I Pick Up Talents on the Interstellar Battlefield

Chapter 477: Chapter 397: Jade Heaven Essence Pill, The First Signs of Conspiracy (Part 2)

”I’ve heard that the girl in white is even stronger than the one in purple,” someone whispered, providing more specific information, ”One is from the side branch, the other from the direct lineage, yet the side branch’s talent and strength surpass the direct lineage’s. This is rare in a big family.”

”In terms of looks, the one in white is also superior, with such a clean aura.”

The discussions in the audience drifted intermittently into the ears of the eight contestants. Some ignored it, closing their eyes to adjust their state; some moved their fingertips subtly, silently familiarizing themselves with the herbs in front of them; and some, like Dongfang Xi, hung their heads low, long hair covering the cold surging in her eyes—those discussions pierced her heart like needles, with anger and jealousy growing wildly in her chest.

At this moment, Dongfang Xi’s gaze unintentionally swept towards Dongfang Mingyue opposite her, only to suddenly pause—Dongfang Mingyue’s expression was somewhat off, her eyes vacant, as if distracted, lacking the focus and tension of someone about to compete.

What’s going on? Is her cauldron really broken, and she hasn’t resolved it yet?

A wave of glee surged in Dongfang Xi’s heart. No matter the reason, if Dongfang Mingyue competes in this state, only failure awaits her!

”What’s wrong with Miss? Why does she look so lost?” On the edge of the spectators’ area, bodyguards from the Dongfang family also noticed Dongfang Mingyue’s unusual state and couldn’t help exchanging worried glances.

”Not sure, she was like this on the way here.” A burly guard replied with a frown, ”I quietly asked Xiaoyu, and she said it was nothing, so I didn’t ask further.”

Guard captain Min Wenbing followed his gaze to the stage, where Xiaoyu was staring directly at Dongfang Mingyue, with a hint of tension and unease in her eyes.

Min Wenbing frowned tighter but said nothing more, only heightened his vigilance in secret.

Soon, the finals of the quarterfinals officially commenced.

Without lengthy preambles, an elder in a cyan robe, with a heavy aura, took the stage. He was Gu Chaoxian, the Eighth Tier Alchemist sent by the Alchemist Association’s headquarters.

Simultaneously, staff members handed eight jade slips to each of the eight contestants.

”Everyone, the quarterfinals of the Starry Sky Cup start now,” Gu Chaoxian’s deep voice resonated throughout the venue via an amplification array, without a single extra word, straight to the point, ”The elixir you need to refine today is called ’Jade Heaven Essence Pill’. Recently developed by Seventh Grade Alchemist Lou Kecheng, this elixir can temporarily triple the spiritual energy of a Tier Six Spiritualist upon consumption, and speeds up injury recovery with no side effects.”

As the words fell, the scene instantly erupted, with discussions surging like a tide.

Triple spiritual energy enhancement

This means that in a battle of evenly matched opponents, the one consuming this elixir can instantly reverse the situation, leading to a crushing victory; even if severely injured, they can make a quick recovery with the elixir, making it a ’trump card-grade’ elixir for Tier Six Spiritualists!

Seeing the audience’s enthusiastic discussion, a faint smile appeared on Gu Chaoxian’s face. An alchemist competition was always a great opportunity for the association to promote new elixirs—by leveraging the attention drawn by the competition to make new elixir formulations known to more people, thereby gaining external recognition and orders, this has been the association’s norm for years.

Using a new elixir formula as the competition topic is undoubtedly a huge challenge for the contestants, but this is precisely the point of the competition.

Just like ordinary academic competitions don’t use previous questions, but instead test students with new questions to assess their real abilities.

Using a new formula in an alchemist competition not only maximizes fairness but also truly tests the contestants’ fundamental skills and on-the-spot adaptability.

Of course, for contestants, this is not an unprofitable trade—the new elixir formula, for an alchemist, is comparable to a secret manual for a spiritualist, learning a rare sixth-tier formula for free is naturally a good thing.