by Translator: BornToBe; Author: Ordinary Magician (平凡魔术师); Licensed From: 17k
After that, he returned to his residence. Fang Chang had him refine a furnace of pills in front of him.
Long Chen knew that was because he was worried he wouldn’t be able to control his new Pill Flame, which would make him fail in the preliminaries.
To refine a fifth tier pill, Long Chen not only could do it with his eyes closed, but he could even refine it with his feet. It was too easy.
But there was one thing that was true: using the Blazing Python Scale Flame did cause some flaws. After all, it was his first time using it. Then adding on Long Chen’s intentional mistakes, he only refined a single three-ring pill.
Seeing that three-ring pill, Fang Chang sighed with relief, and he gave Long Chen a thumbs-up. He had to admit that Long Chen was a genius amongst geniuses.
He saw that Long Chen wasn’t used to the Blazing Python Scale Flame. There were some flaws when the flame’s temperature changed. But Long Chen could use his powerful soul energy to minimize those flaws.
Furthermore, Long Chen said this was his first time using it to refine pills. If he wasn’t familiar with him, he would think he was lying.
When using a beast flame for the first time, it was all too common to fail several refinements. The fact that Long Chen could succeed his first time, and even refine a three-ring pill, was already amazing.
“Long San, I won’t disturb you these days. Familiarize yourself with your beast flame by refining pills. As long as you can refine a three-ring pill in the preliminaries, you’ll definitely pass,” said Fang Chang before leaving.
Once he left, Long Chen used the rest of the medicinal ingredients to refine a few pills. After familiarizing himself with the Blazing Python Scale Flame, he didn’t waste any more time.
He looked at the leftover medicinal ingredients. Just now, he had tactfully told Fang Chang that while he was familiar with the fifth tier pill formulas, he hadn’t refined them. He wanted to enter the storehouse and pick out some medicinal ingredients.
Of course, the truth was that he wanted to look for the Enlightenment Palace Pill’s ingredients.
But Fang Chang was too nice, and he directly gave him a pile of fifth tier pill formulas and a spatial ring of their ingredients. Furthermore, he said the preliminaries weren’t difficult according to the past years. So the matter of going to the storehouse could only wait until after the preliminaries.
Long Chen saw that Fang Chang trusted him completely, which moved him. In truth, there were many holes in his identity as Long San, and there were many questions that could be asked about his alchemy arts. How could a Pill Master who lived in some random mountains have taught him his alchemy? Long Chen had already thought of many ways to explain all this.
But Fang Chang hadn’t even asked those questions of him. It was clear that he trusted his own eyes.
Whether it was because he trusted that he hadn’t misjudged him, or whether he was confident in the Pill Tower’s strength and that no one could trick them, Long Chen still owed him a debt.
“Fine, because of your trust, I’ll help you get rid of the Huo family. Hmm, wasn’t that my original goal all along? Is this being a bit too shameless?”
Long Chen felt a bit guilty, but then thinking of how the three families were like water and fire, this could count as a collaboration. His guilt about tricking them also vanished. The main thing was to help them exterminate the Huo family.
Five days passed. The location of the preliminaries was the same as the opening round. But there was a large platform that was filled with seated people.
These people were the experts from the Huo, Fang, and Chai families. They had come as guests of honor. After all, they were the masters of the Pill Tower. But for fairness, they were not in charge of the Pill Emperor Competition.
These guests of honor were the core of the three families. Even the three families' heads had come. The Huo family’s head was a square-faced elder with thick, sword-shaped eyebrows. He appeared quite imposing.
His name was Huo Changsheng. He was also Huo Wufang’s great-grandfather. His cultivation base was at the peak of Sea Expansion, and he was also a Pill Ancestor. It was said that he could refine seventh tier medicinal pills, but because he couldn’t refine ringed seventh tier pills, he couldn’t be called a Venerate.
Pill Apprentice, Pill Adept, Pill Master, Pill King, Pill Emperor, Pill Ancestor, Pill Venerate, Pill Saint, Pill Sovereign. These alchemist ranks corresponded to one to ninth tier pills. The ranks were extremely clear.
These alchemist tiers didn’t necessarily have a relation to cultivation base. Cultivation base was just an assistance. A Sea Expansion alchemist would still forever be a Pill Master if they were only able to refine third tier pills.
However, such people would have long since given up their alchemist status to become martial artists, or it would be too embarrassing.
There was a lean elder beside Huo Changsheng. He was also a late Sea Expansion expert. This was the Fang family’s head, Fang Mingyuan.
And beside Fang Mingyuan was a bald elder, the Chai family’s head, Chai Gaoyang, who was also a Sea Expansion expert.
“In the previous Pill Emperor Competitions, my Huo family always took up seven or eight of the top ten spots, while the top three were always ours. Hehe, how boring. We can’t even find an opponent. In this world, the strong are respected, while the weak have to retreat. That is an irresistible trend that can’t be reversed. What do you two think about that principle?” asked Huo Changsheng.
Currently, the Fang, Chai, and Huo families’ struggles had already become open ones. They were already used to saying such hostile words.
“Hehe, the Heavenly Daos are hard to fathom. It’s impossible to say that any trend is irresistible. In fact, speaking of which, it seems Huo Tianxiong hasn’t appeared in the past few days? It couldn’t be that he was cut down in his prime?” said Chai Gaoyang, his eyes locked onto Huo Changsheng.
This Huo Tianxiong was Huo Wufang’s father and one of the experts of the Huo family. Whether it was in terms of cultivation base or alchemy, he was one of their top people.
“Hmph, don’t concern yourself. Tianxiong is fine,” said Huo Changsheng. But his words were clearly a bit unnatural.
How could that possibly escape the other two family heads’ eyes? Chai Gaoyang said, “I heard more trouble has come for your Huo family? It seems the Xuantian Dao Sect came to see you. I wonder whether they were sending you a gift, or whether they were asking about any bribes you might have done.”
Huo Changsheng’s expression sank. “Chai Gaoyang, there was no such thing. Don’t spread your lies for others to hear.”
“Haha, it was just a joke. Brother Changsheng, don’t get angry.” Chai Gaoyang glanced at Fang Mingyuan. They had both seen through some clues about the Huo family’s current problems.
They were already old opponents, and there was no way to keep things completely secret. It was still possible to see clues.
That was especially true considering that the matter with the chaos region had completely blown up. Later, the Xuantian Dao Sect had come to find them. It would be strange if no one saw the connection.
Furthermore, a few days before that, the Huo family had suddenly sealed themselves off for a while. While nothing was certain, it seemed something had happened with Huo Tianxiong. That had made Chai Gaoyang probe Huo Changsheng, and this probing really did give results.
Although there was no way to determine the exact truth, they knew that the Huo family’s interior was not as calm as it appeared. That was enough.
Just at this moment, a clamor erupted from the crowd. The alchemists participating in the Pill Emperor Competition had arrived.
Long Chen slowly walked to his stage. Raising his head, he saw Fang Mingyuan and the others.
Fang Chang had told Long Chen about Fang Mingyuan. Seeing Long Chen look at him, Fang Mingyuan nodded slightly to him, expressing his encouragement.
Just at this moment, the icy and stern tower administrator als
o walked in.
Long Chen bowed slightly toward Fang Mingyuan’s nod. After all, this was a senior who was in the same generation as Fang Chang’s grandfather. He couldn’t be too arrogant toward him.
Long Chen then glanced at Huo Changsheng. Huo Changsheng was also looking at him, and he smiled. But this smile was full of disdain.
Seeing that enraged Long Chen, and he suddenly pointed at him, shouting, “Tower administrator, I wish to report that there is a shameless old man wanting to prostitute himself to me! He’s trying to affect my performance during the competition!”
Chapter 665 Deliberately Clumsy
The entire crowd became silent. They followed Long Chen’s gaze to see Huo Changsheng, whose face was still locked in a stiff sneer.
Everyone was dumbfounded. This Long San was a bit too crazy, wasn’t he? He actually dared provoke the Huo family’s head. Did he not want his life anymore?
Even Fang Mingyuan and Chai Gaoyang were stunned. But then seeing Huo Changsheng’s dark expression, they felt incredibly refreshed.
At the same time, they admired this little fellow’s devotion. He had clearly insulted Huo Changsheng to express his position. This was equivalent to throwing his life in the ring as well. If he wanted to live, he would have to rely on the Fang family’s protection. This was a brilliant move by Long Chen that immediately won him the trust of the Fang family.
“Brat, you want to die?!” Killing intent surged out of Huo Changsheng. When would he have ever suffered such an insult?
“It’s forbidden to scream and shout in the arena.”
“But he’s intentionally trying to disturb me! That’s not fair!” cried Long Chen.
“Those who participate in this competition must comply with the Pill Tower’s rules. As long as the people outside don’t curse and shout at you, anything is permitted. If you don’t even have that level of calm, how do you expect to become a powerful alchemist? You are Long San? Since you come from an uncivilized land and don’t understand the rules, I’ll only give you a warning this time. Next time, I’ll immediately expel you,” said the tower administrator.
Fang Chang and Chai Liehuo’s hands were already covered in a layer of cold sweat. Only once they saw that the tower administrator wouldn’t expel him did they relax.
But the fact that Long Chen dared to brazenly insult Huo Changsheng like this made them admire Long San’s guts, as well as his loyalty toward the Fang family.
Long Chen laughed inside. This was what he had expected. The tower administrator was merely in charge of proctoring the competition. He didn’t care about anything else, nor did he have to give face to anyone. As a result, a minor infraction on his part only constituted a warning despite what he had done.
Although that had been a bit dangerous, this one insult had won him the Fang and Chai families’ absolute trust. So that gamble had definitely been worth it.
I can’t shout? Alright!
Suddenly, in front of everyone, Long Chen raised his fist toward Huo Changsheng. There was one tall middle finger raised.
“Hahaha…”
Despite being their family heads and having prestigious statuses, Fang Mingyuan and Chai Gaoyang couldn’t help but laugh.
Huo Changsheng’s hair stood on end from fury, killing intent gushing out of him. But he didn’t dare say anything. If he said anything directly to Long San, he would be rebuked by the tower administrator, and that would be even more embarrassing.
Even in Pill Valley, the staff that was in charge of the various lands’ competitions were powerful members. Even the Huo family was unable to do anything to them. The tower administrator was completely impartial.
So despite the fact that the Huo family was unrivaled in the Pill Tower and even had connections in Pill Valley, he didn’t dare offend this tower administrator whose cultivation base was even lower than his own. He could only swallow his anger.
But Fang Mingyuan and Chai Gaoyang’s laughter was even harder to bear than Long Chen’s insulting posture.
“A little person will only enjoy success for a moment. We’ll see who gets the last laugh,” said Huo Changsheng icily.
But the other two didn’t reply. They simply smiled. That wordless counterattack made him even more furious.
“This is what is being tested.”
The tower administrator waved his hand, and Long Chen saw a large block of words appear on his stage. It was a pill formula.
“Blood Soul Merging Pill.”
Long Chen was slightly startled. This was a rather neglected kind of medicinal pill. It was normally used by soul cultivators to nourish their blood and calm their soul. It was a high tier kind of soul nourishing pill.
Amongst fifth tier pills, its refining difficulty was middling. Fang Chang had told him that the preliminaries in past years had tested low fifth tier pills.
Thinking of that, Long Chen intentionally made his expression a bit ugly, a trace of panic appearing in his eyes.
“Eh, what’s with Long San? That Blood Soul Merging Pill shouldn’t be too difficult for him,” said Chai Gaoyang.
“Perhaps there really is a problem. According to Fang Chang, this Long San grew up in some backwater mountains. There are many high tier pill formulas that he has only seen, but hasn’t personally refined. Fang Chang gave him many pill formulas and medicinal pills to practice, but those were all low fifth tier pills that are easy to refine. It seems Long San hasn’t refined this kind of pill, and there are very likely a few ingredients that he doesn’t recognize,” said Fang Mingyuan gravely.
As an alchemist, if you wanted to refine a kind of pill, the first thing you needed was the formula. But then you also needed to know all the properties of the medicinal ingredients. You needed to know which ones you should refine first, and in what order you should refine them.
If there was a problem with your sequence, then it would be troublesome. Furthermore, each medicinal ingredient’s properties were different, and they required different levels of heat to refine. If you didn’t know those things, you would be like a blind person groping in the dark.
“Ah, inexperienced people really aren’t so dependable. That child, Fang Chang, is still lacking,” sighed Fang Mingyuan.
If Fang Chang knew that Long San had such flaws, he should have alerted the family. They would have sent people to help him. Now it was troublesome.
On their stage, Fang Chang and Chai Liehuo also saw Long San’s expression, and they immediately understood what was happening. They couldn’t help feeling worried.
But being worried now didn’t have any use. This was not the opening round. They couldn’t talk, and so they could only hope for Long San to be lucky.
The tower administrator icily shouted, “The content of this test is the Blood Soul Merging Pill. Each person has three sets of medicinal ingredients, and you have six hours to refine it. As long as you can refine a three-ring Blood Soul Merging Pill, you’ll pass. Those who aren’t able to achieve that will be directly eliminated. Time starts now!”
All the participants hastily began to warm up their furnaces and refining pills. The Blood Soul Merging Pill was not a small challenge.
There was a high chance of failure when refining this pill. Furthermore, there were countless spectators and even alchemy seniors watching. That gave them a great deal of pressure.
It was lucky that they had already practiced refining here during the preliminaries. Otherwise, the odds of failure would have been even higher.
In truth, this Blood Soul Merging Pill was nothing to Long Chen. But he had to act. He carefully examined several medicinal ingredients as if he had never seen them, trying to appraise their properties.
Then he began to refine them into powders one by one. Furthermore, he had to act as if he wasn’t very familiar with this process. That was a bit difficult on him.
But he was quite the professional. Each detail, each mistake he made, played out an extremely meticulous scene, enough to prove he was a novice.
&
nbsp; “Hahaha, this Long San is the genius you pulled over? Hahaha…” Now it was Huo Changsheng’s turn to sneer. Long San didn’t even recognize some of the main ingredients in the Blood Soul Merging Pill. He was a complete amateur who didn’t possess any foundation in alchemy.
Just as Long Chen was hastily refining the ingredients, the faster ones had already sealed their cauldrons.
BANG! Suddenly, one of the alchemists became vexed. A slight error had caused the contents of his pill furnace to turn to ashes.
He hastily calmed himself and began to refine anew. This kind of mistake shouldn’t have occurred, but he was too used to refining in a private room. Now that it had changed to this chaotic environment, it was difficult for him to completely focus.
BANG!
As expected, following the first person’s failure, two people immediately followed. If it wasn’t that their Pill Flame had spiked in temperature, it was that their Spiritual Strength had faded for a moment, causing the pill to congeal.
Pill congealment referred to when the medicinal ingredients had been refined into liquid, but a sudden weakening in the flame caused them to congeal before it was the right time. The liquid would freeze, and then there was no way to continue refining it.
Before the pill condensed, all the ingredients’ essence had to be maintained in liquid form. Only at the final pill condensement would you increase the flame and the amount of Spiritual Strength, forcing out the moisture to condense it into a pill.
BOOM!
Suddenly, a dense medicinal fragrance filled the arena.
“Heavens, it’s Huo Wufang! He already condensed the pill!”
Startled cries came from the spectators. It was forbidden to talk within the arena, but that wasn’t referring to them. They all hastily looked towards Huo Wufang’s furnace.
Huo Wufang pridefully opened his furnace lid. Nine pills shone with a brilliant light.
“There’s a six-ring pill! As expected of Huo Wufang! He’s the top alchemy genius of the Huo family in the past thousand years!”