Translator: Silavin
As time passed, on the blue stone platforms in the square, Alchemy Masters with gloomy faces occasionally walked down, reluctantly leaving amidst countless regretful gazes.
Of course, no one dared to mock them.
Those who could participate in this Alchemy Competition certainly possessed some strength, and definitely had some reputation in their respective regions. Those remaining now were the elite of the elite.
This small first item had already eliminated more than half the participants. This competition was indeed extremely cruel!
At this moment, Qin Yichen had already refined all the medicinal herbs in the Pill Furnace into Medicinal Liquid, but just as he was about to condense the Pill, his expression suddenly changed.
*Hum…*
Only to see that the shabby-looking Pill Furnace in front of him suddenly began to tremble slightly at this time, followed by a devouring force coming from the bottom of the Pill Furnace.
[You’re actually still devouring medicinal properties!? Impossible! Hasn’t all that Thousand Year Old Spirit Milk been completely absorbed by you!?] Qin Yichen’s mouth twitched violently, then his Spiritual Energy burst forth.
He had to refine the Pill before the Pill Furnace completely devoured all the medicinal properties. Otherwise, even with all his abilities, it would be too late.
“Hehe, is the furnace about to explode? He must have come here deliberately to make a fool of himself. How amusing!” Wang Muyu, watching this scene, had an even more mocking expression on his face. The Pill Furnace’s instability was clearly a sign of an impending explosion!
However…
“Condense!” Qin Yichen suddenly shouted, his palm directly slapping on the Pill Furnace. Then, a smooth Pill erupted from the Pill Furnace, which he grabbed in his hand.
“Phew… that was close, otherwise it would have been really embarrassing…” Qin Yichen let out a light breath.
Looking at the Pill in his hand, although its colour was slightly dull, obviously only a First Grade Pill, at least it still retained some medicinal properties. This was enough for Qin Yichen to pass the first round.
“He actually formed a Pill?”
A flash of astonishment passed through Wang Muyu’s eyes, but when he saw it was only a First Grade Pill, he immediately mocked, “Brat, looks like you’re lucky, you didn’t blow up the furnace…”
Qin Yichen just glanced at him lightly and saw that he was playing with a Pill in his hand that had a much better colour than his own.
Qin Yichen could not help but find it amusing. [Is this guy trying to show off to me?]
Naturally, he did not respond to him.
“As a person, one should have a sense of shame. Standing on this stone platform representing our Heavenly Unicorn Dynasty’s best Alchemy Masters, you just refined a First Grade Pill, don’t you feel ashamed?! I advise you to quit early, to avoid embarrassing yourself!” Wang Muyu loudly rebuked, with a serious expression on his face.
“Hehe…” Qin Yichen instead smiled at him, not willing to waste words with him, only turning his gaze towards the hourglass representing the remaining time in front of the main platform.
At this time, the top of the hourglass was almost empty, obviously, the time for the first round was about to end.
Wang Muyu was fuming with rage. However, Qin Yichen just ignored him…
Soon, the hourglass ran out.
Master Gu Ye stood in the middle of the main platform, looking down at the huge square from his high position. His gaze swept slightly, looking at the remaining twenty or so Alchemy Masters. He nodded with a smile, then he slightly pressed his hands down, and the noisy square gradually quieted down.
“Congratulations to those still standing on the platform, you have successfully passed the first round. However, this first round is not completely over yet.”
Master Gu Ye said with a serious face, “Some people like to play little tricks, seeming to have successfully refined Pills, but in fact, they have no effect at all. What they refined are waste Pills. So, next, we will test the Pills you have refined to see if they meet the requirements.”
As his words fell, a batch of testers wearing the Heavenly Unicorn Dynasty Royal City Alchemy Guild uniforms walked into the arena.
“Now, please hand over the Pills you have refined to our testers.”
Gu Ye’s voice slowly sounded in everyone’s ears.
Immediately, on the blue stone platforms, the faces of several Alchemy Masters suddenly darkened, and two even angrily threw their Pills on the ground and crushed them with their feet.
Those who dared to do this, of course, were not Alchemy Masters from the Heavenly Unicorn Dynasty.
“What kind of test is this? Giving us an incomplete formula, and expecting us to refine a Pill in such a short time. This is clearly making things difficult for us!”
These Alchemy Masters from other dynasties grumbled as they walked off the platform, with ashen faces and reluctant looks, heading towards the exit.
With this round of testing, nearly ten more Alchemy Masters were eliminated from the competition.
“Second Grade Pill, passed!” In front of Wang Muyu’s blue stone platform, after the tester took the Pill and briefly tested it, he shouted.
“It is an incomplete formula, but in such a short time, he actually refined a Second Grade Pill. Truly what one would expect of Wang Muyu!”
After hearing the announcement of Wang Muyu’s Pill grade, a series of surprised voices rose from the audience seats, continuous and unending.
Hearing those praises, Wang Muyu’s chest puffed up high, looking as if he had already won the championship. Finally, he did not forget to glance provocatively at Qin Yichen.
Even Gu Ye on the high platform nodded at Wang Muyu’s result. Of course, he did not know that Wang Muyu was very familiar with the Flowing Cloud Pill.
However, soon, the originally noisy audience seats suddenly fell silent as a sentence rang out.
“Th-Third Grade Pill, passed!”
What was originally noticed only by some sharp-eyed people, now, when announced, immediately attracted everyone’s attention.
Upon seeing that unfamiliar robe and the face that was obviously even younger than Wang Muyu’s, the atmosphere in the venue suddenly became somewhat oppressive.
A Third Grade Pill and a Second Grade Pill were completely different levels. This indicated that this Alchemy Master from another dynasty was far superior to Wang Muyu in strength and skill.
“Bring me that person’s information.” Master Gu Ye frowned and said to an Elder beside him, who hurriedly searched for the information and then handed a thin paper to Gu Ye.
Taking the information, Gu Ye read it carefully. After a moment, his expression changed, and he said, “Indeed, he’s from the Brilliant Martial Country!”
The Brilliant Martial Country was the strongest country close to the Heavenly Unicorn Dynasty!
Strictly comparing, the strength of the Heavenly Unicorn Dynasty might not even be one-third of the Brilliant Martial Country’s.
Even with the Millennial Lu Family, the Brilliant Martial Country still had a strong intention to annex the Heavenly Unicorn Dynasty, and had shown this intention in recent years.
Constantly seizing the Heavenly Unicorn Dynasty’s Alchemy Tower spot was one of these intentions.
The Brilliant Martial Country also had a Millennial Family behind it, so if the Heavenly Unicorn Dynasty could not compete, the Lu Family would not go to war with that Millennial Family for such a barren territory.