All present were growing restless. They couldn't wait to see whether the tournament would prove or disprove what Xiao Chen said.
Yuan Zhi left the stage with a knowing smile, as though he already knew what the result would be. When he returned to his seat, the Herb Sage and the Pill Fairy eyed him weirdly.
"Is it true?" Herb Sage asked, suddenly looking away from him.
"Obviously not. You saw my work- how many years I spent in seclusion working on those formulae. Obsidian is playing a dangerous game, and I think I know what he wants." Yuan Zhi frowned deeply.
"Which is?" Ao Yueyan curiously enquired.
"He wants the Divine Opening Pill for his upcoming auction. It will be his biggest one yet, and I know that all of the sect leaders will be there."
"After all, it's rumored that even the Scarlet Emperor will be there." Yuan Zhi's eyes narrowed, his face darkening.
Hearing this, Ao Yueyan sucked in a cold breath and turned to look at Xiao Chen and Jin Huang. "They seem confident to me, Yuan Zhi. Could this 'Jin Huang' actually have some talent?"
Yuan Zhi scoffed, "Impossible. They most likely used some trick to render the pill ineffective. What I know for certain, however, is that Jin Huang has no kind of cultivation whatsoever."
"Without cultivation prowess, one cannot be an alchemist." Herb Sage nodded, then stood.
"Master?" Ao Yueyan rose as well, wondering where the old man was going.
"I am personally going up so that we can settle this matter swiftly. Be ready to join me on stage, Yan'er." Herb Sage departed, arriving on stage before anyone realized he had left his seat.
The Herb Sage raised one hand, silencing the murmurs throughout the gathering.
He looked from Yuan Zhi to Obsidian, then finally toward Jin Huang, who was still standing on the stage with a slightly confused expression.
"Words cannot settle this matter," the old man said calmly. "Only action can."
The Herb Sage continued, his cloudy eyes settling again on Jin Huang. "Obsidian claims this young man is intimately familiar with the Divine Opening Pill. Yuan Zhi claims otherwise. Furthermore, this young man claims to possess the teachings of a Pill Grandmaster."
Jin Huang blinked. He was not given any indication by Xiao Chen that he was suddenly going to be given this grand backstory, but now he had already chosen to act the part. He couldn't back out.
The Herb Sage smiled faintly. "Then let us not waste any more time. We shall commence the Junior Alchemist Tournament immediately."
Several young alchemists looked at one another, making all manner of faces.
The Herb Sage nodded. "Those who have come prepared may take the stage. If this young man truly possesses the knowledge of a Pill Grandmaster, then he should have little difficulty demonstrating it."
"You all shall only be concocting pills that Lord Obsidian claims was stolen from Jin Huang's mysterious master."
Yuan Zhi crossed his arms, a smile slowly appeared upon his face as he shifted his gaze toward Jin Huang. "An excellent idea. Let us see the prowess of a disciple of this 'Grandmaster.' He should have no trouble at all with this pill."
Xiao Chen remained beneath the stage, his shadow-demon mask concealing his expression. Suddenly, he nodded to the Herb Sage and returned to his seat.
Meng Lan watched as he sat down and immediately sent a message via some form of magical telepathy, the concern in her voice apparent. "Master? How are you going to salvage this?"
Xiao Chen showed no signs, replying without so much as looking back at her. "I'm still trying to figure that out. For now, we just have to hope that Jin Huang's acting skills are better- far better- than his cultivation talent."
At that precise moment, Jin Huang scratched his head and looked around for a while, seeing various young people stirring in the crowd. "So... Grandpa Sage..."
He looked around, "How're we doing this?"
Xiao Chen coughed quietly from his seat.
The atmosphere of the gathering changed immediately. The seats surrounding the stage were rearranged, while servants hurried forward carrying tables, furnaces, ingredients and various alchemical tools.
One by one, the young talents began making their appearances.
First came several disciples from Pill Tower, who were seated amongst the regular guests, but closest to the VIP area. Following them, a number of other young alchemists started to head to the stage.
Then came Song Mei and Lin Fan, with Zhao Kun cheering them on.
The two walked onto the stage together, dressed in immaculate apothecary robes. Song Mei smiled confidently toward the crowd while Lin Fan adjusted his sleeves and glanced toward Jin Huang. Neither seemed particularly concerned.
After all, they had trained under Pill Master Zhao Kun himself.
Then came Mo Kuang.
The wild-eyed young man stepped onto the stage with his usual unruly appearance, scratching at his hair as he looked around. He seemed far more interested in the audience than the competition.
Next was Leng Qi.
The daughter of the Sect Master of Eternal Forge Hall walked gracefully onto the stage, her expression calm. She offered a respectful bow to Herb Sage, then nodded respectfully toward her competition before taking her position.
Finally, the younger of the two mysterious women wearing fox spirit masks stepped onto the stage. She remained silent, her mask concealing her entire face and preserving the mystery. The moment she appeared on stage, several of the older alchemists exchanged glances.
Even Yuan Zhi glanced toward the older woman who had come with her, but she was focused on her younger companion.
Finally, Ao Yueyan stepped onto the stage. The crowd immediately erupted as the Pill Fairy smiled and took her place closest to Herb Sage.
There were almost fifty young alchemists now standing on the stage, not including Jin Huang.
Xiao Chen closed his eyes, and Meng Lan tried to look away, but couldn't.
The Herb Sage slowly approached the center of the stage, arms folded behind his back. "The first round shall be simple."
With a wave of his hand, several ingredients appeared upon each table.
Herbs, roots, cores containing specialized mana and even small bottles of purified spiritual water.
The audience watched carefully, taking note of every minor detail.
Then the Herb Sage spoke. "You'll all be concocting Spring Nurturing Pills. As always, whoever produces the most high-tier pills will receive the most points. Only the top twenty will proceed to the next round."
There was silence at first, then came a collective gasp.
Yuan Zhi's expression changed. The Spring Nurturing Pill was one of his most famous creations. Unlike the Divine Opening Pill, it was a formula that had already been publicly acknowledged as his.
Its medicinal effects were extraordinary. It was invaluable for cultivators in the Spirit Spring Realm, as it provided a way to nurture far more spirit springs than a person's natural talent would allow. If you were fated to only ever cultivate five spirit springs, this pill could make it possible to cultivate an extra five.
More importantly, its formula was only known to alchemists of the Pill Tower, who were forbidden from sharing it with any outsiders- and even their own disciples.
However, even experienced alchemists of Pill Tower struggled to reproduce it.
The Herb Sage continued. "Each participant shall receive the same ingredients and the same amount of time. You will all be given temporary access to the formula via a single-use tome, which will ensure that you forget the formula once the tournament is over."
He raised a hand. "No external assistance is allowed. If I, or any of the elders present, detect any sign of cheating, that participant will be disqualified."
His eyes passed over every contestant, but then they also found and lingered briefly on Xiao Chen.
"At the end, the pills shall be judged according to purity, medicinal potency and refinement technique."
The crowd erupted into discussion.
"He's having them recreate Yuan Zhi's pill?"
"That's insane!"
"Even senior alchemists struggle with the Spring Nurturing Pill!"
"Won't the disciples of Pill Tower have an unfair advantage?"
"Not necessarily. Only a select few individuals are permitted to learn Yuan Zhi's formulas, and even fewer are capable of reproducing his pills."
"This will definitely show us how talented these youngsters really are."
Several gazes shifted toward Jin Huang.
One of the spectators whispered, "He's supposed to be a disciple of some Pill Grandmaster?"
Another snorted, "He doesn't even look like an alchemist."
Jin Huang heard them, and he looked down at himself, then at the ingredients, then back at them. "Who's to say what an alchemist is supposed to look like?"
A nearby spectator muttered. "However that is, it's certainly not like that. You look like a servant"
Jin Huang frowned. "And what's wrong with that?"
The man scoffed and looked away.
Jin Huang approached his empty workstation, seeing a table, pill furnace, various ingredients and various tools.
He stared at them, then at the other contestants who were already examining their ingredients with intense concentration.
Some were carefully measuring herbs, while others were inspecting the medicinal properties of each component.
Ao Yueyan had already begun arranging her workspace with practiced precision. Mo Kuang was staring at his furnace as though he wanted to fight it. Song Mei and Lin Fan were quietly discussing their approach. The masked girl simply sat there.
Jin Huang looked down at his own ingredients and took a deep breath.
Thinking he was at a loss, the Herb Sage merely smiled. "Begin."
A massive gong sounded.
Dong!
The tournament had officially begun. Across the stage, pill flames erupted as mana surged and furnaces ignited. The young alchemists immediately began working.
Jin Huang stared at his ingredients. He picked up a random root and sniffed it, then he opened up his furnace and gazed inside curiously. "Wow. It looks smaller from the outside."
He frowned as he folded his arms and began pondering. "I don't think eating it raw is gonna cut it this time."
For the first time since Xiao Chen had spoken against Yuan Zhi, people began wondering whether the legendary owner of the Obsidian Treasury had lost his mind.