Chapter 1726: The First to Break Through

‘Hmm? Someone succeeded so quickly?’

Li Yan’s heart skipped a beat. His method of refining, which focused solely on condensing the pill into form rather than perfecting its grade, should have already been exceptionally fast.

Yet, when he was just one step away from finishing, someone had already stepped out of their stone room. Unlike him, others had to ensure the actual quality of the pill; they weren’t like him, whose only goal was to reach the minimum threshold of core condensation.

Li Yan quickly steadied his focus. He was about to open the tripod to collect the pill. This final step was also the most prone to error, the critical moment where the pill could instantly crumble into dust.

With one hand, he continued to execute the Fire-Controlling Art, maintaining the flames at a steady state. With the other, he pointed forward. Following his gesture, the lid of the alchemy cauldron flew upward and hovered in place.

At the very instant the lid opened, a streak of black light shot out from the cauldron, resembling the first rays of dawn bursting forth. Amidst the vast expanse of black light, a single black pill soared out!

The pill was not yet fully solidified. At this moment, it pulsed like a violently beating heart, vibrating intensely as its size fluctuated rapidly. The black light emanating from its body flickered between strong and weak, looking as though it might collapse at any second.

Li Yan’s hand continued to control the flames beneath the Void Refining Tripod, and he gave a low shout.

“Condense!”

A golden thread appeared at the tip of his other finger. The moment it manifested, he pointed forward with lightning speed. The golden thread shot out, wrapping itself around the flying black pill.

Near the bottom edge of the cauldron, two other pills were still vibrating violently within the raging flames, but they did not fly out…

Inside the hall of the stone rooms, Elder Liu and Deacon Li were observing the light screens in the void. Suddenly, a stone room to their left swung open. A handsome youth with a face like polished jade walked toward them, a jade bottle in hand and a smile on his face.

Yan Qingchen felt quite relaxed. He had been paying attention to the outside world; he was the first person to emerge.

‘Breaking the properties of this pill wasn’t that difficult. They should have raised the pill grade to the fifth rank. That would have been more effective in widening the gap between me and the others…’ Yan Qingchen mused.

As he walked toward Elder Liu, his pace faltered slightly. Diagonally across from him, another stone door opened, and someone else stepped out. It was a woman with a lithe and graceful figure. Upon emerging, she also looked toward Yan Qingchen.

Yan Qingchen recognized her. At such a distance, they could not use their Divine Sense to probe one another, but he could clearly see the name on her stone door. An entry immediately surfaced in his mind.

‘Ming Qi of the Ming sisters, the recently recruited medicine apprentice of Elder Xingmeng from the Falling Pill Hall…’

Yan Qingchen withdrew his gaze, maintaining his composure as he continued forward. The two of them arrived before Elder Liu and Deacon Li at almost exactly the same time.

“Greetings, Senior!”

“Greetings, Elder and Deacon!”

The two spoke one after the other.

Elder Liu and Deacon Li glanced at them. Neither was among the nine recommended individuals, though their records indicated that their alchemical strength was among the most prominent in this group.

“Yan Qingchen, present your pill first!” Elder Liu commanded. Since Yan Qingchen was slightly faster than Ming Qi, he naturally held the right of priority.

As for the others having to wait and waste time—a single evaluation took roughly two hundred breaths. Even if all thirty-plus people came together, how much time would that really take? They completely ignored such trivialities.

Upon hearing the command, Yan Qingchen gently pushed the object in his hand forward. A jade bottle, translucent as emerald, flew toward Elder Liu.

Elder Liu sat motionless. When the bottle reached her, she didn’t seem to move at all, yet the bottle came to a sudden halt exactly one foot in front of her. Then, with a gentle wave of her hand, the stopper opened automatically as it reached her. Three red pills flew out, though their color was a deep, dark crimson.

Elder Liu did not touch the pills. Her Divine Sense merely swept over each one. She wasn’t trying to immediately judge their medicinal properties. Rather, she was determining if these pills had been successfully condensed just now. This point was of paramount importance.

With a single glance, she saw that these three pills had been freshly refined. Observing their shape and scenting their aroma, she found they had reached the middle tier of the fourth rank.

Only seven hours had passed. From this, it was evident that this disciple named Yan Qingchen possessed the potential to challenge the rank of an Alchemy Grandmaster.

Elder Liu and the others understood the situation perfectly. These disciples were waiting for the internal selection, hoping to truly enter the core positions of the sect. Thus, they wouldn’t go to take the test for a Yellow-rank Grandmaster yet.

At the same time, Deacon Li’s Divine Sense swept over. He quickly confirmed that the three pills were freshly made and were not detoxification pills brought in from the outside.

Seeing Deacon Li nod, Elder Liu waved her hand again, and the three pills flew back into the bottle. The bottle then flew back to Yan Qingchen, who caught it firmly.

“Begin when you are ready. If you cannot neutralize the toxin within the demon beast’s body after a hundred breaths, you fail!”

Elder Liu wasted no time. Once she saw him catch the bottle, she waved her sleeve, and a cage about a foot long appeared in front of her. The cage was composed of crystal pillars. Inside, a demon beast about two feet long lay prostrate.

An eerie azure glow flickered across the beast’s body, and flames seemed to leap across its skin. It resembled a lizard, and a vicious light glinted in its triangular eyes as it stared intently at the people outside the cage.

“This is a late-stage fourth-rank Azure Fire Earth Dragon. After you feed it the antidote, you may step back. We will immediately feed it the red pill and release the seal. If it can return to normal within a hundred breaths, you pass this stage of the assessment!” Elder Liu explained.

“This disciple understands!” Yan Qingchen bowed, his demeanor refined and elegant.

However, the moment he raised his head, he acted. With a flash of his figure, he was before the Azure Fire Earth Dragon.

Although neutralizing the poison within a hundred breaths counted as a success, if multiple people succeeded within the same timeframe, the ranking would be decided by the speed of their pill condensation.

Since he was the first to emerge, he naturally wanted to clear this stage as quickly as possible. The faster he finished, the more pressure he would pile onto those behind him. This would inevitably cause them stress in the following two stages, which would be to his advantage.

By the time Yan Qingchen reached the Azure Fire Earth Dragon, the jade bottle was fully open. His batch had produced three pills. Naturally, this could not be compared to Li Yan’s method, which sought only form without regard for grade.

With a surge of Yan Qingchen’s magical power, he sent all three pills directly into the mouth of the frozen Azure Fire Earth Dragon.

At the very instant his three antidotes entered the dragon’s mouth, a red pill shot toward it with lightning speed. It vanished into the dragon’s maw—this was the poison pill flicked by Deacon Li. At the same time, the force behind the red pill shattered the restrictions on the beast’s body.

As Deacon Li flicked the pill, he glanced at Yan Qingchen. He had seen through the youth’s intentions. Without explicit instructions, the youth had ruthlessly employed a rather aggressive method.

Yan Qingchen stood before the crystal cage, staring fixedly at the Azure Fire Earth Dragon. The seals on its body were now completely broken. However, the beast remained motionless. The fierce light that had been flickering in its eyes vanished the moment the pills entered its mouth. Instead, its eyes turned dull, and an expression of intoxication slowly appeared on its ugly face…

Yan Qingchen did not look anxious. He knew the medicinal properties of both sides were taking effect, but the red pill was stronger. The Illusion Poison Pill initially suppressed the properties of his three antidotes.

‘After ten breaths, my medicine will reach its peak. The combined power of the three pills should dispel the illusion within ten to twenty breaths!’ He thought with absolute confidence.

Ming Qi stood to one side, quietly watching Yan Qingchen’s assessment. Her beautiful face remained expressionless. She was equally confident in her own pills. However, the fact that Yan Qingchen had refined an antidote a step ahead of her made her pay close attention, especially since he had produced three pills in such a short time.

Setting everything else aside, his success rate had already surpassed hers…

Time flowed rapidly. Suddenly, a furious roar erupted from the front.

“Twelve breaths!”

Standing at the front, Yan Qingchen’s eyes lit up with great joy. His pills were indeed effective. The beast’s illusion had been broken, and its eyes now regained their clarity…