126:

  Xiao Feng did not hesitate to activate the Essence Cultivation Art the moment the hourglass had flipped. He knew that it was unlikely for Alchemist Zhi to sabotage his ingredients, given the fact that they were in the presence of a Grand Alchemist, but the man had proven to be crafty, cunning and ruthless even when Xiao Feng had done nothing to antagonize him—- so it was better to be safe than sorry.

  The first thing he inspected were the ingredients, which were all familiar to him given how extensively he had practiced refining the Beast Bonding Pill. Since he was used to seeing them with his Essence Cultivation Art active, he had a good idea of their respective Qi Densities, which made identifying the ingredients that were below average qi density easy. It would normally take him a minute to go through every ingredient from the three sets that had been arranged for the duel, but since regular alchemists could not use the Essence Cultivation Art, he had to make a show of holding each ingredient in his hand, letting a few seconds pass and then keeping it to the side.

  From what he had gathered from Lianhua’s instruction, an alchemist was supposed to measure the Qi Density of an ingredient by trying to push unattuned qi into the ingredient, which would naturally be resisted by said ingredient with its own qi density and cause the unattuned qi to dissipate into the atmosphere. The resistance felt during this process would give the alchemist a rough idea about the qi density of the ingredient and with enough practice and experience, let the alchemist tell if an ingredient was suitable for refinement or not.

  So a recruit like Xiao Feng should be pretty terrible at picking out the substandard ingredients, but thankfully, his job was made easy from the fact that most ingredients were very high quality and practically brimming with Qi and only three ingredients were below the Qi Density he’d come to expect from them, namely, one vial of Stoneback Ursine Bone Marrow, one pearl orchid bulb and one frost lily.

  Given how fresh the other ingredients were, a few substandard ingredients risked skewing the balance of the refinement, which admittedly would not have been a problem in his original plan.

  But now…

  Xiao Feng supposed that he had no choice but to show a little of his hand.

  “I want these three ingredients to be replaced,” Xiao Feng separated the three ingredients he had identified and placed them to the side.

  A moment later, Alchemist Zhi hurriedly began to place the ingredients he had identified to the side, clearly caught off guard by Xiao Feng’s speed, before saying, “These six ingredients for me. I request that they be replaced.”

  With his Essence Cultivation Art active, Xiao Feng quickly identified the status of the ingredients. It seemed like Alchemist Zhi was not inept and indeed worthy of his status, for he had managed to identify three ingredients that were below average in Qi Density, but he had also chosen three ingredients that had a high Qi Density for the respective spiritual plants and spiritual beast byproducts.

  Whether he had hurried because he didn’t want to fall behind the recruit in any aspect of the refinement, or if that was simply the limits of his ability, it was hard to tell. But if Alchemist Zhi was in a rush to prove himself, then it was possible for Xiao Feng to use that to his advantage.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  Two alchemists that had been stationed at the base of the small flight of stairs approached from either end with trays in hand and Xiao Feng watched as one of them collected the three ingredients from where he’d set them aside and placed them on the tray.

  “Bring the freshest ingredients as replacement,” Grand Alchemist Ming ordered and the ingredients were taken away by the two alchemists that departed with haste.

  Xiao Feng moved on to inspecting the pill furnace and the burner, noting that compared to the compact, sleeker version that was custom-made taking into account Lianhua’s physique, the pill furnace shared the same design albeit with larger dimensions, not significantly enough to be a different experience but still something he would have to keep in mind.

  Minutes passed as Xiao Feng immersed himself in the inspection and before he knew it, Grand Alchemist Ming declared, “And your time is concluded. No complaints past this mark will be tolerated.”

  At some point, the alchemists had arrived with the replacement ingredients, since a new tray with the three ingredients he had requested had placed before him.

  He had found nothing wrong with the pill furnace or the amethyst dragonstone burner even after scanning it with the Essence Cultivation Art, so he had taken the additional time he had remaining and used it to familiarize himself with the pill furnace’s slightly unfamiliar dimensions.

  “You will have three hours for each refinement attempt with a ten minute gap between each refinement,” Grand Alchemist Ming stated, as she set the shorter hourglass aside and reached for the larger one. “For a Mortal Grade Refinement, you will be awarded three points. For an Essence Grade Refinement, four points. For a Profound Grade Refinement, seven points. And finally, for a Heavenly Grade Refinement, a perfect score of ten points. These scores are assessed per refinement, so the maximum possible score is thirty points. There is no negative score for failing a refinement, but no points are added either.”

  Xiao Feng nodded at Grand Alchemist Ming’s words, as she only confirmed what he already knew.

  “Now, your three hours start now. Begin!” She declared, flipping the large hourglass.

  Xiao Feng’s strategy was something that he had debated and re-evaluated many times in the past week and in the end, he wasn’t sure if the path he was chosen was the correct one. Logically, it made more sense for him to play it safe in the first two rounds and aim for Mortal or Essence Grade refinement like Alchemist Zhi was before risking it all for a Heavenly Grade Beast Bonding Pill in the final round.

  There was no doubt in his mind that the higher grade he aimed for, the more the chances were of his furnace blowing up—- which was why Flashfrost Pills had been supplied alongside the ingredients and they had replacement pill furnaces ready as well.

  But no matter how much he considered it, it had felt wrong to him, especially given the message he wanted to send out to the Alchemy Division. To enter into a duel and not give it one’s all was not the way of the martial cultivator and as his predecessor put it, there was no greater teacher than the battlefield.

  Xiao Feng was sure that an alchemist’s battleground was not quite what his predecessor had in mind, but the piercing gazes of dozens of alchemists and the direct oversight of a Grand Alchemist on top of that, with his mentor watching his every move, well, that was certainly enough pressure to get his heart pumping quicker.

  No, victory or defeat, Xiao Feng had a feeling that he would regret it if he held back.

  So he wouldn’t, even if it meant attracting Grand Alchemist Ming’s curiosity regarding his methods and in the end, he just needed to succeed a single time to win.

  It was time to bet on himself.

  Daoist Enigma (Ebooks, Audiobooks and more)

  Rating and the story helps more people get their chai.

  Join it and grab a role here if you're interested, it's a pretty nifty feature