First Round of Competition

Bright sunlight blanketed the entire Gama Holy Capital.

Today was the official opening day of the Alchemist Competition.

Early in the morning, densely packed alchemists emerged from every street and alley, making their way toward the venue.

The competition was being held at the Gama Royal Family's Royal Plaza.

The Gama Royal Family's Imperial Guards had surrounded the entire plaza three layers deep, inside and out, ensuring order and safety.

Only contestants were permitted to enter the plaza.

Spectators could only wait in the viewing stands outside.

If anyone dared cross the cordon, the Gama Royal Family's Imperial Guards would show no mercy!

Ning Su followed the crowd into the plaza—he had registered two days ago and obtained the qualifications to compete.

On the raised platform ahead sat the leaders of the major factions.

Everyone who should have come, and everyone who could have come, was here.

Before long, all the contestants had taken the field.

The spectators had also found their seats.

A clear chime of a bell rang out from the raised platform, spreading in every direction.

Everyone in the plaza immediately fell silent and turned to look at the platform.

On the platform, Fa Ma rose to his feet.

"Everyone, welcome to this year's Alchemist Competition. This old man is the president of the Jia Ma Empire Alchemist Guild."

"First, allow this old man to introduce the specially invited judges for this Alchemist Competition."

"The first is the guardian of our Gama Royal Family—Jia Xing Tian."

"The second is the current Sect Master of our Misty Cloud Sect—Yun Yun!"

Below the platform, countless people looked upon those two powerful figures, symbols of the Jia Ma Empire's status and strength, with admiration in their eyes.

Many had only heard of the Gama Royal Family's guardian and the Misty Cloud Sect's Sect Master by name.

This was their first time seeing such figures in person.

Now that they had the chance to witness these legendary individuals, many were filled with excitement.

"I hope all of you can achieve results that satisfy you."

"Now, this old man declares the seventh Alchemist Competition of the Jia Ma Empire officially underway!"

Dong!

The resounding bell rang throughout the plaza.

The crowd instantly erupted, cheering and celebrating.

"Now, all contestants, please take the field and find your positions."

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the contestants began stepping onto the field one after another.

Ning Su casually chose a spot, inconspicuous among the many contestants.

"This Alchemist Competition consists of three rounds."

"For the first round, there is a pill formula on each of the tables before you. However, the information recorded on them is incomplete. You need only refine the pill based on the clues provided in the formula."

"Do you all understand?"

"Understood!"

The first trial officially began.

Everyone immediately began studying the pill formulas in front of them, racing against time.

Ning Su picked up his formula. It was for a pill called the Bone-Growing Pill.

It was a second-rank pill.

This was a formula specially modified by the Alchemist Guild, unlike any Bone-Growing Pill formula sold on the market.

What they had to do was rely on their own experience to refine the complete pill based on the incomplete formula.

The difficulty of this round was not particularly high.

After carefully studying their formulas, quite a few people immediately began refining pills.

With the alchemy experience he had obtained from Yan Li, Ning Su was now a genuine Fourth-Rank Peak Alchemist himself.

He quickly worked out the rough formula and began refining it.

Clusters of flames lit up across the plaza.

"Elder Jia, Sect Master Yun, which contestants do you favor more in this Alchemist Competition?" Fa Ma asked with a smile.

"For this year's competition, the most outstanding candidates so far are Elder Gu He's disciple Liu Ling and the Little Princess. The two of them should have the best alchemy skills here," Yun Yun said.

"Yao Yue is spoiled and willful. She can't compare to Liu Ling in alchemy." Jia Xing Tian did not exaggerate Yao Yue's abilities.

That girl truly had great talent in alchemy.

But compared to Liu Ling, she still fell far short.

After all, he was Gu He's disciple.

"That Yan Xiao fellow seems quite capable too. He should also be a third-tier alchemist." Fa Ma's gaze was more comprehensive.

"No outstanding alchemists from the other empires have appeared so far. It seems the Champion will be decided between Liu Ling and the Little Princess." Mittel Teng Shan smiled.

Although the Alchemist Competition welcomed alchemists from all other empires to participate, that was merely a polite gesture.

Alchemists from other empires, especially truly talented ones, would never come to participate.

Otherwise, if some accident occurred and they lost several genius alchemists, they would have nowhere to cry.

It was not just the Jia Ma Empire's Alchemist Competition.

The Alchemist Competitions of other empires were the same.

They welcomed alchemists from other empires to participate, but generally, no one went.

The main competition was still among the alchemists of their own empire.

However, Ya Fei beside Mittel Teng Shan did not think so.

Her gaze was not fixed on the Little Princess and Liu Ling.

Instead, it was on two other people on the stage.

One was Xiao Yan in the center.

The other was Ning Su at the edge of the square.

Those two were the ones she was truly watching.

"Will these two fellows shine brilliantly?"

She muttered to herself.

On the stage, everyone's alchemy had entered its final stage.

This round of competition depended entirely on individual skill.

Some people failed once shortly after starting.

Then they failed again, completely losing their qualifications and being eliminated.

Liu Ling and Yao Yue were the first to refine their pills, drawing a wave of cheers.

Without question, the two of them were the most dazzling figures in the arena, commanding everyone's attention.

The others gradually found the trick and successfully refined their pills.

Ning Su was in no hurry.

He could have been the first to complete the refinement, but that would have been too conspicuous!

He did not want to attract too much attention.

The more attention he drew, the greater the risk of exposure.

Ning Su did not want his identity exposed before obtaining the Spirit Fusion Pill.

In the end, everyone on the stage completed their pill refinement.

But that did not mean it was over.

There was still the pill inspection stage. Everyone had to place their pill into a pill-testing slot on the stone platform.

Only pills that passed the test counted as qualified.

This stage eliminated another small group of people.

Some had merely formed their pills into round shapes, hoping to muddle through.

Naturally, these people were eliminated.

Some even flew into a rage and cursed loudly, only to be escorted away by the Imperial Guard.

As the pill testing began, green pillars of light representing pill quality rose one after another.

The richer the color, the higher the pill's quality.

The pills refined by Liu Ling and the Little Princess both produced dense green light, the highest quality among everyone present so far.

Just as everyone thought their pills were the best, a suddenly even denser, more brilliant pillar of light shot into the sky, instantly overshadowing the light pillars of Liu Ling and the Little Princess!

Everyone immediately turned to look—toward Ning Su.

That was the quality of Ning Su's pill.

"Damn, this quality seems a little too good!"