99: Martial Arts Test

The location of the Martial Trial was next to that row of Pill Refining Rooms, precisely where everyone collected their daily assignments.

Upon entering the building, only a spacious grand hall could be seen.

Inside the hall, six Pill Furnaces had already been prepared, each separated by screens.

"Go and select your own Materials."

Zheng Tingtao sat upon a throne carved from white jade; seeing everyone appear, he spoke indifferently.

The six people bowed in greeting and immediately hurried toward the cabinets on the side.

Medicinal herbs had already been prepared on the cabinets.

Lu An, his mind filled with thoughts of washing away his disgrace, unhesitatingly chose the Wash Marrow Pill, the most difficult among the First-Order Medium Grade Medicinal Pills.

As a Medicinal Pill that changed one's Physique and improved cultivation Aptitude, it had always been one of the most popular Spirit Pills among First-Order Medium Grade ones.

Of course, its refinement difficulty was not as simple as imagined.

It required a special Alchemy technique; mastering this technique was extremely difficult and would take at least three to five years.

Lu An, who had been practicing Alchemy since childhood, spent a full four years learning this technique.

Previously, when he was at the Immortal Sect, he was able to rank among the top in every Martial Trial by relying on his results from refining this Spirit Pill.

Everyone else also chose the Wash Marrow Pill.

They were all veterans and naturally knew which Medicinal Pill could bring them more points.

At this stage, what everyone needed to compete on were the other three criteria.

Thus, everyone gathered together to select their medicinal herbs.

Zhou Luo was no exception.

He reached out, just about to grab a medicinal herb.

Suddenly, a dark shadow darted out beside him, followed by a hand reaching out to snatch that medicinal herb away.

He turned his head to look and found it was actually Lu An, whose face was livid.

"Heh, you think you can refine a Wash Marrow Pill?" Lu An sneered, full of mockery.

Zhou Luo's eyebrows twitched slightly as he asked curiously, "Is your face not swollen enough yet?"

Hearing this, Lu An's expression changed slightly, and a layer of anger surfaced in his eyes.

He growled, "You think getting first place in the Literary Trial is so great? The final result still depends on Alchemy."

"When it comes to Alchemy, a Matrilocal Son-in-law like you can't hope to beat me in this lifetime."

"Confidence is a good thing; I hope you can stay confident," Zhou Luo said indifferently, then reached out to pick up another medicinal herb.

At that moment, Lu An suddenly struck out swiftly, his right hand tightly gripping Zhou Luo's wrist.

A wave of pain surged through him; Zhou Luo's face turned icy, and the Spiritual Qi within his body began to stir, ready to erupt at any moment.

"Soon, you will see the gap between us," Lu An stared at him and said through gritted teeth.

After speaking, he let go and walked toward the area where another Material was located.

Zhou Luo remained standing where he was, looking at the red mark around his wrist, a flash of ruthlessness appearing in his eyes.

He slowly turned his head, watching Lu An's retreating back, deeply remembering the man.

Everyone quickly finished selecting their medicinal herbs and returned to their respective areas.

Each of them looked solemn, beginning their Alchemy with serious expressions.

On the contrary, Zhou Luo appeared somewhat relaxed and at ease; while the others had already started adding their medicinal herbs, he only then brought his selected Materials to his area, placing them on the side table without any panic.

Zheng Tingtao sipped his spirit tea while his Divine Sense swept through the six areas one by one, taking in everyone's performance.

Over the past month, although he hadn't been watching them perform Alchemy, he could roughly discern their talent based on the quality of the Medicinal Pills they submitted each time.

Among them, two people particularly satisfied him.

One was Lu An, and the other was a man named Zhang Sheng from the Zhang Family.

As for Zhou Luo, because his failure rate was consistently high, he hadn't caught Zheng Tingtao's attention.

However, having taken first place in the Literary Trial this time, he did earn an extra glance from Zheng Tingtao.

But it was merely a glance.

Because at a single glance, he had identified the Nine-Rank Spiritual Root in Zhou Luo.

With such a low-level Spiritual Root, even reaching a Breakthrough to the Qi Refining Fifth Layer would be a problem in this life; no matter how high his talent was, what use would it be?

Although an Alchemist is judged by their Alchemy level, the long lifespan and comprehensive improvements brought by one's Realm are the sole pillars supporting Alchemy.

To go further on the path of Alchemy, it was absolutely impossible without a high Realm.

In Zheng Tingtao's eyes, Zhou Luo's future was already set in stone, with absolutely no possibility of progressing further.

Therefore, his focus was more on Lu An and Zhang Sheng.

Neither of them was here for the first time, and they had refined Wash Marrow Pills at least a hundred times, so they were secretly competing and constantly increasing their speed.

At this moment, only thirty minutes had passed, and the two of them had already begun guiding with Pill Arts, controlling the Medicinal Liquid to take shape.

One must know that the others were still in the stage of Fusion of the Medicinal Liquid.

Alchemy is divided into five steps: adding medicinal herbs in order, Refining Medicinal Properties, Fusion of the Medicinal Liquid, guiding with Pill Arts, and finally, Pill Formation.

Lu An and Zhang Sheng had already reached the penultimate step; presumably, they would achieve Pill Formation in another ten minutes or so.

Boom—

Just as Zheng Tingtao was wondering which of the two would be the first to achieve Pill Formation, a dull sound reached his ears.

As a Second-Order Alchemist, he knew all too well that this was the sound after Pill Formation.

In the next second, a rich pill fragrance wafted out, incredibly refreshing.

Zheng Tingtao snapped his gaze toward Zhou Luo's direction and found him standing there with a calm expression, having stopped his refinement.

In half an hour, he had completed the refinement of the Wash Marrow Pill.

That rich pill fragrance naturally drifted into the noses of the others as well.

The others, who were at a critical moment, were greatly shaken.

"Lu An is this fast?" Zhang Sheng, who was staring intently at his Pill Furnace, couldn't help but think.

But on the other side, Lu An's face was pale, his expression somewhat distorted; he was gritting his teeth hard, and a trace of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Someone achieving Pill Formation just now had shaken his mind, nearly causing a major error; fortunately, he forcibly steadied his mind and continued to control the Medicinal Liquid inside the Pill Furnace, letting it slowly take shape.

However, doubt also rose in his heart.

Just who had achieved Pill Formation so quickly?

Could it be Zhang Sheng? Or someone else?

In front of the Pill Furnace, Zhou Luo lowered his head in a respectful posture.

Zheng Tingtao had already come before him.

He looked at the six Wash Marrow Pills inside the Cauldron, and with a thought...

...the pure white Medicinal Pills floated up and appeared before his eyes.

High Grade? And even Top Grade?

Zheng Tingtao scrutinized the six Wash Marrow Pills, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Six pills in one furnace: three Medium Grade, two High Grade, and one Top Grade.

Is this kid's talent really this high?

He couldn't help but size up Zhou Luo.

Such efficient Alchemy—perhaps even a First-Order High-Grade Alchemist couldn't achieve this in one go.

It's a pity he only has a Nine-Rank Spiritual Root.

Zheng Tingtao shook his head slightly.

If the other's Spiritual Root grade were a bit higher, perhaps he really would take him as a Disciple.

He set down the Wash Marrow Pills, and with a flash of light, he returned to his throne.

From beginning to end, he didn't say a single word to Zhou Luo.

"I've succeeded!"

Not long after he achieved Pill Formation, Lu An's excited voice suddenly rang out.

Immediately after, a pill fragrance wafted out, representing his successful Pill Fusion.