Chapter Twenty-One: Passing the Test

  The sound of sand continued to reverberate. As the sand in the hourglass dwindled, some alchemists listlessly put down the medicine cauldrons in their hands, while others were so anxious that they were drenched in sweat, especially those few who had grasped the correct formula and couldn't wait for the "Wan Hua Dan" to be ready.

  Suddenly, the sound of the hourglass came to an abrupt halt.

  Mo Xingtu let out a loud cry of surprise.

  No matter how reluctant they were, the busy alchemists stopped what they were doing and looked at the giant hourglass in front of the high platform with somewhat pale faces.

  A fair-skinned youth, as if waking from a dream, suddenly burst into wild laughter: "I understand now, it's the Ice Plate Water, the Ice Plate Water, haha...". As he spoke, the youth had already put all the other medicines except the Ice Plate Water into the cauldron and slammed the lid shut.

  The young man was just about to start refining the medicine when he suddenly felt that something was off around him. He quickly turned his eyes and saw that everyone's gaze was particularly strange, as if they were staring at a giant ape that had jumped into the crowd. The young man suddenly came to his senses, his face flushing bright red with embarrassment.

  The alchemist on the high platform burst out laughing, and the depression and gloom in his heart also dissipated a bit due to this small interlude. Before Mo Xingtu could speak, those failed alchemists walked down the stairs one after another. In an instant, the original nearly thousand-strong crowd was left with only about two or three hundred people.

  Mo Xingtu waved his hand, and a dozen or so third-grade spiritual medicine masters who had long been prepared stepped up onto the high platform, one by one, to examine him.

  "Medicine efficacy fusion degree 60%, success!"

  "Medicine efficacy fusion degree 80%, success!"

  On the high platform, the successful alchemists who received the "Pass" evaluation were relaxed and chatting with their competitors who also passed the first round, especially those who succeeded by luck, they were more eager to share their excitement with others.

  Of course, some people who tried to pass off fake medicine as real were ruthlessly driven off the stage by the discerning medicine masters.

  "Eighty-six, passed!"

  A roughly thirty-year-old spiritual pharmacist sniffed the "Wan Hua Dan" refined by Nie Xiao Ling, nodded in satisfaction, and then came to Nie Kong's side.

  Looking at the mini medicine cauldron on the low table that could be grasped with one hand, a hint of a smile that was hard to conceal appeared on the face of the spiritual medicine master.

  Earlier, when watching the competition in front of the high platform, he found the young man's small medicine cauldron amusing and was surprised by his speed in identifying prescriptions and refining spiritual medicines. Now it's his turn to test the opponent's medicine, which is just right for him to see what kind of spiritual medicine he has refined.

  "Eight... almost nine? No, it's nine out of ten!"

  The moment the lid was lifted, the strong medicinal fragrance caused the spiritual medicine master's face to change color, and he exclaimed in surprise, staring at Nie Kong who had just opened his eyes. A second-grade spiritual medicine with a fusion degree of over 90% is not surprising, but it being refined by a second-grade spiritual medicine master is quite astonishing.

  Moreover, this young man was still making the "Wan Hua Dan" for the first time! If he were to make it a few more times, it's not impossible that the fusion degree would increase even further.

  The several spiritual medicine masters around him were all shocked, their eyes wide with surprise. Especially Mu Xinjiang, who stared with his mouth agape, as if he had just met Nie Kong for the first time. Although he had heard Mu Xiao Ling mention Nie Kong before, it was only some insignificant things, and he knew nothing about what happened on the top floor of the Spiritual Treasure Pavilion yesterday.

  It was Mu Xiaoling who remained calm, having won against Nie Kong in the refinement of "Gui Xin Lu" yesterday, she had a sense of superiority. However, after learning that Nie Kong was the owner of the bottle of "Hui Chun Lu", and hearing Mo Xingtu mention the ten bottles of "Zi Huan Dan", her sense of superiority dissipated into thin air.

  Nie Kong was able to refine a 100% fusion rate "Rejuvenation Dew", and could refine large quantities of "Violet Cloud Pills" with a fusion rate above 95%. Now, he had refined another pill with a 90% fusion rate, the "Myriad Transformation Pill". There wasn't anything particularly surprising about this, it was just that Mu Xiao Xian's curiosity towards him deepened once again.

  Unlike He Mu Xiaoling, Nie Kong himself was somewhat surprised.

  He originally thought that his refined "Wan Hua Dan" had a fusion rate of around 80%, but unexpectedly, the spiritual pharmacist who tested the medicine said it was 90%.

  Recalling the scene of refining medicine earlier, Nie Kong's heart suddenly moved. This time, he didn't use "Medicine Cauldron Phantom", but the little guy was extremely excited, its stem, leaves and roots all dancing happily. At that time, Nie Kong didn't pay attention, but now thinking carefully, it seemed that the little guy had actively separated a thread of medicinal power essence and merged it into his spiritual power, which was then injected into the small medicine cauldron.

  Is it that when refining the "Demon" game, the spiritual medicine "Zi Luo Huan Ling Xiang" will become excited? Nie Kong subconsciously communicated with the little guy and didn't find any information on this aspect. Perhaps its actions at that time were just based on its instincts?

  The medicine will be finished soon, and it's decided to refine a few more "Wan Hua Dan" pills for testing! In the blink of an eye, Nie Kong made up his mind.

  "How could my judgment be wrong?"

  The Lingshi pharmacist was speechless with laughter, "I didn't expect you to use such a small medicine cauldron to refine the top-grade spiritual medicine. Good luck, I hope you can hold on until the end." He took the Wanhuadan in his hand and stroked it for a few moments before putting it back, then walked over to Muxinjiang's side.

  Before the unequal spiritual master finished speaking, Mu Xinjiang had already waved his fists and cheered.

  Nie Kong smiled slightly, previously he hadn't paid attention to the commotion around him, but now seeing Mu Xinjiang pass the first round, he didn't think it was anything unexpected. This guy was from the Mu family of Luo City after all, even if he was just here to make up the numbers, he could still hold on for a while longer than the other also-rans.

  Mo Xinjiang quickly jumped in front of Nie Kong again, with a look of admiration on his face, and exclaimed: "Brother Nie Kong, you are really amazing! I dare to say that you must be the first person to identify the correct prescription, and also the first person to successfully refine the Wan Hua Dan and achieve a medicine fusion degree of 90%!"

  "This brother, you are surnamed Nie, I suppose you come from the Nie family?" Before Nie Kong could respond, a gentle voice cut in from beside him.

  Nie Kong stood up and laughed.

  The one who spoke was the fourth prince, dressed in white, handsome and elegant, outstanding among his peers, with a warm smile on his face that easily made people feel good about him, if Nie Kong hadn't heard what he said to Mu Xiaoling. But anyway, someone like this would definitely become an idol star on Earth in their past life, no matter what their true nature was, and cause countless girls to scream and chase after them.

  "You're quite impressive to have refined a Ninefold Fusion Pill with a 90% fusion rate in such a short period of time. I didn't expect the younger generation of the Nie family to have such an outstanding spiritual pharmacist. I hope that in the final round, I'll still get to see you." The Fourth Prince praised him for a bit before smiling and leaving.

  "Haha, Nie Kong big brother, isn't he hoping to see you in the final round? Then go ahead and rush to the final round, let him lose with a clear conscience." Mu Xinjiang laughed triumphantly, as if possessed by Nie Kong's spirit, which earned him a fierce glare from Mu Xiaoling.

  Nie Kong shook his head and smiled, Mu Xin Jiang hoped he could win to the end, but didn't know that if he really got first place, the most depressed would probably be Master Mu Zi Si, because this meant that in a very long time, he would face Nie Xing Yun's ridicule.

  ……