Two hours—neither too long nor too short.
For martial artists who have barely reached the standard of a first-grade Alchemist, successfully refining a first-grade elixir within this period is quite challenging; time is extremely tight.
But for a second-grade Alchemist like Zhao Letian, two hours is more than sufficient, even overly so.
"Advance as long as I'm among the top one hundred? Considering that, I'll keep a low profile in the first round and casually refine a first-grade elixir."
Zhao Letian thought to himself while his hand flickered with Spirit Light, promptly taking out the Hundred Herbs Furnace.
Following that, Zhao Letian opened the Pill Furnace and casually threw in some herbs.
His movements seemed casual, but each type of herb thrown in was precisely matched in specific proportions.
The first step in Alchemy is to blend the herbs.
The second step is to use the flames to refine the herbs, removing the dross and retaining the essence.
"Purple Lotus Demon Fire, emerge!"
After arranging the herbs, Zhao Letian's mind moved, and he immediately summoned the Purple Lotus Demon Fire, forming a huge purple Fire Lotus and enveloping the Hundred Herbs Furnace with it.
The Dan King Mansion did not provide earth fire, so every competitor had to use their own flame for alchemy.
However, even though the Purple Lotus Demon Fire was extraordinary, Zhao Letian was not the only contestant with Abnormal Fire; Yu Kun and the others were all using powerful Abnormal Fires too.
Therefore, Zhao Letian using the Purple Lotus Demon Fire did not draw much attention.
"Not bad, the quality of this Pill King competition is even higher than last time, with quite a few young ones possessing exceptional Alchemy Skill, and indeed, some of them have apparently become second-grade Alchemists already."
"Hm, those few people's alchemy techniques are very skilled; just by looking, one can tell they're not first-grade Alchemists."
"It's just unknown what grade of second-grade elixirs they can actually refine—it's truly something to look forward to."
On the chairman's stage, the three King-level Alchemy Grandmasters clad in purple robes all discussed with satisfied smiles.
Meanwhile, the other people on-site were observing the competitors engaging in Alchemy.
"Hmph, boy, in terms of strength, you may be stronger than the Yu Family juniors, but when it comes to Alchemy Skill, how can you compare to my son? Once my son becomes the Heir of Pill King, I will personally execute you, and by then, even Chen Shan won't dare oppose the Yu Family anymore."
Yu Qin glared at Zhao Letian with a look full of disdain and thought to himself.
At the same time, the martial artists taking the assessment in the square were also looking at one another.
Since only the top one hundred could advance to the next round, they were all very concerned about whether their alchemy progress was fast or slow.
"He's still refining the herbs; such slow progress, and yet he dares to partake in the Pill King competition—truly embarrassing himself!"
Yu Kun, while controlling the flames and refining the elixir inside the furnace, turned his head to glance at Zhao Letian's situation and immediately revealed a scornful cold smirk on his face.
As far as he knew, the second step of alchemy was usually to quickly refine the herbs with intense fire, while the third step was to form the elixir and then refine it with a gentle flame.
At this moment, he was already refining with a gentle flame, while Zhao Letian was still using intense fire to refine the herbs, so in his view, Zhao Letian's Alchemy Skill was far from comparable to his.
Simultaneously, Zhao Letian also took a brief look at others' alchemy progress.
Not only Yu Kun, but Ge Jun and Lv Yang had also already formed their elixirs.
Yet, Zhao Letian was entirely unconcerned, quickly scanning past those people and turning his attention to Cheng Jiayin and her siblings.
In the first round, Zhao Letian's only goal was to advance, not to compete for any ranking.
He didn't care about those empty honors at all, nor did he value the so-called rewards, therefore, there was no need to rush the progress, just to secure a spot in the top hundred was enough.
At this moment, what he cared about the most was the situation of siblings Cheng Jiayin.
The two of them had just reached the level of a first-grade Alchemist, and their chances of making it into the top hundred were slim; all they needed to do was to concoct a First-grade Elixir within two hours.
"Not bad, both of their foundations are very solid. As long as they don't make any mistakes along the way, they shouldn't encounter too much trouble. In fact, with a bit of luck, they might even have a chance to break into the top hundred."
Seeing the siblings, Cheng Jiayin, with solemn faces completely focused on Alchemy, Zhao Letian nodded in satisfaction, thinking to himself.
Just then, a loud explosion sounded, and everyone's gaze swiftly turned in that direction.
An unfortunate soul had made a mistake and the Pill Furnace had exploded, not only failing in Alchemy but also being blasted until they were spitting blood, their face charred.
However, this person did not give up, and without a word, quickly wiped the blood from the corner of their mouth, took out another Pill Furnace, and started the second round of Alchemy.
There was still plenty of time left; if he hurried, there was still a chance to concoct another First-grade Elixir.
At that moment, a metallic tremor sounded, and someone's Pill Furnace lid flew off, and immediately, the fragrance of the elixirs filled the air.
Everyone's gaze quickly turned over.
It was none other than Yu Kun, the young master of the Yu Family.
"The first place, is mine!"
Yu Kun took an elixir out of the Pill Furnace, held it up high, showed it to the experts on the chairman's platform, and laughed with triumph, scanning the crowd arrogantly.
Especially when he saw that Zhao Letian was only just beginning to form the elixir, he revealed a contemptuous sneer on his face.
It seemed that his previous expectation was correct; this bumpkin from a small place really had no significant skills, his Alchemy Skill was simply incomparable to his own.
Yu Qin on the chairman's platform laughed with satisfaction. The look in his eyes toward his son Yu Kun was filled with approval.
Today, in front of everyone from Dan King Mansion and the strong figures of the city, his son's first place was a great prestige for him.
"Not bad, with his Alchemy Skill, advancing to the final round will be absolutely no problem."
"Indeed, he's a promising seedling. Perhaps, he even has the potential to become the direct disciple of the Pill King."
"Clan Leader of the Yu Family, you have raised a good son. In the future, your Yu Family will surely have an Alchemy Master. Congratulations."
Those three King-level Alchemy Grandmasters dressed in purple robes, along with the others on the chairman's platform, commented one after another.
"Ha-ha, you all flatter me; my son's level is nothing to speak of, and we will rely on everyone's support in the future."
The compliments from the crowd were very pleasing to Yu Qin, but he still showed great modesty because, among these people, he as the Clan Leader of the Yu Family wasn't much.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!..."
After Yu Kun's success, many others also consecutively concocted First-grade Elixirs.