. With the announcement by the Alchemist Guild President, Fa Ma, the first round of assessments for this year's Alchemist Conference began immediately.
The first round of the Alchemist Conference consisted solely of refining second-grade elixirs, merely to weed out those who had simply arrived to join in the fun. Therefore, it was a
piece of cake for the alchemists aspiring to win the championship. Mo Tang took note of several minor characters he knew or whose names appeared in the original novels, such as Lin Fei and Xue Mei from Black Rock City, Liu Ling, Gu He's disciple, and the little princess Yue'er. They all passed the test with ease.
Several even displayed their beast fires, which surprised Mo Tang.
Apparently, after the Black Rock City auction, Master Otto had indeed managed to secure a very good flame for his disciple. However,
the beast fire of the Amethyst Winged Lion King was quite powerful, and among the alchemists present, only two or three could rival it. Therefore, Xue Mei and Xiao Yan, possessing purple fire, stood out.
Thousands of flames of various colors rose above the vast plaza, creating a scene reminiscent of a blazing square. The spectacular spectacle filled the spectators with excitement!
Time slowly passed...
When the hourglass finally ran out, the first round of assessments concluded.
Seeing nearly a third of the alchemists around them looking disheartened, everyone around them felt the sheer cruelty of this Alchemist Conference.
After all, most of those who made it here were renowned alchemists from a certain region of the empire... To not even make it past the first round was a shame. One wondered if such a result would dampen their confidence.
Of course, such a thing was beyond anyone's consideration.
After all, there's a saying: In esports, being bad is the original sin!
This saying rings true everywhere, including here...
Having swept away a large number of unqualified individuals, the Alchemist Conference was finally entering its intense final stages.
Their test question was the third-grade Fengxing Pill, and with only two ingredients, they needed a minimum success rate of 50% to pass.
Seeing this situation, even the confident Xiao Yan felt a little uneasy.
As for the others, with the exception of Liu Ling, who had been studying alchemy with Gu He, they all shared a similar concern.
However, their sentiment was not without reason.
It was only just beginning, and a series of alchemists had already encountered difficulties while melting pills, resulting in pills being destroyed and failed.
Xiao Yan had suffered the same fate, which only made him even more anxious...
"Little one, have you forgotten what I've always taught you? Alchemists, avoid impatience. Calm your mind and carefully examine the prescription..."
At this critical moment, Yao Lao finally couldn't help but speak up.
However, at this moment, Yun Yun, Jia Xingtian, and Fa Ma, all seated at the head of the group, simultaneously noticed something unusual...
"Jia Lao, President Fa Ma, did you notice anything unusual just now?" Yun Yun turned to look at Jia Xingtian, dressed in a linen robe, and asked.
Although both were Dou Huang, Yun Yun's soul power was still inferior to Jia Xingtian and Fa Ma, two veterans who had lived for countless years.
Jia Xingtian also turned to look at Fa Ma.
If we talk about soul power among everyone present, no one could possibly surpass this old fellow.
Fa Ma narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze landing on Xiao Yan.
"That special soul power just now must have come from this little fellow, but I don't know the specific circumstances. However, there are many strange and bizarre secret arts on this continent, and the other party is an alchemist, so perhaps he has some secret method to change soul power..."
Jia Xingtian and Yun Yun both nodded, then continued to watch the competition quietly.
...
...
With Yao Lao's reminder, Xiao Yan finally realized something was wrong, but after careful consideration, he decided to reveal something in advance.
Looking at the last remaining medicinal ingredient, Xiao Yan took a deep breath and placed it directly into the medicine cauldron. Then he slowly raised his right palm. After a moment's silence, a cold, pale flame slowly rose from his palm...
Bone Spirit Cold Fire!
Although he no longer had the Azure Lotus Earth Core Fire's assistance, with Yao Lao around, Xiao Yan at least had a special fire to use...
Of course, it was only borrowed, and couldn't be controlled as easily as the Purple Fire.
But even after his initial defeat in the fight for the Azure Lotus Earth Core Fire, Xiao Yan, with Yao Lao's help, experimented with using the Bone Spirit Cold Fire to refine his own medicine.
After using it for so long, he'd developed a basic grasp of it, and with Yao Lao's covert control, he could even significantly speed up his refining process.
While this might smack of cheating, for his own benefit, it was no problem!
In the eleventh hour, Xiao Yan successfully refined the Wind-Speed Pill, passing this stage of the assessment.
Besides Xiao Yan, only Liu Ling, the little princess Yue'er, and a mysterious gray-robed figure remained.
The final round wouldn't take place until tomorrow, so everyone headed home to find their families.
Walking down the road to the Hui Inn, Mo Tang felt a wave of emotion.
Unexpectedly, even after he'd already deprived Xiao Yan of his Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame, he'd still managed to make it this far. Whether it was the plot's inertia or Yao Lao's dedication, it both surprised Mo Tang slightly.
However, it didn't really affect him much. Or rather, he was eager for Xiao Yan to reveal more... He
was carefully reflecting on the original story from his previous life and the changes in the current world, comparing them to see if there were any loopholes in his plan.
Suddenly, Mo Tang felt a burning gaze from his side.
Bewildered, he turned around and met Yun Yun's gloomy face...
"What's wrong, Sister Yun Yun?"
The words sent a wave of anger through Yun Yun's heart.
This jerk had the nerve to feign innocence and ask what was wrong?
"Hmph!"
With a cold expression, Yun Yun hurried into the courtyard of the inn.
Confused, Mo Tang felt a pang of frustration, wondering how he had offended this woman again.
Arriving in the room, Yun Yun no longer had to worry about losing her composure in front of others, and she relaxed a lot. Looking at Mo Tang, she said in a strange tone: "It seems that you enjoyed watching today's conference very much? I didn't see you talking all the way. Are you still savoring the beauty of being surrounded by beautiful women?"
Mo Tang's eyes widened when he heard this.
Damn!
So this is what you are angry about?
This is too unfair for me!
Thinking of this, Mo Tang suddenly looked aggrieved, "You really misunderstood, I didn't think about any women at all, but men..."
"Thinking about men?!" Yun Yun almost jumped up.
You might as well be thinking about women!
Rolling his eyes at this woman who looks well-educated but is actually very dirty, Mo Tang said: "I was talking about thinking about those powerful alchemists today..."
(End of this chapter)