Chapter 199
Chapter 199 “Duel, Battle of the Court Alchemists (Part two)”
“Your Majesty, this seems to be unfair don’t you think? What Lady Yao picked is a fourth grade Dan pill while Princess Yue got a fifth grade . Their difficulty is on a completely different scale . ” A frown filled the dowager’s face .
Towards the doubt in her mother’s wording, the king also came prepared with an excuse .
“Mother, a court alchemist isn’t only an important post, their duties also represent the wellbeing of the royal family . What I wrote down just now is the name of ten different Dan pills . Their grades are fairly evened out, meaning the odd are half-half . I did not lean towards anyone . If Princess Yue can’t even refine a fifth grade Dan pill, wouldn’t she then be a topic of ridicule by the alchemists of the other kingdoms?” The king calmly explained his point .
As nice as his words sounded, the king lied . Instead of half being fourth grade and the other being fifth grade, there’s only one fourth grade among the papers . Which was the exactly the one picked by Lady Yao .
If anyone were to so much as to double check all the papers, they would easily see through the king’s lie . Issue was, who’s going to question the man at this moment?
“Your Highness, His Majesty is right . I will do my best . ” Though she’s already sneering inside over the unfair treatment, Ling Yue continues to keep up her humility .
As if she can’t see through to their play . The king was clearly singing a chorus with his Lady Yao .
Looking down on me eh? Fine, I will make you all tumble from shock and lose your glasses!
Note: it’s a Chinese idiom so don’t mind the glass part .
With their respective formula sheets, the two began working on their recipes .
“Longyu, have Ling Yue ever refined a fifth grade Dan pill before?” With a concerned attitude, the dowager asks her old friend .
“This… As far as I know, Ling Yue have only ever done a fourth grade at the most . This ‘Seven Heart Dan pill’ should be her first time . ” Like the old queen, Longyue also didn’t know how things will turn out .
If he knew the king would be so bias ahead of time, he would rather personally take on the task of competing instead . However, there’s no such thing as turning back in time . As much as he regrets his decision to let the girl compete, he can’t do much otherwise at this point beside cheering his apprentice on .
An hour later, the first to depart from the cauldron room was Lady Yao . In her hand was ten beady looking objects, which was exactly the Moonlight Dan pill she was supposed to concoct .
Seeing the grade of those pills, even the usually picky Master Longyu was a bit startled by the quality . Eight blue ones and two yellow ones . There’s not a single common one in that batch!
Such a success ratio was more than enough to match a six or seven cauldron alchemist . No wonder the dowager had to call upon the old dwarf for help .
Then after a while later, Ling Yue also came out of the room .
“My precious student, how about it, did you do well?” Dashing over before everyone, Longyu anxiously asks his apprentice .
“I managed to refine it, but…” Confirming her success with a melancholy tone, her face appears to be in a bind for some reason .
Against that sort of expression, the dowager and the old dwarf knew it can’t be good . Immediately, their hearts sank like their mood .
While one side suffers, the other must be happy, which was what’s happening with the king and Lady Yao .
Following her initial statement, Ling Yue then brought out the bottle with her finished product . Uncorking it, the first to come out were five beady looking objects . They are indeed the Seven Heart Dan pills as described on the paper . Sadly, they are simply ordinary items without any pattern .
“Don’t worry about it, this is after all your first time refining something like this . Such a success rate is already very good . ” As a proper mentor, Longyu attempts to console the girl with comforting words .
Then before his speech could come to an end, several more beads rolled out of the bottle . This time around, the pills were radiant with color . Like the moonlight in the night sky, these beady objects were engrained with a yellow glowing pattern on the middle .
“Five yellow pills?!” Immediately, the old dwarf became lost for words .
“My apologies teacher, your student here is such a failure to have only managed five yellow ones on her first attempt . I wasted so many precious herbs as a result and shamed teacher in the process . I deserve to be punished . ” Grievance was all that could be found on Ling Yue’s face .
“Huh…?” Before he knew it, Longyu was twitching hard in the corner of his mouth like he just got played by this little brat .
This little… she sure knows how to mess with me .
Five yellow ones, and fifth-grade pill at that! To achieve such a magnificent result, it’s likely only the most senior members of the tower can do it like Longyu himself .
If even this sort of success ratio was considered a failure and a waste of ingredients, what does that make Lady Yao’s achievement? A travesty against the heavens?
Without a need to compare, the winner became obvious today .
Being stringed along like that by Ling Yue, Yao Yao didn’t look so well either .
“Your Majesty, the victor and the defeat is clear now . I believe this contest…” Even the dowager’s eye had curved into a smile at this point .
The more she looked at the Ling Yue, the more she liked the girl that it’s coming close to the point of elation .
“Mother, although Princess Yue managed to produce some yellow pills, but Yao Yao also managed to refine some blue ones . If we must compare, I say it should be a draw because they both achieved exemplarity results . ” Towards the blatant bias of the king, only dissatisfaction can be found on both the elders faces .
As much as the dowager wanted to burst out yelling in this moment, the king was still her flesh and blood, meaning she’s in no position to slap the man’s face .
It didn’t matter anyways . Ling Yue had already won one and now “tied” the second . Even if she loses the third round, it’s still only a tie . Towards the girl’s final victory, both the dowager and the old dwarf had much confidence in her .
Identifying Dan pills, refining Dan pills, all of those are now done with . As for the third round, neither judges could come up with an idea .
“Your Majesty, when it comes to refining Dan pills, I believe Master Longyu is undeniably the number one person in the capital . Why don’t we have him decide on the topic for the third round?”
Not even the king can deny that claim so he could only silently nod . Murmuring inside his heart, “If Longyu starts coming up with the topic then he will definitely favor the girl . ”
Seeing through to the king’s thought pattern, Longyu can only smirk for he can’t deny that either!
“Since I am Ling Yue’s mentor, I’m sure others will be unhappy if I act as the judge in the final round . Let’s do this then . I have an idea . Back when I was young, me and my juniors would always compete with each other by choosing some well-known recipes for each other to refine . Whichever side that can’t produce the named Dan pill will be considered the loser . ”
The competing method mentioned by the old dwarf wasn’t new to either Ling Yue or Lady Yao .
In the Alchemists Association, this model of competing was called “Practice Contest” .
Generally, the recipes named by both the participants are limited to anything below the sixth grade . The main reason had much to do with the ingredients involved . They can’t exactly start wasting some extremely rare herbs just for some practice session .
Towards the proposal, neither Ling Yue nor Lady Yao had any objections and agreed to the idea .
Towards this “Practice Contest”, Yao Yao had absolute confidence .
She’s older than Ling Yue by several years, and she followed a famed mentor until recently . It’s not like she’s being overconfident, but time does play a role in the amount of experience one can gain .
Without delay, Lady Yao brings out a little purse from her waist . From it, a beady little pill rolls out after a little shake .
Radiating a golden glow, there’s a charming fragrance that’s constantly wafting out from the object .
Upon first glance, the old dwarf instantly gasped with fright .
That’s a third grade “Hundred Fragrance Dan pill” . The recipe itself wasn’t rare or precious at all . It can be found anywhere, even outside the palace . What made this one so special was the fact that it had a red pattern on the middle!
Red Patterned Hundred Fragrance Dan pill, the rarest of the rare among its class .
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