Chapter 00272: The Disciple Who Shouldn’t Have Made It to the Top Ten
# The Disciple Who Shouldn’t Have Made It to the Top Ten
Chapter 272
Novel: Abandon The Universe
Chapter 272: The Disciple Who Shouldn’t Have Made It to the Top Ten
Someone actually chose the Scarlet Sky Three-Leaf Sprout? Lou Qianyun was quite surprised when she saw that one of the Scarlet Sky Three-Leaf Sprouts had been selected.
Originally, this herb wasn’t supposed to be part of the alchemy competition, but Elder Yi Yiming had insisted that the Star Ascension Immortal Court’s alchemy competition shouldn’t be too easy, so they added the Scarlet Sky Three-Leaf Sprout.
Although the Scarlet Sky Three-Leaf Sprout was included, everyone knew that no one would likely choose it.
The Eternal Jade Alchemy Sect was a decent alchemy sect, but it was only a six-star sect.
In the Star Ascension Immortal Court, there were eight-star alchemy sects.
Unlike the internal competitions of the Eternal Jade Alchemy Sect, their internal competitions often featured fourth-grade grand alchemists.
When the Scarlet Sky Three-Leaf Sprout appeared in front of Guang Jie, a flame outlet also appeared before her.
For this competition, alchemists had to bring their own cauldrons, but the flame was standardized—a third-grade immortal flame provided by the sect.
All the alchemists took out their cauldrons.
Guang Jie noticed that many of them were using low-grade immortal cauldrons, and a few were even using top-grade spirit tool cauldrons.
At this moment, Guang Jie was extremely grateful to Lan Xiaobu.
The cauldron she was using was a mid-grade immortal cauldron, close to a sixth-grade immortal cauldron.
While it might not be the best here, it was definitely among the top five.
After cleaning the cauldron with alchemy techniques, Guang Jie carefully placed the Scarlet Sky Three-Leaf Sprout inside.
The moment the flame rose, she was pleasantly surprised.
She found that controlling the herbs in the cauldron was much easier than before.
Steps that had been difficult for her in the past now felt effortless.
If she were to attempt refining a third-grade immortal pill now, she might even be able to produce a top-tier one.
Overjoyed but cautious, Guang Jie meticulously purified the medicinal liquid, removed impurities, purified it again, and then collected the refined liquid.
Every step was executed flawlessly.
What would have taken her nearly an hour before was now completed in just the time it took for an incense stick to burn.
After transferring the purified liquid into a prepared jade vial engraved with her name, Guang Jie realized she was the first to finish.
Had her fellow disciples weakened? She quickly shook her head.
It wasn’t that they had weakened, but that she had grown stronger.
Her improvement was due to the top-tier alchemy techniques Lan Xiaobu had taught her, along with his precise and insightful explanations.
Before this, she hadn’t been able to purify third-grade immortal herbs to this level because her flame had been too weak.
Now, using a third-grade immortal flame, her true skill was revealed.
It was only through comparison that she realized how much of an advantage she had.
This made her wonder: Was Lan Xiaobu really not even a third-grade immortal alchemist?
“Huh? She finished purifying the Scarlet Sky Three-Leaf Sprout so quickly?” Lou Qianyun looked at Guang Jie in surprise.
She had been watching Guang Jie ever since she chose the herb, but Guang Jie had never stood out before.
In fact, Lou Qianyun couldn’t recall ever seeing this disciple.
After another hour or so, the flames in front of each participant suddenly vanished.
Those who hadn’t finished collecting their medicinal liquid by then were essentially out of the competition.
All the participants placed their vials of purified liquid on the transmission array in front of them.
The array activated, and the vials were sent away.
Lou Qianyun stood up and announced, “The first round is over. Everyone, please remain seated. The purity and rankings of your purified liquids will soon appear on the ranking screen. Only the top fifty will advance to the second round.”
The first round eliminated over 90% of the participants, a necessary measure to conserve immortal herbs.
If too many advanced to the second round, the cost of the herbs required for the competition would be astronomical.
At this point, not only were the participants nervous, but even the elders whose disciples were competing were anxiously watching the ranking screen.
A high ranking for their disciples would not only bring honor to the disciples but also reflect well on the elders, who would receive rewards as well.
The rankings began to appear on the screen.
The 1,071st place was announced first: Wu Qingqing, who had attempted to purify the Star Rhyme Immortal Fruit, failed with a purity of zero.
“Senior Sister Qingqing got zero? That’s definitely a fluke. She’s practically a third-grade immortal alchemist!”
“It must have been a failure during purification. Otherwise, she could have made it into the top ten.”
As the rankings were announced, whispers broke out among the disciples who knew Wu Qingqing.
A beautiful woman in the competition area stood up, her face pale.
She lowered her head and hurriedly left the area.
Receiving a zero in front of so many people was utterly humiliating.
Fortunately, she wasn’t the only one with a zero.
Over a hundred others also scored zero.
It wasn’t until the 921st place that someone scored a few points, though the score was still very low.
However, no one paid much attention to these lower ranks.
Everyone was focused on the top fifty.
If you weren’t in the top fifty, even being 51st was meaningless.
At this point, both the participants and the elders hoped their names—or their disciples’ names—wouldn’t appear on the screen just yet.
“Zhuo Jian, purified second-grade immortal herb Black Camphor Grass, purity 61.30, 62nd place, eliminated.”
When Dai Jingning heard that Zhuo Jian had been eliminated in 62nd place, her expression darkened.
Earlier, Lu Turuo had also been eliminated.
These were her two most promising disciples, and now both were out.
“Junior Sister Dai, Zhuo Jian didn’t perform well this time. He has the potential to be a third-grade immortal alchemist,” said Elder Hu Tian, sitting beside Dai Jingning.
His tone was sympathetic, but Dai Jingning knew he was gloating.
Hu Tian was aware that her two best disciples were Zhuo Jian and Lu Turuo, and now that both were out, he couldn’t resist rubbing it in.
She also knew that one of Hu Tian’s disciples hadn’t appeared on the screen yet and still had a chance to make the top fifty.
Dai Jingning sighed.
After this competition, her standing in the sect would likely drop further.
Resources for advancing to a fourth-grade grand alchemist were already scarce, and if her status declined, when would she ever reach that level?
She glanced enviously at Lou Qianyun, who sat at the highest seat.
Back then, Lou Qianyun had been a third-grade immortal alchemist like her.
But after advancing to fourth-grade, Lou Qianyun had risen to a position of high status, with access to resources far beyond Dai Jingning’s reach.
“Fei Lu, purified second-grade immortal herb Black Camphor Grass, purity 63.09, 50th place, advances to the second round.”
Hu Tian suddenly stood up, excited. “That was close! Just made it to 50th!”
Dai Jingning felt as if she had swallowed a fly but forced a smile. “Congratulations, Elder Hu. Your disciple Fei Lu has made it to the top fifty.”
“Haha, just luck, just luck…” Hu Tian laughed, though his demeanor suggested anything but humility.
Dai Jingning ignored him and turned her attention to the remaining fifty participants.
Most were core disciples, with a few elders mixed in.
She was also an elder, but her age disqualified her from participating.
When Dai Jingning’s gaze fell on Guang Jie, she nearly stood up in shock.
Why was Guang Jie still there?
She knew Guang Jie’s alchemy skills well.
Guang Jie’s talent was average at best.
While she could refine low-grade second-grade immortal pills, barely qualifying as a second-grade immortal alchemist, that was about her limit.
That’s why Dai Jingning hadn’t paid much attention to her, focusing instead on Zhuo Jian and Lu Turuo.
Had Guang Jie made it into the top fifty? That seemed impossible.
But if she hadn’t, why was she still there?
Dai Jingning’s heart raced as she scanned the rankings.
Guang Jie’s name hadn’t appeared yet.
“Master, it looks like Junior Sister Guang Jie made it into the top fifty,” Di Yi said excitedly, though she herself had been eliminated in the 200s.
Dai Jingning nodded. “Yes, I see that, but…”
She couldn’t help but worry.
The rankings had reached the top thirty, and Guang Jie’s name still hadn’t appeared.
Could she be in the top thirty?
When the top twenty… then the top ten were announced, and Guang Jie’s name was still missing, Dai Jingning sighed.
It must have been a mistake.
Such oversights were rare but not unheard of.
“Huh? Junior Sister Dai, isn’t that Guang Jie your disciple? How is she still in the top fifty? Wait, she’s in the top ten now!” Hu Tian finally noticed Guang Jie and exclaimed in surprise.
Dai Jingning wanted to retort, “Can’t my disciple make it into the top ten?” But she knew the truth: her disciples didn’t have what it took to reach the top ten.
Even she herself would struggle to make it that far.
The top ten were mostly elders from various peaks, with only four being disciples.
Xin Wuhe was a once-in-a-millennium genius of the Eternal Jade Alchemy Sect, so his place in the top ten was expected.
Fu Quanyu, another alchemy prodigy and a disciple of fifth-grade grand alchemist Yi Yiming, also deserved his spot.
Liu Xunshang, with his pure wood spirit root and natural affinity for immortal herbs, was a disciple of Lou Qianyun and naturally belonged in the top ten.
(End of chapter.
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