Chapter 515

The next day!

The Skywork Pavilion was still packed with noise, the number of warriors on the viewing stands increased by ten percent compared to yesterday.

The top hundred match of the Alchemy Contest was not of much interest to many strong cultivators, but now that it was narrowing from a hundred to ten, its spectacle far surpassed the first round.

The same seating as yesterday, but this time Li Hong, the fourth elder of the Li family, had also appeared.

Among the entire viewing area, there were no shortage of cultivators at the Fifth Stage of Primordial Qi; families like the Li family and several sects had sent their elders to watch.

“Fourth Elder, last year’s Alchemy Contest simply cannot be compared to this year’s.”

A Li family member beside him sighed, having just tried to extend his spiritual sense—before it had traveled far, he immediately retracted it, as several stronger spiritual senses had instantly suppressed his.

“Tomorrow will be even more lively.”

Li Hong spoke calmly; those present today were only those at the Fifth Stage of Primordial Qi. By tomorrow, even some cultivators at the Sixth Stage might appear.

“Master Xiao is stepping onto the stage!”

As the bell rang, Lin Chen and the others filed into the square.

This time, only one hundred alchemy furnaces remained in the square, each spaced far enough apart.

The rankings from the first round of the Alchemy Contest were not carried forward to the next two rounds, but they determined the placement order; Lin Chen had been seventy-sixth in the previous round and now sat in the center of the seventh row.

“I wonder what this round will test?”

“According to past rules, this round, the Thousand Mechanisms Sect will prepare three different types of elixirs; each contestant must brew all three, and whoever completes them fastest wins first place.”

Primordial-level martial alchemy elixirs are broadly divided into four categories: one enhances Primordial Qi, one strengthens the spiritual soul, one heals injuries, and the last has special effects, such as poison elixirs…

The Alchemy Contest naturally would not test poison elixir brewing, so it usually focuses on the first three categories.

“This year is different; perhaps the rules will change too.”

“Old man, I think the rules won’t change—only the difficulty might increase.”

As the onlookers speculated, at the very front of the square, an elderly white-haired man hovered in midair: “For the second round of the Alchemy Contest, you must brew three elixirs: Primordial Powder, Nourish-Soul Pill, and Jade Dew Pill!”

Hiss!

Upon hearing the elixirs to be brewed, the viewing stands erupted in sharp intakes of breath.

“Three four-star elixirs!”

“More than just four-star elixirs—these three are among the more difficult even within the four-star category.”

“In last year’s contest, half the contestants wouldn’t have even been sure they could brew them successfully, let alone compete for speed.”

…

Lin Chen’s spiritual sense also observed the other contestants; when the old man named the three elixirs, he sensed several contestants’ spiritual souls tremble.

Clearly, the difficulty of this round had caught them off guard.

At the very front, Jiang Yaoyan glanced at the black-clothed man beside him; he already knew the man’s identity—the personal disciple of the Thousand Mechanisms Sect’s Alchemy Pavilion master, Jiang Chen.

Seeing Jiang Chen’s expression remain unmoved, Jiang Yaoyan sneered inwardly; clearly, the Thousand Mechanisms Sect had informed Jiang Chen in advance what elixirs this round would test, and perhaps Jiang Chen had brewed these three many times before.

But so what? He was the young master of the Medicine King Valley; among the younger generation, no one surpassed him in alchemy.

“For this round, the time limit is one hour. If completion times differ by less than one hour, they are considered equal. Beyond time, if times are equal, results are decided by the number of elixirs produced. If both time and quantity are equal, I shall judge the potency of the elixirs to determine rankings. Do you have any objections?”

Hearing that a one-hour difference counted as equal time, many contestants visibly relaxed.

They had feared rushing to gain speed would cause flaws in their brewing; now, as long as they finished within one hour of each other, they didn’t need to obsess over speed.

The white-haired old man slowly scanned every contestant’s face; seeing no objections, he continued: “When the bell rings, the alchemy begins.”

After announcing the rules, the old man sat down on the chair at the front. Soon, disciples of the Thousand Mechanisms Sect began distributing baskets of herbs to each contestant.

“Senior Zeng, do you think Brother Jiang will win this round?”

On the front-row viewing stand belonging to the Thousand Mechanisms Sect, a group of young disciples were whispering among themselves.

Zeng Xi, hearing a junior disciple’s question, shook his head: “Hard to say. Jiang Yaoyan of the Medicine King Valley is no weakling. More importantly, this round is only narrowing from a hundred to ten—the first and second places are effectively the same, neither counts toward the final round’s ranking.”

“Even if it doesn’t count toward the final ranking, winning three consecutive first places versus winning only in the final round carries completely different significance and impact.”

A young man from the Thousand Mechanisms Sect muttered; true prodigies never hold back their strength before the final round. Holding back only reveals a lack of confidence in one’s own ability.

Those with confidence aim to claim every first place; among past champions of the Alchemy Contest, except for a few rare cases, most won by securing first place in all three rounds.

Hearing the murmurs beside him, Zeng Xi smiled wryly; as a disciple of the sect’s top priority, he knew more about this year’s contest than his fellow disciples—this year’s competition featured many alchemy prodigies, several of whom had barely crossed the fifty-year mark to qualify, and their strength was not to be underestimated.