Number One Under Heaven -
Chapter 74: Desire for Attention
Seeing how they were standing there like statues, Xuan Cheung pulled out an hourglass out of thin air and showed them, “What are you standing there for? The time is already ticking. Don’t blame me if you fail because you wanted to stand there like an idiot.”
“!!!!!” The contestants did not have time to think or complain and ran back to their Cauldron to begin Pill making.
Xuan Cheung watched them panic with a smile, ‘It would’ve been boring if I didn’t do something like this.’
“Wow, as expected from a Pill Grandmaster. If it weren't something like this, it would’ve been another generic Pill Contest.” People started talking again but in whispers.
The moment the contestants got back to their Cauldron, they started to analyze the ingredients given to them.
“What are they doing? Why are they just staring at the ingredients? Weren’t they just panicking about the time starting?” Someone with little knowledge on Pill making asked.
“If they don’t analyze it, how will they be able to tell how old the ingredients are? Before a Pill Master starts making their Pill, they must first inspect their ingredients to determine their quality and age! They must also adjust their flame strength to match the age and quality of the ingredients, if not, the ingredients may burn from overheating!” Said an Expert.
“Wow, making a Pill was actually this complicated?!”
“Of course. Why do you think that we have so little Pill Masters around?”
The ingredients inspection had taken around 15 minutes before everybody began making their Pill.
‘I need to spend less time on ingredient refining so I can have more time for the next two phases. It is already hard enough to make the Pill, so it is pointless for me to focus on the quality in my current conditions. All I need is a Low-Grade True Qi Pill! If I aim for a higher grade, it will reduce my chances of succeeding by a large margin!’ Gin Seng thought. What is the point in showing off anymore when he is already standing on the edge of a cliff at the beginning of the contest?!
‘I am confident that everybody else has the same thought as me right now!’ He picked up an orange colored flower from the pile of ingredients and summoned his Divine Flames before swallowing the flower in it.
The orange colored flames floated in his palms for a few minutes before dissipating and leaving behind the same flower as before it got swallowed.
“Eh? Nothing about the flower changed, so what was the point of his actions just now?” Someone asked.
“Only the outside looks the same, but the inside is entirely different! You can’t sense it, but the impurities within that flower have been reduced by 5 percent! As expected from the genius son of the Gin Family!” Said some Spirit Realm Expert.
“Only 5 percent? So little?”
“What the hell do you know? To get 5 percent in a few minutes is already splendid! If some ordinary Pill Student were in the same shoes as him, he would’ve probably gotten around only 2 percent! When it comes to the purity of a Pill, even one percent can make a huge difference!
All the contestants on the stage were doing the same thing, picking up an ingredient before covering it with their Divine Flame for a few minutes. Nobody wanted to lose face by failing to make a Pill in front of such a large audience, so they rather drop the quality of the Pill to gain extra time to increase the chances of creating the Pill!
Approximately 30 minutes later, the contestants finished with their ingredients refining and were ready to proceed to the next step, liquefying all of the ingredients in the Cauldron. This step usually takes up the most time when creating a Pill because they were required to put in one ingredient at a time. Unless they are skilled enough to liquefy more than one ingredient at a time without messing up the other one, there was no other way to shorten the time spent on this step. If they try to increase the flame power, it will only burn the ingredients.
‘Damn, it will take me about an hour to complete this step, leaving me with only 2 hours left to do the last two phases! That’s damn near impossible!’ Like everybody else, Huang Li who is tagged as the most talented out of them is struggling like she has never been before.
‘If only that Senior didn't appear out of thin air messing me up mentally, this stupid Pill Contest would've been way easier'!’ She blamed Tian Yi who caused a ruckus right before it started as the reason to why she is struggling. The power shown by Tian Yi has truly shocked her to the core. What kind of Cultivation did one need to change the weather? He even made the World tremble at his will! Such a monstrous Senior would be world famous even if he lived like a caveman, yet how come she has never heard of someone like that?!
‘No, wait... He should still be watching, right? If I managed to catch his attention with my talent, maybe he will accept me as his disciple?’Desire started growing deep within her heart.
Who among the younger generation did not want a Master that was as powerful as this Senior?! Who among them did not want someone as overbearing as him to watch over and protect them? She felt that if she had a Master like that Senior, even Immortals would not dare to touch her hair!
It was not just Huang Li, but the other contestants and even many in the audiences are having similar thoughts!
A Master that is willing to flip the overbearing Guo Family just for them! A Master as tall as a mountain and as strong as an ox! Who did not want someone like that?!
With that thought, the contestants forgot about their original goal for winning this Pill Contest, the Perfect Grade Spirit Pill, and instead, wanted to show off their talent to catch the attention of this mysterious Senior! If such a person was watching this Pill Contest in the first place, then there are only two reasons! Either he was bored enough to watch some younger generation make Pills, or he is looking for a Disciple to pass on his legacy!
With such a desire in their mind, everybody broke through their current mental state and reached an even higher state than when they were in their perfect condition in the past!
‘Hm?!’ Xuan Cheung and Xuan Yuming noticed the change in the air and was shocked. What happened? Why did the atmosphere suddenly change?
‘I must catch his attention!’
‘What Pill Grandmaster?! I want that Senior as my Master!’
‘Senior, watch this!’
The contestants began moving faster and faster, and even the way they controlled their flame became more skillful!
“What?!” With such a noticeable difference in their movements, even the audience could see that something has changed!
“What is going on? They seem to be moving faster?” Someone asked.
“Not just faster, but the way they are controlling their flame has become more skillful too,” Said someone with a sharper sense.
“It's unbelievable, but they’ve suddenly achieved enlightenment,” Xuan Cheung said with a shocked face.
The people close to him heard it and was shocked, “What?!"
They would understand if it was only one of them, but all of them at almost the same time?! How is that possible?! What caused them to receive such an enlightenment?!
“There are many ways to achieve enlightenment. Overcoming hardships, a strong will, luck, fate, and strong desires. However, it ultimately depends on what they are doing while trying to receive enlightenment,” Xuan Cheung replied.
“In this case, I believe it’s the strong desire they all have that an enlightenment happened,” He continued.
‘What could they possibly all want that gave them such a strong desire? The Perfect Grade Spirit Pill?’ People started guessing.
“Wow, that was unexpected. For all of them to achieve enlightenment…” Tian Yi was surprised as he has never witnessed something like this happening before.
“In this situation, it would be their desire that caused it?” Yu Yue guessed.
“You’re right, but what is their desire?” Tian Yi wondered.
Little did he know that the reason they gained enlightenment was that they wanted to catch his attention, hoping that he would accept them as his Disciple!
*****
*Hahhh* *Haaah* *Haaahhh*
They were finally done with the first phase of Pill making, Ingredient refining! Due to their enlightenment, what was supposed to take around an hour to complete was shortened to half an hour! However, the price that came with it was fatigue! Because of their sudden enlightenment their concentration and speed were doubled, but because their body were not used to it, the time it takes to wear them out decreased, increasing their stress at a faster rate!
“Haaah… Haaah…” Gin Seng gasped nonstop. He was dead tired!
However--- ‘That felt freaking great! Is that what they call sudden enlightenment?! It was as if my body moved on its own!’ Although he is tired, a broad smile could be seen hanging on his face because his excitement surpassed his fatigue!
It was not just him, everybody else on the stage had a similar smile on their face. Their fierce desire for this mysterious Senior to notice them had made them want to give it all they got more than they’ve ever wanted to in their life!
‘I-Is this really me?’ The blind girl was more shocked than excited at her own results. She has always been below average in Pill making, yet the results she has shown up to this point is on par with these renowned Pill making geniuses!
Is it because she wanted this Senior to notice her more than everyone else on the stage? No. It was because she did not want to disappoint this Senior who protected her. It was because she did not want this Senior to think that he saved someone as weak and untalented as her. Because she did not want to disappoint this Senior, she gave it twice--- thrice the amount of effort into this Pill Contest.
‘No, this is not the end. There are still two more phases…’ Although they all wanted to relax and digest their enlightenment, they were not done because the Pill was still nowhere near being completed!
Unable to waste even another second, they immediately began mixing the liquids gathered from the ingredients.
*****
30 minutes after they began their second phase of creating the True Qi Pill, the fatigue that was being suppressed by their excitement has finally started to show and hinder them.
‘Damn, I am almost done with shaping the Pill too!’ Gin Seng cursed.
“...”
“...”
After another 20 minutes had passed, his eyes were bloodshot, and sweat could be seen dripping off his hair.
‘It’s done! Time for the last phase, Pill Creation! I should have around 40 minutes left… I can make it!’ He began feeding the liquid shaped Pill trying to harden it.
‘ Hahaha. Senior, are you watching me? I hope you are, because---’ His body suddenly shivered halfway through his thoughts, and as if fate was forcing his eyes to move, he looked at a particular direction to where the audience were sitting and whispering.
“?!?!?!?!?!?!?!” Gin Seng’s mind sudden turned blank.
There he was--- A young man with ordinary looks, and sitting next to him was an incredibly beautiful young girl with an innocent face.
‘T-T-T-T-T-TH-TH-THAT’S--- Impossible!’ Unwanted memories started replaying in his head. From the moment where he met with this ordinary young man in the streets to asking the little girl if she could sell him her weird Cauldron. Although the part of his memory where after he swung his sword were a bit unclear, he knew one thing for sure, and that was the feeling of pain, intense pain!
‘WHAT’S HE DOING HERE?! WHY IS HE LOOKING AT ME?!?!?!? IT CAN’T BE-- H-H-He is still feeling offended from that incident and followed me all the way here to get revenge?!’ Although the little girl looked way different from his memories, how could he forget about the ordinary face that trashed him to the point where even his mother could not recognize him at first when he was carried back home for treatment?!
‘He’s definitely here for me! I’m done! I'm dead! I need to--- OH SHI----’
*BOOOOOOM*
His Cauldron exploded, blasting him far away until he was in the audiences!
*WHOOOOSH*
The Divine Flame that was inside the exploded Cauldron went wild before taking form into a Viper!
“Wh-What’s that?!?!?”
“It’s a Viper made from Divine Flames!”
“Damn! What caused him to turn his Divine Flames like that?!”
“That's an Enraged Divine Flame! Don’t get near it or it’ll burn you to ashes!”
“Everyone, take cover!” Xuan Cheung stood up and screamed before the power of a Spirit King exploded out from him.
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