena boiled over, everyone celebrating their winnings and, of course, Ye Lang’s triumph—rejoicing that Ye Lang was no failure!

Though his body was attribute-less, he could still be arrogant, could still contend with the First Sword Saint. Admittedly, there was some luck involved, but no one cared about that now!

This was Ye Lang’s first public display of his prowess—showing that even a so-called failure wasn’t to be trifled with!