Chapter 94 - 93: The Third Round of Alchemy
Chapter 94: Chapter 93: The Third Round of Alchemy
Meanwhile, Yu Changsheng stared intently at his pill furnace. Having learned from his first attempt, his refining process was much more stable this time.
’The pills are about to form.’
He raised his head and glanced at the surrounding alchemists. Every one of them looked dejected.
’I’ll just let the pills form as they are. No need to intentionally hold back.’
Yu Changsheng raised his hand and formed a seal, and the lid of the pill furnace immediately flew open.
At the same time, Hu Liang also opened his furnace for the second time, and cries of astonishment erupted from the crowd.
"Quick, look! What is that?!"
"Am I seeing things? It’s a perfect batch—ten Corpse Insect Pills!"
"It really is ten! And every single one is smooth and round. They were on the verge of forming Pill Patterns!"
"I never expected Hu Liang’s alchemy skill to have reached such a level!"
"Looks like first place is his for the taking this round!"
A few disciples shouted excitedly.
Meanwhile, others noticed that Yu Changsheng had also opened his furnace.
"Huh, that alchemist from Beast Taming Peak succeeded in forming his pills too!"
"I wonder how many he made?"
"This... This is!"
"No, impossible! He actually refined Corpse Insect Pills with Pill Patterns! How did he do it?"
Upon hearing this, some disciples stared in shock toward Yu Changsheng. When they got a clear look at the elixirs, every one of them sucked in a sharp breath.
"Since when was a disciple from Beast Taming Peak so accomplished in alchemy!"
"That’s outrageous! I absolutely don’t believe it!"
"This disciple has hidden his abilities well. I heard he’s Gongsun Yang’s Direct Disciple, so it’s not surprising he has this kind of skill."
"Is that the Three-coin Fire Refining Technique, famed for its unrivaled Pill Formation Success Rate?"
"So that’s how it is!"
Amidst the buzzing discussions, Yu Changsheng poured five elixirs from his pill furnace. Every single one had one Pill Pattern.
He sighed, feeling a little unsatisfied.
"A perfect batch of ten Corpse Insect Pills, plus the three you refined previously, totals twenty-six points. Do you wish to continue refining?"
After Li Xiuci spoke, Hu Liang cupped his hands and said, "I’ll stop here."
Li Xiuci nodded, unsurprised by his choice. There was still a third round after this one. Refining too many Corpse Insect Pills would consume a great deal of Magical Power and mental energy, increasing the risk of failure in the rounds to come.
He couldn’t risk winning the battle only to lose the war.
When Li Xiuci saw the Corpse Insect Pills Yu Changsheng had refined, he was stunned for a moment before nodding. "Very good. You haven’t brought shame upon your master."
"Five Corpse Insect Pills, each of excellent quality, and each with one Pill Pattern. That’s twenty-two points for you. Do you also wish to continue?"
Hearing this, Yu Changsheng glanced at Hu Liang, shook his head, and also chose to stop there.
’This is only the second round; just passing is enough. There’s no need to push too hard and mess up my own rhythm.’
’If I’m not mistaken, the next round will be a Tier Two Elixir!’
As Yu Changsheng watched Hu Liang, Hu Liang was also watching him.
’This guy’s alchemy skill is also at Tier Two. Is he at the Early Stage? Or the Middle Stage?’
Hu Liang frowned slightly, feeling a flicker of pressure.
’Refining a perfect batch is difficult, but creating an elixir with Pill Patterns is equally challenging. In this round, you could say we fought to a draw.’
In contrast, Duan Ran was falling behind. As for Tao Le Xin, she had already failed once and was now hesitating to complete her second attempt.
"Hahaha, I succeeded! I succeeded!"
The third person to successfully form an elixir was the alchemist from Magic Peak, Mi Lifu.
He was rather sleazy-looking, covered in fat, and when he smiled, air whistled through the gaps in his teeth.
However, his skill in both Alchemy and Arrays was superb. He used the power of Runes to Seal the Corpse Insects, finally succeeding in refining the Corpse Insect Pills inside his pill furnace!
"Look at my elixirs! They’re far more brilliant than yours!"
Mi Lifu said with a gloating smile, his eyes sweeping over Yu Changsheng and Hu Liang.
"Interesting. Using other methods to aid in alchemy—that’s an approach no disciple has thought of before."
"Nine formed pills, six with one Pill Pattern each. That counts as twenty-eight points for you!"
As Li Xiuci made the announcement, the surrounding disciples burst into an uproar.
This was the highest score of the round. Both Yu Changsheng and Hu Liang had been beaten!
"I completely misjudged him!"
"I never thought the dark horse of the second round would be Mi Lifu!"
"What’s wrong with Duan Ran and Tao Le Xin? They’re so disappointing!"
"Aaaargh, I bet on Duan Ran!"
"Heh heh, small bets are for fun, but big bets will break you. Maybe you’ll remember that next time."
Mi Lifu’s performance shocked many, but on second thought, it was understandable.
"Hmph!"
Seeing this, Hu Liang let out a cold snort, feeling indignant.
He was a legitimate alchemist, and his skills were considered among the best of the Inner Sect Disciples. Losing to Mi Lifu just felt wrong.
"Phew!"
"They’re formed!"
Duan Ran finally withdrew his fire, opened the furnace, and breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the formed elixirs.
"Eight Corpse Insect Pills, one with one Pill Pattern. Twelve points for you."
After Li Xiuci finished, Tao Le Xin also succeeded, but her pill count was lower than Duan Ran’s, so she only received ten points.
As the four-hour time limit drew to a close, a few more alchemists succeeded, all receiving single-digit scores.
"The second round of alchemy is now over. The rest of you may leave."
Following the merciless announcement, only a tenth of the more than eighty alchemists advanced. The rest were eliminated, their faces etched with loss and regret.
After combining the scores from the second round with the first, the rankings were as follows:
First Place: Hu Liang, 41 points.
Second Place: Mi Lifu, 40 points.
Third Place: Yu Changsheng, 33 points.
Fourth Place: Duan Ran, 26 points.
Fifth Place: Tao Le Xin, 22 points.
...
Mi Lifu was arguably the best performer of this round, leapfrogging several others in the rankings. Duan Ran, in contrast, had it rough, plummeting from second place in the first round all the way to fourth.
Yu Changsheng’s performance was solid, landing him in third place. As long as he could maintain this rank until the end of the Alchemy Conference, he would win the right to choose one of the main ingredients for a Foundation Establishment Pill.
The top three finishers would all receive a Tier Three Lower-grade Spirit Grass of their choice from the sect. This time, due to a change in the Alchemy Conference rules, all refined elixirs would also be exchanged for Sect Contribution.
The reward for first place would be amplified; at the very least, the contribution points awarded for their elixirs would be greater.
If the elixirs one refined were good enough, by the end of the Alchemy Conference, they might even be able to directly exchange their Sect Contribution for a Foundation Establishment Pill!
After recovering his Magical Power, Yu Changsheng focused his mind.
"Next, the third round will be hosted by Gongsun Alchemist."
Li Xiuci only hosted the first two rounds. The following two would be hosted by Gongsun Yang and Elder Xu respectively, while the final round would be overseen by Elder Huang.
After Li Xiuci stepped down, Gongsun Yang strode into the air, his gaze sweeping over everyone. When his eyes landed on Yu Changsheng, the corners of his mouth curved into a faint smile.
"I am Gongsun Yang."
Gongsun Yang began formally, "Without further ado, the elixir for the third round is a Tier Two Middle Grade. A normal batch yields three formed pills, so you only need to produce three to pass!"
"This elixir is also a rather obscure one. It is called the Scattered Demon Essence Pill!"
As his voice fell, the assembled alchemists were stunned. They had never even heard of this elixir.
But Yu Changsheng was stunned for an entirely different reason—he was all too familiar with this elixir!