The huge hourglass displayed the passage of time.
As explosions sounded from the cauldrons, contestants were eliminated one after another.
The amount of medicinal ingredients was limited, preventing alchemists from continuously making mistakes through trial and error.
Generally speaking, failing once was harmless, but failing a second time meant that even if there was one portion of ingredients left, the remaining time would not be enough to form a pill.
Fortunately, Xiao Yan succeeded on his first try.
He was not the fastest to complete the alchemy. By the time he was ready and intended to start, several alchemists had already completed the extraction of one medicinal ingredient.
However, in terms of pill quality, Xiao Yan had confidence in his alchemy skills.
If not for pursuing higher quality, his speed was also a strength.
Xiao Yan placed the refined pill into the circle of the testing instrument on the table. A dazzling brilliance soared into the sky, directly astounding everyone.
"What!"
Pill King Gu He's disciple Liu Ling, and the popular favorite for the championship this time, the Little Princess Yaoyue of the Jia Ma Imperial Family, looked at Xiao Yan in shock.
The color and luster of this light had already surpassed the pills refined by the two of them before.
Fa Ma and Jia Xingtian looked at each other, also somewhat surprised.
Although they knew that there would definitely be a few dark horses in this Alchemist Conference.
But they didn't expect that this dark horse would directly surpass the Little Princess they had carefully cultivated.
"It's just the first assessment. Let's see later!"
Yaoyue put her hands on her hips and snorted delicately.
She was very young, three years younger than Xiao Yan. Being able to step onto the stage of the Alchemist Conference at this age and easily pass the first level was enough to demonstrate her talent.
Xiao Yan smiled faintly, waved his sleeve lightly, and looked up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle.
"You!"
The ignored Little Princess was anxious and stomped her feet fiercely.
Liu Ling took a deep look at Xiao Yan. The folding fan in his hand had been put away at some point and was tightly held in his hand.
Originally, his score was tied with Yaoyue.
However, he had heard that the Third Princess of the Imperial Family had exceptional alchemy talent, so he was not surprised by this.
It was just a second-grade pill. He still had a chance to beat the opponent in the subsequent assessments.
However, this masked man in front of him actually surpassed him directly in the first level.
In this way, how could he win the championship?
What he, Liu Ling, wanted was to be flawless in every level of assessment!
Only in this way could he replicate his teacher's feat back then.
Feeling Liu Ling's meaningful gaze, Xiao Yan looked back.
"Just you wait. We'll see who has the last laugh!"
Liu Ling said a cruel word, and the voice reached Xiao Yan's ears through the air.
Xiao Yan smiled lightly and also chose to ignore it.
Boom!
Just when everyone thought Xiao Yan was the strongest in the first round of assessment, another dazzling light pillar rose.
"There's still an expert?"
Everyone looked in surprise at an alchemist wrapped in a gray robe on the contestant platform.
Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes, finally getting interested in the contestants of this Alchemist Conference.
The quality of the opponent's pill was actually close to the top grade.
It seems that Teacher was right. The Alchemist Conference is indeed full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers.
Dong!
The bell rang again, and the time for the first round of assessment ended completely.
For all alchemists who had not yet completed alchemy, the testing instruments on their tables directly lit up with red light, announcing elimination.
"Damn it, just a little bit!"
The difficulty of a second-grade pill was not high. As long as they tried more, most of the alchemists present could actually succeed. After all, they were skilled alchemists who had come up layer by layer through screening.
Royal guards entered the arena at this time and began to clean up the scene.
Some unwilling alchemists could only leave, climb onto the spectator stand, and watch the remaining contestants continue the assessment.
"That gray-robed person..."
Jia Xingtian frowned.
Although Xiao Yan covered his appearance, there was no problem with the bone age test and Dou Qi sensing.
At least Jia Xingtian couldn't see anything wrong.
And most importantly, Xiao Yan used the identity of a person from the Jia Ma Empire.
But the gray-robed person used the identity of a person from the Chu Yun Empire.
If Xiao Yan won, as the spokesperson of the Jia Ma Empire, Jia Xingtian would save face and even appear magnanimous.
But if a person from the Chu Yun Empire won the championship, that would be a humiliation.
Jia Xingtian condensed a ball of yellowish sand in his hand.
Seeing this, Fa Ma quickly stepped forward to stop him.
"Old Jia, what are you doing?"
"This is the site of the Alchemist Conference!"
Jia Xingtian snorted coldly.
"I know. I'll be very careful."
After speaking, ignoring Fa Ma's obstruction, the sand ball in his hand fell from the high stand towards the ground.
The sand ball moved quickly along the ground and quietly arrived at the gray-robed person's feet.
Boom!
A wave of air suddenly rose from the ground, blowing away the gray-robed person's robe.
Among the many contestants, this did not cause too much sensation, but when the person under the gray robe revealed a young face, Jia Xingtian clenched his fists.
"Old Jia, don't be impulsive anymore!"
Fa Ma scolded in a low voice, then hurriedly stepped forward to announce the content and rules of the second assessment.
"The second assessment begins now!"
As the voice fell, pill formulas rose from the desks in front of the contestants.
The content of the second assessment was to refine a third-grade pill!
The difficulty level went up a notch directly.
For these alchemists under thirty, the third grade was definitely a realm that required huge efforts to reach.
Not to mention learning to refine a new third-grade pill on the spot.
Xiao Yan opened the pill formula and browsed it quickly.
"Third-grade Wind Walk Pill, a buff type pill? Doesn't seem that difficult."
Refining buff type pills was more difficult than healing type pills, but for Xiao Yan, who was proficient in refining various pills, it was too simple.
This view also appeared in the hearts of Third Princess Yaoyue and Pill King Disciple Liu Ling.
The third-grade Wind Walk Pill could only be used to eliminate those mediocre talents who were not qualified to step into the third grade.
For alchemists who had stepped into the third grade, it could not serve the purpose of elimination, at most distinguishing high and low from pill quality.
Everyone quickly began to select medicinal ingredients and start refining.
The higher the grade of the pill, the longer it usually took, so they had to compress the number of failures to a minimum.
Every process had to be careful again and again.
Perhaps a small mistake would ruin the qualification for assessment.
When most people started to light the furnace for alchemy, just like in the first assessment, Xiao Yan was not in a hurry to start.
He carefully flipped through the pill formula of the Wind Walk Pill, suddenly frowning.
Something is wrong...
This pill formula seems to have conflicting medicinal properties in some places upon deduction.
If refining according to the description on the pill formula, the cauldron would probably explode.
Could it be that... this is the trap of the second assessment?
Xiao Yan suddenly recalled that when doing math problems in his previous life, the teacher would always leave some small traps in the questions.
And he, who studied averagely, would always suspect if his judgment was wrong.
This hesitation often made him afraid to start.
Afraid of moving forward on the wrong path and getting more and more wrong.
But fortunately, Xiao Yan's alchemy knowledge was not bad.
He was confident in his judgment.
Xiao Yan raised his hand and shook it. All the medicinal ingredients on the table flew up. He quickly collected the few needed ones from them, then without pausing at all, put the medicinal ingredients into the medicine cauldron.
"So fast..."
On the stand, Pill King Gu He noticed Xiao Yan.
Such a fast alchemy technique, unless one is very confident in one's alchemy skills, would one do this.
Thinking back to that year, even he dared not show off his skills like this on an occasion like the Alchemist Conference.
This kid will either become famous in the Imperial Capital in one fell swoop or become a complete laughingstock.
"Is he crazy? Putting all medicinal ingredients into the medicine cauldron together?"
"Yeah, isn't this nonsense?"
On the stand, the alchemists who had been eliminated in the first level pointed fingers at Xiao Yan's alchemy skills one after another.
"If I were on the field, my chance of success would definitely be greater than his!"
On the square, Xiao Yan's soul power surged. Wisps of invisible spiritual power condensed into shape, slowly wrapping the entire medicine cauldron.
Being able to manipulate soul changes so easily, only the "Soul Mantra" could do it.
In order for Little Junior Brother to develop in all aspects, Han Feng naturally passed the unique "Soul Mantra" to him.
When all opponents of the same level were still unable to explore the mysteries of the soul, Xiao Yan was already able to manipulate soul power freely.
Pill King Gu He discovered the change in the aura around Xiao Yan. He stood up in shock.
"This, how is this possible?"
A mere alchemist under thirty could actually manipulate soul power freely.
Such exquisite soul techniques, even he had just entered the door.
You know, he, Gu He, is the only sixth-grade alchemist and Dou King expert in the Jia Ma Empire!
Could it be... this person is a heritage disciple of a certain major force?
But how could a heritage disciple of a major force come to the Jia Ma Empire to participate in the Alchemist Conference?
Gu He felt incredulous in his heart, staring closely at Xiao Yan.
Boom boom boom!
On the square, sounds of exploding cauldrons rang out. The originally confident expressions of the alchemists became surprised and stunned.
"How could this be?"
"I clearly refined completely according to the pill formula record. Why did the cauldron explode?"
"This is impossible!"
Liu Ling and Yaoyue frowned. They actually failed too.
At this moment, Xiao Yan devoted himself wholeheartedly to the alchemy process. Starting slower than others, he had now entered the pill forming stage.
Sure enough, my speculation was correct. According to my new improved method, the entire alchemy process went very smoothly.
About to form the pill. Take the victory completely today!
Xiao Yan's eyes condensed, and his soul power began to surge violently.
Layers of air waves were set off around him, and the purple fire expanded fiercely.
"What? He is about to form the pill?"
The gray-robed teenager looked at Xiao Yan in astonishment.
Did he discover the problem from the beginning?
This is too incredible!
With his alchemy skills close to the fifth grade, he forcefully stabilized the pill with rough soul power and temporarily added neutralizing drugs for reconciliation, barely maintaining the balance and avoiding cauldron explosion.
Thought he would definitely be the fastest, but didn't expect this masked man to be so powerful?
Luck? Or strength?
The gray-robed teenager thought again and again and decided to take a risk.
His soul power turned slowly. The fusion of essence in the medicine cauldron was hindered, and wonderful changes occurred quickly.
A large amount of medicinal power escaped, and the medicine cauldron lid made a violent shaking sound.
This is the precursor to a cauldron explosion!
The gray-robed teenager's eyes sharpened. He suddenly turned the direction of the flame and attacked Xiao Yan's position with the aftermath of the cauldron explosion caused.
He did not hesitate to give up this alchemy opportunity himself to prevent Xiao Yan from taking the top spot in the second assessment.
As long as he doesn't win, then I still have hope to win the championship!
Xiao Yan's keen soul power sensed the attacking strong wind from the opposite side at the first moment.
Pill forming is the most critical moment and cannot tolerate a bit of disturbance.
But now on the competition field, no one can help Xiao Yan resist this attack.
Even if everyone knows that the gray-robed person did it on purpose, so what?
The reason for explanation is very legitimate. The aftermath produced by the cauldron explosion is too normal.
"Despicable!"
Xiao Zhan clenched his fists, his heart in his throat.
"How should you respond... Little Junior Brother."
Han Feng looked at this scene calmly.
All accidents during alchemy, no matter how much blame is placed afterwards, can only prove one thing, that is, the skill is not up to par.
Even an eighth-grade alchemist sometimes faces this dilemma.
From a certain perspective, this is a problem throughout life.
After all, the road of life is long. There will always be people jealous of you and wanting to stop you from becoming better.
Xiao Yan frowned slightly. To be honest, he didn't expect the current situation.
The opponent grasped the timing very appropriately. If it were half a minute later, he could successfully form the pill.
The time left for him to think was only a few seconds.
The strong aftermath of the cauldron explosion hit. Xiao Yan closed his eyes, and Teacher's alchemy technique yesterday echoed in his mind.
Raise palm...
Grasp condense!
Xiao Yan gave up the conventional way of condensing the pill, stretched out his right hand, and grasped fiercely!
Boom!
A burst of explosion sounded inside the medicine cauldron. At this time, the strong wind arrived, blowing Xiao Yan's clothes behind him rattling.
On the stand, everyone stared intently at the scene below.
"Succeeded?"
"Under such circumstances, no one should be able to form a pill, right?"
"Really unlucky, but this is fate."
If Xiao Yan completed condensing the pill, then he would successfully become the top name in the first two assessments.
Even if he failed the third assessment, he also showed his strength to everyone.
If he won the top spot again in the third assessment, then he would be an extremely rare Grand Slam in the history of the Alchemist Conference.
Such honor, only a character like Pill King Gu He has the ability to obtain.
However, when Pill King Gu He participated in the assessment, he was already twenty-nine years old, taking advantage of age and experience.
The young man below seemed even younger.
"Did Yan'er succeed?"
Xiao Zhan looked nervously at the scene below.
Because of Xiao Yan's last-minute pill condensing on the battlefield, the things inside the medicine cauldron were blasted away, so the surroundings were blurry.
Strong wind blew, and the smoke dissipated.
Xiao Yan held a pill flashing with green light in his hand, standing upright on the platform that had turned into ruins.
"That is... Wind Walk Pill!"
"He succeeded!"
Everyone looked at the mysterious teenager below in disbelief.
Under that almost indefensible situation, he actually completed pill condensing!
"This kid is really not bad."
Yao Chen said with a smile.
In one night, he actually figured it out.