Rise of the Demon God

Long Chen looked at the pill, and he couldn't find any imperfections. He didn't comment on anything, though. He didn't want to look like an idiot. 

"It's your trial. Only you can be the judge. I'll just observe," Long Chen told the King as he refused to judge. 

"But Senior..."

"No, but. You'll judge. I don't want that to be complaints of partiality. So you'll be the judge. Be fair," Long Chen said again, cutting the King off before he could even answer. 

"Alright. If that's what you want," the King said as he nodded. He didn't want to upset Long Chen. 

He started observing the pill. 

"You did good work. I can only see a small number of impurities. You came pretty close to making a perfect Beast Diversion Pill. Not bad, considering the control of needs," The King commented as he told the man to go back.

"Next!" He said as he called out the next person, who happened to be another man. It seemed like instead of going by the rows, he was going by the columns as he called the person who was behind the red-haired man instead of Gu Lin. 

One after another, all the youngsters kept stepping forward. 

"Too many flaws. You didn't clean the impurities properly."

"You burned the pill. Did you even know what you were doing?"

"It's color isn't proper. I think you kept it in the Cauldron for too long. It's not usable at all."

"You call this a Beast Diversion Pill! What nonsense! I know your clan isn't an Alchemist Clan, but to bring this trash to me? Did you even think before you made this thing?!"

The King kept critiquing everyone who had participated in the event. Except for the red-haired man and a few others, everyone got a scolding from the King. 

Soon, he had checked the pills of twenty-two people. Only the two members of the Gu Clan were left. 

"Next," he said as he called out Gu Ren. 

Gu Ren hesitated a bit before he gave his pill. He was ashamed as he had burned the pills accidentally. He knew he was going to get insulted. 

The King looked at the pill, which was completely destroyed as his face twitched. He couldn't help but take a deep breath.

" Calm Down, Lu Wei! Calm down! He might be an idiot, but he's the best idiot to make a connection with Gu Clan so I can get a relation with the big guy. I can't scold him. I might even upset Long Chen. I need to handle it with care,' the King thought as he controlled himself.

"Young man, I think you burned this pill a little. Hahaha, a common mistake. Don't worry. It happens with everyone," the King told Gu Ren as he started laughing.  "You can go back."

Long Chen also noticed this sudden change in the temperament of King Lu as he dealt with Gu Ren. He understood it was because of him.

It wasn't only him who understood it. Even the other Clan Masters also understood what was happening. They had already lost hopes of winning at this point. It was obvious. As long as Gu Lin didn't destroy her pill like Gu Ren, she was going to be declared the winner. 

"Next!" The King said. 

It was Gu Lin's turn to step forward. She gave one of the pills to Long Chen and the other to the King. 

As the King observed the pill, he once again fell in deep thought. 

"This pill... it has the perfect shape and color. It also has low impurities. But it fails its main purpose. It doesn't have enough smell to attract the stronger Beasts at all. So it's just something that looks like real, but in essence, it's actually a useless pill,' the King thought as he observed the pill. 

'God, all she had to do was not screw up. But she did. It looks like I'll have to openly cheat now and give her the first place,' the King thought, wondering how to deal with it. 

That's when Long Chen opened his lips. He wanted to be seen as an expert. And he wanted to get a better reputation as well. 

So he decided to take the opportunity. It didn't matter if Gu Lin didn't get the first place. In any case, it was someone else who deserved the win. So he decided to act. 

"Gu Lin, this pill that you made," Long Chen said as he observed the pill as if he actually was a great master. 

"This pill has a great color. It also has a good smell and good shape. But that's all it has. Other than that, it's a useless pill. It doesn't have enough smell to attract the stronger beasts."

"I think you made a little bit of a hurry in placing the leaves. You should've been careful. As it is, this pill doesn't satisfy the criteria at all," Long Chen said out loud. "I care about you; that's why I think you should work harder and win properly next time."

The King looked at Long Chen with his mouth open. This guy? He actually told the truth that her pill was useless. Did it mean he didn't want her to win by cheating? This guy? Not only his strength, even his temperament was that of a Great Master. The King was really impressed. 

As for the other Clan Masters, they also seemed excited. This guy didn't want to cheat. He was really a fair person. His reputation had risen in their heads even more. They really started having respect for Long Chen instead of the fear they previously had. 

Standing in the distance, Gu Ren was grinning. Long Chen had really hit the ax on his foot. He really insulted Gu Lin instead of helping her. 

'Good. Very good. Now she will know that he isn't the right person for her. He is just a ruthless old man! Now that she saw his reality, she'll stay away from him. My chances are better now,' Gu Ren thought, pleased with Long Chen. 

As for Gu Lin and Gu Wang, they were also happy. They weren't sad that Long Chen refused to help her cheat. A small piece of land didn't matter as much as being connected to Long Chen. 

Also, he had given them something more important than a piece of land! He openly said before everyone else that he cares for her. This was much better than anything they could have hoped for. 

So what if they didn't win? The King wasn't going to say no to anything they asked. Also, the Princess was soon going to be married to Gu Ren.