Chapter 908 - 141: Lin Chen: So I’m Not the Only Man

The strength of the Divine Soul is the most basic requirement, but even if the strength is sufficient, it doesn’t mean success is assured. One also needs a cultivation technique to control the Divine Soul and Divine Thought. In this aspect, he and Jiang Yaoyan are at the same starting line.

The Thousand Mechanism Sect has top-tier cultivation techniques of this kind, and the Medicine King Valley does as well.

"That’s pretty fast!"

Lin Chen saw Jiang Chen complete his first batch of pills successfully, and his eyes narrowed slightly. He had only finished two-thirds of his, so it seemed he needed to speed up. If he held back so much he didn’t make it into the top ten, it would be a great loss.

Half a two-hour period after Jiang Chen completed his first batch of pills, a second participant also finished. Shortly after, a third, fourth, and fifth also completed theirs.

The time difference from the second to the tenth was all within a half two-hour period.

"It seems like Jiang Yaoyan and Jiang Chen are in a league of their own, while the others belong to a second tier. This means that in this Alchemy Competition, the first and second place will be between Jiang Yaoyan and Jiang Chen. It’s just a matter of who will take first and who will take second, with the real suspense lying in who will be third."

The onlookers, seeing the completion of the first batch of pills, each made their own judgments.

"Master Xiao... Master Xiao is actually tenth."

On the Li Family side, Li Qin was surprised to see Lin Chen finish his first batch of pills in tenth place. Yin Yue, beside her, wasn’t surprised at all. She knew better that Lin Chen was controlling his speed; otherwise, he could be even faster.

"Perhaps... making it into the top ten really is possible."

The Fourth Elder, Li Hong, had a glint in his old eyes at this moment. Master Xiao being able to enter the top ten with the first batch of pills means that if he maintains this speed with the next two batches, he truly has a chance to break into the top ten.

...

Two two-hour periods later!

Jiang Chen completed his second batch of pills, glanced again at Jiang Yaoyan, and continued to start preparing the third batch.

This time, it took the others a full two-hour period before they finished their second batch.

The gap started to widen.

Just as the second participant to complete two batches appeared, Jiang Yaoyan, at the forefront, finally stopped his hand seals, a smile spreading across his face.

In the next moment...

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

The lids of the three pill furnaces in front of him simultaneously rose into the air, drawing all the spectators’ eyes to Jiang Yaoyan.

The simultaneous opening of three pill furnaces—they all could either succeed or fail.

Many experts, eager to know the result first, sent their Divine Thoughts towards the pill furnaces in front of Jiang Yaoyan. But their Divine Thoughts were blocked by an invisible force as they reached the plaza’s sky.

An array above the plaza isolated the Divine Thoughts from entering.

The Thousand Mechanism Sect arranged it this way to prevent anyone from using Divine Thoughts to sabotage the pills in contestants’ furnaces.

The array on the plaza could even block the Divine Thoughts of Innate Sixth Realm experts; only Myriad Phenomena Realm experts could intervene, but this was the Thousand Mechanism Sect. Any Myriad Phenomena expert arriving couldn’t escape the notice of the sect’s own Myriad Phenomena expert.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths...

Whether intentional or not, the pills from the three furnaces in front of Jiang Yaoyan rose very slowly, taking as long as twenty breaths before the pills emerged.

"One, two... thirty-six... there are actually forty pills. Jiang Yaoyan not only succeeded in refining three furnaces at once, but the number of pills is also higher than the others."

Hiss!

Seeing the number of pills, the scene erupted in astounding exclamations.

The materials provided by the Thousand Mechanism Sect typically yield twelve pills per furnace, yet Jiang Yaoyan refined an extra four. This meant that in Jiang Yaoyan’s hands, none of the materials were wasted.

The loss of medicinal potency is something most alchemists cannot avoid. Skilled alchemists minimize this loss—while less consequential with low-tier pills, with high-tier pills, refining even one more pill can mean an extra few thousand Flame Coins or more in value.

Of course, the higher the tier of the pills, the harder it is to ensure no loss of potency.

"Never underestimate the world."

Having completed his second batch of pills, Lin Chen looked at Jiang Yaoyan’s straight back, feeling a sense of awe. Even with his Divine Soul surpassing the other’s, winning the first place in this third round seemed not to be so simple.

In the stands, most of the attention remained on Jiang Yaoyan, with his ability to refine three furnaces at once and lead in pill count making this Alchemy Competition one of the most influential in recent decades, sure to be the talk of the town.

Still, some people paid attention to other alchemists, mostly family, friends, or those with vested interests.

"Xiao Yan has also completed his second batch of pills, ranking seventh, faster than the last batch."

The Li Family was quite excited at this moment. While Jiang Yaoyan’s performance was amazing, it had nothing to do with them; it was Xiao Yan’s outstanding performance that surprised them.

Li Hong was stroking his beard with a smile. So far, Xiao Yan’s chance of making the top ten was quite high.

For the third batch of pills, Lin Chen sped up a bit, while his Divine Thought spread out, constantly monitoring the situation of others. But when his Divine Thought reached the fifth row and one particular pill furnace, his eyes narrowed again.

Something’s off!

There were already twenty Jade Dew Pills in that furnace, nearly fully formed.

With the addition of the pills from the previous two batches, there were already forty-four, surpassing Jiang Yaoyan.