Demoness, Stop! - Chapter 42 - Chapter 42 – Advancing

At Lingxu Peak, outside the alchemy platform’s formation, there stood a grand hall.

More than ten figures stood inside the hall. Most of them were second-tier alchemists. The two at the front had three pill patterns on their furnace emblems at their chests, indicating they were third-tier alchemists, with cultivation levels at least at the Golden Core stage.

Achieving first-rank alchemist status was already a significant barrier, and it became harder the higher one advanced. Even in Kunlun, renowned for its alchemy, the entire sect only had about thirty third-rank alchemists. Each held an extremely prestigious position within the sect.

One of the second-rank alchemist flipped through the list of disciples participating in the competition and said, “This competition will definitely be exciting. Many of these names haven’t appeared in the big competition for a long time…”

Another beside him said, “Before, many were busy refining pills to earn spirit coins and buy Meridian Clearing Pills for breakthroughs. Now, low-level disciples can only buy three Meridian Clearing Pills a month. They must all be aiming for the top ten rewards.”

The second-rank alchemist chuckled, “That makes the competition even more interesting.”

His gaze paused on one particular name. He squinted, then shook his head in disbelief: “Li Yu… Qi Refining Stage, second level? What kind of pills can someone at the second level of Qi Refining even make? Heh… these days, it seems anyone can enter the alchemy competition…”

As the group chatted and joked, disciples kept coming in from outside, reporting on the situation at the alchemy platform.

A young disciple hurried in and said, “Junior Sister Zheng has already sealed her furnace. Using only one batch of materials, she produced two top-grade pills and eight superior-grade pills.”

Everyone was amazed.

As second-rank alchemists, they had no trouble refining low-grade pills. They could easily produce ten superior-grade pills casually. But that was because they had profound spiritual power supporting them. For a Qi Refining Stage cultivator to produce top-grade pills meant her future achievements would surely surpass theirs.

Someone familiar with the situation said, “No wonder she’s the direct disciple of Master Changchun. Two top-grade pills in one batch is not even her limit. I heard she once produced five top-grade pills in a single batch…”

“Shame on me, shame on me. I’ve been refining pills for two hundred years and never produced five top-grade pills in one batch…”

“This time, Senior Brother Wuliang’s competition championship might be taken away again. He’s lost it four times already. If it happens again, that’ll be rough…”

As time went on, more disciples reported in.

“Senior Brother Zhao Wuliang used one batch of materials to produce three top-grade pills and seven superior-grade pills.”

“Senior Brother He Jin, one batch of materials, eight superior-grade and two high-grade pills.”

“Senior Brother Liu Ren, one batch of materials, six superior-grade and four high-grade…”

…

On the alchemy platform.

Two quarters of an hour had passed since the first round began. A quarter of an hour ago, the girl beside Li Yu had successfully sealed her batch of pills. Only now did Li Yu calmly retract his spiritual power, extinguish the flame, and open his furnace.

Zhou Zixuan, whose nerves had been on edge the whole time, didn’t even dare to look at the furnace and eagerly asked Li Yu, “How is it? How is it?”

Li Yu glanced at the furnace and smiled, “Five superior-grade, five high-grade.”

Zhou Zixuan, not having a clear concept of pill rankings, asked, “Is that enough to advance?”

Before Li Yu could answer, the girl beside the stone platform spoke up, “One batch of materials, half superior-grade rate, half high-grade rate — of course, that’s enough to advance. The ranking should be at least within the top twenty.”

Hearing this, Zhou Zixuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

While refining his pills, Li Yu had also been keeping an eye on the surrounding situation.

For most people, producing even one superior-grade pill in a batch was considered good. He had deliberately held back a little, trying not to stand out too much in the first round.

The girl glanced at Li Yu and asked, “What’s your name? Which elder’s disciple are you? I’ve never heard of you before.”

The young man beside her had successfully caught her attention. He was so young yet had such a high pill production rate — among the sect’s disciples, he shouldn’t be unknown.

Li Yu replied, “My name is Li Yu. I have no master.”

The girl seemed to recall something and blurted out, “Li Yu — the King of Soft Rice?”

“..”

This brief exchange between Li Yu and the genius girl ended there.

He then summoned a steward disciple to take away the pills he had refined and record his results, after which he began chatting with Zhou Zixuan.

The three rounds of the big competition took place consecutively. The earlier one finished, the earlier one could rest and conserve energy for the later rounds.

While chatting casually with Zhou Zixuan, Li Yu learned she had broken through the second acupoint of the Wood Spiritual Vein.

This was something worth celebrating. After all, since entering the sect, she had been busy for a long time with little spare time for cultivation. Being able to open a second acupoint in such a short time showed her talent was quite good — comparable to Li Yu’s. Even if she hadn’t entered Kunlun last time, she would definitely be selected two years later.

Li Yu and Zhou Zixuan chatted and laughed together, which surprised the girl watching nearby.

Wasn’t Li Yu supposed to be Senior Sister Jiang’s lover? Why was he acting so ambiguous with another beautiful senior sister…?

But soon she figured it out — Senior Sister Jiang was someone far above him, an ordinary disciple. He didn’t deserve her, so it was better to find another target to avoid wasting effort.

With a beauty by one’s side, time always flies. Before they knew it, the bell signaling the end of the first round sounded.

Those who hadn’t finished refining their pills by now naturally had no chance of advancing. In fact, anyone who finished after the halfway mark was eliminated. Most people here were just supporting roles to the real talents.

Li Yu, of course, advanced without surprise.

The evaluation in the alchemy competition was very simple — no judges were even needed. Superior-grade pills were superior-grade, top-grade pills were top-grade. Pill patterns couldn’t be faked, completely eliminating cheating or behind-the-scenes manipulation.

Among the hundred who advanced to the second round, Li Yu ranked twelfth.

Elder Han was right — Kunlun disciples really were hidden talents. The girl beside Li Yu who produced top-grade pills ranked second. The first-place finisher in the first round produced three top-grade pills in one batch.

Not bad — already at about eighty percent of his level.

In the second round, out of a thousand alchemy disciples, only one hundred remained. This round still had a ninety percent elimination rate, and in the end, only ten would remain for the final round.

This round was also somewhat more difficult than the first.

In the first round, everyone had three batches of materials; in this round, only two. Still ten pills per batch, but the time limit was reduced to half an hour. Rankings were based on quantity and quality of pills, and the winners would enter the top ten of the competition.

Most of the stone platforms in the plaza had been removed, leaving only a hundred.

The distance between two alchemists was now much wider, making it unlikely they would interfere with each other.

With the ringing of the bell, the second round officially began.

This round involved refining detox pills. Zhou Zixuan immediately prepared the pill liquid for him, but Li Yu did not start right away. Half an hour was more than enough for him.

He leaned against the stone platform and closed his eyes, pretending to rest.

Many other alchemists also did not begin immediately. Instead, they first took Qi Recovery Pills to restore their spiritual energy and adjust their state to peak condition.

A quarter of an hour later, Li Yu opened his eyes, raising an eyebrow as he looked toward the empty space ahead.

At some unknown time, a huge water screen appeared there. At that moment, ripples shimmered on the water surface, displaying a line of text:

“Zhao Wuliang — 2 top-grade pills, 8 superior-grade pills, pill patterns 42.”

As soon as this line appeared on the water screen, a second line followed:

“Zheng Keqi — 2 top-grade pills, 8 superior-grade pills, pill patterns 42.”

Only fifteen minutes had passed since the second round began, and two people had already succeeded in refining their pills — with frighteningly high quality. The alchemists who had not yet started couldn’t sit still any longer and all began to move.

Li Yu poured the pill liquid into the furnace chamber and began refining.

Inside the formation, the alchemists were completely focused, silent as the grave. Outside the formation, however, the noise had already become chaotic.

“Senior Brother Zhao is amazing — he’s definitely going to be the champion of this competition!”

“Nonsense! I support Junior Sister Zheng. She has to win!”

“Senior Brother Zhao has been second place for four years in a row. Junior Sister Zheng is still young; she has plenty of chances. Let him have his perfect moment this time…”

“No matter who wins, they’re both the top talents among this generation of young disciples. Their future achievements will at least reach third-rank alchemists. Whether they advance further depends on fate…”

…

No matter how noisy it was outside, the alchemists inside the formation could not hear a sound.

Those who entered the second round were all the cream of the crop among alchemy apprentices. The quality of their refined pills far exceeded the average level of first-round participants. The confident ones finished after using just one batch of materials, while the meticulous ones refined two batches, choosing the best from each.

As time passed, the names on the water screen kept updating:

“Deng Qingsong — 8 superior-grade pills, 2 high-grade pills, pill patterns 38.”

“He Jin — 6 superior-grade pills, 4 high-grade pills, pill patterns 36.”

“Liu Ren — 5 superior-grade pills, 5 high-grade pills, pill patterns 35.”

…

The names on the water screen roughly fell into three tiers. Zhao Wuliang and Zheng Keqi, who produced top-grade pills, were far ahead of the pack. Deng Qingsong, He Jin, and Liu Ren, disciples of third-rank alchemists, didn’t disgrace their masters and firmly held positions in the top five.

Most other disciples produced high-grade pills, with superior-grade pills appearing only occasionally.

As more and more participants finished, the rankings on the huge water screen stabilized. The top ten positions hadn’t changed for quite some time.

Gao Tian looked at his name near the top of the list on the water screen and breathed a long sigh of relief. This time he had performed above expectations: in two batches, he produced three superior-grade pills, placing him exactly tenth. As long as none of the alchemists behind him surpassed his score, his position in the competition’s top ten was secure.

Though he could not expect a very high rank, it was still a rare honor.

Noticing that an alchemist not far from him had not yet finished, Gao Tian turned his eyes and covered his mouth, starting to cough loudly.

His own results couldn’t be changed anymore, but he could still affect others.

But just after his first fake cough, a stunning, curvaceous woman stormed over and gave him a fierce glare. She lowered her voice and snapped: “Cough outside if you want to cough—what’s wrong with you?”

She was so intimidating that Gao Tian was startled, almost choking on his own breath.

But at that very moment, the alchemist in question had already extinguished their flame—they had finished refining.

Ignoring the woman’s fierce glare, Gao Tian quickly walked to the alchemist’s side and peeked into the furnace.

Five superior-grade pills, five high-grade pills…

It’s over!

Gao Tian’s face turned ashen. He already saw the competition’s top ten slipping further away from him.