Night of the Broken Gliph

“Greetings, Master!” Chui Yim greeted Ping Chi unwillingly after making his way up.

 “Such a well-behaved disciple. Come here; my shoulders are sore.” Ping Chi caressed his beard and nodded.

Gritting his teeth, Chui Yim exerted a huge force as he kneaded Ping Chi’s shoulder. “Is this fine, Master?”

Ping Chi endured the stinging pain, but he wasn’t planning to give up on this chance to prank Chui Yim. “Not bad, such a filial disciple! Ai…aish!”

Watching the old man and his disciple, some couldn’t help but gasp at how affable Doctor Odd was despite his important status; he was just like any other ordinary old man!

The participants below exchanged glances. Thanks to Ping Chi, they all felt that the serious mood of the competition had vanished. Woo Hung stared at Chui Yim disdainfully as his hatred for his classmate surged.

After some time, Ping Chi announced the start of the competition as he tried to stop himself from strangling Chui Yim. “Welcome to the second competition of the interschool exchange, the alchemy segment. The topic today; identifying elixirs.”

The Metallic Blood War Gate members immediately brought out a huge platter with several bottles; they were obviously prepared.

“There’s an elixir in every bottle, and your task is to name the elixirs successfully by writing down its name on the small piece of paper provided and putting it back into the bottle. Those who are correct will enter the finals tomorrow.”

The crowd protested when they heard this; they paid so much to watch alchemists refine elixirs and smell the heavenly scent! What Ping Chi mentioned wasn’t something they had expected. However, their protest wasn’t replicated by the cultivators.

The participants on the stage had already taken the bottles and started smelling the elixirs. They all wore solemn expressions as they hesitated to write down an answer. It was obvious that they dared not answer casually, proving that Ping Chi’s question was tougher than it seemed and that the answer couldn’t be derived from just smelling the elixirs.

Just then, a scream was heard as some participants furrowed their eyebrows, deciding whether to try the elixir.

The participants turned around to see one of the participants foaming and shaking violently on the ground!

“He…just ate some powder he scratched from the elixir…”

“Oh lord…”

They held their breaths as they stared at the bottles in their hands like it was some horrifying monster, barely stopping themselves from smashing the bottle on the ground immediately.

“I won’t reveal the name of this elixir, but I don’t suggest tasting it.” Ping Chi’s laughter rang across the area.

Two Metallic Blood War Gate disciples exited the area, carrying the collapsed teen away, leaving silence behind.

“This elixir must be poisonous!” The participants’ faces flushed pale as those planning to taste the elixir stopped in their tracks. 

Whoosh.

A scent with flowery notes spread across the area, it was a common scent among elixirs, but this made Yip Luk Ching write down her answer and submit it. She was so quick that she had already stuffed her paper into the bottle and submitted it to the Metallic Blood War Gate disciple next to her before the other participants could peek. With a bow to Ping Chi, she returned to her seat.

“Not bad, a confident girl.” Ping Chi nodded. Following closely after her was Woo Hung, Pak Si Sang from the Stars Unite Education Center, Shue Kei from the Great Book Academy and the Imperial Physician Medical School’s So Ming Sai…

One by one, they wrote down their answers and submitted them to the Metallic Blood War Gate disciples. The other participants present were left in deep thought, faces pale as they tried their best to think of an answer. Some of the more desperate participants even gritted their teeth and tasted the elixir, carried out just like the first participant to be carried out, foaming and shaking.

Unlike the forging segment, the outcome of the alchemy segment was known within the hour. Ping Chi went through the written answers and announced the winners.

Cloud Palace outer sect, Woo Hung.

Great Book Academy, Shue Kei.

Stars Unite Education Center, Pak Si Sang.

Imperial Physician Medical School, So Ming Sai.

School of Blossoms, Yip Luk Ching.

…………

The eliminated participants couldn’t accept these results and shouted at the mighty Ping Chi as if they lost their minds. “How is this fair? We weren’t tested on our alchemical skill!”

“How can you be an alchemist if you cannot even identify elixirs?” Ping Chi spoke stubbornly. However, he was right. Even Chui Yim, who always argued with him, agreed. This was just like Yau Suet Chung’s forging. He had the skills and cultivation state but lacked sufficient knowledge of weapons, finally producing a weapon that was an utter failure.

“Everything in this world starts from the basics, and the elites stuck in a certain state are stuck because of their weak foundation. It was too late when they realised and tried to fix things.” Everyone in the arena could hear Ping Chi clearly.

“How can you refine a good elixir if you can’t control the fire, know the ingredient ratios, the different types of elixirs and their compositions like the back of your hand?

Ping Chi picked up a bottle and emptied it, catching the elixir with his fingers. “I did make some changes to the elixirs.” He said as a solid green flame wrapped around the elixir.

This scene excited all of the participants. “Is that great master Ping’s sleeping fire?”

“Oh my god… it’s so intense; it’s the best fire to refine elixirs with!”

The sleeping fire was a very scarce type of fire that had only appeared in the world thrice in the past thousand years. Its refining and nurturing characteristics were what made it so special, becoming known as the best special fire for alchemy. Alchemy was a profound field where you matched suitable gliphic plants together, refining them under heat to create a unique end product. It seemed mystical, but it was actually science.

This special fire had huge vitality, and the gliphic plants would be enhanced during the refining process. In other words, refining an elixir with the sleeping fire would increase the success rate by at least thirty percent, increasing its effects greatly. It was the lifelong dream of all alchemists to own this fire.

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