Zhang Ergou, who was recuperating his soul power with his eyes closed on the high platform, never imagined that in the hearts of the peak masters, he had already become a young man who had been possessed.
At this moment, the gazes of the peak masters and elders towards Zhang Ergou had clearly changed.
From initial admiration and wonder, they shifted to scrutiny and doubt.
The changes on the field, apart from the dozen or so individuals focused on refining pills, were even felt by the disciples watching in the plaza, who sensed the unusual atmosphere.
The peak masters lacked their previous enthusiasm. Even the pill that Zhang Ergou had just successfully refined and teleported over seemed to fail to pique their interest.
“Peak Master, look?”
The two judges were unaware of what had transpired in secret.
One of them, holding the teleported jade bottle, respectfully approached Dan Feng.
They clearly remembered that after Zhang Ergou successfully refined a second-grade pill earlier, it wasn’t even their turn to open the jade bottle for inspection.
It was snatched away by the peak master who suddenly appeared.
This assessment was to test the young disciples’ ability to refine the third-grade Soul Returning Pill. It was presumed that their own peak master would be more interested.
However, things did not seem to be developing in the direction they had imagined.
Dan Feng merely glanced casually at the jade bottle, then opened it to find nine ninth-grade, nine-patterned Soul Returning Pills nestled within. A knowing expression appeared on his face.
“Record it as per the previous entry,” Dan Feng said.
His tone was indifferent and calm, a stark contrast to his previous excitement.
From Dan Feng’s reaction, the other peak masters also realized that the pill Zhang Ergou had successfully refined this time was unusual.
However, with the elder’s prior reminder, the various peak masters no longer considered Zhang Ergou a rare genius disciple.
Instead, they became even more convinced that he was a youth who had been possessed.
This explanation made everything clear.
If a soul that had lived for who knew how many years had possessed him, then achieving such results as Zhang Ergou would be no trouble at all.
Although the two judges were perplexed as to why the peak masters had suddenly become so cold, they dared not disobey their superior’s orders.
Following instructions, they recorded Zhang Ergou’s results. They still did not write down the grade of the pill Zhang Ergou had successfully refined, merely noting the characters "Grade A."
As time went by, one by one, young disciples had their refined third-grade Soul Returning Pills teleported to the judges’ table.
The two judges examined them in turn, recording the quality and grade of the pills according to the actual situation.
Li Qian was the second young disciple to successfully refine a third-grade Soul Returning Pill. After placing the jade bottle containing the pill on the teleportation array, he turned to look in the direction of Zhang Ergou.
When he saw Zhang Ergou already sitting with his eyes closed, he knew he had lost again this time.
Sighing inwardly, Li Qian became even more curious about Zhang Ergou.
Two hours passed in a flash. The number of remaining young alchemists had dwindled significantly.
A total of ten people were eliminated in this round of assessment.
Ultimately, only eight remained. Among them, three or four had barely managed to complete their tasks at the last moment before time ran out, causing their friends to sweat bullets for them.
When the third round of assessment began, Zhang Ergou awoke from his meditative sitting.
His soul power had been fully restored, without any fatigue whatsoever.
The others could not compare to him, especially those three or four who had succeeded at the last minute. Their soul power was depleted, and their faces were somewhat pale.
Without delay, they hastily took out pills from their storage rings and consumed them.
Their complexions gradually recovered.
The third round of assessment was for a fourth-grade pill – the Breakthrough Pill.
This assessment was clearly different from the previous two. Not only was the quantity of medicinal ingredients significantly larger, five portions in total. Su Dan Novel Network.
A copy of the pill formula also appeared before them.
And this formula was for the fourth-grade Breakthrough Pill.
The formula not only detailed the refining method and ingredient dosage for the Breakthrough Pill, but also indicated its efficacy.
“The Breakthrough Pill is so named because it has a certain chance of allowing a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator to successfully break through to the Golden Core stage.”
These few words conveyed information that greatly astonished Zhang Ergou.
He wondered what kind of sensation would be caused if this formula were leaked.
After all, on the Yin Continent, Golden Core stage cultivators were already the backbone of major powers.
Foundation Establishment stage cultivators were as common as dust, but the number of Golden Core stage cultivators was far fewer.
Not only was there a natural chasm between the Golden Core and Foundation Establishment stages, but breaking through to the Golden Core stage depended heavily on a cultivator’s opportunities and comprehension.
Many cultivators remained stuck in the Foundation Establishment stage their entire lives, unable to advance further.
Zhang Ergou could imagine that even without the formula being leaked, the mere appearance of such a pill would undoubtedly lead to a frantic scramble among the major sects and family powers.
He hadn’t expected the Virtuous Path Alliance to possess such a heaven-defying formula.
What surprised him even more was that the Alliance was willing to allow them to view, and even attempt to refine, the Breakthrough Pill.
Zhang Ergou could not fathom the considerations of the Alliance’s higher-ups. For now, what he needed to do was refine the fourth-grade pill – the Breakthrough Pill.
After carefully studying the formula several times, Zhang Ergou committed the refining method to memory.
Comparing it to the descriptions on the formula, he identified the quantity and age of each ingredient.
This time, the examiners had not tampered with anything. Perhaps they considered that even with the formula and accurate ingredients, the young disciples might not necessarily be able to refine it successfully.
The Breakthrough Pill was classified as a fourth-grade pill not just because of its heaven-defying effect.
Its refining method also differed significantly from that of third-grade pills.
The formula stated that three medicinal ingredients must first be purified, refined, and fused, and then the other three medicinal ingredients would be purified and refined.
While purifying these three types of ingredients, one must also attend to the liquid from the first three purified and refined ingredients.
This placed an exceptionally high demand on the alchemist’s soul power.
The refining of the Breakthrough Pill required a total of thirty-six medicinal ingredients, and every three ingredients had to be purified and refined in the aforementioned sequence.
The young disciples on the high platform all wore bitter expressions.
Yet, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and proceed. If they did not act now, they would be directly eliminated.
Alchemy, like cultivation, required a strong and determined heart to face challenges.
The only good news was that there was no time limit for this refinement, lasting until all five portions of medicinal ingredients were consumed or the pill was successfully refined.
However, even so, those young disciples who knew their own limitations wore troubled expressions.
Li Qian’s expression was not much better.
He had only recently advanced to the fourth-grade alchemist level, and the number of fourth-grade pills he could successfully refine was pitifully few.
Such a complex pill as the Breakthrough Pill was truly troublesome.
He couldn't help but look back at Zhang Ergou again. Unexpectedly, Zhang Ergou also looked up at the same time. Their gazes met in mid-air, igniting a spark of rivalry.
Li Qian also possessed his own pride.