"If Nangong Wuque"s spirit pill does not meet the standard, don"t even think of qualifying." Grandmaster Xuan Ming, who was sitting at the high stage, was enraged, and he coldly gazed down at Nangong Wuque.
As the representative of Heavenly Mist City, he, naturally knew who Nangong Wuque was. In fact, Nangong Wuque could be considered half his apprentice, hence their relations.h.i.+p was not that bad.
However, today, he found Nangong Wuque"s actions disappointing. As an alchemist, if he did not have enough power to win without using underhanded tricks, would there be any meaning to his victory?
In this little chef"s matches, the only reason alchemists" furnaces exploded was because the alchemists got distracted by the aroma of his dishes; on top of that, the dishes were excellent and had outstanding effects. This little chef was truly formidable.
But what about you, Nangong Wuque? There was no need to use Fine Golden Stalk. This brat, you definitely did it on purpose.
As Grandmasters at alchemy, how could they not tell what Nangong Wuque had been thinking of?
"Nangong Wuque! I will kill you!"
Lin Sanpao, who was crestfallen, had only gotten a hold of himself after some time. However, he was now covered his soot, and his clothing had been reduced to tatters. He was so furious that he stomped the ground hard and trembled with rage.
Nangong Wuque glanced at Lin Sanpao, then the corners of his lips curled upwards, into a devilish grin. The grin was captured and broadcasted by the Projection Array. When the members of the audience saw it, some gasped, while some others stared at Nangong Wuque in awe.
Not only was Nangong Wuque already very handsome, but he also had a lot of fans; and now, this devilish grin of his had incited gasps from many members of the audience.
However, what more people were concerned about how was he going to solve the upcoming problem.
Would Nangong Wuque"s loss of the Heaven and Earth Obsidian Flame have caused him to lose to Lin Sanpao? Was that why he used such a dirty tactic to win?
As Nangong Wuque"s red hair fluttered in the breeze, he smiled. He raised a palm, and his mental force began to surge; then, he made a swiping motion at this furnace.
Suddenly, the heat waves emanating from the furnace parted, and the stench in the air surged back into the furnace, leaving the air odor free…
"Eh? The odor disappeared?"
"Interesting… Could Nangong Wuque really have done all that on purpose? Just because he wanted his opponent to accidentally blow up his furnace?"
" Isn"t… isn"t this a little despicable?"
...
Many alchemists had noticed the weird turn of events and began to discuss amongst themselves.
Nangong Wuque, on the other hand, was focused on refining his spirit pill. Not long afterward, a thick fragrance began to waft out of his furnace.
A round ball of herbal liquid hovered within the furnace, withstanding the heat of his alchemic flames, and then it began to condense into a spirit pill.
Buzz…
Nangong Wuque soon put out the alchemic flames, and a pitch-black spirit pill floated out of the furnace and landed atop his palm.
The spirit pill was still warm and seemed to be s.h.i.+mmering.
Two strips could be seen moving on the surface of the spirit pill; hence, the pitch-black spirit pill was actually a two-mark spirit pill!
Lin Sanpao was stunned and in denial. How could it have been possible for Nangong Wuque to refine a two-mark spirit pill? This guy… did he not lose his Heaven and Earth Obsidian Flame? How was he still able to refine spirit pills?
In the past, Nangong Wuque had relied on his Heaven and Earth Obsidian Flame to refine two-mark spirit pills, but today… he was actually able to refine that spirit pill with just his ability…
The judicators on stage were all surprised. Grandmaster Xuan Ming narrowed his eyes, but he did not say any more than he already had.
The talent that this brat, Nangong Wuque, had shown did not disappoint him.
Although he no longer had a Heaven and Earth Obsidian Flame, he was still able to refine a two-mark spirit pill using his own abilities.
The judge used the jade array to test the spirit pill, and after that, he finally announced the winner of that match—Nangong Wuque.
The audience erupted into cheers.
So, Nangong Wuque did not use a dirty technique because he was not strong enough to beat Lin Sanpao on his own; he used it just so he could annoy Lin Sanpao.
They all now understood it clearly. Lin Sanpao was a neat freak, who always wanted to remain spotless, but Nangong Wuque had other plans for him; he wanted Lin Sanpao to get smeared by that disgusting stench.
He had done so to antagonize the opposing party, Lin Sanpao, disgusting the other to the very end!
Nangong Wuque"s red hair fluttered in the breeze as he played with the pitch-black spirit pill for a while, then he glanced at Lin Sanpao; and with a flick of his wrist, Nangong Wuque sent the spirit pill flying toward Lin Sanpao.
"Don"t believe in my abilities? Then, have a taste of this spirit pill."
Lin Sanpao raised his hand, catching the pitch black spirit pill in mid-air. When he looked at it closely, he spotted the two golden marks on the spirit pill, which left him taken aback.
It could really be made… Lin Sanpao heaved in a deep breath.
He raised the spirit pill to his nose and gave it a sniff. He could perceive a slight fragrance wafting out of it.
Lin Sanpao gritted his teeth and tipped the spirit pill into his mouth.
Crack! The spirit pill cracked open.
Suddenly, Lin Sanpao"s pupils dilated.
Pleh!
As soon as the spirit pill entered his mouth, the stench, which Nangong Wuque had suppressed during refinement, surged outward once more.
The judge looked in disgust at Lin Sanpao, who had crouched and was puking his guts out; at this, the judge could only shake his head and sigh.
You actually dared to put a spirit pill which had been made with Fine Golden Stalk into your mouth? You are either naive or just gullible.
When Nangong Wuque saw the state that Lin Sanpao was in, he burst into laughter. He did not stop laughing as he walked down the stage.
When Bu Fang looked at Lin Sanpao, who was still puking, he felt pity for the latter. Although Stinky Tofu was smelly, its taste was quite delicious; however, this was not the case with spirit pills. Pills that gave off a disgusting stench during refinement would taste horrible when eaten.
...
More time pa.s.sed, and soon, the compet.i.tion of the top 100 was finally over.
Two crescent moons hung in the sky, bathing the ground beneath with cold, white light.
Back at Heavenly Mist City"s central plaza ground, the contestants who had advanced stood at the first arena"s stage, waiting.
Bu Fang was also on the stage, with his huge signboard on his shoulder and an indifferent expression on his face.
Duan Yun, who had also advanced, made his way toward Bu Fang and Nangong Wuque, and the three of them converted with each other.
Fifty contestants had sailed through the compet.i.tion of the top 100, advancing to the next round.
They were now the top 50. Many curiosity-filled gazes were directed Bu Fang"s way.
As a chef—the only chef in the Magical Hand Conference—he had managed to make it all the way to the top 50. This feat was an unbelievable accomplishment!
Furthermore, the chef did not seem to have reached his limits, yet. With such strong showings from the chef thus far, charging into the top 10 did not seem impossible!
This chef, who had now proven himself to be a formidable opponent, caused the alchemists to feel a sense of danger and pressure.
For alchemists, losing to a chef was something really embarra.s.sing.
Even Sorceress An Sheng had lost to him. However, she was thick-skinned and paid her loss no mind, but they were different from her; the moment they lost to the chef, they would be subjected to jeers from everyone watching.
Therefore, the alchemists who were looking at Bu Fang were doing so solemnly.
"Okay; the compet.i.tion of the top 100 has ended. Every contestant here will partic.i.p.ate in the compet.i.tion of the top 50. As per usual, the matches will start three days from now, so you all have three days to prepare for the next round. Now, you will draw lots to determine your opponents for the next round," announced Grand Master Xuan Ming, who had stepped off the wars.h.i.+p and was now walking on air, with his hands behind his back.
His robes fluttered, making him appear saint-like, and the gaze he directed at the contestants contained a hint of strictness.
The contestants straightened their backs and nodded. The top 50 was not their final goals; they all aimed for… the top 10!
Buzz…
Grand Master Xuan Ming landed on the stage, and a talisman appeared in his hands. As soon as the talisman emerged, it began to emit a bright light, like a lighthouse in a pitch-black night.
The judge took out multiple talismans and gave one to each contestant.
Grand Master Xuan Ming"s true energy began to surge, in order to activate the talisman, and this caused the light being emitted from the talisman to glow brighter.
A buzz resounded through the arena, causing the audience to hold their breaths in antic.i.p.ation.
Suddenly, names instantaneously appeared on the projection array"s screen in the sky. The letters were s.h.i.+mmering.
The names were to be paired in order to determine the contestants" opponents for the next round.
Bu Fang looked at the glowing talisman in his hand, watching a name appear on it: Xiong s.h.i.+.
Xiong s.h.i.+? Is this person famous? The name was quite weird…
Bu Fang was stunned.
When Nangong Wuque, who was standing beside Bu Fang, took a look at his own talisman, he took a deep breath, and his gaze turned complicated.
Bu Fang spotted the change in Nangong Wuque"s expression, so he looked down at the name on Nangong Wuque"s talisman.
"Yang Meiji? Hmm? That tall woman?" Surprised, Bu Fang asked, with raised eyebrows. Even he considered this an impossible coincidence.
"Yep… It"s her; the woman who took away my Heaven And Earth Obsidian Flame." Nangong Wuque smiled bitterly. Maybe it was fate that a.s.signed Yang Meiji as his opponent for the next round.
"I wish you luck," Bu Fang said, solemnly.
Duan Yun, who was also standing with them, furrowed his brows when a name appeared on his talisman. As expected, when it came to the compet.i.tion of the top 50, no opponent would be weak.
He was to face a strong alchemist from Heavenly Pill City, who was just as good as Duan Yun was in alchemy. Hence, Duan Yun had no confidence in emerging victorious.
"Owner Bu, who did you draw?"
Duan Yun and Nangong Wuque asked simultaneously and looked down at the talisman in his hand.
When they spotted the name on the talisman, they gasped.
"Hmm? What? Is this person really famous?" Bu Fang asked, surprised at their reaction.
Owner Bu… honestly, your luck is not great. In the compet.i.tion of the top 100, you were matched against Big b.r.e.a.s.t.s An; and now, in the compet.i.tion of the top 50, you have been matched against Crazy Xiong… Are you here just to take down potential top 10 candidates?" Nangong Wuque asked, with a peculiar expression his face. "Or, have you offended a Grandmaster alchemist, making them purposely try to cause trouble for you?"
Duan Yun also looked at Bu Fang with pity. "Owner Bu, this Crazy Xiong is more difficult to handle than Senior Sister An. Also, you need to be careful; Crazy Xiong is called "Crazy" because he is willing to do just about anything to win."
Xiong s.h.i.+... such an honest-sounding name; was its owner really as scary as these guys had said?
When Duan Yun saw that Bu Fang"s opponent was Xiong s.h.i.+, his mood improved. His opponent, in comparison, was much weaker.
In this round of the Magical Hand Conference, which contestant would garner the most attention? It would most definitely be the public enemy of every alchemist—Bu Fang.
The moment the matched name list for the compet.i.tion of top 50 appeared on the projection array, the audience looked up at it, searching for Bu Fang"s name.
When they saw the name beside Bu Fang"s, a collective gasp resounded throughout the arena.
In the distance, a burly figure turned his head over, looking over at Bu Fang, with a gaze flickering like lightning.
"The public enemy of alchemists? I initially thought that this compet.i.tion of the top 50 would also be boring, but it will be interesting, instead! Seeing as he was able to defeat Sorceress An Sheng, he must be somewhat strong."