Chapter 809: Only Thirteen Possible Ways to Form a Pill Beyond the Limit?

All one hundred contestants on the field fell silent. Each of them had a solemn expression, as if facing a formidable enemy.

Restoring a pill formula. This was something even Throne-level cultivators, let alone Grandmaster Alchemists, could not easily accomplish. Among the contestants present, the highest level was Grandmaster Alchemist, with most still at the Innate level. How could they restore a pill formula, a feat only achievable by experienced veteran alchemists?

"The judges probably aren't testing us on 'restoring lost pill formulas' in the traditional sense," Zhu Yan thought to himself. "Instead, they've likely blurred one or two details of a standard pill formula, expecting us to complete it..." He believed it was impossible for the judges to present an ancient, incomplete pill formula for which they themselves didn't know the answer, and then use it to test inexperienced Innate-level cultivators. What they intended to test was, firstly, knowledge reserves; secondly, innovation; and thirdly, the "courage to act" ability.

"The higher the pill's grade, the higher its quality, and the less time used..." Zhu Yan pondered these assessment criteria and seemed to grasp something. He guessed that the incomplete pill formula presented by the judges wouldn't be of a high grade, perhaps even lower than the "Thirsting Xuan Pill." Only then could everyone achieve a simple "restoration."

"Restoring a pill formula, huh?" Xu Xiaoshou on the field also pondered. "Culinary Mastery" had given him a strong foundation, but lacking innovative ability, Xu Xiaoshou wasn't sure if he possessed the skill to restore a pill formula. In other words, if he were to follow standard alchemy techniques to perform every operation on a regular pill formula, he could do so with ease. However, creating a new pill was far from as simple as just blending various spirit herbs to achieve a result. Restoring a pill formula largely tested one's "creation" level.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Despite this, Xu Xiaoshou wasn't overly concerned. President Dongling's assessment material shouldn't be too advanced or too difficult. And if he couldn't even handle something of normal assessment difficulty, then perhaps 80 to 90 percent of the people present would also be left lamenting their inadequacy.

At the judges' stand.

"Tsk tsk, these little brats probably think we'll only present some low-grade rubbish for show?" an old president chuckled maliciously. "This pill formula is truly 'incomplete'!" another remarked. "There are thirteen possibilities for the final pill, ranging from Grade 10 to Grade 6. I wonder how many of these young ones can figure it out."

"In my opinion, it would be impressive if someone could restore the Grade 8 'Rejuvenating Sun Pill'," an old man commented.

"A Grade 6 Grandmaster might have encountered the Grade 6 'Yang Thunder Pill', but they certainly won't know how to refine it. So, deducing the Grade 7 'Minor Thunder Pill' should be within their grasp."

"But if they do that, then... hehehe!" As the presidents discussed this, they exchanged knowing smiles.

The incomplete pill formula had a trap. Once someone deduced the Grade 7 "Minor Thunder Pill" and reached the final step, they would inevitably discover a fatal medicinal conflict with the original formula, forcing them to abandon it. By then, they would have very little time left.

"This time, we're not only testing their innovative ability but also seeing which of these youngsters is more level-headed."

"Someone who is blindly overambitious might find even a Grade 6 Grandmaster Alchemist failing this round."

"I suspect that if someone manages to restore a Grade 7 pill this time, they'll likely secure victory in the second round."

"Indeed! But it's more likely we'll be evaluating a large number of Grade 8 and 9 pills."

"How uninteresting, truly uninteresting, hahaha..." The old foxes claimed it was uninteresting, yet each one smirked more lewdly than the last.

The focus of this round's assessment wasn't on any single aspect like high grade, high quality, or short time taken, but rather a combination of all three. If someone could confidently identify and deduce a correct Grade 8 pill formula, then as long as they succeeded, took relatively little time, and the pill quality was acceptable, their score would likely be much higher than someone who painstakingly worked on a Grade 7 pill but used up all their time to complete it.

Amidst the discussions, Dongling stood up and gestured. Ignoring the hushed, sinister talks among the presidents, he announced loudly, "The promotion round begins! Contestants, enter your arrays and take your positions, awaiting the staff to distribute the jade slip formulas."

The young people on the field moved, each with their own varied feelings, and entered the spirit arrays. This round only had one hundred contestants competing together. The venue was large enough, so there was no need for rotation like in the first round. Xu Xiaoshou, accompanied by Xiao Wanfeng, followed the other contestants into the arrays. By this point, no one paid attention to Xiao Wanfeng's presence. Everyone knew that this young man was "truly" just Young Master Xu's "tea-server." He served no other purpose! Though called an alchemy assistant, he was useless for any alchemy task beyond serving tea. He was just a mere formality, his existence seemingly pointless.

"Go, Young Master Xu!"

"You Chuchu, charge!"

"Zhu Yan, I'm rooting for you, rise up in the second round!"

A large group of people in the audience cheered for their respective favored contestants. The reason was simple. The Alchemy Competition was upright, unlike the chaotic Skynet War, so betting was strictly prohibited at the competition venue. However, some individuals always took great risks by secretly running small, unauthorized betting pools. The spectating alchemists, hoping to earn a little extra cash, naturally cheered louder than each other.

Inside the spirit arrays. All one hundred contestants were in position. Staff began distributing jade slips, fourteen for each person. Upon receiving such a large number of jade slips, the alchemists looked up at the judges' stand in astonishment, awaiting an explanation.

Dongling stood up and said with a smile: "The first jade slip the staff gave you is the incomplete pill formula. As for the rest... here's a hint: this incomplete pill formula has thirteen possible derivations. All contestants, please manage your time well and do not delay."

Thirteen types? So many? The alchemists on the field were dumbfounded. An incomplete formula having thirteen possibilities for a finished pill? This meant there couldn't possibly be any special primary or auxiliary ingredients in the formula that could immediately determine the direction of the pill's formation!

"As difficult as ascending to the heavens..." At this moment, even Grade 6 Grandmaster Alchemists like You Chuchu and Zhu Yan couldn't help but swallow.

As expected, a quick scan of the jade slip with their spiritual sense revealed they could only see one primary ingredient and seventy-two auxiliary ingredients on the incomplete pill formula.

"Are they crazy?!" Immediately, an alchemist's face darkened. The formula listed one primary ingredient: "Boundless Grass." This was a spirit herb with no elemental attribute, and it was a primary ingredient in too many pills, making it impossible to determine the type of formula. As for the seventy-two auxiliary ingredients, ninety-nine percent were commonly seen, without many distinct features, making it impossible to deduce the general direction of the pill's formation. Everyone present was a strong young talent from the five domains' alchemy world. However, after reviewing this formula, the only conclusion they could draw was that among the auxiliary ingredients, fire-attributed spirit herbs predominated, numbering a full thirty-three. Presumably, the direction of the pill's formation was a fire-attributed pill...

But this direction was far too vague! In the alchemy world, low-grade fire-attributed pills, if not thousands upon thousands, then at least tens of thousands, must exist, right? Among this massive number, to find just thirteen possibilities for a correct pill? Like finding a needle in a haystack!

"Judges, are you joking?" Almost simultaneously, snapping out of their thoughts about the jade slip formula, the contestants on the field all looked towards the judges' stand again. What met their eyes were only the eighteen old foxes' eerie, inscrutable smiles. And then, President Dongling gestured: "Time starts now!"

A stampede of "grass-mud horses" (a humorous, polite expletive) instantly galloped through the contestants' minds. They weren't joking... This was truly messed up! Time was pressing, so they immediately lowered their heads and began the first step of analysis, a task that might lead to sudden death.

"Um..." Just then, a flash of light appeared at Spirit Array #1, indicating that the array had been deactivated. Dongling's mouth twitched, his face darkened, and he quickly looked at the array token in his hand. It hadn't been touched! Yes, the array token hadn't been moved by anyone; it had been held in his palm the entire time. So, Young Master Xu really did deactivate his own spirit array...

"What do you intend to do?" Dongling asked, suppressing his anger. How did this guy even do that? Was his spirit array mastery also very high? Shouldn't he be at the spirit array competition next door then? What was he doing here?

You Chuchu, being the closest, noticed the commotion immediately and swiftly turned her gaze. Young Master Xu was causing trouble again? In the previous round, she had used the alchemy process of that "black chicken" (Xu Xiaoshou) as experience and secured a good score of "97 points," placing second. So, even if You Chuchu didn't want to look for ethical reasons, she couldn't help but pay attention to the movements at Spirit Array #1.

Alchemists further away didn't notice. But the contestants in the first dozen or so spirit arrays all simultaneously turned their attention to him. After all, this was someone who could teach in the sealed zone. Perhaps he had found a blind spot?

Xu Xiaoshou chuckled, pointing at the thirteen jade slips laid out on the table brought by Xiao Wanfeng, and asked, "Presidents, I have a question. Do all thirteen of these jade slips need to be fully inscribed and then submitted?"

Dongling was taken aback, then his lips curled, almost unable to hold back a laugh.

"Pfft!" The other presidents at the judges' stand couldn't hold back and simultaneously burst into laughter.

Lu Chenghui, with wide old eyes, laughed so hard he leaned back. After finally composing himself, he slapped his thigh and said, "If you possess that ability, then certainly, you can engrave all of them and submit them to us."

"Yes, if you truly can, you may engrave all thirteen successful possibilities," another president chimed in. "We are willing to give you this opportunity to win the championship."

The rest, for the most part, couldn't help but start mocking him. "Hahahaha, engrave thirteen results? You'll make everyone laugh their teeth out!"

"Ignorant child, do you know that even restoring just one possibility of a pill formula could take you the entire duration of the competition?"

"Engraving all of them? How arrogant this kid is!"

Lu Chenghui wiped away tears, then suddenly realized something and looked at President Dongling: "President, what this kid said is actually quite valid. It seems we forgot to announce a rule."

Dongling took a deep breath, strongly wanting to stop these old men from having their fun. But he ultimately sighed, gripped the array token, and deactivated everyone's spirit arrays.

The contestants in the first dozen or so spirit arrays, including You Chuchu, who couldn't hear the conversation between Young Master Xu and the judges' stand, were wondering what had happened to make the old presidents laugh to tears. Suddenly, all the spirit arrays on the field were deactivated, and everyone looked up simultaneously.

Dongling announced, "I forgot to tell everyone. Thanks to Young Master Xu's reminder, we are now adding another scoring rule: one of the criteria for a perfect score in the second round is to correctly engrave all thirteen jade slips."

Perfect score rule! This crucial rule was only announced now. This could only mean that from beginning to end, not a single president believed anyone could perfectly deduce all thirteen possible outcomes of the incomplete pill formula within an hour.

"Was he just confirming the perfect score rule?" You Chuchu wondered, turning her head to look at Young Master Xu. The latter, served by Xiao Wanfeng, was still leisurely sipping tea, nodding approvingly at the new rule. Noticing her gaze, he didn't forget to raise an eyebrow, as if remembering their bet. Annoyed, You Chuchu angrily turned her face away, shifting her gaze.

"What was that all about?" After the other alchemists looked up and heard about this ridiculous rule, they immediately cursed and resumed their work. How insane must one be to think they could perfectly deduce all thirteen possible pill outcomes? That Young Master Xu must be an idiot! Wasting so much time just to ask such an impractical question? With that time, it would be better to quickly immerse oneself in the analysis; who knows, with a flash of inspiration, you might already discover the first possibility...

The audience outside, having witnessed the entire process, burst into laughter.

"Strong!"

"For this, I declare Young Master Xu the strongest!"

"Yes, martial artists must have this determination to defy fate! Even if I can't deduce all thirteen possibilities for a pill, if you vaguely throw thirteen jade slips at me without explaining the rules, that's an insult! I want a clear explanation!"

"Go, Young Master Xu! I love your spirit of asking until you get to the bottom of things... Go, You Chuchu, I bet on you."

"Pfft, you guys are disgusting! How can you be so sarcastic towards Young Master Xu? That's confidence! Who knows, maybe he really will engrave all thirteen jade slips for you by then!"

"Yeah, yeah, Young Master Xu is awesome. Engraving thirteen wrong jade slips and submitting them to get a perfect score, right?"

"Hahaha..."

The people outside were roaring with laughter. A surging wave of human voices erupted, creating an earth-shattering din.

"The competition continues." Dongling quickly gripped the array token, reactivating all the spirit arrays on the field to prevent the noise from affecting the contestants' performance.

"Young Master Xu..." Inside Spirit Array #1, Xiao Wanfeng, facing the clamor of insults, also felt that Young Master Xu was bringing this humiliation upon himself. As for why their spirit arrays always failed to block the audience's mockery... Xiao Wanfeng had wanted to ask about this during the first round, but being a smart person, he chose to remain silent.

Xu Xiaoshou remained cheerful and said nothing more. Like the other contestants, he took one look at the incomplete pill formula and generally understood it. The difference was that, according to the rough pill formation results he immediately deduced using "Culinary Mastery," the number of possible answers from the permutations and combinations of the spirit herbs used in this incomplete formula seemed to be more than just thirteen. That was why Xu Xiaoshou had asked his probing question earlier.

"But why were only thirteen jade slips given, and not sixteen?"

"Did they give too few?"

Squinting, Xu Xiaoshou stared at the thirteen blank jade slips on the table. After a while, he began to understand; it might not be that the judges gave too few jade slips. Instead, it was likely that with their level of knowledge, they could only piece together a maximum of thirteen pill combinations using the spirit herbs on the incomplete formula.

But was that truly the limit?