At this moment, Zhang Hao heard that Ding Fan had refined a Supreme Quality Medicine Pill, his facial expression froze instantly, his eyes widened, and even the pupils in his eyes had enlarged significantly. Clearly, he was very shocked in his heart, completely not expecting Ding Fan to refine a Supreme Quality Medicine Pill! Zhang Hao understood in his heart that the opponent had already refined a Supreme Quality Medicine Pill, which clearly meant that the opponent's use of Spiritual Materials was correct.

Thinking of this, Zhang Hao's heart was hard to calm. This is simply impossible! Even if the opponent successfully passed the high platform, when watching the Pill Recipe, the opponent did not even look at it for ten seconds before discarding it. How could the opponent remember all the Spiritual Materials in such a short time? This is something that a normal alchemist absolutely cannot accomplish. After all, in such a short time, even if one could glance through all the Spiritual Materials in the Pill Recipe, it would already be quite impressive! How could the opponent possibly remember everything!

"This is absolutely impossible! The opponent glanced at the Pill Recipe for a brief moment, how could he remember all the Spiritual Materials? He must have cheated!"

Feeling extremely shocked, Zhang Hao casually grabbed an elderly worker around him, his mouth unavoidably qquestioning loudly with some panic.

The elderly man beside Zhang Hao, although a staff member, was also an alchemist. When he heard Zhang Hao's words, he looked at the other with a bit of contempt and then spoke disdainfully:

"Is that so strange? For those experienced alchemists, ten seconds is enough to remember the Pill Recipe. You should know that some ingredients in the Medicine Pill are interconnected. Some alchemists can even predict the subsequent Spiritual Materials just by seeing one. Can I ask Alchemist Zhang this: When you viewed the Pill Recipe, it seems like you didn't spend ten seconds either? Do you hardly understand it? Or did you cheat to remember all the Spiritual Materials and then refine the Medicine Pill?"

Hearing the other's words, Zhang Hao was stunned once more, clearly not expecting that his thoughts seemed so naive to this elderly man. Suddenly, Zhang Hao toned down quite a bit, only now realizing through the elder's words that the Pill Recipe of the competition was not impossible for alchemists to memorize, and for some highly skilled alchemists, it wasn't even an issue.

For a moment, Zhang Hao felt a bit ashamed, obviously admitting to himself that he had only remembered the Pill Recipe's Spiritual Materials because of cheating. Zhang Hao knew in his heart that his alchemy level was truly low; compared to those Alchemy Masters, his vision was evidently too limited. Some matters for him were serious problems, but to those masters of alchemy, they weren't a problem at all.

Following this, Zhang Hao heard the other's words and began to remain silent. Zhang Hao could tell from the other's tone that due to his momentary outburst, the elder had become suspicious of him.

What Zhang Hao didn't know was, even if he said nothing, evidently the crowd had already started to doubt him. But Zhang Hao faintly sensed this, so he chose to keep his mouth shut, aware that the more he said, the more flaws would be exposed; clearly, silence was the best choice.

At this moment, the elder looked at Zhang Hao's cautious and alert demeanor, curling his lips slightly, visibly filled with disdain in his heart.

The elder was puzzled about how the opponent had cheated, knowing that this was the Great Alchemy Competition, a significant event on the Donglai Continent, yet somehow the opponent managed to cheat here. How bold must one be to do so? It's known that outside the competition arena, there are tens of thousands of spectators, and what's more, the elder couldn't understand why the opponent chose to make such a scene, etching himself deeply in the audience's memory?

For alchemists, reputation is a crucial affair. Only with reputation would people seek your pill refinement, and your alchemy or cultivation resources would increase. But once an alchemist acquires a poor reputation, clearly no one would still be willing to request your pill refinement.

At that point, evidently, an alchemist's financial path would be severed, and they wouldn't have any cultivation resources either, which is despairing for every alchemist.

But this Zhang Hao seemed not to care about these matters. For a moment, the elder found it a bit unclear. Although Elder Wang hadn't taken any actions against Zhang Hao yet, the elder knew that Elder Wang wouldn't ignore such an issue.

...

Meanwhile, in another room, Sun Long heard Ding Fan's results, feeling stunned, clearly not expecting Ding Lin to be so formidable. Despite the difficulty of this third round in the Great Alchemy Competition, Ding Lin still managed to refine a Supreme Quality Medicine Pill! This is simply too unbelievable!

Sun Long's heart was filled with both anger and hatred toward Ding Fan. Clearly, the opponent had refined a Supreme Quality Medicine Pill, and certainly would be the champion of the Great Alchemy Competition. Evidently, Sun Long's plans were completely thwarted. Sun Long felt deep-seated hatred toward Ding Fan, knowing he was determined to win the championship reward of the Great Alchemy Competition. But the opponent had refined a Supreme Quality Medicine Pill, apparently making him the winner.

Sun Long's face had turned somber, as the teacup in his hand had unknowingly crumbled into powder.

...

Not long after, the elder in white and Elder Herr had successively completed the third round of the Great Alchemy Competition. Elder Herr was evidently behind the white-robed elder, but Elder Herr's refined Medicine Pill was a Seventh Grade Medicine Pill, whereas the white-robed elder's was a Sixth Grade Medicine Pill. Clearly, in terms of grade level, Elder Herr slightly triumphed over the white-robed elder; however, Elder Herr had evidently taken much longer.

After the two elders completed the Great Alchemy Competition, the elder in the judge area announced the end of the third round of the competition. All other alchemists couldn't even pass the high platform, rendering any continued attempts meaningless. Naturally, those remaining alchemists on the platform knew they couldn't ascend it. Thus, when a judge announced the end of the third round, the alchemists internally breathed a sigh of relief.

Subsequently, a judge elder steadily walked up to the platform of the Great Alchemy Competition, then announced the results of this third round.

"First place Ding Lin, Supreme Quality Medicine Pill!"

"Second place Hu Feng, Sixth Grade Medicine Pill!"

"Third place Herr Lian, Seventh Grade Medicine Pill!"

At this moment, the elder announced the results, and immediately the crowd below became restless. Obviously, when people heard Ding Lin was the winner of this round in the Great Alchemy Competition, their hearts were filled with excitement and surprise. Although they knew Ding Lin not only used the shortest time but also refined a Supreme Quality Medicine Pill, confirming he would definitely be the winner, hearing the elder announce Ding Lin as the first-place winner still made their hearts burst with joy.

However, quickly some cultivators noticed that within this list the elder announced, there was conspicuously no mention of the Alchemist Zhang Hao's name, which made everyone suddenly feel strange.

"Seems like the name of that Alchemist Zhang Hao is missing?"

"I didn't hear it either!"

"Isn't it obvious? The judges must have realized Zhang Hao cheated, and directly disqualified him. Naturally, there's no ranking!"

"Someone like that deserves it!"

"..."

At this moment, in a certain room, Zhang Hao had unknowingly been brought here. Zhang Hao entered the room, inside which stood an elder dressed in a grey robe, facing away from him.

Zhang Hao felt somewhat uneasy; he had already sensed that being brought here must have a significant relation to his cheating. Just by looking at the back of this elder, Zhang Hao felt the weight of his authority, making his heart even more tense.

"Sir, what business do you have with me?"

Zhang Hao looked at the elder's back, and the elder remained silent, causing Zhang Hao's heart to pound. Zhang Hao gathered his courage to address the figure's back.

The elder listened to his words and then turned with composed indifference, a trace of disdain, a sinister smile on his face, evident enough to stir a tinge of fear in one's heart.

"Elder Wang?"

Zhang Hao stood stunned, clearly realizing correctly that he'd been brought here due to his cheating. Otherwise, Elder Wang wouldn't have sought him out for any other reason.

"There's no need for pointless words. Here, take a look at this, tell me its ingredients!"

Elder Wang looked at Zhang Hao, instantly retracting his smile, his expression cold and imposing, allowing no room for doubt. He casually tossed a medicine pill, which landed directly in Zhang Hao's hand.

Ah!

Zhang Hao was taken aback by Elder Wang's move, clearly very startled. He looked at the pill in his hand, his brow involuntarily furrowing, feeling deeply troubled. Zhang Hao was merely a third-grade alchemist, completely unable to discern the pill's ingredients. He stared at it for a long time before stammering:

"This pill... I don't know..."

Upon hearing his response, Elder Wang's face suddenly darkened, as he suddenly slapped the air, causing the ground by his foot to instantly shatter, turning to dust!

"Can't even recognize this simple Qi Replenishing Pill! If this isn't cheating, then what is!"

At this moment, Zhang Hao trembled at the elder's words, even his legs began to quiver. Evidently, he had been brought here blindfolded and Zhang Hao had no idea where 'here' was, feeling the surroundings were entirely unknown to him. But Zhang Hao knew that this wasn't the Wuji Square, the venue for the Great Alchemy Competition.

Because he could tell that here was extremely quiet, so silent that even a falling needle could be heard. After all, over a hundred thousand spectators at the competition venue made such quietness impossible. Coupled with Elder Wang's emphatic display of power, Zhang Hao was indeed a bit intimidated. He knew Elder Wang wasn't just a Grade Eight Alchemist but also genuinely a cultivator of the Dividing Spirit stage.

Zhang Hao knew that for the elder to kill him was as simple as eating and drinking. Knowing he himself was at fault first, having collaborated with Vice City Lord Sun Long in cheating. Even if the elder were to truly kill him, there would be no repercussions for him. Zhang Hao understood Elder Wang's status in the City Lord Mansion was undoubtedly comparable to that of Vice City Lord Sun Long.

Yet Zhang Hao still nervously kept his mouth shut, clearly overwhelmed with tension, knowing full well that although Elder Wang was formidable, Sun Long was evidently no less extraordinary. He had an agreement with Sun Long and definitely couldn't betray him.