Chapter 927 - 149: Sensationalism or Genuine Talent?
Chapter 927: Chapter 149: Sensationalism or Genuine Talent?
At the forefront of the alchemy competition venue, several chairs were arranged, and several elderly men sat silently on the high platform.
Lin Chen did not recognize these elders, but the martial artists who came to watch the competition identified them and had a look of excitement in their eyes.
"The Pavilion Master of the Pill Pavilion of the Thousand Mechanism Sect, the President of the Alchemy Guild, and two Alchemy Grandmasters... these figures have never appeared in past alchemy competitions."
"Nonsense, can past alchemy competitions compare to this one? This time, it can be said that all the alchemists in the entire Flame Dynasty who are eligible to participate have arrived."
"It’s not surprising for these four to appear. After all, this competition is considered the strongest in the last few decades, but why is the President of the Artifact Forger Guild here?"
There were five elders on the high platform, and many were puzzled as to why the City Lord of Thousand Hammers City, the current President of the Artifact Forger Guild, would also attend?
While forging and alchemy have commonalities, there are significant differences as well.
Most crucially, in the forging competition a few days ago, this President of the Artifact Forger Guild did not show up, yet he appears now for the alchemy competition, which many found hard to understand.
On the high platform, Pavilion Master Gu Yunfeng of the Pill Pavilion of the Thousand Mechanism Sect looked at the few beside him: "Do any of you have any opinions?"
"I’m just here to watch the excitement, Pavilion Master Gu, you need not mind me,"
the City Lord of Thousand Hammers City, Yang Rongtian, smiled slightly, while the other three elders did not speak, so Gu Yunfeng’s gaze then swept down to Lin Chen and the other ten people.
"In this alchemy final, there are no prescribed Pills to refine. You choose the Pill you want to refine and carve its name into the Jade Scroll. The Thousand Mechanism Sect will provide the ingredients for that Pill, and ultimately, the ranking will be decided based on the quality of the Pills, which you will retain."
Gu Yunfeng’s voice was not only heard by Lin Chen and the other ten but also reached the ears of all the martial artists watching.
"The Pills belong to the contestants, which is the same as past rules. Those not making the top three also gain by obtaining the ingredients for the Pills."
"Not restricting the Pills—that’s different from past rules though."
"In past finals, there were three prescribed Pills, and it was a matter of whose Pills were of higher quality and abundance."
"I actually understand why the Thousand Mechanism Sect changed the final rules this time. Whether it’s Jiang Yaoyan or Jiang Chen, under the old rules, it would probably be impossible to decide a victor."
In past finals, it was about whose Pills were of better quality and quantity, but for Jiang Yaoyan and Jiang Chen, it probably wasn’t difficult—they could achieve it without wasting a bit of ingredient.
"This kind of rule, allowing one to refine their expert Pills and deciding the victory by quality and quantity, actually involves more strategy and speculation."
A middle-aged man’s eyes gleamed: "There are also distinctions even among Fourth Grade Pills. For stability, one might choose a slightly lower-quality Pill, while the opponent might choose a higher-quality one, naturally falling behind even before the results are out."
Listening to some alchemists’ discussions, many martial artists suddenly realized that choosing the Pills itself was already a form of competition.
Lin Chen looked at the blank Jade Scroll handed over by the disciple of the Thousand Mechanism Sect, not rushing to decide on the Pill to refine. The sect allowed them to choose Pills this way to test their confidence in themselves.
The higher the quality of the Pill, the harder it is to refine, with more loss of medicinal power.
Should one choose a lower-level Pill for stability or a higher difficulty Pill for a challenge?
Aside from judging one’s alchemical abilities, one also needed to gauge what Pills opponents might choose to refine.
"An alchemist never wins by taking shortcuts or chances."
Jiang Yaoyan at the front saw no one handing over their Jade Scroll and with a look of disdain on his face, directly handed his Jade Scroll to the disciple of the Thousand Mechanism Sect.
Seeing Jiang Yaoyan make his choice, Jiang Chen also handed his Jade Scroll to the disciple beside him, while Lin Chen and the others remained unaffected by Jiang Yaoyan’s words, each still pondering, with the slowest pondering for a full hundred breaths before making a choice.
"This rule change also adds to the spectacle; at least we can guess which Pills these ten will each choose to refine?"
"With the strength of these ten, at least to vie for the top three, it must be at least a Four-Star pinnacle or even a Five-Star Pill. Seven-Star Pill? Guiyuan Pill? Seed Origin Pill..."
As everyone began to speculate, those ten disciples of the Thousand Mechanism Sect started to announce the names of the Pills from the Jade Scrolls. Perhaps to increase suspense, they began with the alchemist who ranked tenth in the last round.
"Seven-Star Pill!"
Hearing the Thousand Mechanism Sect disciple announce it loudly, there was still quite a stir on the scene.
"A Seven-Star Pill, a Four-Star pinnacle Pill—aside from an Alchemy Master, even those who’ve succeeded in the past can’t ensure success next time. This one is really going for it."
There is always a chance of failure in normal refining environments, let alone in a tense competition.
"Guiyuan Pill!"
"Seed Origin Pill!"
Soon, the Pills chosen by the eighth and ninth-ranked contestants from the last round were also announced, all being Four-Star pinnacle Pills.
"I have a feeling we might see a Five-Star Pill!"
The alchemists watching the competition had their enthusiasm completely stirred up, seeing that the ones at the bottom all chose Four-Star pinnacle Pills, so what about Jiang Chen and Jiang Yaoyan?