Chapter Thirty-Three The Final Hurdle

  Refining medicine, dispensing medicine, identifying medicine, and combining medicine - all four critical steps have been completed.

  What will be the fifth pass?

  This time's medicine is much larger than before, and it's quite different from the past. In the past, there were also five passes, which actually meant refining five different spiritual medicines, especially the fifth pass, which refined three spiritual medicines. However, this time's judges are particularly creative, not only making each pass more challenging, but also more exciting to watch.

  Today's final stage was even more so, with everyone curious and looking forward to it. In the afternoon, when the villa opened, an even larger crowd surged in. Compared to this morning, there were at least twice as many people, and the spacious villa was packed with people rubbing shoulders and bumping into each other, with a sea of heads surging forward and a deafening roar filling the air.

  "Ah!"

  The bell rang, and six judges appeared. The manor began to stir, and when the last six young spiritual medicine masters' figures emerged from the high platform on the right side, the originally buzzing discussion suddenly increased by countless times, and the entire manor was instantly filled with all sorts of sounds.

  "Look quickly, that is the Fourth Prince, indeed worthy of being born into the imperial family, elegant and refined with a hint of heroism, and also has a good appearance."

  "The fourth prince is not worth looking at anymore. Let's take a look at that Nie... what was it, Nie Kong? Ah yes, Nie Kong, which one is Nie Kong?"

  "You really have grown two white eyes. Among the six people, there are only two men, apart from the fourth prince in front, who else could be Nie Kong?"

  "Cough, cough, so it was that kid in black clothes. I heard he was the first to pass the first round this morning and his spiritual medicine had a fusion degree of 90%. In the second round, he was the last one to submit, but his paper scared all the judges; in the third round, he was again the first to submit and even identified three types of medicinal herbs. The fourth round was even more incredible, he actually managed to concoct spiritual medicine with a fusion degree of 85% at the last minute... Now that I take a look, this kid's face is quite handsome, but unfortunately, he's not tall or sturdy enough."

  "This is what they mean by 'don't judge a person by appearance', if only I had a daughter, even if I had to pay a huge dowry, I would still want my daughter to marry this young man, his future prospects are boundless!"

  “……”

  In the midst of a loud and boisterous atmosphere, the six alchemists did not climb to the top step of the high platform, but instead stopped at the bottom, without showing any intention of going up. This left everyone perplexed, as according to past conventions, wasn't the fifth trial supposed to take place on the highest level?

  Not only were they puzzled, but Nie Kong and others were also quite perplexed.

  Before coming out, Nie Qingtong, the big fat man of the Nie family, mysteriously instructed six people to wait under the stage without explaining the reason.

  Muxiaolong leaned in close to Nie Kong, her delicate face filled with apology: "Nie Kong, I'm really sorry. This morning, you almost didn't make it because of me."

  After the fourth round ended, Nie Kong was sent to rest in the Lingbao Pavilion by Nie Xingyun, who rushed onto the stage, giving Mu Xiaoling the opportunity to apologize only now.

  She no longer has the mind to compete with Nie Kong, but instead has a few threads of admiration for him. A guy who can still refine a new medicine with an 85% fusion degree in a situation where both spiritual medicines are crushed, that control over spiritual power and the cauldron is indeed not something she can match.

  "It's nothing, I just misunderstood myself, no wonder you did." Nie Kong smiled and said.

  Mu Xiao's eyes sparkled as she gazed straight at Nie Kong, seeing that he really didn't mind the events of the morning. Her face finally revealed a sweet smile, and the topic turned back to the upcoming final trial: "Nie Kong, what do you think my grandfather and the other judges will come up with for this fifth round?"

  "That's hard to say."

  Nie Kong shook his head with a smile. He didn't have much understanding of the Thousand Spirit Medicine Meet in the past, and it was even more impossible for him to make any judgments at this moment. Anyway, he would just deal with whatever came his way. Now, he actually hoped that the judges would come up with some extremely unconventional topics, so that even without using the medicine cauldron's illusionary body, he would still have a greater grasp of things.

  The fourth prince, Cheng Zixuan, smiled calmly and said: "Why bother thinking about this? We've been waiting for this moment for a long time, I really hope it starts soon. The difficulty of the trials is getting harder and harder, and the last trial will not be easier than the previous one, heh, this is truly the time to test our abilities."

  The fourth prince stood with his hands behind his back, proudly standing still, and a familiar smile appeared on his face. His tone was filled with strong self-confidence, but after finishing speaking, he seemed to glance at Nie Kong intentionally or unintentionally, and a hint of inexplicable meaning flashed in his eyes, as if it were disdainful and provocative.

  Needless to say, the fourth prince's performance in the Medicine Assembly Competition was indeed outstanding. In the first round, his medicine-making time was only slightly inferior to Nie Kong's, and his medicine fusion degree also reached 90%. In the second round, he was the first to complete the prescription, receiving unanimous praise from the judges. In the third round, he identified two types of medicinal herbs. In the fourth round, he was again the first to successfully compound the medicine, with a surprising medicine fusion degree of 80%.

  However, no matter how dazzling he was, the final spotlight was still snatched away by Nie Kong, leaving him, who had always been the center of attention, to lose his luster.

  Especially when it comes to the medicine, he thought that Nie Kong would be out of the game, and he had already won, but unexpectedly, Nie Kong was able to suddenly turn the tables at the last moment, with a new "Bamboo Leaf Pill" with an 85% fusion degree, drawing everyone's attention away, while he himself was trampled underfoot.

  At that moment, the fourth prince was so angry he wanted to vomit blood. After returning to his residence, he also heard that Nie Kong was still a Ling Gathering First-Rate goods several months ago. He completely lost his usual warmth and calmness, with a gloomy face, he smashed a table, broke two chairs, and blasted several precious flower vases.

  "I, the fourth prince of the Great Empire, will not lose to a guy who rose to this position by sheer luck! The final round is about to begin, and I'll show you how I'll trample you down. This time, the medicine will be much stronger, and I am the rightful protagonist!"

  The fourth prince smiled coldly in secret.

  Mu Xiao Ling rolled her eyes, ignoring him, and turned to look at Qu Xinyi and Yu Qingguan, as well as Gu Qi, smiling and saying: "Three sisters, what do you think?"

  "I don't know."

  Qu Xinyi smiled softly, her voice carrying a hint of sweetness, and just listening to it was enough to leave a lingering aftertaste that made one savor the moment endlessly.

  Nie Kong still couldn't help but take another look at her for the first time hearing her speak.

  Yu Qingguan didn't make a sound, but simply shook his head very briefly. However, the little loli seemed to have not heard him at all, her eyes fixed on Nie Kong, sparkling with curiosity and a hint of unhidden anger. No way, sometimes little girls can be very vengeful.

  Nie Kong playfully smiled and said: "Little sister, is big brother handsome?"

  "Hmm."

  The little loli shook her head and threw a back of the head to Nie Kong. Nie Kong felt very interesting, just about to tease her again, when he saw that the crowd in front became even more intense, with cries of surprise rising one after another. He couldn't help but feel surprised, and was just about to follow their line of sight, when a loud roar echoed through the sky above the manor:

  "Roar......"