Logically speaking, even if this round was a draw, he would still have lost. However, due to his outstanding performance, everyone thought that he was concealing his strength in the theory test. For a moment, they didn’t know how to judge him.
Zhong Haoran quickly said, “Elder Zhou, you are the most impartial and fair. A loss is a loss. The truth is right here. Lin Bai has lost by one to two. The result has been determined.”
Zhou Zhengqing frowned. After a while, he was about to announce the result. However, at this moment, Zhang Chengfan, who had been quiet all this time, suddenly said, “I lost.”
Before the others could react, Zhong Haoran turned his head in disbelief and snapped, “What nonsense are you talking about?”
Then, he quickly tried to remedy the situation. “Kids are not sensible. He’s just talking nonsense. Everyone, don’t take it to heart.”
However, Zhang Chengfan didn’t even give him an extra glance. His expression was indifferent, as if he didn’t care about anything at all. He said again, “I’m the one who lost.”
After saying this, he turned around and left without looking back, leaving Zhong Haoran so angry that he blew his beard and glared at him. “You!”
This time, it was Chen Yan’s turn to be smug. He was immersed in the joy of Lin Bai’s victory. He slowly walked over to Zhong Haoran’s side and said, “I told you, it’s not the final moment yet. The outcome is still unknown. Look, a miracle has already happened.”
These words were what Zhong Haoran had said earlier, and Chen Yan had returned them to him. One could imagine how he felt right now.
Since the person in question had voluntarily admitted defeat, what else was there to say? Zhou Zhengqing announced on the spot, “The final winner of this match is Lin Bai.”
Following a wave of cheers, everyone sighed endlessly. They had originally thought that there would be no suspense in this match, and that the final winner should be Zhang Chengfan. However, he had unexpectedly gotten an unexpected win. This was beyond everyone’s expectations.
Many people surrounded Chen Yan and congratulated him. “Alchemist Chen is really amazing. He really has a sharp eye for heroes. He has found such a good seedling. I think that he will definitely surpass Chen Yan in the future.”
Lin Bai was so young and talented. Everyone could see that his future was limitless. If they were to befriend him now, they might even be able to benefit from him.
However, they weren’t familiar with Lin Bai before, and they hadn’t heard of him before. They wanted to start with Chen Yan so that they could take advantage of him.
“I wonder if alchemist Chen can introduce us so that we can learn from each other and improve together.”
Chen Yan naturally knew what they were thinking, but he didn’t expose them. After all, connections were very important in the Alchemist Association. He readily agreed, “That’s easy to say.”
However, when everyone turned around, they did not know when Lin Bai had already left. His shadow was nowhere to be seen.
Chen Yan immediately felt a little awkward. He did not expect Lin Bai to not even greet him. He smiled embarrassedly and said, “Perhaps he had something urgent to attend to and left first.”
Everyone immediately nodded in understanding. They did not dare to argue with Lin Bai.
Seeing that Lin Bai wasn’t here, Chen Yan seemed to have thought of something. He casually said, “Speaking of which, when I was teaching Lin Bai, I realized that he was a talent that could be molded. My teaching these past few days has not been in vain. His progress has indeed been great.”
As he spoke, he made it seem as though that Lin Bai could have such an outstanding performance due to him. Everyone’s eyes instantly heated up.
Chen Yan might be a grade five alchemist now, but if it wasn’t for the accident last time, he should also be a grade six alchemist. Moreover, he came from a famous sect, and his strength was considered quite good even in the Alchemist Association. Perhaps he really did have some unique secret manuals or techniques.
“I wonder if alchemist Chen is free now. Can you give me some pointers? I have a high-quality iceberg snow lotus here. It’s just a small token of respect.”
When the people around him heard this, they immediately revealed a mocking expression and pushed him to the side.
“Icebergs Snow Lotus is nothing. My five-hundred-year-old Ganoderma is the most precious. Only in alchemist Chen’s hands can it be used to its greatest effect. I hope alchemist Chen won’t mind.”
“Alchemist Chen, you’d better come to my side. I have a lot of precious materials here.”
In any case, they couldn’t find Lin Bai at the moment. It would be the same if they found Chen Yan. If they knew that the so called pointers Chen Yan gave Lin Bai was just a few books, they would definitely be shocked.
After all, during that period of time, there was news from the City Lord’s estate and Chen Yan had been held back. He could only temporarily put Lin Bai aside. He thought that since there were still some matters to attend to before the competition, it wouldn’t be too late for him to catch up on the last few days. Who would have thought that the competition would be brought forward.
Looking at Chen Yan, who was like the moon surrounded by the stars, Zhong Haoran’s eyes were filled with jealousy and hatred. Why couldn’t he compare to this person in every way.
Qian Ran and the others, who had previously offended Lin Bai, were a little flustered. They didn’t expect Lin Bai to be so strong.
“It’s over now. We’ve offended him previously, and now that he has gained power, his position in the Alchemist Association will definitely rise in the future. What if he takes revenge on us later?”
“If we had known that he was so protective of fool Li back then, we wouldn’t have gone too far. If we had left earlier, things wouldn’t have ended up like this.”
Hearing the complaints of his underlings beside him, Qian Ran looked irritated, “Back then, back then, that’s all you can say. Which of you hadn’t teased fool Li before. Moreover, we didn’t go too far. It was that kid who meddled in other people’s business. I didn’t expect him to be so capable.”
Zhong Haoran, who was passing by, happened to hear their conversation. His expression flashed, and he immediately came up with a plan. He went forward and asked, “From your tone, I hear you have a grudge against that Lin Bai.”
With just a few words, Qian Ran explained everything clearly. Zhong Haoran looked at Chen Yan, who was proud of himself in the crowd, and a strange smile appeared on his face.