Chen Yuyang’s gaze swept over toward Mu Qianxi’s side.
Seeing the situation there, he couldn’t help but praise softly, “Impressive, truly impressive. As expected of a genuine top-tier genius.”
He felt that it was about time for him to condense the pill as well.
“Ribbit, I’m going to condense the pill now,” the boy muttered to himself before slamming his hands together.
In an instant, the Haoyang Fire inside the cauldron before him — which had been burning steadily — suddenly began to boil.
The flames rose up and enveloped the entire cauldron, further refining the medicinal liquid within.
At the same time, Chen Yuyang secretly circulated his spiritual energy, quietly injecting strands of mixed, impure spiritual energy into the cauldron.
After discreetly disrupting some of the medicinal properties that were about to coalesce, Chen Yuyang began to channel his full strength to guide the medicinal power through the final condensation.
Pill formation!
The lid of the cauldron slowly opened, and a medicinal fragrance — not overpowering but quite pure — drifted out.
However, the range of this aroma was very small; it was incomparable to those that had surged across the entire field earlier.
Furthermore, when Chen Yuyang’s pills emerged, there were no flashes of light, spiritual energy fluctuations, or any other accompanying phenomena.
It was almost excessively calm.
However, Yan Dangmo, who had been staring intently at Chen Yuyang’s side, was even more excited than when he had seen the seven-colored radiant light earlier.
He abruptly stood up from his seat, his body trembling slightly with excitement as he murmured, “He did it! He succeeded!”
In Yan Dangmo’s view, as long as a pill was formed, it was enough to make him ecstatic!
Because at Chen Yuyang’s age, regardless of the quality, refining a Grade 4 pill was already astonishing enough.
A 15-year-old Grade 4 alchemist was already dazzling enough.
The level of shock this caused was not even a bit lower than the so-called pill-forming phenomena!
The crowd of onlookers also expressed their approval upon seeing Chen Yuyang successfully form the pills.
He really managed to refine them.
“Before, I thought he only had good techniques and strong flames, but now it seems he has already stepped into the realm of a Grade 4 alchemist.”
“Amazing, truly amazing… How many people can’t reach this level in their entire lives, yet he’s already there at 15… “
“Given time, reaching Grade 9 might not be a dream.”
Ignoring the discussions, Chen Yuyang looked down at the nine pills lying quietly in the cauldron, his eyes flickering imperceptibly.
‘That’s too many. That won’t do.’
The boy discreetly reached out.
While taking out the pills, he silently tucked four of them into his Sumeru Sea of Consciousness.
Subsequently, he took out the remaining five pills — which were light blue and slightly dull in luster — and placed them on the white jade plate in front of him.
As a judge for this competition, Yan Dangmo suppressed his inner excitement and quickly walked into the arena.
Standing before Chen Yuyang’s cauldron, he carefully inspected the five Qi-Nurturing Pills.
A moment later, Yan Dangmo announced loudly, “Qi-Nurturing Pills, high quality, five pills!”
Hearing Yan Dangmo clearly report his results, Chen Yuyang let out a long sigh as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
Then, he raised his sleeve to wipe away the non-existent sweat from his forehead.
With a bashful expression on his face, he bowed slightly toward Yan Dangmo and said, “Eiya, I could only barely reach this level despite exhausting all my strength. I’ve made a fool of myself before you, Senior.”
“Haha, Little Friend Chen, there’s no need to belittle yourself!”
Yan Dangmo laughed heartily and slapped Chen Yuyang heavily on the shoulder.
“When I was your age, I had only just barely learned how to refine Grade 1 pills. To be able to refine high-quality Grade 4 Qi-Nurturing Pills at your age is nothing short of brilliant!”
On the other side, Mu Qianxi heard Chen Yuyang’s results, and the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but curl into a smug arc.
The Nine-Revolution Restoration Pills he refined were far superior to Chen Yuyang’s Qi-Nurturing Pills in terms of phenomena, quality, and pill veins.
However, just as Mu Qianxi was feeling secretly proud, he heard the discussions of the surrounding crowd.
“That kid is incredible! A 15-year-old Grade 4 alchemist… Tsk tsk, I’m so jealous.”
“Exactly. Just think about it. If he is already at Grade 4 now, what kind of achievements will he reach when he is twenty-five or thirty?”
“By then, he might even step into the realm of a high-grade alchemist!”
Mu Qianxi’s brow immediately furrowed tightly.
‘What’s going on?’
‘Why is everyone suddenly talking about that kid?’
‘Right now, at this very moment, isn’t the one who drew out the seven-colored radiant light and refined the Nine-Revolution Restoration Pills with pill veins me?’
‘I am clearly the most dazzling existence in this competition! Why is the focus of most people still on him?’
A strong sense of indignation surged within Mu Qianxi’s heart.
After a while, an elder announced loudly.
“The time for the third round of the competition is up! All those who have not yet formed their pills will be considered to have failed!”
As the words fell, the arena was filled with sighs of frustration and regret.
….
On the other side, the elders of the Alchemist Sect, the Heaven-Earth Sect, and various great families who served as judges had gathered to discuss the rankings for the final round.
“There is no suspense for first place.”
Zhu Tian was the first to speak, his tone certain as he said, “With the seven-colored radiant light phenomenon and clear pill veins, Mu Qianxi refined six Nine-Revolution Restoration Pills, all of which are extreme quality. His first place is unquestionable.”
Everyone agreed.
As for second place, it required a bit of deliberation.
This was because there was a disciple from the Heaven-Earth Sect who, although unable to draw out any phenomena, had produced a significant number of pills, all of which had reached the extreme quality level.
However, after careful consideration, second place was still awarded to Yun Lian.
Although the difficulty of her Bone-Tempering Pill was ordinary, it had drawn out a phenomenon upon completion and had faint pill veins.
This point alone added too much to her score.
The rules for the third round were clear, based strictly on objective indicators such as the quality and quantity of the pills refined by the alchemists.
The rankings began to be announced one by one.
Before long, an elder holding the finalized rankings announced them on the spot.
This time, Chen Yuyang also waited patiently, standing in place to listen.
“Twenty-seventh place, Chen Yuyang, Grade 4 Qi-Nurturing Pill, high quality, five pills.”
Chen Yuyang raised an eyebrow when he heard his ranking.
This was a bit higher than he had expected.
He had originally thought he would rank in the thirties at best.
This was likely because, at the final moment, several people who had been expected to outperform him failed to form their pills in time and were disqualified.
Outside the field, upon hearing Chen Yuyang’s name and his twenty-seventh place result, Ling Xi jumped up in excitement.
She grabbed Tai Lingxuan’s arm and shook it vigorously, shouting, “Him! Master, did you hear that? Senior Brother is twenty-seventh! Twenty-seventh!”
Ling Xi was so excited that it was as if she were the one who had obtained the ranking, not Chen Yuyang.
Although Tai Lingxuan was not as animated as Ling Xi, her lips — which had been pursed in tension — couldn’t help but curve upward slightly.
‘Good, very good.’
‘Yuyang’s result actually managed to be among the top of these hundred outstanding geniuses in the Alchemy Grand Assembly.’
‘A Grade 4 pill… ‘
‘He is far more impressive than I initially imagined.’
With this, her Hehuan Sect could be considered to have gained a great deal of prestige.
Seeing this, people from other nearby sects gathered around, cupping their hands to congratulate Tai Lingxuan.
“Sect Master Tai, congratulations indeed! You have a fine disciple.”
“Congratulations, Sect Master Tai!”
“Congratulations, congratulations!”
Tai Lingxuan nodded slightly, giving simple responses.
In the arena, the awards ceremony followed immediately.
The hundred alchemists in this Alchemy Grand Assembly who had emerged from the first two rounds of selection were all considered absolute geniuses of the younger generation.
Therefore, regardless of their ranking, everyone present received a reward, although the rewards for the top few were particularly generous.
As the first-place winner, Mu Qianxi walked onto the high platform and received his reward from Zhu Tian.
His face remained calm, but there was a trace of indignation in the depths of his eyes.
This was because he could clearly hear that many of the elders were also discussing Chen Yuyang.
Chen Yuyang also stepped forward to collect his reward.
A jade tablet.
With this jade tablet, he could enter the Alchemist Sect’s Library for one month every year.
Additionally, he could withdraw natural treasures worth 5,000 top-grade spirit stones from the Alchemist Sect’s treasury every year.
On the first day of every month, he also earned the right to listen to Zhu Tian’s lectures on the Dao.
After taking the items, Chen Yuyang glanced at them and put them away.
The rights to enter the library and listen to lectures were useless to him.
The authority to withdraw 5,000 top-grade spirit stones worth of treasures was somewhat useful, but only marginally so.
Nearby, Mu Qianxi, who had already stepped down from the platform, watched Chen Yuyang’s calm and even somewhat nonchalant expression.
The indignation in his heart began to grow wildly.
Mu Qianxi took a deep breath.
When Chen Yuyang walked past him after stepping down from the stage, Mu Qianxi looked at him somewhat condescendingly.
His voice was a bit strained as he said, “I’m the one who won.”
Chen Yuyang looked up upon hearing this, his face showing pure confusion.
“???”
He didn’t understand what Mu Qianxi meant by that sudden, random remark.
Mu Qianxi, seeing this reaction, couldn’t help but raise his voice slightly.
“I am the first place, the champion of this Alchemy Grand Assembly.”
Only then did Chen Yuyang let out an “Oh — ” as if suddenly realizing.
He then followed up with utmost sincerity, “Yes, yes, yes. You are. You are the first place.”
Pausing for a moment, Chen Yuyang seemed to remember something and added, “Brother Mu, do you perhaps suspect that all of this is a dream? Do you want me to give you a slap to help you make sure?”
Mu Qianxi was speechless.
Immediately, he felt he had lost his composure and felt a sense of shame.
‘Why?’
‘Is the first place that I won with all my strength worth nothing in his eyes?’
‘No, that’s impossible.’
‘He must be pretending not to care. He must be feeling very frustrated deep down!’
As Mu Qianxi tried to console himself, Chen Yuyang had already reached Yun Lian.
“Yo, Big Sister Yun, congratulations.”
“Second place. That’s a ranking I wouldn’t even dare to dream of.”
Yun Lian rolled her eyes slightly at the boy.
Dare not dream of it?
“Don’t joke around, Little Brother Chen. With your level as a Grade 4 alchemist at the age of 15…”
“To say you wouldn’t dare to dream of it is being a bit too modest.”
“Give you a few more years, and forget second place — even first place would be as easy as reaching into a bag for something.”
Chen Yuyang chuckled and didn’t argue or respond.
However, he knew that he wouldn’t be participating in any more alchemy assemblies.
Mu Qianxi, overhearing this conversation, stood frozen on the spot.
For a long time, he remained silent.
Because he realized that he couldn’t refute those words either.
Chen Yuyang did indeed have that qualification.
‘So… is that why he seems so relaxed, indifferent, and completely unconcerned?’
‘In comparison, I, who am obsessed with rankings and honor… ‘
‘I have lost completely.’
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.