Tyrant Sky Martial Soul

Chapter 1265: Chapter 1265: Pursuing Perfection

”You see the Mechanical Birds on your alchemy platforms, don’t you? They will faithfully record your every move. If anyone violates the rules, they will be immediately disqualified, and the birds will emit a piercing cry!

Additionally, the time limit for the first round is only thirty minutes. If you cannot complete your task within that time, you will also be disqualified!

Pay attention to the Treasure Clock. Don’t let yourself get flustered and chaotic.”

Saying this, Medicine King Sun Ran turned his gaze to Ji Qing, leaving the next announcement to him.

Ji Qing looked at the crowd, stood tall, and said in a clear voice, ”The rules are as Medicine King mentioned. What you must do is not merely follow the script rigidly but use your brains! You have only one set of ingredients. If you waste it, you fail, so think carefully before taking action!

Now, I officially announce the start of the first round of the Alchemy Competition!”

As Ji Qing’s words descended, tens of thousands of alchemists began their intense evaluations.

However, at the start, no one immediately began refining. Instead, they observed the pill formulas and ingredients quietly, seeking a balance among them.

The time limit is thirty minutes.

And there is only one set of ingredients.

The conditions are truly too harsh.

Ling Xiao naturally was in no rush to act.

He had already analyzed it—if he were to merely follow the recipe and refine the Transcendent Pill with the existing ingredients, the resulting pill’s effect would definitely not exceed sixty percent.

In other words, he would certainly be eliminated!

This meant that the challenge was far from straightforward and must have some kind of hidden trick.

Since the opportunity was a one-time shot, even Ling Xiao dared not be careless. He had to straighten out everything, fully grasp the nuances, and only then make his move.

After all, there were thirty minutes. For him, actually refining the pill would only take five; the rest of the time could be devoted entirely to thinking.

Most people were pondering the problem, but some began refining just a moment later.

Those included the Little Medicine King Ji Luoyu and Dan Qing.

These two had likely undergone such tests many times before. They might not just understand the purpose of the test but even know the method to pass it.

”I bet this question was set by Medicine King Sun Ran,” Ling Xiao thought to himself, casually glancing over at the alchemy platforms of those two.

The two of them had ignited their furnace flames and begun pill refinement. However, due to the Magic Array’s interference, Ling Xiao couldn’t discern their precise methods.

This setup was likely to prevent plagiarism among alchemists.

It seemed Jackson Le Grandmaster was rather thorough in his considerations.

Even though Ling Xiao couldn’t observe directly, the pair’s practiced actions and confident expressions still elicited a trace of appreciation from him.

No matter how he felt personally about these two, or what kind of characters they were, at the very least, they were genuinely talented—and exceptionally so.

In fact, he had already noticed this during the internal tests.

Geniuses are geniuses, and when paired with guidance from renowned masters, they are indeed formidable.

”Ah~~ I failed!”

Finally, the first failure occurred.

Only about two minutes had passed.

This person probably acted impulsively after seeing Dan Qing and Ji Luoyu begin their refinement, unable to resist jumping in himself. The result: disaster.

Ling Xiao lightly shook his head, withdrawing his gaze from others and refocusing on his own alchemy platform.

The Bone Throne materialized once more, and he sat upon it comfortably.

One thing he was slightly dissatisfied with: the competition didn’t provide any chairs for the alchemists to rest on.

Many alchemists were startled by his audacious action—some were speechless, others bewildered.

But the distraction lasted only a moment; soon, everyone returned their focus to their pill refinement.

Ling Xiao paid no heed to their looks. Suddenly, his eyes shimmered.

”So that’s how it is!”

He had already deduced the crux of the challenge.

He noticed that while the provided ingredients lacked several auxiliary ones listed in the recipe, there were additional, alternative materials present.

With careful study and familiarity with the materials, one could extract components from these alternatives to replace the missing auxiliary ingredients.

This way, the pill’s efficacy could potentially reach eighty percent!

Using his Tai Chi Eye’s piercing vision, he looked toward the alchemy platforms of Ji Luoyu and Dan Qing.

As expected, the two were executing precisely what he had inferred.

However, Ling Xiao found this approach rather dull.

And far from perfect.

No matter how skillfully it was done, the pill’s effect would at best reach eighty percent—never a full hundred, let alone produce a Perfect Grade Transcendent Pill.

For someone who pursued perfection, this was wholly unacceptable.

He glanced at the Treasure Clock. Only five minutes had passed. There was still plenty of time, so he didn’t feel rushed.

Nonetheless, in just those five minutes, dozens of alchemists had already exited, defeated.

Without the auxiliary materials, not only was the final pill’s efficacy severely diminished, but the success rate of refinement was drastically reduced.

For those alchemists who merely memorized techniques and lacked adaptability, this question was downright lethal.

Ling Xiao didn’t bother paying attention to them.

The Alchemy Competition didn’t encompass all there was to alchemy. Failure was failure—after all, even in the world of alchemists, not everyone could be a genius or master. There was still the need for diligent, ordinary alchemists; otherwise, who would refine the unranked pills?

His current priority was to figure out how to refine this Transcendent Pill to perfection.

Reclining on the Bone Throne with his eyes closed, he appeared to be resting. However, within his Mountain and River World, the refinement process simulations had already begun.

In his mind, memories from a different world surfaced once again.

Among these memories, a certain medical technique had opened Ling Xiao’s eyes.

According to this technique, every ingredient contained unique components that were the true essence of its medicinal properties.

These components could be extracted, even synthesized or artificially created!

In that other world, they relied on high technology to achieve this.

But Ling Xiao deemed that method cumbersome. His own Inner Strength allowed for much easier extraction.

Thus, this method seemed entirely feasible.

However, it was merely his hypothesis for now. Whether it would work required trying it out.

Of course, he didn’t dare test it recklessly with the competition’s limited materials. Instead, he relied on his Mountain and River Martial Soul and powerful Soul Power to simulate the process.

During the simulation, he unexpectedly stood up, his body floating a foot above the ground. His hands began to move seemingly on their own.

”What’s that guy doing? Gesturing at thin air?”

Ling Xiao’s position at the most conspicuous spot for refining made his every move visible to all—judges, contestants, audience alike.

His strange behavior left everyone baffled.

”Is he losing his mind?”

Someone asked in confusion.

”Idiot. That’s called the Sensory Testing Method! Only alchemists with extremely strong Soul Power can pull it off. It may look like he’s waving his hands at nothing, but what he sees is actually a real alchemy platform unfolding before him.”

The one who explained this was naturally a knowledgeable expert.