Turns Out, I’m In A Villain Clan! Chapter 530 The Mu Genius Who Refused to Lose

As soon as Bai Zihan succeeded in forging a Grade-4 pill, the outcome stood firm!

The verdict raced through the crowd like a blazing inferno.

Not a soul dared to challenge it.

Indeed, nobody even attempted, for it rang true.

An irrefutable fact.

Even the most obstinate disciples could merely hang their heads in quiet.

A few let out heavy sighs.

Others shook their heads slowly.

Many cast intricate gazes toward Mu Linyue.

Admiration!

Sympathy!

Sorrow!

"Senior Sister Linyue... fell short without even completing hers..."

"Such a pity!"

"Facing that kind of feat... she never stood a chance..."

The whispers remained hushed, yet they bore immense gravity.

The gravity of a judgment long delivered.

Nevertheless-

Mu Linyue remained rooted before her cauldron.

Her hands stayed rock-steady, ignoring all those murmurs.

As though the result held no significance.

Her entire focus narrowed to the cauldron ahead.

Solely to the pill inside.

The fire danced.

Then it roared upward.

A last, dazzling burst of golden blaze.

The atmosphere quivered faintly.

The thick herbal aroma intensified further.

"This sensation..."

"Impossible..."

Mu Yuelan's eyes tightened a fraction.

Her stare fixed upon the cauldron.

Then-

Abruptly-

The blaze folded inward.

Squeezed to one pinpoint.

And disappeared.

Hush!

One breath elapsed.

Next, Mu Linyue raised her palm.

And unsealed the cauldron.

A wave of scent burst forth.

And inside lay a single pill.

Its sheen glowed with a profounder shade.

Not the vivid gold of Grade-3, but far more opulent.

Mu Linyue extended her hand.

Her actions composed and deliberate.

She grasped the pill.

Pivoted.

And displayed it to everyone in the hall.

Dead silence!

Utter stillness!

For they all knew what it signified.

"That force..."

"That presence..."

"It exceeds Grade-3..."

A disciple's words quavered.

"It's Grade-4."

Mu Yuelan's gaze intensified.

Her divine sense scanned the pill.

Her face shifted instantly.

"Mid-tier Grade-4 Soul Ascension Seizing Pill!"

Her words came soft.

Yet they boomed like thunder.

BOOM!

The hall exploded into frenzy.

"WHAT?!"

"Yet another Grade-4?!"

"And mid-tier at that?!"

Stunned disbelief morphed into uproar.

For all their prior certainties had flipped once more.

Bai Zihan's Grade-4 pill lost its supremacy.

Bai Zihan glanced at Mu Linyue's pill too, recognizing it at once.

True enough, it surpassed his own in quality.

The Soul Ascension Seizing Pill served those in the Golden Core Realm seeking a forced leap to Nascent Soul Realm.

It suited only cultivators whose potential had run dry, convinced they'd never advance otherwise.

For anyone else, it risked weakening their foundation and blocking later progress.

A wondrous elixir for the desperate-yet worthless trash for the rest.

Still, it qualified as a mid-tier Grade-4 pill.

Yet...

(How is this possible?)

Given the listed ingredients, no doubt the components for Soul Ascension Seizing Pill were absent.

His eyes slitted as he shot a fierce glare at Mu Linyue.

"You cheated!"

Without those ingredients present, clearly Mu Linyue had pulled materials from her storage ring.

Mu Linyue blinked.

Her brows furrowed just a touch while eyeing him.

"Cheated?"

Her voice held near-bewilderment.

As if she truly failed to grasp his accusation.

Naturally, she understood Bai Zihan's claim perfectly-but why indulge him?

A subtle smile tugged at her lips.

"What do you mean, Cousin?"

No fury colored her tone.

Just serene, almost naive inquisitiveness.

Bai Zihan's eyes narrowed further.

"The ingredients."

He stated icily.

"The ingredients here suffice only for Grade-3 pills!"

His declaration hardened.

"No chance to forge a Soul Ascension Seizing Pill from what's supplied."

A murmur rippled across the assembly.

His query rang logical.

Suddenly, every gaze swung back to her.

Mu Linyue fixed him with her stare.

Then she chuckled lightly.

A gentle, entertained ripple.

"Is that your issue?"

She cocked her head a bit.

Viewing him like a petulant child.

"Sore loser?"

The phrase floated softly.

But struck like a hammer. Bai Zihan's face soured. Yet Mu Linyue pressed on.

Rather, she lifted her hand gradually.

The pill lingered pinched between her fingers.

Her eyes roamed the hall.

Then settled on him again.

"Tell me, Cousin..." Her voice stayed even.

"Wasn't the sole rule to craft the superior-grade pill? Since when did we limit the materials?"

A beat of silence.

Bai Zihan was aware of it.

He clenched his jaw in rage.

Plainly, he'd presumed that as a mere Grade-3 alchemist, Mu Linyue

Producing a Grade-4 pill would have ensured his triumph.

No need to overthink a contest against a Grade-3

alchemist.

Yet who would have imagined Mu Linyue had advanced to Grade-4

alchemist status—and could craft such a pill? That oversight was his error.

He had sorely underestimated her!

Meanwhile, Mu Linyue let out a subtle breath of relief.

Her original plan was just to concoct a Grade-4 pill to demonstrate her advancement to

Aunt Mu Yuelan—and to give Bai Zihan a harsh lesson.

Mid-tier Grade-4 pills marked her current peak. She aimed to highlight the immense divide between them.

To utterly dominate him.

She never expected him to manage even a Grade-1 pill, so crafting one herself would have led to an effortless win.

She had always dismissed him completely.

Thankfully, her choice proved right.

Otherwise...

Defeat might have been her fate!

Though she projected arrogance outwardly, a shadow of persistent worry lingered

in her mind.

She had no idea when this cousin started delving into alchemy.

Crafting a Grade-4 pill from Grade-3 ingredients?

No such formula had ever reached her ears.

And from his mastery of Flame—

He matched her level.

In truth, Bai Zihan displayed finer command of Qi and Fire, but Mu Linyue

refused to concede it.

No matter what—

Victory remained hers in the end.

She planned to seize this moment fully to taunt him.

"Yes, I drew the materials from my Storage Ring."

Her lips arched faintly.

"And so? No rule forbade it."

Furthermore, she believed readiness formed a core trait of any true

alchemist.

Would you gripe about losing to someone wielding a Heavenly Flame?

That simply showed your own lack of preparation.

Refining a superior-grade pill proved one's skill as an alchemist, regardless of approach.

Bai Zihan eyed the shameless Mu Linyue.

He would have acted just as boldly himself. After all, she broke no rules and claimed the win.

"Hmph! I figured you despised me. Yet you went all out just for this hollow victory."

"If someone wasn't overly cocky, maybe he'd have set a rule banning

outside materials from this chamber. Seems recent hype bred too much arrogance!"

"True enough, who knew Mu Linyue the genius would stoop so low against a talentless guy like me? Clearly, fear gripped someone!" "Fear? Nonsense! Bai Zihan, I only meant to reveal the chasm between us!"

"Sure, sure! You sure showed me the gap."

As the pair kept squabbling, the onlookers stood too shocked to speak.

These two seemed utterly absorbed in their duel, ignoring all else.

Yet others perceived a vastly different scene.

Two Mu Clan youths—Bai Zihan hailed from the Bai Clan but bore Mu Clan blood—both under twenty, had reached Grade-4 alchemist rank.

Such prodigious talent didn't merely rule the Desolate Heaven Empire.

It stood without precedent across the Eastern Region's entire

history on the continent.

And not merely one.

But two!

For spectators, the victor mattered less than grasping that both qualified as

Grade-4 alchemists.

Bai Zihan especially stunned them!

Who anticipated he could not only concoct pills but forge a

Grade-4 one?

From now on, all in that chamber must accord him due reverence.

For he outranked most as a higher-grade alchemist.

Mu Yuelan felt equal astonishment toward both. "When did you ascend to Grade-4 alchemist?"

She inquired, aiming the words at Mu Linyue.

"Hehe... Aunt! I planned to announce it soon. Imagine a fool challenging me with Grade-3 ingredients,

handing me the ideal stage to shine?"

Mu Linyue replied, openly ridiculing Bai Zihan.

Anger flared in Bai Zihan.

Not just overconfidence—he had stumbled straight into Mu

Linyue's trap.

Scarcely a deeper shame existed.

But so be it!

He trusted future chances abounded to force Mu Linyue's regret.

Grade-4 insufficient?

Then unleash his Grade-5 expertise.

And should that falter—

Grade-6, Grade-7, even Grade-8 knowledge awaited deployment.

He wouldn't accept that none could silence Mu Linyue.