Ignoring my slightly reddened hand, I peered into my bottle and grinned.

This pill had a recipe that was Sky rank, meaning that the difficulty in its creation and the effectiveness of the medication were the equivalent of a sky rank pill when done properly. When done improperly, this could lead to the pills becoming low quality, and if done poorly enough, they could even drop a rank or two.

When I inspected my own pills with my divine sense I discovered that, while they were all at sky rank, their quality varied. Six were at the pinnacle, four were at high, and the rest were at medium.

I sighed. Well, this was the limit of ancient methods, even with me hiding a few modern ones in there. If I’d fully used the newer methods, near all of the pills would have come out at the pinnacle.

Still, it didn’t look so bad. This should be enough to get me into the next round.

When I looked up from my focus I noticed that a majority of the crowd and the judges were staring at me.

Had... had I been too eye-catching or was I the last to finish?

No, there was some fancy-looking guy in the back just adding his last two herbs. Oops, he forgot to split that last one in two. And over there, Violet Pill Fairy had just put in her Crimson Blush-Chrysanthemum. Wow. Even at this young age, she knew to be careful with every step, even if it meant taking her time.

Well, much like food, pills were best judged while still hot.

I quickly brought my pill bottle up to the judges. Pill Otaku... I mean Pill Master Ruthless Divine Medicine stared at my bottle as if it were a rare special edition figurine from a beloved anime... It made me feel a little uncomfortable.

After bowing to the judges, I set it down in front of them then backed away. Pill Master Ruthless had the presence of mind to not grab it right away but he did stare at it while talking to me.

“...”

“Alchemy Apprentice Lin?”

Wow! It had been a long-ass time since someone called me that. “Yes, Pill Master?”

“Who is your master?”

“He would like to keep his privacy for now as I have yet to go through the official ceremony.”

“Then what realm is he?” White Lily asked.

“He would definitely be your elder, Pill Master.”

Her eyes glittered. I had tried to keep it vague but she understood that they were above Nascent Soul. But that also limited the number of people it could be since there were only around ten to twenty thousand cultivators above the Nascent Soul realm on this world at any given time.

Burning Tyrannical Stallion picked up the bottle, poured the pills into a jade bowl, and examined them. He could have used his divine sense so he likely did this out of politeness for the younger generation who wouldn’t understand how that sense worked. With an almost bored expression, he nodded to me and turned to White Lily.

He smiled seductively —at least that was what I assumed he was trying to do— and handed the bowl to her as if she were a delicate flower.

White Lily —obviously not interested in him— took it, examined the contents, and smiled at me.

“Your master taught you very well, but it is also your own effort and skill that allowed you to create this many Pinnacle quality Sky rank pills.”

She placed the bottle on the table and slid it over to Ruthless Divine Medicine. This Pill Otaku gently took the bowl and moved the amber-colored pills around it as if visually checking every micrometer for flaws. Finally satisfied, he nodded and poured the pills back into the bottle.

“So many pills at pinnacle quality! They even have a sophisticated pill fragrance! And you managed this at such a young age. Impressive. Very impressive. I think we can all agree that you pass to the next round!”

Yes!

I bowed. “Thank you for your assessment, Pill Masters.”

Before I could grab my pills and return to my station to clean up, Violet Pill Fairy sauntered up to the judges. After greeting the judges, she placed her pill bottle right next to mine as if she was, once again, mocking me for being just that much worse than her.

Not this time, bitch.