138: On the eve of the final

Yan Mo turned his gaze toward Lin Xiaoyou, who was standing quietly to the side, a rare look of strangeness and amazement appearing on his face.

"There is another person with a special score. After deliberation by the Elders, she is tied for second place!"

"Lin Xiaoyou, Heavenly Evolution Immortal Sect!"

"The 'Thousand Illusions Shape-Shifting Pill' she refined is of the fifth-grade pure quality, with a derivation completion of... Ten-tenths Perfection!"

"The conception of its Pill Formula is incredibly imaginative, using the Ghost Shadow Ghost Vine as its core and supplemented by seventy-three common low-tier Materials. She deduced a strange Medicinal Pill that can temporarily simulate another person's aura and appearance, and even some fluctuations of their cultivation base. Although it has not reached fifth-grade perfect quality, the ingenuity of its conception, the economy of its Materials, and the uniqueness of its effects can be said to have blazed a new trail, thus she is tied for second place!"

What?!

Another one from the Heavenly Evolution Immortal Sect?

And it's that girl who has always lacked a presence, reading idle books with a shabby Pill Furnace?

A fifth-grade pill? Pure quality? 100% derivation?

And such a strange and bizarre Medicinal Pill at that?

The way everyone looked at Lin Xiaoyou suddenly became as if they were looking at a monster. What kind of blessed land was the Heavenly Evolution Immortal Sect?

Each one was more of a freak than the last!

Facing countless gazes, Lin Xiaoyou only nodded slightly, her face still expressionless, as if the one who got second place wasn't her.

Xiao Yan's face had already turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

Second? And it's a tie?

He could even feel the faint gazes around him, filled with either sympathy or mockery.

A disgrace! It was simply a great humiliation!

Lu Yu, on the other hand, was not surprised by this result.

Sixth Senior Sister's Shut-in Cultivation System might not show much in terms of combat power, but in this kind of 'technical work' that required a lot of accumulated time, deduction, and quiet research, it was like a cheat-level existence.

What she lacked was not knowledge or skill; it might just be a bit of competitiveness and... the motivation to leave the house.

Among those present, there must be other fifth-grade Alchemists. For example, Yan Linger, that Black Hand, and Qing Xuan's group were certainly fifth-grade Alchemists, but the time just now was too hasty, with only three hours given.

If one wanted to refine a fifth-grade Medicinal Pill, there would only be one chance; if it failed, there would be no time left to refine a fourth-grade pill.

Therefore, most of them had refined high-quality fourth-grade pills to be safe.

Only Lu Yu and Lin Xiaoyou were bold due to their superior skill and refined fifth-grade pills.

Furthermore, both were fifth-grade Pill Formulas deduced based on Alchemy knowledge!

Yan Mo suppressed the waves in his heart, his gaze sweeping over the hundred young Alchemists below with their varying expressions, and said in a deep voice: "In the second round, the top fifty will advance!"

"The third round, which is also the final round, will begin tomorrow at the Hour of the Dragon!"

"The third round is named 'Myriad Fires Contention for Supremacy'!"

"The rules are simple: no limits on Pill Formulas, no limits on Materials, no limits on techniques! Within ten hours, refine the highest grade and best quality Medicinal Pill you can! There is only one rule—during the Alchemy process, you are allowed to use your own flames to interfere with others!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire venue fell silent for a moment, followed by an even louder uproar!

Allowing interference with others?!

Wasn't this clearly encouraging conflict, or even... slaughter?!

Countless gazes instantly became sharp, especially scanning back and forth among the top ten; the air seemed to be filled with the invisible smell of gunpowder.

Xiao Yan suddenly looked up, his eyes bursting with startling cold light and ruthlessness!

Interference is allowed?

Good! Great!

Lu Yu, tomorrow, I'll see how you can still be so arrogant!

Although your Immortal Fire is strong, after two consecutive rounds of consumption, your mind and spirit will surely be damaged!

And I... still have secret techniques taught by my teacher that I haven't used yet!

A flash of sharpness also crossed Yan Linger's beautiful eyes.

The final round would determine the winner of the championship, and the ownership of that Immortal Pill Fragment and the Companion Fire Crystal!

She would never yield easily!

The other prodigies also clenched their fists one after another, their Battle Intent rising.

Lu Yu felt the atmosphere that had suddenly become sinister, but the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

Myriad Fires Contention for Supremacy? Interference allowed?

A bit interesting.

He touched the Cold Jade Bottle in his robe, where the three Five-Veined Pills remained warm and smooth.

Tomorrow, it seems it won't be boring.

Night.

Lu Yu sat cross-legged in the quiet room, the Spiritual Qi around him slowly circulating.

His face had long since returned to normal. In fact, because of that Void Realm Pill Condensation during the day that nearly overextended him, his Meridians had been repeatedly flushed and tempered, making his spiritual power even more pure. His cultivation at the eighth stage of the Nascent Soul vaguely moved another sliver toward the threshold of the ninth stage.

He didn't look weak in the slightest.

With the blessing of three types of Immortal Fire, his own recovery power was not something ordinary people could compare to.

He opened his eyes and exhaled a mouthful of turbid Qi, feeling full of spirit and energy.

That bit of consumption during the day was really nothing to him, who possessed the Nine Yang Haori Body and vast spiritual power; he recovered after regulating his breathing for about an hour.

"Knock, knock."

A soft sound of knocking on the door.

"Enter."

The door was pushed open, and Liu Yunshu walked in carrying a tray, which held several light but Spiritual Qi-filled pastries and a pot of freshly brewed spiritual tea.

She had changed into a moon-white casual dress, and her black hair was loosely tied up, losing some of the day's dignity and adding a bit of gentle, domestic aura.

"Brother Yu, how do you feel?"

She placed the tray on the small table and asked softly.

"I'm fine, I feel great."

Lu Yu smiled, stood up, walked to the table, sat down, picked up an emerald-green pastry, and took a bite, his mouth filled with fragrance.

"Yun Shu is still the most thoughtful."

Liu Yunshu sat across from him and poured tea for him, but there was a lingering trace of worry between her brows that wouldn't dissipate:

"Tomorrow's final... that rule is clearly meant to make you fight each other. I heard that in the 'Myriad Fires Contention for Supremacy' round of previous years, incidents of injuries and even pills being destroyed and people dying have occurred."

"Afraid I'll suffer a loss?"

Lu Yu swallowed the pastry, took a sip of tea, and spoke in a relaxed tone.

"Don't worry, when have you ever seen me actually suffer a loss?"

"I know you're powerful."

Liu Yunshu looked at him, her gaze gentle yet firm.

"But those who can enter the final tomorrow are all the best of the younger generation. There are probably as many as a dozen fifth-grade Alchemists alone."

"Not long ago, we snatched away that Immortal Fire Xiao Yan had planned for so long. He bears deep hostility toward you, and then there's Ghost Hand of the Demon Domain, those people from the Yao Domain... open attacks are easy to dodge, but hidden arrows are hard to guard against. Flame interference is not just as simple as a contest of fire control."

She paused and lowered her voice slightly: "I noticed during the day that besides Xiao Yan, there are two or three others from the Pill Tower with steady auras and extraordinary Fire Seed fluctuations. I'm afraid they also have the Alchemy strength of the middle to Late Stage of the fifth grade."

"Fentian Sacred Valley has a deep foundation. Besides Yan Linger, there might be hidden experts. Also, that Fire Fox Clan woman who hasn't spoken much... I always feel the way she looks at you is... a bit strange."

Lu Yu looked at Liu Yunshu with some surprise.

This Dao Companion of his, who had broken away from the Tang Family and had a gentle and submissive personality, actually had such a meticulous mind and had observed things so carefully.

"Soldiers will be blocked by generals, and water will be countered by earth."

Lu Yu took her hand, the warmth of his palm conveying a reassuring strength.

"Besides, your man is not made of clay. If they want to play with fire, I'll play big with them."

Liu Yunshu's face turned slightly red, but she didn't pull her hand back, only saying softly: "In any case, be extremely careful."