Fu Yan narrowed her eyes, her expression shifting slightly. This year's freshmen were truly terrifying.

Ji Jiuying looked at Feng Ling'er, her eyes filled with apology: "I'm sorry, I thought we wouldn't be affected since we're so far away..."

Ji Jiuying genuinely didn't know, mainly because she hadn't expected Feng Ling'er's fire seed to be so... low-level.

Feng Ling'er's face turned from green to black, her hands clenched into fists, and a look of unwillingness flashed in her eyes. How could this be? Her alchemy furnace was more advanced than hers, and even her spiritual fire was more advanced. Although she didn't know what kind of spiritual fire it was, she could feel that it was not an ordinary fire.

"Why don't you start the furnace again?" Ji Jiuying said. Feng Ling'er was both happy and angry. She was happy that Ji Jiuying was willing to give her a chance, but she was angry that even if she won the competition, she would be laughed at.

But what does it matter if people gossip when it comes to arranged marriages between families!

"Okay, thank you!"

Feng Ling'er calmed down and immediately prepared the second batch of medicinal herbs. To prevent the situation from happening again, Ji Jiuying freed one hand to create a barrier to separate the two of them. Upon seeing this, Feng Ling'er's goodwill towards Lan Xi doubled, and she thought to herself that she must thank her properly later.

But imagination is beautiful, while reality is harsh.

Several sect leaders looked at Ji Jiuying with admiration, especially Dongli Divine Venerable, who was increasingly pleased with her. This girl had such magnanimity and temperament, which deeply impressed him. Looking at her handling of pills, she seemed like a mature and steady alchemist.

However, what Ji Jiuying did next completely shocked him!

A collective gasp rippled through the audience as Ji Jiuying casually tossed all the spiritual herbs into the alchemy furnace, as if throwing away trash. The entire arena fell silent, and even Feng Ling'er, standing not far away, stared wide-eyed, a wave of guilt washing over her.

She vowed to make it up to her, agreeing to her unreasonable demands in order to help her win the competition, and even ruining the alchemy session.

Dong Li's lips twitched slightly. What was she doing? If it were an ordinary alchemy furnace, it would probably have exploded by now. Well, he was still too confident in her.

The hearts that had been hanging in suspense finally died at this moment!

"this······"

Hahahaha!

A burst of laughter erupted from the audience, undoubtedly mocking Ji Jiuying's behavior.

"My goodness, looking at her fluid and graceful movements, I really thought she knew alchemy, but hahaha, it's hilarious!"

"Absolutely, it's so embarrassing. If it were me, I would have just admitted defeat. Why even bother with a competition?"

"that is······"

The disciples of the Array Sect immediately blushed and looked at Ji Jiuying on the stage with resentment. However, Ji Jiuying seemed not to hear those words and was not affected at all. Her hands moved without hesitation.

"Xiangling, what is Xiao Jiu doing?"

Clearly, Shiraisha was also shocked by this scene.

Hei Xiangling shrugged, her eyes revealing an even deeper meaning: "It's not over yet, you'll just have to wait and see!"

"You're keeping us in suspense again!"

Hei Xiangling smiled without saying a word.

At this moment, Feng Ling'er had reached the step of adding the medicinal herbs. She put the herbs in one by one in order, slowly controlling the heat.

Time passed second by second. Feng Ling'er's side had already begun to condense, while Ji Jiuying's side was still slowly controlling the heat, but at the same time, the fragrance of pills filled the air on both sides.

"Feng Ling'er is so fast, she's about to reach the Core Formation stage."

"What a wonderfully mellow and fragrant aroma."

"It seems that Feng Ling'er is definitely going to make it into the top ten this time."

"Hmph, what's there to be happy about in challenging others with your own expertise in alchemy, which is not your specialty?"

Leng Qingqing said disdainfully. Although she disliked Lan Xi, she was really disgusted by Feng Ling'er's behavior. Her voice was neither loud nor soft, but almost everyone in the audience heard it.

"Heh, she agreed to it herself, okay? She's stupid and she blames others."

"that is."

Quite a few people in the crowd spoke up for Feng Ling'er, and in an instant, the two sides started arguing.

Just as the crowd below was arguing heatedly, someone in the crowd shouted, "Feng Ling'er has formed her core!"

All eyes fell on Feng Ling'er, where three milky-white pills appeared in her alchemy furnace, their fragrance spreading in all directions, instantly causing a stir in the arena.

"Wow, this Spirit Ascension Pill has such a rich fragrance."

"Let's refine three at a time."

Fu Yan stepped forward and presented the pills to the sect leaders for their appraisal. Dongli Divine Venerable announced, "Feng Ling'er, the Spirit Ascension Pills are of the initial grade of Saint-level. Three pills, quality 80%, purity 60%."

"Wow, a Saint-level pill with 60% purity is quite impressive."

"Yes, although it's only at the beginner level, the quality is probably something not everyone can achieve."

······

Feng Ling'er was certain of victory, while Lan Zhao below couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat for her.

Just then, the surrounding spiritual energy surged violently and flew rapidly in one direction. In an instant, the entire arena seemed to transform into a giant spiritual energy array.

Everyone stared wide-eyed as they saw that the alchemy furnace in front of Lanxi was like a bottomless pit, continuously absorbing the spiritual energy.

Ji Jiuying remained calm and composed, focusing her spiritual energy on the situation inside the alchemy furnace. Everyone's attention was involuntarily drawn to this scene.

"It's understandable that Lanxi didn't explode; it seems she's about to form her core."

"This is too terrifying. Someone like her can form a core just by casually tossing medicinal herbs like that?"

"Judging from her current technique, she really has the makings of an alchemist. I wonder what kind of pills she will produce."

Seeing this scene rekindled a glimmer of hope among the people of the Array Sect.

Suddenly, the alchemy furnace stopped absorbing spiritual energy, and wisps of alchemical fragrance spread out from it, drifting in all directions. Everyone was once again speechless with astonishment.

What a rich and fragrant aroma!

Just smelling it, I could already feel the spiritual energy within my body stirring.

"Holy crap, I think I'm about to advance!"

A voice rang out from the crowd, and the class teacher quickly stepped forward to protect him.

Another exclamation came from not far away: "It seems like I'm going to advance too!"

"Wow, just smelling it makes me want to advance in rank. I can't even imagine what the effects will be after I take her Spirit Ascension Pill."

As soon as the words were spoken, the crowd erupted in excitement. Everyone was thinking a thousand different things, and they looked at Ji Jiuying as if she were a piece of hot pork belly. Even the sect leaders and elders on the stage stood up, watching the horrifying scene before them.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Ji Jiuying successfully formed her core, and ten glowing pills fell into a bottle she had prepared beforehand.

"······"

Hua Li could no longer remain calm. Her eyes widened as she stared intently at the scene on the stage. Bai Lisha dropped the melon seeds in her hand to the ground. Even the most composed Bai Ling and Xiao Yichen were secretly alarmed.