Chapter 425: The Contest
Looking at the different energies within the cauldron, Hui Yue slowly took a dragon pearl which was laying on the table and placed it within.
Sweat poured down his forehead, but with a swift wipe of his robe, he once more focused on the ingredients that were within the cauldron. As the dragon pearl entered the cauldron, a white mist evaporated from within the pearl and the previously hard shell became soft. Focusing on the materials, Hui Yue slowly merged all of them together, a process which took him an entire half hour. He took his time merging them very slowly, and ensuring that all of them did not lose any of their potency.
First, he merged all the plant pastes together after which he very slowly added the energy from the beast cores. Finally, he ensured that all of these merged perfectly before he slowly forced them into the dragon pearl.
Touching the soft shell of the dragon pearl the merged medicine slowly dripped into the pearl, one drop at a time. Without rushing, he allowed for this medicinal paste to fill the pearl.
The moment all the medicine was inside the pearl Hui Yue turned up the temperature of the flame within the cauldron, and once more the soft shell of the pearl was heated up. The more heat it absorbed, the softer the shell became.
It no longer looked like the pearl it had been earlier with its lustrous white light. Instead, the pearl was now red with beautiful golden lines. These colors were the color the medicinal paste had been, the red was the medicinal pills, the golden lines were from the beast cores.
Removing his flame from within the cauldron, Hui Yue reached inside and picked up the medicinal pill. A strong medicinal scent started to waft out from the pill in his hand, and with a very careful gesture, Hui Yue place the pill inside a jade bottle. This jade bottle was then placed at the front of his table after which he waved his hand and withdrew everything into his Universe Box.
Looking around, he found that he was not the only one who had finished his pill, at least a fourth of the experts on the stage were done. Of the many people who still had not finished, some were struggling while others had serious expressions but were clearly on the right path.
Everyone who had finished their pill was confident that they would head to the next part of the competition. Amongst these alchemists were the ones who had trained for more than ten years.
Although these experts were certain that they had done well enough, none of them sought to craft a perfect pill. To form a perfect pill, especially one of the difficulty of the Monkey's Strength pill meant that they needed far more time than the two hours they were given.
Because of this may of them were certain that they would go far. They knew no one would be able to trump their achievements, and they had looks of arrogance on their faces as they looked over the many alchemists present. Even looks of contempt were in their eyes as they noticed that Hui Yue had finally finished his pill.
As a person who was of the Emperor rank, they had taken him to be one of their greatest challengers, but seeing how long it had taken him to concoct a mere third-tier pill, they now started to look down upon him.
Meeting the many gazes, Hui Yue was not in one bit bothered by their thoughts and the clarity and pride within Hui Yue's eyes made the other's look away after a short while. None of them were able to stand his gaze without getting uncomfortable.
In the crowd, Jo, Lao, and Wang Ju Long were all standing with their hearts beating fast. When they saw Hui Yue was having a hard time they had been nervous, but when he finished his pill they cheered loudly. They were all there to support him with all their might.
Hui Yue, who had finished his pill also looked over the many opponents, and his eyes landed on Zhong Hei. The moment he saw him his heart grew cold and a killing intent rose around him. He quickly suppressed the hate he was feeling, but every time he looked at Zhong Hei, he swore that he would win the first price. He swore that Sha Yun would become free once more, free to return to Hui Yue and his family.
Looking at Zhong Hei, Hui Yue noticed that although he was still refining, he was also aiming for a perfect pill. The moment he noticed this, Hui Yue gritted his teeth. He knew that the other experts would be troublesome as well, but he was not worried about them. He had Silvermoon's Pill to use so he should be able to win this tournament; however, something about Zhong Hei made him worried. He felt that as long as Zhong Hei was part of the competition, winning would not be as easy as he had expected.
Zhong Hei was part of Zhong Fai's Frozen Army. This army had a great many secrets, and it would not surprise Hui Yue if they had outstanding secrets about alchemy. Knowing this, he gritted his teeth and hate flashed through his eyes.
"Bring it on." He mumbled. "Anything you can do, I can do better." He said mumbling to himself. Hui Yue finally calmed down, and his eyes left Zhong Hei moving to all the other experts that were participating in the contest.
It was clear that many of these contestants were incapable of creating the pill. They had become alchemists just recently, and they were truly only one-ranked or two-ranked alchemists. For them to try and create a third-tier pill was simply asking too much.
The time slowly ticked by and soon the two hours passed. The woman who was judging the competition suddenly stood up, and her cold voice once more resounded through the square, "step away from your tables!"
Everyone did as they were told; some did it with regret, others with excitement on their faces.
"Anyone who failed in concocting the pill, leave the stage." The woman called out, and slowly one alchemist after another followed her order. They packed up their things in memory stones and slowly made their way off the stage. Almost half of them left on their own as they had not finished the pill.
"Five more will also be eliminated," The woman announced to everyone who had successfully refined and concocted the pill. "Stand in line and come up here. The five worst will be placed to the side. Every time someone has a worse pill than these five, they will be replaced. Eventually, the five with the worst pills will be asked to leave."
Looking around everyone was frowning. They had all completed the pill and thus expected to pass. Who would have thought that even five of the ones who succeeded would have to leave?
Standing in a line, everyone held their jade bottle in their hands. Slowly the line made their way to her, and people were judged on their pill. The first five were naturally chosen to be the worst but quickly were replaced by people with lower quality pills than them.
By the time it was Hui Yue's turn he handed over his pill to the cold woman, and for the first time since the line had formed she opened her cold eyes showing a hint of surprise. Letting the pill roll out from within she observed it from every angle. With a smile, she could not help but praise it. "To think that you were capable of refining a perfect pill in only two hours!" She said amazed. Although her words were not as loud as they had been when she made announcements, her voice was strong enough for every alchemist to hear, alongside many of the closest audience.
Hearing that he had managed to create a perfect pill in such a short amount of time, everyone present looked at him with new eyes. They were all shocked to hear that he had succeeded in making such a pill and those who had looked at him with contempt no longer did. Their eyes were filled with disbelief instead. They now placed him as their most challenging opponent.
Hui Yue nodded and stepped to the side; he was not in the running for the last five spaces.
The pill was taken by the woman much like she took every pill before. Although the alchemists provide the materials, the pills belonged to the Alchemist Guild. That was the rule, and no one questioned it.
After Hui Yue, it only took around ten minutes before it was Zhong Hei's turn to be examined, and he too had produced a perfect pill. The moment he was praised by the woman, the man looked directly at Hui Yue with a smirk on his face. Everyone present could feel the tension between the two, yet at this moment Hui Yue just returned the smile with one of his own.
Hui Yue, although feeling slightly threatened by Zhong Fai, was also aware that he had the skills to win. He had to do his very best. He had to be constantly focused so he would not mess up, only then would he be capable of winning the competition.
"These are the five worst," The woman announced harshly, and her voice once more filled the entire square. "You five leave the stage." Her order was not rushed, but the five all struggled to accept that although they had managed to create the pill, they still failed in proceeding to the second round.
"The next test is tomorrow at noon, make sure to be here by then!" The woman said and then left the stage with all the pills in her storage stone. She moved directly into the Alchemist Guild as many in the audience looked at her with greed and jealousy in their eyes as she had so many valuable pills on her.
Looking at one another, the many alchemists were uncertain of what to do. Finally, Hui Yue left the stage and walked towards his family; a smile was present on his face as he gave Wang Ju Long a hug. He dragged her into his embrace and although her face turned crimson, she allowed him to show his emotions because she could understand just how stressed this young man was. This was not just a tournament but a ray of hope for his good friend.
"Let us return home," Hui Yue said exhausted, and for the first time in a long time, Hui Yue leaned against Wang Ju Long. The woman could feel just how drained he was after this one contest. Even for someone like Hui Yue, fully focusing for two hours, and not allowing for a single mistake to happen while at the same time have the constant threat of Sha Yun's life hanging over his head, all drained Hui Yue.
Together the two children and their parents took out their flying swords, and together, soared to the skies flying off at their swiftest speed towards the mansion.
The moment they arrived, Hui Yue went to his room and laid down on his bed. His eyes were slowly closed, and sleep overwhelmed him. By the time Wang Ju Long came to see how he was doing, he was already sleeping deeply. His mind was in need of a small break and his body in need of long rest.
Finding a blanket, Wang Ju Long covered Hui Yue before leaving the room. Outside both Lao and Jo were waiting, but Wang Ju Long just shook her head and placed a finger on her lips.
"Let’s go eat." She whispered and together the three went to the dining hall.