When Lai Li’an woke up from his bed, it was already broad daylight.

He patted the Storage Bag at his waist; it was bulging, and he nodded in satisfaction.

There were truly quite a few good things in this room’s medicine cabinet. The rare treasures recorded in the Scripture of the Eternal Alchemy God alone were numerous.

Anyway, Meng Qiuran had said himself, “Take whatever you need, don’t stand on ceremony,” and he was merely doing as told.

As for how much he actually took… there was no need to look too deeply into such details.

Today’s venue was even more boisterous than yesterday’s. From the foot of the mountain to the mountainside, various banners fluttered in the wind. The Spiritual Water Mirrors suspended in the air had doubled in number compared to yesterday, completely enveloping the finals area in the center of the plaza.

The stands were already packed with no empty seats. Even the aisles were crowded with standing Rogue Cultivators, everyone craning their necks to get a look.

“Did you hear? There are 37 people entering the finals this year! Yesterday’s third round eliminated over 600!”

“Over 600? Good heavens, in previous years, eliminating half was already considered a lot. Is this year’s difficulty trying to kill someone?”

“High difficulty is a good thing; it means only the true gold gets sifted out. Look at the direct disciples from those large Sects, refining Fourth-Grade Pills in the third round yesterday was like child’s play to them. In today’s finals, they’ll probably bring out their absolute best.”

“I heard that the Hundred Herbs Hall sent three disciples this time, and all of them made it to the finals. The Hundred Herbs Hall’s Sect Leader was so happy that he rewarded each of them with a Magic Tool on the spot.”

“Tsk, what’s three? The Alchemy Sect Branch had five make it, along with a monster-level genius like Meng Qiuran. I think the top spot this year will most likely be theirs again.”

Discussions rose and fell, and the recruiters from the various Sects were rubbing their hands in eager anticipation.

Any Alchemist who could make an appearance in the finals would see their value at least triple afterward. The eyes of the Elders from those small Sects had turned green with greed, wishing they could rush down right now to snatch them up.

In the judges’ seating area, for once, Pei Changjing wasn’t yawning. He leaned back in his chair, quietly watching the competitors on the field.

“This year is indeed quite good.” As if remembering something, he turned his head to look at Elder Sun. “Elder Sun, did something happen in the market last night?”

Elder Sun’s face darkened slightly, and he nodded. “Someone launched a night attack on fellow Daoist Ruan Se’s residence. Li Xiuyuan led people in pursuit all night but failed to catch them. The attackers were two Golden Core Cultivators, one of whom is suspected to be from the Blood Lotus Sect.”

“The Blood Lotus Sect?” Pei Changjing’s phoenix eyes narrowed slightly. “Those demonic brats came to Yunze Market to run wild? They have a lot of nerve.”

“This matter is currently being investigated.” Elder Sun kept his voice very low. “Right now, the finals take priority. It’s best not to make a fuss about it to avoid causing a panic. I’ve already dispatched extra personnel to secretly guard the venue. There won’t be any more mishaps.”

Pei Changjing nodded and asked no further questions, but his gaze drifted involuntarily toward Ruan Se in the arena.

The girl’s complexion was much worse today than yesterday, yet she stood perfectly straight before the stone platform, like a bamboo stalk bent by the wind but refusing to break.

Ruan Qin sat at the far end of the judges’ seats, her face devoid of any expression. Her wide sleeves covered most of her body, but if an observant person looked closely, they could still detect a faint, barely noticeable stiffness in her movements.

After last night, she hadn’t said another unnecessary word, nor had she offered any opinion on her sister competing today.

However, right before leaving the house, she had stuffed a Pill into Ruan Se’s hand.

“A Spirit-Replenishing Pill,” she had said indifferently at the time. “Sixth-Grade. Don’t die.”

After speaking, she left without even turning her head. Ruan Se put the Pill away and did not consume it.

At this moment, she stood before the platform, listening to the Presiding Elder announce the rules for the finals.

“The finals will be a free refinement. There are no restrictions on grade, pill recipe, or materials. Participants must complete a full furnace of Pills within the stipulated time. The final score will be primarily based on the Pill’s grade; if the grades are identical, the quality of the Pill will determine the victor. The time limit is, eight hours.”

Eight hours to refine a Pill capable of winning the championship… the timeframe was far from generous.

Ruan Se took a deep breath, cleared the distracting thoughts from her mind, and then took out the materials one by one from her Storage Bag.

However, after the surrounding competitors saw clearly what was on her stone platform, their expressions all became peculiar.

The first to react was a middle-aged Alchemist. After getting a clear look at the Joyful Union Grass in Ruan Se’s hand, his brows furrowed fiercely. Then, as if he had seen something obscene, he turned his face away in disgust.

A younger Alchemist nearby leaned in and asked in a low voice, “Senior Brother, what medicinal material is that? Why does it look a bit familiar?”

The middle-aged Alchemist sneered, “What medicinal material do you think it is?”

The young Alchemist froze for a moment, then his eyes widened, and his voice involuntarily rose half a pitch: “Isn’t that… isn’t that the material the Joyful Union Sect uses to refine that kind of Pill?”

His voice was neither loud nor soft, but just enough for the dozen or so surrounding competitors to hear it loud and clear.

A dozen gazes simultaneously fell onto Ruan Se’s stone platform.

“I remember she seems to be a disciple of the Alchemy Sect Main Branch, right? Why is she using such low-class materials?”

“Ruan Se? That disciple who was almost expelled? Wasn’t she quite impressive yesterday? Why did she bring out this kind of stuff today?”

“Who knows? Maybe she knew she couldn’t win with a proper pill recipe, so she decided to resort to crooked methods.”

Whispers spread across the arena. A disciple of the Hundred Herbs Hall gave a cold snort, “The Alchemy Sect is nothing special. To refine this kind of thing at the Once-in-a-century Grand Competition, she isn’t even afraid of disgracing her Sect.”

Ruan Se’s hand paused. She raised her eyes, her calm gaze sweeping over those gossiping about her. Anyone she looked at involuntarily shut their mouths.

She retracted her gaze, arranged the final material, and then raised her hand to ignite the Fire-Starting Stone.

To her, those voices were like the wind passing through a bamboo forest, rustling, but leaving no trace behind.

It was just a few flapping lips. If she couldn’t even endure this bit of noise, she wouldn’t be worthy of the Senior’s guidance.

At the judges’ panel, Pei Changjing raised an eyebrow as he watched the commotion in the arena. Suddenly, he turned his head and cast a glance in Ruan Qin’s direction.

Ruan Qin sat completely motionless, her expression completely undisturbed. She showed no reaction to the whispers around her.

Pei Changjing chuckled softly, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.

The finals officially began. Dozens of stone platforms lit up with Spiritual Fire simultaneously, the colorful flames reflecting off one another.

The first unexpected turn of events was that, less than two hours after the start, the contestants who had originally planned to play it safe and refine Fourth-Grade Pills quietly took out the main ingredients for Fifth-Grade pill recipes one by one.

The old Alchemists on the sidelines whispered to each other: “Fifth-Grade? Has the threshold for this year’s finals been raised to Fifth-Grade?”

“It’s not that the threshold was raised, but the third round yesterday eliminated everyone below Fourth-Grade. Of those who entered the finals today, who isn’t aiming to make a name for themselves?”

“Makes sense.”

Meng Qiuran stood before his stone platform and took a deep breath.

The Alchemy Cauldron he was using today was a brand-new bronze cauldron with exquisite cloud patterns carved into its body, specially gifted by his Martial Uncle during his secluded cultivation.

His pill recipe was the mid-tier Fifth-Grade Blazing Sun Snowmelt Pill.

The main ingredients for this pill were Blazing Sun Grass and Ice Marrow Jade. These two materials with completely opposite medicinal properties had to be alternately refined with slow and High Heat in the same cauldron. Its difficulty was considered upper-middle among Fifth-Grade Pills.

In order to stably produce this pill, he had been in secluded cultivation for three whole months and exploded no less than 50 cauldrons.

“Since I’m here, I never planned on losing.” He softly repeated the words he had said to Lai Li’an yesterday, and then tossed the Blazing Sun Grass into the cauldron.