Chapter 100

Chapter 100: Unlucky Lu An

Lu An’s voice wasn’t loud, but it fell clearly into each person’s ears. That excited, joyful tone made the hearts of those busy refining the elixir sink, and they only felt their pressure multiply.

On the throne seat, Zheng Ting Tao, who was resting his eyes with them closed, showed no movement at all, as if he hadn’t heard the sound.

The successfully refining Lu An looked at the potion inside the furnace with evident surprise, his spirits greatly lifted.Although he wasn’t the first to succeed at refining, he was confident he surpassed anyone present, whether in quantity or quality.

As for Zhou Luo.

Hmph.

He wasn’t worthy to be compared.Winning this contest, he had it in the bag.Retrieving his thoughts, Lu An leaned sideways to look through the screen partition towards the fuzzy figure on the left.

The sight of the other person striving hard at refining greatly bolstered his confidence.

However.

Just who had been faster than him, exactly?

Lu An first glanced towards Zheng Ting Tao on the throne seat, then cautiously stepped away from his furnace. He approached the screen and directed his gaze towards the area where Zhang Sheng was, to the left.

Of the nine people present, the only one he felt some wariness towards was Zhang Sheng.

The opponent’s alchemy level was comparable to his own, and he had entered the Immortal Sect multiple times for study.

The only one who could possibly be faster than him was him.But when he craned his neck to peer towards Zhang Sheng, he was surprised to discover he was still in the process of forming the potion, not yet finished refining.Strange.

Besides him, who else could it be?

Full of puzzlement, Lu An looked past Zhang Sheng, towards the two other people further to the left.

Those two were also still busy.It couldn’t be them.

Lu An then turned his head to look left.Right held only two people, Wang Yu Wei and Zhou Luo.He saw immediately that the other was still only on the fourth step of refining, a huge step behind his own speed.For an instant, Lu An’s body froze, as a terrifying thought surfaced inside him.

Could it be… that live-in son-in-law?He couldn’t believe it. He looked sharply towards the other party’s area.

He actually discovered the guy standing in front of his furnace, staring blankly.

Yes, just staring blankly.

It really was this guy!

A terrifying truth presented itself before Lu An.

His body jolted, stumbling backward several paces before nearly collapsing.

How could this be!

His eyes widened wide open, a tsunami of shock surging within him, draining all color from his already pallid face.

This outcome was something he utterly refused to accept.

How could a live-in son-in-law complete his pill faster than him?

Didn’t this man suffer an extremely high failure rate every single time he attempted alchemy?

Lu An’s mind was in absolute turmoil. Propping himself against the screen with his right hand, he took deep breaths, over and over, trying to calm the storm inside.

Meanwhile, Zhou Luo remained completely unaware of the other man’s turmoil. His thoughts were occupied solely with Zheng Ting Tao’s reaction moments before.

Clearly, the other party had been satisfied with him.

But what did the final shake of his head mean?

Did he feel pity?

And pity about what?

He suddenly thought of his own Ninth Grade spiritual roots, and then, understanding dawned.

Ah. The man probably felt that even with impressive talent in alchemy, someone possessing only Ninth Grade spiritual roots wasn’t worth nurturing.

If he’d had even a mid-grade spiritual root, Zheng Ting Tao might have taken him as a disciple.

An ordinary person, discovering they’d narrowly missed such an immortal fate, would likely be plunged into deep regret and profound sorrow.

But Zhou Luo was different.

He remained utterly calm, without a single trace of disappointment.

Because becoming an Immortal Sect disciple wasn’t his goal. Furthermore, although his spiritual roots were Ninth Grade now, that didn’t mean they would remain so forever.

As long as he fathered enough descendants, his spiritual roots would inevitably ascend to a higher grade.

Elsewhere, Lu An had gradually regained his composure, forced to accept the fact that this live-in son-in-law had finished his pill refining faster.

Fortunately, the martial skills competition involved more than just speed in alchemy.

Lu An’s face hardened as he returned to his furnace.

So what if the man was fast?

He must have used scarcely any materials.

After all, using fewer materials meant faster pill completion and lower technical demands.

Take himself—he had increased the quantity of every medicinal ingredient to boost his own speed.

The downside was that this required tremendously more focus; failure would be far costlier.

The advantage, however, was that his final pill yield would vastly surpass everyone else’s.

Gazing at the five pills resting in the base of his furnace, the anxious turmoil in Lu An’s heart finally settled.

He sneered inwardly.

Zhou Luo’s speed in crafting the Cleansing Potion might have produced only one!

Even if more, the quantity couldn’t surpass his!

He still held the winning card.

Soon, others succeeded consecutively crafting their Cleansing Potions. Waves of the fragrant aroma of pill wafted through the hall.

Only after the last one finished did

Zheng Ting Tao open his eyes. With a wave of his right hand, a redwood table appeared before the six, bearing a crystal lamp.

"Place your potions forward."

Each retrieved their Cleansing Potions, depositing them into the crystal lamp.

As Lu An approached, he deliberately glanced beside him. Seeing they had only four Cleansing Potions each, he straightened his posture with a smile.

Yet the next moment, his gaze fell upon Zhou Luo’s crystal lamp. The smile froze, eyes widened again as if struck by lightning, leaving him rigidly motionless.

Not just him, all were astounded upon seeing six Cleansing Potions in the lamp.

So many?

Wang Yu Wei’s beautiful eyes glimmered, deeply perplexed.

She had heard of Zhou Luo’s daily high failure rate.

She’d thought he was being reckless.

But from completing first to having the highest count—her heart trembled in sheer astonishment.

Compared to her surprise, Lu An’s reaction bordered on shock.

He stared fixedly at the six Cleansing Potions, scarcely blinking, unable to believe this reality.

How did he do it?

This sole question consumed Lu An’s mind.

"Cough, cough."

At this moment, Zheng Ting Tao cleared his throat.

Lu An snapped back to awareness, realizing he stood foolishly alone before the crystal lamp.

He hastily bowed and retreated.

While withdrawing, he inwardly comforted himself.

Quantity meant nothing; quality was crucial.

Exactly.

This guy’s quality must be terrible.

"Zhou Luo, full points!"

Boom—

This thought barely formed when Zheng Ting Tao’s voice exploded like thunder in his ears. Lu An jerked his head up, his heart pierced as if by a blade, wrenching pain searing through him.

"Lu An, eighty-five points!"

"Zhang Sheng, eighty-three points!"

…

Zheng Ting Tao’s voice continued.

But Lu An heard nothing.

His mind blank, eyes vacant, he stood dumbfounded like a log.

The remaining few also wore expressions of shock, finding it Unimaginable.

Full points?

Involuntarily, their eyes turned to Zhou Luo.

He remained composed, showing no excitement over his perfect score, as if expecting it all along.

This elevated their perception of Zhou Luo.

This newcomer seemed more formidable than imagined.

"Relevant rewards will be distributed daily. You may leave." After announcing the results, Zheng Ting Tao waved dismissively.

None dared question the results, not even Lu An. Though he struggled to accept the outcome, he departed the hall in despair.

Outside, Lin Xin had been waiting long.

She naturally heard Zheng Ting Tao’s proclamation.

Spotting Zhou Luo emerge, her face bloomed with overwhelming joy.

"Zhou Luo, brilliant!" she exclaimed brightly.

Zhou Luo smiled and nodded, then turned to block Lu An’s path. "Your item?"

The despondent Lu An lifted his gaze, expression worse than a funeral, every inch radiating reluctance. He retrieved that superior magical artifact.

Seeing this, Zhou Luo directly snatched the magical artifact away.

Lu An instinctively moved to resist, yet stopped himself. Helpless, he watched it taken, the final shred of spirit vanishing with it.

Thud—

After successive blows, he finally collapsed, sinking limply to the ground.