When the time limit arrived, there were still seven or eight contestants who hadn’t managed to form their pills, but no one cared about them anymore. All eyes were glued to the ones who had succeeded.
The Presiding Elder cleared his throat, his voice carrying across the entire venue:
“Esteemed seniors of the Judges’ Seat, please move to the arena to appraise the pills and determine the rankings.”
‘Here it comes. It’s here after all.’
Lai Li’an sat upright in his chair, his face perfectly composed, but inside he was already cursing up a storm.
‘Fly again? Can’t they just let me walk normally?’
The Judges’ Seat was at least several hundred feet above the arena. If he took the stairs down from the side, by the time he got there, it would be too late.
Just as he was racking his brain for an excuse, a cool, clear fragrance suddenly drifted from beside him. Ruan Qin had already walked up to his side without him noticing.
“At a time like this, are you still planning to walk?”
Her voice was lowered so that only the two of them could hear.
Lai Li’an’s mouth twitched. ‘Baby’s heart is bitter, but baby won’t say.’
Ruan Qin looked at his frozen expression and suddenly sighed softly.
“Forget it. My little sister already told me. I know you have a hidden illness. How about this: hold on to my shoulder, and I’ll fly you down.”
‘Hidden illness? I’m very healthy! My body is in great shape!’
But he opened his mouth and swallowed the words back. In this situation, admitting to a hidden illness was better than admitting he couldn’t fly.
He paused for a moment, then silently placed his hand on Ruan Qin’s shoulder.
The moment his fingertips touched, Ruan Qin’s warm body heat came through the thin fabric. A faint trace of fragrance drifted from her collar, clear and not sweet.
Ruan Qin turned her head to glance at him, said nothing, and casually formed a magical seal.
A gentle surge of spiritual power flowed from her palm, gently lifting them both, and together with several other judges who had already taken flight, they slowly descended toward the arena.
This action wasn’t that big, but the people on the Judges’ Seat were all old monsters with at least a Golden Core foundation. Each one was sharp-eyed and keen-eared.
Pei Changjing was the first to notice this scene. He raised an eyebrow, and a hint of amusement flickered in his sleepy phoenix eyes.
Yin Zheng also glanced over, his gaze lingering for a moment on Lai Li’an’s hand on Ruan Qin’s shoulder before he casually looked away.
No one said anything, but everyone started wondering to themselves. What kind of person was Ruan Qin? Anyone who had been in the Dan Sect knew that she was someone who wouldn’t even spare face for the Grand Supreme Elder.
Yet now she was letting a rogue cultivator she had known for only two days hold onto her shoulder. If this got out, no one would believe it.
Lai Li’an took in all these glances, his expression unchanging, but inside he was wailing:
‘It’s over, it’s over. I’ve lost face now. Everyone knows I have a hidden illness.’
But come to think of it, the flight was quite steady. Ruan Qin’s spiritual power control was indeed pure. It was far better than the shaky feeling he had when he rode Su Wan’er’s flying sword before.
After landing, the judges began to walk past each contestant’s stone platform in turn.
The first twenty or so had mostly fourth-rank pills, with varying quality. Yin Zheng commented on each one in a gentle tone, every word hitting the mark.
A few young alchemists were so nervous they didn’t dare breathe heavily. Being praised with “the quality is acceptable” was like a pardon.
Pei Changjing was much more easygoing. He went along yawning and casually patting contestants’ shoulders, saying, “Not bad, not bad. Keep it up next time.”
Though no one knew if it was genuine or just a courtesy.
After covering most of the circle, the judges slowed down in unison. They deliberately left the two fifth-rank pills and Ruan Se’s sixth-rank pill for last.
First, they came to Meng Qiuran. Yin Zheng took out Meng Qiuran’s Blazing Sun Snowmelt Pill from the jade bottle, holding it in his palm for a close look.
The pill was completely crimson, with five distinct pill patterns, shimmering with a warm luster under the sunlight.
“Qiuran,” Yin Zheng looked up, his tone carrying a hint of gratification.
“Mid-fifth-rank, excellent quality. The transition between civil and martial flames was clean and seamless. This Blazing Sun Snowmelt Pill is already far better than what disciples of the same cultivation level in our sect can produce.”
Pei Changjing also leaned in for a look.
“Disciple Meng has indeed worked hard this time. The Blazing Sun Herb and Ice Marrow Jade are two materials with completely opposite properties, yet you managed to refine them in the same furnace using alternating civil and martial flames to this degree. Even I might not have been able to do that back then.”
Meng Qiuran scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly.
“Senior Uncle, you flatter me. I just went into seclusion for three months and nearly refined myself to death in the alchemy room. However…”
He shifted his tone, suddenly raised his head, and looked directly at Lai Li’an standing behind.
“This disciple has one more presumptuous request: I would like to ask Senior Lai to offer some comments as well.”
With these words, the atmosphere on the scene changed instantly.
‘Wait, how am I involved in this?’
Lai Li’an was screaming internally, but his face remained calm as he nodded slightly.
The surrounding judges’ eyes also turned to him in unison. He had no choice but to step forward, take the pill from Yin Zheng, and pretend to examine it.
As soon as Meng Qiuran made this request, the viewing stands erupted.
“Who’s that masked one? I thought he was just here to fill space.”
“No idea, but Meng Qiuran is the top seed of the Dan Sect Branch. For him to call out a stranger for comments… what’s this person’s background?”
“Could be some reclusive senior. Look at his bearing—it’s different from everyone else.”
The whispers from the stands surged like a tide, but Lai Li’an completely ignored them.
His eyes fell on the Blazing Sun Snowmelt Pill in his palm. The problem was, what could he comment on? He didn’t even understand the process for refining a fifth-rank pill. Asking him to comment was literally killing him.
Fortunately, with a single thought, the relevant records about the Blazing Sun Snowmelt Pill from the Eternal Alchemy Divine Scripture automatically surfaced in his mind.
“This pill…”
He began slowly, quickly evaluating based on the scripture’s contents.
“The heat control for the Blazing Sun Herb is acceptable, but during the transition between civil and martial flames, the shift was slightly off to the left. It should be because the Ice Marrow Jade was at a slightly lower temperature when it entered the furnace.”
At this point, a thought flashed through his mind. The scripture mentioned a more refined method, and he subconsciously blurted it out.
“If you could first warm the Ice Marrow Jade with spiritual power for a while, putting its medicinal properties into a critical state of ‘almost melted but not yet,’ and then fuse it with the Blazing Sun Herb essence, it would not only avoid the loss of medicinal power caused by the clash of hot and cold, but also cause the two properties to stimulate stronger effects through their collision. In this way, the quality of this Blazing Sun Snowmelt Pill could be improved by at least ten percent.”
He stopped after saying this, feeling that this comment was enough to fulfill his duty.
However, the surroundings suddenly fell silent—a silence that felt wrong.
Lai Li’an raised his head and realized that everyone was looking at him.