Before long, all the contestants had taken their places.
Li Nanzhu looked around the arena. Today, Lin Xiaowan was not next to her; instead, she had drawn a position far away.
To her surprise, however, Zhou Zichun and Tao Ying were standing not far from her. They had also advanced to the second round of the Alchemy Great Competition.
Tao Ying gave her a shy wave, while Zhou Zichun gave a hearty laugh and a greeting. Li Nanzhu nodded back to them with a smile.
A disciplinary elder stepped onto the high platform, his booming voice echoing across the arena: "The second round of the competition will now begin. I shall announce the rules—"
The arena immediately fell silent as everyone focused their attention.
"Each person will be provided with three sets of basic materials and one interference material."
He scanned the crowd and continued, "You have a time limit of three hours to complete the refinement. Furthermore, you must use at least one interference material. The final score will be based on the medicinal properties and the fusion rate of the pill. The top thirty will advance."
"If the refinement fails or if no interference material is used, you will be disqualified immediately!"
As soon as he finished speaking, deacon disciples began distributing the materials.
These rules were identical to those of the second round of the Refining Great Competition, yet they caused the alchemists present to look solemn.
Lin Xiaowan whispered to Zhou Zichun beside her with a long face, "It's over, it's over. I'm most afraid of interference materials... That's exactly where I messed up last time."
Most of the other participants also looked worried. Even direct disciples like Jiang Zhi frowned slightly.
The properties of interference materials were difficult to control. A slight lack of caution could ruin the entire process, making this a massive test for any alchemist.
When the jade box containing the interference material was handed to Li Nanzhu, she looked at the material called heart-eroding grass. She was momentarily stunned, a flash of daze appearing in her eyes.
"Little disciple, remember this: there is no such thing as a true interference material in this world. They are only given such a name because alchemists cannot yet perfectly master their properties or find the critical point of balance to fuse them. Once that point of balance is found, any spiritual plant can be perfectly integrated."
This realization came from the precious inheritance Xiao Yan had given her.
That inheritance recorded in great detail the fusion methods for thousands of spiritual plants with conflicting properties—the culmination of Xiao Yan's lifelong research.
Over at the Shenmu Sect's side, Jiang Zhi shook his head when he saw the materials Li Nanzhu had drawn. "The properties of heart-eroding grass are violent and conflict with most spiritual plants. Unless one's control over medicinal properties has reached the absolute limit, failure is certain."
Wei Zhaoheng added, "She's only fifteen. How could she possibly master heart-eroding grass? It looks like she's going to be eliminated."
Even the elders on the platform shook their heads one after another.
"It seems she will stop here. It's a pity, considering those extreme-grade pills she produced yesterday."
"With our strength, interference materials naturally wouldn't pose a problem, but for her, it is still far too difficult."
No one had high hopes for Li Nanzhu.
In their eyes, based on her previous performance, even if she could refine tier 1 extreme-grade pills, she was destined to be eliminated in this round.
However, Li Nanzhu remained unusually calm.
She gently stroked the dark green leaves of the heart-eroding grass. Her fingertips could clearly feel the rampaging properties contained within, but a faint, almost imperceptible smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
Was this fate?
Back when she was with Xiao Yan practicing the three-flame control method, the material she had used most frequently was this very heart-eroding grass.
She knew every fiber of its texture, every one of its characteristics, and exactly how to fuse it with other medicinal ingredients.
The members of the Five Elements Dao Sect saw Li Nanzhu's smiling face and knew she was completely confident.
"I told you this thing wouldn't affect our junior sister!" Duan Xianxing said with an excited look, rolling his eyes as he spoke. "Only people without talent would say she can't do it!"
"That's true," Jiang Yifan agreed with a nod.
"So, we can't lose when it comes to momentum!" Duan Xianxing lifted his chin. "Let's start the slogan!"
He then watched as several of his senior brothers and sisters immediately scattered, leaving him standing there all alone.
There were many ways to cheer for their junior sister, and they did not want to use such an embarrassing method.
Fortunately, Li Nanzhu did not notice the movement on their side. As the bell marking the start of the competition rang, the atmosphere in the arena instantly became tense.
Some people cautiously attempted to add the interference material, only for the furnace to explode the moment it was put in, forcing them to start over covered in soot.
Others were too cautious, not daring to make a move as time slipped away, sweating profusely in their anxiety.
Although the direct disciples of the Shenmu Sect were skilled, they also appeared exceptionally careful.
Every time Jiang Zhi added heart-eroding grass, he had to repeatedly deduce the principles of medicinal generation and overcoming. Beads of sweat formed on Ye Zhiqiu's forehead, every movement performed with extreme care. Wei Zhaoheng even held his breath, focusing all his concentration on controlling the heat.
They all understood that the key to this round was how to balance the properties of the interference material. Everyone was struggling, trying to find that critical point of balance.
The audience's attention was mostly focused on the Shenmu Sect's direct disciples and several well-known alchemists. The elders on the judges' bench were also whispering among themselves, discussing the performances of the other contestants.
This suited Li Nanzhu perfectly.
She continued her refinement with composure, taking three stalks of moon-essence grass and slowly extracting their essence with a gentle fire.
Occasional glances swept over her but quickly moved on. After all, in everyone's eyes, a fifteen-year-old girl trying to handle heart-eroding grass was destined for failure.
Even Elder Tan on the judges' bench only gave her a faint glance.
It wasn't until Li Nanzhu began to process the heart-eroding grass that Elder Tan's gaze finally lingered on her for a moment longer.
However, when she saw Li Nanzhu directly select the leaf portion—the part of the heart-eroding grass with the most violent medicinal properties—she couldn't help but shake her head.
"Still too young," Elder Tan whispered to Yi Fengmian beside her. "The properties of the heart-eroding grass leaves are the most frenzied; even I must be extremely careful when handling them. She is being so reckless; I'm afraid her furnace will explode soon."
Yi Fengmian also nodded slightly. "Young people are ultimately too arrogant, thinking that refining extreme-grade pills yesterday means they can handle such troublesome spiritual plants."
The conversation between the two was overheard by several nearby elders, who all cast looks of agreement. In their view, Li Nanzhu's approach was indeed too risky and bound to fail.
However, Li Nanzhu was completely oblivious to all of this.
Under her control, the dark green luster of the heart-eroding grass leaf gradually became warm and moist, merging perfectly with the essence of the other spiritual plants.
Elder Tan, who had already looked away, turned her gaze back, a flash of surprise in her eyes. "Huh? It didn't explode?"
But she soon shook her head again. "It was likely just a bit of good luck. When she tries to fuse the other medicinal herbs later, there will definitely be a problem."
However, as time passed, Li Nanzhu's alchemy furnace continued to operate steadily.
Three hours passed quickly. When the disciplinary elder announced that time was up, the crowd opened their furnaces one after another.
"Jiang Zhi of the Shenmu Sect, tier 3 low-grade azure spirit pill, seven pills completed!"
"Ye Zhiqiu of the Shenmu Sect, tier 3 low-grade condensation pill, six pills completed!"
When it was Li Nanzhu's turn, the disciplinary elder's voice suddenly faltered.
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