The Extreme Alchemist of the Mighty Cauldron

In the center of the Pill Array, three from the Pill Sect faced off against three from the Ten-thousand Medicine Sect, with about ten steps separating them in the middle.

A supposed air of solemnity has turned peculiar because of a certain individual.

Naturally, that person was Fang Lin.

Seemingly oblivious to the strange gazes around him, Fang Lin casually took bites from a piece of chicken, every so often emitting crunching sounds.

“Hey, if you want to eat, go roll off somewhere else. Don’t disturb us here.” The young lady from the Ten-thousand Medicine Sect abruptly blurted out, her expression extremely arrogant. The look in her eyes towards Fang Lin was full of deep disdain.

Upon her utterances, Meng Chaoyang and Gu Liuli showed fleeting trappings of anger. Though they were also quite dissatisfied with Fang Lin’s behavior, he was, after all, one of their own from the Pill Sect. Being so disparaging in a conversation, was the Ten-thousand Medicine Sect even taking the Pill Sect seriously?

“This is the Pill Sect and our disciples can do as they please. We don’t need outsiders to comment.” Meng Chaoyang tersely remarked, his expression indifferent.

Fang Lin, chicken leg still in his mouth, glanced at Meng Chaoyang and thought he seemed like a decent guy.

The young lady snorted lightly, casting Fang Lin a contemptuous glance before saying, “Competing in pill refining with someone like you is simply a disgrace to me.”

Fang Lin was not angered at all, instead, he replied cheerfully, “My dear lady, why is such a young mouth already so foul? Is it because your parents didn’t bring you up well or is it due to a lack of parental affection?”

This drew a momentary stunned silence from everyone present.

The young lady was instantly incensed, her beautiful eyes glinting with murderous intent.

Her two male companions glared at Fang Lin with menacing eyes that were nevertheless shrouded with a chilling light.

Meng Chaoyang and Gu Liuli glanced at Fang Lin in astonishment. The words he used were indeed venomous; he was just shy of outright cursing at the young lady from the Ten-thousand Medicine Sect.

The young lady clenched her silvery teeth and said coldly to Fang Lin, “You’d better watch out!”

Fang Lin nodded at her seriously and then continued to eat the stewed chicken in his bowl.

Livid but helpless against Fang Lin’s thick-skinned demeanor, she saw no other choice but to suppress her anger, planning to vent it all out during the upcoming Pill Refining contest.

At this moment, two elders of the Pill Sect and Ten-thousand Medicine Sect approached and exchanged pleasantries.

“After our discussion, we’ve decided that there will be three rounds for this competition. The order of the rounds will be determined by drawing lots.” The Pill Sect Elder announced loudly.

With his hands clasped behind his back, the elder of the Ten-thousand Medicine Sect merely nodded in assent.

Suddenly, a vermilion bamboo tube was produced, containing three bamboo slips.

There was no distinction between any of the slips protruding from the bamboo tube. The three slips were inspected by both the Pill Sect and the Ten-thousand Medicine Sect to ensure there were no problems and no chance of cheating from either side.

“The Four Saints above as my witnesses and all of you here as well, the Elder of the Pill Sect will draw the first lot.” The Pill Sect Elder paid homage first to the statues of the Four Saints and then to the stone platform.

Once his bowing gesture was finished, the elder’s stern gaze fixed on the three bamboo slips in the tube in front of him. He hesitated for a good while before reaching out to draw one.

At that moment, everyone’s eyes focused on the bamboo slip, involuntarily holding their breath.

However, the people from the Ten-thousand Medicine Sect seemed calm, because they had absolute confidence in their three representatives. Regardless of which lot was drawn, they were indifferent to it.

“Hopefully it’s the top lot, which would allow Meng Chaoyang to assert his dominance in the first round.”

“Indeed, if we win the first round, it would greatly boost the morale of the Pill

Sect.”

“Top lot! Top lot! Top lot!”

Many disciples of the Pill Sect prayed silently, hoping that the first lot drawn would be the top one. In such a case, the first round of competition would be a contest between two top-ranking disciples.

Given Meng Chaoyang’s reputation, there was a high chance he could win the first round, providing a head start for the Pill Sect.

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. When the Elder of the Pill Sect drew the bamboo slip and everyone got a clear view of it, the lower end of the slip bore the word “Middle”.

Middle!

Worry flickered in the eyes of the Elder of the Pill Sect, while the Elder of the Ten-thousand Medicine Sect wore a satisfied smile, seemingly quite pleased with the lot drawn.

Gu Liuli’s heart tightened, involuntarily revealing a trace of solemnity on her face.

The Elder of the Pill Sect took a deep breath before announcing loudly, “The first lot, Middle!”

Upon hearing the results, everyone sighed in disappointment. Not drawing the top lot was definitely not good news for the Pill Sect.

“Even though it’s middle, Sister Gu might not necessarily lose. She is a genuine

Pill Refiner after all.”

“That’s right, Sister Gu will definitely win.”

“We should trust Sister Gut s strength.”

Many Pill Sect disciples cheered up, secretly hoping that Gu Liuli could score a victory for the Pill Sect.

However, the more reasonable disciples from the Pill Sect weren’t optimistic about this first match.

After all, they were up against the top performer from the Ten-thousand Medicine Sect, and determining who was stronger wasn’t quite as straightforward.

The assignment for the first match was now determined: Gu Liuli would face off against the thin young man from the Ten-thousand Medicine Sect.

The rest stepped out of the Pill Array. Fang Lin was still drinking his chicken soup from a bowl while Meng Chaoyang was frowning slightly, watching the situation in the Pill Array.

Atop the Pill Array, Gu Liuli stood squarely against the thin young man.

Gu Liuli’s expression was serious, while the thin young man seemed as calm as usual.

“For the first match, you have four hours to refine a Bone Renewal Pill.

Judgement will be based on the refinement duration and the quality of the pill.” The Pill Sect Elder announced.

Upon hearing the name of the pill, Gu Liuli let out a quiet sigh of relief. A Bone Renewal Pill was a fairly common grade one pill. Even though the refining process was quite complex, she had made it several times and was rather confident.

The thin young man, on the other hand, showed a slight smile, clearly very confident.

Two identical Pill Furnaces were taken out from the Nine Palace Bag carried by the Pill Sect Elder. The herbs needed for refining the Bone Renewal Pill had also been prepared in advance, complete in variety and quantity.

Naturally, the representatives from the Ten-thousand Medicine Sect carefully checked both the herbs and the Pill Furnaces. Even though they had full confidence, they still had to prevent any foul play from the Pill Sect.

With the herbs and Pill Furnaces not posing a problem, what really mattered was their individual mastery over Pill Refining.

“Do you think Sister Gu Liuli can win?” Below the Pill Array, Meng Chaoyang suddenly asked.

Fang Lin paused for a moment, bowl in his hand, looked left and right, and innocently queried, “Are you asking me?

Meng Chaoyang turned his head to look at him but said nothing. Fang Lin laughed awkwardly, swallowed the chicken in his mouth, and then said, “I don’t really know, but we must have confidence in Sister Gu.” Meng Chaoyang fell silent. Confidence, huh?

The pill refining process had finally begun. The moment the present Elder announced the start, Gu Liuli’s hands began to quickly move, preparing various herbs in batches and quantities.

On the other side, the thin young man showed similar movements. However, upon closer inspection, the young man’s movements seemed more practiced and more efficient than Gu Liuli’s.

Many spectators frowned at this sight as the match had barely begun..