Nine Evolutions of the True Spirit
chapter-271

At this moment, Clan Head Wang and Clan Head Zhang both sought out Li Mao-Lin on the central cloud.

“Brother Mao-Lin, this alchemist you’ve contracted doesn’t seem at all reliable. I still thought he must have something up his sleeves to go into a Bet of Cauldron with Yue Jiang-Rui, but apparently that’s all he can do.”

Clan Head Wang was a sturdy middle-aged man, and also a Fifth Layer Core Forging Realm Enlightened Master. He was naturally attentive to the performance of the three clans’ alchemists, and because of the bet, he closely observed Yue Jiang-Rui’s alchemy.

When he saw that not only Yue Jiang-Rui, but Senior Martial Brother Ye who represented Zhang Clan and Senior Martial Brother Qi who represented Wang Clan had attained a ninety percent success rate, while Lu Ping who represented Li Clan only had a seventy percent success rate, he couldn’t help but speaking up sarcastically.

Li Mao-Lin said leisurely, “Brother Wang worries too much. This is just the first stage of the competition, its purpose is to disqualify alchemists with a low success rate. Alchemist Lu Jiu’s seventy percent success rate is not high, but it is still sufficient to pass the stage. The results won’t change even if you have a hundred percent success rate.”

Clan Head Wang Biao sneered coldly. “The tiniest detail can yield volumes of information. If he only has a seventy percent success rate for Late Blood Condensation Realm pellets, one can easily tell how low it will be for half-step Core Forging Realm pellets.”

Li Mao-Lin’s expression flickered; his worries were precisely for this point. An alchemist’s success rate was majorly affected by their experience and knowledge. Such factors were always used to reflect their alchemy. Therefore, the first stage of Alchemy Conference always utilized success rates to eliminate the weaker alchemists.

A day had passed in the blink of an eye, and the first stage was nearing its end.

Yue Jiang-Rui had just finished his third cauldron of pellets, maintaining a ninety percent success rate for all three cauldrons of pellets. He was also the first to finish the stage’s task.

Yue Jiang-Rui moved down from the white cloud and landed on the central cloud, where he was warmly welcomed like a returning hero by the Shangguan Clan.

He turned around to look at Lu Ping and immediately frowned to find that the latter was also finishing his third cauldron of pellets.

Hmph, your thick and solid cultivation base can shorten the time, but it won’t help the quality. Let’s see how you’ll cope with the next stage with your strained divine sense.

When Yue Jiang-Rui finished his first cauldron, Lu Ping was just starting on his first. Yet, when Yue Jiang-Rui finished his third cauldron, Lu Ping was also finishing his third. This simply meant that Lu Ping’s alchemy speed was faster than Yue Jiang-Rui’s.

Alchemy was a time-consuming and energy-consuming process. So, alchemists would usually need to take short breaks in between each cauldron to rest and recover. However, Lu Ping was able to overcome the fatigue with his thick cultivation base. He didn’t need a reprieve which allowed him to catch up with Yue Jiang-Rui’s progress.

A burst of fragrance, followed by a heat wave, emanated from the surroundings. Senior Martial Brother Ye shuddered and heaved a breath of relief. Rubbed his messy hair, he raised his hand and stored the seven pellets in the jade bottle, inhaling the fire bird into his mouth once again.

On the other side, Senior Martial Brother Qi released a long whistle—the fire fox underneath his cauldron suddenly vanished in a fleeting bright white light. Then, another burst of fragrance and heat were released when he opened the cauldron lid and packed away the seven pellets.

At the same time, Lu Ping made nine hand seals, one after another—the Scarlet Ibis Fire burst into blood-red flames. The cauldron shook, and seven jade-like pellets flew out one after another and were put away.

Lu Ping reached out and stored the Scarlet Ibis Fire with a spirit gathering tray. He looked around and saw Senior Martial Brother Ye and Senior Martial Brother Qi both staring at him. When their gazes met, the two alchemists calmly looked away and returned to the Zhang Clan and Wang Clan on the central cloud.

However, Lu Ping still saw traces of doubt in their gazes.

As alchemical geniuses from the major sects, Senior Martial Brother Qi and Senior Martial Brother Ye naturally knew about the Three Jade Pellets. On the contrary, this was obviously Lu Ping’s first time concocting them.

In fact, it was still within reason for Lu Ping to concoct three cauldrons in a row without resting due to his thick and solid cultivation base. But what about his consistent success rate of seventy percent? Was it just a coincidence, or was it intentional?

Senior Martial Brother Qi and Ye both started by concocting the pellets they were most familiar and confident with. Hence, they were able to have a ninety percent, eighty percent, and seventy percent success rate for the three cauldrons of pellets respectively.

Sure, a seventy percent success rate was nothing to alchemical geniuses like them; they could easily do better than that when given enough time to prepare. However, to deliberately control and keep the success rate to seventy percent every time was another matter entirely.

Yue Jiang-Rui had also noticed this oddity, narrowing his eyes upon realization. But when he saw Lu Ping’s pale and sweaty face, he gave him a disdainful glance, and felt reassured.

Lu Ping didn’t talk to Li Mao-Lin and the others, he immediately went to the assessors and showed them the pellets he concocted. He then returned and sat down beside them, consuming a medicinal pellet to recover his arcane energy and divine revelation.

Li Mao-Lin couldn’t confirm Lu Ping’s condition, but by the looks of things, he didn’t seem in good form. Li Mao-Lin was worried in his heart but had to remain calm on the surface. Li Xiu-Zhu and Chilian Ying knew Lu Ping had cultivated the [Divine Sense Transcendence], so he wasn’t as exhausted as he appeared to be.

The two ladies looked at each other and tacitly remained quiet. The only difference was that Li Xiu-Zhu had an odd expression on her face as if deep in thought, while Chilian Ying observed Lu Ping with interest.

One after another, the alchemists gradually finished their third cauldron and submitted the pellets for the assessors to inspect.

The results were soon released. According to the usual practice, half of the alchemists had to be disqualified during the first stage. Hence, the Master Alchemists quickly set the bar to a sixty percent success rate, where nearly half of the alchemists were eliminated.

The second stage was held the next day. The task was the same, only this time they were required to concoct half-step Core Forging Realm pellets.

Lu Ping was just about to step on the white cloud in front of him when Great Ancestor Hong Ye, who had closed his eyes as if asleep, suddenly said, “I didn’t expect a fellow monster alchemist would join our Alchemy Conference. How surprising! Welcome, welcome!”

A long laugh came from outside of Qian Yuan Immortal Land, followed by a voice saying, “Hahaha, forgive me for coming uninvited. I have brought my disciple along as well. East Ocean, monster cultivator, Yan Wu-Jiu, greets Great Ancestor Hong Ye and my fellow cultivators!”

This statement caused an uproar among the attending cultivators; no one expected the Northern League to let a monster cultivator sneak into Qian Yuan City and even infiltrate the Qian Yuan Great Hall.

Only the Master Alchemists at the top seats were not surprised, but they seemed troubled. They exchanged looks, the same thoughts running through their minds: Why is he here?

Great Ancestor Hong Ye smiled and said, “A friendly guest is a friend, and friends must always be treated well!”

Great Ancestor Hong Ye casually waved his hand to the side, and the sky in front of Qian Yuan Immortal Land suddenly split open. The clouds formed a tunnel that led to the end of the void, and at the end of the tunnel, two figures, one tall and one short, were slowly walking toward the crowd.