Chapter 2084: Alchemy competition begins
If what Ling Han had done today was known to others, they would definitely be terrified to death.
He dared to even threaten the people of the Ancient Alchemy Tower; had he grown tired of living?
But that was exactly what Ling Han had done. In any case, he had already offended the Celestial King Tier forces behind Tian Qingyue and the others, so what would it matter if another Ancient Alchemy Tower was added to the bunch?
Because of Ling Han’s results in recognizing herbs, his stakes fell low all the way, and had in fact surpassed those of Xie Yuezhang and the others. His stakes were only one to one point six, and he could be considered the most popular choice for champion at present.
Three days later, the alchemy competition began.
After the first round of elimination, there were roughly over 1,300 participants left. This number was still quite large. There were not that many alchemy chambers in the alchemy plaza of Hundred Dragons City to accommodate so many people concocting pills at the same time.
Thus, every 100 people were assigned to one group, and the competition was conducted in batches. All the competitions could be completed in about a dozen days.
Ling Han, Alchemist Riyang, and the others were arranged into the last group to compete. This was arranged according to their results in recognizing herbs. The better the result, the later they would be competing.
And everyone also believed that the final champion would definitely emerge from this last group.
Time passed quietly, and 12 days later, it was finally Ling Han’s turn to compete.
Ling Han set out with three women, and Fu Yue also came with him. They had just stepped outside when they saw Xiao Gu approach.
“Yi, where have you been all this time, Xiao Gu?” Ling Han asked.
Though Xiao Gu’s name included the word “xiao”, he was actually an old bone that had existed for an unknown number of years[1]. Thus, it was naturally impossible for him to enter into the Hundred Dragons Mystery Realm. Who knew where he had been hanging around these few days?
“Yi, where have you been all this time, Xiao Gu?” Xiao Gu parroted. Even his expression and tone were exactly the same.
Forget it, he had better not ask.
Ling Han smiled, and continued onwards. Xiao Gu also followed behind them.
Not too long after, they arrived at the alchemy plaza. The area was very huge, and had been especially prepared for the alchemists so that they could participate in periodic alchemist competitions. Every alchemy chamber had its own time acceleration effects of a hundredfold.
Thus, they would be able to successfully concoct alchemical pills usually when only one to two days had passed in the outside world.
…The time of concoction for a Four-Star alchemical pill was about six months, but in the case of Five-Star alchemical pills, the time of concoction would suddenly leap to thousands of years. Furthermore, this was still First Heaven Celestial *****; for Ninth Heaven, it might even need as extensive a time as one counted in epochs.
For the moment, at least, no one had concocted a Four-Star alchemical pill, so the competition among the last few groups had all been settled within a day.
Everyone entered their alchemy chambers one after another, and there would be an alchemist and three alchemist apprentices in charge of invigilation outside each alchemy chamber to prevent any cheating. Of course, the spectators could also take the role of invigilators.
Ling Han also entered, sat down, and then waited for the competition to begin.
Everyone had to prepare their own alchemical ingredients. Of course, the alchemical pill that was concocted would also belong to them.
What alchemical pill should he concoct?
If he wanted a safer route, he definitely should concoct a Three-Star alchemical pill. But it was said that Alchemist Riyang, Wu Zixu, and the others were all only a mere step away from being a Four-Star Alchemist, and they might break through in the alchemy competition this time.
Going by that logic, the lead and advantage that Ling Han had gained in recognizing herbs would be erased. Even if their results were the same, a Four-Star Alchemist would definitely be able to achieve Fifth Refinement. Then, in the third test of Spirit Refinement, they would definitely obtain a true advantage.
Ling Han shook his head. He could not accept failure.
Then… it had to be a Four-Star alchemical pill!
Fighting spirit burnt fiercely in Ling Han’s heart.
He had not successfully concocted a Four-Star alchemical pill before. He always missed that one last step, and kept feeling like there was something lacking.
Would the pressure this time become his motivation?
Ling Han wanted to give it a try. If he failed? Then he would have failed. In the first place, he had not much interest in entering the Ancient Alchemy Tower. The reason why he was showing off so much here was merely to draw Lu Hairong over so that she could bring them to the Roc Palace.
Yuan Tongguang actually used the matter of entry into the Ancient Alchemy Tower to threaten Ling Han. He was really, overwhelmingly wrong.
Fine, Ling Han decided he would just concoct a Four-Star alchemical pill.
***
A hint of mania was present in Wu Zixu’s eyes. At first, he had planned to concoct a Three-Star alchemical pill—the Ice Phoenix Pill that was the hardest to concoct among Three-Star alchemical pills—but now he had changed his mind.
That should not be able to defeat Ling Han.
A Four-Star alchemical pill!
He felt like a layer of something in his heart was about to be penetrated. This was a sign that he was about to break through to become a Four-Star Alchemist. Previously, he had experienced the same thing before, but none of those times had been as strong as this, making him feel a strong premonition that he would definitely succeed today.
Just wait, he was the true top prodigy of alchemy!
***
Alchemist Riyang touched his cauldron tenderly. It had accompanied him for over 10 billion years, and could completely be considered as another part of his body, and its value had surpassed his lover, children, and all others. Usually, no one would even be allowed to touch it.
But as he touched it, the force of his palm suddenly increased. Ka, ka, ka, multiple cracks immediately appeared in the walls of the cauldron, and instantly covered its entirety. Pa, this cauldron had actually been shattered from the brute force.
…A cauldron was usually meant to resist heat during pill concoction, so their resistance to brute force was very weak.
Who would strike their cauldron harshly when they were concocting alchemical pills?
An expression of heartache appeared on Alchemist Riyang’s face, but there was more resolution in his eyes.
Without destruction, there could be no construction.
He had not broken through all this while, because he had stayed too long in his memories of past glories, and he was reluctant to leave these memories behind. But now, there was a reason that he had to obtain victory. Thus, he had destroyed the cauldron that represented his past with his own hands.
Today was a new beginning!
A powerful change suddenly took place in Alchemist Riyang’s aura. His eyes became sharp, and it was like he became a completely different person.
The path of a Four-Star grandmaster began from today onwards!
***
That face of Xie Yuezhang that had constantly been smiling finally showed a true smile. He was the standard character with slowly maturing talent. He had actually spent as many as a billion years to become a One-Star Alchemist, but he had only spent a billion years as well to become a Two-Star Alchemist and a Three-Star Alchemist.
Another billion years had passed, and he had enough confidence he could become a Four-Star Alchemist, and now was the trigger for him to push open the doors to becoming a Four-Star Alchemist.
***
Fan Luoling conformed with the norms. She decided to concoct a Three-Star alchemical pill, and it was the Phase PIll that she was most proficient at too. There was no need for it to be too difficult, because she had a secret weapon.
“The person to win will definitely be me!”
***
Lin Yongchang’s expression was filled with arrogance. Who would have known that he had already become a Four-Star grandmaster 60 years ago? The strongest alchemists here were only Three-Star alchemists, so he was completely being a bully here.
Actually, he had almost succeeded at the eighth stage when he was recognizing herbs. He had only made a slight error, which had resulted in his ultimate failure.
However, in the field of pill concoction, he had absolute confidence.
He was not concerned about the championship, and would take the initiative to withdraw from the competition once he shocked the masses with his outstanding accomplishments. What he wanted was merely the shocked and disbelieving expressions of the spectators, which would make him feel very self-satisfied and pleased.
…And then, he would come around with a glamorous withdrawal from the competition, which would allow him to show off to the extreme.
“Just a mere Three-Star Alchemist, and you actually dare one-up me? This time, I’ll let you know what a true prodigy is like!”
***
The spectators had all arrived, anticipating the start of the alchemy competition.
Unlike recognizing herbs, where they couldn’t really see much of anything, pill concoction was extremely bustling with noise and excitement.
“Yi, why is the crystal wall on Fan Luoling’s side so blurry that we can only make out the vague outline of the person, yet cannot see the herbs in her hands clearly?” someone suddenly asked strangely.
[1] The word ‘xiao’ literally means ‘little’, usually part of an address for someone younger.
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