Chapter 114: The Eye of the Netherworld
“I never thought that there would be someone who could score zero marks. His theoretical foundations are so lacking, not to mention actual practise. I can already see the ending.”
“Of course. Zhang Chengfan will definitely win. There’s no need for them to continue the compet.i.tion. It’s better to admit defeat as soon as possible so that he won’t lose face in the future.”
“Why did alchemist Chen choose him? I really don’t know what he sees in him. Great, if this gets out, people would think that any Tom, d.i.c.k, or Harry can enter the Alchemist a.s.sociation. Won’t that tarnish our reputation?”
Chen Yan’s face turned green and white in the face of everyone’s whispers. Lin Bai, on the other hand, was quite calm. This was somewhat unexpected.
Zhong Haoran could not wait to see Chen Yan continue to lose face. Naturally, he wanted to continue. This way, they would not be able to turn the tables. He hurriedly said, “Since we have started, we can not stop halfway. The compet.i.tion will continue.”
The second test was to refine the antidote pill.
This kind of pill was not particularly difficult to refine. However, with a preconceived idea and the fact that the others had never seen Lin Bai refine pills, they naturally felt it was likely that he would be able to refine this detoxifying pill.
“There’s a high chance that his furnace will explode.”
“Even if he manages to refine it, who would dare to eat the detoxifying pill that he refined?”
Everyone had the mentality of watching a good show. They saw that Lin Bai had sent out the tattered little black cauldron. As expected, it was once again ridiculed by the audience.
After all, Lin Bai had always refined pills alone. The people from the Alchemist a.s.sociation did not know that his cauldron was actually so ingenious. On the other hand, Zhou Zhengqing could not help but take a few more glances at it.
Zhong Haoran held back his laughter as he walked to Chen Yan’s side. His gaze was filled with malice and sarcasm.
“Don’t tell me that you are so short of money that you don’t even have the crystals to exchange for a good cauldron for him. To bring out such a small and broken cauldron, on account that we are friends, I can help you.”
Chen Yan knew that there would be such a situation today. He had long been mentally prepared. He only hoped that Lin Bai would not make any mistakes in this segment. He said coldly,
“There’s no need for that. I’m not that poor. What matters in pill refinement is the person not the cauldron. All external things are like floating clouds in front of absolute strength. If one’s ability is not high, it’s useless no matter how good a cauldron is.”
Chen Yan’s words were meant to mock Zhong Haoran for placing too much importance on the strength of a foreign object in order to raise the grade of the pills. He did not expect that Zhong Haoran would not be angry at all. Instead, he went along with Chen Yan’s words.
“That’s right. Then, if you say someone like him who isn’t very strong and has a tattered little black cauldron, wouldn’t he be hopeless?”
Zhong Haoran’s words were just short of naming names. Anyone with ears would know who he was talking about. After all, Lin Bai’s cauldron was just too dazzling.
Chen Yan suddenly glared at Zhong Haoran. Their gazes rubbed in mid-air, causing sparks to fly. Instantly, a faintly discernible smell of gunpowder wafted out.
At this moment, Lin Bai’s steps were correct, and his movements were fluid. It seemed like there was no problem, but the crowd was still not optimistic.
Zhang Chengfan’s cauldron was made of green-patterned bronze. It was a rare material that could not be bought even if one had money. It was said that the cauldron made of this material could greatly protect the medicinal ingredients and prevent the loss of medicinal effects of the herbs during refinment.
The small cauldron was flickering with a faint light, making it look extraordinary. In comparison, Lin Bai’s small black cauldron was far inferior.
The visual effects weren’t very good. In addition, the previous surprise was so great that everyone thought it would be a miracle if Lin Bai could refine pills.
However, a miracle happened. Everyone had been waiting for something to happen to Lin Bai, but in the end, everything was fine.
“Both of you have refined an antidote pill. This round is a draw.”
Everyone was a little surprised. They hadn’t expected Lin Bai to be able to refine an antidote pill this time.
“It seems that the antidote pill isn’t a particularly difficult pill. He might have been lucky to be able to refine it, but he won’t be so lucky in the next round.”
“He’s already lost one round, and this round is a draw. There’s no suspense at all as to whether he’ll win or lose. Could he really refine a grade-5 pill?”
The first two questions that Lin Bai had drawn weren’t particularly difficult. The most important question was the last one, concoct a grade-5 pill. Even if he won this round, it would only be a draw with Zhang Chengfan.
However, if Zhang Chengfan won, it would mean that Lin Bai would be utterly defeated. No matter what, it seemed that the situation would be extremely disadvantageous to him.
Thinking up to this point, Chen Yan’s face, which was finally filled with joy when he saw Lin Bai concoct the antidote pill, fell once again.
A grade five heart cleansing pill could break through miasma, illusions, and had the effect of calming the mind. It was even more effective against illusionary attacks. Although it was a grade five pill, it was extremely difficult to refine. It was almost comparable to a grade six pill.
This was because one needed to mix many kinds of medicinal ingredients together. The key was that these medicinal ingredients were extremely precious and easily damaged. The slightest carelessness or excessive heat would cause these medicinal ingredients to rapidly age, causing the medicinal effects to be lost and the refinement to fail.
Moreover, there were quite a few medicinal ingredients that had completely conflicting medicinal properties within these medicinal ingredients. One could imagine how difficult it would be to combine all of these medicinal ingredients together. One could imagine how difficult it would skills an alchemist needed to control the level of heat.
At this moment, Lin Bai and Zhang Chengfan had already thrown the medicinal ingredients into the cauldron. Zhang Chengfan’s palm emitted a ball of faint green flame. The center of the flame was shaped like a vortex, like an eye that followed the beating of the flame, he stared coldly at everyone.
Everyone felt a tremendous pressure. They felt as if the flame had come alive, giving off an extremely strange feeling. After looking at it for a long time, they actually felt dizzy, as if countless eyes were staring at them.
“This is the Eye of The Netherworld, ranked 15th on the mystical fire rankings!”
Someone recognized this ball of flame and instantly revealed an extremely astonished expression. Just by hearing this name, one could already tell how powerful it was, not to mention that it was ranked 15th.
“I’ve always heard that Zhang Chengfan has a mystical fire, but I didn’t expect it to be ranked 15th. I heard that this Eye of The Netherworld is extremely mysterious, and ordinary people are unable to see it. However, I’m fortunate enough to be able to see its true appearance today.”
“Senior brother Zhang has hidden it so well. If it wasn’t for this compet.i.tion, I wouldn’t have known that he had the ability to subdue a mystical fire.”
“I don’t even think there’s a need for a compet.i.tion. The outcome has already been decided. What’s the point of a compet.i.tion?”
Chen Yan’s eyes widened. No wonder Zhong Haoran was so confident and even added a condition. It turned out that Zhang Chengfan had such a big weapon in his hands.