Chapter 42 Promotion
On Lingxu Peak, outside the formation of the alchemy platform, there is a hall.
More than ten figures stood in the hall, most of them were second-grade alchemists. The two leading ones had three elixir patterns on their chests, which meant they were third-grade alchemists and had at least reached the Golden Core Stage.
The first rank of alchemist is a chasm, and the higher you advance, the harder it is to advance. Even in Kunlun, which is famous for its alchemy skills, there are only more than thirty each of them has an extremely high status in the sect.
A second-rank alchemist flipped through the list of disciples participating in the competition and said, "This competition will definitely be exciting. I haven't seen many of the names on this list in a long time..."
Another person beside him said, "In the past, many people were busy refining pills to earn spirit coins in exchange for Tongmai Pills to break through the realm. Now, low-level disciples can only buy three Tongmai Pills a month. They should all be aiming for the rewards for the top ten."
The second-rank alchemist smiled and said, "This will make the competition even more interesting."
He glanced at a name, looked at it again with suspicion, and shook his head, saying, "Li Yu, his cultivation is at the second level of Qi Refining... What kind of elixir can he make at the second level of Qi Refining? Haha, these days, anyone can participate in the Alchemy Competition..."
While everyone was discussing and laughing, deacons and disciples would come in from outside from time to time to report on the situation outside.
A young disciple came hurriedly and said, "Junior Sister Zheng has already started the furnace. She only used one material to refine two top-grade pills and eight super-grade pills."
Everyone was amazed when they heard this.
As second-grade alchemists, they have no problem refining low-level pills. They can easily make ten super-grade pills. This is because they have deep magical support and can use their Qi Refining Stage cultivation to refine top-grade pills. Her future achievements will definitely be above theirs.
Someone who knew the inside story said, "She is worthy of being the direct disciple of Grandmaster Dan Yangzi. Two top-grade pills in one furnace is not her limit. I heard that she has produced five top-grade pills in one furnace at most..."
"I am ashamed, ashamed. I have been refining pills for two hundred years, but I have never produced five top-grade pills in one furnace..."
"Is it possible that Junior Brother Wuliang's title of champion will be robbed again this time? He has been robbed four times. If he is robbed again this time, it will be too tragic..."
As time passed, more and more disciples came to report.
"Brother Zhao Wuliang, you used one material to refine three top-grade pills and seven super-grade pills."
"Brother He Jin, one set of materials, eight super-grade ones, and two top-grade ones."
"Senior Brother Liu Ren, one set of materials, six super-quality items, four top-quality items..."
…
On the alchemy platform.
Two quarters of an hour had passed since the start of the first round of competition. A quarter of an hour ago, the girl beside Li Yu successfully produced the elixir. Only at this moment did he calmly withdraw his magic power, put out the flame, and open the elixir furnace.
Zhou Zixuan, whose nerves were tense all the time, didn't even dare to look at the furnace, and asked Li Yu impatiently, "How is it?"
Li Yu glanced at the alchemy furnace and said with a smile: "Five super-quality ones and five top-quality ones."
Zhou Zixuan had no particular idea of the quality of the elixir, so she asked, "Can it be upgraded?"
Before Li Yu could answer, the girl on the stone platform beside him said, "One material, half of which is super-quality and half is top-quality. Of course, you can advance. Your ranking should be at least in the top 20."
Zhou Zixuan finally breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this.
When Li Yu was refining the elixir just now, he was also paying attention to the situation around him.
For most people, it would be considered good if they could produce one super-quality item in one furnace, but he controlled himself a little, trying not to be too conspicuous in the first round.
The girl glanced at Li Yu and asked, "What's your name? Which uncle's disciple are you? Why have I never heard of you before?"
The young man next to her successfully caught her attention. He was so young, yet had such a high success rate in making pills. He should not be an unknown person among the sect's disciples.
Li Yu said: "My name is Li Yu, I don't have a master."
The girl seemed to have remembered something and blurted out, "Li Yu, the king of gigolos?"
Li Yu’s first communication with this talented girl ended here.
He stretched out his hand to call the deacon disciple, took away the pills he had refined, recorded his results, and then started chatting with Zhou Zixuan.
The three rounds of competition are conducted consecutively. If you finish training earlier, you can rest earlier and save more energy to deal with the next round.
While chatting with Zhou Zixuan, Li Yu learned that she had broken through the second acupuncture point of the Wood Spiritual Vein.
This was something to be happy about. After all, after she entered the sect, she had been busy for a long time and had no extra time to practice. The fact that she could open the second acupoint by herself in such a short time showed that her talent was not bad, almost the same as Li Yu. Even if she did not enter Kunlun last time, she would definitely be selected in two years.
Li Yu and Zhou Zixuan were chatting and laughing, which surprised the girl next to them.
Isn't it said that Li Yu is Senior Sister Jiang's childhood sweetheart? How come he is having an affair with another beautiful Senior Sister...
But she soon figured out who Senior Sister Jiang was. How could she, an ordinary disciple, be worthy of her? It would be better to change her target to avoid ending up with nothing.
Time always passes quickly when a beautiful woman is around.
Before we knew it, the bell for the end of the first round of competition had rung.
At this time, those who have not finished refining the elixir naturally have no chance of advancing. In fact, anyone who succeeds in refining the elixir in the second half of the hour will be eliminated. The vast majority of people here are just green leaves that set off the red flowers.
Of course Li Yu advanced without any surprise.
The judging of the alchemy competition is very simple, even judges are not needed. Super-grade elixirs are super-grade elixirs, and top-grade elixirs are top-grade elixirs. The elixir patterns cannot be faked, which fundamentally eliminates the possibility of cheating and behind-the-scenes manipulation.
He ranked twelfth among the one hundred people who advanced to the second round.
Elder Han was right. There were many hidden talents among the disciples of Kunlun. The girl beside Li Yu who had refined the best elixir was only ranked second. The first place winner in the first round successfully refined three best elixirs with one furnace of elixirs.
Not bad, it’s already 80% of his level.
In the second round of competition, only one hundred out of one thousand alchemy apprentices were left. This round still had a 90% elimination rate, and only ten people were left in the end to enter the final round.
The difficulty of this round is also greater than the first round.
In the first round, everyone had three portions of medicinal materials, but this round only had two portions, and there were still ten pills. The time was reduced to half an hour, and the winners were ranked based on the number and quality of the pills. They would enter the top ten of this competition.
Most of the stone platforms in the square have been removed, leaving only about one hundred.
The distance between the two alchemists was also much wider than before, so it was unlikely that they would affect each other.
As the bell rang, the second round of competition officially began.
This round of refining was for detoxification pills. Zhou Zixuan prepared the elixir for him immediately, but Li Yu did not start right away. Half an hour was enough for him.
He leaned on the stone platform and closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep.
There were also many alchemists who, like Li Yu, did not start immediately, but first used recovery pills to restore their mana and adjust their condition to the peak.
A quarter of an hour later, Li Yu opened his eyes, raised his eyebrows, and looked into the void ahead.
At some point, a huge water curtain appeared there. At this moment, there was a wave above the water curtain, and a line of words appeared.
"Zhao Wuliang, two top-grade pills, eight super-grade pills, and forty-two pill patterns."
As soon as this line of words appeared on the water curtain, the second line of words appeared immediately afterwards.
"Zheng Keqi, two top-grade elixirs, eight super-grade elixirs, 42 elixir patterns."
Only a quarter of an hour had passed since the start of the second round, and two people had succeeded in refining the pills, and the quality of the pills was frighteningly high. The alchemists who had not yet started could no longer sit still and began to take action.
Li Yu also poured the elixir into the furnace and began to refine the elixir.
Inside the formation, the alchemists were fully focused and silent, while outside the formation, it was already extremely noisy.
"Senior Brother Zhao is so amazing! He is the winner of this competition!"
"Bullshit, I support Junior Sister Zheng, Junior Sister Zheng must win!"
"Senior Brother Zhao has been ranked second for four consecutive years. Junior Sister Zheng is still young and will have plenty of opportunities in the future. Let's let him succeed this time..."
"No matter who wins, they are both the two most talented alchemists among this generation of young disciples. Their future achievements will at least make them third-grade alchemists. Whether they can go further depends on their luck..."
…
No matter how noisy it is outside, the alchemists inside cannot hear any sound because of the formation blocking the way.
Those who could enter the second round of competition were all the best among the alchemy apprentices. The quality of the pills they produced was far beyond the average level of the contestants in the first round. The confident ones among them only used one batch of materials to complete the pill refining, while those who strived for perfection chose to refine two batches and select the one with the best quality.
As time goes by, the names on the water curtain are constantly updated.
"Deng Qingsong, eight super-grade pills, two top-grade pills, and thirty-eight pill patterns."
"He Jin, six super-grade elixirs, four top-grade elixirs, and thirty-six elixir patterns."
"Liu Ren, five super-grade pills, five high-grade pills, and thirty-five pill patterns."
…
The names on the water curtain were roughly divided into three tiers. Zhao Wuliang and Zheng Keqi, who had refined top-grade elixirs, were the best among the others. Deng Qingsong, He Jin, and Liu Ren all learned from third-grade alchemists and did not embarrass their master, firmly occupying the top five positions.
Most of the elixirs produced by the disciples that followed were of high quality, with occasional super-quality ones.
As more and more people finished refining, the ranking of the giant water curtain became stable. The top ten positions have not changed for a long time.
Gao Tian looked at his name ranked high on the water curtain and breathed a long sigh of relief. He had performed exceptionally well this time, producing three super-quality pills from two furnaces, which put him exactly at tenth place. As long as no one among the alchemists behind him surpassed him, he would surely be in the top ten of this alchemy competition.
Although it is impossible for him to get a very high ranking, it is also a rare honor.
Gao Tian found that an alchemist not far from him had not finished yet. His eyes rolled, he covered his mouth, and began to cough loudly.
He cannot change his own results, but he can still influence others.
However, as soon as he coughed, a beautiful woman with an excellent figure came over, glared at him fiercely, and said in a low voice: "Why are you coughing? Cough outside if you want to..."
This woman was so fierce that Gao Tian was so frightened that he almost couldn't catch his breath.
But at this time, the alchemist had already put out the flame.
Gao Tian ignored the woman's fierce look and quickly walked to the alchemist's side, then leaned over to take a look into the alchemy furnace.
Five super-quality gems, five top-quality gems...
Finished!
Gao Tian's face was gloomy, and he could see that the top ten in the competition were moving away from him.
