As soon as the competition kicked off, all the spectators started picking up the number plates to bet.
"Who are you betting on?"
"Pharmacologist Qin of course. Even gentlemen Deng from the Linjiang's Deng lineage lost, so this girl….."
"I agree, I doubt she would make it either."
However, some others had opinions. "But she's so confident, surely she's not as simple as she seems to be."
"Gentlemen Deng is also very confident."
"Make sense too...."
The bunch of youngsters started whispering amongst each other once again.
"Do y'all wanna bet too?"
"Bet on who?"
"This girl!" All of them giggled.
The youngster bet on her not because she was confident, but because they had come to the Hall of Immortals with the goal of "smashing the signboard", which they failed to do so as they chickened out even before they got to compete.
On the elevated stage, Pharmacologist Qin took up the pill that was given to him. He smelled it before he tasted it.
At first, he was taken aback by the strength of the mystic force within the pill. After another confirmation, there were no ingredients that he didn't recognize, and thus he relaxed a bit. However, the ingredients he had identified did not match up with the end product.
None of the ingredients in the pill were rare, but by putting them together, it produced an effect that was out of the ordinary. Pharmacologist Qin thought long and hard but to no avail. He couldn't think of any ways to manufacture the pill that would allow it to keep such a huge amount of mystic force in it.
This girl sure has some sort of secret cheat code!
He stole a glance at her, and what he saw left him rooted to the ground.
To recognize the pill, he dissolved it in water before he scraped to get power and taste it. However, the other party just sat down on the floor crossed-legged and popped the entire pill into her mouth.
What the heck? Is she gonna eat it?
"What is she trying to do?!" One of the youngsters exclaimed.
"Will you shut up!" Senior Brother Qi bellowed. "Don't interrupt the competition."
Even if the bunch of youngsters kept quiet, the spectators were all in shock.
How do you compare it later if you ate the whole pill? How can you be so confident that you will get the exact same copy with one try? Every pharmacy has a secret recipe of their own. Even if you know the ingredients, it's not hundred per cent guaranteed that you will get it. Lu Mingshu's way of competing had all the spectators looking at her in disagreement. Yeah, you're confident, but you need to check to get the right amount for each ingredient. Even those that are talented need to check.
Initially, Pharmacologist Qin was wary of Lu Mingshu because of the pill she had produced. Upon seeing how she recognized the pills, he heaved a sigh of relief.
Maybe her elders made this pill? Then he had nothing to fear then. He knew the ingredients by heart, but there was only a fifty to sixty per cent chance for him to get the same effect. On the other hand, the pill that he chose had used years of experimenting to get the best effect. Even if she could determine the components in the pill, it would be hard for her to get the quantity right. Furthermore, she already swallowed the pill, it's impossible for her to make comparisons.
Pharmacologist Qin diverted his attention away from Lu Mingshu and focused on making the pill.
Now, Lu Mingshu had already entered the Heavenly Wheel.
This was the first time that she had entered the Heavenly Wheel in public. Lu Mingshu did not dare to do it in the past as it would have decreased her ability to defend herself. However, it was totally safe this time around. She was on the elevated stage, and with so many pairs of eyes staring at her, who would dare to do anything to her? Time passed by extremely slowly in the Heavenly Wheel too, so it wouldn't really affect her competition.
Lu Mingshu spit out the pill. "Xiao Sang?"
"Here." Xiao Sang always replied quickly no matter what.
"Could you help me see what's in this pill?"
As a responsible guardian, she answered anything with respect to points or limits to authority.
A ray of colourful light flowed past Lu Mingshu. She could hear Xiao Sang list out the ingredients as if she were reciting Buddhist texts. "There are three main ingredients. The root bark of a ten-year-old peony tree, a five-year-old fruit, twenty-year-old dates..." After she listed out all the ingredients, Xiao Sang added, "The person who made this pill is still a novice, so the effects are limited. It's okay to take it, but you must get rid of the impurities."
Lu Mingshu quickly memorized the ingredients in her heart. "Thanks a lot."
She opened her eyes and walked towards the table.
To the crowd, she had just used ten seconds to finish the pill and she was done.
"No, not this way. She'll lose for sure." Sighs could be heard. Ten seconds is definitely not enough to tell what's in the pill.
Regardless of the comments, Lu Mingshu wrote the ingredients on the piece of paper and handed it to the man. "Sorry for the trouble. Could you please help me get those?"
The man's eyes widened in shock after he saw the things that were written on the paper. "Oh, sure...."
The man then passed the paper to a clerk who returned with the ingredients in no time. Lu Mingshu tested the ingredients one by one before she measured them and put them into the stove.
The man felt ill-at-ease as he kept eyeing the boss who was sitting in the corner.
...
"What the heck, are you mad?" Seeing An Tongchen bowing to him, Cao Lucun was gobsmacked. He had known An Tongchen for ages, yet he had never seen this "iceberg" be so courteous.
An Tongchen then stood up straight and looked into Cao Lucun's eyes. "Senior Brother Liu's life is full of problems and misfortunes. This disciple of his is his only reason for staying alive until now. I can't let the Zhous ruin her!"
Taoist Cao smiled bitterly at him. He sighed, "You're really loyal to Liu Jizhen."
An Tongchen bluntly replied, "How many in Nine Jade Palace are that clean? This few only."
"Aish!" Cao Lucun shook his head. "Actually, it may not be a bad thing for her. With her awkward identity, Nine Jade Palace is a burden for her. If somebody has her back, she might be able to draw out all of her potentials."
"With the cost of selling oneself into slavery?" An Tongchen retorted.
"How is it selling oneself?"
"How is it not selling oneself?" An Tongchen remained unmoved. "I know that kid quite well, this is a humiliation to both her and Senior Brother Liu."
"Oh, you...."
"Brother Cao, put yourself into Senior Brother's Liu shoes. If she was your disciple, what would you do?"
"They dare?!"
"You see, even you wouldn't allow for this to happen. So why would Senior Brother Liu do so?" An Tongchen smiled at Cao Lucun.
...
"Such amazing speed!"
The spectators were left in awe when they saw Lu Mingshu retrieve the medicine paste from the stove.
On the after hand, Pharmacologist Qin was still measuring the ingredients!
"Do you think she can make it?" The youngsters whispered to each other.
"Her techniques look unskillful."
"No different than a greenie."
"But the steps are correct though."
They all stared blankly at each other.
"What on earth is going on?" One person muttered to himself.
Nobody knew exactly what was going on…...
Lu Mingshu shaped the paste into the pill and popped one into her mouth.
In the Heavenly Wheel, Xiao Sang gave her comments. "...The difference is too small to be identified by humans."
Lu Mingshu opened up her eyes and placed the remaining pills in the box.
"Miss Lu, you're done?" The man's eyebrows were raised as he looked at her in doubt.
"Yeap."
After getting confirmation, the man nodded and showed her to a seat. "Please have a seat first."
On the other hand, Pharmacologist Qin was a bundle of nerves. The pills that he got were made of common ingredients, but the manufacturing process was hard. He couldn't seem to find any suitable ways to make this pill. Glancing at Lu Mingshu, an idea popped up in Pharmacologist Qin's mind.
He didn't believe that one could make a copy of the Hall of Immortals' secret pill in such a short period of time. As long as he could make the pill, even if effects were lacking, he would be able to enhance the effect with his hands and win over hers.
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