Chapter 2077: Dark Horse

News of Tian Qingyue’s and the other supreme monarch tiers’ death was still festering. However, because the Celestial Realm was far too large, the forces behind them wouldn’t be able to respond in the short term. However, looking at the time, they might be able to respond after the conclusion of the alchemy competition.

The alchemy competition was commencing immediately after the competition in the Hundred Dragons Mystery Realm, and so it was going to begin in 10 days.

Ling Han entered a short period of seclusion.

Sitting under the Reincarnation Tree to comprehend Dao, even a measly 10 days could become an extremely long time.

Ling Han had come across a barrier in alchemy. It had already been a long time, yet he was still unable to push open the door to become a Four-Star Alchemist. Moreover, he was stuck on the Fourth Spirit Refinement, and he was still a bit short of reaching the Fifth Refinement.

Even though 10 days couldn’t change anything, it would be enough time for him to make some preparations and hone his skills.

10 days flew by in a flash, and there arrived the day for the alchemy competition.

Hundreds of millions of alchemists had arrived for this competition, and to say nothing of those who were here to make up numbers, there were actually quite a number of Three-Star Alchemists as well. They were all hoping to join the Ancient Alchemy Tower, where they might find the opportunity to open the doors to becoming a Four-Star Alchemist.

However, there was also a small number of people with a completely different mindset. They weren’t worried about whether they could become a Four-Star Grandmaster or not. Instead, they simply wanted to seize this opportunity to accelerate this process.

For example, Ling Han, Wu Zixu, and the other prodigies. Of course, the rewards were also an important reason.

Because there were too many competitors, it was naturally impossible for everyone to refine pills at once.

Thus, the first competition was recognizing medicines.

This competition could eliminate almost 90 percent of the competitors. It wasn’t that recognizing medicines was extremely difficult. Rather, this was because only the top 10 percent of people could enter the next round of the competition.

How would they hold this first competition?

This was extremely simple. The Hundred Dragons City had a Stone of Herbology, which had been forged by a powerful alchemist. When an alchemist placed their divine sense inside this Stone of Herbology, they would be able to enter a virtual world. There, numerous medicines and herbs would appear before them.

This examination was separated into numerous stages. The more stages one could pass, the better their result would be.

The Stone of Herbology was extremely large, measuring 300 meters in height and having a radius of 70 meters or so. When a person completed their examination, their results would appear on the stone. If one’s result could place in the top 10 of the historical results, their name would be engraved in this stone forever.

There were only 10 such places.

Generation after generation, just how many people had participated in this examination? The later one participated in this competition, the more difficult it would be for them to leave their name on this Stone of Herbology forever. After all, they needed to surpass all of their talented predecessors.

“Oi, have Wu Zixu and Xie Yuezhang started their examination?” someone asked.

Someone beside them shook their head, and said, “Not yet.”

“Hurry, look over there! Someone’s passed the seventh stage!” someone exclaimed as they pointed at the Stone of Herbology.

Ling Han also looked up, only to see that seven rings of light had lit up on the Stone of Herbology. However, these rings of light were quickly extinguished.

“This is the best result so far, right?”

“Mm-hm, it should be. I wonder which prodigy it is.”

They looked around, yet there were at least 100 people who had their hands on the Stone of Herbology at this moment, all of them as still as stone. That being the case, how could they determine who had passed the seventh stage?

After a short while, they suddenly saw a person standing up and roaring with laughter. He appeared as smug as could be.

“Brother Gan, how were your results?” someone next to him asked.

“Haha, very good!” he replied with a laugh.

“Perhaps Brother Gan was the person who passed the seventh stage?” someone asked.

“What?!” Brother Gan exclaimed. The smile on his face instantly froze. He had only passed the fourth stage, yet this was already his best result. It was because of this that he had roared with smug laughter.

But… passing seven stages?

What a joke! Even if he studied medicines for an extra tens of billions of years, he still wouldn’t be able to pass seven stages. This required more than just effort; it also required talent.

Puahahahaha!

The people in the surroundings instantly burst into laughter. As it turned out, this had all been a misunderstanding.

An awkward expression spread across Brother Gan’s face, and he truly wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

At this moment, someone walked over. This was a member of the Ancient Alchemy Tower. Although he was only a young apprentice, the reputation of the Ancient Alchemy Tower meant that no one dared to disrespect him. They all moved aside to let him pass.

He walked up to Brother Gan, and said, “Your result is passing four stages. Your name is Gan Ping, correct?”

“That’s right,” Brother Gan said in a deflated voice.

“Alright.” The young apprentice took some notes before turning around to leave.

At this moment, another person completed their examination. The young apprentice started to walk back and forth, recording everyone’s result.

The competitors couldn’t fake their results, as the Stone of Herbology would record the unique characteristics of their divine sense. If required, it was extremely easy to confirm their results. If it was found that someone had cheated, they would suffer severe punishment from the Ancient Alchemy Tower.

Thus, very few people dared to cheat.

Sounds of commotion suddenly traveled over from the distance, and it wasn’t long before a piece of news traveled over. While recording their results just then, someone had revealed that they had passed seven stages.

“Lin Yongchang.”

“That person’s called Lin Yongchang.”

“His result probably places him in first place right now. Even if we take into account the previous competitions, his result can still place in the top 10.”

“Who is this person? Why have I never heard of him before?”

“He’s most likely a dark horse.”

Everyone was engaged in a spirited discussion, astonished at the sudden emergence of this alchemy prodigy.

It wasn’t long before they all saw a young man striding over. Everyone gazed at him with respect and fear as if he were some powerful and mighty being.

“He’s Lin Yongchang”, someone remarked.

Lin Yongchang’s expression was cold and aloof, and as he walked by, there wasn’t a single hint of a smile on his face. He appeared as haughty as could be, and as he walked by with his chest puffed, he didn’t spare anyone so much as a single glance.

“Is anyone familiar with his background?”

Everyone shook their head with blank expressions.

“However, this person is far too arrogant. I can’t help but feel dislike.”

“Extreme dislike.”

“Look over there, it’s Xie Yuezhang!” someone suddenly shouted. They pointed toward the entrance.

Ling Han also looked over, only to see a man with a medium build. His appearance was elegant, and his hair was jet black. Even though he wasn’t tall, his demeanor was one that commanded respect and reverence.

He was none other than Xie Yuezhang, a Three-Star Alchemist who had mastered the Fourth Refinement. He was only an arm’s reach away from becoming a Four-Star Alchemist.

Xie Yuezhang didn’t appear cocky at all, and he frequently nodded at those who waved and greeted him. At this moment, he walked by Lin Yongchang.

One of them was filled with arrogance, while one of them was showing his humble modesty. This was a stark juxtaposition.

Lin Yongchang paused momentarily, and he gazed at Xie Yuezhang from the corner of his eye. He didn’t speak, yet the disdain in his eyes was as clear as could be.

However, Xie Yuezhang didn’t pay any heed to this. It was as if he hadn’t seen Lin Yongchang at all. He wore a smile as he walked up to the Stone of Herbology, finding a spot for himself before placing a hand on the stone.

“Can Xie Yuezhang pass seven stages?”

“Definitely. He has the greatest chance of becoming a Four-Star Alchemist, so how can he lose to Lin Yongchang?”

“Nothing is certain. Lin Yongchang is a dark horse so dark that he’s even glowing.”

As they conversed, a ring of light lit up on the Stone of Herbology. After a brief moment, a second ring of light immediately lit up.

“This is Xie Yuezhang, right?”

“As expected of an alchemy prodigy. He’s passed two stages in a mere hour.”

Four hours later, three rings of light lit up in unison.