Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The second event entered hell-mode right from the outset.
Most competitors were overcome with a feeling of despair. However, there were some who were excited about the challenge. There were also some who were extremely confident.
For example, the three favorites for first place. Right now, all three of them wore a smile on their faces.
“Very well. By refining a fourth-rank spirit pill, we’ll be able to show off our true skills!” The transparent blue female nodded in satisfaction.
Then, she turned her gaze toward the nearby Xu Xiaolan. “Look,” she said and chuckled. “That human female is paralyzed to the spot. She’s been scared silly, hasn’t she? Did she think she could win by refining a fifth-rank spirit pill?”
Black Sword Lord shook his head. “Humans are all like this. They climb up a single mountain peak, and they think they’ve reached the summit. They fail to understand what a truly large mountain is like. The present her is definitely wallowing in despair. Kekeke… What a delightful sight.”
“Xu Xiaolan will probably come to grips with this brutal reality soon. Let’s concentrate on our own tasks first. A fourth-rank spirit pill is no walk in the park for us,” Ban Yue said in an ethereal voice, and a green flame suddenly jumped out from the green crescent behind her back.
The green flame radiated with a rich aura of vitality. This flame could increase a pill’s confluency and spirituality, and it could also increase a pill’s quality!
The three beings stopped looking at Xu Xiaolan, and they turned their attention back to pill refinement.
The spectators also launched into heated discussions when they saw the unmoving Xu Xiaolan. There was doubt, there was bewilderment, and there was also disappointment.
It wasn’t that Xu Xiaolan didn’t know how to refine fourth-rank spirit pills. Rather, she was pondering over which flame to use. Theoretically speaking, it would be better to use the Mutant Blood Phoenix Flame when refining the Spirit Rejuvenation Pill. This was because flames that possessed the power of life would provide buffs to spirit pills of the life category.
However, she was afraid that she didn’t have enough control over that flame.
After all, she had only received that flame not long ago. She was still unfamiliar with it, and it would be a shame if she stuffed up.
Never mind… It’s not like I have to fight for the first place. I’ll just strive to make it into the top five!
Xu Xiaolan started her pill refinement. She stuck with the flame that she was most familiar with—Golden Phoenix Flame!
There had been thousands of competitors before, so very few people had witnessed Xu Xiaolan’s pill refinement.
Now, however, she was at the center of widespread attention. The flame that she released flickered with divine might, and its purity was incredibly high. The crisp cries of phoenixes were also vaguely discernible. This flame was resplendent and noble.
The appearance of this flame created a huge stir among the spectators.
“My God… What am I seeing?! This purity, this intent realm… Is this a divine flame?”
“Who would’ve thought? She possesses a divine flame at such a young age… Her future is limitless!”
“Just then, so many of you were still questioning her abilities. Come on, where are you now? Is she an attention-seeker, hah? Even if she fails to refine a fourth-rank spirit pill, she’s already shown that she can refine a fifth-rank pinnacle stage spirit pill. Based on this, and the fact that she possesses a divine flame, she’s definitely going to become a first-rate pill refiner in the future!”
Some of the spectators fell silent. Others felt as if they had been slapped in the face.
The ten Pill Tower elders were also surprised and delighted upon seeing Xu Xiaolan release her divine flame. They entered into a heated discussion.
“Such a good talent! She’s mine!”
“Bullsh*t! Ling Yan, aren’t you taking Ban Yue in as your disciple? Why are you suddenly changing your mind now?”
“Heh, who doesn’t want a good disciple? Others mightn’t be able to tell, but how can we not tell? Put in the past, Xu Xiaolan’s pill refinement ability would be championship material. Right now, apart from that person, who else can’t she beat?”
…
Just as Xu Xiaolan attracted widespread attention, An Lin also attracted the attention of one being. That’s right, he attracted the attention of that male dragon, Grey!
Grey rested an arm on his pill refinement cauldron and stood in a relaxed pose. He picked his nose and chuckled. “An Lin, why don’t you hurry up and start refining? I’m waiting for you to become the champion! I’m waiting to see you walk toward the pinnacle of life!”
An Lin grimaced. Having a retard continually taunt him was an incredibly horrible experience. So be it if he could flex and throw a few jabs of his own. However, the point was that he couldn’t right now.
Most competitors who had advanced to the second round were of the Spirit Gathering Stage.
There were very few pill refiners of the Flame Mastery Pinnacle Stage. Moreover, they had all resigned from the competition.
There was only one Flame Mastery Stage pill refiner who hadn’t resigned—An Lin.
Forget about it… I’ll go for broke!
An Lin gritted his teeth and released the Mutant Blood Phoenix Flame.
Boom!
The blood-colored flame raged through his pill refinement cauldron.
Grey—who was just about to taunt An Lin again—jumped up in fright.
His eyes bulged in shock. “T-this… This is a… divine flame?!”
“Is this anything to be surprised about?” An Lin blinked as if confused.
“This is a divine flame! A flame that pill refiners dream of! One can only obtain such a flame if they’re powerful and encounter great fortunes! How come you possess such a flame?!” Grey’s face distorted in jealousy.
“Oh, so divine flames are this bad*ss?” An Lin continued sifting through the ingredients as he spoke. “I seriously can’t understand why weaklings like you are shocked by these kinds of things. I still have several other divine flames that I haven’t released yet…”
Grey shuddered involuntarily. “Are we really living in the same world?” he spat through gritted teeth. “How can you be like this… I’m going to kill you!”
An Lin rolled his eyes. He ignored the retarded dragon and started placing the chosen ingredients into his pill refinement cauldron. Then, he manipulated the Mutant Blood Phoenix Flame and started refining the ingredients.
He knew that refining a ninth-rank spirit pill was already his limit. However, this didn’t mean that he was going to give up. Facing this challenge head-on, and then failing with dignity, was also a decent choice.
He started refining his pill.
The higher ranked a pill, the harder it would be to extract and fuse the essence of the ingredients.
An Lin took great care with everything that he did. His attention was extremely focused. Although he didn’t release his divine sense, it stimulated every part of his body and made sure that he remained in an optimal condition.
Grey watched on from the side. For some reason, he felt like An Lin was becoming more and more capable. It appeared as if An Lin’s pill refinement skills were better than his…
“M-hm… He’s starting to extract the essence of the second-rank spirit herb, the Eternal Youth Grass,” Grey murmured. “Based on his ability, he won’t be able to succeed.”
Although he said this, the black dragon couldn’t shift his gaze from An Lin.
For some reason, a peculiar feeling welled up in his heart when he saw An Lin’s tenacious expression.
I need to extract the essence of the Eternal Youth Grass now…
An Lin manipulated the flames with his fingers as he focused his attention.
Extracting the essence of second-rank spirit herbs was difficult even for experienced pill refiners of the Spirit Gathering Stage, let alone a pill refiner of the Flame Mastery Stage.
Concentrate… Concentrate… Carefully strip it off…
Sh*t!
The Eternal Youth Grass is about to crumble! Crap! The flames are too hard to control!
An Lin felt powerless for the first time in this competition.
If this continued, his ingredients would be ruined!
Who can help me…
As though it had heard his cry for help, the soaring vermilion bird in An Lin’s sea of vital energy raised its head.
“Want me to teach you pill refinement? Don’t resist, I’ll help you!”
An amiable yet unfamiliar voice suddenly appeared in An Lin’s mind.
An Lin was slightly dazed. Then hurry up and come help me! he replied instinctively.
Boom!
An Lin shuddered. When he reopened his eyes, it appeared as if there were a flaming vermilion bird soaring through his black and white eyes.
He made a grabbing motion at the Eternal Youth Grass. The blood-colored flame suddenly became gentle and obedient, and it slowly dismembered the shell of the spirit herb.
Essence of the Eternal Youth Grass, perfectly extracted!
