The nineteen members of the Lianfeng Sword Sect walked happily back to their own group, chatting and laughing as they went.
In contrast, the people from the Divine Cauldron Sect were in a very bad mood. Their dejected manner as they walked back was a stark contrast to the group from the Converging Edge Sword Sect.
Before Lu Shan even got close, he shouted loudly at Shi Xuan, "There were two questions on the written test that Shi Xuan explained to us when she blew up the dining hall, haha!"
Shi Xuan pursed her lips; some things don't need to be constantly mentioned.
He wasn't finished yet, he added, "In the second round, we actually chose the Beauty Pill for everyone, haha! This is truly a conditioned reflex controlled by Senior Sister Shi Xuan, haha!"
This kid got third place. In the past, if you said he could get third place in the individual events of the Six Sects Competition, he probably wouldn't have believed it himself. Who knew it would actually come true!
Gu Liangce followed behind him, overjoyed, seemingly recalling Shi Xuan's great achievements in the sect.
He is now at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment, and it is fortunate that he won the title of the leader of Foundation Establishment. Otherwise, once he breaks through to the Golden Core stage, he will have to compete with Shi Xuan on the same stage, and he will definitely have no chance of winning the first place.
The nineteen participants returned to their respective areas, greeted by cheers from the disciples of the Lianfeng Sword Sect. At that moment, everyone was filled with a strong sense of collective honor, proud to be a member of the Lianfeng Sword Sect.
Shi Xuan patted Gu Liangce on the shoulder: "You did a good job. Keep it up."
Gu Liangce scratched his head, a little embarrassed, and said, "It's still my senior sister who taught me so well."
The alchemy competition for the Golden Core stage officially began on the second day.
Despite his displeasure, Fan Hongde still took his seat as a judge on time.
This time, only three people from the Lianfeng Sword Sect came: Shi Xuan and two senior sisters who were in the late Golden Core stage, Chang Qing and Chen Danfeng.
Shi Xuan could often see them at Baicaofeng.
Chang Qing was petite and adorable, while Chen Danfeng was gentle and serene. When the three of them walked together to the competition venue, they instantly enhanced the overall aesthetic appeal of the venue.
In terms of the number of participants at the Golden Core stage, the Divine Cauldron Sect has finally surpassed the Converging Edge Sword Sect. After all, it is a traditional alchemy sect with a solid foundation.
Among their people was Fan Mingzhu, who had been staring at Shi Xuan with an ambiguous expression.
She was still dressed in flowing white robes, the same disciple's uniform, which seemed to look especially good on her. But how to put it... in the past, I always thought of her as a delicate girl next door, but in the last few times I've seen her, her demeanor seems to have become somewhat strange.
Standing beside her was her senior brother, Gu Zhusheng, who looked serious. Everyone knew they probably wouldn't win this Golden Core stage alchemy competition.
Knowing right from the start that you're going to lose isn't a good feeling, so much so that the atmosphere in the entire Divine Cauldron Sect was extremely oppressive.
Unlike the previous two groups, the Golden Core group didn't have many people trying to get a free batch of pills. There were very few participants; looking at the entire venue, there were less than twenty people from all six sects combined.
The Golden Elixir competition was also divided into three rounds, but the first round, the basic elixir refining, was changed to a randomized question selection.
Before the competition, each person reached into a box that isolated their divine senses and took out a sphere. Opening the sphere revealed the challenge for the competition.
It must be said that this method, to some extent, even includes luck in the assessment.
Shi Xuan stepped forward and decisively selected a ball. Upon opening it, he saw three large characters written on it: "Lightning-Attracting Pill".
Shi Xuan narrowed his eyes. This was interesting. This Lightning-Attracting Pill was a fourth-tier pill. Most Golden Core cultivators probably didn't even know the formula.
Then look at the ball that Fan Mingzhu drew behind her. It says "Rejuvenation Pill" on it. It's the most commonly used pill at the third tier. Compared to the one she picked, this Rejuvenation Pill is like an easy question that's given away for free.
The other two senior sisters from the Lianfeng Sword Sect also chose third-tier pills.
Shi Xuan looked around and realized that she seemed to be the only exception.
Shi Xuan raised an eyebrow, looking meaningfully at the high platform ahead. This box was full of third-tier pills, and she had drawn it because of one fourth-tier one? She didn't believe such a coincidence.
Shu Yuanguan on the stage immediately looked at Feng Hanmo, the sect leader of Langya Sect, and said, "Wasn't it said that the first round would only offer third-tier pills? How come there's a fourth-tier one, and such an unpopular one at that?"
This is highly unusual. They promised all were third-tier cultivators, but a fourth-tier one has snuck in, and it's a Lightning-Attracting Pill—something most alchemists rarely encounter. The question about the Lightning-Attracting Pill seems tailor-made for Shi Xuan.
Feng Hanmo was also somewhat surprised. He knew that this round was supposed to be all at the third level, and the difficulty would depend on luck.
But how do we explain this sudden appearance of the fourth-order lightning-attracting pill?
"Perhaps..." Feng Hanmo tried, "Perhaps the elder who set this question forgot that the Lightning-Attracting Pill is a fourth-tier pill?"
"Heh," Shu Yuanguan scoffed, "This Langya Sect is such a large sect, surely they wouldn't have hired a mere gatekeeper to make this puzzle ball?"
It's unbelievable that an elder wouldn't know such obvious common sense.
Fan Hongde spoke up at this moment, saying seriously, "Does this mean that disciples of the Lianfeng Sword Sect can only win when the questions are easy? Besides, there was no rule about the grade of the pills to be refined before the competition. Shi Xuan only drew the only fourth grade, which means she was unlucky and can't blame anyone else."
"It's easy for you to talk when you're not the one suffering. Your daughter drew the easiest question, I'd like to see if she can win with this simplest one!"
Shu Yuanguan wanted to continue speaking, but Shi Xuan spoke up at this moment: "Sect Master Feng, I have no objection to refining the Thunder-Attracting Pill, but we still need the materials. The material package we just received is missing one of the most important materials, Thunder Stone. Without the material, I can't cook without rice."
From the moment Feng Hanmo was choosing accommodations for the major sects, he had been very biased towards the Lianfeng Sword Sect, simply because his son Feng Xiujie's dantian was damaged and it was Shi Xuan who cured him.
I didn't realize she had drawn a fourth-tier pill until now, and now that I see the materials are missing, I suspect there must be something fishy going on.
"In that case, why not let Shi Xuanzhong..."
Just as Feng Hanmo was about to ask Shi Xuan to draw the questions again, Fan Hongde, who was standing next to him, spoke up: "It's just thunderstone. I have plenty here. What's wrong with giving you some?"
Those with a keen eye could already sense something was amiss. It seemed that Fan Hongde really wanted Shi Xuan to refine this Lightning-Attracting Pill, and was even willing to provide the materials himself.
Whether he was responsible for the mistake in the question is hard to say, but it's obvious to everyone that he didn't want Shi Xuan to have an easy time.
Sima Zhao's intentions are obvious to everyone.
Shu Yuanguan snorted coldly, about to speak, but Shi Xuan spoke first, raising his voice: "Fine! Since Sect Master Fan has plenty, let's start with ten!"
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