"Boom!"


    The Seventh Elder stepped on Ah Si''s foot, only half a meter away from Fang Ren, yet Fang Ren sat where he was, calm andposed, his gaze still fixed on the Cold Fire at the bottom of the Pill Furnace, as if he hadn''t noticed any of this at all.


    In fact, as soon as Ah Si had approached, Fang Ren had sensed the Seventh Elder''s impending action through the changes in soul force, so he hadn''t taken Ah Si seriously.


    Moreover, even without the Seventh Elder''s intervention, Ah Siing over to cause trouble would have been aplete exercise in futility; Fang Ren could have simply intimidated Ah Si into wetting himself with a single nce, or subdued him on the spot with soul force until he fainted.


    There was no need to exert any True Qi or for him to physically intervene because apart from being an Alchemist, Ah Si was nothing more than an ordinary human, and any slight malevolence from Fang Ren was enough to crush an ordinary person''s psychological defenses.


    At this moment, some aristocratic parents in the spectator stands were still cursing loudly, their voices already affecting some of the candidates.


    Most of the Aristocrats chose to remain silent, however, their gazes focused mainly on a few people on the field who were most likely to qualify.


    "Quiet!"


    With an angry expression, the Seventh Elder addressed the crowd, "All invigtors take note! If anyone else disrupts the candidates, throw them out immediately! The rules set by the Central Area will not tolerate any such disturbances!"


    The Seventh Elder''s words, imbued with the power of True Qi, caused a tremor in the hearts of those with lower Cultivation Levels, and subsequently, the atmosphere at thepetition venue became much quieter.


    "This is clearly an abuse of power! Allowing an ipetent to waste medicinal ingredients in such a solemnpetition and not even allowing others to speak out?"


    At that moment, a nobleman continued to shout,pletely disregarding the feelings of other students on the examination field.


    Buzz—


    Suddenly, the Butler of Liu Family turned into a blur of motion, grabbing the still shouting nobleman and unleashing a burst of True Qi that knocked him unconscious.


    With the sudden action of Liu Family''s butler, the spectator stands fell utterly silent, and everyone''s gaze shifted from Fang Ren to the Butler of Liu Family.


    After a while, the crowd in the stands started murmuring faintly, discussing among themselves.


    "Isn''t that… Liu Qingfeng from the Tianjiang''s Liu Family? Could it be that he is the one escorting Liu Xifeng this time?"


    "If the Liu Family''s Xifeng is under his protection, then could the two Alchemy geniuses from the Wang family and Cao family also be escorted by the butlers of those families?"


    "Does that mean the butlers from all three major families havee today?"


    ...


    Liu Qingfeng threw the previously shouting nobleman aside and spoke with a serious tone, "The examination field is a ce of importance, silence is required. Anyone who vites this will be used as an example!"


    The people, hearing his words, also felt that the nobleman was too arrogant; after all, this was the Elixirpetition venue of the Central Area, and the students selected here were the future of humanity.


    Here, nothing was more important than ensuring the safepletion of the examinations for the candidates. Even if there were cheating incidents on the field, there were invigtors to punish or expel the offenders, not for the spectators to make idlements.


    Because one student''s actions could affect all the students, such behavior here could be considered a grave mistake.


    The voices from the spectator stands were much lower, much more thoughtful than they had been when they first entered the arena; this was within the eptable range for thepetition, as such sounds would not affect the candidates'' condition.


    Bai Qi''s heart skipped one beat after another upon witnessing these continuous scenes.


    Previously, when Ah Si moved to kick Fang Ren, her entire being filled with rage, and she nearly threw off her duckbill cap, prepared to disregard the rules and order of the elixirpetition venue and demand that the alchemist named Ah Si apologize to Fang Ren using her status.


    But all of that was stopped by the Seventh Elder, and the group in the audience stands were also managed by the grandfather of the Liu Family, which finally calmed her furious emotions.


    "Seventh Elder! As humans act, Heaven watches!"


    Ah Si, kneeling on the ground with the Seventh Elder''s foot on him, red at the Seventh Elder and said fiercely, "From the very beginning, you have been deliberately protecting this student! These subtle details are seen by everyone! What exactly are your intentions?"


    "Shut up!"


    The Seventh Elder kicked Ah Si back to the center of the venue without a word.


    "Cough cough cough..."


    The intense pain in his belly made Ah Si sprawl on the ground, continuously coughing, unable to utter a word.


    Seeing this, the audience on the stands were also astonished, not expecting the Seventh Elder from the Orchid Bamboo Guild to show such a furious demeanor. Could it be that everything Ah Si said was true?


    After all, the behavior of the Seventh Elder from the start of thepetition until now indeed baffled many, always seeming to protect that student from Yangming University.


    "What is the Seventh Elder''s intention? It is his own actions that cause confusion and yet he does not allow others to question him?" whispered an aristocrat in the audience stands.


    "Exactly, there''s something off about the Seventh Elder. It was clearly that idiot who was wasting the elixir, yet now his actions are purely protective again!"


    "I simply can''t understand it. Could it be that the Seventh Elder has been bought off or threatened?"


    ...


    Chen Cheng saw this scene and felt very upset, considering that Fang Ren was the princess''s fiancé. Should he endure being treated like this by a mere alchemist?


    However, speaking of which, the reason Fang Ren was being treated this way by a mere alchemist was because Fang Ren had deliberately concealed his identity to participate in thispetition. Chen Cheng couldn''t understand what Young Master Fang and Her Highness the Princess were trying to achieve.


    With a deep frown, Chen Cheng turned to Lin Bozhong beside him, "Brother, what exactly is going on here?"


    The smile remained on Lin Bozhong''s face, as he was not at all worried about his family''s Young Mastering to any harm. No alchemist present could truly understand Young Master Fang, and even if someone did, he could handle that person immediately.


    Moreover, the most important thing now was that Young Master Fang''s alchemy time had finally ended!


    Your true talent will soon be shown to all, allowing the uing events to teach those in the audience stands an unforgettable lesson.


    "Brother Chen, fourteen minutes have passed," Lin Bozhong said.


    As Lin Bozhong''s voice faded, Fang Ren immediately extinguished the Cold Fire beneath the Pill Furnace, patted off the dust on his body, and stood up from the ground.


    In thepetition venue, standing up signifies the end of an alchemy session.