Chapter 20: A Narrow Victory "It must be because Nan Si Ning was lucky! ...
Liang Xiao had a cold face and was obviously in a very bad mood. He had no intention of answering.
Yuan Qing'an smiled and said good-naturedly, "You guys from Yaowang City have done enough. You know that most of us at Cijian Peak are sword cultivators and are very poor. We've all emptied our storage bags, so someone has to keep some for a backup, right?"
This open attitude towards being poor actually made the disciples of Yaowang City laugh.
It’s better for Ci Jianfeng to have this attitude of admitting defeat, otherwise he will not be able to afford the loss later and worry that the senior brother will order them to return the spirit stones!
After hearing what Yuan Qing'an said, Liang Xiao's expression did not improve, but became even uglier.
On the field, Nan Sining turned his head to look at the pile of spirit stones, a secret smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, then he put away the alchemy book in his hand and started to refine the spirit elixir again.
At this time, most people's attention was no longer on Nan Si Ning. Only Chen Tangyuan, because he was suspicious, kept paying attention to Nan Si Ning's every move.
Nan Si Ning continued to slowly heat the furnace, add spiritual plants, and extract essence...
The more Chen Tangyuan watched, the more confused he became. He felt that although Nan Si Ning was trying hard to imitate Xiao Jingwen's movements, he had his own set of methods, and...
He stared intently at Nan Si Ning's hand as he placed the herbs. Shouldn't he have placed the Heart-Yuan Flower at this time? Why was he placing the Bell Grass instead?
Not only here, there are also several other spiritual plants that have been replaced with more common low-level spiritual plants, but Nan Sining's alchemy furnace has always been stable, with no signs of exploding.
Not long after, waves of medicinal fragrance emanated from Nan Si Ning's alchemy furnace. It took many people a while to come back to their senses: "Junior Sister Nan really succeeded in refining it?"
"No way? I spent three years learning to identify spiritual plants, and another three watching others refine pills. It took me two years to finally get the hang of it, and it took me two years to successfully refine my first batch of pills. And she can refine them just by flipping through a book here?"
"What's the rush?! The pill hasn't formed yet! Pill formation is the most important step!"
“That’s right!”
…
The crowd's discussions gradually died down, and they all stretched their necks, like a group of ducks being caught, staring closely at Nan Si Ning's movements.
Nan Sining skillfully made hand seals, and after forming a few seals on the alchemy furnace, the medicinal fragrance slowly transformed into the fragrance of the elixir.
After smelling that fragrance, every alchemist knew: the elixir was done!
For a moment, this huge conference hall fell silent, and the disciples of Yaowang City fell into a strange silence of self-doubt.
Xiao Jingwen on the opposite side stared at Nan Si Ning's alchemy furnace. He never expected that Nan Si Ning, who looked like he had never been involved in alchemy before, actually made a pill!
Even if the final pill wasn't perfect, it still outperformed most alchemy practitioners! Could it be that Nan Si Ning possessed an extraordinary talent for alchemy?!
After a long while, Xiao Jingwen came back to his senses and comforted himself in his heart: Don't worry, even if she succeeds in refining the pill, it will not be better than mine. I am a second-grade alchemist, and Nan Sining is just a fool who has just regained his intelligence!
Chen Tangyuan took in all the reactions of the disciples of Medicine King City and felt satisfied.
Nan Sining seemed unaware of everyone's strange reactions. He waited until the pills were ready, then opened the furnace and found exactly eight round, nourishing spirit pills inside.
She waved her hand, and all eight soul-replenishing pills fell into the jade bottle.
After putting the cork in the bottle, Nan Si Ning handed the jade bottle to Shen Tangyuan for him to judge.
Chen Tangyuan took the jade bottle, trying not to appear too anxious, uncorked it, and unsurprisingly smelled the fragrance of the top-grade elixir.
The quality of this elixir made him feel a little relieved, but his curiosity was also intensified. He was really curious, did Nan Si Ning really use lower-level spiritual plants? How could he use lower-level spiritual plants and still be able to refine such a top-grade elixir?
But he knew that there was no time to rush, the fight had not yet ended and could not be stopped.
Everyone stared at Shen Tangyuan, observing his reaction and waiting for him to give the result.
Xiao Jingwen, who was standing aside, originally felt that he had a sure win, but after Nan Sining refined the elixir, he felt a little panicked and began to lose his confidence.
After smelling the pill, Chen Tangyuan said, "Judging from its shape, smelling its fragrance, and judging its color, it must be a top-grade spiritual nourishing pill without a doubt."
"Wow--"
There was an uproar in the conference room. The eldest senior brother actually judged that the elixir refined by Nan Si Ning was of the highest quality!
Seeing the shocked expressions of the Medicine King City disciples around her, and their initial disdain and contempt for Nan Si Ning gone, Luo Qingyao lost her temper and said, "The Soul-Replenishing Pill is only a first-grade pill. It shouldn't be difficult to refine a top-grade one, right?"
The disciples of Medicine King City immediately became restless and began to explain the truth to Luo Qingyao one after another:
"It's true that the Soul-Replenishing Pill is the lowest-level pill, because it's easy to use and the spiritual plants used are inexpensive. It can be said to be an entry-level pill. However, learning to refine any pill takes time. No one can create a top-quality pill in one go, even a first-level Soul-Replenishing Pill."
"Yes, even for a genius like the eldest brother who is extremely talented, the first time he refined the Soul-Boosting Pill, it was of the highest quality, not the best quality."
"Just like you sword cultivators, the basics of the technique are easy to get started with, but to reach the state where the sword and the person become one, and the sword moves at the will of the heart, who can reach that level right after just one practice?"
"If you don't understand, don't talk nonsense. Junior Sister Nan's level is better than most of us."
"It's a pity that she is already a member of Cijian Peak, otherwise Master would definitely want to take her as his disciple."
"That's right, what a pity..."
The topic gradually shifted to Nan Si Ning's talent in alchemy. The disciples expressed their amazement and envy, thinking that Junior Sister Nan was a rare alchemy genius.
They didn't notice that Luo Qingyao was biting her lips tightly, her face becoming increasingly gloomy.
Every word of praise for Nan Si Ning from the people around her was like a knife cutting into Luo Qingyao's heart. Especially when she heard them say that the Medicine King would be willing to accept Nan Si Ning as a disciple, it was like a bolt from the blue!
Luo Qingyao was filled with resentment, resentment, and anger... Was being the protagonist really that remarkable? Even after the sword bone was stolen, Nan Si Ning was still able to unearth new talents! Why? In the book, Nan Si Ning didn't have any talent for alchemy, so why did he suddenly have it now?
No, there must be something wrong, the plot has gone astray!
No, she couldn't let things go on like this. She would never allow Nan Si Ning to grow up like this, and she would never let Nan Si Ning become a disciple of the King of Medicine!
Luck waxes and wanes. If Nan Si Ning had grown up like in the book and become a great cultivator, then she, the supporting female character, would have had a miserable end like in the book.
She would never allow such a thing to happen! So Nan Si Ning must die!
Luo Qingyao's consciousness fluctuated violently, and her hostility leaked out, scaring the people around her.
Chen Tangyuan also noticed the movement here. He raised his hand and hit Luo Qingyao's eyebrows with spiritual power. Luo Qingyao suddenly felt a chill all over her body and woke up.
Chen Tangyuan said in a cold tone, "You have signs of unstable Dao heart, and you may be harboring inner demons. It is best to return to the sect as soon as possible and ask your master to help you deal with it."
Luo Qingyao's heart trembled, and after she recovered, she bowed to Shen Tangyuan and said, "Thank you, Senior Brother Shen, for your timely assistance."
Chen Tangyuan hummed and ignored her. Luo Qingyao gritted her teeth secretly. Why was Chen Tangyuan so cold to her?!
Nan Sining also looked at Luo Qingyao in surprise. The Luo Qingyao in the book was a person with a very strong mind. Even though she was just playing around with those male cultivators and pretending to be anything, she actually had a very stable heart and knew exactly what she wanted. She would do anything to achieve her goal.
This time, Luo Qingyao's heart suddenly became unstable? !
At this time, Chen Tangyuan had already turned around and spoke to Nan Si Ning. His expression was completely different from his previous cold attitude. His face was full of warm smiles. "Junior Sister Nan, if you don't mind, can I buy a Soul-Boosting Pill from you?"
Seeing Chen Tangyuan, the bright and handsome chief disciple of the King of Medicine, suddenly change his expression like this, Luo Qingyao was even more furious.
Before Nan Si Ning could answer, Xiao Jingwen shouted dissatisfiedly: "Big Brother, the nourishing pills I made are not bad either. I'll give them all to you! Why do you want hers?"
When Chen Tangyuan looked at Xiao Jingwen, the smile on his face suddenly disappeared, and he became cold and majestic: "What kind of pill is your soul-boosting pill? How can I not know it? Although I rated it as a top-grade pill, you should know that your pill can only be regarded as a barely qualified one among the top-grade ones."
Xiao Jingwen immediately showed an angry look, and was very unhappy that his senior brother belittled him in front of his opponent.
Chen Tangyuan snorted and said to Nan Si Ning, "This kid is still a little unconvinced. If possible, I'll buy two from you. Let him try your Soul-Boosting Pills, and then he'll be convinced."
Nan Si Ning roughly understood that Chen Tangyuan should be teaching his junior fellow apprentice, but Xiao Jingwen, the fool, didn't appreciate it at all.
Nan Si Ning said generously, "If Senior Brother Shen wants it, I can naturally give it to him directly. If Senior Brother Shen can give me some advice and guidance in the future, it will be of great benefit to me. In comparison, a pill is nothing. As for him..."
Nan Sining looked at Xiao Jingwen: "If he wants my pills, I will sell them to him only if he pays five times the price!"
Xiao Jingwen was so angry that he blew his beard and glared at Nan Si Ning: "You - you are going too far!"
Nan Si Ning made a face: "I bullied you, I bullied you, what's the matter? Are you not convinced? If you have the guts, hit me!"
Xiao Jingwen was so angry at Nan Si Ning that his whole body was shaking. He really had a strong urge to hit someone, but when he caught a glimpse of the cold eyes of his senior brother, Xiao Jingwen suddenly felt like a deflated ball.
If he dared to touch Nan Si Ning, the eldest brother would tear him apart.
He can't afford to offend Nan Si Ning!
Chen Tangyuan said, "Give Junior Sister Nan a high-grade spirit stone."
Xiao Jingwen said aggrievedly: “Why!”
The market price of a top-grade spirit-replenishing elixir is generally one hundred mid-grade spirit stones per bottle. Chen Tangyuan's price was even more astonishing than Nan Sining's.
Chen Tangyuan said seriously, "Because you can learn something far more than a high-grade spirit stone from it."
Sometimes, Chen Tangyuan deeply hated his junior brother for being such a blockhead. Nan Si Ning had clearly stated that his suggestions and advice were of great value, but this kid didn't listen at all. He really wanted to open his brain to see if there was something blocking it.
Alas, why is there such a huge gap between my junior brother and other people’s junior sisters? It makes me tired.
Xiao Jingwen reluctantly threw a piece of high-grade spirit stone to Nan Si Ning. Nan Si Ning took it with a smile, and gave Xiao Jingwen a spirit-replenishing pill and Shen Tangyuan one, and reminded him: "Brother Shen, remember to tell me how you feel after taking it!"
Nan Sining used the pill recipe provided by the system. It was obvious that her pill recipe was different from the commonly used ones nowadays, so she wanted Shen Tangyuan, the great alchemy master, to taste it and see what was different about her pill.
Chen Tangyuan took the Soul-Replenishing Pill and said, "Okay, that's as it should be. Fifth Junior Brother, you must also write down your feelings after taking the pill and hand it to me."
Xiao Jingwen felt that the whole person was not good. He dreamed of the days when he had not yet passed the examination to become an alchemist. He was caught by the senior brother day and night to make pills, taste pills, and write his thoughts. It was too miserable. Woo——
The first round of fighting ended with Nan Sining winning by a narrow margin.
After the initial shock, everyone discussed it and came to the conclusion: Nan Si Ning was able to defeat Xiao Jingwen this time purely out of luck.
Moreover, this gap can be made up quickly in the second round. Xiao Jingwen can reverse the situation by easily refining a third-grade elixir!
Otherwise, how could he be willing to hand over the mountain of spirit stones to Cijian Peak?
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