UGB Chapter 161 The Great Alchemy Competition
Chapter 161 The Great Alchemy Competition
Of the ten Grandmasters of Alchemy, eight refined Grade 4 pills, one refined Grade 4.5 pills, and Master Lu, like Du Fan, was Grade 5.
Master Lu gave Du Fan a deep look, his eyes filled with complex emotions, and then fell silent.
Although the other alchemists did not believe that Du Fan could refine a fifth-grade pill, the facts were undeniable, leaving them speechless. However, their gazes toward Du Fan still carried strong suspicion, hostility, and boundless rage.
Du Fan raised his chin, arrogantly meeting his gaze with one of them, his expression haughty, disdainful, and even provocative.
In fact, his actions were a covert search for his next target; no one ever complains about having too many spirit stones…
After a Golden Core elder recorded the results of this round of competition and replaced Du Fan's pill furnace with a brand new one, the refining of Golden Core pills began at Xiao Yan's command.
The refining time for pills in the Golden Core stage is longer than that for pills in the Foundation Establishment stage. After half an incense stick's time, Master Lu finally let out a breath, stopped what he was doing, and finished refining the pill. Then he glanced around and looked at Du Fan, who was gesturing wildly.
In the next half hour, the other alchemists also finished refining their pills one after another. In the end, only Du Fan, who was baring his teeth and brandishing his claws, was still there, moving about as if he were wielding a sword.
A barely perceptible glint flashed in Xiao Yan's beautiful eyes as she once again extended her jade-like hand and secretly formed a hand seal...
"boom……"
The alchemy furnace collapsed, and smoke filled the air...
Master Lu's lips twitched, the hearts of over a hundred alchemists skipped a beat, and all the cultivators in the audience stared in disbelief...
Ten breaths later, the smoke dissipated, and Du Fan still stood upright, his disheveled hair flying in the air. He held the pills in one hand, still shaking his head slightly, his expression melancholy. Above the two pills, there were still... five layers of light...
Several alchemists trembled, their minds reeling. Looking at the second-grade pills in their hands, their vision blurred, and they felt as if they were about to collapse...
Du Fan waited for a long time, but not a single alchemist said anything. He shook his head, looking rather dejected—this time, truly dejected…
After waiting a few more moments, Du Fan sighed softly and said, "I suppose you old folks still refuse to believe it. Forget it, talking to you about this is like casting pearls before swine."
After Du Fan finished speaking, he waved his arm, and two pills instantly landed on the pill testing platform, while five blue beams of light shot into the sky.
The entire hall was silent, utterly still…
As for the real alchemists, the result this time was that among the alchemy grandmasters, more than thirty people refined third-grade pills, more than forty people refined second-and-a-half-grade pills, and the rest refined second-grade pills.
Among the ten Grandmasters of Alchemy, four were at the third and a half rank, five at the fourth rank, and Master Lu remained at the fifth rank.
After resting for the time it takes to burn half an incense stick, all the grandmasters began the third round of the competition, this time for the refining of a Nascent Soul Pill, of which only one pill was available.
Nearly two hours later, within the light screen where Du Fan was located, a furnace exploded, marking the end of this round of alchemy competition…
This time, whether it was the alchemists or the people from the sects and families who were watching the ceremony, they all remained calm, even numb, about Du Fan's furnace explosion. No one's expression changed, and no one showed any intention of speaking.
The result this time was that seven or eight alchemy masters refined pills of grade one and a half, most of the other alchemy masters refined pills of grade one, and a few did not reach grade one.
However, there was not a single person who failed in alchemy.
At the Grandmaster of Alchemy, six people are at the second rank, two are at the second and a half rank, one is at the third rank, and Master Lu remains at the fifth rank.
When Du Fan threw out the pill, five beams of light shot out from the pill-testing platform, marking the end of the third round of the competition.
Xiao Yan, Cao Xuanyi, and the seven vice-leaders and elders of the Seven Stars Merchant Alliance who were already in a daze all stood up.
Just as these people were about to announce the results of the competition, distribute the rewards, and declare the alchemy competition a complete success, Du Fan arrogantly raised his chin and demanded another match.
"Master Du, what do you mean by this?" Xiao Yan frowned slightly and said in a deep voice with some dissatisfaction.
"Vice Alliance Leader Xiao, this competition is unfair!" Du Fan stood in the light screen, glanced at the group of alchemists with a mocking look, and sneered.
"What's unfair about it?" Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow.
"These alchemists range in cultivation from Foundation Establishment to Nascent Soul, while I am merely a low-level Qi Refining cultivator. I've accompanied these old fellows in refining quite a few high-grade pills, yet there hasn't been a competition for Qi Refining pills. Could this be a deliberate attempt to target me?"
Du Fan's expression held a hint of anger, as if he had suffered a great humiliation.
"Lord Du, the Alchemy Grand Competition is not divided according to cultivation level as you said. It's because pills for the Qi Refining Realm are far too easy for the Alchemy Grandmasters and Great Grandmasters of our alliance. This kind of competition is meaningless."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan glanced at Du Fan, her expression calm, and slowly offered an explanation.
"I see. Then let's increase the difficulty. I suggest we set a time limit for alchemy."
As a Qi Refining stage cultivator, I would feel regretful if I couldn't participate in a competition to equip Qi Refining stage pills. I implore Vice Alliance Leader Xiao to grant my request!
After glancing at the elderly men around him with a cold expression, Du Fan turned to Xiao Yan and clasped his hands in greeting.
"Masters, what do you think?" Xiao Yan frowned slightly, lowered her head as if pondering. After a moment, her gaze swept over the more than one hundred alchemists, finally landing on Master Lu, and she spoke calmly.
"If they don't dare, then so be it. Anyway, they've already suffered enough setbacks today. If this continues, I'm afraid they won't be able to handle it and it will leave a shadow in their hearts."
"I originally wanted to teach them the principle that the greatest truths are the simplest, but it seems I wasted my breath and all my efforts." Du Fan flicked his sleeve, sneered, and said disdainfully.
Just as all the alchemists, their faces contorted with rage, were about to roar in fury, Master Lu coughed heavily, the sound echoing throughout the hall and stunning all the alchemists. Then, he bowed deeply to Xiao Yan and said in a solemn voice:
"Vice Alliance Leader Xiao, we accept the competition for Qi Refining Realm pills!"
At this moment, Master Lu's anger had turned into a complex emotion as he unconsciously began to reflect on the second half of his life.
He suddenly realized that although he was no longer arrogant or complacent, he had become extremely arrogant, even walking with his nose in the air, and showing disrespect to several of the vice leaders of the alliance.
He wasn't always like this. It was only after years of flattery and worship from those around him that he gradually developed a sense of superiority, which led him to become arrogant and complacent. Now, he felt a bit regretful.
Unlike other alchemists, Master Lu has dedicated his life to pursuing the highest realm of alchemy, the Pill King, and has been making efforts in this direction. In fact, although Du Fan's words at the beginning were unpleasant, they had a great impact on him.
Now that his lifespan is nearing its end, it is impossible for him to reach that level. If Du Fan can really refine a fifth-grade pill, he will not be angry, but happy. After the competition, he will even bring Du Fan to his place to discuss pill refining techniques and may even share all his knowledge with him.
But once he calmed down, with his life experience, he could easily see that this was a move by Vice Alliance Leader Xiao, meant to teach these unruly old guys a lesson. He naturally understood Vice Alliance Leader Xiao's good intentions, which is why his gaze towards Du Fan was complicated.
Only those who can refine one Rank 6 pill from the Qi Refining Realm to the Nascent Soul Realm can be called Pill Kings. Only Pill Kings are qualified to refine Transformation Realm pills.
Master Lu asked himself if he was confident he could refine a Qi Refining Realm pill into a sixth-grade one, setting a precedent in history and letting these alchemists know that the Pill King realm was not unattainable in the first-level realm, and there was still a glimmer of hope.
Having experienced today's setback, I believe they will be able to learn from their mistakes and make breakthroughs in the years to come, Master Lu couldn't help but think.
He knew very well that many of these alchemists possessed exceptional talent in alchemy, no less than his own. Perhaps the absence of a Pill King in this world wasn't due to inability, but rather an unwillingness, or perhaps even a lack of belief in their own abilities...
"Since Master Lu has no questions, let's begin. Each of you masters, please refine one Qi Refining Pill and one Ginseng Qi Pill. The time limit is one cup of tea." Xiao Yan nodded and spoke calmly.
Du Fan breathed a sigh of relief. It was finally going to end. Even though he had cultivated a level two body strengthening technique and his physical strength was incomparable to that of ordinary cultivators of the same level, after several hours, he was still a little sore in his limbs and weak in his hands and feet.
If he hadn't practiced that kind of physical technique, he would have collapsed long ago after such a long period of intense exercise...
Among those present, the most delighted were the Qi Refining stage disciples from various sects and aristocratic families, as they were all going to give away all the pills they had refined during the Seven Star Merchant Alliance's Pill Dao Competition.
Originally, these Qi Refining stage cultivators had not held out any hope, as they already knew the rules of the Pill Dao Competition. However, they never expected such a reversal, so much so that when they looked at Du Fan, in addition to shock and horror, there was also a hint of affection...
As soon as Xiao Yan finished speaking, all the alchemists, regardless of their own thoughts, stopped talking when they saw that Master Lu had agreed. They all straightened their expressions and began to refine low-level pills, something they hadn't done for many years.
Du Fan's demeanor was different from his previous alchemy sessions. He was no longer as calm and carefree as before, but instead had a hint of lewdness. His eyes darted around as if he were looking around, like a thief.
His movements became even slower, and he tiptoed carefully placing each spiritual herb into the alchemy furnace. His expression was timid and hesitant, revealing a hint of nervousness.
The contrast was so stark that the more than two thousand cultivators watching the ceremony were stunned. If Du Fan had shown this expression from the beginning, they would have thought it was normal, but now, the scene was too bizarre to them.