Raven strode toward the judging panel, Mick at her side, with Anastasia trailing close behind.
The crowd was losing it–shouts and gasps filled the air as all eyes locked onto Raven.
“So, I crushed the last stage,” Raven said, planting herself in front of the judges with a confident smirk. “That means I’m moving on, right?”
The judges exchanged glances, but before anyone could respond, a sharp cackle cut through the noise.
Anastasia, lurking behind, sneered and flicked her eyes to her watch. “Big talk for someone who’s got, like, five minutes before the poison kicks in and you’re toast!”
She kept stealing glances at her timer, waiting for Raven to crumble.
Normally, the poison would’ve had her writhing in agony by now. But Raven? She stood there, cool as a cucumber, not even a flinch on her face.
Five minutes ticked by. Raven and Mick were still standing, perfectly fine.
“No freaking way!” Anastasia’s jaw dropped. She stormed over, circling Raven like a vulture, inspecting her from head to toe. “The poison should’ve hit by now! You can’t be fine!”
“Enough!” Troy perched at the judging table, slammed his hand down, his voice booming. “She popped an Advanced Elixir Tablet in the last round. The poison’s long gone, you idiot.”
Anastasia’s face twisted in disbelief. “An Advanced Elixir Tablet? Her? That nobody? No way!”
But the truth was staring her in the face. Not only had Raven shrugged off the poison, she’d aced the final stage and earned her spot to advance.
It was a slap in the face to everyone who’d bet against her, and they were not happy about it.
The crowd’s eyes on Raven had done a complete one–eighty. Gone was the scorn they’d thrown her way before. Now, their gazes were brimming with awe, like they were seeing a star rise right in front of them.
If someone like her didn’t deserve to move forward, then no one under the sun did.
The commander gave a nod, a proud glint in his eye. “Alright, I’m calling it-”
But before he could finish, Troy, perched a few seats away, shot to his feet. “Hold up, Commander!” he bellowed, voice dripping with indignation. “Raven Valor doesn’t deserve to advance.
“She pulled some shady tricks to clear that stage, and she oughta be punished!”
The crowd whipped their heads toward him, jaws dropping. The Cloudshadow Sect executives looked like they’d just swallowed coal, their faces dark
and stormy.
Troy puffed out his chest, all high and mighty. “That fancy elixir tablet Raven used? No way she made it herself. She’s passing off someone else’s work as her own to win this thing.
“That’s straight–up cheating! She needs to be locked up for questioning. Make her spill who else was in on this scam!”
To kill Raven’s shot at advancing, he was throwing his dignity out the window, ranting like a man possessed.
He kept hammering on about how Raven’s advanced elixir tablet had to come from some mystery source, conveniently ignoring the fact that the intermediate pill his own kin, Anastasia, had used wasn’t exactly her own handiwork either.
Raven tilted her head, a sly smirk playing on her lips. “You so sure I didn’t whip up those tablets myself, Troy?”
1/2
Chapter 973
He scoffed, folding his arms like he’d already won. “Please. A kid like you, barely out of diapers, refining top tier elixir tablets? Get reaf
“Those things are rare as hell because even master alchemists can’t churn them out every time. Most of them are lucky to get one or two derent fablets
from a whole batch!”
“Raven Valor,” he barked, pointing a finger, “fess up. Who’s your accomplice? Who helped you game the system and make a mockery of this competition
“Commander, you gotta dig into this. We can’t let cheats slip through the cracks!”
