Ten Thousand Dragons Technique-Chapter 128: Rival? You’re Not Worthy!

"Your Green Cloud Pill Tower is truly lucky to have recruited such a genius," the experts from the other Pill Towers said, their voices tinged with envy.

Mu Shan simply smiled. "Now we have a good show to watch."

"Song Xingyun has finally met his match."

The people from the Pill King’s Mansion had somber expressions. One of their elders scoffed, "Hmph, so what if he knows Heaven-Burning Fire?"

"Can he really compare to Song Xingyun?"

"Song Xingyun has already reached the Entry Stage with Heaven-Burning Fire. This kid has only scratched the surface at best."

"Just watch. In the end, Song Xingyun will be the one who wins."

Amidst the crowd’s exclamations and discussions, time flew by. Finally, the hour was up.

"Time is up!" Mu Shan’s voice echoed in all directions. "Everyone, stop what you are doing. Our Appraisers will now evaluate the quality."

Upon hearing this, all the contestants stopped their work. Some were ecstatic, while others sighed in disappointment. Clearly, not everyone had succeeded in the purification task. Those who failed would be eliminated. Of course, even those who succeeded felt apprehensive, as they had no idea how high the competition’s standards for quality would be.

Zhao Feiyan and Qin Xingchen didn’t look too pleased. It seemed Lin Xuan was going to steal the limelight again in this round. They simply couldn’t compare to him.

"This kid may be flashy, but he definitely won’t be first," Zhao Feiyan said. "First place belongs to Brother Song."

"That’s right," Qin Xingchen agreed. In their view, while both might be using Heaven-Burning Fire, Song Xingyun was certainly a cut above.

Song Xingyun let out a long breath, a smile gracing his face. I performed quite well. Although I made a mistake at the start and lost some medicinal materials, I performed exceptionally well after that. First place is definitely mine this time.

Thinking this, he looked over at Lin Xuan and said, "Kid, I don’t know how you learned Heaven-Burning Fire, but you are no match for me. I have already reached the Entry Stage of Heaven-Burning Fire!"

Lin Xuan sneered dismissively. "The Entry Stage is nothing. I have already reached Minor Accomplishment. You aren’t even worthy of carrying my shoes."

"Nonsense!" Song Xingyun was furious. He was a top talent who had only managed to reach the Entry Stage with personal guidance from his master, the Pill King himself. How could this kid possibly have reached Minor Accomplishment? Could this kid’s master be even more formidable than the Pill King? What a joke. He refused to believe it.

"Keep your boasts. When the results are out, you’ll see who the real genius is," Song Xingyun snorted coldly, turning away and ignoring him.

A group of elders descended from the VIP seating area. They were all third-rank Alchemy Masters responsible for the evaluations.

As they began their work, Mu Shan explained the criteria. "This time, we will grade the purification quality on a scale of 1 to 10. Only a score of five or higher will be considered a pass. Anyone with a score below five will be eliminated."

Soon, the Appraisers entered the main venue. A middle-aged Appraiser walked up to a young man, picked up the vial of purified liquid, inspected it, and announced, "Black Iron Spirit Fruit, four points. Cloud Brocade Flower, three points. Eliminated."

"What? How can this be?" The young man’s face turned pale. He had clearly succeeded in the purification, yet he was still eliminated.

An uproar went through the crowd as a tense mood settled over everyone.

"Three points, three points. Eliminated."

"Three points, four points. Eliminated."

"Five points, five points. Pass."

The Appraisers quickly announced the results one by one. The eliminated contestants wore expressions of utter despair, some even screaming and shouting in protest, but it was impossible to change the outcome. The successful Alchemy Masters breathed quiet sighs of relief. Thankful to have passed, they relaxed and glanced around to see how others had scored.

Soon, Zhao Feiyan’s results were announced. Her scores were seven points for the Black Iron Spirit Fruit and seven points for the Cloud Brocade Flower.

On the other side, Qin Xingchen’s results were also revealed: eight points and seven points. Their scores were obviously higher than those of the other Alchemy Masters so far. Gasps of surprise rippled through the crowd as their results were announced. These were the highest scores yet.

"These two are truly formidable," someone murmured.

Even the Appraisers nodded with smiles. "You two have a good chance of making it into the top ten."

The Appraisers continued their work, soon arriving in front of Bing Qing.

"Black Iron Spirit Fruit, nine points."

"Cloud Brocade Flower, eight points."

A wave of astonishment swept through the spectators. Bing Qing had surpassed both Zhao Feiyan and Qin Xingchen!

As expected of Mu Shan’s disciple.

Bing Qing, whose small face had been tense, quietly exhaled upon hearing her scores. Not bad.

"Tower Master, congratulations," the surrounding elders chimed in one after another.

"Isn’t Bing Qing only seventeen? Her future is limitless!"

"In twenty years, she’ll probably be a new Pill King."

"The little girl still has a long way to go and needs much more experience," Mu Shan replied humbly, but his eyes held a smile he couldn’t conceal.

Finally, an Appraiser reached Song Xingyun and began the evaluation. Everyone grew curious. What would Song Xingyun’s score be?

"Black Iron Spirit Fruit, nine points."

"Cloud Brocade Flower, nine points."

The Appraiser delivered the answer. The entire venue was stunned into silence, followed by an eruption of clamor. No one had expected Song Xingyun’s scores to be so high. It was the highest score of the round. The other alchemist geniuses drew in sharp breaths of cold air.

Zhao Feiyan and Qin Xingchen were intensely envious.

Bing Qing was in shock. Have I been surpassed? It seems the legendary Heaven-Burning Fire is just as formidable as they say. Even with all my effort, I can’t compare. As expected of a legendary ancient alchemy technique.

The elders marveled endlessly. Someone commented, "This Song Xingyun is truly powerful!"

"It looks like the championship is his for the taking."

"Bing Qing is also very strong. She’s just a bit younger and at a slight disadvantage, that’s all."

Song Xingyun was beside himself with pride. He laughed aloud. "This time, the championship is definitely mine!" he declared, casting a smug glance at Lin Xuan. In the first round, he had been outdone by Lin Xuan, but now, he had finally gotten his revenge. He was number one in this second round.

Lin Xuan snorted coldly. "You’re celebrating too early. So what if you got nine points? I can surpass you."

What?

Hearing this, everyone nearby was stunned. This kid really had some nerve!

"Idiot," Zhao Feiyan snorted. Nine points was already an extremely high score; it was impossible to go higher.

Qin Xingchen sneered, "No matter how high your purification skills are, you can’t achieve ten points. Ten points represents perfection—the complete removal of all impurities. That’s absolutely impossible."

The other Alchemy Elders didn’t believe it either. They all felt that Lin Xuan was just boasting this time.

The Appraiser walked up to Lin Xuan. All eyes in the venue turned to follow.

Song Xingyun smirked. "You blustering fool. Let’s see what score you get."

The Appraiser began the assessment. Everyone held their breath.

Lin Xuan alone remained completely calm.

I removed all the impurities. It’s definitely a ten.