“What about him?” An inner disciple asked.
“Senior Brother might not know it, but this Ling Xiao defeated the twenty-sixth and tenth ranked Half Great Masters with a cultivation base of just Peak Rank Eight Martial Vein, breaking the sect’s 100,000-years record.”
That old outer disciple replied.
“Hehe, luck plays a relatively big in a martial arts challenge, but alchemy is different. It requires skill, experience, and an excellent flame. Ling Xiao is playing with fire like this. His tail is already reaching the heavens.”
That inner disciple was also a Medicine Hall disciple. He naturally knew how difficult alchemy was. Therefore, he didn’t believe that Ling Xiao could defeat Qingmu.
In fact, with the exception of Yang Danlin and Lan Yu’er, no one thought otherwise.
Even the three Elders of Medicine Hall who came to judge the event believed this.
The cultivation base and alchemy techniques of these three Elders were comparable to Yang Danlin’s, but they were all a decade older than him. Although they were already approaching the ends of their lifespans, they were also regarded as Moonlight Sect’s darlings.
At least, there would be no issues with their judgment. Therefore, it was fair for them to judge this challenge.
“Okay, let’s not waste any time. You two can start. Today, you two will refine a Top Grade True Essence Pill. The materials have already been prepared. Whoever’s finished product has a higher perfection rate is the winner.”
One of the elders announced.
Top Grade True Essence Pill was an unqualified pill and didn’t even have the qualification of being a yellow grade pill. However, this thing was the best for increasing the internal energy and cultivation base of Martial Vein Realm martial artists.
In the secular world, it was very hard to find this pill.
This alchemy contest was about operation, not ability. Therefore, it was impossible to ask for a pill that Ling Xiao couldn’t refine.
After all, even if Ling Xiao were outstanding, he was nothing more than an inexperienced alchemist and could only refine unqualified pills.
If the same pill refined by Ling Xiao was better than Qingmu’s, he would win.
In terms of selecting the materials, Ling Xiao was much faster and precise.
Although all the materials had already been prepared, whether to use more or less was completely in their hands. The exact amounts used could spell the difference between victory and defeat.
After selecting their materials, the two began to grind and roll their pills. Although boring, it was vital.
Afterward, the two put their twenty raw pills into the alchemy furnace at the same time.
Raw pills were unrefined pills without any special effects. The following steps were crucial.
“Wow! It’s the Slow Intense Sacred Fire!” Some onlookers exclaimed.
Ling Xiao had yet to ignite his fire, so he turned over and observed Qingmu.
What a good fellow! A ball of flame had appeared behind Qingmu. Interestingly, half of this flame was incomparably fierce as if it could burn everything while the other half was very gentle. However, it was very obvious that its sustained heat was superior.
In the pill path, so-called slow fire was for a ‘thin streams flow forever’ slow, sustained burn while the intense fire was for a forceful, hasty burn.
Slow Intense Sacred Fire had the traits of both slow and intense fire. Moreover, its effect was even better, truly suitable for alchemy.
After a glance, Ling Xiao retracted his gaze and focused on his own alchemy.
Qingmu’s Slow Intense Sacred Fire was indeed powerful, but a common flame was enough to refine the unqualified Top Grade True Essence Pill.
In the Landscape World, Ling Xiao had already refined Top Grade True Essence Pills more than a thousand times. The key point was that the Landscape World could simulate alchemy without consuming any materials. Nevertheless, it would naturally not produce any pills.
However, the process was practically the same as actual alchemy. Therefore, the alchemy techniques he had learned were all real.
However, Ling Xiao still ran into some minor troubles as his raw pills had some issues.
Generally speaking, the humidity, age, quality, and so on of a batch of materials should be similar.
However, after making the raw pills, Ling Xiao discovered that something was wrong. His materials were damp as if someone had intentionally spilled water on them.
Among the crowd, two people whispered.
“Heh heh, that kid is guaranteed to lose. His materials are soaked with a special spring water that has a very high ignition point. Common fire cannot evaporate it. His pill will never be refined unless he uses one of the twelve divine flames.”
“Well done! If Hall Master Qingwu wins this time, he will become the genuine Hall Master of the Medicine Hall. Then, you won’t need to do that hard labor of carrying around materials; you can just follow me and cultivate.”
The second person was none other than Hei Suo.
Hei Suo had been looking for a way to deal with Ling Xiao who always either stayed in his cave dwelling or was with Lan Yu’er or Yang Danlin. Thus, he had had no chance to make a move.
However, this time, it was unknown where Ling Xiao had found his guts, but he had actually challenged Qingmu in an open alchemy contest.
In addition, Hall Master Old Yang had actually used his Hall Master seat as a bet.
Why would Hei Suo not seize this chance to trip Ling Xiao?
It was not that he didn’t believe in Deputy Hall Master Qingmu’s abilities, but he felt that Ling Xiao had been lucky too many times. Therefore, in order to be certain, he instructed the people who had carried the materials to tamper with Ling Xiao’s materials.
“Many thanks, Senior Brother Hei Suo!”
Hei Suo smiled as he watched the stage once more.
At this moment, Yang Danlin and Lan Yu’er also noticed that something was wrong.
Because Ling Xiao, who was supposed to ignite the fire, didn’t at this moment. He simply sat there in a daze.
With their insight, it was not difficult to notice that there was a problem with the materials.
“Hall Master, should we stop the match? Wouldn’t it be troublesome if this goes on?”
Lan Yu’er nervously asked.
Yang Danlin also looked serious since he had bet his Hall Master seat. Saying he wasn’t feeling any pressure would be a lie, especially since he knew that Ling Xiao’s materials had been tampered with.
“No, if we interrupt the match, other people will think that we are refusing to acknowledge our defeat.”
Yang Danlin shook his head. Once he interrupted the match, he would have no face to continue serving as the Hall Master of the Medicine Hall.
Even if the person who tampered with the materials was found, that would just be blamed on his poor management, not implicating Qingmu.
“But if this continues, we’ll lose.”
Lan Yu’er was a little anxious.
“Don’t be anxious. Let’s just watch for now. In any case, the time needed to refine Top Grade True Essence Pills is one hour. It’s still too early.”
Yang Danlin wiped cold sweat from his forehead. His fate was already bound with Ling Xiao’s. Now, he could only hope that Ling Xiao could solve the problem by himself.
Would a miracle occur?
Fuuuuuu~~
Ling Xiao slowly exhaled and calmed himself down.
Since the materials had been tampered with, he had to find another solution.
