Chapter 183: Chapter 181: The Pill Competition Begins (Transition, Selective Viewing)_1
Chapter 183: Chapter 181: The Pill Competition Begins (Transition, Selective Viewing)_1
Time trickled by, and there were less than twty minutes until Mu Huanqing's rest period ded.
During this time, the two of them had be siltly embracing each other, standing there. Fang R suddly spoke very little, while Mu Huanqing said many words to comfort him.
"Once the alchemy competition is over, I will leave school," Fang R said.
"Why do you suddly want to drop out?" Mu Huanqing was startled.
"To focus on cultivation, I will not delay a single day in marrying you if I can do it ev one day earlier," Fang R said.
"Don't put so much pressure on yourself, I have already said that I will handle this matter. Ah Ran, don't overthink it," Mu Huanqing said with a smile. "If they disagree with us being together wh the time comes, I can abandon my cultivation level and we can live a life together raising childr."
"..."
Fang R really wanted to tell her that this matter was far more complicated than she imagined, but ultimately, he didn't speak. It wasn't her burd to bear, but his to overturn.
As time grew increasingly urgt, their farewells were brief.
Mu Huanqing transformed into a streak of silver light and disappeared from the room, and Fang R oped the window of the inn, looking into the distant sky, his eyes becoming lifeless.
That night, he suffered from insomnia and cultivated through the tire night.
The next morning, the aura a Fang R had undergone subtle changes. He had used just one night to advance his realm from the Half-step Leisure Cloud Realm to the initial stages of the Leisure Cloud Realm.
Since Qianye said that his cultivation speed would only be considered average in other worlds, that meant he had a huge pottial for growth. His pace of cultivation could still become faster, fast ough to rival the talts of certain worlds.
After finishing his cultivation, Fang R checked the time. It was time to get ready for the alchemy competition—there was half an hour left before the competition vue would close.
He washed up quickly and th wt to knock on Bai Qi's room.
Knock, knock, knock—
A few knocks later, about t seconds passed before Bai Qi, still wearing the same clothes as yesterday and that duckbill cap, oped the door and walked out.
She kept her head down from the momt she stepped out the door. The long bill of the cap concealed her tire face, and Fang R couldn't tell what her mood was, but he ssed from the familiarity betwe them that Bai Qi's spirits were very low, similar to how she was the previous night at dinner.
"What's wrong with you?" Fang R, seeing her continuous downcast demeanor and the lack of her usual vivacity, couldn't help but ask.
"It's nothing, let's head to the competition vue," Bai Qi said as she pulled out her room key, locked the door, and walked past Fang R toward the inn's elevator. Fang R watched her do this and immediately followed.
Since the girl didn't want to talk about it, th he would try not to press the issue. Ev now, he still felt that the words he had spok in the room last night were not wrong.
...
After leaving the inn, the two grabbed something to eat on the street before heading to the Alchemist Guild vue in Lan Bamboo.
The day's alchemy competition was a sectional match, which meant there were no limits on the number of people who could ter the vue. In other words, whether one understood alchemy or not, everyone was eligible to watch the competition.
```
Fang R had just arrived at the trance of the Alchemist Guild with Bai Qi wh he saw a crowd of elderly m and wom, along with many unrelated personnel, taking photos with their phones from a distance.
"Please, all studts, gather in front of your respective school's banner! Please, all studts..."
No sooner had they tered the vue than they heard the voice of the Sevth Elder echoing throughout the Alchemist Guild.
At that time, studts from several other aristocrat schools had already arrived early, shedding their spldid school uniforms for robes of various colors, which, at first glance, looked somewhat like a doctor's coat.
But here, these garmts symbolized professionalism, etiquette, and seriousness...
Aside from changing clothes, the noble studts also carried various tools for alchemy. Although it was possible to take the exam without bringing anything, most of the studts brought their personal Pill Furnaces. To studts, familiarity with their own Pill Furnace was critical; switching to an unfamiliar one could pottially impact the final outcome of their alchemy.
Fang R and Bai Qi hadn't prepared any of these things at all. They were still wearing their school uniforms, and they hadn't brought any equipmt, just as all the other competitors had brought their own Pill Furnaces.
"That guy must be here for laughs, right? Attding the alchemy competition without ev preparing his own Pill Furnace, is he really here for alchemy?"
"I think he's just giv up on himself. He'll probably forfeit right away, or else he'll shamelessly try to perform alchemy, but that will only invite ev more severe humiliation."
"Oh my, the attdant beside him is the real highlight, isn't she? You could forget everything else, but you must carry an attdant to show off, that's really hilarious."
"That woman wears a duckbill cap every day, acting like she's afraid to show her face. Just how ugly must she be?"
...
As Fang R and Bai Qi took their places in front of the school's banner, the whispers a them began to circulate once more.
However, Fang R didn't care about that. He just wanted to get the alchemy competition over with and return to continue his cultivation. Besides cultivation and Mu Huanqing, he didn't want to think about anything else.
He aimed to create a tranquil place for Mu Huanqing to give birth to their child before it was born.
Bai Qi was unusually quiet that day. Ev hearing Fang R being mocked, she didn't react excessively, such as almost throwing her hat or using her status to teach these so-called nobles a lesson.
She just stood there siltly, not saying a word.
Fang R didn't have the mind to try to understand the thoughts of this imaginative girl. He had really tried before, but no matter how hard he thought, he could never grasp ev the tip of the iceberg of the script in the girl's mind.
"You low-quality studts, shut up!"
Before the two of them had said anything, the Sevth Elder, standing in the middle of the field, erupted in anger. He roared into the microphone in his hand, "I've already stated yesterday that talt is important, but effort is ev more so, and character quality is crucial! A studt without character quality will surely not contribute much to society in the future!
During the coming exam, if I hear anyone speak out of turn, I will immediately disqualify them! I have that right!"
Listing to the Sevth Elder's sudd outburst of rage, a group of nobles was stunned.
What's with the Sevth Elder? Was he having a sudd fit again?
Yesterday he only talked about the importance of effort; he didn't say anything about character quality problems. How come today, any issue with character quality could lead to disqualification from the competition?
Isn't that a bit too severe?
```