121: Chapter 121: The Challenge Met a Dilemma

Sun Siyuan had been very pleased with himself lately.

He was under thirty, yet already the Young Valley Master of the reclusive medical sect, Medicine King Valley, and the recognized leader of the next generation of alchemy. He was handsome, came from a good family, and his talent for alchemy was once in a century. From childhood to adulthood, he had grown up amidst the flattery and envy of others.

When the Shennong Project was first announced, he keenly sensed that this was an opportunity—an excellent opportunity for him and Medicine King Valley to step from behind the scenes to the forefront and completely control the lifeblood of the Xia Kingdom's medicinal pills.

Therefore, he was the first to stand up and oppose it.

He united over a dozen old pedants and reclusive alchemists, writing joint letters and holding seminars, packaging himself as the 'Guardian of Alchemy Heritage,' while painting Jiang Ning and her factory as a flood and wild beast destroying tradition.

The effect was surprisingly good.

Many laypeople were truly bluffed by his mystical theories of 'spirituality' and 'harmony between heaven and man,' and began to question the national project.

This satisfied Sun Siyuan's vanity to a great extent.

He felt like a savior, single-handedly fighting against an erroneous era.

"Siyuan, we just received news." An elder from Medicine King Valley, holding a mobile phone, walked quickly into Sun Siyuan's luxury suite in the capital. "Kunlun Academy has sent a formal invitation."

"Oh?" Sun Siyuan was facing the mirror, adjusting his handmade custom Hanfu. Hearing this, he curled his lips into a confident arc. "They finally couldn't sit still?"

"Yes." The elder's expression was somewhat grave. "They invited us to Kunlun Academy to attend an 'Alchemy Technology Exchange Meeting.' And... they specifically named you to attend."

"An exchange meeting?" Sun Siyuan scoffed. "Sounds nice. I think it's a trap, right? They want to lure us over and then use national pressure to force us to shut up?"

"It's very likely." The elder said worriedly. "That place is now a military restricted zone. Once we go in, we won't be in control of our own fate. How about we find an excuse and decline?"

"Decline?" Sun Siyuan turned around, looked at the elder, and shook his head, his eyes full of arrogance. "Why decline? I've been worrying about not having a chance to expose their scam in front of the whole country!"

"They think that by inviting me over, they can scare me? Too naive."

"I am going! And I will bring our Medicine King Valley's best alchemy furnace and best medicinal herbs! On their own turf, under everyone's gaze, I will let them see what true alchemy really is!"

"I want their so-called 'Chief Engineer,' that yellow-haired girl in her twenties, to admit with her own mouth that the iron lumps she made are just a pile of trash!"

Sun Siyuan's bold words made the fellow disciples around him boil with excitement.

"The Young Valley Master is right! We cannot be afraid!"

"We are the orthodox alchemy sect! Why fear their crooked ways?"

Thus, under Sun Siyuan's leadership, a delegation composed of over a dozen 'Alchemy Masters' marched imposingly toward Kunlun Academy.

They even specifically contacted the media to livestream the whole process.

The posture was not like they were going to attend a technical exchange meeting, but rather like they were going to kick the gym and challenge someone to a fight.

...

Kunlun Academy, Great Auditorium.

This place had been temporarily converted into a huge venue.

In the middle of the venue, a high platform was built.

On the left, Sun Siyuan and his people had already displayed the full set of 'equipment' they brought.

A vintage bronze alchemy furnace, a full person's height tall and covered with cloud patterns, looked extraordinary at first glance. Beside it were over a dozen jade boxes, containing rare spiritual herbs of over a hundred years old, treasured by Medicine King Valley.

Sun Siyuan wore a flowing white robe, standing in front of the alchemy furnace with an arrogant expression, exuding an aura of immortality, which caused many young students in the audience to show looks of worship.

And on the right side of the platform... it was completely empty.

"What's going on? Where are the people from Kunlun Academy? Where is the thing they are going to demonstrate?"

"Could it be that they are afraid? Looking at Master Sun's formation, do they dare not compete?"

The audience in the auditorium and the netizens in the livestream were all whispering and discussing.

Sun Siyuan looked at the empty opposite side, and the disdain on his face grew stronger.

He cleared his throat, picked up the microphone, and said loudly to the whole audience: "Everyone, it seems that the friends from Kunlun Academy are not very confident in their 'technology'."

"But it doesn't matter. Today, I, Sun Siyuan, will start by showcasing my own, and let everyone witness the charm of our Chinese alchemy, passed down for thousands of years!"

After speaking, he was about to start his 'performance'.

Just at this moment, the side door of the auditorium opened with a 'rumble'.

Several electric forklifts, pulling a huge object the size of a shipping container covered with a canvas, drove in slowly.

Behind the forklifts followed a group of students wearing blue work uniforms, and the one leading them was Lin Yuan.

Everyone's eyes were attracted to this big guy that suddenly burst in.

The forklifts transported the thing to the right side of the platform and stopped.

Lin Yuan jumped off the vehicle, walked to the front of the stage, and announced expressionlessly into the microphone: "Shennong No. 1, the first experimental production line, core reactor module, is in position."

Then, he waved his hand.

The canvas covering it was slowly pulled away by a robotic arm.

Revealing the thing inside.

It was a huge spherical tank made entirely of stainless steel and various alloys.

The outside of the tank was densely covered with various pipes, valves, dashboards, and wires whose names could not be identified.

It just stood there, cold and hard, full of the most rugged and direct beauty of the industrial age.

It formed a comical and extremely sharp contrast with Sun Siyuan's ethereal-looking antique on the opposite side.

The whole venue was dead silent.

Everyone was stunned.

"What... what is this thing?"

"Did they... did they bring over a reaction kettle from a chemical plant?"

"Is this the 'alchemy furnace' they want to compete with Master Sun?"

Sun Siyuan looked at this ugly iron lump in front of him that reeked of engine oil. He was stunned for three seconds, and then burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"Hahahaha! You're killing me! I've really opened my eyes today!" He pointed at the spherical tank, laughing so hard he couldn't straighten his waist. "Are you... are you planning to use this thing to refine pills?"

"I admit, your Xia Kingdom's industry is very powerful. But, have you misunderstood something?"

"Alchemy is art! It is metaphysics! It requires spirituality!"

"You want to refine pills with an iron tank that just spins? Are you insulting my intelligence, or are you insulting the very words 'alchemy'?"

His words caused a burst of laughter from the audience.

Everyone felt that Kunlun Academy had completely lost its mind this time.

However, amidst everyone's ridicule.

Jiang Ning's figure slowly walked onto the high platform.

She didn't even look at Sun Siyuan, but walked to the huge reactor, reached out, and gently patted the cold metal shell.

Then, she turned around, faced everyone in the audience, picked up the microphone, and said a sentence in her usual calm tone that made the whole venue instantly quiet down.

"Art?"

"To me, any 'art' that cannot be quantified, cannot be standardized, and cannot be mass-produced..."

"Is all... trash."