Judges' stand.
The Alchemy Convention had officially entered the first round, and the eighteen judges had turned their full attention to the arena.
With the pill formulas and spiritual herbs distributed, the five hundred contestants still had yet to make a move.
The many old presidents seated above began to chuckle wickedly.
"This time, with the Thirst-Profound Pill, who knows how many will fall at the very first step, and how many will endure until the final pill-condensing stage."
"Haha, the Thirst-Profound Pill formula has been verified again and again. There can be no mistake. It's just those three hurdles built into it—who knows how many people they'll stop dead in their tracks."
"It's an elimination round, after all. With over a thousand contestants, we have to eliminate more during the refining process first, so the later scoring can proceed more smoothly."
"This old man thinks that sixth-grade youth can make it. What was his name again... Zhu Yan? Mm, not a bad name. As for the rest, that will depend on their comprehension!"
Dong Ling glanced around at the old men beside her, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
To ensure the first round proceeded better, the eighteen judges had studied together from yesterday until this morning, revising the pill formula again and again.
Naturally, this was not merely to make the refining process more cumbersome.
For a medicinal pill, its effects after being successfully formed were what mattered most.
The judges would not conduct an assessment merely for the sake of assessment, deliberately stuffing trivialities into the formula.
On the contrary, in order to enhance the value of the Thirst-Profound Pill, the old fellows had risked life and limb testing all sorts of spiritual herbs while simplifying the alchemy procedures.
What they had ultimately produced was a