Ten and a half months’ time, for a Dao Emperor Realm Practitioner, truly flits by in the blink of an eye. Even Martial Artists of the Innate Realm might meditate in seclusion for one or two months at a time.
For a powerful martial artist to close their eyes and meditate, even a slight insight into Martial Arts might not be achieved in half a month’s time.
After the words of the Third Hall Master had fallen, the other Hall Masters also shifted their gazes toward Saint Master Shen Chong.
"If any Hall Master wishes to wait in the front hall, you may," Shen Chong nodded and said.
"Then, I will wait in the front hall for the Great Alchemist King Jing Yan to finish refining the Elixir. Jing Yan, the Great Alchemist King has said that ten and a half months is enough for alchemy. If there are any unforeseen complications, one month’s time should surely suffice," the Third Hall Master said with ill intent.
He intended to wait and watch Jing Yan’s misfortune unfold.
When he disagreed with Jing Yan taking up the position of Ten Hall Masters, Jing Yan had fiercely opposed him, which left him extremely dissatisfied. The Third Hall Master, with his naturally narrow mind, how could he tolerate the defiance of Jing Yan, a man in his thirties?
All nine Hall Masters remained, not a single one leaving temporarily; they all stayed in the front hall.
"The Ten Thousand Spirit Returning to Origin Pill is not a common Elixir; failure in its refinement is normal," the Eighth Hall Master frowned and remarked.
He was preparing for the eventuality of Jing Yan’s failure in the refinement process.
Although the Eighth Hall Master Min Huo didn’t have much interaction with Jing Yan, he was a person of magnanimous temperament; seeing the Third Hall Master deliberately suppress Jing Yan in such a manner made him quite uncomfortable.
"The Eighth Hall Master is right. Even if the Great Alchemist King Jing Yan doesn’t succeed in refining the Ten Thousand Spirit Returning to Origin Pill, I think it is normal," the Seventh Hall Master Leng Hongying said with a smile.
Apart from the Seventh and Eighth Hall Masters, several other Hall Masters also expressed similar sentiments with a smile.
They didn’t all necessarily truly believe this; mostly, it was a consideration for the face of Hu Donghe. They wanted Hu Donghe’s help with refining elixirs, and given his unusual relationship with Jing Yan, they followed the adage of "respecting the monk for the Buddha’s sake."
Naturally, there were also about half of the Hall Masters who didn’t voice their opinion.
The Third Hall Master glanced at the several other Hall Masters who had spoken, harrumphed lightly, and said no more, instead directly closing his eyes to rest and recuperate.
After all, when Jing Yan’s alchemy ended, he surely would have something to say. He would not only continue to obstruct Jing Yan from becoming the Ten Hall Masters but would also severely humiliate him.
As for offending Hu Donghe, this was of no concern to him; after all, his relationship with Hu Donghe had already been poor. Over the past few hundred years, Hu Donghe had also refused to help him refine elixirs multiple times.
This time, targeting Jing Yan was also an indirect way of taking revenge on Hu Donghe.
In the time that followed, some Hall Masters closed their eyes to comprehend Martial Arts, while others chatted casually.
About the major events happening on the Heavenly Origin Continent, the Hall Masters were mostly well aware. Discussions about the Gai Family naturally could not be absent.
Due to Jing Yan, the losses suffered by the Gai Family could be described as tremendously large, and the Hall Masters took delight in their misfortune.
Essentially, the Seven Great Families and the Holy City were in opposition. The Seven Great Families were not content to be led by the Holy City, and the Holy City was dissatisfied with the resistance from the Seven Great Families.
Though these Hall Masters each managed their own power, they shared one thing in common: they all belonged to the Holy City, and they were subordinates to Saint Master Shen Chong.
"My Lords, I wonder if you have heard about a matter," the Fifth Hall Master suddenly said with a smile, looking toward the other Hall Masters.
"What’s the matter?" a Hall Master asked immediately.
"I heard that some time ago, the Gai Family lost over thirty Daoist Master Realm and Dao King Realm experts in one fell swoop at Donglin City," the eyes of the Fifth Hall Master flickered as he spoke.
"Ah, that matter. I’ve heard about it."
"Haha, we all know of this matter. Over thirty Daoist Master and Dao King Realm Martial Artists, the Gai Family’s loss is no small matter indeed!" the Eighth Hall Master Min Huo laughed as he said.
"Yes! Moreover, I heard that these Gai Family Experts were annihilated by the Guardian Array of Donglin City. I wonder if this news is true or false," the Second Hall Master spoke casually.
"The truth shouldn’t be like that, should it? To annihilate over thirty Daoist Master and Dao King Realm experts, there would have to be at least a High-level Attack Array. Donglin City has a High-level Attack Array?" one Hall Master shook his head, "It should be that Jing Yan directly took action to kill them, right?"
It must be said, though these Hall Masters had sources of information about this matter, they were not certain of the precise situation.
Since this affair had no direct connection to them, most of them only listened casually, without the inclination to specifically ascertain the truthfulness of the news.
"Hmm, it should indeed be Jing Yan who took action. Even Gu Mo, a Dao Emperor Realm Practitioner, died at Jing Yan’s hands. It would be normal for Jing Yan to eliminate over thirty Daoist Master and Dao King Realm Martial Artists," the Seventh Hall Master interjected.
"Yes! Rumors always tend to exaggerate the truth. Humans, they do enjoy listening to fantastical things," the Third Hall Master Kui Long opened his eyes and interjected with a double meaning in his words, insinuating that Jing Yan’s proficiency in Alchemy Dao wasn’t all that impressive.
"Regardless, the Gai Family will undoubtedly regard Jing Yan as an arch-enemy now. Old Gu Wanquan won’t let Jing Yan off easily," the Fifth Hall Master looked at the other Hall Masters and stated.
"By the way, the rumors say that over a decade ago, Gu Wanquan pursued Jing Yan because Jing Yan killed the Gai Family’s candidate Patriarch, Gu Xinghe—and Gu Xinghe was Gu Wanquan’s direct grandson. But for some reason, I feel there’s more to it. To avenge a direct grandson, Gu Wanquan actually mobilized the entire Gai Family," the Eighth Hall Master Min Huo furrowed his brow as he spoke.
The other Hall Masters fell silent for a moment.
They also felt that something seemed off. Over a decade ago, the Gai Family’s pursuit of Jing Yan was too intense and far exceeded normal circumstances.
"Hmph, who knows what kinds of things Jing Yan has been up to. Human hearts are inscrutable," the Third Hall Master Kui Long huffed again with a disdainful expression, "Stirring up trouble with the Gai Family, then, feeling afraid, he comes to the Holy Palace seeking protection, heh..."
From the beginning, the Third Hall Master Kui Long had believed that Jing Yan had come to seek protection from Saint Master Shen Chong.
Of course, most of the Hall Masters believed in the same.
If Jing Yan truly became one of the Ten Hall Masters, then Gu Wanquan and the Gai Family, no matter how enraged they might be, probably wouldn’t dare to directly take the initiative to attack Jing Yan anymore.
To kill a Holy Palace Master, wouldn’t that be blatantly declaring war on the Holy Palace?
"In any case, Gu Wanquan must be distressed to death. Within the Gai Family, there are barely over a hundred Daoist Master and Dao King Realm Martial Artists combined, right? To suddenly lose so many!" after a pause, one Hall Master brought up the Gai Family’s losses from a few months ago once again.
"My fellow Hall Masters, you might be mistaken," Saint Master Shen Chong suddenly spoke up, smiling as he began.
The Hall Masters all turned their attention to the Saint Master.
"Based on the information I’ve obtained, those Gai Family Martial Artists who perished in Donglin City were indeed annihilated by a formation. It was not by Jing Yan’s direct hand," Shen Chong continued.
"Holy Master, that’s impossible, isn’t it? Has Donglin City acquired a High-level Attack Array? If it isn’t a High-level Attack Array, it’s definitely impossible to annihilate Dao King Realm Martial Artists," a Hall Master couldn’t help but immediately raise doubts.