Chapter 33: Spectator
“What, you ate the pill?” Elder Ma asked with a stern expression immediately after he recovered from his shock.
“That’s correct. I only figured out the few herbs I know from the taste and effects.”
“That’s…a very dangerous thing to do! What if you couldn’t handle the pill or if it was poisonous?”
“...I’m not sure what to say.”
“And you came out of the room so confidently…”
All I did was respectfully nod your way…
“Elder, I apologize if I have broken any rules. I have never been formally trained as an alchemist.”
“Elder Ma, we can’t be too harsh on Junior Li. We are expecting too much of someone so young and new to alchemy. As his seniors, we can’t really blame him for his deficiencies, but should help him improve instead,” Song Yun spoke up from behind.
“...You are right, but that is for another time… I declare the second round of the alchemy competition over. The top three know who they are. Please prepare for the third and final round after a short break. I can tell you the next round consists of refining a pill you’ve never seen before, so prepare yourselves.”
“Yes, elder!” The three who moved on to the finals replied in sync.
“For the rest of you. You may have failed in the second round, but the sect still recognizes your efforts. You will each be rewarded with fifty contribution points.”
The elder swiftly took hold of their sect tokens and returned them. With that, the alchemy competition was over for Li Lang. While he could stay, he wouldn’t be able to spectate the bits he was curious about, the actual refining session that took place within the refining room.