Zhao Li spent several days in seclusion, absorbing the gains from his pill refining and tribulation crossing. After emerging, the first thing he did was find Elder Han.
Zhao Li still bowed as before before speaking:
"Elder Han, President summoned me that day, so I left early. I wonder what happened afterward?"
Han Zichuan slightly avoided the bow, not accepting Zhao Li's禮.
He no longer treated Zhao Li as a junior but saw him as someone of equal standing, smiling:
"First, congratulations, Daoist friend, on entering the ranks of Eighth Grade Grandmasters. In the past few days, your reputation has spread throughout Holy Pill City. Everyone is asking about you, this unknown Grandmaster."
Saying this, he recounted everything that had happened since that day to Zhao Li.
Thinking of how the President had instructed him early on to publicize this matter, he couldn't help but feel the President was far-sighted, knowing Zhao Li would surely succeed and make a splash.
Immediately, he recalled how the day before refining the pills, he had worried this young man might fail and lose face in front of everyone. Han Zichuan shook his head and chuckled softly:
"Who would have thought you'd do such a big thing so quietly?"
Hearing this, Zhao Li didn't know how to respond for a moment, only showing a sheepish expression, scratching his head, and saying:
"Just luck."
"..."
Elder Han was speechless upon hearing this. If luck alone could make someone an Eighth Grade Alchemy Grandmaster, then they had truly lived in vain for so many years.
The two fell silent. Zhao Li naturally realized his modesty seemed a bit annoying to others, so he quickly excused himself and left.
On the way, Zhao Li calculated the time. It was almost time to refine the pills for the old man he had made a deal with.
Back at the courtyard, the old man greeted him immediately.
However, when he saw Zhao Li again, his former arrogance was gone, replaced by even a hint of caution.
Zhao Li didn't say much. He accepted the Medicinal Ingredients the old man handed over and began refining the Pills. It was the Wall-Breaking Pill. The old man was also at Dou Sect Peak, and his request for this Pill was exactly as Zhao Li had expected.
Five days later, this transaction was officially concluded.
In the days that followed, Zhao Li remained secluded, and the buzz around the unknown Alchemy Grandmaster slowly faded.
Zhao Li gradually returned to a peaceful life.
Time slipped away quietly, and in a blink of an eye, two months had passed.
On this day, Wind Lightning returned to the Pill Tower.
In two months, Wind Lightning had made several inquiries and found the Li Family. However, they were no longer in Tianxuan City.
He only said he was an old friend of Ji Changlin, who hadn't visited in a long time, unaware of his old friend's passing.
Immediately, he casually brought up the Medicine Cauldron Ji Changlin used. The Li Family members became dejected. Wind Lightning, curious, asked about the reason:
"What's wrong?"
Li Ming shook his head, remembering Zhao Li, and felt ashamed.
Before Zhao Li left, he repeatedly emphasized that when the Soul Hall came looking, they should tell the Soul Hall his whereabouts.
As expected, not long after, the Soul Hall arrived. After that, they received news of the Ruins reappearing. Li Zhenxuan had even gone to see and received news of a Saint falling, with no survivors.
Although Zhao Li was strong, he wasn't stronger than a Saint. They didn't believe Zhao Li was still alive.
After a long silence, under Wind Lightning's subtle influence, Li Ming told Wind Lightning about Zhao Li saving the Zhao Family and them giving the Medicine Cauldron to Zhao Li. Finally, he sighed leisurely, feeling quite regretful:
"It's a pity. Brother Zhao Li was a rare talent envied by heaven. He lost his life at such a young age."
Hearing this, Wind Lightning frowned, not expecting this matter to be related to the Ruins.
When the Ruins appeared two years ago, even Saint Evergreen, an Elder of the Little Pill Tower, fell within them. Wind Lightning also didn't believe Zhao Li would be a survivor of the Ruins trip.
"Zhao Li? Zhang Li?"
Despite this, he still remembered the name Zhao Li.
Under his subtle guidance, what Li Ming said was naturally the truth.
Immediately after, Wind Lightning asked a few more questions, then brought up Ji Changlin again, asking about his affairs after death.
A hundred years ago, the two were indeed good friends, but later they went their separate ways towards the future, yet he didn't even know when his old friend had passed away. He felt a little guilty.
Wind Lightning paid his respects briefly, then left the Li Family and hurried back to Holy Pill City.
...
"What do you think?"
Wind Lightning told Spirit Pearl the information he had gathered over the past two months and asked for his thoughts and opinions.
Spirit Pearl didn't answer, but asked in return:
"Were there really no survivors from the Ruins trip?"
The Ruins had appeared for two years, and the only conclusion many people had drawn from the clues was that there were peak powerhouses fighting inside, at least at the Dou Sheng level, otherwise a Saint wouldn't have fallen silently without even leaving any message.
But regarding other matters, they still knew nothing.
Hearing this, Wind Lightning shook his head and sighed:
"Difficult! Difficult! Difficult! With two Saints fallen, the chances of anyone else surviving are practically zero, unless he was one of the peak powerhouses fighting at the time. But is that possible?"
Spirit Pearl agreed, saying:
"Thinking about it further is pointless. Let's call him over and test him again."
With that, he was about to call Zhao Li over, but Wind Lightning stopped him:
"Our goal has never just been to investigate his identity, but how to deal with him. Do you have a plan?"
Spirit Pearl paused, then smiled in realization. He hadn't expected that when it came to the Ruins, he would momentarily get ahead of himself.
"We'll follow the original decision. If his identity is fine, we'll absorb him into the Little Pill Tower. If there's a problem, we'll take him down directly."
"What if it involves something much bigger? Do you think an ordinary person would have such talent and strength?"
Hearing this, Spirit Pearl was silent for a moment, then said:
"So what? If he truly harbors ill intentions, does that mean our Pill Tower doesn't even dare to fight back? I'll call him over."
He acted immediately. His Soul Power swept out, quickly finding Zhao Li and calling him over.
Zhao Li arrived at the top of the Pill Tower again, and the same two vigorous old men came into view.
However, they both looked solemn, as if something major was about to happen.
Zhao Li was puzzled, and a hint of vigilance quietly arose in his heart.
"Zhang Li, oh, perhaps I should call you Zhao Li! You're here."
Wind Lightning nodded and greeted Zhao Li.
Zhao Li's heart, which had been as calm as a still well, instantly surged with huge waves. He understood immediately that he had been exposed.
But he quickly calmed down. First, he nodded and bowed as before, then said indifferently:
"Zhao Li greets the two Presidents. May I ask why you summoned me this time?"
He used Wind Lightning's words to state his own name.
Spirit Pearl and the other exchanged a look, a little surprised. They had only intended to trick Zhao Li, but it turned out to really be him. They then wasted no time and got straight to the point, asking directly:
"Why did you enter the Pill Tower under a false identity?"
"To study, of course."
Zhao Li raised an eyebrow, looking confused.
Could he possibly have come specifically for two skinny old men?
Hearing Zhao Li's matter-of-fact answer, the two were clearly stunned for a moment. They coughed dryly and asked doubtfully:
"Then you could have come in openly. Doing this makes it easy for people to misunderstand."
"But I'm afraid the Soul Hall will harm me."
Zhao Li remained self-righteous, then offered a brief explanation:
"When I first started out, I didn't know the world was so big, thinking I was second only to heaven. I accidentally provoked the Soul Hall, and later found out they were very powerful, so I had to hide."
With that, he sighed, as if he had been beaten down by the world and accepted reality.
Wind Lightning nodded. Zhao Li's words could match what the Li Family had said, so he didn't have much doubt. He asked:
"I heard you've been to the Saintfall Ruins?"
The Saintfall Ruins was the name given by the world to the Ruins formed after the Nameless Mountain Range merged with the Chaos Spirit Tribe's Pocket World.
Hearing this, various thoughts flashed through Zhao Li's mind. He nodded and said:
"I've been."
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