Chapter 137 - Zhuo Fan’s Weakness (2/2)

5th elder cackled in his heart, while Lin Zitian was on the verge of crying.

[What bad luck. I always…]

Ding!

A clear ringing signaled the start of the third round.

Xiaoya looked at the 40 alchemists, “This round will be regarding your refining ability.”

At her words, everyone focused on the first place, on Zhuo Fan.

They witnessed his ability and were clear that Grandmaster Song ruled in the refining skill department.

One man sighed, another watched the sky in sadness, both equally depressed for having no chance to win. Only the top ten alchemists kept a calm face.

They knew that alchemy was based on refining skills but it was not the only deciding factor to make a pill.

After two rounds, they realized the conditions were increasingly harder to fulfill. As the grade of the pills required increased, Zhuo Fan began to reveal his weakness.

This was what they’ve been waiting for.

Zhuo Fan was indeed a grand genius of alchemy but wasn’t infallible. He could not use his refining skill and refine any kind of pill he wanted…

“In this round, grandmasters need to refine a 5th grade pill!” Xiao Ya declared.

Zhuo Fan began to frown, while the top ten alchemists expected it.

Vicious Pill King, in particular, showed his sinister smile towards Zhuo Fan.

“The faster you can make it the higher you will climb. The first to finish will enter the Pill King finals of this competition. Begin!”

They started igniting their Yuan Qi flame just as she finished. Most had no choice but to make use of the cauldron. But only Vicious Pill King and Tao Danniang refined with their hand.

These two’s skills were far higher than theirs.

But when people looked at Zhuo Fan, they saw him just standing there. Even his expression was grave.

“Oh no, he’s in trouble!” Long Jiu was getting anxious. The others too watched him nervously.

Peony Overseer with her fiery temper, was even more so, “Uncle Jiu, what’s wrong? Wasn’t he unparalleled so far? Why isn’t he moving?”

Long Jiu stared at the frozen Zhuo Fan and sighed, “Because of this brat’s weakness.”

“Weakness?”

“Yes!”

Long Jiu spoke gravely, “He won in the first two rounds against everyone and even made Vicious Pill King concede because of his incredible secret refining skill.”

“There are three deciding factors to an alchemist’s level. Cultivation, flame, and refining skill. Cultivation is used to supply the flame for longer periods of time, the flame is for refining ingredients, and the refining skill needs to be high enough to handle high grade pills. But…”

Long Jiu clenched his teeth, “This kid’s refining skill is amazing, however that is all he has. His flame is just a normal one made from Yuan Qi. But what’s worse, his cultivation is only in the 2nd layer of Bone Tempering Stage.”

“Any alchemist with this cultivation could refine a 3rd-grade pill at most. Yet he used 2nd-grade pill ingredients to make a 5th-grade pill. That is his limit. Now that he is competing against the other grandmasters, with 5th-grade pill ingredients being used, his flame is inadequate. Meanwhile, his cultivation is shallow. I am certain he will not be able to refine the ingredients before his Yuan Qi runs out. Refining such high-grade ingredients is a whole other matter.”

The shock was palpable and they turned to watch Zhuo Fan on his last leg, but this time with sorrow.

“Master, if Darling loses, will he lose his head too? Please save him!” Xiao Dandan pleaded.

Long Jiu and the others weren’t worried though.

Zhuo Fan wasn’t one who lost his head that easily. It was more correct to say others lost their heads to him.

Even in the off chance he lost, he’d just stick to the basics, killing people and uprooting their any source of trouble. In their minds, he was in no trouble.

They did not realize, however, how important this competition was to Zhuo Fan. He couldn’t fail here. It concerned returning Chu Qingcheng’s favor. The Luo clan was already running him into the ground with all its needs and having Chu Qingcheng’s Drifting Flowers Edifice hanging overhead was too much for him to handle.

Zhuo Fan was now considering whether to use the azure flame or not…