Chapter 99

Chapter 99: Martial Skills Competition

The venue for the martial skills competition was located next to the row of alchemy rooms, the very place where everyone received their daily assignments.

Upon entering the building, only a spacious hall could be seen.

Inside the hall, six furnaces had already been prepared, each partitioned off by screens.

"Go select your materials."

Zheng Ting Tao sat upon a throne carved from white jade. Seeing everyone arrive, he spoke with indifference.

The six individuals bowed respectfully and quickly moved towards the cupboard on the side.

Upon the cupboard, the herbs had already been arranged.

Lu An, his mind filled solely with the thought of washing away his disgrace, chose without hesitation the Cleansing Potion, the most difficult middle first-level potion to refine.

As a potion that transforms the body and enhances cultivation aptitude, it has always been one of the most popular spiritual potions among the middle first-level ones.

Of course, its difficulty in refinement was not as simple as one might imagine.

It required a special kind of Alchemy Technique, which was extremely challenging to master, taking at least three to five years.

Lu An, having practiced alchemy since childhood, spent a full four years learning this technique.

Back in the Immortal Sect, during every martial skills competition, he had managed to place near the top with his results in refining this spiritual potion.

The others also chose the Cleansing Potion.

They were all seasoned members; naturally, they knew which potion could yield them the most points.

At this stage, what everyone would compare was the other three standards.

So, they gathered together to pick their herbs.

Zhou Luo was no exception.

He reached out his hand, about to take a specific herb.

Suddenly, a dark figure darted up from beside him and swiftly grabbed that herb.

He glanced sideways and saw it was Lu An, whose face was livid with anger.

"Heh. You? You want to refine a Cleansing Potion?" Lu An sneered, his voice thick with mockery.

Zhou Luo’s eyebrows lifted slightly. Curiously, he asked, “Do you not have enough slaps on your face?”

Hearing this, Lu An’s expression darkened, a layer of anger flashing in his eyes.

He hissed, “You think winning first place in the written examination makes you that special? The final ranking still depends on alchemy.”

“In an alchemy contest, a son-in-law who married into the family like you could never win against me in ten lifetimes.”

“Confidence is good. I hope you manage to keep it.” Zhou Luo responded with indifference, then reached out to pick a different herb.

At that moment, Lu An suddenly moved swiftly, his right hand clamping down hard on Zhou Luo’s wrist.

A wave of pain shot through him. Zhou Luo’s face turned ice-cold, the spiritual energy within him beginning to stir, ready to erupt at any moment.

“Very soon, you’ll see the gap between us.” Lu An stared at him, speaking through gritted teeth.

Having said this, he released his grip and walked towards the area where another type of material was located.

Zhou Luo remained standing in place, gazing at the scorching red mark encircling his wrist as a flicker of disdain flashed in his eyes.

He slowly turned his head, fixing Lu An’s retreating figure with his stare, committing the man’s form deeply to memory.

The others swiftly selected their medicinal ingredients and returned to their stations.

Each face was etched with seriousness as they earnestly began pill concoction.

Zhou Luo, however, appeared rather at ease. While everyone else was already placing ingredients into their furnaces, he only then carried his chosen materials to his station, laying them calmly on the adjacent table without the slightest hint of panic.

Zheng Ting Tao savored his spiritual tea as his mental strength swept over each of the six stations, taking in everyone’s performance.

Over this past month, while he hadn’t monitored their daily refining, the quality of the potions they handed in had given him a fair assessment of their talents.

Two individuals, in particular, had met his approval.

One was Lu An. The other was a man named Zhang Sheng from the Zhang Family.

As for Zhou Luo, his consistently high failure rate had kept him off Zheng Ting Tao’s radar.

Though his first place in the written examination had earned Zhou Luo a brief glance from Zheng Ting Tao.

It truly was just a glance.

For in that single glance, he had discerned Ninth Grade spiritual roots on Zhou Luo.

Spiritual roots so lowly meant even breaking through the fifth layer of Qi Refinement would be a struggle in this lifetime. What use was talent, then?

A Pill Master’s craft indeed valued concoction skill, but the extended lifespan and comprehensive enhancement granted by cultivation level were the sole pillars supporting the art.

Without achieving higher realms, advancing far on the pill path was utterly impossible.

In Zheng Ting Tao’s eyes, Zhou Luo’s future was set in stone, devoid of any further possibility for progress.

Consequently, his focus rested more heavily on Lu An and Zhang Sheng.

Both men were not newcomers; each had concocted the Cleansing Potion at least a hundred times. Today, driven by a quiet rivalry, they pushed themselves to accelerate their pace.

By now, merely thirty minutes had elapsed, yet both had already begun the crucial step: using their pill formula to control the medicinal liquid, guiding it towards form.

The others, one must know, were still only in the stage of merging the medicinal fluids.

Pill concoction comprised five steps: sequentially adding ingredients, extracting their medicinal properties, merging the medicinal liquids, guiding the mixture with the pill formula, and finally, solidifying the pill.

Lu An and Zhang Sheng had already reached the penultimate step. Within another dozen minutes or so, their pills would likely form.

Boom—

Just as Zheng Ting Tao was speculating who between them would solidify their pill first, a low, resonant sound reached his ears.

As a second level Pill Master, he instantly recognized the sound signaling a completed pill.

The next instant, an intense, incredibly pure medicinal fragrance blossomed in the air.

Zheng Ting Tao whipped his head towards Zhou Luo’s direction, finding the man standing there calmly, his concoction halted.

Half an hour. That was all it took for him to complete the Cleansing Potion.

That potent fragrant aroma of potion naturally flooded the senses of everyone else present.

The others, at critical junctures of their own concoctions, felt a jolt go through them.

"Lu An? Already?" Zhang Sheng, eyes glued to his furnace, couldn’t help the thought surfacing in his mind.

However, at his own station, Lu An’s face paled drastically. A grimace twisted his features as he gritted his teeth fiercely, a trickle of blood threading from the corner of his mouth.

The sudden completion of someone else’s pill had caused severe mental disturbance; only by forcibly stabilizing his focus had he managed to continue controlling the medicinal liquid inside his furnace, painstakingly guiding it to slowly coalesce.

Yet, doubt churned within him.

Who had succeeded so quickly? Zhang Sheng? Or someone else?

Before his furnace, Zhou Luo stood with lowered head, posture respectful.

Zheng Ting Tao had already arrived before him.

Examining the six Cleansing Potions inside the alchemical furnace stirred Zheng Ting Tao’s thoughts.

With a slight mental nudge, the pure white potions floated up, hovering before his eyes.

Top-level? And… top-quality?

Zheng Ting Tao scrutinized the six Cleansing Potions, a glimmer of astonishment passing through his gaze.

Six pills from one batch: three mid-level, two top-level, and one top-quality.

Is this boy truly so gifted?

He couldn’t help but study Zhou Luo intently.

Such efficient refining – surely even a top-level first-level Pill Master couldn’t achieve such results in a single attempt?

A pity he only possessed Ninth Grade spiritual roots.

Zheng Ting Tao gave a slight, barely perceptible shake of his head.

Had the boy’s spiritual roots been of a higher grade… perhaps he truly would have considered taking him on as a disciple.

Setting the Cleansing Potions down, a fleeting light surrounded him as he reappeared back on his dais.

From start to finish, he hadn’t spoken a single word to Zhou Luo.

"I’ve got it!"

Not long after Zhou Luo’s success, Lu An’s elated cry suddenly rang out.

Following swiftly was the wafting fragrant aroma of potion, signaling his own successful pill completion.