Seeing Ning Zhongjiu look at him, Ning Ruiming suddenly felt a bit flustered.
He naturally didn't believe Ning Fa had lost his mind.
Ning Fa must have had something to rely on to dare to openly challenge him to a pill refining competition.
He couldn't help but recall Ning Fa's impressive performance during the previous pill refining assessment, and that pill with a nascent Dao Mark.
Furthermore, the Fourth Elder's vague words made him even more uneasy.
This made Ning Ruiming hesitate.
He also knew very well how devastating it would be for him, and the subsequent chain reaction, if he actually lost to Ning Fa in a pill duel.
It would be absolutely catastrophic.
He would become a laughingstock of the entire clan.
He couldn't even afford to win by a narrow margin against Ning Fa; he had to win decisively to live up to his status as the clan's chief pill master seed.
Any outcome other than this was unacceptable.
Seeing Ning Ruiming's continued silence, Ning Zhongjiu's gaze turned cold, and his voice chilled as he said, "What are you standing there for? Don't tell me you're afraid to accept Ning Fa's challenge!?"
"You are being groomed as the clan's chief pill master, and you've been refining the Three Yuan Pill for years, while Ning Fa has only recently advanced to the mid-stage and hasn't even refined a Three Yuan Pill before. Are you still afraid to accept Ning Fa's challenge?"
Ning Ruiming trembled inwardly.
He finally remembered that while the Third Elder was protective of his own, he detested cowardly and timid people the most.
Just as he was about to speak, Ning Fa continued, "If Brother Ruiming is worried, I can shorten the competition time to two months. If that's still not enough, then a month and a half, or even one month?"
Upon hearing this, Wei Chengzong wore a peculiar expression and muttered to himself:
"This kid is truly wicked."
Anyone could hear the humiliation in Ning Fa's words.
Wei Chengzong was also shocked.
He now understood that Ning Fa's challenge today had been meticulously planned.
By deliberately issuing the challenge on the day the Third Elder was inspecting, Ning Fa had cornered Ning Ruiming, making it impossible for him to refuse.
And Ning Fa dared to do this, seeming to have considerable confidence.
What shocked Wei Chengzong was the viciousness of Ning Fa's scheme.
If Ning Ruiming couldn't win decisively against Ning Fa, it would be a disgrace for him and he would become a laughingstock of the entire clan.
Forget being the clan's chief pill master seed; Ning Ruiming himself would likely be too ashamed to continue in that role.
Witnessing Ning Fa's ruthless tactics, Wei Chengzong couldn't help but feel uneasy about the times Ning Ruiming had instructed him to deal with Ning Fa.
He had already made up his mind: if Ning Fa truly defeated Ning Ruiming in the pill duel.
He would have to make a significant concession to compensate for his past actions.
Ning Zhongjiu gave Ning Fa a deep look, instantly understanding Ning Fa's intentions, but he didn't say anything more.
After all, Ning Fa's plan was open and aboveboard, a brilliant stratagem that would be decided by pill refining skill.
In fact, he was somewhat appreciative of Ning Fa's approach at this moment.
Ning Zhongjiu looked at Ning Ruiming, his gaze like a physical force, filled with pressure.
The humiliation in Ning Fa's words turned Ning Ruiming's face the color of liver, and intense anger and shame were about to make him lose control.
He bit the tip of his tongue, forcing himself to calm down, and then said angrily, "A competition it is, do you really think I'm afraid of you? I just didn't want to be accused of bullying a junior!"
In his anger, Ning Ruiming had originally intended to say that if his success rate couldn't exceed Ning Fa's by ten percent, he would willingly concede.
But in the end, he didn't dare, and he didn't even dare to request an extension of the three-month period.
Ning Zhongjiu's expression then softened.
He looked at the two and said calmly, "Since that is the case, I will personally witness this pill refining competition. Three months from now, in this very spot, you two will publicly compete in refining the Three Yuan Pill."
A smile flickered across Ning Fa's lips, and he continued, "Thank you, Third Elder, for your approval. Also, since it's a competition, there should naturally be stakes. If I lose, Brother Ruiming can name any condition. If I am fortunate enough to win, my request is not much; I only ask Brother Ruiming to yield his residence in the Pill Hall to me."
The strong confidence in Ning Fa's words was evident to everyone.
The others reacted with varied expressions.
Wei Chengzong immediately realized that Ning Fa was also seeking revenge for Ning Ruiming's obstruction of his entry into the Pill Hall.
He had deliberately proposed this condition as both revenge and humiliation for Ning Ruiming.
Witnessing Ning Fa's vindictive nature, Wei Chengzong became even more restless.
Ning Zhongjiu's expression was calm, his emotions unreadable.
Ning Ruiming's face contorted, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "Fine! If you lose, you will kowtow to me three times in public!"
Ning Fa shrugged indifferently, confident of victory, so he didn't care what conditions Ning Ruiming set.
However, the Fourth Elder, Ning Weize, spoke up, "This is inappropriate. Since it is merely a pill refining competition, we should maintain decorum. Let's change the conditions. If Ning Fa loses the competition, let him compensate with some Spirit Stones. How about three hundred Spirit Stones?"
Ning Ruiming felt wronged, but since Ning Weize had spoken, he didn't dare to retort and could only nod in agreement.
Ning Fa cast a grateful look at the Fourth Elder.
No matter what, this Fourth Elder was helping him.
Ning Zhongjiu stood up and said with a faint smile, "This is quite interesting. I'm starting to look forward to the competition three months from now. Since that's the case, I'll provide each of you with ten portions of spiritual materials for the Three Yuan Pill. Ning Fa, since this is your first time refining this pill, I'll give you an additional five portions of materials."
Ning Fa was overjoyed.
Although he didn't know how many Spirit Stones the spiritual materials for the Three Yuan Pill would cost, he figured it would be several times more than the Essence Replenishing Pill.
Fifteen portions of materials would save him a significant amount of Spirit Stones.
Although this Third Elder was overbearing, he was indeed generous. Ning Fa quickly thanked Ning Zhongjiu.
Ning Zhongjiu smiled at him, his smile seeming to hold a hidden meaning, and then turned to leave directly.
Ning Weize also glanced at Ning Fa curiously, gave him a kind smile, and left as well.
Ning Shaohong looked at Ning Fa, a smile appearing on her rosy lips.
She walked up to Wei Chengzong and said with a faint smile, "In that case, Pill Master Wei, could you teach the pill recipe for the Three Yuan Pill to little Fa?"
Wei Chengzong was stunned at first, then quickly replied, "Of course, of course."
With that, he took out a white jade slip from his storage bag and handed it to Ning Fa.
Ning Fa placed the jade slip on his forehead.
After a while, he took the jade slip away and nodded at Ning Shaohong.
Ning Shaohong smiled, then took Ning Fa directly out of the Pill Hall.
Wei Chengzong breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that Ning Fa really hadn't refined the Three Yuan Pill before, otherwise, he wouldn't have asked him for the recipe.
Ning Ruiming also noticed this, and a hint of relief flickered across his gloomy face.
However, his wariness deepened.
He really couldn't understand why Ning Fa was so confident, daring to challenge him like this without even knowing the recipe for the Three Yuan Pill.
A sense of unease lingered in his heart, putting immense pressure on him.
After all, he could only win this challenge, not lose, and he had to win decisively, otherwise, the consequences would be extremely severe.
He had no intention of staying in the Hall of Rites any longer and decided to return to his home on Yuan Chang Island immediately to discuss matters with his father.
Then, he would go into seclusion to refine the Three Yuan Pill, striving to increase his success rate.
His usual success rate for refining this pill was around twenty-five percent.
He used to be a little proud of that, but now he felt it was nowhere near enough.
Watching Ning Ruiming leave in a hurry, Liu Qinghui's beautiful eyes flashed with a crystalline light, as if she were contemplating something.