Chapter Fifty-Two: The Void-Returning Pill

Time was slowly slipping away, and the end of the first round drew ever closer. The crowd gathered below the training ground murmured in confusion, wondering what those two children were doing up there, why they hadn’t finished their pill refining yet, and whether they intended to be driven off the stage.

Fortunately, it was only two children on the training ground. Though the spectators were puzzled, none voiced their disapproval; had it been two adults putting on such a show, the crowd would surely have erupted in jeers.

Above, Che Wuyou watched the timer incense burn shorter and shorter, growing increasingly anxious. Why hadn’t the pills formed yet? So much time had already passed. He carefully sensed the spiritual energy fluctuations within the alchemy furnace, but nothing seemed amiss. Still, the pills had not formed...

He couldn’t afford to worry; he had to increase the heat. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be enough time. With this in mind, Che Wuyou adjusted the flame knob, raising the temperature.

On the other side of the training ground, the youngest of the Ten Sages of the Medicine Garden, a girl, curiously glanced at Che Wuyou as he increased the heat. After a moment’s thought, she also adjusted her flame knob, raising her own temperature.

Hong Tao, the host of the pill competition, saw both of them adjust their flame knobs but then fall still once again. Unable to contain himself, he urged, “There’s only one centimeter of incense left! Time’s almost up—hurry up!”

“Oh,” the two replied in unison, glanced at Hong Tao, exchanged a quick look, and then refocused on their pill refining.

Hong Tao had meant to urge them off the stage, assuming that after so much time their efforts had already failed. Yet the children seemed not to understand his prompting and continued their work. Did they really intend to use up every last moment? Was there any point in that?

The spectators shook their heads and chuckled. Children were children; losing was losing, yet they insisted on playing tricks. Miao Shilin, watching Che Wuyou above, looked uneasy. Che Wuyou represented Miao Village. If, after the time ran out, it was revealed that Che Wuyou had failed long ago, it would be a great embarrassment—for Miao Village, no less. And from the look of things, that seemed quite likely...

Frustrated, Miao Shilin glanced at Old Man Whitebeard beside him, and upon seeing the elder’s gloomy face, Miao Shilin’s mood unexpectedly improved. After all, Medicine Garden also had a disciple in the running. If there was embarrassment, at least they’d share it—and that thought was oddly comforting.

Only a sliver of incense remained. Hong Tao shook his head, preparing to announce the end of the round and unceremoniously send the two off the stage. But then, in perfect unison, they cried out, “The pills are done! The pills are done!” As they spoke, they opened their furnaces.

What? Was this even possible? Announcing completion at the very last moment? But had they really produced Enhancement Pills? After so much time, who could say what they had concocted?

Under curious gazes, the veteran pill appraisers nodded to each other and declared in unison, “Yellow-grade, low-quality Enhancement Pills, grade B... Yellow-grade, low-quality Enhancement Pills, grade B.”

What, both grade B? After so long, they’d managed grade B pills? The crowd stared at the two children, momentarily dumbfounded. Was this even possible? It seemed that even children couldn’t be underestimated these days. The three youngsters had all performed remarkably; now the spectators found themselves full of anticipation for the rounds to come.

As for Han Feng, when he heard Che Wuyou declare the pills finished, his grin stretched nearly to his ears. He was eager to use this result to slap Liu Lanzhi in the face. Liu Lanzhi had been obstinate, still waiting for Che Wuyou to work a miracle—was that even possible?

It was clear the pill refining had failed, yet Liu Lanzhi insisted otherwise. Well then, let facts speak for themselves. When the appraisers announced the result, Han Feng, along with the others, was stunned into silence. Che Wuyou’s luck was unbelievable; he’d managed to bluff his way through. Seeing the joyful faces around him, Han Feng felt as if he’d swallowed a fly.

The Medicine Garden girl curiously studied Che Wuyou. This boy was about her age, had adjusted his flame knob at the same moment as she, and had completed his pills at the very last second, just as she had. Even more coincidentally, both their pills were grade B. As she glanced at Che Wuyou, she saw him looking back; she blushed and lowered her head.

Che Wuyou felt a bit embarrassed by her reaction, and quickly turned away, preparing to join his senior brothers and sisters. Suddenly, he heard a soft, shy voice behind him: “My name is Gerlan. What’s your name? Is it Haiyuan?”

Che Wuyou was taken aback. Why Haiyuan? Then he remembered he was competing on behalf of Senior Haiyuan; the girl must have seen the little flag by his furnace and assumed he was Haiyuan. Che Wuyou turned and, after a moment’s hesitation, replied, “My name is Che Wuyou, not Haiyuan.”

The girl seemed surprised, perhaps not expecting Che Wuyou to be using a false name for the competition. Still, she gave him a shy smile. The sun was slanting across the ground, bathing her white dress in golden light.

Che Wuyou gazed at her beautiful smile, feeling it was pure and untouched—like a flower unsullied by the dust of the world, both beautiful and infectious. Seeing him still looking at her, the girl smiled again, then turned and ran toward the Medicine Garden.

The first round of eliminations had finally concluded. Many had expected that competitors from Miao Village and Medicine Garden would be knocked out, but miraculously, they all advanced to the second round.

The second round would take place that afternoon. Compared to the first, its difficulty was far greater. Luck had played a role in the first round—if one was fortunate, they might pass. But the second round would require true skill; there was no room for chance.

This round also used the burning of a single incense stick as a timer. Those who exceeded this limit or failed in pill refining would be eliminated. The first round had required Enhancement Pills; the second round demanded Return-to-Void Pills—a medicine similar in function to Enhancement Pills, but classified as yellow-grade, middle-quality, and used by practitioners at the Origin-Returning Realm.

Those who could refine yellow-grade, middle-quality pills were considered masters throughout southern Ji Prefecture, and Return-to-Void Pills were among the most advanced of the yellow middle-grade class, second only to the highest yellow-grade pills in terms of difficulty. The challenge was considerable.

The members of Miao Village frowned, their morning joy at passing the first round dampened by harsh reality.

“You’ve never refined Return-to-Void Pills before. The difficulty is immense; I fear only Han Feng and Lanzhi stand a chance this time.” Miao Shilin hadn’t wanted to say it, but reality forced his hand. In truth, he had little confidence even in Han Feng and Liu Lanzhi. Judging by the first round, Liu Lanzhi had a fifty percent chance, Han Feng perhaps thirty.

Hearing their master’s words, the disciples looked glum, some even resistant. But upon reflection, they realized Miao Shilin hadn’t exaggerated—the rest had little hope. Take the materials for instance: thirty-three kinds in all. Integrating them precisely was a daunting task, given their varying heat tolerances. If, during fusion, one ingredient was burned due to excessive heat, all would be lost.

Medicine Garden had triumphed in the first round, all ten disciples advancing. Yet now, even they wore rare expressions of concern.

“If it were any other yellow-grade, middle-quality pill, we’d have no trouble. But this time it’s the Return-to-Void Pill—one of the trickiest among them. I’m afraid only I and little sister Gerlan have a chance; the others will likely be eliminated,” Gerlem said with confidence. The others did not dispute it, clearly agreeing.

Luckily, this was a private conversation. Had the other competitors heard it, they would have been astounded—not only did Gerlem claim confidence, he also said Gerlan was likely to succeed, which was shocking given that Gerlan had nearly run out of time in the first round.

“Little sister, you’re always so focused, so meticulous—you approach everything with such seriousness. With your skills, refining Enhancement Pills is easy; you don’t need to be so methodical... Just toss all the ingredients in at once, instead of adding them one by one. You nearly ran out of time because of that.”

Gerlem spoke with rare gentleness. Gerlan was the most talented among his fellow disciples, and though least known, she was Medicine Garden’s true secret weapon.

Gerlan blushed slightly, finally saying, “I wanted to make a grade A Enhancement Pill, but there wasn’t enough time. I had to speed up at the end, and so I ended up with grade B instead.”