The Second Round

"Next! Li Lang!"The entire room immediately gazed at the youngest contestant present. Some sneered or looked worried, while some were indifferent.As Li Lang made his way up to Elder Ma, the other participants conversed openly."I feel relieved I won't be last place at least…""Come on, are you really going to compare yourself with a new disciple? I just can't believe the sect would allow a beginner to participate and waste our precious resources.""I wonder what this kid was doing in the refining room for so long? He came out last, right?""Hey, Tong Baixuan, want to make a bet if this kid even managed to refine a pill with me?"Amidst all the chattering, Elder Ma paid them no heed as he received the pill bottle from Li Lang.He slowly took out the first pill and immediately, everyone else quieted down."...He actually successfully refined a pill!""How is that possible? At such a young age with his cultivation…There's no way he can even use Qi sense yet!""Is he blessed by the heavens in the way of alchemy?This time, the elder cleared his throat to silence the crowd before he announced his verdict."Subpar quality!""That…is to be expected. It is already amazing he could refine a pill without Qi sense."The other participants all turned their gaze at Li Lang again. This time, they weren't patronizing and contemptuous gazes, but one of respect and curiosity. However, they collectively gasped when they heard the next words from the elder."Next pill, subpar as well…""What? He succeeded twice, too?""Shush! Look, the elder is still going.""Subpar, subpar, subpar….subpar. Li Lang, ten batches successfully refined out of ten. All of subpar quality. Despite the quality, it is safe to say Li Lang has the highest success rate and the fastest as well.""What? Elder, I thought Li Lang was the slowest?"The kind elder slowly shook his head with a smile."No, he was the first to come out. He simply went to the washroom while he was waiting for the rest of you."The room collectively gasped and was stunned into silence as no one let out a word. Even the elder took a moment to process the results himself before he informed the participants of the next step."The first test is now over. The top half will be proceeding to the second test. I will now be announcing the names."No one was surprised when Li Lang's name was called out first. Some smiled when they heard their name, while those who knew they hadn't performed well didn't even seem to be bothered by the results and only stared at Li Lang in curiosity.__________________________________________________Please before continue reading 

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______________________________________________________"...and those are all who have passed. I thank you all for your hard work, even if you didn't perform up to your expectations. The pills you have refined will be much appreciated by the disciples participating in the combat events. I will come back to commence the second test once I have delivered the pills, so those who passed should stay here while the rest of you may leave."Despite the elder's declaration, none of the losers had left. They all stayed for the same reason: to watch the next round. They didn't bother to hide that they paid special attention to Li Lang in particular.Elder Ma swiftly disappeared from view. The tension in the room dialed down with his absence. One of the sharper participants immediately took the opportunity to approach Li Lang."Greetings, Li Lang." He held out a fist with his other hand in greeting. "I am Song Yun. I believe you have only recently joined the sect, so please feel free to come to me if you need anything.""Yes, nice to meet you. I will be in your care."Li Lang responded in kind. Behind Song Yun, several others were also eyeing a chance to greet him as well. If someone who wasn't in the know stumbled in, they would definitely find the scene strange, as several teenagers were taking turns to greet the youngest child here as if he was their grandfather.This is getting out of hand…I can barely remember their names, too…Thankfully, the elder hadn't taken too long and soon returned."Disciples, I hope you are ready for the second round, because we will be beginning right away. For the next round, we won't be refining anything. Instead, you will be tasked with analyzing a pill. You will have to identify the pill and the materials used to refine it. Please come receive your pill bottle when I call your name, but don't open it until you enter into your own refining room. You will then have one hour."With only half a dozen people left, Elder Ma handed out all the pills in no time at all.Li Lang raced into his room as soon as he received his pill and immediately took out Ruby.Good thing I haven't been putting anything into the auto-analyzer that would take days recently."Ruby, can you take this pill into the artifact space right away?""Master…are you sure you want to bring it into my artifact space? It'll disappear.""The elder didn't say anything about having to return it, so why not?""Master, you should know how long it usually takes to analyze a cultivation pill. At the very least, it'll take days.""You can just give me the incomplete results after an hour.""Very, well, master.""Even if I can't pass this round, at least we got a free pill to analyze. It's better than nothing."Knowing there was nothing else he could do, Li Lang began practicing his cultivation techniques to pass the time.An hour for a cultivator was only nothing at all. One by one, the remaining participants exited out of their rooms, each wearing a different expression. They soon all stared at the last remaining room belonging to the youngest contestant."He still isn't out yet? I did all I could, but after half an hour, I already knew I had reached my limit.""It's possible he has a great grasp of pill analysis considering his shocking success rate with refining."The crowd didn't get to gossip for long as Li Lang came out just as the hour ended.Elder Ma gave him a knowing nod before proceeding.Just like before, Elder Ma picked one of the volunteers to come up first."Song Yun, please tell me the results of your investigations. You have each received a different pill, so please feel free to go into detail as much as you want.""Yes, elder. I believe the pill I received was a mortal-grade Vitality Pill that uses an unorthodox formula. Unlike the common type that focuses on helping cultivator replenish their blood and nutrients, this one focuses more on curing illness for low-level cultivators. The materials used should be Lighthorn, Jade Leaves…"Li Lang listened attentively as he memorized everything said. He may have the auto-analyzer, but it didn't hurt to compare notes for when the time came for him to deal with the same pill."Very good. You have missed several ingredients and the name of the pill is actually Harmony Restoration Pill, but you are mostly right on the other things. Eighty-four points out of a hundred!" The elder declared.The next disciple wasn't so lucky, as they only got several ingredients right. They scored a measly thirty-five points."You need to work on your Qi sense technique if you want to make it far as an alchemist." Elder Ma shook his head. "Next!"The others that came after had mixed results, but none did better than the first contestant, Song Yun."Sixty-nine points. Next!"Finally, it was Li Lang's turn.Everyone in the room immediately focused on the young boy with the deformed physique.Li Lang sighed and walked up to the elder once again at the anticipating eyes of the others. The losers from the previous round chatted and yelled out words of encouragement."What score do you think he will get for this round?""Someone who can refine so quickly without using Qi sense should be quite knowledgeable in the way of alchemy. He even spent the full hours carefully studying the pill. It is hard to say, but it should be close to ninety points…""Right, after all, good things come in pairs. I'm sure he isn't only talented in refining, but analyzing too.""Show them how it's done, Li Lang!"With both hands behind him, Elder Ma stood up a little straighter as he received the boy."Go on, Li Lang. Tell me what you have discovered about the pill you received.""Elder, I…" Li Lang glanced around at the expectant eyes of the audience and took a deep breath. "There should be Jade leaves…"Li Lang listed several common auxiliary herbs used. At first, everyone listened attentively and figured he was getting the easy things out of the way. However, his voice soon slowed down before he was entirely silent."That's all I know…""What? That was all you figured out after spending the entire hour? Were you too afraid to show your face?" one of the other contestants cried out."Silence!" Elder Ma authoritatively silenced the crowd with his eyes. "Well, considering Li Lang can't use Qi sense, it isn't too surprising you are at a disadvantage when it comes to pill analysis. Tell me, what method did you use?""Umm…by eating it?"For the second time that day, the room was stunned into silence as they all stared dumbfounded at the young boy.