With Song Wanníng and the demon clan young master—these two monsters—who would still care about him?
The system was about ready to shut down.
Just by one person dominance, he couldn't help but doubt his existence.
On the other side, Song Wanníng and the demon clan young master were both seriously attempting to refine pills.
To win, Song Wanníng chose a method she invented herself. It was risky, but if successful, her chances of victory would be very high.
Besides, since she had already trampled down the Medicine King Sect, even if she didn't win first place, it didn't matter. With that gamble in mind, she covered the furnace lid right from the start.
The crowd perked up immediately. Last time Song Wanníng did this, she had refined a special Breakthrough Pill.
Seeing her do it again, everyone's expectations soared.
Inside the immortal furnace, the pill liquid slowly compressed and solidified...
Song Wanníng dared not be distracted. The demonic energy and spiritual power in her body surged together toward the pill liquid, carefully taming each other.
But just as the pill was about to form, the liquid suddenly dispersed. If she hadn't prepared in advance, it would have exploded.
The pill fusion failed, meaning her pill refining had failed.
Song Wanníng frowned. It was her first time refining a Tenth Grade Spirit-Refining Pill, so failure was expected.
Still, staring at the spilled liquid, a bold idea sprang in her mind.
In her dantian, besides spiritual and demonic energy, there was also chaos energy and the divine thunder seed...
Since it had already failed, why not try?
She no longer cared about the outcome. Her real interest now was whether combining these things would produce some special effect.
Thinking that, she began to export the four-colored aura inside her, carefully controlling them into the immortal furnace. If it were a normal pill furnace, just carrying these different energies would have caused it to explode. But the immortal furnace was different. Although the four substances roamed wildly inside, it remained stable.
From the beginning, the four substances both suppressed and competed with each other.
Song Wanníng controlled them toward the pill liquid. The once-abandoned liquid stirred again, actually trying to fuse once more. Before fusion, she carefully pushed out the waste liquid bit by bit. Because of last time's failed fusion, waste liquid had accumulated inside.
Removing the waste had to be done with extreme caution. If too much was removed, the pill's efficacy would suffer, possibly leaving less than a tenth. It could even become a worthless pill.
Song Wanníng held her breath, her movements slowing to extreme caution.
The crowd watched tensely, the thousands silent as they waited.
Everyone wanted to see if the two could create a miracle.
Bang!
The immortal furnace suddenly shook, and the lid seemed about to fly off.
The crowd gasped. Was this a failure?
But Song Wanníng remained calm. She slammed one hand down on the lid, holding it tightly.
Her other hand continued feeding energy without pause.
"Hmph, a Tenth Grade Spirit-Refining Pill? There's no way she can succeed!"
Wu Qingfeng snorted coldly, his eyes full of disdain.
He himself had succeeded at refining his first Tenth Grade Spirit-Refining Pill only after turning two hundred. Because of that, his status in the Medicine King Sect rose steadily to his current position.
How old was Song Wanníng?
No matter how talented, there was no way she could succeed.
Impossible!
"Elder, rest assured. She's just stubbornly holding on!"
"Yes, she's about to fail any second!"
The disciples behind him sneered with malice, wishing the furnace would explode and kill Song Wanníng outright.
That would save them the trouble of dealing with her.
Other sect members also looked down on Song Wanníng. It was clearly a failure, and she was just stubbornly dragging it out.
The Fourth Elder's expression grew serious, but she was already very satisfied. Whether Song Wanníng succeeded or not, she was proud of her!
Wu Qingfeng was just bitter because he couldn't reach the grapes!
Buzz—
The furnace lid trembled continuously, causing the surrounding air to ripple.
Many below sighed.
Song Wanníng was still unaffected. She continued striving for fusion, even as the pill liquid surged wildly inside the furnace, threatening to spiral out of control.
She again began clearing waste liquid.
On the other side, the demon clan young master, also refining for the first time, showed outstanding talent. His process went smoothly from start to finish.
"Looks like this time… that demon clan kid will win!"
The city lord sighed. As a human, she naturally hoped a human would win.
Huo Jinchuan said calmly, "The result is not decided yet. City lord, no need to rush to conclusions."
His gaze never left Song Wanníng, drawing a dark look from the woman behind him.
"Song Wanníng has already lost control. Her chance of success is less than one in ten thousand…"
As Alchemy grandmaster, the city lord understood the problem Song Wanníng faced. But seeing Huo Jinchuan so confident, she raised an eyebrow.
Huo Jinchuan was not a Alchemist. Could he have some special ability?
...
Another hour passed. The crowd grew bored as the demon clan young master suddenly stopped refining. The furnace lid opened, revealing a round pill inside: a Tenth Grade Spirit-Refining Pill.
It was of low-grade quality.
"Wow—"
The crowd was shocked, looking at him in disbelief.
"What kind of freak is he?!"
"He actually succeeded! Even if it's low-grade, this is insane!"
Everyone forgot racial prejudices and admired the demon clan young master.
Xiao Heyun stiffened and almost closed his eyes, hopelessly hearing the prompt that his favorability had dropped.
"Damn!"
A thousand emotions boiled down to that one word.
The demon clan young master glanced at the furnace, unsatisfied, but the result was decided. He collected himself and stepped aside. He looked toward Song Wanníng, noticing the buzzing furnace lid struggling wildly. He was momentarily stunned.
What was going on?
Frowning, with his demonic energy almost exhausted, he sat down and watched her closely.
"The result is decided. No matter how much Song Wanníng tries to recover, it's useless. Sigh, I originally favored her the most."
"Exactly. So many of us humans entered, yet the champion is taken by a demon clan. Just thinking about it is frustrating!"
"No choice. The city lord's challenge was too hard. Who here can refine a Tenth Grade pill?"
"…"
The crowd sighed, convinced the champion was the demon clan young master.
But just then, the furnace lid suddenly exploded outward, blasted away.
The crowd gasped and their fingers trembled as they pointed.
Because from the furnace came a glow of rosy light.
Looking closer, it seemed like colorful clouds, chasing each other and dispersing.
"Th-that is... a Alchemy phenomenon?!"
"Am I seeing things? Am I too tired and hallucinating?"
"Someone wake me up! I think I'm hallucinating!"