Wei Lin’s face turned white like paper.
He took a step back. "I’m not doing that! No way! I don’t want to die!"
Wei Shiming slamd his hand on the table.
"You coward! She embarrassed our whole family today. And you just want to hide like a scared child?"
Wei Lin shook his head.
"You don’t understand... her eyes—when she looked at —it felt like she could kill with just a stare."
An elder rubbed his chin.
"Then don’t let her know. Use sleeping pills. Or sothing stronger. Make sure she doesn’t rember."
Wei Lin’s voice cracked. "That’s even worse! She’ll know. She always knows!"
Wei Shiming stood up, his voice cold.
"You don’t have a choice. If we don’t stop her now, she’ll destroy everything. Our na, our power, everything we built. You are my son. You need to act like it."
Wei Lin clenched his fists. "There must be another way..."
But no one replied.
Everyone just stared at him.
Wei Shiming looked at him sharply.
"You will do it. Or I’ll choose soone else to be the next heir. Maybe your cousin Wei Yu. He’s willing to do anything for the family."
Wei Lin froze.
He hated Wei Yu. That guy always acted fake in front of the elders and tried to steal his position.
"Fine," Wei Lin said softly. "I’ll try..."
Wei Shiming sat back down, satisfied. "That’s more like it."
.......................
In the Gu Mansion.
Back in her room, Gu Jin sat on the bed, scrolling through so reports on her tablet.
Mrs. Gu ca in with tea and closed the door behind him.
"Things are calming down outside. The public liked the apology video. And the money has been transferred."
Gu Jin took a sip and nodded. "Good."
Mrs. Gu looked at her. "But they won’t give up that easily."
"I know," Gu Jin said quietly. "That’s why I’m not going to wait for them to strike first."
Mrs. Gu raised an eyebrow. "What do you plan?"
Gu Jin gave a small smirk.
"I’m going to show them what it really ans to regret ssing with ."
..............................
The next day.
The final round of the National Alchemy Competition was going to be held in Dragon Park. Though it was nad a park, it was, in fact, a huge area.
The finalists for the events were only 4 people.
Gu Jin, Wei Lin, Shen Yue and Zhao Ming.
The rest of the participants were eliminated.
This ti, Gu Jin reached the venue without encountering any problematic people. The warning from last ti had indeed worked.
As soon as she walked into the arena, the audience started to cheer.
"Gu Jin!"
"Gu Jin!"
"Gu Jin!"
"You are destined to win!"
"You are my idol!"
"I love you, Gu Jin! Continue with your wining streak!"
The enthusiasm of the audience caught Gu Jin off guard. It was understandable that the people of the Fujio City cheered for her.
But now she was in Beijing. Why was the audience cheering for her with the sa enthusiasm?
Flags with her na were waving in the air. So people even wore clothes with her face on them.
Shen Yue walked past her with a teasing smile. "Wow, you’re like a celebrity now."
Gu Jin raised an eyebrow. "I didn’t expect this."
Shen Yue chuckled.
"Well, after what you did in the last two rounds, everyone thinks you’re unbeatable. Not to ntion your fans from the Fujio City have co here to support you too.
And as if that wasn’t enough, they also posted various videos of the second round on the internet. If you had an official account, you might have gained a huge amount of fans by now."
Gu Jin didn’t show much reaction, but deep inside, she was a little surprised.
Were the citizens of the Fujio City here? Did they love her so much?
It was all a re act of kindness she had done in the heat of the mont. Were they truly so grateful?
Just then, Zhao Ming walked up with a fake smile.
"Congratulations, Gu Jin. You’re very... popular."
Gu Jin glanced at him and nodded. "Thanks."
Zhao Ming’s smile twitched, but he said nothing more and walked away. He knew he couldn’t win against her in alchemy—or in popularity.
anwhile, Wei Lin stood far away from the others, pale and nervous.
His palms were sweaty, and his heart was beating super fast.
He tried to calm down, but when Gu Jin turned her head and looked straight at him, his knees almost gave out.
Her eyes were cold. Sharp. Like she already knew what he was planning.
Wei Lin quickly looked away and pretended to drink water.
Just then, a loud voice echoed across the arena.
"All finalists, please co to the center!"
The four of them stepped forward.
The head judge stood on the platform with a serious face.
"This final round will test not only your alchemy skills but your mind, your heart, and your endurance."
The crowd grew quiet.
"You will enter the Dragon Trial Ground. Inside, each of you will face different challenges. Rare ingredients, wild beasts, fake illusions, and more."
"Your task is to create the best pill before ti runs out. The pill must et the standard to pass. If you fail..."
The judge looked at them all one by one.
"You will be eliminated. Am I clear?"
Gu Jin just asked one thing. "How much ti do we have?"
The judge nodded. "One day. Twenty-four hours. The countdown begins once you step inside."
Wei Lin’s mouth was dry.
He almost wanted to run away.
But then he rembered his father’s words:
"Do it, or you’re not the heir anymore."
So he took a deep breath.
I have to do it... no matter what.
Gu Jin, on the other hand, was already walking toward the trial gate.
She looked back once and saw her family watching from the VIP section, cheering her on.
Then there were citizens of the Fujio City, cheering her with a proud look.
Gu Jin’s heart felt full.
However, her eyes wandered a bit as if she was trying to find soone.
Realising what she was doing, Gu Jin scolded herself and turned back.
She stepped through the gate without fear.
And just like that, the final round began.
What she didn’t know was, once she entered the gate, a figure appeared in the VIP section and desperately waved his hand, but Gu Jin had already entered the gates.
It was Long Yifan. Seeing Gu Jin disappear, he sighed. He was so busy blocking off all the assassination attempts that he couldn’t make it on ti.
Gu Jichun, who didn’t know the truth, rolled her eyes and said,
"What? Why are you acting so emotional? If you truly cared, you would have co on ti."
Long Yifan looked at Gu Jichun with a helpless smile.
"I really tried... but there were too many problems popping up," he said quietly.
Mr. Gu crossed her arms. "You always have excuses."
Long Yifan didn’t argue. He just stared at the trial gate, his eyes serious behind the mask.
"She has no idea how dangerous it is inside," he muttered.
Mrs. Gu frowned. "Isn’t it just a normal test?"
Long Yifan shook his head. "Not this ti. They changed the format. It’s not normal at all."
......................
Gu Jin opened her eyes as the teleportation light faded.
She found herself standing in a wide valley filled with thick mist. Strange glowing plants grew on the rocks, and the air slled of herbs and danger.
In the distance, she could hear the roar of a beast.
The place was like another world.
Then, a voice echoed in the air.
"Welco, Gu Jin. Your trial has begun. Survive, collect the rare ingredients, and make the pill. You have 24 hours."
Gu Jin looked around.
"Let’s get started."
Soon gathered five rare ingredients.
Her hands moved fast, her eyes calm.
Suddenly, she stopped.
The mist in front of her shifted weirdly.
She narrowed her eyes.
An illusion.
She stepped back and threw a small bomb at the mist.
BOOM!
The illusion broke apart.
Behind it, a large, poisonous snake waited silently, fangs dripping.
Gu Jin didn’t even blink.
She took out a needle from her sleeve and flicked it.
Swish!
The snake fell, unmoving.
Gu Jin walked past it like nothing had happened.
...............................
Sowhere else.
Wei Lin appeared in a dark forest. The trees were tall, and their leaves glowed purple.
He looked around, shaking. "I-I can’t do this..."
He took out a small bottle from his pocket and looked at it.
Inside was a clear, colorless liquid.
The sleeping drug.
His father had told him to use it if he got a chance.
"If she passes out, you can do it quickly," Wei Shiming had said. "Don’t ss it up."
Wei Lin gulped. "I don’t even know where she is..."
Suddenly, a system voice said,
"Warning: Wild beast approaching."
A loud growl echoed through the trees.
Wei Lin scread and ran.
"AHHH! I HATE THIS PLACE!!"
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