Starting as a supporting character in Doupo

Elder Hao's reputation within the inner courtyard is well-known. Since he is the referee, it means that this is definitely a fair competition.

Alchemists are a highly respected profession on the continent, and many people have never witnessed a competition between alchemists. Now that they have this opportunity, they will not let it pass.

After all, judging from the information they heard, both Han Xian and Xiao Yan are probably quite skilled in alchemy. A contest between two alchemy experts would definitely be very interesting.

Even among the elders, many hid in the crowd, secretly watching the competition.

Seeing the huge crowds at the scene, I couldn't help but sigh: It's been a long time since the inner courtyard has been this lively, except for a few special places like the trading area and the arena.

"Boom!"

As a clear bell rang out, the noisy crowd in the square gradually quieted down, their eyes curiously scanning the stage.

A figure slid down from mid-air under everyone's gaze and landed steadily on the stands. Dressed in a black robe and with a pale beard, he was Elder Hao from the Herbal Medicine Management Office.

"Cough cough."

Looking at the large number of students below, even Elder Hao was somewhat surprised. He cleared his throat and said calmly, "Yesterday, Xiao Yan and Han Xian approached me and asked me to be the referee for their alchemy competition. I thought that it would be a bit boring in the inner courtyard, so I agreed."

The voice was soft and not loud, yet it was clearly heard by everyone present, demonstrating Elder Hao's strength.

"I will choose the topics for their competition. To ensure fairness, neither of them knows the specific topics yet. After the competition, the quality of the pills they refine will be the deciding factor!"

The audience was somewhat surprised when Elder Hao announced the rules.

"They don't even know the question themselves?"

"That's what makes it interesting! Nobody knows the competition questions, which prevents them from preparing in advance. This way, the competition will truly reveal their abilities!"

"I wonder who will win. Han Xian's alchemy skills are quite impressive!"

"You think Xiao Yan is simple? You should know that the pills that the Panmen are currently offering are far more potent than those from the Medicine Gang..."

"Alright, please come in, you two!"

Ignoring the chattering crowd below, Elder Hao exchanged a quiet glance with several elders hidden in the crowd, nodded, and then spoke.

As Elder Hao finished speaking, Xiao Yan and Han Xian stepped onto the stands and stood on either side.

"These are the questions for this competition. Who wants to look at them first?" Elder Hao asked with a smile as he looked at the two people standing there. He took out a scroll, held it in his hand, and asked them.

"Then please go first, Senior Han Xian!" Xiao Yan nodded to Han Xian and said. Han Xian did not refuse. It was better to know the questions sooner so that he would have more time to prepare.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Han Xian stepped forward and took the scroll from Elder Hao's hand. His expression immediately turned ugly, making everyone realize that the questions Elder Hao had prepared were probably not simple. Otherwise, Han Xian would not have such an expression.

Having digested the contents of the pill formula, Han Xian walked back to his seat with a grim expression, his brows furrowed tightly as he looked at Xiao Yan opposite him.

Seeing Han Xian's performance, Xiao Yan knew that the question would probably be very difficult. He took the scroll from Elder Hao and examined the prescription information inside.

After reviewing the prescription, Xiao Yan frowned, his expression turning serious and grave.

"Hmph, keep pretending. Let's see how you can keep up the act."

Seeing Xiao Yan's expression, Han Xian believed that it was just Xiao Yan putting on an act to attract everyone's attention.

Once the refining process begins, Xiao Yan's feigned composure will naturally crumble.

After Xiao Yan digested the prescription, he rubbed his temples and looked at Elder Hao with a helpless expression, saying, "Elder Hao, you really think highly of us. This Dragon Power Pill is a fifth-grade pill. Even a fifth-grade alchemist who knows how to kill wouldn't necessarily be confident in refining it, right?"

"What?! A fifth-grade pill!"

Hearing Xiao Yan's words, the crowd finally understood why Han Xian had such a grim expression after examining the prescription. Although he was a peak fourth-grade alchemist, the probability of him refining a fifth-grade pill was extremely low.

A fifth-grade alchemist is someone even powerful figures at the Dou Wang or Dou Huang level would treat with respect.

If a sect were to choose between a Battle King or a Rank 5 Alchemist, most would probably choose the Rank 5 Alchemist. After all, what makes alchemists terrifying is not only their strength, but also their network of connections.

The assistance that a fifth-grade alchemist can provide is enough to make all Dou Wangs tremble with fear, and even the influence of some Dou Huang powerhouses may not be comparable.

"Hehe." After hearing Xiao Yan's words, Elder Hao still had a chuckling expression. "I'm giving you this prescription for free. A prescription for a fifth-grade pill is considered precious anywhere. You should be secretly happy to have it for your competition."

"In this competition, I will provide each of you with three portions of medicinal herbs for refining, free of charge. The winner will be determined by the quality of the pills you each refine."

"What if they all fail to refine them?" Han Xian interjected. "After all, refining fifth-grade pills is difficult, and it's not guaranteed that they can be successfully refined."

“Even if all the refining attempts fail, there will still be some failed powders. We can still tell who refined the better materials,” Elder Hao said calmly to Han Xian.

"In that case, I have no objection." Han Xian raised his hand in agreement upon hearing Elder Hao's words.

"Since no one has any objections, let's proceed with the competition..."

"Wait a moment!"

Just as Elder Hao was about to announce the start of the competition, a voice suddenly rang out from the square. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Xiao Fan standing not far away.

"Xiao Fan? What happened to him? Is the Panmen afraid?"

"Xiao Fan, is there anything else?" Elder Hao looked at Xiao Fan curiously, his tone somewhat puzzled.

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Xiao Fan felt a little helpless and had no choice but to step forward. After hesitating for a moment, he said to Elder Hao, "Um... I wonder if I can also participate in this competition?"

Xiao Fan didn't want to participate, but the system suddenly rang and triggered a new task for him.

"Ding! New mission triggered: Win against Xiao Yan in the alchemy competition. Mission reward: Alchemist experience +50, Battle Qi +100, Source Coins +3000; Failure penalty: Battle Qi -200, Source Coins -5000."

Although Xiao Fan did not intend to interfere in the competition between Xiao Yan and the others, the system triggered a mission, so Xiao Fan had no choice but to participate, since he could gain strength for free!

It's a pity that this mission only grants alchemist experience upon success. The previous doubled reward for failure is now part of the penalty. Therefore, if Xiao Fan wants to increase his alchemist experience, he can only win this competition. After all, leveling up as an alchemist is much more difficult than improving strength, and even Xiao Fan wouldn't want to give up such an opportunity.

"Sorry, junior brother, I can only show off this time!"

......

"You also want to participate in this competition?" Elder Hao looked at Xiao Fan with curiosity, then glanced at the two on the stage, his tone full of strangeness. "But aren't Xiao Yan and Han Xian the ones competing?"

Even Xiao Yan on the stage was a little curious as to why his senior brother suddenly wanted to participate. Was it because he was worried about his competition with Han Xian?

"No, no." Hearing Elder Hao's words, Xiao Fan waved his hand. "Their competition is still between the two of them." Xiao Fan shook his head and said seriously, "I'm participating in the competition because of you, Elder Hao!"

In order to participate in the competition, Xiao Fan had no choice but to quickly come up with a reason.

"For me?" While the audience below was surprised by Xiao Fan's words, Elder Hao was even more bewildered. "Why did this suddenly involve me?"

"Ahem." Xiao Fan was a little embarrassed, but thinking of the reward of alchemist experience, he couldn't care less about being reserved and blurted out, "Well... Elder Hao, didn't you say you would provide the prescription and three parts of alchemy materials for free? So I wanted to come up and give it a try."

Everyone:......

Upon hearing Xiao Fan's answer, the room fell silent instantly.

"This..." Elder Hao glanced at Xiao Fan, about to speak, but then seemed to hear something, paused slightly, and then nodded thoughtfully at Xiao Fan. "In that case, come up, but whether you succeed in refining it or not has nothing to do with the agreement between Xiao Yan and Han Xian."

"That's natural."

Chapter 176 Breaking the Cauldron?

The crowd around the square was somewhat surprised to hear that Elder Hao had agreed to Xiao Fan's request. Although Elder Hao seemed easy to talk to, he was actually a stern old man who managed the medicinal herbs department. Many students in the inner courtyard had to ask him for favors, so they knew his personality very well.

Although he didn't know why Elder Hao agreed to Xiao Fan's request, he immediately realized that Xiao Fan had only gone up there because of the free prescription and herbs.

The people of Panmen knew about Xiao Fan's alchemy skills, but others did not. After learning about the competition between Xiao Yan and Han Xian, they all assumed that the alchemist in Panmen was Xiao Yan, and that Xiao Fan was just trying to see the pill formula.

Among the students watching were quite a few alchemists. After seeing Elder Hao agree to Xiao Fan's request, they were also eager, after all, it was a prescription for a fifth-grade pill!

Just as he was about to walk out and go on stage like Xiao Fan, Elder Hao in the stands spoke first.

"Alright, from now on, no one is allowed to disrupt the competition. Anyone who violates this rule will not be allowed to come to the Herbal Medicine Management Office this year."

Although his tone remained calm, everyone understood Elder Hao's meaning; he was clearly warning those alchemists who had tried to take advantage of the situation.

Those alchemists with ideas stopped in their tracks after hearing Elder Hao's words. It was a pity they didn't walk faster.

If it had been just a little earlier, I would have been able to obtain a prescription for a fifth-grade elixir.

Elder Hao's gaze swept over the students without leaving a trace, his heart filled with disdain. They actually thought they were trying to take advantage of him. Dream on.

After showing the pill formula to Xiao Fan, Elder Hao said, "Since everyone has no objections, the competition shall officially begin!"

Xiao Fan and his two companions sat cross-legged in three different spots on the stands. Elder Hao gave each of them three portions of medicinal herbs and placed them beside them. He then waited quietly for their competition from a short distance away.

As Elder Hao announced the official start of the competition, no one made a sound to disturb them, and they quietly watched the three people on the stage.

Xiao Fan sat on the ground, reviewing the prescription in his mind, and carefully checked his medicinal materials. After making sure nothing was missing, he took out his medicine cauldron.

The medicine cauldron in Xiao Fan's hand was left to him by the old doctor because he left Wutan City alone. Compared to Xiao Fan's current strength, it is not considered anything precious. When he was refining the Fusion Pill for Medusa last time, he planned to replace it with a medicine cauldron, but he never found the opportunity.

"Once this is over, we really need to find a medicine cauldron."

On the other side, Han Xian also took out a golden medicine cauldron. The cauldron exuded an extraordinary aura, attracting everyone's attention. After seeing that the medicine cauldrons taken out by Xiao Fan and Xiao Yan were not impressive at all, they couldn't help but feel even more disdainful.

"I overestimated them. They don't even have a decent medicine cauldron. How can they possibly beat me..." You see, a good medicine cauldron is like a sharp blade in a warrior's hand, which can greatly increase the success rate of alchemy. Seeing that Xiao Fan and the other person's medicine cauldron was so ordinary, he couldn't help but underestimate them a bit.

While Xiao Fan and Xiao Yan were still meditating with their eyes closed, Han Xian had already poured flames into the medicine cauldron.

Han Xian wielded a crimson-gold flame, within which magma seemed to flow, making it look quite magical.

Han Xian's flames not only attracted the attention of Xiao Fan and his companion, but also drew the gazes of everyone present.

"My flame is called the Illusionary Gold Flame. It is left inside the shell of a seventh-tier Illusionary Fire Scorpion Dragon Beast after it hatches. The shell will be burned away within three days. To obtain it, you must find the shell of the Illusionary Fire Scorpion Dragon Beast within three days of its birth..." Han Xian laughed loudly, seemingly emboldened by the gazes coming from below.

Upon hearing Han Xian's words, not only did the expressions of the many students below change drastically, but even Elder Hao was surprised. A seventh-tier magical beast was comparable to a Dou Zong powerhouse among humans.

To obtain the carcass of a seventh-tier magical beast's cub, one must do so within the last three days, which is extremely rare.

Although Han Xian had satisfied his vanity, he couldn't help but feel annoyed when he saw that Xiao Fan and the other person didn't seem to care.

He refocused his attention on his medicine cauldron and began refining pills.

On the other side, Xiao Fan shook his head in secret. On the first day that Yao Lao led Xiao Fan and Xiao Yan into the art of alchemy, he told the two that when refining pills, they must adjust their state and refine the pills in their most perfect state.