“Everything happened before your eyes” - I smiled. - “I simply followed the recipe and my inspiration.”
“Ah, he’s simply too brilliant” - exclaimed one of the alchemists from our sect.
No sooner had these words been spoken than an explosion erupted at the neighboring table, and my opponent botched the extraction process. Glancing at the amused eyes of the praising alchemist, I realized he had timed his comment to disrupt the alchemy student’s focus at just the right moment. I couldn’t help but smile along with him. According to the competition rules, such a significant failure was considered a loss.
“Why did you prepare the extract in two stages?” - the critic continued, clearly unable to believe his own eyes.
“It was my first time crafting this pill, and I wasn’t sure I fully understood the process as described in the recipe.”
“What?!!! Your first time? Khah!” - the alchemist exclaimed, jumping to his feet, then loudly coughing. A trickle of blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
“Don’t worry, sir. It’s merely a low-grade small healing pill” - I attempted to ‘reassure’ him, which, naturally, had the opposite effect. - “Anyone could make it on their first try.”
“KHAAAA!!!” - This time, he coughed up a child’s fist-sized clot of blood.
The alchemists from my sect smiled, while the opposing ones frowned. Though I seemed to downplay the significance of my achievements, it came across as an insult to someone who had been crafting these pills for sixty years.
Meanwhile, my competition opponent stood with his head lowered, burning with shame. The duel between us unexpectedly turned into a battle of egos between me and the judges. My opponent was entirely forgotten, with no one even bothering to scold him for his failure or formally declare his loss.
“If this pill is so simple, how about something more challenging?” - asked one of the opposing judges as his colleague helped the heavily morally injured judge to a seat.
“Of course. I’ll do my best” - I nodded, accepting the challenge.
“How about a Foundation Breakthrough Pill?”
This pill was used by cultivators attempting to advance from the tenth level of Qi Condensation to the first level of Foundation Establishment. I had no idea how to cultivate at that level, let alone create such a pill. Moreover, crafting it required using Qi from at least the third level of Foundation Establishment.
“I can try, but I’ll need a mid-grade Qi crystal charged with refined energy from the fifth level of Foundation Establishment.”
The alchemist who suggested the task suddenly remembered that I was only at the fifth level of Qi Condensation and could only handle the most basic pills. Using Qi crystals was a common way for weaker alchemists to craft higher-ranking pills. However, there was a range within which a cultivator could manipulate energy beyond their level. A typical student could expect to handle energy five levels above their own. I had just proposed leaping ten levels, which once again shattered the judges’ preconceptions. Moreover, a mid-grade crystal with such energy was far too expensive to waste on a trial.
“Fine! I happen to have one” - the judge growled through gritted teeth. His desire to prove my incompetence had apparently overridden his common sense.
I glanced at one of our sect’s judges, who hadn’t stopped smirking. I subtly gestured to another student. He quickly understood my predicament.
“But we have two students here. If we’re going to conduct a trial, why not involve them both?” - my ally suggested.
The judge’s teeth gritted twice as loudly as he pulled out a second crystal.
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“Huang To, don’t disappoint me” - he said, glaring heavily at his student, who broke out in a cold sweat.
“Teacher… I…” - he gulped nervously. - “I’ll do my best.”
The judge was clearly dissatisfied with this promise but refrained from causing a scene in front of the audience, especially since the sect leaders were seated nearby, watching the spectacle with obvious interest. After all, there were no televisions here, and even such a relatively static performance could captivate the public’s attention.
“The next task: crafting a Foundation Breakthrough Pill” - announced our judge loudly. - “Two mid-grade crystals infused with refined Qi from the fifth level of Foundation Establishment have been generously provided by Grandmaster Alchemist Huyan Seo.”
This task was much more complex. A total of eighteen preparatory operations had to be performed, and the Qi used during the final stage would determine the pill’s effectiveness. The description of the pill-making process available to me was extremely vague. Ironically, I was most doubtful about the preparatory steps, while the supposedly most complex procedure of final ingredient fusion seemed straightforward and clear.
I decided not to rush and let my opponent take the lead. Huang To confidently began preparing the ingredients while I busied myself with sorting mine. Huang To was at the tenth level of Qi Condensation, making him sufficiently qualified to successfully craft this pill. However, I wasn’t about to give him such an opportunity. Moreover, the demands placed on me had already exceeded all reasonable limits, so it was time to punish the person who proposed making this pill. Since Huang To was Huyan Seo’s student, it was only fitting for him to bear the consequences of my ambitions.
While I slowly but surely prepared the simpler ingredients, I monitored my opponent’s actions using psionics, analyzing the changes occurring in the herbs. Judging by his precision, he had experience preparing these “semi-finished products” and only hesitated regarding his ability to properly combine them. Huyan Seo’s approving gaze suggested he was confident in his student’s success.
I wasn’t in a hurry and allowed Huang To to complete his preparations and begin merging the ingredients. Just as he channeled energy from the Qi crystal into the furnace, I extended a thin thread of Qi from my foot through the ground and the table leg directly to the alchemical furnace. Using this thread, I subtly scratched the bottom of the furnace. The red-hot bronze, brimming with vibrating spiritual energy, couldn’t withstand the strain and burst apart, scattering fragments everywhere. Since I controlled the explosion using Probability Magic, one of the shards pierced Huang To’s neck and spine, causing him to collapse to the ground, blood gushing from the wound.
“Huang To!” - screamed his teacher, rushing to his side.
But it was already too late. While a torn artery might still be treatable, a severed spine was beyond even a legendary-quality pill’s ability to heal.
I, meanwhile, was so “absorbed” in processing materials that I paid no attention to the explosion. By then, I already knew all the necessary steps for the preliminary preparations, so I meticulously performed them and moved on to the critical stage. Huyan Seo had recovered from his initial shock, coughed up three clots of blood, and now observed my actions with thinly veiled hatred. However, he didn’t dare interfere directly, as our three sect alchemists were also watching the process closely.
The final step involved mixing the ingredients in a specific sequence and introducing purified Qi from the crystal during the final stage. Afterward, I had to control the fusion of this Qi with the herbs’ natural energy and establish an “energy modulation” that would later influence the “foundation breakthrough” process. I still didn’t fully understand how cultivation advanced at the Foundation Establishment stage, but the seal on my left hand contained Qi from three different cultivators. Based on their energy, I could discern the distinctive features of this level’s “living” energy and separate it from the individual traits of the cultivators themselves.
The entire audience held their breath as I worked to merge the energies. Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened, and the procedure was successfully completed. I only needed to perform a few final actions to stabilize the result and prevent the energy from dissipating.
“Done” - I said, placing the pill on a special stand where all the spectators could see it. A servant immediately grabbed the stand and delivered it to the judges for a closer inspection.
“Perfect!” - exclaimed the smiling alchemist in amazement. - “This is already at the level of a master alchemist. Would you agree?”
“Yes, an excellent pill” his colleague concurred.
The judges from the Radiant Fingers Sect spent a long time searching for flaws in my work but eventually had to admit that the deviations from the “standard” were more indicative of my unique style than actual shortcomings.
“Since we’ve confirmed our student’s skills, why not conduct an oral exam for the master alchemist title as well?” - one of the judges suggested loudly.
“I support this idea. I believe our esteemed guests will ensure we don’t show undue leniency and will ask all the necessary questions for such an exam.”
The guests grumbled a bit but ultimately decided that failing me during the exam was their only chance to save face. After all, their student had died suddenly, making me the undisputed victor of this competition.