Translator: CatatoPatch Editor: Vermillion
Following Grandmaster Xuan Ming’s order, the audience on the stage all gave a cry of joy. Those who were not chosen looked at those who were with faces full of admiration. There was an envious look in their eyes.
To be able to evaluate this type of elixir was such a great opportunity… The value of this type of elixir was very significant. How would they be able to taste something so good on other days?
At this time, the audience felt excited.
A smile blossomed on the faces of the audience members who were chosen. This was a six-mark spirit pill. Eating one of it, the benefits it brought to the body could not be described in words. Furthermore, it was Pill King Mu Bai’s elixir. The value of the pill surged even more.
Grandmaster Xuan Ming’s gaze swept over the audience members who were chosen. Nodding his head, his gaze fell on the completed spirit pill which was in front of him. That spirit pill was round and there was an azure brilliance emitted from it. The medicinal fragrance filled the area and assaulted his nose.
On top of the elixir, six streams of a golden shining mark could be seen. The elixir looked extremely cool.
From the distance, Mu Bai stood quietly and he had a confident expression in his eyes. His lips slightly curved upwards. His green attire made him look extremely refined.
Grandmaster Xuan Ming reached out his hand as he held up the elixir. The warm feeling traveled from his fingertips to his body and he felt a feeling which was similar to an electric shock. His heart skipped a beat.
It seemed like it was not too bad…
When he put the elixir into his mouth, a wave of spiritual energy instantly rushed toward the heavens. Grandmaster Xuan Ming and the grandmasters surrounding him all widened their eyes. A wave of spiritual energy seemed to spread out with Grandmaster Xuan Ming as the center.
In the next instant, the few grandmasters then closed their eyes, enjoying the nourishment of the spiritual energy of the elixir.
The audience also had the same attitude. After eating the medicinal powder, the power in their bodies soared in an instant, causing their state of mind to surge violently.
At this time, the entire scene was silent. The audience all looked at the postures of the many evaluators and didn’t even dare to let out a heavy breath.
The atmosphere became tense in an instant.
After a long moment of silence, some people began to slowly open their eyes. The breathed out long breaths. In the next instant, chatter broke out among the evaluators. The audience members who were evaluating the product praised it without end. They looked at Mu Bai with surprised expressions on their faces.
As expected of Pill King Mu Bai. This six-mark spirit pill was indeed not ordinary… The evaluators were excited and they really wanted to crown Mu Bai the champion immediately. They really could not imagine that there would be any other kind of six-mark spirit pill which would surpass Mu Bai’s elixir. In the eyes of these people, Bu Fang and Jiang Ling had already lost. There was no need for their dish or elixir to be evaluated; they had lost.
The five grandmasters also slowly opened their eyes.
“Quiet, hold your opinions. Next, begin the evaluation of contestant Jiang Ling’s elixir, a six-mark spirit pill, the manifestation of nature pill.”
The grandmasters’ knowledge and experience were naturally incomparable to the audiences’. After eating Mu Bai’s elixir, they furrowed their eyebrows. They didn’t look very optimistic.
Even Mu Bai himself froze. He didn’t think that the grandmasters would have this kind of reaction. Could it be that he did not refine it well enough?
The clamoring audience once again settled down, but the excitement on their faces had not dissipated yet. Towards Jiang Ling’s elixir, they also held expectations. After all, when that elixir exited the alchemy furnace, that scene was no weaker than Lord Mu Bai’s one. It was obvious that this manifestation of nature pill was definitely not ordinary.
The audiences took the lead in taking the medicinal powder. Once the medicinal powder entered their mouths, the evaluators were all stunned. Their bodies froze and the disbelief in their eyes grew denser.
“This…”
“Such dense spiritual energy, what terrifying medicinal property… The taste of Lord Mu Bai’s spirit pill has been washed away in an instant…”
“What a terrifying spirit pill. It seems as though it reached the apex of six-mark spirit pills. Do you feel the surging spiritual energy in your body? Compared to Lord Mu Bai’s elixir, this medicinal property… is even more terrifying!”
…
The evaluators all looked at each other and saw the incredulous expression in each other’s eyes.
Grandmaster Xuan Ming and the rest also ate the elixir. Their brows instantly jumped, and the pores on their body seemed to emit true energy. They were stunned in their hearts and opened their eyes to look at Jiang Ling in the distance.
Jiang Ling elegantly and loftily nodded her head at these few grandmasters. Her confident look moved the grandmasters.
The clamor of the audience slowly descended into silence. They seemed to have realized that something was wrong as the evaluators had strange expressions on their faces. The hearts of the audience members started to shake.
The ending seemed to be different from that in their hearts.
“What’s going on? Don’t tell me Lord Mu Bai is going to lose?”
“No way… An elixir refined with the Pill Master’s Nine Star Alchemy Furnace cannot possibly lose, right?”
“Hiss hiss hiss… Is Lord Mu Bai going to lose again? Here I still thought that he was going to redeem himself from his past humiliation!”
…
The audience talked among themselves quietly. At that instant, Mu Bai’s face became ash-white.
Bu Fang looked at him curiously. As if feeling Bu Fang’s gaze, Mu Bai looked over with an ugly expression on his face and it was completely devoid of blood.
“I think I might lose…” Mu Bai said to Bu Fang dryly.
Bu Fang froze. He was going to lose?
He turned to look at the judge’s seats. When he saw the hesitation on the faces of the evaluators, he felt that something was wrong as well. Raising his head, he saw that the five grandmasters were talking among themselves. They were chattering non-stop.
In the end, as if reaching a conclusion, they sat upright and still.
“The evaluation of Mu Bai and Jiang Ling’s elixirs is over. Now, let’s have these ladies and gentlemen start voting. On your seats, there are two magic arrays. The one on the left represents Mu Bai and the one on the right represents Jiang Ling. Choose whoever you think won.”
Grandmaster Xuan Ming said.
As his voice descended, the entire central plaza’s atmosphere suddenly became very tense. Not only were the audience members of Heavenly Mist City’s central plaza watching the competition closely, but even the audience from the Pill Palace was also extremely excited. They clenched their fist and perspiration formed on their foreheads.
Exactly who would win?
Was it Mu Bai or Jiang Ling… Between these two, no matter who won, it was possible for them to be the champion. How could they not be nervous?
The five hundred evaluators all looked at each other and raised their palms eventually. They transmitted their true energy into the magic array of their choice.
Buzz…
A mysterious fluctuation spread out, covering the entire area.
In the next moment, Mu Bai and Jiang Ling’s bodies suddenly released a beam of light. A golden light column appeared, and it continuously climbed into the sky.
The height of the light column represented the votes that they had acquired.
Mu Bai’s entire body felt warm. As he was covered in the pillar of light but was unable to see how high the beam of light went. He felt a little jumpy.
Jiang Ling was confident and there was a smile which hung on her face. Combing her white hair, her gaze was calm.
Bu Fang took two steps back and he looked at the light column above the two people. His eyebrows arched upwards.
Buzz…
The fluctuation vanished and the growth of the light columns stopped.
The results were out.
Everyone was silent and it seemed as though the world turned quiet.
Mu Bai had lost.
Jiang Ling’s light column was higher than Mu Bai’s light column by at least the height of a person.
Mu Bai’s eyes shrunk and his entire body began to shake. He could not believe that he had actually lost. He lost again… It was his second defeat under the hands of Jiang Ling. How could he lose so terribly?
Why was it like that?!
He was finally unable to control his own emotions. His figure started to sway and he sat down on the floor. It was as though the strength of his entire body had been sapped away.
“Hahahaha… Although you have grown by quite a bit, no one is able to stop my footsteps. The position of the champion belongs to me, Jiang Ling.”
Jiang Ling, with her head full of white hair, laughed loudly. As she stood in the column of light, her face was filled with excitement.
Laying low for three years and practicing hard every day, Jiang Ling had been constantly training her alchemy skills. This time, she had finally successfully obtained the championship!
The Pill Palace’s Star Pill Tower, she, Jiang Ling, was coming!
The gazes of the audience members wore complicated expressions. Who would have thought that the most popular pick for the champion, Mu Bai, would actually lose?
It was as though great sadness took over them. If Lord Mu Bai was unable to defeat Jiang Ling, could it be that the woman was going to be the champion?
Everyone sucked in a breath.
They could not stop their hearts from feeling regret.
“I told you before… I want to let you guys taste the feeling of being utterly crushed… How is it? Are you not happy?” Jiang Ling’s face had an arrogant smile. Her gaze landed on Mu Bai and, as for Bu Fang, she didn’t even look at him.
A chef, one that had already been determined as a failure, was beneath her notice.
“Don’t lose your heart. There can only be improvement with failure. You lost to me the last time as well, didn’t you? You improved so much since the last time we competed… Go back and train for a few more years. You can challenge me in the future, however, you will never win! Hahaha!”
Wild and arrogant!
The entire audience stand looked at Jiang Ling, who was laughing non-stop on the stage. They felt a burst of anger.
Looking at Mu Bai who was sitting on the floor with his head hanging down, they were utterly speechless. No matter how they looked at it, Mu Bai had indeed lost. This was a moment that belonged to the winner.
Bu Fang furrowed his eyebrows. He looked at Jiang Ling, who acted as though she was already the champion, and the corners of his mouth twitched. He felt a little disgruntled.
“Hey, you haven’t defeated me yet. What are you so excited about?”
Bu Fang’s voice was very flat. However, the central plaza was so quiet that one would be able to hear a pin drop. Bu Fang’s words were like explosions which sounded in everyone’s ear.
Everyone suddenly raised their heads and looked at Bu Fang. Even the drooping and dispirited Mu Bai also slowly raised his head to give Bu Fang a glance.
This chef… He still had hopes of winning the finals?
That dish of his had already lost to their spirit pills in terms of momentum. Was he still going to compete? Wasn’t this asking to be humiliated? There was no meaning for him to continue.
Jiang Ling froze and the smile on her face slowly disappeared. She looked at Bu Fang with a cold expression.
“That dish of yours has been completely crushed… Is there even a need to compete?” Jiang Ling looked at the expressionless Bu Fang and said mockingly.
She was really disdainful. As an alchemist, a form of arrogance had been carved into her bone. Although Bu Fang had been performing miracles time and time again and made his way into the finals of the Magical Hand Conference, she still looked down on him. It was because he was a chef.
An alchemist was such a noble profession. A chef… What an uncouth profession. How could they be compared to alchemists?
Bu Fang’s dish…. Be it aroma or spiritual energy, it had been completely suppressed. What rights did he have to challenge her?
“Where did you see that I have been crushed? Who gave you that confidence?” Bu Fang looked at the arrogant Jiang Ling with a strange face.
Could it be because the aroma and spiritual energy of this dish couldn’t suppress the one from the elixirs? Then, if he used the Stinky Tofu to compete, wouldn’t this Jiang Ling be proud to the heavens? After all, the Stinky Tofu was so smelly, yet it would be completely crushed by the elixir.
“You are just a little chef and you want to struggle? Just obediently admit your defeat. Don’t be knocked down by the harsh reality. A chef entering the finals is already a feat in itself. You should know when to stop. Don’t be too greedy,” Jiang Ling lightly smiled and said.
“Wow… I see that you are very confident. I hope that you can still be so full of yourself in a bit.” Bu Fang refuted. He felt as though he had to knock her down a peg.
From afar, Grandmaster Xuan Ming gave Bu Fang a deep glance and sucked in a deep breath. He announced with a strange expression:
“The last product, contestant Bu Fang’s dish. Eh? Buddha Jumps Over the Wall Soup with Chilli Strips?”
