The Art of Chaotic Divinity

Chapter 92: He Cheated!

One by one, precious herbs collected by the disciples from the medicinal herb garden were meticulously recorded.

The disciples selected by Elder Li naturally possessed the ability to identify medicinal herbs. They could generally distinguish mystical-grade herbs, but their judgment regarding factors such as age, ripeness, and growth conditions was still lacking.

For instance, with the same type of fruit, those with higher age naturally held greater value than their younger counterparts. The freshly ripened ones, of course, were superior to those already in a state of decay.

The entire examination process proceeded systematically, yet none of them could surpass the achievements of Li Yunfan.

The Cold Frost Fruit was indeed a pinnacle mystical-grade medicinal herb that was challenging to surpass. Moreover, Li Yunfan's selections boasted exceptional age and ripeness. Even if others chose the Cold Frost Fruit, it would be nearly impossible to outperform his results.

Finally, it was the turn of the last person, Ling Feng.

Ling Feng placed his medicine basket on the table and said calmly, "These are the medicinal herbs I've selected, a total of three varieties."

"Mhmm." Elder Li nodded slightly. Because of Wen Tingguang, his demeanor was quite gentle, showing no clear favoritism towards Li Yunfan.

Elder Li began to take out the medicinal herbs from the basket one by one.

"The first one, Qirong Supreme Chrysanthemum!"

When Elder Li saw the first medicinal herb, his expression subtly changed because this herb was not inferior to the Cold Frost Fruit. What's crucial was that the Qirong Supreme Chrysanthemum collected by Ling Feng, be it the flowers, leaves, or roots, were all intact without any flaws.

This was not something an ordinary person could achieve. Even someone as experienced as Elder Li, who had dealt with precious herbs for years, wouldn't dare claim to be able to do better than Ling Feng.

In comparison, Li Yunfan's technique appeared quite immature.

Taking a deep breath, Elder Li brought out the second medicinal herb.

"The second one is the Nightmare Flower!"

Similarly, it was another medicinal herb no less valuable than the Cold Frost Fruit. Moreover, the technique used was extremely skilled, completely overshadowing Li Yunfan’s.

Seeing Elder Li's expression, Li Yunfan became somewhat uneasy.

He recognized those medicinal herbs, but due to the time constraints, he had already made the best choices he could.

"The third one, there's still a third one!"

Li Yunfan held his breath, silently praying that the third medicinal herb Ling Feng selected would be something quite ordinary. If so, then his overall performance might still surpass Ling Feng's.

Though he found it unlikely, a small glimmer of hope lingered in his heart.

Sighing softly, Elder Li reached into the medicine basket once again, but this time, he didn't grasp anything.

"Hmm?" Elder Li paused, "Where's the third one? Ling Feng, it seems there isn't a third medicinal herb in your basket."

"No third one?"

The disciples from the medicinal herb garden looked at each other in confusion.

"Did he only collect two types of medicinal herbs?"

"Maybe he accidentally lost one!"

"He's really unlucky. If it were me, I'd want to die!"

Li Yunfan couldn't help but gloat, "Hahaha, what a turn of events! You actually only collected two items. With this, how can you surpass my performance?"

"Oh my goodness, really?" Qiao Qiao couldn't help but furrow her brow. "What's this guy doing? Such a great opportunity, and he wasted it like this!"

Yue Yunlan's heart also hung in suspense. If there wasn't a third medicinal herb, even if Ling Feng's two herbs were superior to Li Yunfan's, his inefficient herb collection could still be criticized.

In this case, the first place was likely to fall into Li Yunfan's hands.

"This little brat!" Wen Tingguang's expression immediately turned sour. You think it’s easy to come up with such a method to pass on my advanced cultivation technique to you?

Even if he casually collected another ordinary mystical-grade spiritual herb, his overall performance would be enough to secure victory.

Only Yuan Qiansheng looked at Ling Feng with a smile that seemed to hold deeper meaning. He had vaguely caught snippets of what Chen Sisi said to Ling Feng.

Purple Spirit Crystals!

As soon as the Purple Spirit Crystals were brought out, there would be absolutely nothing to be concerned about.

"Elder Li, please carefully feel the bottom of the medicine basket. The third type of herb I collected is relatively small."

Ling Feng's expression remained calm and indifferent. He arched his hand in a salute towards Elder Li as he spoke calmly.

"Small?" Elder Li nodded slightly and, as instructed, carefully felt around. Indeed, he grasped a very fine thread as guided.

Approximately three inches long, the bright purple crystal thread resembled a dragon's whisker. Though extremely fine, as soon as it was taken out, it emitted a faint and delightful fragrance that refreshed the senses.

"T-This is..." Elder Li pinched the fine thread-like Purple Spirit Crystal, scrutinizing it for a while. Finally, he exclaimed in surprise, "This is a Purple Spirit Crystal!"

"Yes, exactly. It's the Purple Spirit Crystal mutated from the Purple Insect Fruit." Ling Feng nodded slightly. Despite its appearance as a tiny hair-like thread, the value of this Purple Spirit Crystal surpassed that of the Qirong Supreme Chrysanthemum and Nightmare Flower combined, multiplied by ten.

Because, within the first section, it was the only kind of earth-grade herb!

The first section was indeed the area where mystical-grade and yellow-grade spiritual herbs were cultivated. However, the Purple Spirit Crystal mutated from the Purple Insect Fruit was the only variable within it.

After mutation, the Purple Spirit Crystal could surpass the limits of the herb itself, reaching the level of earth-grade herbs.

The final outcome was self-evident.

"How could it be the Purple Spirit Crystal!" In Li Yunfan's mind, it hit him like thunder. The first place that he thought was within easy reach slipped away again.

Such dramatic ups and downs made it difficult for him to accept.

The True Art of Xuanyuan was only given to the first place, and each batch of new disciples entering the medicinal herb garden had only that one chance to vie for this earth-grade technique.

Now, that beautiful dream had been completely shattered.

"I refuse to believe this!" Li Yunfan's anger swelled like an inflated balloon as he coldly fixed his gaze on Ling Feng. "This kid must have cheated. Bringing in the Purple Spirit Crystal in advance! He cheated, and his qualification for the competition should be revoked!"

The mutation of the Purple Insect Fruit into the Purple Spirit Crystal was indeed extremely rare. Moreover, if not promptly harvested after the mutation, it would quickly dissipate. Therefore, Li Yunfan's speculation was not entirely unfounded.

"Hey, if you're going to accuse someone, at least use your brain. This competition was clearly a spur-of-the-moment decision by Elder Wen to let Mr Ling participate. According to your logic, are you suggesting that Elder Wen is also in collusion, helping Mr Ling cheat?"

Qiao Qiao immediately crossed her arms, retorting with a raised eyebrow.

"I-I definitely didn't mean that. I..." Li Yunfan was immediately silenced by Qiao Qiao's remark.

Even if he had the courage equivalent to three hundred individuals, he wouldn't dare to claim that Wen Tingguang assisted Ling Feng in cheating!

"Li Yunfan, step back!" Elder Li couldn't sit still anymore. He immediately pulled Li Yunfan aside, bowed to Elder Wen, and apologized with a forced smile. "Elder Wen, the child is young and ignorant, doesn't understand, and doesn't know how to speak. Please don't take it to heart."

Wen Tingguang shrugged, glanced at Ling Feng, and said, "Anyway, it's not me who's being wrongly accused. You can ask Ling Feng if he minds. If he doesn't, I don't really care."

Elder Li quickly nodded in agreement, turned to Ling Feng, and smiled, saying, "Mr Ling, you..."

Before Elder Li could finish speaking, Ling Feng interrupted him. He looked at Li Yunfan and said, word by word, "If you don't accept my victory, then I'll give you a chance. As long as you can defeat me, the first place in the competition will still be yours."

"I will make you realize that you are not qualified to challenge me!"

In the world of martial arts, strength ultimately reigned supreme.

Li Yunfan only looked down on me because he thinks that I am a weakling in the Qi Formation Realm.

Then, I will use my capabilities to tell him that whether it’s herb appraisal or real-life battle, he only deserves to be inferior to me!