The Extreme Alchemist of the Mighty Cauldron

Chapter 512: 512: Competition

Chapter 512: Chapter 512: Competition

There are many talents in Xuan Country’s Pill Alliance, but only a few truly stand out.

On the day at the Crown Prince’s mansion, Fang Lin met five of them. They were extremely extraordinary.

These five were the most noticeable ones in this alchemy test. People speculated that the Domination Pill would ultimately fall into the hands of one of them.

Dugu Nian didn’t participate. Despite being a talented alchemist, she had no interest in the Domination Pill. With the strength of the Dugu Family, she had no need to compete with others for it.

On the other hand, Fang Lin was very interested in the Domination Pill. He needed to increase his strength to establish himself in Xuan Country. The Domination Pill could make him stronger, so he couldn’t pass it up.

Although the Domination Pill was good, the competition for it was also fierce. In Fang Lin’s view, the biggest competitors were the five talented Pill Alliance members.

Each of the five studied under a Master of Pill, and all of them had reached the Four Cauldrons Pill Refiner level. They were the true top talents of the Xuan Country’s Pill Alliance.

Of course, after Dugu Nian began to stand out, people gradually considered her to be in the same ranks as the five, and she became one of the six top talents.

From the current point of view, Dugu Nian hadn’t reached the heights of the five yet.

One day, Chen Yongnian gathered all young Pill Refiners who participated in the alchemy test.

Besides the five talents, over a dozen others were involved. They were all Three-Cauldrons or Four-Cauldrons Pill Refiners of Xuan Country’s Pill Alliance; all under thirty years old and held great potential.

Even though they knew the chances of competing against the five top talents were slim, they refused to give up and must try. If they managed to succeed, it would be a massive surprise.

Fang Lin was a relatively unnoticed participant among these dozen or so people, perhaps even receiving the least attention.

After all, everyone there had a prowess in pill refining. They lacked no amateurs. Since Fang Lin hadn’t demonstrated his alchemy proficiency yet, people assumed he was the weakest among them.

Fang Lin didn’t mind the contempt, or even ignorance, of the others. He only cared about the Domination Pill.

“Fang Lin, I would advise you not to think too highly of your abilities, and you better withdraw now,” said Sun Kai, sneering as he walked up to Fang Lin.

Fang Lin glanced at him disdainfully, “You don’t even have the courage to compete. What can you achieve? Step aside.”

Sun Kai looked annoyed. He indeed didn’t participate because he didn’t think he stood a chance against the five talents, even if he did, it would be a waste of effort.

“Let’s see how arrogant you’ll be when you make a fool of yourself!” Sun Kai said viciously before leaving.

Fang Lin didn’t spare him another glance. His eyes were on the five talents.

Among them, four were men, and one was a woman.

All were quite young, with the oldest being just twenty-eight.

Fang Lin was the youngest of all participants, having just turned eighteen.

Soon, Chen Yongnian emerged and stood before everyone, scanning the crowd with slightly cloudy eyes.

Fang Lin didn’t know much about this high-ranking official of Xuan Country’s Pill Alliance. But Mo Ziming had told him that Elder Chen was an influential figure from the Pill Alliance Headquarters and had been in the Xuan Country Pill Alliance for over twenty years. Even the Emperor of Xuan Country respected him and invited him to the royal city often.

The thing about this test is, Chen Yongnian explained, “Only one out of nineteen of you will get the Domination Pill. We will be testing your overall pill refining skills. Even if you don’t get the Domination Pill, as long as you demonstrate enough talent and skill, I will still grant other rewards.”

Upon hearing this, many of the young Pill Refiners, still somewhat anxious, immediately cheered up. Even if they fail, as long as their performance is good, they could still get rewarded.

Although it wouldn’t be as good as the Domination Pill, it likely wouldn’t be too bad.

Fang Lin sneered. Was this some sort of consolation prize? He had no interest in any consolation prize. The Domination Pill was of utmost importance to him. He couldn’t afford to lose it.

“The test only happens once. Whoever refines the best quality Purple Mystery Pill will receive the Domination Pill reward. If the quality is the same, then it will be based on the time taken,” Chen Yongnian said.

Upon hearing this, the nineteen contestants, apart from the five talents, all showed a somewhat solemn expression.

The Three-Cauldrons Pill Refiners felt particularly overwhelmed. They came here with determination, but upon hearing they had to refine Purple Mystery Pills, they felt hopeless.

The reason was simple. The Purple Mystery Pill was a fourth-grade pill. Though it’s a lower-grade fourth-grade pill, it’s extremely difficult for Three-Cauldrons Pill Refiners to make.

Fang Lin was a Three-Cauldrons Pill Refiner, but with his current abilities, refining a fourth-grade Purple Mystery Pill was no problem. He felt very relaxed.

The pill furnace and materials were already prepared, conditions were the same for all. The real test was their ability as a Pill Refiner.

Standing before the pill furnace, Fang Lin glanced around and noticed the five talents had already started. It seemed they were confident and didn’t overthink things.

Actually, they didn’t take anyone else seriously except each other.

Chen Yongnian kept watching from above, focusing mostly on the five talents.

Other participants only caught his eye briefly, and he barely took them seriously.

“Hmm?” Suddenly, Chen Yongnian noticed Fang Lin. Seeing that Fang Lin had poured all the Purple Mystery Pill ingredients into the pill furnace all at once, he was somewhat surprised.

“What’s that kid doing?” Chen Yongnian vaguely remembered Fang Lin’s name and found him a bit unfamiliar. However, he was utterly confused by what Fang Lin was doing.

Not only Chen Yongnian, but the other contestants also side-eyed Fang Lin.

“Does he think there’s no hope so he’s just ruining everything?”

“Definitely, but it’s a bit much for him to waste ingredients like that.”

“Heh, I knew this Fang Lin would embarrass himself.”

····

Many whispered to each other, mocking Fang Lin.

For all their talk, Fang Lin chose to ignore them. He threw the last ingredient into the pill furnace and closed the lid.

Next moment, a fire rose in the furnace. He had started refining the pill.

From their seats above, Chen Yongnian and the other participants could only shake their heads in disbelief. This was pure nonsense.

Before the pill furnace, Fang Lin sat with his legs crossed, eyes closed, as if he didn’t care about the result.