Replication (2-in-1)
After the cheers subsided, the host, Xia Ke, explained the rules of the final round.
The final five players will each craft one potion. This time, there are no restrictions on potion crafting; players can craft Tier 2 potions, with higher-level potions being better.
After the potions are made, the five potions will serve as five test questions. Each question is worth 100 points.
Five Alchemist must choose an alternative potion and issue a challenge: either create a potion with the same name but higher purity, or create a potion of a higher grade.
If you succeed, you'll be awarded 100 points. Otherwise, it's considered a failed challenge—there's no penalty for failing, but the challenger will lose the opportunity to try again.
Each Alchemist starts with 100 points. If their potion is compromised by another player, the Alchemist will have their points halved during the final score calculation. If the potion remains uncompromised until the end, the final score will be doubled.
Host Xia Ke added that a potion that has already been "defeated" cannot be challenged again.
The final round consists of only one round. If the final scores are tied, the five veteran pharmacists on the judging panel will make a comprehensive judgment to determine the merits of the Alchemist with the same score.
Bai Xiaowen already knew the rules. He also understood why Huang Xuan was so confident and unafraid to offend Master Yang Haogu, one of the judges of the competition. In the final round, although the judges had the power to rank the Alchemist, it was only in the case of a tie. If Huang Xuan had the highest score, then he had nothing to fear from any shady dealings by the judges.
Bai Xiaowen took out the medicinal herbs. As he took out the first batch of high-grade herbs, a notification from the Spirit Realm Rules arrived:
"You are attempting to create a Tier 2 alchemical potion. This is classified information, with a security level of 0."
"If you leak this information, you will be subject to a Level 0 penalty, with a deduction of the corresponding Psionic Points."
"Do you agree to have your pharmaceutical manufacturing process protected? If so, your manufacturing process will be protected and will only be visible to those who also know the formula and preparation steps."
Bai Xiaowen agreed. A faint white light shone on his medicine-making table. Outsiders could only vaguely see the movements of Bai Xiaowen's hands, but they had no way of judging the medicinal materials or dosages he used, nor could they clearly see the steps involved in making the medicine.
This is the protection of "confidential information" by the Spirit Realm Rules.
Bai Xiaowen let out a soft breath.
These medicinal herbs were all weighed in advance by Bai Xiaowen using his Insight Talent. As long as he follows the steps taught by Master Yang meticulously and prepares them step by step, he can obtain a Tier 2 potion with similar efficacy to Master Yang's. If some correct discretionary adjustments are made, the purity may even exceed that of Master Yang.
Therefore, Bai Xiaowen was not nervous. The time limit for making the medicine in the final was two hours, which gave him plenty of time, so he was not in a hurry to start.
Bai Xiaowen's gaze fell on Huang Xuan at Pharmaceutical Station No. 1.
At this moment, Huang Xuan was processing medicinal herbs. His Psychic Sensing was also very sharp; he turned his head away after Bai Xiaowen stared at him for a second.
"Snort."
Huang Xuan snorted, and his medicine-making table was also flashing with white light.
"Seeing your curious look, I'll tell you the truth. The potion I'm making is called ' White Bloom Potion,' and it's a Tier 2, Level 6..." Huang Xuan said with a confident smile. "Don't waste your energy; this is far beyond your capabilities."
Huang Xuan's confidence stemmed primarily from his assurance of the protection provided by the Spirit Realm Rules. If Bai Xiaowen didn't know White Radiance Potion formula and production process, he wouldn't be able to see through that thin layer of light, so there was no question of him learning on the spot.
Bai Xiaowen didn't speak. A faint red light flashed in his left eye, which Bai Xiaowen then subtly pressed down.
"You attempted to Insight a confidential message. The message is blocked by rules; the access Insight is unsuccessful..."
"Unknown factors are interfering, Data Disorder..."
"Due to unforeseen circumstances, 10,000 Psionic Points will be deducted. Do you agree?"
Bai Xiaowen let out a soft sigh. The price to pay for defying the Spirit Realm Rules was indeed not low.
In Bai Xiaowen's view, the brilliance on Huang Xuan's medicine-making table had vanished. Every medicinal herb he picked up was seen through by Bai Xiaowen's Insight.
"Dreamleaf, Fran's Root, White Jade Tree Fruit..."
Huang Xuan's pharmaceutical steps were gradually imprinted into Bai Xiaowen's mind.
Bai Xiaowen had not studied Huang Xuan's "White Radiance Potion" formula, but he could Replication it using his Insight.
The teachings of Master Yang Haogu seem to echo in my ears once again.
"Pharmacological knowledge is also very important to you. You are the only Alchemist I've ever met who can identify the active ingredients in medicinal herbs and measure them precisely. With sufficient knowledge of pharmacology, you can increase or decrease the appropriate amounts based on other people's pharmaceutical preparations to create medicines with higher purity."
"I just demonstrated the process of making ' Winter Solstice Mixture ' to you. My result was pretty good, around 85% purity. Now, based on what you've learned these past two days, make it again. My requirement is that the purity exceeds 85%."
Once Huang Xuan entered the pharmaceutical manufacturing state, he became extremely focused, seemingly unaware of Bai Xiaowen's gaze.
However, the other spectators outside the venue noticed Bai Xiaowen's fixed gaze and found it strange, leading to much discussion.
The audience could only vaguely see the actions on the pharmaceutical stage, but they could clearly see the faces of the five finalists.
"That Alchemist at the second potion-making station, I think his name is Bai Xiaowen? He seems a bit inexperienced. Everyone else is making level 2 potions, and as a newbie, he probably won't be able to master the level 2 formula... That light on the potion-making station is probably just for show."
"That's normal. It's really too frivolous for the Pharmaceutical Development Commission to send such a newcomer to the field."
Li Shuyi and the others overheard the discussions among the nearby Alchemist, and they all felt somewhat worried.
"The captain's acting strangely. Half an hour has passed, and he's still staring at Huang Xuan... Hurry up and make a move," Chen Guowei whispered.
Xiang Hui narrowed his eyes and asked Li Shuyi, "Has Bai Xiaowen ever made any Tier 2 potions before?"
Li Shuyi shook her head.
"Will he be able to do it?"
Li Shuyi shook her head again. "It's unlikely... Now we can only hope that Xiao Wen can learn the second-tier formula during the three days of special training he receives from Elder Yang."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Judging from the scale of the final rounds, it was absolutely impossible to win first place with just a Tier 1 potion.
Seeing Bai Xiaowen staring intently at Huang Xuan without moving, most people, after their initial curiosity and discussion, stopped and turned their attention to Monica, the beautiful America Alchemist at pharmaceutical station number 3. The way this woman shook the reagent bottles was so sexy...
Such round reagent bottles, such white medicine, such large beakers...
This break in the potion-making process actually puts the host's skills to the test. Fortunately, the organizers were prepared and, in conjunction with CCAV Television Station, prepared a program about the history of pharmacology, which was broadcast on the big screen.
Time ticked by, and 45 minutes remained.
Huang Xuan breathed a long sigh of relief. After more than an hour of focused preparation, he finally made this bottle of "White Radiance Potion," which was of a grade of 2nd level 6!
Huang Xuan looked around, his gaze first landing on Zhou Ziwang at pharmaceutical table number 5.
The white light obscured Huang Xuan's view, preventing him from clearly seeing Zhou Ziwang's preparation process. This indicated that Huang Xuan was unaware of the potion formula Zhou Ziwang had prepared.
"This bookworm really knows his stuff..." Huang Xuan thought cautiously. Not knowing the other party's recipe meant that in the upcoming challenge, he would have to make a higher-level potion to win. And Tier 2, Level 6 was already Huang Xuan's limit.
However, Huang Xuan absolutely refused to believe that Zhou Ziwang had also reached the level of making Tier 2, Level 6 potions. Compared to Zhou Ziwang's erudition, his practical skills were a weakness, and his calculation ability was also inferior to his own...
Huang Xuan's gaze swept over contestant number 3— Monica from the America —and contestant number 4—Ebner from the Europa League. A smile appeared on his lips. The protective light they used when preparing the potion posed no obstacle to him; he recognized the potion they had made.
"Greater Volcano Potion, and Dragon Breath Mixture... Heh heh heh, completely under my control."
Finally, Huang Xuan's gaze fell on station number 2, on Bai Xiaowen.
He was slightly taken aback. Bai Xiaowen hadn't even started making a move yet; instead, her eyes were fixed on him.
Huang Xuan followed Bai Xiaowen's gaze and his eyes fell on the finished product he had just made— White Radiance Potion.
"Haha... go ahead and look. You won't learn anything from just looking at a finished product. I bet you've rarely seen Tier 2 items before," Huang Xuan muttered to himself. "There are still over forty minutes left. Let's see what you do..."
Before the thought even crossed his mind, Bai Xiaowen had already smiled at Huang Xuan, then turned around and began to act.
Huang Xuan's cold smile froze. He suddenly realized that he couldn't even see Bai Xiaowen's pharmaceutical process clearly!
"It's a Tier 2 formula I didn't know about?! Impossible. Even if Yang Haogu taught you a Tier 2 formula on short notice, it couldn't possibly be beyond my knowledge..."
The tables have turned, and now it's Huang Xuan's turn to keep a close eye on Bai Xiaowen's actions. Recalling the Perfect Potion from the preliminary rounds, Huang Xuan felt a sense of foreboding.
Bai Xiaowen acted very quickly.
He had already Replication Yang Haogu's production process into his mind. The effective component particles of the medicinal materials that Bai Xiaowen had weighed beforehand were basically consistent with the effective component particles contained in the medicinal materials that Yang Haogu used at the time.
In other words, as long as Bai Xiaowen keeps in sync with Yang Haogu in his mind, he can concoct a medicine with a purity extremely similar to Yang Haogu's.
But that's not all. If it were just memorizing the formula, it wouldn't have taken Bai Xiaowen three days. With Yang Haogu's help, he made some minor adjustments to the formula, making the effective components of each herb more rationally proportioned.
By standing on Yang Haogu's shoulders, Bai Xiaowen was able to formulate medicines with higher purity.
Seeing Bai Xiaowen preparing the potion as if strolling through a garden, without showing any signs of close observation, tense thinking, or tedious calculation, Huang Xuan's sense of unease grew stronger. At this rate, Bai Xiaowen could easily produce the potion within the allotted time.
"Failure, failure, failure..." Huang Xuan silently cursed in his mind, drawing a little figure.
However, even as the clock struck midnight, the "Bai Xiaowen Pharmaceutical's failure" that Huang Xuan had been hoping for never happened...
"Alright, time's up... We've seen that all five young potion masters have successfully created their potions on the first try, demonstrating their solid foundation in potion science."
"Now, let's begin our intense points challenge."
On the side of the pharmaceutical work station where Bai Xiaowen and the other four worked, an LCD screen lit up, displaying a large number—100.
"The order in which the Alchemist will initiate the challenge will be determined by drawing lots. Contestants can also postpone their challenges to give themselves more time to prepare."
The results of the draw were displayed on the big screen.
Bai Xiaowen drew the first one.
"I choose to postpone the challenge," Bai Xiaowen raised her hand.
A low gasp of surprise rippled through the crowd.
The first Alchemist to challenge has a significant advantage, as they can choose the potion they are most confident in from the remaining four to challenge, greatly increasing their chances of success. According to the rules, a potion that has been "conquered" cannot be challenged again, and the challenges become increasingly difficult as you progress.
If Bai Xiaowen draws the first one, and chooses to postpone the challenge, he will be the last one to be in line.
Yang Haogu, sitting on the judges' panel, stroked his sparse beard.
Others might not know the reason, but Yang Haogu knew it perfectly well. Bai Xiaowen needed time to recall Huang Xuan's pharmaceutical process and make minor adjustments based on the effective ingredient ratios and Huang Xuan's pharmaceutical steps.
For example, the optimal ratio of active ingredients in medicinal materials A and B is 50:50, allowing them to fully react without any redundant components.
However, due to factors such as the age, origin, and quality of the medicinal herbs, no Alchemist can precisely achieve a 50:50 ratio; it might be 49:51... The extra two drops are considered impurities, requiring the Alchemist's discretion to correct, such as by decocting for an extra 10 seconds or adding new herbs to neutralize them...
This discretionary power may be effective or ineffective, depending on the Alchemist's knowledge, observation skills, and calculation abilities. But even if it can correct some deviations, it is still not as good as a precise 50:50 ratio from the beginning.
Bai Xiaowen watched Huang Xuan's entire pharmaceutical manufacturing process. He was no longer Little Bai in pharmacy and could understand some of the discretionary steps Huang Xuan took. He now needed time to work backward from these discretionary steps to deduce a more perfect ratio of effective ingredients.
Bai Xiaowen never intended to challenge other Alchemist, nor did he have the ability... It was already quite an achievement that he could memorize Huang Xuan's entire preparation process.
Bai Xiaowen postponed his challenge, so the choice went to the Europa League player, Ebna Bétain, followed by Zhou Ziwang United States Monica Gray from the United States. Huang Xuan, who was originally ranked fifth, was also ranked ahead of Bai Xiaowen, becoming fourth.