Xiao Jietian also opened his tightly shut eyes, having already simulated every detail of refining the entire pill formula in his mind.
"The first round of assessment requires you to refine a complete pill according to this incomplete pill formula. If you fail twice or fail to refine it within the allotted time, you will be eliminated."
"Do you understand?"
Fa Ma stood up and asked with a smile after hearing no further questions.
"Since there are no issues, I declare the first round of assessment now begins!"
As Fa Ma finished speaking, the hourglass on the wall slowly began to flow.
The contestants in the arena summoned their cauldrons and flames. Suddenly, thousands of fires ignited in the square—a magnificent sight.
Xiao Jietian waved his hand, and a black cauldron appeared on the stone platform.
The red Dou Qi flame derived from the Ice Fire Lightning was tossed into the cauldron by Xiao Jietian.
Liu Ling, Princess Yao Yue, and the others beside him also began their refinement.
Xiao Yan nodded at Xiao Jietian, then closed his eyes. After a moment, he opened them and used the Purple Fire Pill that Elder Yao had helped him develop to produce purple flames.
"Oh? Red flames and purple flames."
Fa Ma noticed the uniquely colored flames of Xiao Jietian and Xiao Yan.
"These two young men seem to have a solid foundation. Their flames look no weaker than a Rank 6 magical beast's beast fire."
Xiao Jietian watched as most people in the arena had begun refining. Sensing that the temperature inside the cauldron was about right, he waved his hand. The medicinal ingredients on the stone platform, as if pulled by an invisible force, turned into streaks of light and accurately entered the cauldron.
"It seems Xiao Jietian is very confident in his alchemy skills. Truly worthy of being the top performer in the internal test. Not many would dare to do this with an incomplete pill formula."
Seeing Xiao Jietian's actions, Fa Ma couldn't help but nod secretly, a flash of admiration in his eyes.
Xiao Jietian's fingers danced continuously, his eyes gleaming with confidence. He knew his own strength well. With countless experiments already conducted in his mind, he had almost fully grasped the pill formula, so he wasn't worried about failure.
His spiritual power continuously controlled the flame's temperature. Under the scorching heat, the medicinal ingredients in the cauldron turned into powder and liquid, which, after further refining, reached the appropriate purity.
In the subsequent fusion of ingredients, the varying purities of each component would also affect the final quality of the pill.
If the purity was unsuitable, the final fusion might produce a different pill—or even a dud.
Time gradually passed. After roughly less than a third of the hourglass had flowed, red lights began flashing on the stone platforms of many alchemists.
These were all contestants who had failed and were eliminated. With faces either ashen or flushed with shame, they reluctantly left the competition venue that had brought them sorrow.
Xiao Jietian carefully controlled the flame temperature with his spiritual power. The extracted medicinal powders and liquids continuously fused in sequence under the flame's scorching heat.
Time ticked by minute by minute. The medicinal liquid in the cauldron churned and swirled within the flame, gradually taking on the form of a pill.
Clang!
Xiao Jietian slammed his palm heavily against the cauldron, and the lid instantly flew off. With a flick of his hand, the pill shot out of the cauldron and landed steadily in his palm.
He carefully examined the faint pattern on the pill. This pattern was precisely what appeared when a pill's quality reached its peak.
"This young man is incredibly fast. It's not even halfway through the time, and he's already finished refining—and succeeded on the first attempt. It seems he understands medicinal ingredients very well and is extremely familiar with them. He must have already thoroughly studied that incomplete pill formula."
"One must know, that pill formula was specifically developed for this assessment."
"His refining technique is also highly skilled; every step flows smoothly. His spiritual power is likely very strong—certainly stronger than Liu Ling's and Little Yue'er's."
Fa Ma glanced at the hourglass on the wall, which had less than half remaining, his eyes filled with surprise.
"He may already possess the strength of a Rank 4 Alchemist."
"Rank 4? At his age?"
Old Jia was stunned for a moment, then spoke with a furrowed brow.
Hai Bodong on the side curled his lips: "Rank 4? Who are you looking down on? Xiao Jietian can even refine Rank 5 pills; I've taken them myself."
"As for whether he is or not, we'll find out later. Once he enters the finals, we'll see his true strength."
Fa Ma stroked his long beard and chuckled.
Xiao Jietian placed the pill into a jade bottle, then turned to the VIP seats and nodded lightly to the three women.
Ya Fei and the other two women in the VIP seats, seeing this, knew that Xiao Jietian had successfully refined the pill, and happy, proud smiles spread across their faces.
"As expected of my man, truly amazing."
As the hourglass continued to empty...
When only one-third of the time remained, a muffled thud came from Xiao Yan's cauldron.
Xiao Yan glanced at Xiao Jietian, who was resting with his eyes closed, and a hint of urgency rose in his heart. He looked at the hourglass, collected himself, and quickly began refining again.
When only a quarter of the hourglass remained...
Clang!
A cauldron-striking sound rang out. This time, it was Liu Ling who produced a pill, with Little Princess Yao Yue following closely behind.
Clang... Clang... Clang...
Their success triggered a chain reaction of cauldron-striking sounds, and one lid after another flew into the air.
Pills of various shapes shot out of the cauldrons and were caught by their owners.
Xiao Jietian was also awakened by the noisy clanging and opened his eyes.
Looking at the alchemists around him, who wore relaxed expressions, Xiao Jietian curled his lips into a smile, estimating that a portion of this group would still be eliminated later.
Xiao Jietian turned his head to look at Xiao Yan, who was still refining pills.
Cutting it close again, huh?
Sure enough, just as the last few grains of sand were about to fall, Xiao Yan clapped the cauldron lid and successfully produced a pill.
Nalan Yanran and Otto in the VIP box immediately let out sighs of relief. It was truly a rollercoaster of emotions; if their hearts weren't strong enough, they might have given out because of Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan calmly put away the pill, noticing everyone was looking at him, and raised his hand to rub his nose.
"Yan Xiao, it seems you're quite lucky, actually succeeding at the last moment."
The speaker was naturally Liu Ling, Xiao Yan's rival who wouldn't let him off easily.
"Heh heh."
Xiao Jietian scoffed disdainfully and ignored him.
Liu Ling's face darkened as he prepared to speak again.
"Congratulations on passing the general test of the first round, but it's not over yet."
Suddenly, Fa Ma's hoarse voice echoed through the square.
"Although you all refined pills, there are some cunning little fellows among you whose pills are merely superficial or just fillers. Therefore, the next step is to test whether the pills you refined meet the requirements of the pill formula."
"Now, all contestants, please find the green button in the bottom left corner of your bluestone platform and press it."
Xiao Jietian heard this and pressed the green button in the bottom left corner of the stone platform. The platform vibrated slightly, and a stone slab slowly protruded. After rising about half a foot, the surface of the slab became slightly concave, finally revealing a small black hole.
"This is a testing device. You will place your refined Bone-Growing Pill into it. If a green light appears, it means the pill meets the requirements. The brighter the green light, the more it conforms to the pill formula and the higher its quality."
"Conversely, if a red light appears, it means it does not meet the requirements, and you will be eliminated. The brighter the red light, the more it indicates that what you refined has no relation to the pill formula—it might just be a little snack to fill your stomach."