After all the participants’ arrived at their refining stage, the Master Alchemist’s voice thundered across the arena.
"The Radiant Cauldron Assembly officially begins."
Fireworks reverberated throughout the arena, causing the spectators to rise into clamor.
The participants’ were trembling from excitent and nervousness, as they were about to experience the unforgettable mont of their life.
The fireworks lasted for a whole minute before it died down, so were the spectators who were visibly exhausted.
Liu Wei, anwhile, swept his gaze and was aware that the first round was about to start.
He gazed at Cai Hui and his eyebrows lifted, seemingly realizing sothing.
She’s still in the Body Tempering Stage, so she has to manually use fire with the cauldron placed inside the herbs for successful refinent. Isn’t she at a disadvantage in the competition?
Cai Hui sensed Liu Wei’s deep stare and she hastily looked away, feeling embarrassed.
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and composed herself.
Suddenly, her eyes flashed with extre concentration, stunning even Liu Wei.
Liu Wei smiled.
She’s really a genius in alchemy. No wonder.
Liu Wei finally focused on himself, waiting for the Master Alchemist to begin the first round.
The Solar Do Arena soon dimd to a controlled twilight. The sunlight flowing through the spirit crystals was reduced, so flas stood out sharply under the do.
The arena was in total silence, akin to a tranquil middle of the night.
Each contestant stood upon the circular refining platform with a basic bronze alchemy cauldron, which was identical to all participants no matter their rank and cultivation level.
There was also a tray of low-grade spirit herbs, each was infused with trace impurities.
Furthermore, for body tempering stage alchemists like Cai Hui have a Spirit Fla Node below, which provided a neutral fire source as they did not possess their own spiritual fla.
The young matured voice earlier echoed once again, "For the first round, you will have to ignite and stabilize your fla. The judges will observe the fla color stability, fla flicker rhythm, and fla heat fluctuations. Even a slight wavering count will count as a deduction.
Once the bell strikes, you will have to purify the basic spirit herbs... all of them. If any of the herbs show uneven burning, over-purification, or insufficient impurity surfaces will automatically result in disqualification."
The young matured voice paused and the participants’ felt their nerve wrack. They gulped their saliva, trying their best to calm down.
The young matured voice continued, "After you successfully purify all the basic spirit herbs, you must maintain your fla for one incense stick. In that span of ti, your fla must be steady, your temperature control must be precise, and zero deviation even as the do subtly shifts heat currents."
"As for the judges’ criteria, the judge will evaluate on five points. First, the fla purity, which will focus on clarity, color, and qi deviation. Second, the stability, which is the minimal variation during the entire half hour. Then, the herb discoloration uniformity, the impurity extraction evenness, and ntal calmness or the Qi Harmony throughout the first round."
The young matured voice then continued, which shook all the participants.
"Only the top 100 will advance."
They already knew that out of a thousand participants like them, only a hundred would survive.
However, despite a hundred being quite a massive amount, each one of them, even the last top 100, would be rembered and might get invited to blissful opportunities.
For most of the participants, especially those who were hoping to get resources for their dreams of becoming a well-known alchemist, even just passing the first round would be a huge blessing for them.
The Master Alchemist’s voice reverberated again, but this ti, it was more deafening and goosebumps-inducing.
"I, the president of the Alchemist Association of Jinwu, the only Master Alchemist in the kingdom, Master Yan Huoyun, announce the comncent of the Radiant Cauldron Assembly."
A bell struck, reverberating throughout the do, causing the do’s ambient temperature to rise by a few degrees.
The first round finally started.
...
Liu Wei faced the basic bronze cauldron in front of him and ignited his flas.
It was actually the first ti he ignited his flas since he reached the sixth stage of the Verdant Cauldron Sutra.
Hence, he was also eager to observe his current state of fla.
For the next ten seconds, Liu Wei kept his fla ignited and in the span of ti, there were already environntal disruptions that occurred.
Hence, most of the ordinary participants were showing signs of struggle in stabilizing their qi circulation to match the changes.
However, for Liu Wei, his qi was anchored like a mountain. There was not a single fla fluctuation that occurred and he kept his composure throughout.
After all, while others relied on technique, Liu Wei relied on a sacrosanct internal frawork.
Sacrosanct internal frawork refers to the state where a cultivator’s internal body structure becos so stable and fortified that NO external pressure, Qi turbulence, elental backlash, or fla instability can disrupt it. It is "sacred and untouchable," like an unshakable divine furnace.
It was an internal frawork that was only made possible because of the Verdant Cauldron Sutra.
Liu Wei was aware of it since it was ntioned in the manual.
Furthermore, his flas beca an extension of his bones, unshakeable.
Before the bell struck in a minute, signaling to proceed to the next test, Liu Wei stood with relaxed shoulders, steady breath, no trembling, and appeared like an ancient statue.
The spectators noticed his action and they began to take notice of him.
"He hasn’t moved since he ignited his flas... he is not just trying to fake it, either. He’s really unbothered... Amazing. Who is he?"
"There’s another dark horse! Even so prodigy is struggling and yet he appeared like a statue!"
While they were murmuring as they started to pour their attention to Liu Wei, even the judges noticed him.
They raised their eyebrows as one of the Senior Alchemists asked, "Master Yan, do you know that boy?"
However, they were shocked to see his face widened in surprise.
Master Yan was staring at the boy... or more specifically, the recomndation token inside his pocket, as though his eyes could see through clothes.
Master Yan mumbled, "That can’t be."
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