A Giveaway Question

"Brother Liu, the person you said defeated you... couldn't possibly be him, could it?!"

Seeing Liu Ling treat Su Heng so politely, the little princess Yao Yue seemed to realize something as well.

The matter of Liu Ling losing to an Alchemist from Black Rock City was known throughout the entire Alchemist circle.

The little princess had never expected that the person capable of easily defeating Liu Ling would be such an arrogant fellow!

"Enough, Yue'er. The competition is about to begin. If you refuse to accept this, defeat him during the competition."

After Liu Ling entered the VIP room with the beauty, Princess Yao Ye arrived shortly afterward, having finished handling the security arrangements.

Yao Ye was tall and slender, with a cold and beautiful expression. She bore some resemblance to Xue Mei, yet beneath that icy beauty lay a dignified bearing nurtured by the Imperial Family.

Compared to the petite and adorable little princess Yao Yue, the eldest princess Yao Ye radiated a mature, frosty charm from head to toe. She was the very picture of a perfect mature beauty.

When he had only glimpsed her from afar at the entrance to the plaza, Su Heng had not felt much. Only now, at close range, did he realize that Yao Ye truly was breathtakingly beautiful.

"Hello, Mr. Yan Xiao."

Yao Ye splendidly ignored Su Heng and walked straight to Xiao Yan's side. With a graceful smile, she extended her jade-like hand toward him.

That astonishingly beautiful smile left several noble youths around the VIP room utterly dazed, and their hearts filled with boundless jealousy toward Xiao Yan.

"Hello, Princess Yao Ye."

Though he was not familiar with Yao Ye, she was ultimately a princess of the Jia Ma Empire. Xiao Yan had no intention of befriending her, but he still lightly took her soft, boneless hand out of courtesy.

"I hope Mr. Yan Xiao achieves satisfactory results this time. When the time comes, Yao Ye will personally host a banquet in celebration for you. I only hope Mr. Yan Xiao will not refuse."

Yao Ye tried to win over Xiao Yan while directly ignoring Su Heng beside him, leaving the onlookers rather confused. After all, Su Heng had just claimed to be a Peak Fourth-grade Alchemist, and Otto, Frank, and Liu Ling, the disciple of the Pill King, had all backed up that claim.

Even if she wanted to curry favor with someone, she ought to have targeted Su Heng. Yet Yao Ye had not done so.

"Mr. Su Heng is seriously injured, so it would be best not to force yourself. If you find yourself unable to continue, simply shake this bell. Our Imperial Family will immediately arrange for someone to assist you."

Yao Ye turned to Su Heng and smilingly offered him a golden bell, but Su Heng did not take it.

"Princess Yao Ye is exceptionally well-informed. I admire that. However, Su has already reserved the championship of this Alchemist Competition. There is no need for Your Highness to concern yourself."

Only then did Su Heng finally understand why Yao Ye had chosen to win over Xiao Yan rather than him.

One was someone who possessed Heavenly Flames and could remove the Scorch Poison from Nalan Jie, the Lionheart Marshal of the empire. The other was a severely injured man on the verge of death, with nothing left but a stubborn mouth.

If it were you, who would you try to win over?

In truth, when Lin Fei and Xue Mei had been buying medicinal ingredients in bulk, Princess Yao Ye, who was responsible for security in the Imperial Capital, had already taken notice of Su Heng and his group.

After investigating, Yao Ye learned that Su Heng was seriously injured. Once she confirmed that he posed no threat, she paid him no further attention.

However, Su Heng had publicly left her younger sister speechless in the VIP seats today. Naturally, Yao Ye had to recover some dignity for her sister.

It had to be said that the Jia Ma Empire's Imperial Family had always been exceptionally terrible at judging people.

They had offended Su Heng and still wanted to win over Xiao Yan? Were they dreaming?

Besides, with Yao Ye's beauty alone, trying to win over Xiao Yan was more than a little wishful thinking.

"Oh! Right, Princess Yao Ye, Brother Yan Xiao and I are friends who would die for one another. If anything really happens to me, he will naturally come to my aid. I appreciate the Imperial Family's kindness."

Su Heng deliberately draped an arm around Xiao Yan's shoulder, smiling smugly. Yao Ye, on the other hand, found it difficult to maintain her expression.

"You... you know each other?"

Yao Ye and the others had not been present when Su Heng and Xiao Yan recognized one another earlier, so they knew nothing about it. Su Heng's words now left them in an extremely awkward position.

"I appreciate Princess Yao Ye's good intentions. However, if there truly is something worth celebrating, I will naturally celebrate with Brother Su and the others."

Xiao Yan calmly made his stance clear as well. He had only been politely dealing with Yao Ye in the first place and could hardly be said to have any friendship with her. Since Yao Ye had openly embarrassed Su Heng, he naturally would not stand by and watch.

"Enough... the competition is about to begin. Stop bickering."

Seeing that the competition was about to commence, Fa Ma, the president of the Alchemist Guild seated in the VIP section, finally spoke up and ended the children's "quarrel."

Fa Ma glanced at the great clock in the plaza, slowly rose to his feet, and walked to the very front of the VIP room.

When a clear chime rang out over the plaza, the waves of noise within gradually fell silent.

At that moment, the more than two thousand Alchemists who had waited for so long all raised their heads and directed reverent gazes toward Fa Ma, the old man who possessed immense prestige in the Jia Ma Empire's alchemy world.

"The time has come. In the name of the president of the Jia Ma Empire Alchemist Guild, I announce that the seventh Alchemist Competition has begun!"

Fa Ma's deep voice spread throughout the entire plaza. Though elderly, he was still a Dou Emperor, and his strength could not be underestimated.

As the competition began, the entire venue erupted. Passionate cheers resounded between heaven and earth.

Standing at the front of the VIP platform, Fa Ma looked over the boiling plaza. Only after the cheers subsided somewhat did he slowly chuckle.

"Now, all contestants, please proceed to your respective stations."

Though the roaring voices in the plaza were so loud that even the bell could barely be heard, Fa Ma's lightly amused voice still sounded clearly beside every person's ears.

Upon hearing Fa Ma's words, quite a few Alchemists in the VIP section immediately rose to their feet.

Most of these Alchemists had been nurtured or recruited by forces of considerable strength. With the support of the factions behind them, most were Second-grade Alchemists.

Meanwhile, the independent Alchemists seated within the plaza were almost all First-grade Alchemists.

Su Heng walked to the edge of the high platform and glanced down at the plaza below.

The platform holding the VIP room stood dozens of meters above the plaza. At such a height, these young people, whose strength was only at the level of Dou Masters or even Dou Zhes, naturally did not dare jump down directly.

Thus, stairways leading down to the plaza had been built on both sides of the VIP corridor. Under countless watching eyes, the Alchemists were currently making their way down one after another.

Although Su Heng possessed the strength of a Da Dou Shi, he was still injured. It was better to avoid unnecessary trouble, so he had no intention of jumping down.

Therefore, after bidding farewell to Xiao Yan, Otto, Frank, Lin Fei, and Xue Mei, he too slowly descended the stairs.

"He really is seriously injured!"

The little princess Yao Yue watched Su Heng walk down the stairs and snorted with obvious disdain.

After descending the stairs and crossing the plaza, Su Heng found the bluestone platform assigned to him according to his number tag.

Two sets of medicinal ingredients were neatly stacked atop the bluestone platform. Beside them lay a thin sheet of paper.

In addition, a jade mirror was embedded at the front of the bluestone platform, faint crimson light flickering across its surface.

Su Heng picked up the thin sheet and carefully read it. It was a pill formula for a Second-grade Pill.

However, this pill formula had deliberately not been inscribed with soul force. Instead, it had simply been copied down casually.

A proper pill formula needed to be read with soul force, while the contents recorded on this thin sheet merely gave the contestants a rough explanation of how to refine the pill.

The remaining details had to be sensed and grasped by the contestants themselves. This would undoubtedly greatly increase the failure rate of pill refinement.

Moreover, the ingredients laid out on the stone platform were only enough to refine two batches of pills.

In other words, everyone only had two chances. If they exhausted all the ingredients and still failed to refine a finished pill, they would be eliminated.

"Seeing it in person really is different from hearing about it. At this level of difficulty, ordinary Second-grade Alchemists are probably in for a rough time."

"Still, this pill... you really chose the wrong one..."

Looking at the three clear words "Bone-Regenerating Pill" on the thin sheet, Su Heng could not help shaking his head. This really was a giveaway question.

He had refined at least eighty Bone-Regenerating Pills. It was no exaggeration to say that even with his eyes closed, he could refine one successfully, and the finished product would definitely be of top quality.

If Fa Ma had not yet officially announced the start of the competition, Su Heng would likely have finished refining and submitted his answer while everyone was still taking their seats, then rested off to the side.

As the many Alchemists took their seats one after another, the competition was about to officially begin. Yet Liu Ling and the others in the VIP section were still leisurely watching the chaotic crowd below, with no intention of taking their seats.

"Liu Ling, Yue'er, Yan Xiao, you should head to your respective positions as well."

"Because of your outstanding results in the internal tests, the Alchemist Guild has arranged special seats for you. There, you will become the focus of the entire venue."

Fa Ma pointed toward the center of the plaza, where more than ten enormous bluestone platforms had been set up.

Not only were those bluestone platforms much larger than the others, but their foundations were also significantly higher. Such conspicuous positions would naturally make those standing upon them the center of attention.

Liu Ling and the others all wore different expressions as they looked at those special positions.

Liu Ling was somewhat excited amid his surprise. The little princess was full of curiosity and eagerness, while Xiao Yan could only shake his head helplessly. He did not want to attract too much attention right now.

Xiao Yan regretted it now as well. If he had known, he would have gone down the stairs with Su Heng.

"You two, I'll be going first."

Liu Ling was the first to respond. He then lightly tapped the ground with one foot, leaped into the air, and jumped straight down.

His body fell rapidly. Just before he landed, two streams of visible orange Dou Qi suddenly burst from beneath his feet.

Using the Dou Qi to cushion his descent, Liu Ling landed safely. He then blew a kiss toward the beauties in the VIP section and swaggered over to his own bluestone platform.

"This guy really loves showing off. But do you think you're the only one who can jump?"

Watching Liu Ling leap straight down and become the center of everyone's attention, the little princess Yao Yue curled her lips. Her delicate body then leaped as well, and she too jumped directly from the high platform.

Her body drifted gently downward like a falling leaf, her posture elegant, like a fairy descending into the mortal world.

The little princess's display undoubtedly stirred people's hearts even more than Liu Ling's had.

This time, not only did cheers erupt from the VIP section, but deafening applause also rang out from the spectator stands opposite them.

As for Xiao Yan, Hai Bodong threw him out. Just as he was hesitating over how to make his entrance, Hai Bodong had already made the decision for him.

Poor Xiao Yan plummeted headfirst in a diving posture. If he did not do something, his skull would likely smash apart first.

Just as countless people widened their eyes, wondering why this gentleman had chosen such an entrance—

The wildly falling Xiao Yan suddenly struck out with his right palm. A fierce surge of green force erupted violently and smashed into the hard bluestone floor, instantly sending a crack several feet long spreading across it.

Using the recoil from that force, Xiao Yan's plummeting body slowed considerably. He then struck out several more times in succession, using the rebounding force to adjust himself into the best possible position before landing steadily on his own bluestone platform.

"Using Eight Extremes Collapse to land, and even smashing the floor while he was at it."

"Brother Xiao Yan, I wonder whether Old Hai will reimburse you for the cost of those broken floor tiles."

Watching those fellows make such flashy entrances, Su Heng could not help shaking his head. Young people really loved showing off! If I weren't injured, would any of you have the chance to show off?

Just wait. I'll show you what a Peak Fourth-grade Alchemist is capable of. Consider it a little lesson for you!

Across the enormous plaza, all the contestants held thin sheets of paper, wearing various expressions as they carefully and seriously studied the pill formula.

For a time, the entire plaza was utterly silent.

The quiet atmosphere lasted for nearly five minutes, until a clear bell chime rang out in the plaza.

The competition was about to officially begin, and this bell was the signal to prepare.

Upon hearing the bell, all the contestants put down their sheets of paper in unison. With a wave of their hands, more than a thousand medicine cauldrons of different colors and shapes appeared atop the bluestone platforms.

Although the Alchemist Competition allowed contestants to bring their own medicine cauldrons, the Flame Phoenix Cauldron was far too large, and there was no need to use a sledgehammer to crack a nut in the first round.

Therefore, Su Heng did not take out the Flame Phoenix Cauldron. Instead, he brought out a standard Second Rank medicine cauldron Otto had brought from Black Rock City. It was utterly ordinary.

As the bell rang, Fa Ma, who had been resting with his eyes slightly closed, suddenly opened them. He slowly stood up, and his aged yet powerful voice once more rang in everyone's ears.

"For this first round of assessment, you must rely on this incomplete pill formula to refine a finished pill."

"There are two sets of medicinal ingredients before each of you. If both sets are used up and you still have not successfully refined the pill, the jade mirror on your bluestone platform will automatically light up red. When the red light flashes, you will leave the field."

"On the wall opposite is a massive hourglass. That is the competition timer. Anyone who fails to refine a pill before the sand runs out will likewise fail."

"Finally, to prevent anyone from trying to pass off a completed pill with no medicinal effect as genuine—"

"Those who refine a pill must place it into the pill tester at the lower left corner of the bluestone platform. Only those who pass the test will be considered to have passed the assessment!"

"Do you understand?"

"We understand!"

More than a thousand voices from the plaza below exploded like thunder. Regardless of their actual strength, their momentum was not lacking in the slightest.

"Then, I announce that the first round of assessment officially begins!"