With Master Qin’s death, the Alchemist Guild had to choose a new President.

The Deacon Council had nominated Jiang Chen, and Zhang Sheng of the Elder Council had just withdrawn from the election.

Thus, only Jiang Chen and the two Vice Presidents were left.

The two Vice Presidents had always been considered strong candidates for the presidency.

Barring any special circumstances, one of the Vice Presidents would typically become the next President.

One of the two Vice Presidents was a skinny old man named Shen Mi.

The other was a middle-aged man with a pale, sinister complexion, named Qiu Baxiong.

And so, the three candidates in the election were Jiang Chen, Shen Mi, and Qiu Baxiong.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the hall grew heavy.

Both Shen Mi and Qiu Baxiong had coveted the position of President for a long time.

With a new President to be chosen, they were determined to compete at all costs.

Shen Mi was the first to speak.

He stroked his gray-white beard, stood up, and announced, "Everyone, allow me to say a few words."

As he spoke, he first glanced at Jiang Chen.

This election was only happening because Jiang Chen had killed the old President.

As such, he was somewhat wary of Jiang Chen.

But even so, it wasn’t enough to dissuade him from his ambition to become President.

Shen Mi then declared, "When our Alchemist Guild selects a President, it must be based on seniority."

"The two Vice Presidents, in particular, should have priority."

"Everyone, regarding the presidency... as a Vice President, there should be no issue with me taking the seat, correct?"

He looked around, already beginning to seize the position of President.

He certainly wouldn’t have dared to do this when Master Qin was around.

But now, with Jiang Chen being just a wet-behind-the-ears kid with insufficient seniority, he had no intention of letting him take the President’s seat.

The crowd fell silent.

All eyes turned to the other Vice President, Qiu Baxiong, and to Jiang Chen.

Qiu Baxiong also paid Jiang Chen no mind.

He rose to his feet and said in a clear voice, "Although this election for President was brought about by Steward Jiang, he ultimately lacks the necessary seniority."

"Steward Jiang, I have a proposal."

Jiang Chen hadn’t expected this. ’These two Vice Presidents are truly ruthless, trying to snatch the presidency without a second thought.’

’They completely disregard me.’

He remained silent.

Hearing Qiu Baxiong’s words, Jiang Chen smiled faintly. "Vice President Qiu, please speak. I’m all ears."

He didn’t rush to a decision.

’If I wanted to take the presidency by force, I’d dare to kill someone right here in front of everyone.’

For now, however, he wanted to see what these two Vice Presidents were really up to.

As expected, Qiu Baxiong was quite satisfied to see Jiang Chen acting so sensibly.

"It’s like this. In the upcoming election for President, it stands to reason that one of us two Vice Presidents will be chosen."

"As for the candidates nominated by the Deacon Council and the Elder Council, they are generally only qualified to run for the position of Vice President."

"Conveniently, since either myself or Vice President Shen will surely become President, a Vice President position will open up. At that time, Steward Jiang, you can fill it."

"Elder Zhang Sheng has already withdrawn from the race, so you’re the only one left. You wouldn’t even need an election; you could smoothly become a Vice President."

At that moment, even Shen Mi stroked his beard, seemingly finding Qiu Baxiong’s words quite reasonable.

He even added his approval, "Vice President Qiu Baxiong is right. Your seniority is insufficient, and you don’t understand many of our Alchemist Guild’s rules."

"You can serve as a Vice President first to familiarize yourself with the rules. In the future, you’ll have a better chance of becoming President."

At times like this, harping on seniority was a time-worn tactic in the Alchemist Guild.

It was always brought up to suppress newcomers.

Having served as Vice Presidents for many years, Qiu Baxiong and Shen Mi were extremely familiar with this ploy. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

In their eyes, Jiang Chen was completely unqualified to be President.

Only they, with their deeper seniority, were fit for the role.

"Hahahaha..."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen suddenly burst into laughter.

Shen Mi said he lacked seniority and didn’t understand the Alchemist Guild’s rules.

He had to laugh. ’I’m the one who created all these rules, and they have the nerve to say I don’t understand them.’

"What are you laughing at?"

Shen Mi and Qiu Baxiong, relying on their long years of service, both looked down on Jiang Chen.

Although Jiang Chen had killed the former President, they saw that as a personal grudge between the two.

Choosing a new President was a fresh start; it wasn’t about whether you were a killer or not.

Both men interrogated Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen’s expression turned serious as he suddenly declared, "Today, I am only interested in the position of President. I have no interest in being a Vice President."

"Whoever wants that seat can have it."

What?

Hearing Jiang Chen’s words, the faces of both Vice Presidents darkened.

Jiang Chen was bluntly demanding the presidency.

At this point, some other people in the crowd suddenly began to speak up.

"Steward Jiang, you were, after all, just dropped into the Steward position."

"You truly don’t understand our Alchemist Guild well enough, which means you can’t lead it to grow stronger."

"On the other hand, Vice President Shen and Vice President Qiu both worked their way up from apprentice Alchemists. Both their seniority and experience are exceptionally rich."

"I also think you should run for a Vice President position. As for the presidency, just forget it."

"That’s right, Steward Jiang. You have to think about the entire Alchemist Guild."

Jiang Chen had thought this would be smooth sailing. He never expected this sudden complication, with so many people opposing him due to his lack of seniority.

He was on the verge of losing his eligibility to run for President.

He glanced around the room.

Many people were still somewhat afraid of him.

But some were now using the Alchemist Guild’s rules to pressure him.

Of course, he knew that rules were rules.

’And I’m the one who made them.’

However, he needed to secure a future for the Jiang Family, and to do that, he had to become the President here.

He stood up and announced clearly, "Fine. Even so, I will compete fairly with the two Vice Presidents for the position of President."

"Everyone, let’s proceed with a vote."

Jiang Chen was very confident.

Seeing that Jiang Chen was dead set on competing for the presidency, Shen Mi and Qiu Baxiong grew furious.

Shen Mi raged, "You’re just a junior! How can you be so arrogant?"

"Our Alchemist Guild has rules! We won’t give you special treatment just because you killed the former President."

"Jiang Chen, don’t forget your place! You are only a Steward, and not even an official one at that. You are a substitute, completely unqualified to be the President of the Alchemist Guild!"

"On what grounds do you think you can compete with us for the presidency?"

Infuriated, Shen Mi decided to expose Jiang Chen completely.

He would lay bare Jiang Chen’s true status.

That’s right—he was merely a substitute, standing in for his master.

This was something everyone knew.

Jiang Chen listened and shook his head.

"Be that as it may," he said, "I must still point out that the presidency of the Alchemist Guild is not decided by seniority alone."

"It also depends on whose Alchemy Skill is superior."

"Today, I’ll set an example for the younger generation. I won’t compete with you on seniority. I will compete with you both in Alchemy Skill."

"Whoever has the superior Alchemy Skill will be the President."

Besides a popular vote, another method for electing a President was a competition of Alchemy Skill.

Jiang Chen, being perfectly clear on the rules, simply invoked this method: a contest of Alchemy Skill.