Chapter 114 - Identifying Ingredients and Pills
historical
At the elder's seating area, the first elder, Cheng Biao began to speak while a flicker could be seen in his eyes, “We’ll begin the first round now. It is very simple; to identify materials and pills. You are required to identify fifty different ingredients, and fifty different pills by writing down the unique characteristics of the ingredients, and the restrictions of the pills. Everyone has a single chance only. The round begins now!”
As he flung his sleeve, countless light beams landed before the crowd of disciples, which appeared to be the fifty different materials and fifty different pills.
However, the disciples were utterly stunned on the spot, as many of them wore unpleasant expressions on their faces, before voicing out.
“Identifying ingredients and pills? Why is this part of the trial?”
“Damn it. Apparently, the first elder is an expert in Pill Alchemy, and Nangong Cheng is one of his disciples; he surely knows how to identify the ingredients and pills. The first round of the trial is specifically designed for Nangong Cheng!”
“What the f**k, such a shameless act. So they are just helping Nangong Cheng to come first in the trial? This isn’t fair!”
“They made the first round to identify ingredients and pills just because they want to make Nangong Cheng come first; I’m f**king speechless right now!”
....
Many participants began to curse silently, as their eyes were filled with rage.
Normally, ordinary disciples would focus on improving their cultivation; hence, not many would be familiar with ingredients and pills.
As a result, most of them would lose the chance of acquiring a top five spot in the trial without any doubt.
Upon seeing this, Qin Nan shook his head; he did not expect the first elder Cheng Biao to be so ruthless, specifically designed the first round just for Nangong Cheng.
“Be quiet!” Cheng Biao displayed a hint of imperiousness on his face while facing the crowd, before saying in a cold tone, “If anyone were to talk any nonsense, the person will be disqualified instantly; start identifying the materials and pills at once!”
After receiving the warning, the cursing disciples had their faces changed slightly, and they turned silent.
Even if they were not satisfied with the trial, they could only hold their grudges and focus on the task before them.
They would not dare to offend Cheng Biao, the first elder!
Nangong Cheng was the first participant to identify the ingredients and pills.
With a smile, Nangong Cheng approached the pile of ingredients and pills and began to identify each of them. After a period of around eighty breaths’ time, Nangong Cheng withdrew his gaze and wrote his answers confidently on a piece of paper, before submitting it.
After seeing Nangong Cheng taking the head start, a few of disciples who were relatively familiar with Pill Alchemy ran out of patience and stepped forward to start identifying the ingredients and pills.
The dojo turned lively once again.
After over three hundred disciples finished their turns, it was finally Qin Nan’s turn.
Qin Nan’s entry immediately grabbed the attention of the crowd; even Cheng Biao who sat at the first spot of the elder's seating area glanced toward him, who had now become the limelight.
After seeing Qin Nan, Nangong Cheng’s eyes flickered with coldness as he burst out laughing, “HAHA, Junior Brother Qin Nan, this round of identifying ingredients and pills is incredibly challenging. As your Senior Brother, I’ll give you a piece of advice. The features of the ingredients are concealed using special methods, and the restrictions are placed within the pills with special methods as well. You must observe carefully; if not, it would be too embarrassing if you end up getting a zero score for this round!”
The crowd of disciples wore a weird expression on their faces after hearing this.
They did not expect Nangong Cheng to speak at that instant, mocking Qin Nan.
Qin Nan glanced at him without saying anything, who then secretly executed his Eyes of the Divine Battle Spirit, and scanned the fifty ingredients and pills swiftly.
The Eyes of the Divine Battle Spirit immediately exposed the secrets of the ingredients and the pills. Despite being concealed by first elder Cheng Biao using special methods, it could not stop Qin Nan’s vision.
“The first elder Cheng Biao specifically prepared this round of identifying ingredients and pills for Nangong Cheng, but he would not expect me to have these Eyes of the Divine Battle Spirit, which are able to see through everything..”
Without any hesitation, he recorded his answers on a piece of paper and handed it to the examiner in charge.
The whole process took less than thirty breaths’ time, which was faster than Nangong Cheng’s speed by a large margin.
The crowd of disciples stared with their eyes opened wide; they did not expect Qin Nan to finish identifying and writing the answers down so quickly.
The disciples then let out sighs of relief in their heart; even though Qin Nan possessed an incredible strength which was comparable to Nangong Cheng’s, it seemed like Qin Nan was a complete novice in Pill Alchemy.
Nangong Cheng burst out laughing again; he even clapped his hands as he said, “Nice, very nice, Junior Brother Qin Nan, you’re so impressive, to be able to identify the characteristics and restrictions of the ingredients and pills in less than thirty breaths’ time. It seems like Junior Brother Qin Nan’s talent in Pill Alchemy completely outmatches ours. I am very impressed!”
The twenty elders at the elder's seating area could not help but glance toward Qin Nan with weird expressions on their faces, and their eyes filled with compassion.
Everyone could tell that Nangong Cheng’s words were not complimentary; he was being sarcastic.
In these fifty ingredients and fifty pills, there were restrictions and secrets added by the first elder, Cheng Biao using special methods; even ordinary Pill Alchemy experts would not be able to identify the ingredients and pills correctly in thirty breaths’ time.
These elders did not believe that Qin Nan’s Pill Alchemy skill had surpassed a Pill Alchemy expert!
Despite that, the crowd was dumbstruck when Qin Nan brought his fists together and said smilingly, as if he did not detect the sarcasm in Nangong Cheng’s words, “Thank you for the compliment. I’m feeling guilty for taking away Senior Brother’s first place in this round!”
The words caused the disciples to be stunned immediately.
So cocky!
So disrespectful!
Qin Nan thinks his Pill Alchemy skill is stronger than Nangong Cheng’s?
At the elder's seating area, Cheng Biao’s face darkened, and a hint of murderous intent flickered within his eyes.
As for the other elders, they were slightly startled, before letting out a smile secretly; most of them disagreed with having this test as the first round of the trial, but as they possessed limited power before the first elder, Cheng Biao, they could only keep quiet.
Now seeing an outer domain disciple challenge Nangong Cheng directly, they felt instantly delighted!
Nangong Cheng’s expression stiffened, as he had not expected Qin Nan to react like this. After taking a deep breath, Nangong Cheng collected his thoughts and said, “If Junior Brother is so confident, why not have a bet with me? If you were to win this round, I’ll give you a hundred thousand Xiantian Pills! If you lose, hand over your Seven Great Sins! How’s that?”
Everyone was astonished at this moment, and their expressions changed slightly.
We’re speaking of a hundred thousand Xiantian Pills right here, an incredible amount of fortune!
Nangong Cheng dares to bet one hundred thousand Xiantian Pills?
At this moment, the silent crowd turned noisy instantly, as many of the disciples began to discuss while pointing around.
“This Nangong Cheng is too shameless. This bet is surely a win for him, and he still have the nerve to bet?”
“That’s right. In terms of Pill Alchemy, who would be matched against Nangong Cheng’s skill?”
“Hmph, Nangong Cheng had already caused the first round to be set as identifying ingredients and pills using his relationship with his master. He dares to suggest such a shameless bet now?”
“Well, you guys have to remember, if Qin Nan wasn’t so cocky just then, I don’t think Senior Brother Nangong Cheng would suggest such a bet, right?”
“Nonetheless, Qin Nan will definitely reject the suggestion; it is a guaranteed loss for him!”
....
Many disciples began to stand on Qin Nan’s side so as to be just.
At that instant, among the crowd, Xiao Leng and Chu Yun exchanged glares with each other while remaining silent, with no intention to say anything.
They understood Qin Nan’s personality too well; they already knew what Qin Nan would say after Nangong Cheng suggesting something like this.
As expected, after a while, Qin Nan let out a smile and said in an insignificant tone, “If Senior Brother wants to gift me a hundred thousand Xiantian Pills, I’ll be more than happy to accept it!”
The words served like a grenade explosion among the crowd.