The crowd made sounds of astonishment as Nora Alstreim stepped on the platform, the footstep from her heel alone making a sound that resonated with their hearts, making them feel a chill on their spine!

Wasn't she afraid of offending the Dragon Queen while being this impertinent?

They had to admit. Even though they hated her and her family for bringing a calamity and escaping the punishment through connections, they had to admit that she possessed a demeanor that was suitable to lead them as the Young Mistress of the Alstreim Family.

Her character and temperament were also to their liking, but because of her background, they felt that she was bound to step down as the Young Mistress sooner or later because of the growing sentiments against Grand Elder Valdrey Alstreim's unjustified authority! If she didn't want to step down, then the chances are that she would have to prove herself in some kind of way to appease the masses.

For example... the easiest way to save herself is to cut off her ties to Grand Elder Valdrey Alstreim!

Beside Nora Alstreim, there was the purple-robed woman from the Thousand Pill Palace, Dalila Leehan, on the platform. They had reached the platform together and bowed towards the Dragon Queen in respect as they clasped their hands.

Dalila Leehan slightly gazed before she lowered her head in the presence of the Dragon Queen. Even she, a proud individual, could feel the domineering presence of the Dragon Queen invading her psyche, making her feel inferior in terms of both prowess and beauty. However, she still mused that she had alchemy with her! It made her feel redeemed!

For better or worse, Princess Isabella didn't mind about them but abruptly cast a glance at Davis and caught him staring at the big bosoms of the purple-robed woman, but since it was just for a brief moment, she inwardly forgave him for this transgression in her mind.

"Go on..." She simply spoke, not minding the irrelevant loss of face caused by a trivial mistake that she did when she uttered her words before. However, she also felt that it couldn't even be considered a mistake since Nora Alstreim did indeed have a disciple from the Thousand Pill Palace to participate in this Alchemy Exchange.

That was basically calling an expert to go against amateurs. The result couldn't become any more obvious, and perhaps akin to cheating even if Nora Alstreim was not working for the Thousand Pill Palace.

Nora Alstreim blinked, wondering why she didn't get rebuked for being presumptuous. She knew that she would be ostracized and punished for making the Dragon Queen say otherwise, but she simply couldn't sit by, watching every one of them decide that she is a traitor who is working for the Thousand Pill Palace!

There was already severe rejection that could be seen in the eyes of the people who thought they brought the Aqua Flood Dragon to ruin the Alstreim Family, and she just didn't want it to get worse.

But even more than that, she wanted to prove that they had already redeemed themselves, but they weren't allowed to reveal with what they had redeemed themselves with! Because they would become even bigger sinners of the Alstreim Family if the matter of the Water-Attributed Peak-Level Spirit Stone Vein Core were to leak!

It was such a contradiction that left her mind spinning in frustration, reluctance, and rage!

She took a deep breath and spoke, "This is my friend, Dalila Leehan, and one of the top pill disciples of the Thousand Pill Palace. She is simply an alchemist who I have requested to help me out and participate in my stead to help me gain one of the rewards since I'm in dire need of that pill. Originally, I was just in need of that pill, and as for the other rewards, I didn't want it and thought of giving it to the runner-up."

"However, it's not like we all expected the Dragon Queen to give the Million Emerald Vines Calamity's nectar as a reward to the winner, right!? It's not like we expected the Dragon Queen to appear here in the first place either, right!?" Nora Alstreim became a bit emotional as she turned to look at the crowd, but she controlled her emotions and managed to calm down quickly....

Princess Isabella was nonchalant, but inwardly, she felt a bit of pity for this woman.

'But no matter how she howls for justice if her own righteousness is lacking, what rights does she have to seek justice or even deserve it?'

Just because she felt pity didn't mean that she would forgo the wrongs done to her mother-in-law Claire by Nora Alstreim.

She chose to be noncommittal and did not respond to that statement.

"Everyone," Dalila Leehan suddenly spoke up, "If I manage to win somehow, and even if I don't win, I give you all my word on this stage that I would fetch a delicious deal that would make the current pills in the market of the Thousand Pill Palace easier and cheaper to acquire!"

The Elders all had their eyes wide, and even the Grand Elders weren't an exception!

Almost every major power in the Nine Eastern Territories and even some of the mid-sized Territories have business deals with the Thousand Pill Palace that involves pills! The Thousand Pill Palace was and is the alchemy hegemon of these Nine Eastern Territories for a long time, and would be so for the foreseeable future!

The Thousand Pill Palace recruited alchemists from all over the small and mid-sized Territories! They possessed thousands of branches in their Territory alone, and in the Territories outside of them, they had branches in each relevant city and locations which are deemed profitable!

In fact, it was said they possessed six Ninth Stage Powerhouses! And with the numerous business deals that were ongoing with so many powers, their position in the Fifty-Two Territories was immovable and stable!

Many times, despite being an equal power, several of those equal powers had to suck up to the Thousand Pill Palace to get discounted pill business deals. Sometimes, those powers would be careful not to offend them as a particular pill business deal, or perhaps the entire pills business deals might be revoked even with the Thousand Pill Palace paying up the compensation, keeping the end of their words.

After all, the Thousand Pill Palace always had the wealth to do whatever that wanted! They practically threw around money at people's faces and indirectly called them losers!

The other powers were always reluctant as they would end up losing the pills and get their compensation instead after waiting a long time for their pills to be concocted and delivered. Even if those reluctant powers protest, they might be blacklisted, and that would cause them to be ostracized and regress as an end result!

This made them all the more frustrated and deeply reluctant, but they were helpless to anything against a capitalistic alchemy stronghold. The monopoly the Thousand Pill Palace held over the pill markets were thousands of times greater than what the Alstreim Family or the other powers possessed, and their influence stretched over even to the darkest organizations present within the Nine Eastern Territories!

In other words, Emperor Grade Alchemists just possessed that much of an influence and a force of strong bootlickers to reckon with!