Soul Emperor Martial God

By the third day.

As expected, Elder Mu was once again the only one waiting under the shade of trees for most of the day.

Under the shade, Elder Mu took a deep breath.

"He still hasn't come."

"I had hoped to find some interesting lad over these three days, so I wouldn't be bored."

"Turns out, I sat alone for two days and got even more bored."

Muttering to himself, Elder Mu shook his head the next second.

"Purple Flame Yi Xiao."

"Are you really just wasting time."

"Or do you truly possess that peerless talent in alchemy?"

"Can your alchemical talent and comprehension ability really compare with our Young Valley Master?"

Elder Mu suddenly let out a self-deprecating snort.

"How could that be possible."

"Qianmo, she has the Longevity Vine Martial Soul."

"The legendary Martial Soul most suited for refining elixirs."

"Who could surpass her?"

Having said that, Elder Mu shook his head once more and turned to leave on his own.

Tomorrow would be the day for Yi Xiao and the other three to refine elixirs.

He was somewhat expectant.

...

The next day, at the break of dawn.

In front of the Medicine Tower.

36 alchemical prodigies had already been waiting.

The old alchemists from various regions, who were the observers, had arrived early too.

The other 32 contestants had completed the second round of the alchemy competition the day before.

Of course, the rankings had not been announced yet.

Because there were still four people who hadn't started refining.

These four were the focus of this round of competition.

Destined to be the center of attention today.

The four Elders of Medicine King Valley were already waiting.

Xiao Yi and the other three had also started their alchemy.

"Do you think they can pass today's challenge?"

Many started to doubt and discussed among themselves.

"It's hard to say," Elder Mo spoke gravely.

"The difficulty of the Heavenly Will Pill is far beyond our imagination."

"Even with three days of meticulous guidance from the Valley Master of Medicine King Valley."

"We can't say there's a one hundred percent certainty of success in the refinement."

"They only have two sets of ingredients, two chances."

It should be noted.

The primary factor for rankings in the second round of alchemy was the success rate of the three pill recipes.

Not the grade of the pill recipes.

That is to say, if other contestants successfully refine three fifth-grade pill recipes.

And Xiao Yi and his group only successfully refine two pill recipes.

And fail on the third Heavenly Will Pill, they will still lose.

Even if the elixirs they refine are of a higher grade.

If the success rate is lower, they will still be defeated.

Drawing a special pill recipe is naturally unlucky.

But Medicine King Valley has already dispatched elders and opened the treasury's books.

To assist them, compensating for Xiao Yi and his group's lack of luck.

Aiming to reduce the difficulty of refining the Heavenly Will Pill.

Making the challenges roughly equivalent for all 36 alchemical prodigies.

Ensuring that the second round of the competition is as fair as possible.

Medicine King Valley's competitions, naturally, are not comparable to other alchemy competitions.

Every round is thoroughly considered and meticulously prepared.

All manner of factors and challenges have been accounted for.

...

Today, in front of the Medicine Tower, only Xiao Yi and his group were refining elixirs.

The first pill recipe for Xiao Yi was the Earth Origin Pill.

Jie Mo and the other two had Peak Fifth-grade Elixirs.

Soon, all four had finished.

The second pill recipe.

Jie Mo and the other two had Sixth-grade Early Stage Elixirs.

Xiao Yi, however, had a Sixth-grade High-stage Pure Earth Origin Pill.

"Success or failure hinges on this move," Elder Mo said in a grave tone.

"Among the 36 alchemy prodigies, not all of the 32 have succeeded on all three."

"Some are only at the early stage of fifth-grade alchemy level but drew a Sixth-grade Early-stage pill recipe."

"Some are at the early stage of fifth-grade alchemy level, but drew a Peak Fifth-grade pill recipe."

"If these four successfully refine the second pill recipe."

"They should be able to advance into the third round."

"But, their ranking might not be very good."

Observers discussed, sharing their opinions.

"Jie Mo and the two Sword Masters should have no big problems."

"They themselves are Sixth-grade Alchemists, refining Sixth-grade Early Stage Elixirs."

"That's not too difficult."

"But as for this Yi Xiao."

"The Pure Earth Origin Pill is a Sixth-grade High-stage, it's uncertain whether he can refine it."

"If he fails, he will be completely eliminated in the second round."

At this moment.

Several Sixth-grade Alchemists turned to look at Elder Mo.

"Elder Mo, have you ever refined a Pure Earth Origin Pill?"

Elder Mo nodded, "I have."

"But it takes a very long time, and the success rate is less than 50%."

"Oh?" The surrounding alchemists were immediately shocked.

"Even with your alchemical skills and abundant experience, there's only about a 50% chance."

"Does this young man Yi Xiao really have a chance at success?"

The people wondered.

Half an hour later.

The second pill recipe of the four competitors was successively refined to completion.

A round of cheers erupted from the spectators.

Of course, most of the cheers were for Xiao Yi.

"Truly worthy of being Purple Flame Yi Xiao."

"He really managed to refine a Pure Earth Origin Pill."

"If this young one makes it into the third round, I'm afraid no one will be able to rival him."

On the other side, Xiao Yi listened to the words of the people around him and smiled faintly.

He had already refined a Pure Earth Origin Pill long ago.

This time, if he didn't want to appear too monstrous,

he wouldn't have needed half an hour.

If he had enough materials, he could refine a large batch of them in just a few minutes.

At this moment, each of the four competitors began to proceed with their third pill recipe.

All four recipes were for the Heavenly Will Pill.

Everyone present held their breath.

They knew that the main event was about to start.

The upcoming result

would determine whether these four would continue to shine their dazzling light.

Boom... Boom... Boom... Boom...

Four flames surged up within their Medicine Furnaces.

Waves of heat soared to the skies.

The four competitors were going to give it their all.

Jie Mo and his two fellow competitors were methodically performing each step.

Heating the furnace, adding ingredients, dissolving the ingredients...

Each one of the most basic steps.

None of which they dared to overlook.

But when it was time to begin adding materials,

the three were overly cautious, which made them seem somewhat clumsy.

Still, they were full of confidence.

Over these three days,

Elders Five, Six, and Seven had given them special guidance.

Special here means

that the elders had merely explained to them how to refine the Heavenly Will Pill.

The steps for refining, the important aspects to pay attention to, the stages where strict fire control was necessary, and so on.

However, these elders did not teach them why these aspects were important – why strict fire control was needed at those stages.

Knowing how to do something and understanding why it should be done that way are two completely different concepts.

To put it simply,

Jie Mo and his two companions knew how to refine the Heavenly Will Pill,

but they had no knowledge of the true alchemical principles behind it.

True alchemical guidance should involve a teacher first explaining the knowledge about the elixir to their disciple.

Only once the disciple has fully grasped this knowledge

should the subsequent steps and methods of refining be explained,

allowing the disciple to naturally master the essence of refining that particular elixir.

However, the three elders had taken shortcuts,

jumping directly to the last steps of the process.

The truth was, refining the Heavenly Will Pill was too difficult,

and three days were simply not enough for Jie Mo and his companions to fully grasp the necessary knowledge.

The elders had no choice but to resort to this expedient measure.

"Elder Mo, how do you see it this time?"

The surrounding alchemists inquired.

"As we understand, during these three days of guidance time,"

"only Yi Xiao did not consult with the elders."

"He immersed himself in studying the alchemy books."

"Do you think he can succeed?"

Elder Mo suddenly smiled,

"If you had asked me this half an hour ago, I would have said it's impossible."

"But now, I would say he definitely can."

"Why is that?" the surrounding alchemists asked, puzzled.

Elder Mo said with a smile, "Being able to refine a Pure Earth Origin Pill"

"proves that Yi Xiao's alchemical abilities are no less than mine."

"I cannot believe such a young prodigy would act recklessly."

"His not consulting with the elders shows he must be confident in his own knowledge."

As soon as Elder Mo finished speaking,

the fire in Xiao Yi's Alchemy Furnace blazed brightly.

This was a sign of the pill solidification.

Everyone was so engrossed in watching the flames

that they failed to notice

that the four Valley Masters of Medicine King Valley had already gone pale with shock.

"Perfect technique, Yi Xiao executed every step without a single flaw," Elder Mu muttered in amazement.

"Even if we were to do it ourselves, we could not achieve such perfection."

"How did he do it?"

The other three elders wore expressions of disbelief.

Minutes later,

Xiao Yi ceased his alchemy work.

Waves of elixir fragrance wafted out from the Pill Furnace.

"It's done, he really succeeded," the surrounding alchemists said excitedly.

Xiao Yi took out the elixir, and also brought out the Earth Origin Pill and Pure Earth Origin Pill he had refined earlier.

"Please have a look, elders," Xiao Yi said lightly.

Elder Mu, as well as the other three elders, hurried over to check.

The next second, their expressions changed once more.

"Perfect Level."

"All three pills are of Perfect Level."

The third update.

Making up for yesterday's three updates.