Top-tier Unruly Master

After all, for any cultivator, an alchemist is of utmost importance, especially those with exceptional alchemy skills, who are rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. It is evident that for an average cultivator, finding such a good alchemist is not an easy task.

At this moment, when everyone saw the appearance of Elder Herr, how could they not be shocked? Everyone was also highly anticipating Elder Herr's performance. After all, Elder Herr's reputation had long been established, and as a Seventh Grade Alchemist, his alchemy prowess would certainly be strong. Many spectators were quite eager to see what kind of pill recipe Elder Herr would write.

"Do you think this Elder Herr will directly write out the complete pill recipe for the medicine pill?"

"Probably not. Although Elder Herr is very impressive, after all, the pill for this competition is no ordinary pill. Nearly half of the alchemists didn't even write down a single spiritual material, and for Lao Xu to want to write out the complete pill recipe might indeed be very challenging."

"Yes, although Elder Herr is great, unfortunately, the pill given for this competition is too difficult!"

"But surely Elder Herr will surprise us!"

"That's for sure. Elder Herr is genuinely a Seventh Grade Alchemist, and the pill recipe he writes can't be bad!"

"..."

Seeing Elder Herr, the crowd couldn't help but feel somewhat excited. Many cultivator spectators were even more eager to see Elder Herr's results. After all, the best result so far was still held by Gao Lian with eight types of spiritual materials. People's expectations for Elder Herr were high, clearly imagining that the number of spiritual materials in Elder Herr's pill recipe would certainly exceed eight. After all, Elder Herr was a Seventh Grade Alchemist, and such a rank of alchemist was already catching up with those elders in the judge area.

At this time, not only the audience had high expectations for Elder Herr, but even the elders in the judge area began to bow their heads in discussion. Some of the elders' alchemy levels were actually similar to Elder Herr's, and seeing Elder Herr on stage, they were indeed very much looking forward to his results. After all, as a Seventh Grade Alchemist, the pill recipe he writes surely wouldn't be inferior!

"Do you think Elder Herr can write out the complete pill recipe for this medicine pill?"

"That's hard to say. After all, this medicine pill was refined from a pill recipe obtained by the City Lord from the ancient tomb, and wanting to write out this pill recipe within the time of three incense sticks is not an easy task, and this is a difficulty even for Elder Herr."

"Not necessarily, who knows if this Elder Herr's alchemy skill has improved recently. If his alchemy skill has indeed improved, perhaps he really can write out the complete pill recipe!"

"This is really hard to say..."

...

The judges each had their speculations about Elder Herr. Some even believed Elder Herr might be an alchemist capable of writing out the complete pill recipe, which was undoubtedly a bold guess. However, for Elder Herr, being speculated about in such a manner was quite normal. After all, Elder Herr was of a similar age to the judges, and some had even had interactions with him.

After all, they're all alchemists, and of quite high rank at that. Clearly, in certain aspects of pill refinement, these judges and Elder Herr shared a common language, akin to birds of a feather flocking together, and things of a kind gathering. Naturally, as Elder Herr had reached such heights as an alchemist, the circle he interacted with was also one of top-tier alchemists. Thus, it was very normal for him to know some of the elders in the judge area.

In fact, it was precisely because Elder Herr knew several elders in the judge area that he timely received news about the generous champion reward of this Great Alchemy Competition. After all, for any cultivator, whether or not they are an alchemist, the champion reward of this Great Alchemy Competition, which was the Golden Silk Protective Clothing, was very enticing. After all, such an item was simply like a priceless treasure.

Under normal circumstances, for a cultivator to obtain such an item was as difficult as ascending to the heavens. After all, it was extremely precious, and although Elder Herr was unaware of what the City Lord Mansion of Dancheng intended by taking out such a treasure as the champion reward, it was simply too extravagant. But regardless of the reason, Elder Herr, having received the definite news, hurried over directly.

It was evident that Dancheng welcomed an alchemist of Elder Herr's caliber, but after participating in the first round of the Great Alchemy Competition, Elder Herr realized that this year's competition was truly unusual. Originally, he had a firm belief in his heart that he would surely be the champion this year, but the first round already gave him a great surprise.

He did not expect the champion of the first round to be a young man, and Elder Herr had a deep impression of that young man, Ding Fan. Elder Herr could hardly believe how the boy managed to refine a Supreme Quality Medicine Pill in less than half an hour. Damn, it was a bit too exaggerated!

Nonetheless, the boy refined a Supreme Quality Medicine Pill, and Elder Herr had no choice but to concede. Meanwhile, Elder Herr knew that if he wanted to become the champion this year, he must outperform Ding Fan in the second and third rounds. Elder Herr had great respect for the judges, especially Elder Wang.

An esteemed Grade Eight Alchemist, as the head judge, surely had the authority.

The judges were filled with speculation regarding Elder Herr's upcoming match. However, whenever their gaze fell on Elder Wang, they noticed something strange—the calmness on Elder Wang's face. This was unusual, as Elder Wang had always been interested in alchemists with high alchemy skills.

Clearly, Elder Herr's alchemy skills were exceptional among all participating alchemists, yet Elder Wang remained as calm as a lake in a vacuum, not a ripple. This calmness left the judges somewhat puzzled.

This was unlike Elder Wang's usual demeanor. People had noticed that ever since Elder Wang encountered Ding Lin, everything had become quite abnormal. Previously, the young Gao Lian had seized the top rank with his knowledge of eight Spiritual Materials, and many were excited at the time. Yet, Elder Wang's attitude remained indifferent. This change occurred ever since Ding Lin's appearance.

To Elder Wang, at this moment, he was only interested in one person, Ding Fan. Clearly, Elder Wang found it difficult to be interested in other alchemists no matter their alchemy level because Elder Wang understood that even the alchemists with high skill couldn't surpass Ding Lin. Elder Wang even felt that his own alchemy skill might not be higher than Ding Lin's, especially in the study of ancient recipes where Elder Wang considered himself inferior. Clearly, his research in this regard was far behind Ding Fan.

Despite seeing Elder Herr entering the field, Elder Wang's interest remained minimal. Perhaps, without Ding Lin's presence, Elder Wang might have had a bit of interest in Elder Herr, given that Elder Herr was already a Seventh Grade Alchemist, an impressive existence. But after Ding Lin appeared, Elder Wang's interest in Elder Herr dwindled completely.

After all, Elder Wang himself admitted to some inferiority compared to Ding Lin, and compared to Ding Fan, Elder Herr was surely lacking. Crucially, both Elder Wang and Elder Herr were nearing their hundredth years, whereas Ding Lin was barely in his twenties, the difference was apparent. If anyone claimed Elder Herr and Wang were talented in alchemy, then Ding Lin was truly a genius, a prodigy!

At this moment, Elder Wang focused all his thoughts on studying Ding Lin. Elder Wang found it hard to comprehend how Ding Lin could have such incredible alchemy skills at such a young age—it was simply unbelievable. Elder Wang was preoccupied with thoughts of how to meet and chat with Ding Lin, as Ding Lin clearly possessed many secrets. Elder Wang had no intention of prying into Ding Lin's privacy; he was just immensely curious about him.

...

Now Elder Herr had begun the Great Alchemy Competition, and his approach, like other participating alchemists, was to continually attempt to refine pills. Yet, clearly, Elder Herr refined pills much faster than the others. Sometimes, Elder Herr abandoned his refining halfway through, not because of failure, but because he realized some Spiritual Material choices were wrong, making further refinement unnecessary.

This naturally saved Elder Herr a lot of time, allowing him to quickly choose the more correct Spiritual Materials.

Soon, three incense sticks' worth of time had passed, workshop assistants presented each alchemist's pill recipes to the judges. The crowd, witnessing this, was filled with anticipation of Elder Herr's results. Among this group of alchemists, the audience was most eager for Elder Herr's score, with high expectations held both by the audience and some judges.

Quickly, after Elder Wang reviewed each alchemist's pill recipes, the results were announced, with Elder Herr claiming the top rank by writing out nine correct Spiritual Materials.

The crowd was shocked to see this, clearly excited by Elder Herr's performance. Such results brought thrills to the audience, as they loved watching exciting competitions. Elder Herr's achievement had once again challenged the top rank, which thrilled many spectators, considering the high score of nine Spiritual Materials. It was seemingly difficult for cultivators to surpass Elder Herr's score.

Some cultivators even believed Elder Herr would be the champion of the second round, certainly due to Elder Herr's exceptional performance, which was not something ordinary cultivators could compare to.

Even Gao Lian noticed Elder Herr's performance, feeling somewhat dejected yet not too disappointed, aware of Elder Herr's considerable skills. It's clear that Elder Herr's alchemy level considerably exceeded Gao Lian's, making his surpassing scores understandable.