Chapter 808: Golden List Nomination, Perfect Pill

“Ah, finally finished…”

On the competition stage, inside the Ling Zhen, Yu Chuchu completed her Lian Dan process.

Unexpectedly, after secretly learning Xu Shao’s Lian Dan techniques, her entire process went… surprisingly smoothly!

During the final step of condensing the Dan, Yu Chuchu encountered a small setback.

There was a conflict in the medicinal effects that she couldn’t resolve perfectly; she didn’t even fully understand the principle behind it. But she gritted her teeth and followed the timing Xu Shao used for adding the Ling Yao, and the problem was solved effortlessly.

“I don’t know the principle, but I know the answer, so this doesn’t affect me turning in a more perfect submission…” Yu Chuchu thought to herself, feeling a bit ashamed.

She felt that this time she had performed beyond her usual level.

But ultimately, this exceptional performance came from observing most of Xu Shao’s Lian Dan process.

And it wasn’t just her.

Many of the other contestants who refined later also gained sudden insights after watching the full process of Xu Shao’s “black chicken” Lian Dan technique.

They didn’t need to understand too many complex principles.

When they encountered problems they couldn’t solve, they just imitated the “black chicken” method of adding the Ling Yao, controlling the timing and throwing it into the Dan Ding…

More likely than not, it would work!

If it didn’t, it was probably because they got the timing wrong!

After everyone finished their Lian Dan, they kept their heads down, not daring to look around, all thinking they had gotten a little advantage and feeling a slight, reluctant gratitude toward Xu Shao.

It was like following a master in Lian Dan—act a bit spoiled, and the teacher would just give you the answer.

But after all, they were all young talents, and deep down, none of them wanted to admit that Xu Shao had Lian Dan abilities on par with their respective masters.

“Let’s go, to the Jin Bi Qu.”

The last group of contestants’ Lian Dan time had arrived.

Everyone left the Ling Zhen and headed toward the Jin Bi Qu.

To their surprise, they saw a large group of clean and tidy Lian Dan masters sitting on the ground in the Jin Bi Qu, regardless of the mess, all crowding around a figure in the middle.

And standing out in the center was none other than their mentor… wait, no, none other than Xu Shao!

Xu Shao was gesturing animatedly, speaking with great enthusiasm and spraying saliva everywhere, as if he were pointing to the mountains and rivers or giving a lecture. If someone didn’t know better, they’d think he was teaching a class.

Yet, all those young Lian Dan talents from the five domains were listening eagerly, their eyes full of admiration, leaning in with mouths agape, absorbing the knowledge sprayed with saliva without even realizing it.

“This?”

Yu Chuchu’s mind stalled for a moment. Was he really lecturing?

She lifted her foot and only stepped inside after confirming it was the Jin Bi Qu, not a school.

Once inside, the noisy sounds from outside didn’t fade.

Yu Chuchu immediately sensed something was off.

The Ling Zhen in this Jin Bi Qu seemed to have some issues?

But looking around, the guards were clearly outsiders to Lian Dan, yet they were all leaning on their swords, standing in place, not leaving their posts, though their minds were fully absorbed in Xu Shao’s explanation.

“What’s going on?”

The entire Jin Bi Qu was enveloped in an atmosphere like that of a school.

The Lian Dan masters who entered were either excited or downcast, but without exception, as soon as they stepped into this area, they were influenced by some inexplicable momentum.

Even unconsciously, they began to absorb the knowledge, their expressions turning to ones of astonishment.

Then they sat down, as if in reverence…

“How strange.”

Yu Chuchu tried hard to resist that inexplicable momentum.

She wasn’t just a Lian Dan master.

As the young lady of the Yu family, her Lian Ling skills were equally strong.

With her innate Ju Wu Jing cultivation, among this crowd of Yuan Ting novices, Yu Chuchu was at the top of the food chain.

But it was no use!

As soon as she relaxed her mind and heard Xu Shao’s explanation, Yu Chuchu involuntarily gave up resisting and immersed herself in the same “reverence” atmosphere as everyone else.

“Momentum?”

In the void, Rao Yao Yao glanced at the Jin Bi Qu and then withdrew her gaze.

Quite curiously, she sensed a special kind of momentum from Xu Shao, who was at the innate level, that could lead others’ emotions.

Generally speaking, without reaching the Wang Zuo level or severing the Dao, few people could use momentum.

But in this world, there were still many special cases where people unconsciously exuded momentum.

For example, erudite scholars in the mundane world explaining academics, or master craftsmen lecturing on their crafts…

People like that could unknowingly draw others in.

Because their explanations approached the true meaning of the “Dao,” giving listeners a sense of sudden enlightenment.

In the terms of the Lian Ling world, it was like “sudden enlightenment.”

But…

“Is this kid so young, and his Lian Dan skills at such a high level? He can actually lecture to so many geniuses from the five domains?” Rao Yao Yao was a bit curious.

What puzzled her most was that even some Wang Zuo guards were influenced and listening unconsciously.

But the effect was minimal.

The Jin Bi Qu was really boring, so it was understandable if the guards let their minds wander.

If there was any danger, the Wang Zuo experts would immediately become alert and break free from this mental influence that wasn’t even worth calling an illusion.

It was harmless.

So Rao Yao Yao didn’t pay it much more attention.

In the arena…

“The first round of elimination is over!”

With Dong Ling Hui Zhang’s announcement from the judges’ seat, the scoring Jin Bang was updated again.

Countless people watched intently, and though it was unexpected, it made sense…

“First, Xu Dui Ye, 100 points.”

Xu Shao was first!

A perfect score!

The audience erupted in an instant.

“Really a perfect score?”

“I told you Xu Shao’s Dan Xia Guang wasn’t fake—this has to be a top-grade Dan Yao or higher!”

“But even if it’s top-grade, does the Ke Xuan Dan really spray Xia Guang after condensing?”

“Confusing, curious…”

Amid endless questions, everyone turned their eyes back to Xu Shao.

Xu Xiao Shou secretly adjusted the array patterns of the Jin Bi Qu’s Ling Zhen, comforted the listeners, and then stepped out, basking in the reverent gazes.

“Receiving attention, passive value, 9999.”

“Receiving admiration, passive value, 9999.”

Just from this scoring Jin Bang update, he gained tens of thousands of passive values.

The Lian Dan masters pouring out of the Jin Bi Qu looked at the top of the Jin Bang and realized something.

“Top-grade Dan Yao!”

Now, the geniuses from the five domains had complex expressions.

They had to admit that listening to “Teacher Xu” in the Jin Bi Qu was enlightening.

They believed that if they refined the Ke Xuan Dan again, everyone present could significantly improve their scores.

But that didn’t mean they weren’t sour about his perfect score or unconvinced by Xu Shao!

“How can someone refine a top-grade Dan Yao on their first try…”

Zhu Yan’s face was extremely complicated.

He respected Xu Shao’s strength, but couldn’t understand his achievements.

He was only a tenth-grade Lian Dan master, after all…

Thinking of the tenth-grade badge, Zhu Yan suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.

The results of the Lian Dan Da Hui could count toward Lian Dan master rank assessments.

In other words,

As soon as Xu Shao’s perfect score appeared, he was no longer just “Xu tenth-grade.”

At the very least, he had to be a seventh-grade Lian Dan master or higher!

“Jumping from tenth-grade straight to seventh-grade…”

Something that took many people years to achieve, this guy did in one go!

He’s only one step away from me… Zhu Yan looked at that figure waving to the surging crowd and felt he needed to work harder.

Sixth-grade and seventh-grade seemed like a big gap,

But on Xu Shao, it didn’t seem impossible to leap over.

“What rank is he, exactly?”

“Second, Yu Chuchu, 97 points.”

When Yu Chuchu, the young lady, came out and saw the scoring Jin Bang, her expression was a mix of emotions.

She was second.

Among the last group of contestants, besides her and Xu Shao, no one else broke the previous top score of 95 points.

But how she got this second place, Yu Chuchu knew all too well.

“Ah!”

After hesitating, she went to Xu Shao’s side, lightly touched his sleeve to pull him away from the audience’s attention, and then blushed, feeling awkward and not knowing how to speak.

Xu Xiao Shou turned and saw the girl acting this way, and he smiled: “You want to thank me? No need. Before the competition, I just reasoned through the exam logic of the eighteen Hui Zhangs. You overheard it by accident, so no thanks needed.”

As he said this, Yu Chuchu’s face turned even redder, feeling like she’d been given the answers and should be grateful, which made her even more embarrassed.

Just as the girl decided to say “thank you” no matter what,

Xu Shao spoke again:

“Remember the bet. You lost, so you have to come to Tian Shang Di Yi Lou to keep Wan Feng company and be a Lian Dan apprentice. Don’t forget!”

Yu Chuchu’s words stuck in her throat, like a fishbone, making her uncomfortable.

A young girl’s pride wouldn’t let her lower her face in such a setting.

“You just wait!”

So Yu Chuchu flung her sleeve in anger, left those words, grabbed Xiao Wan Feng, and went aside to continue their private talk.

Xu Xiao Shou watched the two whispering and shook his head with a sigh: “Youth is great, no worries…”

On the judges’ seat,

Dong Ling Hui Zhang and the others didn’t comment on each Lian Dan master’s work one by one.

The elimination round was meant to sift through the crowd.

There wasn’t enough time on site for detailed critiques.

But Xu Shao’s perfect submission really had to be addressed.

Faced with the audience’s eager questions, Dong Ling had to present Xu Shao’s results and give an effusive critique.

“Color perfect…”

“Effects perfect…”

“Quality perfect…”

Xu Xiao Shou barely listened to the critique.

The only things that really entered his ears were those repeated “perfects.”

He could sense that the old folks on the judges’ seat, who had opinions about his behavior, now showed no hostility after seeing his Ke Xuan Dan.

In fact, they looked at him like he was a treasure.

Xu Xiao Shou seriously suspected that if not for the occasion, these old bones would pounce on him and ask how he achieved the top-grade Dan Yao and the Dan Xia Guang.

“A bit scary…”

He avoided those greedy gazes and turned to wave and interact with his “little vaults” again.

“How can there be someone like this?”

The excitement in the arena was hard to contain, and Dong Ling, watching Xu Shao mingling with the audience, thought back to their first meeting.

He clearly seemed like a playboy.

But he had strength that didn’t match his appearance, whether in Lian Ling or Lian Dan…

“Contradictory!”

All Dong Ling saw in Xu Shao was the word “contradictory.”

At one point, she even felt dazed; a woman’s intuition told her that the face Xu Shao wore might not even be real, and all his playboy acts were just a facade.

But for what?

Dong Ling didn’t know.

So she dismissed such absurd thoughts.

Looking at the scene, Dong Ling raised her hand, and the whole place quieted down. She said loudly:

“The first round of elimination is over!”

“Now, congratulations to the top hundred on the scoring Jin Bang—you’ve all advanced to the second round.”

“After three rounds, scores will be cumulative, out of 300.”

“So, little ones who didn’t do well in the first round, don’t be disheartened. As long as you keep pushing in the next two rounds, you still have a chance at first place.”

As soon as she said this,

The remaining hundred contestants on the stage had their fighting spirit reignited, full of vigor.

Almost simultaneously, Xu Xiao Shou felt waves of hot-blooded, youthful gazes directed at him, as if they all wanted to use him as a stepping stone to raise their flags at the peak.

“Receiving challenges, passive value, 99.”

Xu Xiao Shou looked at the info bar and smiled.

Lian Dan masters were really cute!

These inexperienced kids, pumped up with motivation, immediately thought they could do it?

He pondered for a moment, facing the many gazes, and spoke loudly: “Keep going, you can do it! As long as you remember the essence of what I taught earlier, you’ll definitely make greater breakthroughs in Lian Dan!”

As he said this, Xu Xiao Shou pumped his fist to encourage everyone.

Hearing this, the crowd’s faces darkened in unison.

Damn…

This guy wasn’t taking them seriously at all, was he?

And the essence of the lecture…

Was he really seeing himself as the teacher?

“Receiving curses, passive value, 59.”

“Receiving glares, passive value, 33.”

Dong Ling’s mouth twitched involuntarily. To prevent Xu Shao from spouting more nonsense, she continued from where she left off:

“The second round of advancement is simple.”

“The eighteen Hui Zhangs have prepared a ‘Can Que Dan Fang’ for everyone. It’s up to you to figure out what Dan it is.”

“What you need to do is perfect the ‘Can Que Dan Fang,’ and then request any Ling Yao you need from the staff—three opportunities each, within one Shi Chen, restore the Dan Fang and complete the Lian Dan.”

“The scoring criteria are: higher Dan grade, higher quality, and less time used mean higher scores!”

As soon as she finished,

The audience buzzed with excitement.

Even as outsiders, they knew that in Lian Dan, let alone starting with a Can Que Dan Fang,

Even if you picked the wrong Ling Yao or timed it wrong, the results could differ greatly from expectations.

This second round advancement required restoring the Can Que Dan Fang and then completing the Lian Dan?

“One Shi Chen, is that enough?” Everyone doubted.

“And the rules for the Lian Dan Da Hui advancement weren’t this tough before. The old Hui Zhangs are really set on testing these hundred geniuses from each domain!”

“Oh no, my Xu Shao…”

“He’s only a tenth-grade Lian Dan master—how could he restore a Dan Fang? That’s something even Lian Dan masters find hard!”