“This fellow is truly arrogant enough. Very well, go ahead and try. I want to see if you end up crying in the end!”
An Lian was fuming inwardly.
In the past, when he scolded disciples on Changle Immortal Island, no one had ever dared speak to him like this. They all obeyed meekly. Who would have thought this Lingxiao would be so defiant.
“Fine, I agree. But what if you fail?”
An Lian asked.
“Simple. If I fail, not only will I withdraw from the Alchemy Convention, but I will also present the Imperial Seal with both hands!”
Lingxiao said calmly.
The Imperial Seal!
Lingxiao’s words left everyone present stunned.
How confident must this fellow be to wager even the Imperial Seal?
“Good!”
An Lian shouted quickly, as if afraid Lingxiao might back out.
He was overthinking it. How could Lingxiao possibly regret it?
Perhaps in martial arts, Lingxiao could not yet dominate here, but in alchemy and pharmacology, if Lingxiao claimed second place, no one present likely qualified to claim first.
Even his master, Yuan Zun, would not dare say he was more knowledgeable.
“Now, each of you proceed to your testing stations. The test begins. The time has been set. Pay attention.”
An Lian no longer looked at Lingxiao and announced the start.
The testing stations were random, so Lingxiao simply chose the nearest one and walked over.
The others also selected their stations. No one dared cause any conflict here, after all, with the Patriarch of Changle standing there watching.
“Brother Ling, you really should not have offended Senior An just now. Your actions were a bit excessive.”
As Lingxiao entered his station, he suddenly heard a voice from next door. Turning his head, he discovered it was Dan Qing.
This fellow had just scolded him, and now he was lecturing him again. It truly displeased Lingxiao somewhat.
“Excessive? So Brother Dan Qing can ignore mockery and sarcasm without response. Unfortunately, I, Ling, lack that turtle shell. I neither shrink away nor need to play the grandson!”
Lingxiao said indifferently.
After speaking, he turned back and began focusing on selecting ingredients.
He could not rely on inner force, soul force, or sight. He could only use touch, so he had to concentrate fully.
Dan Qing felt somewhat angry. This was not the first time Lingxiao had ignored him. It made him, the top young alchemist of Changle Immortal Island, rather unhappy.
He always felt superior, yet stepping out felt like treading in cow dung. He was extremely displeased.
“What is wrong, Brother Dan Qing? Has that fellow offended you?”
On Dan Qing’s other side stood none other than the Little Medicine King, Ji Luoyu.
Ji Luoyu seemed quite interested in Dan Qing.
It was possible she harboured a secret crush.
After all, Dan Qing was handsome, his cultivation had reached the Second Cave Heaven Realm, and he was a top Yellow-grade alchemist. Among the young, he was absolutely outstanding!
It was normal for women to take an interest in him.
“Sister Luoyu, do you not know that Lingxiao? He saved the life of the Patriarch of Changle.”
Dan Qing said with a smile.
“I have no interest in him. He is merely an advanced Yellow-grade alchemist. They say he saved the Patriarch, but that is only a rumour. Moreover, even the Patriarch himself suspects someone guided him. It is no big deal, just having read a few more books.”
Ji Luoyu truly had no interest in Lingxiao. Rather than discuss him, she preferred to get closer to Dan Qing.
After all, from every angle, Dan Qing far surpassed Lingxiao.
Cultivation, alchemist rank, background. Lingxiao could not catch up even on horseback.
“That is true.”
In that instant, Dan Qing’s vanity soared to its peak. He felt extremely pleased.
Feng Ming Piao Xue had praised Lingxiao in his presence, which had irritated him until now, but Ji Luoyu’s words instantly made him feel much better.
“Brother Dan Qing, the test has begun. Let us get started too, so that certain pretentious people do not gain an advantage.”
Ji Luoyu said with a smile.
“Yes. I wish you every success!”
Dan Qing nodded and turned his gaze to the black box before him.
“This test question you have set is truly excellent. It examines both the breadth of the alchemists’ knowledge and their practical experience. If one has not refined pills personally, it would be hard to describe the refining process in detail.”
The Patriarch of Changle walked to An Lian’s side, patted his shoulder lightly, and praised him.
“Thank you for the praise, Patriarch. This is only what we should do.”
…
“Thank goodness I have personally touched every ingredient I have handled and refined many pills myself. Otherwise, just selecting ingredients today would have been troublesome.”
Lingxiao discovered that many ingredients inside the black box had very similar shapes. This would trouble those with only vague understanding of ingredient appearances, making them hard to distinguish.
“Tai Chi Eye!”
Lingxiao opened his left eye and could not help but smile.
This left eye of his could clearly see through the black box to the ingredients inside.
The five ingredients he had chosen by touch matched exactly what he saw, which made him smile knowingly.
He was naturally somewhat satisfied with his performance.
After all, among those present, none possessed perspective ability like him.
However, selecting ingredients was actually the simplest step.
As long as these twenty-one were genuine alchemists and had not cheated their way to their ranks, they should all pass this part.
The problem lay in the pill formulas that followed.
A pill formula required not only listing the required amounts of ingredients but also describing the refining process in detail.
The trouble lay there. No matter which five ingredients An Lian had placed in the black box, combining them would make it hard to refine any existing pill.
In other words, participants needed to “create”!
They had to develop their own pill formulas, and ones that could withstand scrutiny. This was extremely difficult.
Many alchemists merely followed routines in their studies, absorbing mechanically. They only knew how to refine pills from books and did not invent their own.
Thinking of this, Lingxiao could not help glancing back at An Lian, inwardly remarking that this fellow was truly ruthless.
Among those present, wracking their brains to produce even one pill formula would already be remarkable. An Lian simply wanted to dampen the pride of these outstanding talents, pour cold water on their heads, and prevent them from being overconfident at tomorrow’s Alchemy Convention.
“Damn it. No wonder this fellow dared bet with me. Creating more than four pill formulas? That is no ordinary difficulty!”
Lingxiao gritted his teeth and began pondering deeply.
At the same time, the other participants encountered the same challenge.
Yet their difficulty was far lower than Lingxiao’s.
They only needed to create one pill formula.
Even so, no one could complete it in a short time.
