At this moment, within the City Lord Mansion, City Lord Lin Qi sat with a group of elders in the conference hall. Lin Qi was planning to hold another city lord meeting, as he had evidently been in contact with Ding Lin and had a new impression of Ding Fan, full of surprises.

Lin Qi had clearly not expected that Ding Lin had not only reached the level of a Grade Nine Alchemist in alchemy but also had impressive cultivation, which was incredibly astonishing. Ding Lin, still a mere youth, had achieved such heights, which was utterly shocking.

Lin Qi understood that if Ding Lin developed in the future, he would undoubtedly become an extraordinary being. Moreover, his current alchemy level was already at a master's rank. As a Grade Nine Alchemist, such a person was not to be underestimated. Even Lin Qi had to be courteous to him, and even cultivators in the Transcendence Tribulation Stage would certainly try to befriend him, as a Grade Nine Alchemist meant someone who could refine Supreme Quality Medicine Pills.

Even cultivators at the Transcendence Tribulation Stage treasured Supreme Quality Medicine Pills dearly, as such pills were not easily seen and could only be refined by Grade Nine Alchemists. Furthermore, even Grade Nine Alchemists could not guarantee Supreme Quality Medicine Pill every time, with merely a fifty percent success rate being impressive!

Yet Ding Lin had succeeded in refining Supreme Quality Medicine Pills consecutively twice, which was an outstanding achievement even among Grade Nine Alchemists.

Therefore, Lin Qi repeatedly contemplated whether to directly give the Great Alchemy Competition champion reward to Ding Lin. Lin Qi knew that the champion reward of this Great Alchemy Competition was not an ordinary prize, and the reason why there were so many alchemists participating was largely due to this champion reward.

Lin Qi had been keeping an eye on the Great Alchemy Competition, and alchemists like Elder Herr, who were already Seventh Grade Alchemists, actually had no need to participate. But a Seventh Grade Alchemist held significant status in the Cultivation World, possessing ample cultivation and alchemy resources.

Nevertheless, they actively participated in the Great Alchemy Competition, clearly for the champion reward, which this time was a piece of Golden Silk Protective Clothing, a highly precious item, one that would make even Exit Stage cultivators envious.

The reason for putting such an item as a champion reward was to attract more alchemists, or even cultivator audiences, to this edition of the Great Alchemy Competition. Clearly, Lin Qi's goal had been achieved. The number of participating alchemists and outside spectators had surpassed previous competitions by far.

Lin Qi very much wanted to award this champion reward to Ding Lin, but he clearly needed the City Lord Mansion's conference decision. This was a working style of the City Lord Mansion, not the city lord's autocracy, but a collective discussion and decision-making process. Of course, if the city lord did not agree, then the approval of the meeting would be useless. Likewise, if only the city lord agreed while the meeting did not approve, Lin Qi would not act arbitrarily.

"This time, I wish to discuss with everyone how to deal with the extremely talented Ding Lin. I've already met with him, and Ding Fan's talents are indeed high. His alchemy skill surpasses those of ordinary alchemists. I believe no one in this edition of the Great Alchemy Competition has a higher alchemy skill than Ding Lin's. I suggest we directly award the Great Alchemy Competition's champion reward to Ding Lin. For our City Lord Mansion, this would be an immensely beneficial affair, given the advantages of befriending a Grade Nine Alchemist for all of us present." Read full story at novel※fire.net

Lin Qi spoke to everyone with a certain seriousness in his voice.

The people listening to City Lord Lin Qi echoed his thoughts, as many elders agreed with him. After witnessing Ding Fan's alchemy skill in the second round of the competition, he not only wrote out a complete and correct pill recipe but also refined the given medicine pill to Supreme Quality, something even the judging elders couldn't achieve!

This was absolutely astonishing! The medicine pills provided in the competition had been meticulously refined by the judging elders, and were merely Grade Eight, but Ding Fan refined a Supreme Quality Medicine Pill within the given time, a feat that amazed everyone!

Ding Lin's alchemy skill had even surpassed the elders in the judge area, so for such an alchemist, winning the Great Alchemy Competition was just a matter of course, merely a matter of time.

"I agree. Ding Lin's alchemy skills are obvious to all of us, clearly exceeding those of ordinary participating alchemists, and even among us old fellows not many can match his prowess!"

At this moment, an elderly alchemist voiced his agreement with City Lord Lin Qi, stating what was on his mind, evidently supporting the city lord's decision.

"Elder Pang is correct! Ding Lin winning this edition of the Great Alchemy Competition is merely a matter of time..."

"Yes! I agree too!"

"I agree!"

...

For a moment, several elder alchemists on Elder Wang's side deeply agreed with the City Lord's decision and couldn't help but voice their support.

At this moment, Elder Wang heard the words of the crowd and couldn't help but show a slight smile on his face. Clearly, he also supported the City Lord's decision, as befriending a Grade Nine Alchemist was the most crucial matter. Although Elder Wang didn't know why Ding Lin would participate in the Great Alchemy Competition with such high-level alchemy skills, or why Ding Lin's incredible alchemy skills were unknown to anyone, it was indeed strange. However, Elder Wang was evidently unwilling to meddle in these matters, as Ding Lin's alchemy level was apparent, regardless of whether he participated in the competition; his alchemy level was at the level of a Grade Nine Alchemist.

Such a level of alchemist is evidently not an ordinary presence. Now, whether it's in Dancheng or the City Lord Mansion, having the chance to connect with a Grade Nine Alchemist, if not befriending them now, then when?

Seeing everyone agree with the City Lord's decision, Elder Wang couldn't be happier, as he was also a member of the City Lord Mansion. However, Elder Wang was evidently not particularly pleased because he knew from the start that the Vice City Lord had opposed the City Lord's decision. This time Elder Wang suspected that Sun Long might come out to oppose, even though Elder Wang didn't know what exactly Sun Long was planning, but his mind certainly harbored secrets.

Immediately, Elder Wang couldn't help but glance at Sun Long, who should be saying something now.

"City Lord, I think it would be prudent for us to be more cautious. Although the opponent has evidently demonstrated decent alchemy skills, we must remember that the rules of our Great Alchemy Competition cannot be broken. Since this is a competition, it is full of many variables. Just as Ding Lin appeared unexpectedly, it's very likely that unexpected changes will occur in the third round of the Great Alchemy Competition, and of course, it will be filled with more surprising changes!"

At this time, Elder Wang was indeed correct as Sun Long stepped forward and addressed City Lord Lin Qi directly. His words evidently implied disagreement with the City Lord's actions. But Sun Long hadn't finished speaking, and he continued:

"Since the Great Alchemy Competition hasn't ended yet, what if an alchemist stronger than Ding Lin appears in the third round of the competition? Since this is a competition, it will consist of various changes, and we can't guarantee these things won't happen. Therefore, I disagree with the City Lord's suggestion. I propose that after the Great Alchemy Competition is completely over, it won't be too late to give the champion reward. If we wish to make an alliance with the other party, we can offer some extra rewards and sincerely invite them over to our City Lord Mansion as guests."

At this point, Sun Long's eyes held a deeply hidden trace of disgust, but his face still presented a look of consideration for the City Lord Mansion and for everyone, clearly depicting that aside from himself, no one would know his deep-seated hatred for Ding Fan.

As Sun Long finished speaking, several middle-aged men from the City Lord Mansion evidently sided with Sun Long. After all, this was their usual behavior; they could be considered loyal subordinates to Sun Long, so no matter what decision Sun Long made, they would support him whole-heartedly. Since, to them, Sun Long was the Vice City Lord and evidently a significant backing, having someone in Cultivation World as a backing is indeed very important.

Then several middle-aged City Lord Mansion managers began to enthusiastically say:

"Vice City Lord Sun's words make sense! Although Ding Lin's alchemy level is outstanding, since he has chosen to participate in the Great Alchemy Competition, we should let him rightfully win the championship of this competition. This would prevent some petty individuals from defaming Ding Lin, as only letting Ding Fan thoroughly complete this session of the competition can shut their mouths!"

"Makes sense! I agree with Vice City Lord Sun's suggestion, using this method to form an alliance is evidently not advisable."

"I also agree!"

"Agree..."

...

At this moment, many of the middle-aged men stood on Sun Long's side, speaking rather tactfully to City Lord Lin Qi. To them, it was merely finding some reasons to stand on Sun Long's side, as Sun Long had already communicated with them beforehand. Even though they weren't clear about what kind of proposition Vice City Lord Sun had, the man had spoken, and they had no choice but to comply.

Since Sun Long was an essential backing for them, if this backing was lost in the City Lord Mansion, it evidently wouldn't be a good thing for them.

Upon hearing everyone's words, City Lord Lin Qi felt somewhat hesitant; clearly, Elder Wang and several alchemist elders agreed with his decision. After all, Lin Qi knew that even in the third round of the Great Alchemy Competition, Ding Lin's displayed strength would undoubtedly make Ding Fan the champion, as he had already reached the level of a Grade Nine Alchemist, even those elder alchemists in the City Lord Mansion couldn't match his level.

But Lin Qi also knew that Sun Long and others weren't entirely without logic in their words. Clearly, the probability of Sun Long's words might be small, but such concerns cannot be ignored. Lin Qi knew Sun Long had already opposed his decision twice, and still with the same decision, which was quite unusual. Lin Qi knew that typically if he made a decision, Sun Long would be the first to agree.

On the contrary, Elder Wang and others would always need to think it over multiple times before agreeing. But this time in the Great Alchemy Competition, the situation was completely reversed, which was indeed rather abnormal.