On Liu Ling’s side, he continued to refine at least four dicinal ingredients with each attempt. Although he had a minor failure once, given his speed, he only wasted four herbs in total, which didn’t set him back compared to the others.
After a few more minutes, Liu Ling had already extracted all the essential components needed for the pill on his stone platform.
“This kid, he really doesn’t give anyone else a chance to shine. The process of refining such a vast amount of materials for a fifth-tier pill, and he’s still faster than soone working on a third-tier pill,” remarked Fa Ma from the high platform, uncertain if he was complinting or criticizing.
anwhile, in the main square, Xiao Yan, the Little Princess, Xiao Yi Xian, and the remaining contestants were still rushing through their own refining processes.
“Phew!”
Exhaling deeply, Liu Ling finally completed his extractions, clearly worn out. Without hesitation, he took a pill to restore his battle energy and sat cross-legged to regain his strength.
“Well, at least he’s taking a steadier approach now!” Fa Ma smiled approvingly, seeing that Liu Ling prioritized restoring his energy instead of rushing straight to the pill fusion phase.
“Is this guy really just sitting down to rest?”
“What is this? Is he waiting for us or sothing?” Xiao Yan and the Little Princess grumbled almost in unison, feeling frustrated as they watched Liu Ling’s calm recovery.
“Our senior brother is really impressive; he’s aiming to make a fifth-tier pill.” Xiao Yi Xian glanced at Liu Ling during a break in her own refining. She was only working on a fourth-tier pill, but before long, she beca the second contestant to finish extracting all her materials, right after Liu Ling.
Shortly after her, Xiao Yan, the Little Princess, and a few others also completed their extractions.
“Still resting?”
Upon finishing his own extraction, Xiao Yan couldn’t resist looking over at Liu Ling, who was still calmly ditating. Shaking his head, Xiao Yan took a pill to recover his own energy and focused back on his work. With swift movents, he placed each refined ingredient into the cauldron, carefully attuning himself to each subtle reaction as the materials fused together.
As Xiao Yan began the pill fusion, the Little Princess and Xiao Yi Xian wasted no ti; they promptly added their ingredients into their cauldrons and started the fusion process as well.
From ti to ti, a muffled thud echoed across the expansive square. This familiar sound was a dreaded one for any alchemist, signaling a failed pill refinent. With each thud, so contestants, visibly disheartened, left the square one by one. The competition seed like a sieve with wide gaps, steadily eliminating those weaker and less skilled. Those who managed to remain after several rounds of screening were undoubtedly the elite among the younger generation.
As ti passed, even so of the initially composed contestants began to show signs of fatigue. The high-intensity consumption was indeed wearing them down.
“Can you tell whose pill will be of a higher tier?”
Hai Bodong slowly walked up behind Fa Ma, gazing at the square below and asked quietly, "So, can you tell yet?"
"Not entirely certain just yet," Fa Ma replied ambiguously. Although he suspected that Liu Ling was aiming to refine a fifth-tier pill based on the amount of ingredients used, he knew there could be certain complex fourth-tier pills that require this many ingredients. Not wanting to jump to conclusions, he explained, "However, as the pills start to take shape, you can often tell. Fourth-tier pills produce a distinct fragrance before they fully form. The stronger the aroma, the higher the pill's quality. As for fifth-tier pills, they’re unique; when they form, they generate an actual energy ripple due to the intense energy within.”
Hearing this, Hai Bodong nodded slightly and fell silent, folding his hands behind him as he patiently awaited the competition’s conclusion.
At that mont, while most competitors were still midway through ingredient fusion, Liu Ling finally stood up and began his own pill fusion process.
Every move he made was closely watched by the “big nas” present.
True to expectations, Liu Ling did not disappoint them. Rather than following a conventional step-by-step thod, he once again adhered to a peculiar rhythm, adding three, four, or even five types of ingredient essences at a ti into the cauldron.
"Sigh, this kid," Fa Ma muttered from the high platform, his face showing a mix of frustration and resignation. "This is no ordinary practice session. Can't he be a bit more careful? In the earlier stages, if he failed, he would only waste a few ingredients. But if he slips up now during the fusion phase, he could lose seventy to eighty percent of his materials!"
It seed Fa Ma’s remark wasn’t unheard, as so onlookers in the VIP seats took note of Liu Ling’s actions and exchanged various expressions.
“Isn’t Senior Brother taking on too much risk with this approach? I really hope nothing goes wrong,” Nalan Yanran murmured, watching Liu Ling work with a hint of worry.
Seven or eight minutes later, Fa Ma’s expression suddenly changed, a hint of delight flashing across his aged face as he looked toward Xiao Yan’s direction. From his dark red cauldron, a faint dicinal fragrance had begun to spread out.
"Yan Xiao is the steady one; he’s already showing signs of successful pill formation," Fa Ma mused, secretly pleased with the plans he had set in place the previous night.
After Xiao Yan, a similar fragrance began to erge from Xiao Yi Xian, Princess Yao Yue, and a few other contestants. For a mont, the entire square—and even the VIP and spectator seats—was filled with the rich aroma of dicinal pills.
A careful observer would note, however, that of the dozen or so distinct fragrances, Xiao Yi Xian’s was the strongest.
Realizing this, Fa Ma’s face turned slightly tense. He hadn’t expected that the pill refined by the mysterious black-robed figure would reach a mid-level fourth-tier quality. If Xiao Yan only managed to produce a single-patterned Green Spirit Pill, it would indeed fall slightly short.
At that mont, Xiao Yan, as if sensing the higher quality of Xiao Yi Xian’s pill in comparison to his own, couldn’t help but frown slightly.
(End of Chapter)
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