Chapter 99

After entering the grand hall, the two second-rank intermediate alchemists on either side each took a step back, highlighting the purple-robed elder in the middle.

He looked at the more than forty people standing in the hall, a smile on his face as he stroked his long beard, and said with great satisfaction, "Congratulations to all of you for making it to this fourth stage. Now, everyone, please follow the sequence and go to the corresponding alchemy cauldron according to your number, and wait for the examination to begin."

"Yes."

The group responded in unison, not daring to delay. They quickly moved to their positions. In no time, they found a green small tag hanging under the cauldron's ear, matching their numbers.

The group immediately stood in order, and soon the grand hall became orderly and neat.

The purple-robed elder nodded in satisfaction, then waved his hand. Dozens of young disciples in white robes, who had been standing on both sides of the hall, immediately filed out. A moment later, they returned to the hall, each carrying a tray of neatly arranged medicinal herbs, and walked to the side of each examinee.

On the trays, everyone could find the herbs they had memorized during the third stage of the examination. The herbal fragrance was strong, and each type of herb had three portions.

The purple-robed elder looked at the group in the hall and said, "You all know the rules of the examination, so I won't repeat them. However, I will briefly mention a few points that you need to pay attention to."

"First, during the examination, each person has only three chances to refine. If you fail three times, you will be automatically eliminated."

The group's expressions turned serious, but they were not too surprised, only a slight commotion.

The purple-robed elder ignored their expressions and continued, "Second, the examination time is one hour. After one hour, regardless of how many herbs you have left, if you have not successfully refined a pill, you will also be considered a failure."

"Wow!"

When the purple-robed elder mentioned the second requirement, the group in the hall immediately became quite agitated.

A completely unfamiliar pill formula, which is already difficult to memorize in a short time, and to successfully refine it with only three portions of herbs, requires great caution and care.

However, now, Apricot Grove Manor has compressed the refining time for each person to such a short period, just one hour. A completely unfamiliar pill formula, only three portions of herbs... If you fail consecutively or the time runs out, everyone will face elimination.

It can be imagined how much pressure the group will have to bear at this moment. The atmosphere in the hall became suffocating, and the excitement and noise caused by seeing the second-rank high-level alchemists completely disappeared.

The purple-robed elder continued, "Third, and most importantly, after the examination, we will determine your ranking based on the number of herbs you have lost, the quality and quantity of the pills you have refined, and the soul control and alchemy techniques you have demonstrated during the process. Therefore, the person who can use the least herbs to refine the most pills of high quality will win."

"In this hall, apart from me, there are over a dozen alchemists observing your every move. So, do not try to cheat or use any other methods. Refine your pills according to the formula. All actions during the refining process will be recorded and will affect your final score in this stage."

"Alright, I won't say more. If there are no other questions, the timing begins!"

The purple-robed elder clapped his hands, and immediately two green-robed boys entered from the hall door, carrying a large bronze hourglass with both hands. They placed it at the entrance, opened the bottom plug, and the sand began to flow down slowly, one grain at a time.

Seeing the hourglass start to flow, the expressions of all the examinees changed. They did not dare to delay and quickly placed their palms on the fire control ports of the cauldrons.

The bottom of the cauldron was connected to a small underground fire vein. As long as the switch was opened and the essence was injected, the fire would rise, allowing the refining process to begin. However, the skill in controlling the fire was entirely up to each person.

This often truly reflects the direct level of an alchemist. A person who can control the fire well may not necessarily be able to refine a powerful divine pill, but to refine a powerful divine pill, one must have strong fire control.

Therefore, the competition had already begun in secret from this moment.

"Puff, puff, puff..."

As the essence, strong or weak, surged from the palms of the group and entered the cauldrons, instantly, flames of varying intensity rose from each cauldron, illuminating many faces red.

Many strong individuals even lost control for a moment, causing the flames to break out of the cauldron, rising several feet high, almost burning their eyebrows. They quickly reduced the essence, and the flames slowly subsided.

The temperature in the entire hall rose sharply as dozens of cauldrons ignited simultaneously, making the air feel scorching.

However, no one paid attention to this at the moment. Everyone's mind was extremely tense, knowing that the most critical moment had finally arrived.

At this moment, all the alchemists of the Apricot Grove Manor branch were surely watching them, and it was clear who was strong and who was weak. Therefore, whether to advance or retreat depended on this step. The group immediately stopped holding back, each using their own methods to begin refining.

Herbs were thrown into the cauldrons one by one, turning into powder, and then, under the high temperature of the flames, they fused and transformed.

However, whether the pills could be successfully refined depended on the strength of one's soul and fire control, which could not be faked.

"Puff!"

After just a moment, a disciple, while refining the Shadow Leaf, increased the fire slightly. Instantly, the fragile Shadow Leaf burned to ashes, turning into a pile of black powder that fell from the bottom of the cauldron.

Without this crucial herb, the other herbs could not be balanced, and the entire refining process failed. With a faint explosion from the cauldron, all the herbs added previously were wasted.

The disciple in front of the cauldron looked as if he had lost all hope.

"Ah!"

A sigh, and the many alchemists of the Apricot Grove Manor branch, standing quietly on both sides of the hall, shook their heads in unison.

"Rash and reckless, not destined for greatness."

They shook their heads again, no longer paying attention, and continued to observe the other disciples.

After a while, influenced by the previous disciple, many others became restless and uneasy. As a result, a short time later, due to unstable fire control, they failed to refine a particular herb, leading to the complete failure of the refining process and the loss of one opportunity.

This made the remaining disciples who were still in the refining process even more nervous. Their hands trembled, and their spirits were almost stretched to the breaking point. Although they managed to avoid mistakes for the moment, they were likely to fail soon.

Many alchemists showed disappointed expressions.

The Apricot Grove Manor's examination of disciples was meticulously designed. Without mentioning the first three stages, just this fourth stage did not allow each person to refine the most familiar pill. First, the formulas were different, the ranks varied, and the techniques learned were different, leading to vastly different results, making it difficult to evaluate.

Second, the differences in starting points, used to judge a disciple's future achievements, were too arbitrary and one-sided. Therefore, the Apricot Grove Manor took a different approach, not testing the alchemy techniques already learned but testing the ability to learn a new formula.

Although alchemy techniques can play a certain role in this, the most critical aspect is one's own mind and insight.

At the same time, refining a completely unfamiliar and unfamiliar pill also clearly shows one's proficiency in alchemy, making it clear at a glance.

Therefore, those who heard that there was only one hour and immediately started refining without properly recalling the formula did not even meet the basic requirements of an alchemist. If they did not perform well later, they would definitely be eliminated.

At the beginning, this group accounted for about half of the total, almost eliminating half of the participants.

In other words, only about twenty people remained in the examination. Thinking about the scene when over two thousand people crowded through the gates, the expressions of the Apricot Grove Manor alchemists naturally turned sour.

However, not everyone was so rash; there were still smart people.

They first carefully recalled the formula they had memorized, confirming that there were no omissions and that they would not forget it. Then they arranged the properties and combinations of all the herbs in a simple order, ensuring that there would be no conflicts or low success rates. Only then did they cautiously turn on the switch and generate the fire.

As the flames ignited, several people began to cautiously attempt. They carefully added each material they remembered, constantly paying attention to the fire and the changes in the herbs, never putting two potentially conflicting herbs together. Slowly, the herbs in the cauldron began to coalesce, showing signs of fusion.

However, as the process continued, something went wrong, and with a muffled "puff," a puff of green smoke rose, and the refining failed.

"Ah!"

Several more sighs, but this time they were of regret. Although the few disciples failed, the Apricot Grove Manor alchemists nodded in approval and noted their names.

The scene became cold for a moment.

The few failed disciples either hung their heads in despair, looking as if they had lost all hope, or lowered their heads in deep thought, trying to figure out where they went wrong. For a moment, no one started again.

There were only three portions of herbs in total, and one had already been wasted. If they wasted another portion, the remaining opportunities would be few. Therefore, whether they had lost all confidence and feared failure or were still pondering and had not reached a conclusion, no one immediately made a second attempt.

"Ah!"

At this moment, the elegant young man in the green robe, standing out like a crane among chickens at the front of the hall, finally moved.

He extended a hand as white as jade and placed it on the fire control port of the cauldron in front of him. Then, a pale green essence was emitted.

"Boom!"

The fire in the cauldron in front of him suddenly leaped up, rising several feet high, and then completely broke out of the cauldron. It circled in the air, rapidly contracting, forming a fist-sized fireball. After falling back into the cauldron, it continued to contract, eventually condensing into a bead-like shape, rolling and colliding with the bronze cauldron walls, making a "clanging" sound like metal clashing.

"One Yang Like a Pearl technique, this is... a disciple of the Yang family. They actually sent someone to participate in our examination?"

Around the ancient hall, a gaunt old man in his fifties, with a long beard and a sallow face, exclaimed in surprise, unable to hide his shock. (To be continued. Search for Piaowen Literature for better and faster updates!)

Previous page AD starts

Previous page AD ends