Chapter 102: Seizing First Place

"Pill formation!"

"I didn't expect the second person to form a pill would be that alchemist from Yushou Peak!"

"Hahaha, I wonder if those who bet on Hu Liang are doing alright now?"

"Damn it, Hu Liang is pulling snake skin, still dawdling over there!"

"I'm furious!"

Some disciples outside the venue clutched their hearts, extremely angry.

These disciples had all bet on Hu Liang at the start, and had bet quite a few spirit stones; now Hu Liang still hadn't formed a pill, and they watched as the alchemy furnace was almost smoking, yet he kept shouting about beautiful fairies—how could they not be angry? From initial amusement to now bitter smiles, that's what gamblers are like.

"There's still a chance, there's still a chance!"

"The pill Yu Zhangsheng formed might not be as good as Hu Liang's!"

"That's right, Hu Liang is pursuing Ten Complete Ten Perfect; as long as he can suppress the Yu Xian Smoke, he can definitely form ten pills, and if the finishing touches are good, one-path pill patterns are no problem!"

"Brothers, we must believe in Pill Master Hu!"

Amidst the shouts of some disciples, Yu Zhangsheng had already extinguished the alchemy fire.

"Open the furnace!" Yu Zhangsheng flicked his sleeve, the furnace lid flew up, revealing the Yu Xian Pills below!

On the viewing platform, Xu Nian's eyes went wide, wanting to see how many pills had formed.

Gongsun Yang stroked his beard, beaming with a smile, clearly very confident in his disciple.

"Oh? Ten pills formed, Ten Complete Ten Perfect, this quality!"

Huang Lao's gaze changed, his expression turned serious, he came before Yu Zhangsheng, picked up a Yu Xian Pill, lowered his head and sniffed.

"Ah, good! Good stuff! Good pill!"

Huang Lao's face immediately turned rosy; that one sniff was long, and he was deeply intoxicated by the scent.

"Good, I didn't expect you little brat to refine a pill of this level!"

"Although there's no pill pattern, the effect is already not inferior to one pill pattern; ten pills, very good, I'll give you one hundred and fifty points!"

Huang Lao looked at Yu Zhangsheng with great appreciation; as he spoke, the wrinkles on his face all crinkled into a smile—this was far stronger than the first time he ever tasted a Yu Xian Pill back in the day.

"One hundred and fifty points?!" Yu Zhangsheng exclaimed in surprise.

He knew his Yu Xian Pills wouldn't be bad, but he didn't expect to reach one hundred and fifty points; the extra points added in here were just too many! At the same time, Mi Lifu's gaze dimmed, and a sense of defeat rose in his heart.

The gap between these one hundred and fifty points and his own score made him realize that he and Yu Zhangsheng were not the same kind of person.

"Perhaps this is what talent is." Mi Lifu sighed inwardly.

"Only Hu Liang is left; let's see if he can form a pill, otherwise this time first place belongs to no one but him."

Now both alchemists present had finished refining; only Hu Liang remained.

Everyone's gaze gathered on him.

Hu Liang made a toasting gesture with one hand and embraced an illusory beauty with the other, laughing loudly several times, swaying left and right.

"Come, again!"

He raised his head and drank, but there was no cup in his hand, nor any wine, yet he seemed to taste the finest wine in the world!

But the next moment, he spat out a mouthful of blood, and his expression turned ashen.

"Pfft!"

After spitting out this mouthful of essence blood, Hu Liang became much clearer; his eyes stared straight at the alchemy furnace, and he reached forward to grab.

"No, no! Don't!"

The Yu Xian Smoke surrounding him gradually scattered, the fire in the alchemy furnace began to extinguish, and at the same time, the pill was extinguished too!

The Yu Xian Pill that had a nascent form cracked with a sound, and then began to turn to ashes.

Seeing this scene, Hu Liang's gaze became somewhat vacant, and he sat blankly on the ground. "How did Pill Master Hu spit blood? Could it be that he failed?!"

"Done for, the alchemy furnace is extinguished, the Yu Xian Pill inside is probably ruined!"

"I bet one thousand spirit stones on him; now it seems there's probably no hope!"

"You only bet one thousand spirit stones, but I bet three thousand spirit stones—I'm the one who lost big, I'm furious!"

"Aaaah! Why did he fail!"

Hu Liang recovered from his defeat and slammed a fist onto the stone platform.

And Hu Liang's disappointed expression was seen by everyone, each with an ugly complexion.

Gongsun Yang's mouth corner curved slightly, looking at Hu Liang and smiling.

"It seems your disciple's mindset is still lacking."

To the side, Hu Liang's master Xu Nian coldly hummed and said: "It's just that he suffered from insufficient magic power; otherwise, with his alchemy skill, what is a mere Yu Xian Pill!"

"Oh? If you say so, then my disciple took advantage, hahaha." Gongsun Yang laughed loudly, then said in a low voice: "But your disciple also needs to properly cultivate in seclusion when he returns."

"Just now, many people over there used Recording Shadow Stones to record your disciple's disgraceful appearance; if it spreads, who knows if your disciple's Dao Heart will collapse."

"As a master, I should properly guide him."

The words fell, and Xu Nian's expression had become ugly to the extreme.

"That's none of your business, Gongsun Yang!"

With Hu Liang's alchemy failure, this Alchemy Conference could be considered officially concluded.

Some laughed, some cried, some sighed.

"The fifth Biandan ends." Huang Lao spoke to announce.

First Place: Yu Zhangsheng, two hundred and sixty-four points.

Second Place: Mi Lifu, one hundred and fifty-seven points.

Third Place: Hu Liang, eighty points.

Although Hu Liang failed in alchemy, he could still rank third, because the top three of the Alchemy Conference could all obtain one opportunity to choose spirit herbs below Third Rank from the sect.

And the points they gained would not be cleared; they would all be converted into Sect Contribution.

For example, Yu Zhangsheng's two hundred and sixty-four points could be exchanged for twenty-six thousand four hundred points of Sect Contribution; these contributions were enough for Yu Zhangsheng to combine with various Pills, and even gather the main ingredients for a Foundation Establishment Pill!

"You juniors are the hope of the new generation; you must cultivate diligently in Alchemy. Even if it is not your main focus, you must put your heart into it."

Huang Lao spoke earnestly to Yu Zhangsheng and Mi Lifu.

The top two of this Alchemy Conference were special: one chose Yushou Peak, and the other chose Shu Fa Peak, but both were extremely talented in Alchemy, far surpassing others.

Hearing this, Yu Zhangsheng nodded vigorously, then sized up Mi Lifu.

This person's Alchemy method combined with Shu Fa Peak's Talismans was quite novel; I just don't know how much of the Spell Technique of Shu Fa Peak he has learned, or how strong his strength is.

If he is like that, with strong talent in both areas, then in the future we should pay more attention to him; perhaps when he is promoted to Inner Sect Disciple, the Trial might pit us against him.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win a hundred battles; Yu Zhangsheng would never overlook any strong Opponent.

Seeing Yu Zhangsheng sizing him up, Mi Lifu gave him an ugly Smile, revealing his yellow Teeth, which made one feel sick from the bottom of one's heart.

Coupled with his lewd appearance, if placed in a crowd, very few people would take him seriously.

Just like this Alchemy Conference, at the beginning no one would have thought he would become Second Place!

Of course, after this Alchemy Conference ended, Yu Zhangsheng's Reputation would be louder than Mi Lifu's; First Place and Second Place are not on the same Layer!

When the Sect discusses this, they always talk about First Place! Yu Zhangsheng Scanned the Outer Sect Disciples, feeling no guilt at all!

(Chapter End)