Chapter 191

Chapter 191: Drawing Huo Yi Han’s Attention

On the field, twenty alchemists formed a wide circle, each with a complete set of alchemy tools before them. As Rong Shu reached her station, the empty spot to her right was taken by someone familiar—Huo Yi Han. She stilled for a heartbeat; so he had been placed beside her. Schooling her mind, she kept a calm, steady face. With her disguise, Huo Yi Han would not recognize her. Since they “did not know” each other and were opponents besides, there was naturally no conversation.

At the start of the round, the twenty alchemists each put forth a fourth-grade recipe; then everyone had to refine all twenty pills at the same time. In this third round, the time allotted each pass was precisely the standard completion time for all the pills; in other words, everyone had only one attempt. If you failed midway, you practically had no time to try again. Final placement would be determined by success rate.

Scanning the other nineteen recipes at a glance, Rong Shu picked out five she had refined before and began with those. None of the fourth-grade alchemists present refined one furnace at a time; all split their focus to control two or more furnaces, refining several pills simultaneously.

The first pass eliminated two people. The second pass eliminated three. By the third pass, many pills appeared that Rong Shu had never refined. [Damn, what a bunch of crafty old foxes.] The alchemists who could reach the third round were basically “old monsters” who had lived longer than she could guess; their experience was richer, and the recipes they had seen far outstripped her own. If they were not all wary of exposing more important recipes, she might already have been eliminated.

After struggling through the third pass, Rong Shu decided to take out a recipe from the cave residence in the Scorchfire Secret Realm. The pill was called the Reeking Flatulence Pill, a rather obscure recipe whose user would emit eighteen differently scented foul farts. Its practical application was minimal, so even if the recipe were exposed it would cost her nothing. With the fourth pass underway, that one recipe of Rong Shu’s directly eliminated six people.

By the fifth pass, only seven remained. As usual, Rong Shu produced another cave-residence recipe from the Scorchfire Secret Realm and became one of three to enter the sixth pass. Even Huo Yi Han beside her was eliminated.

Without Huo Yi Han next to her, Rong Shu felt the air become noticeably fresher. Reaching the sixth pass, she hesitated and decided not to reveal another recipe. Third place was enough. She bowed out.

After the match, once the staff announced the time and list for tomorrow’s awards, Rong Shu was about to leave when Huo Yi Han called to her from the side: Those two recipes of yours are rare indeed. She blinked, then remembered that in the fifth pass he had been eliminated because of her recipe, finishing fifth. She smiled modestly: Just a small trick.

Huo Yi Han had lost to a recipe for the Open-Eyed Sleep Pill; his heart must feel as if he had eaten filth. But what did that have to do with Rong Shu? She had merely abided by the rules. Huo Yi Han’s gaze grew deep as he fixed on Rong Shu, thoughts unknown. He said: Excessive modesty becomes arrogance. If these were merely small tricks, how could you have passed all three rounds and taken third place?

Sir is formidable as well, replied Rong Shu with polite courtesy: To outstrip so many seasoned alchemists and take fifth is no ordinary feat. Seeing she intended to go, Huo Yi Han asked: May I have your name, fellow Daoist? With alchemy this accomplished, you must be a heaven-favored genius of some great power. Lin Fan, said Rong Shu, making up a name offhand.

Just then Yu Ruan Ruan, who had been in the stands, somehow wandered to Huo Yi Han’s side and said in a bright, artless voice: Second senior brother, do you know this young lady? Interrupted, Huo Yi Han turned his head and answered: A rival in the competition, so yes. Yu Ruan Ruan turned her smile to Rong Shu: How should I address you, young lady? I am the fourth disciple of Immortal Venerable Ze Yu of Heaven’s Evolution Sect, and this is my second senior brother. For you to be at the fifth layer of Qi Refining and already a fourth-grade alchemist… truly impressive.

Rong Shu gave a mild smile and did not take the bait: Fellow Daoists, I have matters to attend to, so I will take my leave. Since neither of them could recognize her now, she could not be bothered to keep up the small talk and simply turned on her heel. The smile on Yu Ruan Ruan’s face cracked for the briefest second.

At that moment the System suddenly spoke: [This person…] Just off the stage, Rong Shu’s steps hitched slightly as a brief heat stirred at her heart. Hm? Why was the Earthcore Fallen Lotus Flame reacting again? Ever since it had been fully subdued, it had behaved with perfect docility; now it felt as if it were straining to rush out.

Keeping her expression unchanged, Rong Shu swept a discreet glance around and found nothing amiss. Let me find senior brother first, she thought, soothing the Earthcore Fallen Lotus Flame as she headed to her rendezvous point with Wu Hua.

Elsewhere, faced with the System’s sudden voice, Yu Ruan Ruan asked in irritation: What is it? After a long pause, the System continued where it had left off: [Her fate… is a bit strange. It feels ordinary, no different from a common person.] Is that so, said Yu Ruan Ruan. She had assumed she had run into another heaven-favored one; learning the target was only ordinary, she lost interest at once.

Still, she had her eye on someone else. She turned to look at Xiao Zi An on the high platform, surrounded by admirers, and asked the System again in her heart: What about the man presiding over the Alchemy Conference—how is his fate? Her eyes flickered. He looked to have an impressive background; if she could connect with him…

The System gave a cold snort: [He gleams on the surface, arrogant and unrestrained, yet at root it is all illusory. There is a faint crisis of “substituting a plum for the peach.” His fate is indeed strong, but sadly… if you are not afraid of being dragged into a storm, you can approach him a little. If anything feels wrong, then withdraw.] That sounds troublesome, Yu Ruan Ruan muttered with a frown. There were very few people whose fate the System acknowledged as strong; she was reluctant to give up such a juicy piece of meat so easily.