Unorthodox Method

--- Chapter 53 ---

Everyone started refining the Black Leaf Crystal Cores and placed down their Alchemist Furnace, making the viewer's eyes wide in shock because some contestants possess treasure-grade furnaces.

Even though Alchemist Furnace helped with the refining, skills matter the most in this refining. Not to mention Black Leaf Crystal Cores are a unique mineral with immense impurities, so testing Alchemist's skill with it was a tradition for millennia.

It doesn't have many uses but shows how skilled Alchemists can be.

The refining result of Black Leaf Crystal Cores started from Black, Purple, Deep Blue, Pale Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red. Any skilled 4-Tier Alchemist could achieve Red Color without trying.

A flamboyant-looking yet tall young man pulled his extravagant Alchemist Furnace and placed it on the table. He appears to be more on the soft side of a charming male, making some ladies' hearts flutter.

Wearing a green-brown colored alchemist coat on top of his blue suit, Liu Ling winked at the ladies and summoned his flame. He grabbed Black Leaf Crystal Core and started refining.

Yawn~!

"Hmm? Fellow Alchemist there, aren't you too laid-back?" He asked Baek Ain, who lazily leaned on the table beside him. "Refining process takes a lot of time, you know?"

Baek Ain yawned and replied, "I'm preparing myself here."

"Don't worry. Focus on your part."

"I see... I warned you already." Liu Ling nodded calmly and focused on refining his Black Leaf Crystal Core.

As everyone refined their Black Leaf Crystal Core, Baek Ain observed them with his Sixth Sense and shook his head because they used Alchemist Furnace as if their lives depended on it.

Well, Baek Ain couldn't blame them for being blind.

"The best way to refine minerals is through intense pressure and heat."

"Refining it with fire will do, but very shallow." Grabbing the Black Leaf Crystal Core, which is the size of an adult hand. Baek Ain added Gnome's Flame to his palms and squished them together.

Some people noticed Baek Ain's method and looked at him weirdly.

"What's he doing?"

"Where is his Alchemist Furnace?"

"Pfft, that guy probably doesn't have one."

"Having a handsome face but couldn't afford an Alchemist Furnace, how laughable."

"True, hahaha~!"

Some salty observers commented and ridiculed Baek Ain, but the young man ignored them. They didn't notice the intense heat and pressure within Baek Ain's palms, creating some puff of smoke.

The Legendary Alchemist, Fa Ma, peeked and observed Baek Ain with his experienced eyes. "Oh? The grand meeting is going to be interesting." He smirked in amusement.

After five minutes, almost every contestant finished their refining, leaving only Xiao Yan, Royal Princess, a black-robed alchemist, Liu Ling, and Baek Ain.

Jia Yu'er opened her furnace and brought out a pale blue crystal, gaining everyone's attention.

"Oh my god, it's pale blue!"

"Pale blue, as expected of a Royal Princess."

"She's such a talented alchemist."

Jia Yu'er haughtily crossed her arms and said, "This much is nothing."

"No, princess. You can't look down on others that easily." Liu Ling pulled out his crystal and showed everyone a beautiful green color.

"Oh! It's Green!"

"The disciple of Pill King Gu He is no joke."

"His ability is one of the best."

"But that left us with three other contestants..."

Everyone moved their gazes to Xiao Yan, Black-robed Alchemist, and Baek Ain.

Xiao Yan slammed his hand onto the table and released a sudden burst of white flame. A red-colored crystal floated in the air and shocked everyone to the core.

"A-Amazing..."

They are astonished by Xiao Yan's ability.

And some people noticed his white flame released extreme chill as well.

The Black-robed Alchemist chuckled and said, "You're not the only one here, boy."

DING!

A bright red-colored crystal appeared and illuminated the altar.

"T-That's purer than that young man's..."

Baek Ain shrugged and opened his palm, shining the whole area with bright crimson-gold light. They finally looked at him and saw a new kind of Black Leaf Crystal Core.

Even though Baek Ain's crystal is smaller than others, its crimson glow is the most beautiful under the sky. There is also no blemish within the crystal, indicating its pureness.

"T-This is..."

"Crimson Gold?"

"Err... I thought Red is the highest refinement?"

Yafei stepped on the podium again and declared, "Stop your work!"

"Judge, please show the result."

Fa Ma opened his mouth and announced, "That young man is the victor of the first round."

His finger is "casually." pointed at one person, and that person is Baek Ain.

"WHAT?!!"

Brushing his beard, Fa Ma smiled and commented, "The purpose of 1st round is to show your ability to refine medicine ingredients, which is crucial in pill making."

"The purer it is, the better effect will be when making Medicinal Pills."

"That young man might use unorthodox method, but it's the most efficient without being tied to a common standard."

"Boy, can you explain how you do it?" He asked Baek Ain.

Baek Ain shook his head because Fa Ma wanted his method to spread across the Jia Ma Empire. Well, even knowing it won't change much to the current standard.

"Diamonds and other precious minerals are "naturally." formed under pressure, so I applied the same principle(artificially) to the task. I'm just lucky and have the ability to do so." Baek Ain answered casually.

"You can try, but I don't recommend copying my method."

"You'll hurt yourself."

"Interesting." Fa Ma nodded in understanding.

"Such an unorthodox method."

Xiao Yan solemnly stared at Baek Ain and finally recognized him.

"It's him."

"Teacher, how could he grow tremendously in less than a year?"

Yao Chen observed Baek Ain from Xiao Yan's ring tied with an ancient-looking rope around his neck and commented, "What a genius..."

"It's not as simple as Baek Ain said, Xiao Yan. A skilled Alchemist could feel the residue heat in his palm. And his cultivation is 5-Star Dou Grandmaster, what a monster."

"You might have a heavy contender to win this competition, but with me here. You can win it easily."

"Let's focus on the next round. After all, that young man didn't show hostility toward you."

Even though Yao Chen said so, he couldn't get his hand on Baek Ain's sudden improvement. And something about the young man's demeanor is bothering him.

"Okay..." Xiao Yan responded with a frown.

Yafei felt proud because her lover dominated the first round, but she knew this was just the tip of the iceberg.

She cleared her throat and said, "1st Place is Baek Ain."

"2nd Place is Yan Li from Chu Yuan Empire."

"3rd is Yan Xiao."

"4th is Liu Ling."

"And 5th is your highness, Jia Yu'er."

"What? We almost lost to the Chu Yuan Empire Bastard?!" The spectators were speechless. They didn't expect someone from Chu Yuan, who was known as the den of Poison Dou Masters, to appear here.

Simply put, the Chu Yuan Empire has a horrible reputation.

"Thank god, there is Baek Ain."

"If not, we would have lost our face..."

The Black-robed Alchemist scowled at Baek Ain and whispered, "Hmph, just you wait."

Yafei smiled inside because Baek Ain was starting to gain public favor and added, "Now, let's proceed to the next round."

She glanced back at the judge and gave the high-ranked Alchemist a chance to speak.

The high-ranked Alchemist summoned several scrolls and medicinal ingredients for the contestant, placing them on their table. He looked at them and announced, "The second round is about pill-making."

"Before you, there are the recipe scroll and medicine ingredients. You have to follow the instructions and make the pill to qualify for the 3rd round."

'If only the 2nd round is that simple.' Baek Ain thought while checking the scroll with his spiritual energy. It's not your typical scroll, as Alchemists require spiritual energy to read imprinted messages.

Well, that's common sense.

Reading the content of the recipe, Baek Ain chuckled amusingly and commented, "Heh, interesting."

"They want to eliminate an incompetent contestant."

"Bold move, but I like it."

Yafei raised her slender arm and said, "Second Round Begins!"