Chapter 168: 13) The Alchemy contest
As the tension in the ground reached its peak, all eyes turned towards Saint Alchemist, their ears listening to his words carefully with full focus.
His presence commanded instant respect and attention, and the atmosphere crackled with anticipation.
They wanted to know who is the sucessor of Saint-tier alchemist.
At the same time,
The Alchemist Saint walked slowly among the contestants, studying them and their creations with a thoughtful gaze.
Of course he wanted best of best to succeed after him.
Finally, he stood before Bai Lung, holding the gleaming silver pill delicately in his hands.
After a moment of silence, he nodded appreciatively.
"Master Zhang and Master Yuan have both seen the extraordinary potential of this pill... But there is something deeper, something that even they did not fully grasp, it's quite easily to not see this when you can only get this effect after you actually consume it..."
He closed his eyes, focusing immensely.
The crowd held their breath as they sensed the shift in energy.
All of them wonder just what kind of pill this was as even grandmasters couldn't actually tell.
Is this some sort of magical pill!?
With a sudden burst of clarity, he exhaled, his voice imbued with wisdom.
"This pill... Bai Lung... hmmm!!! This pill is a convergence of forces. You utilized both light and dark natural fire in its creation, weaving them together to form a remarkable yin-yang balance. This is a rare skill in pill refinement that enhances both perception and spiritual defenses harmoniously...
This pill have property of Yin and Yang, it can greatly boost dual cultivation and even increase the chances of breakthrough for all kind of cultivators below soul wandering realm... This pill is best to loosen the bottleneck"
"can help make breakthrough?"
"Losen the bottleneck?"
"Best for Dual cultivation?"
The crowd murmured in awe, stunned by the revelation.
Bai Lung's face remained cold as ice but an acknowledgment of the profound understanding reflected in the Saint Alchemist's words.
"Thus," the Saint continued, "I award this pill a perfect score of 10 out of 10, not only for its innovation and complexity but for the balance it achieves, harmonizing awareness with protection, this is over the top level pill,"
Bai Lung felt the weight of expectation lift slightly; praise from the Saint Alchemist meant everything in this realm.
In eyes of other he was now a celebrity.
[Ding! You have received praise from Saint-Tier alchemist for your pill, increasing your image greatly ]
[You have obtained 30,000 points]
[Ding! You have obtained 1 million EXP ]
[DING! YOUR PLAN HAS BEEN SUCESSFULLY PLANTED]
----
Next, Saint Alchemist turned to Prince Qin's golden capsule. He examined it carefully, dissecting its essence with an expert eye.
"While it possesses potential energy," he began, his tone grave, "it is built upon a flawed foundation. Overconcentration of fire essence creates not just imbalance but also risk."
He hesitated before continuing, "To give a score is to recognize its hazards. I give it a score of 3 out of 10. This pill, while powerful, is dangerous in untrained hands and lacks versatility..."
The crowd reacted with sympathetic whispers directed toward Prince Qin, who was visibly dejected, his pride bruised.
It was bad luck.
Next was Li Huan's humble brown pellet.
The Saint held it with a sense of reverence, and his expression softened.
"This pill's subtlety conceals a profound philosophy. In the chaotic torrents of battle, its true strength lies not in raw power but in fostering clarity and wisdom,"
He smiled and concluded, "I give it a commendable 8 out of 10. Its value in navigating the battlefield intelligently is exceptional."
Li Huan felt a warm glow of satisfaction; acknowledgment was all he had desired.
Then came Gu Changgee's iridescent crystal pill. The Saint inspected it closely, his brow furrowing in thought.
"This pill showcases a dazzling creativity coupled with alarming risks. The accelerant property can indeed hasten one's abilities, but the inherent danger cannot be minimized. It's a double-edged sword... However I can't overlook that a top level alchemist received little to no backlash from this pill... Hmmm... Let's see,"
"I award it a score of 10 out of 10. Its power is undeniable..." he pronounced, eliciting mixed responses from the crowd.
But just then... His eyes looked slightly confused.
Finally, the Saint stood before Wang's unassuming white tablet.
At first, he displayed a slight frown, then looked intently at Wang, who stood with apprehension.
"A simple pill," he mused,
"but it embodies the spirit of perseverance. It may lack potency, yet it represents an earnest attempt at alchemy."
After a reflective pause, he continued, "However, it is my belief that earnest effort deserves acknowledgment, albeit tempered by reality. I give it a score of 4 out of 10 for sincerity but recognize the potential you possess, it's sad that some flower can never shine brightly,"
Prince Qin: "..." ( Seriously!?)
Wang's face lit up with relief; he had feared he would receive nothing but disdain.
With all evaluations complete, the Saint stepped back, his voice rising with authority.
...
"You have all shown great promise and tenacity. Each pill reflects not only your skills but your philosophies in alchemy.... Remember: true mastery lies not just in power but in the understanding and balance of the elements you wield,"
"Woah! What an insight!"
"I m in tears, such deep philosophy,"
"I can feel wisdom coming inside my soul,"
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Clap! Clap! Clap!
The crowd erupted into applause, and the tension eased, replaced with an atmosphere of camaraderie and respect.
"Now then..." The Saint level alchemist looked at Grandmaster and gave them The Special signal.
"Kill Gu Changgee," The Saint level alchemist uttered.
Gu Changgee: "..."!?? ( W-What...)
Gu Changgee looked at his pill unknown why Saint suddenly uttered to kill him.
However to his horror, his pill has strong devilish energy and soul controlling property.
'I-Impossible...' Gu Changgee's eyes widened.
He instantly looked at Bai Lung because he knew it was him who must have used his system to manipulate the effect of his pill.
"Y-You... You dare play dirty!?" Gu Changgee said in anger because his system was currently being upgradged and he couldn't use it.
Basically for next 6 minute and 36 seconds, Gu Changgee is all alone without the hel from his system.
Which is pretty bad for him as Lord Yama seems to be deeply interested in him.
Play dirty!? What is actually clean in this acursed world.
The Grandmaster instantly surrounds Gu Changgee.
"You devil... The pill you created have devilish energy and strong soul controlling effect, you have created a forbidden pill that deserves death..." Alchemist Saint roared.
"What!?"
"Devil? This Gu Changgee is actually devil?"
"Soul controlling pill!? Don't tell me this young master Gu thought he could actually control alchemist Saint as his puppet..."
"Holy!? I knew from before that this Gu Changgee is not a good person," -exclusive-content
---
Gu Changgee despite being surrounded by powerful people remained calm.
He had calculated well and thought he had won but it seems his calculation fell short.
It was clear he was going to die here and he couldn't run.
Anyone who is logical can tell He had 0% chance of espacing or defending himself.
How can he defend himself when he is for real a devil.
However he didn't chose to fight either because he believed if he decided fight, he can at least kill 3 to 4 alchemy grandmaster who are powerhouse on themselves.
But if he does that, the one who benefits the most is Bai Lung.
For now he looked at Saint alchemist and smiled.
"Well! Well!... It is indeed true, I am a devil, the magic user," Gu Changgee said as he didn't wished his trait and eternal dispear tree to be hands of Bai Lung.
In short, he had accepted defeat and was ready to die but didn't wished for his talents to be passed on Bai Lung.
Of course one might think, why not frame Bai Lung too!? But can he really when he knows that Bai Lung's system is still active?
Snap!
Gu Changgee snapped his finger and took out a mango from his space ring.
"I really like mango..." Saying that he began to eat it.
Saint-level alchemist: "..."???
Grandmasters: ???
Crowd: ???
What was this 'sigma' attutude, he was about to die but all he says is he likes mango?
They couldn't understand what was going on.
However on the other hand Bai Lung's eyes went cold because that wasn't ordinary mango.
That was holy mango, something that can greatly suppress devil origin.
It was clear to him that Gu Changgee wanted to damage his origin.
'I see... He doesn't wished to fight with these people and wait for his system, rather he wants to damage his origin so, I can't benefit much...' Bai Lung thought to himself.
Truth be told, Gu Changgee was open book pretty easy to read.
However Bai Lung didn't wished for that.
Snap!
He snapped his finger and a rune appeared above Gu Changgee's head.
It was immobilizing runes.