Chapter 1584: Where Are the Distinctions Between Superior and Inferior?

The Alchemy Tower Grand Competition was the grandest event of the Alchemy Tower.

From disciples to elders, everyone had to participate, vying for the名额 to enter the Alchemy Tower.

The Alchemy Tower was a power within the Tianying Imperial City, and also a cultivation tower that everyone yearned for; the same was true of the Martial Tower.

Every time the Alchemy Tower Grand Competition was held, the elders would break their heads fighting for the spots to enter the Alchemy Tower.

The Alchemy and Martial Twin Towers were the most iconic buildings in the entire Tianying Imperial City. No matter where you were in the city, you could see the towering twin towers standing side by side.

At this moment, at the foot of the Alchemy Tower, a huge square was packed with people.

Both the Alchemy Tower Grand Competition and the Martial Tower Grand Competition were major events that affected the future direction of the inner city and even the entire Tianying Imperial City, so naturally they attracted a great deal of attention.

"Look, the elders are coming out!" someone in the crowd suddenly shouted.

At one corner of the square near the Alchemy Tower, a high viewing platform had been temporarily erected, specially prepared for the elders.

Even the stewards were not qualified to sit on it.

At this moment, the elders filed in one by one, each finding their own seat and sitting down.

Lu Ming was extremely annoyed!

He could accept anyone else sitting up there.

But this Ye Yuan, of all people, made him feel as uncomfortable as if he had swallowed a fly.

This time, he had truly climbed onto his head and done his business.

"Look, that's the newly appointed Elder Ye Yuan. He's so young!"

"Young? He's practically a little kid, isn't he? Many of the Alchemy Tower's three-star Alchemy God disciples are hundreds or thousands of years older than him!"

"Tsk tsk, you really can't judge a book by its cover! But I wonder what his actual skill level is. I heard he turned down Song Qiyang's challenge."

"Hey, maybe he's scared? People are saying he's just a pawn pushed forward by the Second Elder. I think that's probably the case."

"Exactly. A little brat like him qualified to be an elder? Isn't that nonsense!"

…

Ye Yuan's appearance among the ranks of the elders was indeed quite conspicuous.

Compared to the other elders, he was far too young.

In fact, the vast majority of disciples were much older than Ye Yuan.

This situation naturally made many people feel very unbalanced.

Of course, the most unbalanced one was Song Qiyang.

Watching Ye Yuan from below, he sneered inwardly.

"Go ahead and be smug. Today, I will challenge you in front of everyone! I don't believe you can avoid the fight this time!" Song Qiyang sneered to himself.

Everything was ready. Song Qiyang slowly stepped forward, cupped his hands toward Ruoxu, and said, "Grand Elder, I've heard that the newly appointed Elder Ye is highly skilled in alchemy. Your disciple is not talented and wishes to seek his guidance. I think many disciples here would like to witness Elder Ye's prowess. Let this be… a warm-up for this competition!"

The crowd clearly hadn't expected Song Qiyang to pull this stunt. Challenging Ye Yuan in front of so many people—if Ye Yuan still refused to respond, it would be hard to justify, wouldn't it?

But they were indeed very eager to see what Ye Yuan's true strength really was.

For a moment, all eyes turned to Ye Yuan, waiting to see how he would handle the situation.

Ruoxu looked at Ye Yuan with deep meaning and said, "Elder Ye, there has been no shortage of criticism about you in the imperial city lately. Many say you are too young to serve as an elder; others claim that as a mere three-star Alchemy God, you are unworthy of this position. Perhaps you could take this opportunity to show everyone a thing or two?"

The two of them played off each other, directly cornering Ye Yuan.

Many of the elders, stewards, and protectors were watching for amusement, after all, Ye Yuan's sudden rise to prominence made them quite unconvinced.

"Yes, Elder Ye, show us a thing or two, let us broaden our horizons!"

"Elder Ye achieved success at a young age, so he must have exceptional qualities. Why not take this opportunity to let us learn from you!"

A crowd of stewards and protectors, eager to stir up trouble, chimed in one after another.

The Second Elder disliked conflict and had always been sidelined by the Great Elder.

Most of the stewards and protectors present were the Great Elder's people, naturally there to watch the fun.

Ye Yuan sneered inwardly, then suddenly asked, "Great Elder, this Song Qiyang is your disciple, isn't he?"

Ruoxu nodded, "That's right."

Ye Yuan suddenly snorted coldly, "Great Elder, your disciple really doesn't know his place! I think you must be aware of what happened a few days ago? What right does a mere three-star disciple have to challenge this elder? Today, in front of so many people, he just made his words sound nicer—is this a coup? Great Elder, if this precedent is set today, what authority will all the elders present have left?"

Song Qiyang was momentarily speechless, his face flushed red.

Both were three-star divine alchemists, but he was two minor realms higher than Ye Yuan; yet with one sentence, Ye Yuan had crushed him completely.

The gap in status was too vast.

Ye Yuan's sudden attack caught Ruoxu off guard.

He hadn't expected that a young man like Ye Yuan would know how to play politics and use authority to suppress others.

Although these words sounded like an evasion, he really couldn't find a counterargument.

In terms of cultivation level, Song Qiyang was more than qualified to challenge Ye Yuan.

But in terms of status, Song Qiyang wasn't even fit to hold Ye Yuan's shoes!

Speaking such words today was itself an act of insubordination.

But this only made Ruoxu more certain that Ye Yuan was just a showy fool who wouldn't dare to accept the challenge.

Ruoxu reacted quickly and immediately gave Lu Ming a meaningful glance.

Lu Ming understood and stood up, saying, "Ye Yuan, I wonder if I am qualified to challenge you?"

"How dare you!" Ye Yuan immediately struck back, saying coldly, "Who do you think you are, to dare address this Elder by his name?"

Lu Ming's face turned the color of a pig's liver. Being spoken to like this by a brat young enough to be his grandson drove him crazy!

Lu Ming, relying on being Ruoxu's trusted confidant, usually didn't take ordinary elders seriously and often addressed them by their names.

His seniority surpassed that of those elders, so when he acted arrogantly based on his age, no one dared to say anything.

Who would have thought that today, Ye Yuan would actually use this against him?

Ye Yuan, with a grim face, said to Ruoxu, "Grand Elder, I think our Alchemy Tower needs a thorough rectification. Shouldn't we uphold the hierarchy of superior and inferior? How about... I propose convening an elders' meeting to discuss this issue thoroughly and come up with a set of rules?"

Before Ruoxu could respond, Xuan Yu, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly spoke up.

"Hmm, this matter of hierarchy should indeed be discussed thoroughly." After saying this, he closed his eyes again, as if he had said nothing.

Once the Second Elder spoke, his words carried a different weight.

With today's incident as a pretext, convening an elders' meeting seemed not inappropriate.

The Grand Elder's faction had long been accustomed to throwing their weight around, showing no respect for other elders, and the concept of hierarchy had long been diluted.

Of course, this didn't intimidate Ruoxu, but it made him inwardly vigilant.

This Ye Yuan was not easy to deal with!

This kid was completely different from Xuan Yu in his approach, very troublesome!

"Steward Lu, why don't you apologize to Elder Ye?" Suddenly, Ruoxu spoke up.