Rise from a Poor Family: My Martial Arts Counterattack

Chapter 510 Acquaintance
next day!

The Tiangong Pavilion was still bustling with activity, with the number of martial artists in the stands increasing by 10% compared to yesterday.

The top 100 round of the alchemy competition is not worth much attention for many strong individuals, but now that it's down to the top 10, the level of excitement is far greater than that of the first round.

The seats were the same as yesterday, but this time Li Hong, the fourth elder of the Li family, also made an appearance.

There were quite a few experts at the fifth level of the Innate Realm in the entire spectator stands. Families like the Li family and some sects also sent their elders.

"Fourth Elder, the previous alchemy competition is nowhere near as good as this one."

A member of the Li family nearby sighed. He had just thought of releasing his divine sense, but before it could extend very far, it immediately retracted because his divine sense was instantly suppressed by several more powerful divine senses.

"It will be even more lively tomorrow."

Li Hong spoke calmly, saying that those who came today were only at the fifth level of the Innate Realm, but by tomorrow, even some experts at the sixth level of the Innate Realm would probably show up.

"Master Xiao is on stage!"

As the bell rang, Lin Chen and the others filed into the square.

This time, only one hundred alchemy furnaces remained in the square, and each contestant's furnace was far enough away from the others.

The rankings in the first round of the alchemy competition do not carry over to the next two rounds, but the first round determines the ranking position. Lin Chen was seventy-sixth in the previous round, and now he is ranked in the middle of the seventh row.

"I wonder what the assessment will be like this round?"

"If we follow the rules of previous years, the Thousand Machines Sect will prepare three different types of pills for this round. Each contestant must refine all three types of pills. Whoever finishes refining them the fastest will be the first."

Innate-level martial arts pills can be roughly divided into four categories: those that enhance innate power, those that strengthen the soul, those that heal injuries, and those with special effects, such as poison pills...

The alchemy competition will not assess the refining of poison pills, so the assessment will generally focus on the first three types of pills.

"This year is different, and the rules may change as well."

"I think the rules won't change, but the difficulty might increase."

While the onlookers were speculating, at the very front of the square, an old man with white hair floated in the air: "The second round of the alchemy competition requires the refining of three kinds of pills: Innate Powder, Spirit Nourishing Pill, and Jade Dew Pill!"

hiss!
Upon hearing the old man announce the pills that needed to be refined, a collective gasp erupted from the stands.

"There are actually three kinds of four-star pills!"

"It's not just four-star pills; these three types of pills are all of medium to high difficulty in refining among four-star pills."

"In the previous competition, I'm afraid half of the contestants wouldn't even have been able to successfully refine it, let alone keep up with the time."

……

Lin Chen's divine sense was also monitoring the other contestants. When the old man named the three pills, he could sense that the souls of several contestants fluctuated.

It seems that the difficulty of this round of assessments has exceeded their expectations.

At the forefront, Jiang Yaoyan glanced at the man in black beside him. He already knew the man's identity: Jiang Chen, the personal disciple of the Dan Pavilion Master of the Thousand Machines Sect.

Seeing that Jiang Chen's expression remained unchanged, Jiang Yaoyan sneered inwardly. It seemed that the Thousand Machines Sect had informed Jiang Chen in advance what kind of pills he would be tested in this round, and it was even possible that Jiang Chen had refined these three kinds of pills many times in advance.

But so what? He is the young master of Medicine King Valley, and in alchemy, no one in the younger generation can surpass him.

"In this round of competition, the time is measured in one-hour intervals. If the completion times differ by no more than one hour, they are considered equal. Apart from time, the number of pills used in the same time will determine the ranking. If the time and quantity are equal, I will judge the strength of the pills to determine the ranking. Do any of you have any objections?"

Upon hearing that the time difference was only one hour, which meant they were on equal footing, many contestants breathed a sigh of relief.

Their biggest worry was that rushing to finish the alchemy process would lead to flaws. Now, as long as the time difference is within one hour, it's considered the same time, which frees them from the need to be overly concerned about time.

The white-haired old man slowly swept his gaze across the faces of all the contestants. Seeing that no one raised any objections, he continued, "When the bell tolls, the alchemy will begin."

After announcing the rules, the white-haired elder sat down in the chair at the very front, and soon disciples of the Thousand Machines Sect began distributing baskets of medicinal herbs to the contestants.

"Senior Brother Zeng, do you think Senior Brother Jiang can win this round?"

Near the stands belonging to the Thousand Machines Sect, a group of young people were whispering among themselves.

Hearing a question from a junior brother beside him, Zeng Xi shook his head: "It's hard to judge. Jiang Yaoyan from Medicine King Valley is not weak. The main thing is that this is only the top 100. The first and second place are actually the same and will not be included in the final round of rankings."

"Although it doesn't count towards the rankings, winning the alchemy competition for three consecutive rounds is completely different in meaning and impact from winning it in the last round."

A young man from the Thousand Machines Sect muttered, "A true genius wouldn't hold back their strength in the early rounds just for the final round. Holding back their strength in the early rounds only shows a lack of confidence in their own abilities."

Those who are confident will choose to take all the first place. In previous alchemy competitions, except for a few years, most of the winners won first place in three consecutive rounds.

Hearing the whispers around him, Zeng Xi gave a wry smile. As a key disciple being groomed by the sect, he knew more about the inside story of this competition than his fellow disciples. This year's competition featured many exceptional alchemy talents, several even approaching the age of fifty, their strength not to be underestimated. ...

"Thank you."

Seeing the Thousand Machines Sect disciple place the medicine basket beside him, Lin Chen smiled and thanked them.

"You're too kind, senior. No... no need."

The disciples of the Thousand Machines Sect were somewhat flustered upon hearing Lin Chen's gratitude. He was merely an outer disciple of the Thousand Machines Sect, holding some status outside the sect, but in the eyes of a Xiantian expert, that was nothing. Moreover, those who could appear here were not only Xiantian experts but also highly promising alchemists.

The scene of Lin Chen thanking the outer disciples was also witnessed by the other contestants. Their expressions varied, some were puzzled, some were surprised, and some were disdainful and sarcastic.

Lin Chen didn't care about this, and soon the others also lost interest in Lin Chen because the bell in the square rang.

Boom!
The moment the magnificent bell rang, hundreds of contestants on the square instantly began to move, and the originally noisy stands fell silent.

Identify the medicinal materials, then select them, and put them into the furnace...

boom!
This time, the one who put the medicinal herbs into the furnace the fastest and caused the flames to rise was neither Jiang Yaoyan nor Jiang Chen, but an alchemist from the second row.

This is a middle-aged alchemist. The moment he closed the lid of his alchemy furnace, crimson flames appeared underneath.

"Primordial Fire!"

In the stands, many martial artists exclaimed in surprise, but it was only a small group. For those who knew about this alchemy competition, there were definitely quite a few alchemists with innate fire in this year's competition.

"This is the Soul-Devouring Flame. Although it is not the most suitable for alchemy among the innate flames, it is still stronger than ordinary flames."

In one corner of the stands, a group of young men and women dressed in bright red were whispering among themselves. If Lin Chen looked over there, he would surely recognize a few familiar faces.

Elder Zhuang Lie of the Wanhuo Sect, along with Du Shuang and Zhao Haoyang.

Every time the Thousand Machine Domain holds a weapon-refining competition, the Wanhuo Sect will send its elders and disciples to watch, because at least a few weapon refiners in each competition have refined innate fire.

“This person did not truly refine the innate fire, but merely subdued it. Look closely at the Soul-Devouring Fire; it appears stable, but flames are floating outwards from the very bottom.”

Zhuang Lie glanced at the middle-aged man and gave his conclusion.

In the eyes of most martial artists, there is no difference between subduing innate fire and refining innate fire. Especially for weapon refiners, they only need to use innate fire to make the weapon refining or pill refining process smoother. Subduing and refining are the same.

However, the Wanhuo Sect, being the most profound in its research on innate fire, clearly understands the difference between the two.

Refining a primordial fire means making it a part of your body, just like controlling your limbs. Subduing a primordial fire, however, means that the primordial fire is still an external object, more like controlling a treasure. Under normal circumstances, there is no difference, but in some special situations, the difference will become apparent.

"That's really true. Master, you have a sharp eye."

Zhao Haoyang offered a flattering remark, but Zhuang Lie sneered, "Flattery won't help. If you can't refine a second innate fire after we get back, you'll be spending three years in the Fire Cave."

"master……"

Zhao Haoyang's lips twitched. He had only refined the first innate fire not long ago. How could he have refined the second one so quickly?

"What's wrong? Do you think the requirements I set for you are too difficult? Don't forget that Lin Chen had already refined three innate flames last year. Aren't you dissatisfied with Lin Chen?"

Faced with his master's words, Zhao Haoyang fell completely silent.

He was initially unconvinced by Senior Brother Lin, but later he became completely convinced and utterly submissive.

Du Shuang and the others nearby were secretly laughing. The entire sect knew that Lin Chen had joined the Canglan Sect. Elder Zhuang was so angry that he said many times that it was a waste of Lin Chen's talent for fire refining if he didn't come to the Wanhuo Sect.

Elder Zhuang was swayed by Lin Chen's flattery. After accepting Junior Brother Zhao as his disciple, he strictly demanded that Junior Brother Zhao meet Lin Chen's standards.

"Let me tell you, if you can refine three innate flames like Lin Chen, or even just two, you can still get into the top ten in alchemy right now."

"Master, you're not kidding, are you?"

Zhao Haoyang was somewhat skeptical, as were Du Shuang and the others. These alchemists on the field had been immersed in alchemy for over a decade or even several decades. Could they really surpass him with just innate fire?

"Refining innate fire requires a powerful divine soul, and alchemy also requires a powerful divine soul as a foundation. The so-called alchemy is to use divine sense to perceive the condition of the pill and then control the flame to make the pill take shape. That's roughly the process. You just need to learn some alchemy principles."

Seeing the still somewhat doubtful looks in his disciples' eyes, Zhuang Lie gave a light snort and didn't explain further.

The alchemy was indeed as he said, but it was certainly not that simple to actually refine. However, he believed that if that little guy Lin Chen were here, with his divine soul talent and the innate fire he had refined, as long as he understood the principles of alchemy, he would still have a chance to enter the top ten.

This little guy has been out of the public eye ever since he reached the summit of Martial Dao Mountain. I wonder how far he is from the second level of the Innate Realm.

Zhuang Lie thought about what he had told Lin Chen, asking him to come to the Ten Thousand Fires Sect again in two years, provided that he had already entered the second stage of the Innate Realm.

Originally, I thought Lin Chen might not be able to reach the second level of the Innate Realm within two years, but I didn't expect this little guy to give me such a big surprise. During his battle with Sima Kong, he had already reached the second level of the Innate Realm.
(End of this chapter)