Chapter 20: One Horse Takes the Lead

  While most people were still racking their brains, Nie Kong had already sat cross-legged, his fingers pointing downwards. The emerald green Wood Spirit Power instantly enveloped the cauldron, causing it to burn fiercely. In an instant, the small cauldron rose into the air, spinning above Nie Kong's palm on a vortex of Spiritual Power.

  "Mutated Spiritual Power?"

  Looking at the emerald green spiritual energy swirling around Nie Kong's medicine cauldron, several fifth-grade spiritual medicine masters on the judges' seats, including Cheng Fei Liu, Quan Yu and Qu Ting Yun, were all shocked. The guests in the VIP seats behind them were even more astonished, after all, a spiritual master with variable spiritual power was extremely rare.

  Cheng Fei couldn't help but turn his head to Nie Xingyun and say, "Brother Xingyun, your disciple is quite impressive, possessing a variant spiritual power. Unfortunately, it's a wood-type spiritual power variant. If it were any other type of spiritual power variant, their future prospects would be boundless. Even becoming the Medicine King wouldn't be impossible."

  As for Mu Ling's change in power, Cheng Fei Liu and the others beside him, such as Quan Yu and Qu Ting Yun, all had a hint of admiration and regret on their faces.

  On the Tianling Continent, Wood Spirit Masters are even rarer than Spiritual Variants. There are only a handful of wood-based spiritual techniques, and there is no good way to cultivate them. Is it possible for this young kid to create his own? Such a Wood Spirit Master has appeared before, but their path ends at the level of Spiritual Control!

  Moreover, the spiritual technique created by that wood-type spirit master had long been lost. The Nie family was able to help Nie Kong collect a few ordinary spiritual techniques created by the fusion spirit masters, which was already quite good. Once they realized this, many people in the VIP seats secretly let out a sigh of relief.

  After all, no one wants to see another family produce a formidable spirit healer.

  "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. If this little guy can cultivate to the level of controlling spirits and become a fifth-grade spiritual pharmacist, I'll be satisfied." Nie Xingyun said with a smile, but in his heart, he didn't think so. You guys don't understand, my disciple rose three grades in the Mortal Realm, such potential, it's not impossible for him to create his own spiritual incantation in the future.

  "Cheng Xiong, originally I had high hopes for your family's Fourth Prince, but now it seems he has many opponents. The Mu and Qu families, the Luoxia Sect's three little girls don't count, and now Starcloud Old Brother's disciple has appeared, as well as that little girl from number 108."

  "It would be more interesting if there were more opponents. If only Zixuan is the best, then this competition wouldn't be worth watching."

  「……」

  At this time, some of the spiritual masters watching from the flat ground in the manor discovered that Nie Kong's first attempt at refining medicine was using wood spiritual power. The only explanation for being able to refine spiritual medicine with wood spiritual power is that it had absorbed fire spiritual power elements and undergone a variation. As a result, news of this Spiritual Power Variation spread like wildfire, rapidly spreading out in all directions, causing everyone to be excited and the atmosphere to become even more heated.

  On the high platform, Nie Kong eliminated all distractions and focused his mind on the medicine cauldron.

  This time, refining the "Wan Hua Dan", Nie Kong did not use the "Yao Ding Huan Shen" technique. Instead, he used a small medicine cauldron that he carried with him to refine the medicine. After easily determining the correct prescription, as long as he successfully refined the "Wan Hua Dan", he would be able to enter the second round, without having to consider the high or low degree of medicinal power fusion.

  For Nie Kong, this level was extremely easy, and he didn't need to use the "Purple Luo Phantom Spirit Fragrance" killer move at all. There were still four levels left, and good steel had to be used on the blade.

  Bang!

  Suddenly, Nie Kong snapped his fingers and the medicine cauldron spun violently, emitting a light humming sound. A moment later, a fragrant aroma wafted out of the cauldron in all directions.

  The fragrance wafted in, and seeing that the hourglass was already half empty, the desperate alchemists were sweating profusely. The more anxious they became, the more chaotic their minds grew, making it even harder to focus on distinguishing the incorrect herbs. As a result, some of the alchemists had begun to take reckless risks.

  "I give up!"

  A young man gritted his teeth, closed his eyes and picked out four flavors of medicine, poured them into an ice plate, then stuck both palms to the medicine cauldron, activated the fire spirit power, and muttered a prayer in his mouth. But before long, there was a loud bang from the medicine cauldron, and a foul smell wafted out from the small hole on the cauldron lid.

  That young man's face turned pale, and he reluctantly hung his head and sighed. He failed! He really failed! This thing called luck is truly unreliable!

  "Let's give it a shot!"

  Similarly, the young man's eyes sparkled as he pondered, since it couldn't be distinguished, then he would go against the grain and give up this "ice plate water" that was least likely to be wrong, maybe he could still win the bet! After adding the herbs, the young man began to inject the fire spirit power into the medicine cauldron.

  Finally, a faint scent of medicine wafted out! The anxious young man's face lit up with excitement, and he hastily focused his energy to continue refining.

  Such scenes are being staged on the high platform where thousands of spiritual medicine practitioners gather, with some hanging their heads in despair and others smiling with joy...

  Ding!

  Nie Kong's palm-sized medicine cauldron emitted a clear and melodious sound, the lid opened a small gap, and immediately a snow-white elixir burst out from the gap. Nie Kong stretched out his hand to catch it, feeling warm and smooth in his hand, crystal clear and translucent, shining brightly like a small, exquisite pearl.

  "The estimated fusion rate is about 80%."

  Nie Kong let out a satisfied sigh, his face revealing a hint of fatigue. He raised his eyes to see that the hourglass had already passed half, and the height of the sand was decreasing faster and faster. Nie Kong put the "Wan Hua Dan" back into the medicine cauldron, and directly began cultivating the "Mu Yang True Spirit Technique" on the spot, starting to recover the spiritual power that had been consumed by more than half.

  On the judging table, Que Yu looked at Nie Kong who was meditating with his eyes closed and couldn't help but praise: "The technique is so skilled, the speed of medicine making is also extremely fast. Xing Yun, if you didn't tell me, I really wouldn't dare to believe that he has only been in contact with alchemy for two or three months. This kind of skill can't be practiced in just a few years."

  The people around heard Que Yu's loud words and were extremely astonished. Nie Kong had only studied for such a short time, yet he was able to successfully refine a second-grade spiritual medicine? For a moment, the crowd found it hard to believe, and they all looked at each other in surprise, calling over their attendants to investigate Nie Kong's background.

  So-so, so-so.

  Nie Xingyun was unusually humble for a moment, but soon revealed his true form again, smiling and saying, "For my disciple, the speed of this medicine can only be considered average. If he uses his full strength, he will definitely be able to increase the speed of refining Wanhuadan by at least twice."

  "Oh?"

  Cheng Feiliu, Que Yu, and even Qu Tingyun and Fu Erhong, who were sitting a little further away, cast surprised glances over, making Nie Xingyun's eyebrows dance with joy.

  Nie Xingyun usually liked to play mysterious in the family, so much so that the vast majority of his clansmen couldn't recognize him. Logically speaking, such a person shouldn't be so high-profile, but as soon as he thought about having taken in such an outstanding disciple, the old man couldn't help but show off.

  During this time, Nie Xingyun was like a father watching his own child become more and more outstanding, from time to time he would have the urge to show off. Of course, after showing off, Nie Xingyun didn't forget to praise others either, "Fei Liu brother, your fourth daughter is also very good, her cultivation speed is quite fast."

  On the high platform, on the far left, the fourth prince revealed a smile, and put the Wan Hua Dan he had just refined into the cauldron. He then calmly scanned his surroundings. His gaze swept over dozens of people, and when it landed on Mu Xiao Ling, who was driving her spiritual power to burn the medicine in the cauldron, the fourth prince's lips curled up with a smile that seemed to say he already had victory in his grasp.

  The next moment, suddenly seeing Nie Kong sitting cross-legged beside Mu Xiao Ling, the Fourth Prince's expression remained calm and gentle, but his eyebrows seemed to have furrowed slightly...

  ……