Chapter 812: Purple Lightning Phenomenon, Pill Upgrade

Time moved forward.

“Look, am I seeing things? Number One Ling Zhen has requested another blank jade slip!”

“Heavens, sixteen variations weren’t enough to satisfy Xu Xiaoshou’s appetite? While refining pills, he actually derived a seventeenth variation?”

“Xu Xiaoshou, oh my Xu Xiaoshou, I’m impressed. I should have bet on you earlier. You’re really something—someone to both love and hate!”

“It’s unbelievable. How can such a person exist? From the reactions of the judges on the panel, including the former presidents, they seem shocked every time Xu Xiaoshou mentions an ingredient. That can only mean he’s likely correct every time.”

“Oh, my little Chu Chu, why aren’t you living up to expectations? You haven’t even refined the first variation yet.”

The audience in the outer stands gripped the railings, pointing and anxiously discussing.

Now, almost no one was ignoring Xu Xiaoshou.

Not for any other reason, but because on a competition field that was usually filled with silence and furnace explosions, he had successfully produced several bursts of pill-forming radiance.

Just this achievement alone crushed everyone else’s performance!

“What does this mean?”

The judges on the panel received a new slip of paper and couldn’t understand Xu Xiaoshou’s intentions anymore.

This new slip only listed three ingredients.

Yet, the elders sensed something groundbreaking. “What on earth is he trying to do? This old man has fragile bones and can’t take any more shocks…”

Dong Ling waved her hand wearily and said, “Approve it!”

In this round of the competition, she had shouted the word “approve” countless times, and it might even leave her with some aftereffects.

At least for now, she felt like she was starting to forget how to pronounce the word “approve.”

Number One Ling Zhen received the ingredients.

Xu Xiaoshou eagerly began refining the pills again.

Explosions were normal.

Pill refining explosions were already commonplace, especially for Xu Xiaoshou.

Such explosions on the competition field didn’t affect his mindset at all. This time, he personally verified the ingredient selection carefully before waving his hand to draw the Black Chicken and start refining.

“It has to succeed!”

Xu Xiaoshou prayed silently in his heart.

If the Small Thunder Pill didn’t succeed, he’d have to submit his previous pills for scoring.

Although that would still likely win him this round, failure would leave regrets and possibly prevent a perfect score.

“Refining an entirely new sixth-grade Grandmaster-level pill in less than a quarter of an hour.”

Xu Xiaoshou knew the challenges involved.

He increased the potency of the ingredients, which would undoubtedly improve the pill’s quality.

But the only relief was that he only added a few ingredients, so overall, the Small Thunder Pill’s refinement difficulty remained at the innate level.

His throne-level “Culinary Mastery” should be up to the task!

“Go for it, Xu Xiaoshou!” On one side, Xiao Wanfeng silently cheered him on in his heart.

From the initial panic caused by the audience’s comments, to now seeing Xu Xiaoshou successfully refine several batches, Xiao Wanfeng felt a sense of pride.

He felt like he was witnessing a miracle.

And as a pill-refining assistant, he was witnessing it up close.

Though during the normal competition, his only tasks were writing notes, greeting staff, and serving tea.

But in the history books later, there might be a mention of it, right?

On a certain year, month, and day, at the Dong Tian Wang Cheng Alchemy Conference, Xu Xiaoshou shone brilliantly, breaking historical records. His pill-refining assistant, Xiao Wanfeng, was extraordinarily elegant and handsome, with handwriting as fluid as dancing dragons and phoenixes, and his original works are now preserved in such-and-such a repository…

“Hehehe.” Xiao Wanfeng indulged in his fantasy and couldn’t help but chuckle.

“He’s still stubbornly trying to refine the Small Thunder Pill!”

On the judges’ panel, as soon as Xu Xiaoshou made a move, Lu Cheng Hui called out immediately.

He was the most focused on Number One Ling Zhen because Xu Xiaoshou had dealt him such a huge blow—it was absolutely not because of the “Chi Jin Liquid”…

Seeing Xu Xiaoshou persist with the Small Thunder Pill even after an explosion, wasting time on it, Lu Cheng Hui burst into laughter.

“How foolish!”

“Youth is still youth after all. In the end, he couldn’t see through this old man’s trap. The Small Thunder Pill, using the ingredients from the incomplete recipe, can never form a pill.”

“Because the final ingredient conflict is the fundamental issue, and no one can resolve it!”

Dong Ling silently glanced back at President Lu, then refocused on the movements in Number One Ling Zhen, pondered for a moment, and tentatively said, “What if…”

“There’s no what if!”

President Lu interrupted, like a tiger whose tail had been stepped on, jumping up and exclaiming, “You know as well as I do that the recipe is interconnected, with the trap hidden until the final step. Only then can you confirm that the initial main ingredient should be rejected outright. But if you reject it and don’t use the ingredients from the incomplete recipe, it’s a failure… You know all this! You know it all!”

Dong Ling held the latest slip of paper, silent for a while, then said, “He’s requesting the Return God Flower now.”

“The Return God Flower won’t help!” President Lu said fiercely.

“The hidden properties of Great Heavenly Heart Grass could solve the problem of extreme yang and ferocity…”

“That won’t work either!”

“The inherent yin nature of the Sunflower Seed could theoretically resolve and absorb the initial yin-cold trap you set…”

“Nonsense! That would make the Small Thunder Pill no longer seventh grade!”

“Maybe he’s aiming to surpass it…”

“A mere junior!” Lu Cheng Hui’s eyes widened in fury as he glared at President Dong Ling. “He’s just a junior. How old is he? Could he really improve the recipe and upgrade it to a higher grade?”

Shi Ti muttered behind them, “Chi Jin Liquid, oh Chi Jin Liquid, Chi Jin Liquid, oh Chi Jin Liquid…” turning it into a little tune.

“Ahhh—” President Lu was going mad and suddenly turned around. “You old fossil, shut up for this old man!”

“Oh.”

Shi Ti said “oh” and watched President Lu hopping mad, hesitated for a moment, then added, “Tolerance is a virtue; generosity is a form of self-cultivation…”

“Shut up!!!”

“Alright then.”

The final moments of the second round.

“No time left, we’re out of time.”

In the outer audience, someone was keeping track of the time and called out a reminder.

“Yes, the excitement on the field is basically over. Everyone has stopped, and we’re all just waiting for Xu Xiaoshou.”

“It seems Yu Chu Chu has switched to refining other pills. I remember she requested ingredients twice.”

“Yeah, Zhu Yan did too. As for Qiu Jiang Zhi, he didn’t change and ended up with an explosion. Now he’s burying his head in the waste from the pill furnace, regretting it. I wonder if it’s hot inside the furnace…”

“It must be hot—it’s at peak heat inside.”

“Pfft!”

The audience joked around playfully.

For them, the only stake in this alchemy competition was their bets, so while they were anxious, they still enjoyed the spectacle.

The more chaotic, the better—ideally as lively as a Tian Luo arena to get the blood pumping.

What a pity.

In the second round, the only thing that got the blood pumping was Xu Xiaoshou’s continuous feats.

“It looks like he’s reached the final step. I remember that’s where everyone exploded—Qiu Jiang Zhi started his furnace dive right after that step.”

“Yeah, yeah. I wonder if Xu Xiaoshou will fall here too. His last explosion was at this point.”

“Expecting a miracle!”

Inside the Ling Zhen, Xu Xiaoshou was fully focused.

His theory was sound; it was just the practice that needed to be seen.

After this attempt, there would be no time left.

This was his last all-in bet—whether the pill formed depended on how effective his “Culinary Mastery” was.

“Condense!”

The three newly requested main ingredients were added at the end, like the final touch on a painting.

Xu Xiaoshou used a condensation technique he hadn’t employed in a long time.

“Boom!”

In an instant, a massive explosion erupted from Number One Ling Zhen, louder than all the previous ones combined.

The elders on the judges’ panel jumped in fright.

Shi Ti thought to himself that Xu Xiaoshou’s condensation technique already had about eighty percent of the power from the Jin Zhao lineage.

The other former presidents stared at the smoke inside the Ling Zhen and burst into laughter.

“Hahaha, he failed after all!”

Lu Cheng Hui laughed the hardest. With the condensation exploding like that, louder than a furnace blast, how could it possibly form a pill?

“What’s the point!” He turned to Dong Ling, implying criticism of her earlier praise for Xu Xiaoshou’s bold ingredient choices.

“It seems… it’s not over yet?” Dong Ling stared intently.

Lu Cheng Hui felt awkward and had to look back at Number One Ling Zhen, where his pupils suddenly shrank.

“Sizzle, sizzle…”

Inside Number One Ling Zhen, faint purple lightning darted around, vanishing when it touched the Ling Zhen’s barrier.

“A Dao Rhythm phenomenon?”

The other ninety-nine competitors on the field were shocked.

A Dao Rhythm phenomenon during pill condensation only occurred when refining sixth-grade Grandmaster-level pills or higher, and only if an exceptional pill was formed.

Otherwise, when Xu Xiaoshou had refined innate-level pills with pill-forming radiance before, it wouldn’t have caused such a stir.

But now, even though it was just the innate seventh-grade Small Thunder Pill, for a Dao Rhythm phenomenon to appear was impossible—unless…

“Why?”

The competing alchemists and spectators were all stunned.

As experts, they hadn’t seen the pill-forming radiance this time, but they saw the purple lightning.

They might question the radiance, but there was no doubting a Dao Rhythm phenomenon!

When a Grandmaster touches the Dao, their first instinct tells them if the phenomenon is real.

“So, is this a sixth-grade Small Thunder Pill? Or seventh-grade, but mutated?”

Yu Chu Chu, being closest, saw it most clearly but was the most puzzled.

She clearly saw through the smoke that Xu Xiaoshou was laughing triumphantly, though his voice didn’t carry, his expression of hearty laughter was visible.

Then, as he pulled out a jade pill bottle, three pills flickering with purple electricity flew out from the furnace and into it.

“It really formed a sixth-grade pill!”

On the judges’ panel, Lu Cheng Hui gripped the table tightly, leaning forward in utter disbelief.

It wasn’t that refining a sixth-grade pill was shocking—they had suspected Xu Xiaoshou had that level of skill after the first round.

The issue was that the Small Thunder Pill was an innate seventh-grade pill, yet the phenomenon clearly indicated a sixth-grade Grandmaster-level pill.

This was inexplicable!

“He succeeded…” Shi Ti murmured.

Even without examining the pills, based on the high-quality ones Xu Xiaoshou had submitted from Number One Ling Zhen earlier, they knew the quality as long as condensation succeeded.

“This is impossible, it’s too absurd…” Lu Cheng Hui deflated and slumped back into his chair.

But the chair only caught the edge, and his backside slipped, landing him on the ground with a thud.

After a long while, the former president realized his embarrassment, patted his backside, stood up quickly, and shouted.

“Bring the pill!”

“Hurry and present the pill!”

The staff rushed forward to retrieve it.

Xu Xiaoshou smiled and handed over the pills, then shut down the Ling Zhen and stepped out.

“Time’s up.”

Dong Ling announced promptly, and the other ninety-nine Ling Zhens on the field shut down, allowing the competitors to exit.

“Xu Xiaoshou!”

Someone immediately rushed over. “Xu Xiaoshou, did you refine a seventh-grade Small Thunder Pill?”

Everyone crowded around, including Zhu Yan and Yu Chu Chu. Qiu Jiang Zhi even pulled his head out of the furnace, covered in ash, and looked on with hope.

He had always felt the Small Thunder Pill was achievable.

It was just that he got stuck at the final step.

This round, he had completely failed, and his score might end up similar to those who never even started.

“No.” Xu Xiaoshou smiled and denied it.

The competitors finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Some had suspected the Small Thunder Pill was a trap, and now, with Xu Xiaoshou’s confirmation, they felt vindicated.

Yu Chu Chu, Zhu Yan, and others were glad they hadn’t stubbornly pursued it, while Qiu Jiang Zhi’s face turned pale.

Xu Xiaoshou paused and added, “What I refined wasn’t seventh-grade, but sixth-grade Small Thunder Pill.”

The competitors: “???”

Everyone was dumbfounded.

“Xu, Xu Xiaoshou, are you joking?”

“Yeah, the Small Thunder Pill is a trap, it’s a seventh-grade pill—how could it be sixth-grade?”

“Impossible, this is impossible!”

Faced with the doubts, Xu Xiaoshou smiled and said, “Didn’t you all see the Dao Rhythm phenomenon? What else is there to question?”

That phenomenon wasn’t something he had faked, like the radiance.

It was a genuine Dao Rhythm phenomenon, one that only exceptional Grandmaster-level pills could produce.

From the moment the purple lightning appeared, Xu Xiaoshou knew his throne-level “Culinary Mastery” hadn’t been in vain.

The bold knowledge it provided, when applied correctly, could indeed be realized.

“It really is the Small Thunder Pill…”

Qiu Jiang Zhi’s eyes lit up with intensity as he lunged forward and grabbed Xu Xiaoshou’s hand. “Xu Xiaoshou, how did you make it work?”

Yu Chu Chu frowned. “Qiu Jiang Zhi, mind your manners. If what Xu Xiaoshou says is true, then he’s improved and upgraded the recipe. That’s priceless—how could he just tell you outright?”

Zhu Yan nodded in agreement.

It was an unwritten rule in the alchemy world.

You could ask for advice, but demanding a brand-new Grandmaster-level recipe was overstepping.

Xu Xiaoshou waved it off and said generously, facing all these prodigies, “It’s fine, it’s not some big secret. I just made a slight improvement. I’ll share it with you all as a way to make friends. Ha ha…”

Everyone was slightly moved.

Such generosity was rare in the world—perhaps only their own masters could match it.

“Thank you, Xu Xiaoshou!”

“Please go on, Xu Xiaoshou!”

“We’ll definitely compensate you afterward and guarantee not to spread it. I believe everyone here has that integrity,” Zhu Yan suggested.

“We’ll keep it confidential!” Yu Chu Chu’s eyes sparkled with eagerness, momentarily forgetting the bet as she transformed back into an eager student.

Alchemists are truly adorable… Xu Xiaoshou thought to himself.

This was the difference between alchemists and spirit refiners.

Groups like the Holy Slaves or Holy Divine Palace were all about fighting to the death.

But in this world, no matter how harsh reality was, there were always these adorable scholars focused on knowledge, unafraid to ask questions.

So, Xu Xiaoshou glanced around at the tens of thousands of spectators, then at the judges’ group still examining the sixth-grade Small Thunder Pill, and chuckled.

“Come on, come on, everyone sit cross-legged right here. While it’s still fresh, I’ll explain the biggest trap in this assessment…”

“Class is in session!”