Zhou Lihua felt sweat trickly down her scalp as she removed the pill from her cauldron. She had just barely finished in time. If she had been even one second later, even a split second later, she would have been forced to forfeit.

She looked at the pill in her hand. It was a light blue color with a silvery sheen that made it seem luminescent. She could not see any imperfections on its smooth surface. That did not mean it was a perfect pill since there could still be imperfections underneath the surface, but it was a pill with an unblemished appearance, which was normally a good sign of a high-grade pill.

“You there!” Sao Yong suddenly pointed at a young man on the stage below Zhou Lihua. “I said to stop, didn’t I? Why are you still attempting to refine a pill? If you cannot refine this within the time limit, then you have no right to be here. Pack up your cauldron and leave.”

Zhou Lihua glanced down. There was a young man maybe a few years older than her who was still trying to discreetly refine his pill. She almost shook her head. Did he think he wouldn’t get caught? Sao Yong was a gold rank alchemist, which meant he was no doubt more sensitive to alchemy flames than most. He would easily be able to sense someone still refining after everyone else had stopped.

The young man looked at Sao Yong as though his ancestors had been insulted, but he was cowed when the older man glowered at him. Left with no other option, the alchemist stored away his cauldron, left the stage, and disappeared through an arena door near the bottom.

“With that out of the way, I would like to congratulate everyone who successfully refined this pill. However, don’t start thinking that you can relax. We now have to find out whether your pill is even worth consuming.”

Sao Yong tapped his cane against the ground. Zhou Lihua whirled around as a large sealing array appeared on the floor in the middle of her, Xaio Wei, and Lili Ling. She didn’t have time to wonder what it was. Barely a second passed before the pill evaluation device used in the first round appeared.

No… this one is different. It’s larger.

Zhou Lihua only noticed upon second glance that this was not only bigger than the other device, but the indicator near the top was much larger too.

Ah. I get it.

Not everyone watching this competition was a cultivator. There were plenty of normal people too, and these normal humans did not have amazing eyesight. This pill evaluation device was for them. The indicator was so large because it was designed to allow everyone in the arena to see it.

“You will now go up one at a time and have your pill evaluated. Any pill below high-grade will considered a failure. The three on the top platform shall be the last. What was that old saying? Save the best for last? Now, then, who will have their pill evaluated first?”

No one came up right away, but one young man eventually decided to be brave. He leapt onto the top platform, walked over to the device, and inserted his pill. The indicator lit up and began moving. It stopped right in the middle.

“A middle-grade pill. You fail,” said Sao Yong.

The cold proclamation caused the young alchemist to pale, but he said nothing, merely offering a martial bow to Sao Yong before gracefully leaving the stage.

A dozen more alchemists came up, but only three passed. With each successive failure, the young men and women waiting for their turn began to lose hope. Their faces were paler than a ghost by the time it was their turn. By the time everyone except her, Lili Ling, and Xaio Wei had gone up, only ten alchemists remained.

“All right, you three. It is your turn. Which among you will go first?” asked Sao Yong.

The three glanced at each other, each wondering which among them should go first.

“I’ll do it,” said Xaio Wei, stepping forward. He glanced at Zhou Lihua and puffed out his chest as though making sure she knew how brave he was. Zhou Lihua almost rolled her eyes.

Xaio Wei stood before the device and placed his pill inside. She had seen that its shine was even more brilliant than hers, making Zhou Lihua bite her lip in frustration. The indicator lit up and quickly shot passed the halfway point. It stopped at the top.

“A high-grade pill! You pass!” exclaimed Sao Yong.

Was there any doubt he would pass?

Zhou Lihua did not believe him passing was worthy of praise. He was Rup Chong’s apprentice. Failing to refine a high-rank pill of this tier would have been a huge blemish on her reputation. It would have meant she wasn’t a good teacher.

Lili Ling went up next. She placed her pill inside, waited until the indicator stopped at high-rank, then removed her pill and smirked at Zhou Lihua. The look on her face was infuriating, but she ignored the petty woman.

Now that it was her turn, Zhou Lihua took a deep breath to calm down, placed her pill inside of the device, and watched as the indicator flew up before stopping in the same place as Xaio Wei and Lili Ling. She did not let on how relieved she felt as Sao Yong announced that she would be moving onto the final round. Grabbing her pill, she walked back over to her station, ignoring the death glare sent her way.

“The second round of the competition is over. I will now explain the third round to you all.” Sao Yong paused here to study the few alchemists who remained. Zhou Lihua thought his eyes stayed on her a bit longer than it did the others, but perhaps that was her imagination. “In this round, you will each refine a pill of your choosing. The pill will be limited to tier 4, of course, but you can refine any tier 4 pill you know. And because you get to choose the pill you refine, you must also provide your own ingredients. You can only provide enough ingredients to refine three pills. The third round will also last one full day. If you cannot refine your pill within a day, you will be disqualified.”

This isn’t good.

Zhou Lihua glanced at Xaio Wei and Lili Ling.

They’re the apprentices of platinum rank alchemists. I’m certain they have far better ingredients available to them than I do, which means they can refine much higher-tier pills than me.

“That is all. Today’s round is over. I suggest you all think hard about what pill you shall refine tomorrow,” Sao Yong said, and with that, the second round was officially over.

***

The carriage ride was mostly made in silence. Zhou Lihua seemed tired and was unwilling to talk. She leaned on her side and stared out the window with a blank look on her face. Wu Jian was worried, but he knew better than to say something with Master Wong Jiu in the carriage as well.

“Once we reach our residence, you and I will have to discuss what sort of pill you should refine tomorrow,” the old man said.

“Yes, Master,” agreed Zhou Lihua.

Once they arrived back at the alchemist association headquarters, they went into their residence and had the servants prepare a meal for them. It was a large meal filled with many different kinds of meats, rice, and vegetables. In the center was a massive pot filled with boiling broth. A hotpot.

“Let us not stand on ceremony. Go ahead and begin eating,” said Master Wong Jiu.

Wu Jian was surprised. A hotpot was not something you shared with just anyone. Inviting someone to share a hotpot was something people only if they liked you enough to share their food. It wasn’t really a political declaration, but this tradition of only partaking in a hotpot with people you liked was as old as time.

Master Wong Jiu was including him, which essentially meant the old man trusted him, despite the fact that he wore a mask.

“It’s been a while since I had hotpot,” Zhou Lihua said with a smile.

“Me too,” said Wu Jian.

He and Zhou Lihua began placing a variety of meat and vegetables in the hotpot, all the while discussing what their favorite foods for such a meal were. Zhou Lihua preferred milder meats like chicken because they absorbed the flavor of whatever it was cooked in. Wu Jian had a preference for bolder meats like lamb and beef. He also liked spicier foods, which was why his dipping sauce was loaded with chili flakes.

Once they had properly added their foods, the meal was eaten in silence. It was proper etiquette. The real conversation would begin after the meal.

“We should discuss what sort of pill you are going to refine tomorrow,” said Master Wong Jiu.

A pair of maids prepared them some tea. Wu Jian felt slightly out of place since he had nothing to do with this competition. He was just there as a bodyguard. Speaking of, he spotted Zhou Chao standing just outside the door leading into the inner courtyard. His back was to them. He wondered if the once rowdy young man was bored just standing there all day.

The bodyguards hadn’t done much since they had arrived in Kěnéng. Their job was to safely deliver their charge to her destination, then escort her back home. They had nothing to do between those two times, so they simply stood guard over their residence in shifts.

“It will be very hard for me to compete with Xaio Wei and Lili Ling,” said Zhou Lihua. “As platinum alchemists, Yun Che and Ruo Chong will have a far wider selection of ingredients for them to choose from--no offense, Master.”

“None taken.” Master Wong Jiu waved off the young woman’s apology. “You are correct. Platinum rank alchemists are the best of the best, and because they are among the best alchemists in the world, they get access to a much greater selection of ingredients. People from all over the world come to them to have pills refined. Alchemists like them have no need for money, so they often request specific ingredients in exchange instead. The heavens only knows how many ingredients those two have. However, that won’t necessarily help their apprentices.”

“I don’t get it. How will that not help their apprentices?” asked Wu Jian.

Master Wong Jiu took a sip of his tea, leaving Wu Jian to wait. Was he not going to answer? Just as Wu Jian was getting impatient, Zhou Lihua made an exclamation.

“I understand, Master. They might have a large selection of ingredients, but the most powerful ingredients won’t mean anything because we’re limited to refining tier 4 pills,” she answered.

“Exactly so.” Master Wong Jiu nodded at her. He seemed quite pleased. “There are roughly 236 tier 4 pills in existence. Of those 236, most of them are low-grade, about fifty are middle-grade, and only five are high-grade. Among the high-grade pills, two of them are considered so advanced and difficult to refine that you could even call them pseudo tier 5 pills.”

Tier 5 pills could only be refined if you had a unique alchemy flame, which meant the two pills he was talking about were only tier 4 because they didn’t require a unique flame to refine. They were likely just as hard to refine as a tier 5 pill, however.

“You’re talking about the Three Layered Red Yin-Yang Pill and the White Flame Ascension Pill,” said Zhou Lihua.

“I know about the Three Layered Red Yin-Yang Pill, but what is the White Flame Ascension Pill?” asked Wu Jian.

“It’s a pill that is only useful to Human Limit Realm cultivators. Any cultivator of that realm who consumes this pill will be able to break through one subrealm,” answered Zhou Lihua.

“That is pretty amazing,” Wu Jian muttered. “I’ve heard it becomes more difficult to experience even a minor breakthrough the higher you progress. Even breaking through a subrealm becomes incredibly difficult.”

While extremely talented cultivators could break through a subrealm of the Human Limit Realm within a few years, it took most people dozens of years.

Of course, many cultivators relied on alchemy pills and natural treasures to boost their cultivation and break through. This was why alchemists were always held in such high regard. Anyone who wanted to break through quickly and safely needed a talented alchemist who could refine pills for them.

Yet even someone with a dedicated alchemist might find it difficult to ascend. The ingredients required to refine pills for higher levels of cultivation became increasingly rare, and the higher your cultivation was, the rarer the ingredients you’d need to use. By the time someone reached the Seeker Realm, most pills and ingredients were practically useless.

“I don’t have the ingredients necessary to refine a White Flame Ascension Pill, but I do have the ingredients for at least two Three Layered Red Yin-Yang Pills,” said Master Wong Jiu.

“Master?! When did you get those?” asked Zhou Lihua.

Her master chuckled. “I have been searching for them ever since we arrived in Shang Kingdom Imperial City. I had already found enough ingredients for one pill, but I was able to acquire enough for two at the auction you were in.”

Wu Jian and Zhou Lihua shared a look. That meant the anonymous alchemist who bought the pill ingredients was, in fact, Master Wong Jiu? Neither of them had any idea!

However, this was good. Thanks to Master Wong Jiu, they had enough ingredients for two Three Layered Red Yin-Yang Pills. Not only were Zhou Lihua’s chances of winning the tournament now quite high, but if she could refine two pills, they would be able to ascend to the Human Limit Realm.

Wu Jian was looking forward to tomorrow even more than he had been before.