Chapter 321: Alchemy Compet.i.tion
The first event of the Immortal Cultivation University Games was alchemy.
They began with the Qi Refinement group.
More than three thousand Immortal Cultivation Universities were already in operation. There were also close to a thousand under construction or had already been built but had yet to start enrolling.
One could imagine how many people would partic.i.p.ate in the sports meet.
It would definitely take more than two to three months.
The sports meet was held in a hurry, so there was no time to set up. Therefore, there were no tall and magnificent buildings, just a venue and a barrier, very simple.
Because there were many people competing, the compet.i.tion venue was very large.
After the opening ceremony ended, the staff quickly began to prepare for the upcoming alchemy compet.i.tion.
After more than an hour of preparation, the field was filled with furnaces. There were a total of a thousand of them.
Apart from the furnace, there was also some equipment and materials needed for pill refinement.
The first compet.i.tion was for those in the Qi Refinement realm.
The alchemy compet.i.tion was divided into elimination rounds and point-based rounds.
There were about five thousand partic.i.p.ants.
Since there were only a thousand furnaces, not all partic.i.p.ants could compete at the same time. They had to be divided into six batches.
The rules of the compet.i.tion were very simple.
The partic.i.p.ants were to refine a Qi Gathering Pill within half an hour.
The judging panel would award points according to the quant.i.ty, l.u.s.ter, and medicinal efficacy of the Qi Gathering Pill.
The partic.i.p.ants would compete in three matches, and their ranking would be based on their total score.
Partic.i.p.ants ranked below one thousand would be eliminated, and the rest would enter the point-based compet.i.tion.
The point-based rounds would be even more intense and more difficult than the elimination rounds.
The judging panel would provide formulas for ten types of spirit pills.
These formulas were all things that the compet.i.tors had never refined before.
After all, all of the partic.i.p.ants were students of the university. As long as it was a spirit pill that wasn’t found in the alchemy textbooks, they naturally wouldn’t know how to refine it.
Although they had never come into contact with them before, every formula had detailed refinement steps.
However, refining pills wasn’t something that could be done with a step-by-step process unless one had extraordinary talent or was very lucky.
The most important thing in refining pills was the control of fire. It was the same principle as stir-frying vegetables. If one could control the fire to cook, then the taste and fragrance of the stir-fried vegetables would definitely be better.
Presently, partic.i.p.ants were arriving one after another, moving in front of their respective furnaces.
Before the compet.i.tion began, they could familiarize themselves with the furnace. If they find any problems with the furnaces or materials, they change it.
The judges for this compet.i.tion were sect elders of the Alchemy Peak.
The chief judge was Alchemy Peak Master Lu Guihua.
After more than an hour of waiting, all the partic.i.p.ants were ready.
The compet.i.tion was only half an hour-long, and for alchemy, it was extremely tight.
However, those who were qualified to partic.i.p.ate in alchemy were not weak among their peers. They were all outstanding.
They could definitely produce the Qi Gathering Pill, so it wouldn’t be a big problem.
But to get a high score, they would have to put in some effort.
After all, there was only half an hour’s time. It required a lot of output, a nice appearance, and good medicinal effects.
This was not a simple matter.
Accompanied by the sound of gongs and drums, the alchemy compet.i.tion began. The atmosphere of the entire arena instantly became especially lively.
The alchemy compet.i.tion was unique, requiring a relatively quiet environment.
If it was too noisy, it would affect the partic.i.p.ants’ performance.
Thus, the entire venue was enveloped by a ma.s.sive barrier.
This barrier could block sound from the outside world.
In the audience, there were no empty seats. There were cheerleaders from various cultivation universities beating gongs and drums to cheer on their respective partic.i.p.ants.
Although they couldn’t hear them, the presence had to be there.
This Immortal Cultivation University Sports Meet attracted the attention of the entire world.
This was the grandest compet.i.tion since the reconstruction of the world. All the media outlets were fighting to report on it, and the compet.i.tion process was also broadcast live.
Half an hour pa.s.sed quickly.
“Time’s up. All partic.i.p.ants, please stop what you’re doing. Please stop refining pills.
“If you break the rules, your results will be canceled.”
Following the referee’s voice, the first round of the alchemy compet.i.tion ended.
In the arena, the partic.i.p.ants wore different expressions. Some looked dejected, some seemed filled with confidence, and some appeared helpless expressions.
The staff took away the jade bottles containing Qi Gathering Pills Pills in front of the partic.i.p.ants.
Soon, the next batch of partic.i.p.ants arrived.
Just like before, they walked for an hour to familiarize themselves with their furnaces and other equipment.
During this period of time, the judges began to examine the first batch of Qi Gathering Pills and provided the corresponding results.
By the time the second batch of partic.i.p.ants began refining pills, the results of the first batch of partic.i.p.ants were already out.
In order not to affect their performance in the next two rounds, their results will not be announced for the time being.
The partic.i.p.ants themselves already had a rough gauge of their results after the round.
Not long after, the second batch of partic.i.p.ants finished.
Like the first batch of partic.i.p.ants, some were happy while others were depressed.
Following that, the third and fourth batches… went on stage one after another.
During the process of refining pills, there were situations where the furnace exploded, the fire went out of control, contestants forfeited, and so on.
Time slowly pa.s.sed.
Two days later, the alchemy group’s pill refining compet.i.tion ended smoothly.
A huge light screen appeared in the sky above the arena.
The names of the contestants who entered the point-based compet.i.tion were displayed on the screen.
The first name was Xiao Huo, with the highest total score.
He scored full marks for all three rounds.
If nothing unexpected happened, then he would be the pill refinement champion of the alchemy group.
Even if he did not win the champions.h.i.+p, given his performance in the elimination rounds, he would still be the focus of attention.
It was said that the Alchemy Peak Master had already spoken to him.
…
In the arena.
The partic.i.p.ants focused their attention to see if their names were on the screen.
“I’m in! Hahaha!”
“I’m in! Hahaha!”
“503, I’m in too! Hahaha!”
…
All of the partic.i.p.ants who had found their names were beaming with excitement.
Those who did not find their names were naturally in low spirits.
It was a compet.i.tion, so some were happy while others were sad.
“All partic.i.p.ants who have entered the points-based compet.i.tion, please gather at the light marker.”
“All partic.i.p.ants who have entered the points-based compet.i.tion, please gather at the light marker!”
“All partic.i.p.ants who have entered the points-based compet.i.tion, please gather at the light marker!”
The head referee stood in the air and shouted.
After everyone had gathered, the staff came over to confirm their ident.i.ties to prevent anyone from sneaking in.
Whether it was an exam or a compet.i.tion, there would always be cases of cheating.
“Head Referee, the ident.i.ties of these partic.i.p.ants have been confirmed,” the staff reported.
The head referee nodded and said, “All contestants, congratulations on successfully pa.s.sing the elimination round. You will enter the next stage of the compet.i.tion, which is also the points-based compet.i.tion.
“I’m sure all of you know the rules of the points-based compet.i.tion, but I’ll still repeat it. ”
“In this round, the formulas for ten different spirit pills will be provided. They will all be ones you’ve never studied about before.
“There are detailed pill refinement steps on the formulas. The difficulty level of each spirit pill is different. Some are difficult, while others are simple.
“We do not specify that you are to produce all ten kinds of pills.
“The judges’ scores will mainly be based on the number of spirit pills. As long as it isn’t a useless pill, no matter how good the quality of your spirit pills is or how good the medicinal effects are, the scores will still be the same.
“Therefore, the quant.i.ty of spirit pills is crucial.
“The refinement time will be longer for the more difficult pills.
“And the opposite is the case for the simple pills.
“However, more points will be awarded for the more difficult pills and fewer points for the simple pills.
“It’s up to you to decide what to do. I’m sure you’ve all laid out your tactics.
“You have three hours during this compet.i.tion. You can withdraw during this period, but I hope that all of you can complete the compet.i.tion.”