The Pharmacist Alliance.

The Elixir being refined at the Pharmacist Exchange Conference wasn’t particularly difficult, but some people still failed. The Basic Level Pharmacist from Xuanqing Palace, for example, was simply incapable of refining the First Revolution Nourishing Viscera Pill and was naturally eliminated.

He failed both times.

A few other unlucky souls suffered the same fate, making various mistakes during their Alchemy attempts and getting eliminated. Tomorrow, they would be nothing more than spectators.

For them, the goal of the Pharmacist Exchange Conference was already met. Even those who failed the refining process would receive some Cultivation Resources as a participation reward. This was why Xuanqing Palace of Yu State had sent a Basic Level Pharmacist to participate, despite their current situation.

The current Xuanqing Palace was doing everything in its power to obtain more resources, cultivate more Inner Masters, and compensate for their diminished Combat Power.

When the Imperial Family made its move in Yu State, Xuanqing Palace was affected, but the chaos also purged agents from other states. This reduced external pressure on Xuanqing Palace, giving it a chance to rise again.

Under these circumstances, Xuanqing Palace naturally had to seize every opportunity to increase its strength and restore its former glory.

Yang Chan stood in the crowd, watching those who had not yet finished their refining.

The people who had finished before him had either succeeded on their first try or had already failed twice.

It was those still on their second attempt who were still busy refining the First Revolution Nourishing Viscera Pill.

The number of failures was about to increase. He could already see smoke rising from one of the alchemy stations. ’That has to be a case of poor fire control,’ he thought. ’The medicinal ingredients must have burned.’

In that situation, the refining process was doomed to fail.

Sure enough, a few moments later, another person emerged, looking utterly dejected.

For many Pharmacists, working in an unfamiliar location lowered their success rate. This was a common phenomenon.

Some participants from the various Sects were also attending the Pharmacist Exchange Conference for the first time, and being watched by so many people inevitably made them nervous. The combination of these two factors made failure even more likely.

Soon, many more people emerged. Some were beaming with joy, while others were completely downcast. It was easy to guess their results.

Yan Jinfeng, however, was all smiles. Both Pharmacists from the Cyan Yuan Sect had successfully refined the First Revolution Nourishing Viscera Pill on their first attempt, which was a great source of pride for him. While he was on friendly terms with Advanced Pharmacists from other Sects, they were all privately competitive, eager to see whose Sect’s Alchemy was superior.

Xu Gaocen and Yang Chan’s performance had already surpassed that of several other Sects, most notably the unfortunate Celestial Sword Sect. Both of their Intermediate Pharmacists had failed to refine the First Revolution Nourishing Viscera Pill, causing the expression of the Celestial Sword Sect’s Advanced Pharmacist, Luo Zhenming, to turn exceptionally grim.

Failing at the very first stage was a huge embarrassment, especially since neither of the two Intermediate Pharmacists were novices. It wasn’t their first time at the Pharmacist Exchange Conference, yet both had failed. This effectively ended any chance the Celestial Sword Sect had of competing for a top rank.

Even if he himself performed exceptionally well in the subsequent Advanced Pharmacist round, it wouldn’t be enough to secure a good overall rank for his Sect. This year, the Celestial Sword Sect was destined to receive very few Cultivation Resources.

His expression soured further when he saw that both Pharmacists from the Cyan Yuan Sect had succeeded in their Alchemy.

On the way to White Jade City, he and Yan Jinfeng had traded vicious barbs, each doing his best to belittle the other. For this to happen now... Luo Zhenming was utterly humiliated. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

As soon as the Pharmacist Alliance announced the results of the Alchemy contest and the schedule for the next day, he led the Celestial Sword Sect members away without a backward glance, hoping to avoid any mockery.

After all, since arriving in White Jade City, he hadn’t limited his taunts to just Yan Jinfeng; he had mocked Advanced Pharmacists from other Sects as well. The thought of so many people returning the favor was unbearable.

"Well, well, if it isn’t Pharmacist Luo. I heard your esteemed Sect brought two veteran Intermediate Pharmacists this time. I’m sure you’re set to take first place this year."

Luo Zhenming was quick to leave, but someone else was quicker. With a flicker of movement, a man appeared in front of Luo Zhenming, a faint smile on his face as he spoke.

Anyone could see what had happened, and this man’s words were clearly meant to kick him while he was down.

Seeing the Celestial Sword Sect’s misfortune, he was quick to rub it in.

Seeing this, people from other Sects also gathered around to join in the jeering.

His current pathetic state was a stark contrast to how high-profile he had been in White Jade City. All his boasts were now being thrown right back at him—a resounding slap in the face.

His face was beet red.

Yan Jinfeng also took the opportunity to go over and rub salt in the wound, intensifying the pain.

Amidst the crowd’s jeers and taunts, Luo Zhenming scurried away in disgrace. With the facts laid bare, any further words would be useless, only making him more of a laughingstock.

Yang Chan watched the drama unfold from his seat. He was sitting far enough from the commotion to not be conspicuous.

’Today, the drama is about someone else, but tomorrow, I’ll have to join that bustling crowd too,’ Yang Chan thought. ’But as long as Xu Gaocen’s Alchemy goes smoothly, I’ll just be another face in the crowd. Aside from a few words from Yan Jinfeng, I can just be a spectator. That’s much safer.’

He didn’t like being in the limelight, nor did he want anything to do with it.

"I can’t believe those two from the Celestial Sword Sect failed so quickly this year," Xu Gaocen remarked, sounding genuinely surprised. "They were the same two who participated last time, and they both made it to the second round. To think they couldn’t even pass the first round this year... what an upset. To be favored by an Advanced Pharmacist, their skills should at least be passable. They should have been able to clear the first stage."

"Maybe they were just exhausted," Yang Chan suggested. "Look at how pale they are, and those huge dark circles under their eyes. They must not have gotten a good night’s sleep."

As Yang Chan spoke, he observed the two Pharmacists from the Celestial Sword Sect. They were indeed unsteady on their feet. He couldn’t tell if it was due to the strain of Alchemy or some other reason, but in any case, they were clearly not in good shape.

"It must be from their... ’strenuous battle’ last night!"

"Pharmacist Yang, you may be young, but you should also take care of your body. Otherwise, you’ll end up just like them. Let them be a cautionary tale for you."

Xu Gaocen patted Yang Chan’s shoulder, speaking in a grave and earnest tone.

He looked as if he was warning Yang Chan to stay away from the... ’gentler’ temptations.

Yang Chan’s expression froze. ’What is he talking about?’ he wondered.

’Who’s the one who really needs to be careful here?’

On the way to the Pharmacist Alliance today, he had seen Xu Gaocen rubbing his lower back multiple times, and his gait wasn’t as steady as usual either.

However, seeing Xu Gaocen’s knowing smile, Yang Chan could only nod. What else could he do? The man was a more senior Intermediate Pharmacist, after all.

Yan Jinfeng strode back over to Yang Chan and Xu Gaocen.

"Xiaoxu, Xiaoyang," he began, "you both saw what happened to those two from the Celestial Sword Sect. You can’t be like them. For the next few days, don’t stay up too late. Exercise some restraint at night, you hear? We don’t want a repeat of that problem."

Xu Gaocen froze. The warning was almost identical to the one he had just given Yang Chan, but now he was on the receiving end of it too.