Chapter 404: This Boy Must Not Be Allowed to Live

The judges no longer paid attention to the two Old Demons, turning their focus to Long Xuan, their gazes filled with anticipation.

The Ten Great Empires, to host this Alchemy Competition capable of drawing in nearly half the Alchemists of the Western Regions, offered a vast array of rewards.

These rewards had to recoup costs; collecting the Pills the Alchemists produced was merely a minor matter—the real value lay in the Pill Formulas created by Heavenly Prides in the Fourth Round.

A Heaven-Defying Pill Formula could elevate a faction's strength by an entire tier.

The two Old Demons' formulas were clearly unusable, and no one dared use them—they could only place their final hopes on Long Xuan.

Long Xuan indeed did not disappoint them; as the number of characters he wrote increased, the judges' eyes grew ever brighter.

Even before he finished writing the formula, the judges had already deduced its function through pharmacological reasoning.

The Heaven-Defying effect of this formula undoubtedly caused every judge to light up with excitement.

"It's a Spirit Pill that can induce Spirit Insects to lay eggs—it even has some effect on Top Grade Spirit Insects. Truly Heaven-defying."

"If Top Grade Spirit Insects can reproduce rapidly by consuming Pills, what difficulty is there in breeding Top-Grade Gu Worms?"

"This Pill is incredibly practical—it could elevate a faction's strength by more than one tier!" exclaimed an old man on the judging panel, his voice trembling with excitement.

"Hehe… a Spirit Pill that enables rapid reproduction of Top Grade Spirit Insects? I've never heard of such a thing—this is my first time seeing it!"

"This Western Region Alchemy Competition was truly worth hosting—just the revenue from this one Pill Formula alone is enough to offset all resources spent on organizing the event," said a female judge, breathing heavily, her eyes gleaming.

"Tsk tsk—a mere Third Grade Alchemist managed to create a Fourth Grade Pill Formula? Truly Heaven-defying!"

"Most crucially, this Pill causes no side effects on Spirit Insects—something the two Demon Pill Formulas lack. The side effects of those two Demon Pill Formulas are immense; they cannot be taken repeatedly. Just this one point makes this Pill's value surpass those two Demon Pill Formulas."

The most venerable old man stroked his beard, his face flushed red.

Long Xiaoyao's lips curled into a smile; with those words from the elder, this round was won—his tightly clenched heart finally relaxed.

Long Yuyao also exhaled deeply, unclenching her tense fingers, her gaze toward Long Xuan filled with complex emotion.

Fen Tian Old Ancestor's face turned ashen—he had lost again, and worse, consecutively to a mere youth. How could such a proud man accept this?

Hmph! Disdain the Demon Pills? You dare give me low scores on that pretext? Then I'll spread these two Demon Pill Formulas all over the streets—let's see how you handle it afterward.

Fen Tian Old Ancestor snorted coldly in his heart and angrily flung his sleeve as he departed.

Before the judges could announce the scores, he had already left.

His already-written Pill Formula still lay on the table, untouched by anyone.

A truly Heaven-defying Pill Formula, yet here it was met with indifference.

Duan Tianwu also shook his head; from the judges' reactions and their chatter, he already understood the tide had turned—his score could never surpass Long Xuan's.

"Your friend is truly exceptional—he's the first person to ever defeat me in Alchemy, and he's done it repeatedly!"

"If he knew my Identity, he'd have endless bragging rights once he stepped outside!" he said to a soul within his mind.

"I told you not to underestimate him. You should've just pulled out the Inheritance Pill Formula—it would've summoned Thunder Tribulation and guaranteed victory," said Little Medicine Boy dismissively.

"Hmph! That's a Pill Formula capable of summoning Thunder Tribulation—such formulas are nearly extinct in this world. If I revealed it in such a setting, this Heaven-defying formula would become commonplace. How could I possibly accept that?"

"I won't hand over the Formula, but handing over the Pill is no problem."

"Next, I'll gather the materials for the Inheritance Pill and refine it in the Finals."

"I refuse to believe I can't beat that brat by refining a Pill capable of summoning Thunder Tribulation!"

Duan Tianwu gazed at Long Xuan, his eyes blazing with intense combat intent.

"So, you're finally done hiding your true strength? Preparing to refine a Fourth Grade Pill?" Little Medicine Boy teased.

"I have no choice but to refine a Fourth Grade Pill—the score gap is too wide. If I refine another Third Grade Pill, I'll lose for sure. This is all his fault!"

Duan Tianwu gave a bitter laugh and turned to leave the hall; since the outcome was clear, he had no interest in staying.

Shortly after both departed, the judges' deliberations finally reached a conclusion.

The final scores were: Long Xuan, 94; Fen Tian Old Ancestor and Qin Dan, tied at 93.

As expected, Long Xuan had widened the gap again in this round—though only by one point, not a large margin, but cumulatively, he now led the second-place contender by four points.

A four-point gap was enormous.

Only one final match remained; closing a four-point gap in a single Finals round was an immense challenge.

At this moment, Long Xiaoyao excitedly stroked his beard, convinced he had already secured victory in this bet against the Feng Clan.

In this instant, he felt as if he had grown younger—he unconsciously cast a triumphant glance toward Feng Tiancheng.

As expected, Feng Tiancheng's face was ashen, his eyes locked on Long Xuan, silently sighing: "Thank heavens I didn't bet again with Long Xiaoyao—or I'd have lost again."

"This kid is truly bizarre—under the combined pressure of two Fourth Grade Alchemists, he still won. How the hell did he do it?"

He wiped sweat from his brow, his heart still pounding with lingering shock.

"As a mere Third Grade Alchemist, he's now leading Fen Tian Old Ancestor and Qi Tian Lao Zu by a four-point margin—this boy is truly defying Heaven."

"No—this boy must not be allowed to live. With such a freak in play, the Feng Clan can no longer guarantee victory in this bet."

Feng Tiancheng seemed to have made his decision; his grotesque expression finally returned to normal.

Although the three scores had been calculated, the judges had not yet announced them.

Because this round was not yet over—more than half the competitors were still deep in thought.

Moreover, the effects of the formulas still needed verification; final scores would be adjusted based on experimental results.

As soon as Long Xuan finished writing his formula, Long Xiaoyao snatched it away with lightning speed and carefully tucked it against his body.

This was the original manuscript of a Heaven-defying Pill Formula—immensely valuable as a keepsake and collectible.

After thousands or even tens of thousands of years, such an original manuscript would be worth a fortune.

His created formula was treasured as a relic, while the formulas of Fen Tian Old Ancestor and Qi Tian Lao Zu were different—they were instantly incinerated by two bursts of Flame flung from the judging panel, along with the two tables they rested on… (End of Chapter)