As many alchemists’ pills were about to emerge from their furnaces, a smile lifted the corners of Ling Xiao’s mouth. He had finally understood the true meaning of this round’s competition.
Thus, very soon, he also began his own refining.
His speed was swift. In terms of technique, he was not inferior to Tianhai Zhenzhu in the slightest.
“Something’s not right?”
On the judges’ seats, Ji Qing frowned as he watched Ling Xiao start refining and said, “What is Ling Xiao planning to do?”
He was also somewhat confused.
Because Ling Xiao’s refining method was different from everyone else’s, including Tianhai Zhenzhu’s.
“Hehe, this lad often does the unexpected. This time, you have misjudged him again. He probably has his own ideas. In any case, he has finally started, otherwise he would have dragged it out until the end again.”
Elder Ancestor Changle, however, had an inexplicable trust in Ling Xiao, probably because of how outstandingly he had performed in the first round.
“That is true!”
Ji Qing also smiled. Although Ling Xiao’s method was unique and differed from the correct one he had designed earlier, it took an entirely new path and seemed to have real merit.
“Humph, always liking to take novel routes. He will end up ruining himself! Not steady at all!”
Medicine King Sun Ran said with considerable dissatisfaction.
Ji Qing was about to say something when suddenly a plume of black smoke rose in the venue, accompanied by a rather loud noise.
“Hehe, as expected, someone has started failing. This is the mistake of rushing.”
Ji Qing smiled and could not help shaking his head.
He truly wished that all the alchemists could perform like Ling Xiao and Tianhai Zhenzhu.
Unfortunately, not everyone was that exceptional.
Of course, his greatest regret was for Dan Qing and Ji Luoyu.
In fact, if these two had been just a little calmer, they should have been able to discover the problem.
In the end, they only thought about competing fiercely, took one wrong step, and had no chance to regret it. They could only continue down the wrong path to the end.
“Impossible. A mortal pill of this grade, I have refined thousands of times if not more. My recent success rate is ninety-nine per cent, nearly one hundred per cent. This time the entire process had no issues. Why did it fail?”
At this moment, the failed alchemist looked completely bewildered.
He had no idea what had happened.
The materials were fine.
The prescription was fine.
The refining method was fine.
Where exactly had it gone wrong?
“Perhaps the fire control was not precise, and this furnace is not as easy to use. It must be that.”
This alchemist did use his brain, but unfortunately he attributed the problem entirely to himself and never considered whether those materials truly had no issues.
Whether that prescription truly had no issues.
The first round tested “innovation”!
This second round tested “revolution”!
It required not fearing authority or tradition in order to possibly discover the problem within.
Unfortunately, among those present, only Ling Xiao and Tianhai Zhenzhu achieved this.
Though the two took different paths, both maintained a doubtful attitude from the beginning.
They did not believe the judges would be so kind as to make this round truly that simple.
And this failed alchemist, though a good and honest person, precisely because of that, walked the path of failure once more.
He began refining again, using the second portion of materials and the exact same method. The result, needless to say, was predictable.
“Idiot! I had already left a clue for those who chose the wrong method to still pass, yet he did not even think and just started refining again.”
Medicine King Sun Ran cursed.
He knew many could not see through Ji Qing’s trick, so he had appropriately lowered the difficulty, allowing even those who chose the wrong method at least a chance to pass. As long as they properly reflected and observed after one failure, they would discover the answer.
Unfortunately, this person did not do so at all and hurriedly started refining again. Utterly foolish.
Failures seemed contagious.
After the first plume of black smoke rose, more followed one after another, each accompanied by a muffled boom.
Like the first failed alchemist, these alchemists all showed expressions of disbelief and confusion.
They lowered their heads, pondered deeply, considering where they had gone wrong.
However, some, like the first failure, blamed themselves and began refining anew.
While others finally discovered the key to unlocking the gate to passing.
“This is more like it. At least not everyone is that stupid. It seems some will remain after this round.”
Medicine King Sun Ran’s expression improved slightly.
If no one could discover the mystery in the test he designed, he would find it hard not to be angry.
Seeing failures appear one by one, the audience grew restless. They discussed animatedly, though most could only say things like “idiot”, “fool”, or “how did it fail again”.
Puff!
Finally, the ten on the main platform also began their rhythm of failure.
One after another, even Dan Qing and Ji Luoyu could not escape this curse.
Dan Qing’s face looked extremely grim.
Earlier he had mocked Ling Xiao for being overly clever and not daring to refine. Now it seemed Ling Xiao’s caution was correct.
While he himself had been a bit reckless and impulsive.
“I understand now.”
Ji Luoyu showed a bitter smile and said, “Brother Dan Qing, we two were truly too hasty. The truly correct refining method should be to combine the ‘Moon-Sealing Flowers’ from both portions of materials.”
“I understand too. The Moon-Sealing Flowers in the two portions are incomplete. Though they appear whole on the surface, in reality someone tampered with them, turning them into yin and yang attributes. If one uses only one type, failure is basically inevitable.”
Reminded thus by her, Dan Qing suddenly had a realisation.
The two simultaneously looked at the ruined dregs.
Suddenly their eyes lit up.
“There is still a chance to pass!”
In the dregs, traces of the previous Moon-Sealing Flower attributes remained. Though not perfect, if willing, some could still be extracted.
In this way, the refined mortal pill would still be effective, just not very potent.
This was the lifeline Medicine King Sun Ran had left for the alchemists.
Thinking of this, the two hurriedly threw themselves into refining.
Since they now understood the problem, they would not fail this time. After all, neither was weak to begin with.
Many became cautious on their second attempt after the first failure.
However, time was running short. They could not remain calm and think forever.
“Go for it. Try again.”
This was the thought of many.
Yet when they began using the second portion to refine, the first failed alchemist failed once more.
Both his portions of materials were completely wasted!
The mechanical bird let out a shrill cry. He was eliminated.
