"I don’t agree!" the Chief Judge shouted, his heart pounding with fear.
They did not point out just one flaw, but three at once. One could easily be refuted, but three?
His heart filled with regret. I shouldn’t have meddled with them.
Now it was too late to regret. He could only try to salvage the situation and find a way out.
Listening to the Chief Judge howl, everyone inside the hall looked at him with wide eyes.
There were hundreds of alchemists in the hall, and they knew the Dust Valley Sect disciples were telling the truth.
Previously, they might not have considered all these things, but now...
With deep contemplation, everyone knew they were not lying.
There are indeed flaws with the cauldron.
But looking at the Chief Judge, who might have his dantian crushed and serve as pill servant for the next hundred years, they understood his plight.
Just then, a cold, arrogant voice spoke.
"I also don’t believe them. This is total nonsense. If this were truly the truth, why has it not been discovered all these years?" Tian Lei sneered, staring at Zhen Xi and Qiao Lian in disdain.
Instantly, everyone turned their eyes to him, finding it interesting. With many Alchemist Masters present, what gave him the confidence to utter such words?
Even his indifferent master wore a grim expression. He glared coldly at his foolish disciple.
However, Tian Lei was so lost in his act that he failed to see his master’s ugly expression.
Staring at Tian Lei for support, the Chief Judge breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as they could rubbish these flaws, he would save his neck.
Tian Lei’s next words threw him over the edge.
"Why don’t you tell us the cauldron is best for refining the Bone Mending Pill and refine it for us right now?" His voice was loud enough for everyone to hear.
"This time we don’t want to hear any more useless excuses."
Zhen Xi and Qiao Lian chuckled, looking at him like a fool.
"Good. Get us the Black Iron Cauldron," Qiao Lian said casually. "This will prove why we called every alchemist in the capital a failure. Now, such a defective gene has been passed to the next generation."
Her voice was soft, but it pierced the hearts of those from the capital like a dagger.
Their faces grew ugly.
They clenched their fists under their robes. Many wanted to teach her a lesson but refrained from speaking.
Right, they had no ground to exchange words with the Dust Valley Sect.
Tian Lie did not mind her comment and sneered. He turned to the judges and asked, "Judges, why don’t you get them the Black Iron Cauldron? Let’s see their illustrious skills." His voice dripped with sarcasm.
The judges looked at each other for a moment before they commanded a few attendants to fetch the two Black Iron Cauldrons.
The Black Iron Cauldron was an ordinary mortal cauldron without any special effect.
Many even believed the Bronze Tempered Cauldron was even a bit better than it.
Yet, they requested it.
Everyone waited patiently. They all wanted to see how the Dust Valley Sect disciples would use such a cauldron to refine a Peak Tier-1 Pill.
Quickly, two Black Iron Cauldrons were brought by the attendants.
Receiving the cauldrons, Zhen Xi and Qiao Lian did not start refining immediately.
They checked to ensure the cauldron had not been tampered with.
"What? Do you think they used underhand means to tamper with the cauldron?" Tian Lei scoffed, his disdain for them increasing.
"You overestimate yourself." He clicked his tongue.
Zhen Xi and Qiao Lian ignored him like a clown. The two exchanged a knowing smile and began refining.
This time, they did not use any strange items.
Everyone held their breath as they leaned forward. They all wanted to watch their skill.
But to their shock, the arrangement of the pills surprised them. However, no one spoke. They kept watching.
They ignited their cauldron, and when it reached their preferred temperature, they began to throw the herbs inside.
Most of their actions did not make sense. There was no rhythm. Their fire control was astonishing.
A sudden, hot temperature lasted for a few seconds and then they reduced it to the bare minimum.
Tian Lei could not hide his smile. He could already foresee pill failure.
This was not pill refining but disaster.
Opposite him, Si Yu was also stunned. She had thought the arrogant disciples were something special, but their skills were lackluster.
But as time passed, everyone began to notice a strange rhythm, a particular timing that left them stunned.
"This..." an old Alchemist gasped, his eyes widening in disbelief.
The Silent Pill Sect Master wore a peculiar expression, and slowly her face turned to confusion.
At her level, only a few things in alchemy could confuse her. Yet, watching two disciples refine a mere Peak Tier-1 Pill left her perplexed.
Not only her; beside her, the Capital Alchemist Hall Master wore an ugly expression.
He tried to understand the strange and erratic actions but could not.
Many of their actions should have caused the pill cauldron to explode, yet it remained stable, and the pill refining continued smoothly.
Suddenly, everyone noticed they had reached the last stage.
The hall was dead quiet; even breathing seemed too loud.
Zhen Xi and Qiao Lian slapped their cauldrons twice, and ten pills jumped out of their cauldrons.
Swiftly, each took their pills and placed them inside a pill bottle.
They had barely spent thirty minutes refining the pill, which left everyone stunned.
"We’re done," Zhen Xi said, raising her head and giving the stunned judges a teasing smile.
"Please check..." She moved forward, ignoring the Chief Judge and handing the pill bottles to the other judges.
Qiao Lian did the same.
Receiving the pill bottles, the judges recovered from their shock and looked at each other.
Slowly, they took the pills out and began to examine them carefully. With each passing second, their expressions turned to shock.
"H-How..." a Judge muttered in a daze. Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚⚫𝙣𝙚𝙩
Not only the three other judges were equally dazed. They did not dare believe their eyes.
Zhen Xi and Qiao Lian chuckled.
"Why don’t you tell everyone the result?" Zhen Xi asked.
"Ahem..." A Judge cleared his throat with pity before he looked at the audience. "Each pill bottle contains three Peak Grade Pills and seven High-Grade Pills."
The quiet hall descended into uproar. Three Peak-Grade Pills.
Many could not believe their ears.
Tian Lei widened his mouth as if he had swallowed flies.
The Chief Judge’s heart skipped a beat, and he sank to the ground.