NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 128: Suppression Cauldron
Hearing Zhou Xiu's words, Feng Fan's face twitched in irritation. 'This old man is trying to steal my protagonist!'
Tan Wei cupped his hands and bowed slightly, his expression calm and composed. "Thank you, Senior, for your kind offer, but I have many people in the White Crow Sect to whom I owe deep gratitude, and I'm not ready to part ways with them. Additionally, I already have a master. A master for a day is like a father for life. I cannot accept another master in the Alchemy Dao."
Zhou Xiu's expression shifted to one of both surprise and admiration. 'What an honorable young man! How many could turn down such a tempting offer without hesitation?'
He smiled warmly at Tan Wei. "I understand your decision, young man. Loyalty and gratitude are virtues to be admired. However, know this: the doors of the Dao Seeking School will always be open to you. You are welcome here anytime, even as a disciple of the White Crow Sect."
The crowd buzzed with excitement.
"My god, the Dao Seeking School usually recruits geniuses from sects under its jurisdiction, but inviting someone before the competition ends? That's unheard of!"
"Is Tan Wei really that talented? He didn't cheat, right?"
"And he refused the invitation? What kind of madman does that?"
Even the seasoned elders watching were taken aback. It was rare for an elder like Zhou Xiu to extend an invitation so openly, let alone to offer a position as a personal disciple before the competition concluded.
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One had to understand: Zhou Xiu was at least a tier 7 alchemist! In the entire Black Turtle Continent, the number of tier 7 alchemists didn't exceed a hundred. For someone like him to personally recruit a participant in front of such a crowd was nothing short of extraordinary.
Only Feng Fan was grinning ear to ear. 'Good brother! Good brother!' he cheered internally.
Elder Jiang, standing beside him, was dumbfounded. 'Why is this idiot so happy?' he thought, his expression reflecting his confusion.
"Thank you, Senior," Tan Wei said respectfully, bowing once more to Zhou Xiu.
Zhou Xiu nodded and turned his attention back to the crowd. "Now, let us continue with the competition. For those who did not meet the requirements, whether you failed to place in the top hundred or didn't score at least 30 points, please return to the plaza."
At Zhou Xiu's words, the disqualified participants began to leave. Their expressions ranged from frustration to resignation as they exited the arena, reducing the remaining contestants to just fifty.
The air grew tense, charged with the anticipation of the next round.
"For the second and final round, we'll use the traditional method—pill concocting!" Zhou Xiu announced, his voice echoing through the room.
"Each of you will receive the same pill formula and five sets of ingredients. Your task is to create the specified pill. Points will range from 0 to 100, based on the number of ingredient sets you use and the quality of the pill you produce."
As Zhou Xiu explained the rules, the disciples from the Dao Seeking School moved efficiently, clearing the chairs and tables from the area and relocating them to another section of the room. This opened up ample space for the participants to work on their concoctions.
Zhou Xiu surveyed the fifty remaining participants. "Any questions?" he asked, pausing to give them a moment to speak.
Many participants swallowed nervously at the challenge ahead.
It was well-known that even experienced alchemists often failed multiple times before successfully concocting a new pill, even with a formula to guide them. Five sets of ingredients were barely enough to attempt such a task.
Seeing that no one raised a question, Zhou Xiu continued, "Step into the open area and place your cauldrons at a safe distance from one another. My sect's disciples will distribute the pill formula and five sets of ingredients to each of you within the next five minutes."
All the participants, including Tan Wei, moved to the area cleared of tables.
Taking a deep breath, Tan Wei reached into his space ring and summoned his cauldron, placing it carefully in front of him. The cauldron looked old and worn, its surface marked by the passage of time—it was the same one he had used to fly in front of Feng Fan.
This was a treasured gift from his grandfather.
On one side of the cauldron, the word 'Suppression' was intricately engraved.
His grandfather had once told him that this cauldron had been bestowed upon their ancestor by an immortal thousands of years ago. Since then, it has been passed down through generations of family heads, regardless of whether they practiced alchemy or not.
According to the story, the immortal was a fortune teller who had prophesied that the cauldron should remain within the family until, one day, it would find its destined owner.
At first, Tan Wei dismissed the tale as nothing more than a family legend. But when Lai Hu, his alchemy master, laid eyes on the cauldron, his reaction was nothing short of shocking.
Lai Hu had urged him to treasure it, declaring that its origins were far from ordinary. Still, he didn't give Tan Wei an explanation, saying it was too soon for him to know.
Once all the participants had settled into their positions, the Dao Seeking School disciples began distributing jade slips containing the pill formula and the five sets of ingredients to each of them.
Standing a few meters away from each participant, the disciples held paper and pens in hand.
Just like in the first round, they were tasked with observing and evaluating the performance of the participants, ultimately determining their scores.
Seeing that all the participants were ready, Zhao Xiu announced the start of the second round.
"You have five hours for this round. Once the time is up, whether you've used all the ingredients or not, you must stop immediately."
All the participants quickly began studying the pill formula. It didn't take long for the weight of the challenge to sink in.
It was a mid tier 3 Heart Demon Subduing Pill!