Just as An Yi made up his mind to take an "open-book exam."
Several bigwigs in the VIP seats were looking down at him from above.
Watching An Yi sit on the bluestone platform with one hand propping up his chin, looking around in every direction, and even crumpling up the prescription sheet and tossing it aside, everyone was utterly dumbfounded.
"Wh... what does this mean?" Nalan Jie froze. "Has he already decided to give up?"
President Fa Ma stroked his long beard. A glint of wisdom flashed through his clouded yet shrewd old eyes as he smiled faintly. "Hehe, judging by this, young friend Nangong seems to be planning to 'copy the answers.'"
"Copy the answers?"
Jia Xingtian was completely baffled. He stared at Fa Ma in disbelief. "Could it be... he wants to watch how the surrounding contestants refine the Bone-Growing Pill, then imitate them and refine one himself?"
The moment those words came out.
Not only Jia Xingtian, but even the Alchemist Guild's higher-ups present found their expressions hard to maintain.
"President Fa Ma, is he... is he serious?" Vice President Chemi swallowed, feeling as though his entire worldview had suffered a massive blow.
President Fa Ma merely smiled indifferently. "The competition rules have never explicitly stated that contestants aren't allowed to watch others refine pills during the contest."
"After all, alchemy is a profound and intricate craft. It isn't something that can be perfectly replicated just by casually watching someone else do it."
Fa Ma changed the subject, his deep gaze fixed on An Yi below. "Of course, that only applies to ordinary alchemists. For a freak like him, whose soul power is absurdly powerful and whose fire control is practically divine... that may not necessarily be the case."
Upon hearing this analysis, Princess Yao Ye