Lin Taichu drew number fifteen. The moment he returned to his place, he saw several masters quietly discussing the number thirty-seven porcelain bottle he had submitted, their expressions grave.
The director walked over for a look, surprise flashing through his eyes. He then announced to everyone, "The maker of poison number thirty-seven may advance directly without taking part in the subsequent antidote round."
The crowd immediately erupted. The tall, skinny man from earlier jumped out and shouted, "Director! This is unfair! Why can he advance directly? None of us have even detoxified anything yet!"
"Exactly! You must be favoring him because he's Old Man of Medicine's disciple!" the short, fat man shouted as well. Quite a few people nodded in agreement.
Lin Taichu frowned, about to speak, but the director spoke first. "Don't rush. Take a look at this poison first."
He picked up the number thirty-seven porcelain bottle and poured a little poison into a porcelain dish. "This is Five Poisons Xunyang Powder. Can any of you tell me where this poison came from?"
The people below looked at one another, but no one could answer. The tall, skinny man forced himself to say, "Isn't it just ordinary poison? Maybe he just threw it together. There might not be anything special about it at all."
"Nonsense!" a white-bearded master snapped.
"Five Poisons Xunyang Powder is a poison formula recorded in ancient texts. It requires seven poisonous substances blended in exact proportions. The slightest deviation renders it ineffective. Its liquid is also deep black, and when exposed to air, it condenses into tiny particles. See for yourselves."
The crowd gathered around and looked. Sure enough, a layer of fine black granules had formed on the surface of the poison in the dish, completely different from the other poisons. Yet the