The Scum Is A ***

"XI NING!" Xi Ming screamed as he immediately flew to the stage and picked her up before dodging Shan Lu's sword while carrying her. A large crack formed on the ground where Xi Ning was standing a second earlier. If Shan Lu's sword would have struck her... Xi Ming didn't dare to imagine what would happen. "Are you alright?" he asked Xi Ning as they landed on the opposite side of the stage. 

Xi Ning's face is deathly pale and she's shaking in fear. She shrank in Xi Ming's arms. "D-da.. da ge..." she called, her voice trembling and weak. 

"What happened? I can't see through the smoke!" the audience complained. 

"Someone jumped in the stage!" from another side who saw Xi Ming said. 

"Did the woman die?!" some people asked in worry after they saw Shan Lu's sword descended. 

Cheng Sheng saw Lei Ling, You Rou, Lei Qing and Feng Mo were squinting through the smoke. He pasted a talisman on their forehead, then they exclaimed when they can finally see the stage.

"It's Xi Ming!" Feng Mo said in surprise.

"She's his little sister, after all." Sun Yi said as they looked at Xi Ming retreated to the edge of the stage when Shan Lu suddenly moved. "He can't let her be hurt." He added.

"He's a reliable elder brother." Chen Han nodded as he praised Xi Ming.

Unlike you1. The others added in their mind as they looked at Chen Han. "They had to forfeit the match." Fei Yin said.

Lei Qing nodded. "That's to be expected." she said. 

"If he doesn't want for her to be hurt, why didn't they forfeit in the first place?" Lei Ling asked. His expression is puzzled. 

They looked at him. Should you1 be saying that? They thought as they remembered Lei Ling's match. 

"Hm?" Lei Ling said. He's puzzled by their gaze on him. Why are they looking at me as if I'm an idiot1? He thought. 

"Xi Ming must have wanted to test her." Sun Yi said. "After all, Xi Ning grew up being pampered by their grandfather Xi Peng. Xi Ning had to go out to see the world and learn." He explained. In short, Xi Ning is a frog in the well. 

They felt pity on her, but they can't blame Xi Ming for being ruthless towards Xi Ning. There are just things that must be learned the hard way. Xi Ning is a prime example of that.

"Shanliangde Sect, forfeited." The emcee said as they dispersed the smoke of the potion. "Winner, Shan Lu of Huakai Sect!" he said.

"This can only be it. She's a woman after all." the audience said. 

"Yeah. She's also a mage. That Shan Lu also looked strong." Mentioning Shan Lu, they turned and saw he was still on the stage. "What happened to him?"

Xi Ming had already noticed something's wrong with Shan Lu. Shan Lu didn't attack Xi Ning before, but after he inhaled the smoke. "Ah Ning. What did you do?" he asked the frightened Xi Ning.

"I – It's only to make him feel numb and unable to move. Nothing else…" she answered with a shaking voice.

Xi Ming was bewildered. He knew, although Xi Ning is spoiled, but she wouldn't harm somebody.

Jing Xuan stepped on the stage and checked Shan Lu's condition. "A poison." He said.

"What? He was poisoned?" the audience exclaimed.

Jing Xian checked furthermore. "Cold intolerance." he said when he saw Shan Lu's body is shivering and his skin is colder to touch. 

The moment Xi Ming heard it, he turned to Xi Ning. "What ingredients did you use that could induce cold?" he asked.

"F-Fog Kelp." Xi Ning immediately answered. 

"Our shixiong is allergic to Fog Kelp!" a disciple from the Huakai Sect immediately spoke .

"Fog Kelp… yes, he did mention that – " Xi Ning said and looked at Shan Lu in horror. She still can't forget that murderous expression on his face. She knew, if Xi Ming hadn't come and save her, she would have died.

"Do you know how to cure him?" Xi Ming asked. Xi Ning shook her head.

Unfortunately, there's no Potion Master in the Righteous Alliance – not even the five elders.

"Fog Kelp grows in high places surrounded by a large amount of fog all around." A voice spoke. "It resembled a kelp, only differed in color due to the altitude and the temperature of the place where it grows." The voice explained.

They all turned and saw it's none other than Cheng Sheng. That's right! He's a potion master!

"Do you have an idea how to cure him1?" Jing Xuan asked.

"The Fog Kelp acted as a poison to the potion, and, together with potion, this poison spread in his bloodstreams." Cheng Sheng answered as he coolly jumped off of his seat. "We can use magic pills to cure him, but its effect is slower compared to the potion which is taken in liquid form. Thus, we use potion against potion." He explained. "To counter the Fog Kelp's effect, we need a potion with a Sundry Leaf as an ingredient." He said.

Everyone exclaimed in awe as they stared at Cheng Sheng.

"Fog Kelp is a rare grass. Thus, a little only knew of it. It's even rarer for one to know its use and effects." Xie Lan said as he looked at Cheng Sheng with bright eyes.

"Sect leader Xie, your disciple…"

"Xiao Sheng is a bookworm. I had a hard time looking for books all over the continent just to satisfy his thirst for knowledge." Xie Lan said and paused. "The information about the Fog Kelp must be from one of those books I carelessly bought from the north." He sighed. Such a coincidence that happened.

Xi Ming heard what Cheng Sheng said and he immediately looked at Xi Ning. "Do you have that potion?" he asked, referring to a potion with a Sundry Leaf.

"I'm sorry. I don't have…" Xi Ning finally cried. Xi Ming hated for the iron not becoming steel. However, she's his sister so he can't admonish her in front of the people. She's also a girl, and it will have a bad effect on her.

"Shixiong…" the Huakai Sect disciples called, panicking.

Cheng Sheng saw there's no one who came forward, thus he opened his qiankun pouch and took out a bottle. "Here. I just made some the other day." he said and threw it in the air.

Jing Xuan caught it, then made Shan Lu drink it. After the bottle emptied, he turned to Cheng Sheng. "May I know what is this potion called?" he asked.

"It's not entirely a potion." Cheng Sheng said. "Just a juice I prepared for my fellow disciples. It's going to be cold the following days, so I made a juice with the Sundry Leaf." He explained.

The Sundry Leaf came from the tree that grows in a secret realm where it's summer all throughout the year. The tree gathered qi from the sun, thus its leaves will have a warm effect when taken. In contrast, due to the Fog Kelp growing in high places and covered in thick fog, it'll have a cold effect on the body. Thus, Xi Ning's potion is to numb one's body and incapacitate them for a period of time. She didn't expect for Shan Lu's body to be intolerant of the cold.

"Thank you." Someone from the Huakai Sect spoke. They turned and saw it was Tang Zhe, their da shixiong and the nephew of their sect leader.

"It's nothing." Cheng Sheng said and returned to his seat like nothing really happened or what happened was just a trivial thing. Everyone knew, if Shan Lu was left in that condition, he'll die. Xi Ning would have unintentionally killed him.

However, the Righteous Alliance couldn't just ask for the contestants' allergies. It'd be exposing their weaknesses to their future opponents and could make their opponent intentionally harm them if they have evil intentions. Thus, this could be blamed on Shan Lu's bad luck.

"Oh, right." Cheng Sheng suddenly said and stopped as if he remembered something.

Everyone had been staring at him since earlier. However, hearing Cheng Sheng's tone, the Xinfaxian Sect disciples had a bad feeling. 

"What's wrong?" Sun Yi asked them, but he was smiling. Hanging out with them, he already knew their shticks.

"What is it?" Jing Xian asked.

Surprisingly, Cheng Sheng didn't ask for a return gift. But, his fellow disciples knew him thoroughly. Cheng Sheng may not be too shameless to ask for something after saving someone's life since he still knows humility. However, they knew this wouldn't end here. He wouldn't suffer a loss! After all, he values each of his creations for a thousand of golds.

There's no such thing as free lunch from Cheng Sheng!

"I forgot to tell you something." Cheng Sheng said as he turned. The face of his fellow disciples are turning dark. They don't trust Cheng Sheng's mouth!

"That is?" Jing Xian said.

"He only inhaled the potion, not drink it." Cheng Sheng said. "Thus, the potion's effect on his body is lessened." He explained. "However, he had taken a large amount of juice with the Sundry Leaf, which is too much than what he should take to relieve the poison of the Fog Kelp in his body." he said. What he meant, Shan Lu should take the juice with the Sundry Leaf proportional to the poison of the Fog Kelp he inhaled. "Thus…" Cheng Sheng said and looked at Shan Lu whose body moved, but only to violently jerk! His arms raised to scratch his skin, and he fell on his knees, groaning and squirming in pain.

"AAAAAHH!!!" Shan Lu screamed as he fell on his knees. 

"Shixiong!" the Huakai Sect disciples called and they climbed up the stage to help Shan Lu.

"What you're trying to say is…?" Jing Xian said, asking for Cheng Sheng to continue but his gaze is now on Shan Lu whose skin is turning crimson as his body temperature skyrocketed. 

Cheng Sheng apologetically smiled and had a bashful expression on his face. "Well… he'll feel he's being burned…" He said and looked at Shan Lu with sympathy. "… tenfold directly by the sun." he said.

The Sundry Leaf should be consumed only in small amounts. For Shan Lu to empty a bottle of it, even if it's just a juice… he'll feel like he's going to explode. 

Jing Xian's face darkened and his hand holding the bottle jerked like it was a poisonous snake that's biting him.