Chapter 749: The Only Chance of a Lifetime, How Is This Possible?

Chapter 749: Chapter 663: The Only Chance of a Lifetime, How Is This Possible?

Once an elixir reaches the Top Quality Level, every slight increase in its quality represents a massive leap in difficulty. Bridging that gap requires an immense amount of time and effort.

Of course, after a certain point, it becomes nearly impossible to break through, no matter how much time one invests. That is each person’s personal limit.

At that stage, one has essentially hit their ceiling. They can then move on to refining the next level of elixirs in an attempt to improve their Alchemy Ability.

Seeing this, an assistant standing nearby went over to take a look.

“Not bad. The elixir’s quality is excellent. Lu Feng is as reliable as ever—no mistakes!”

“It seems Lu Feng should win this Pill Battle!”

“It’s a shame, though. Even if he wins, it’s not much of a victory. In fact, it’s only helped Yang Chan improve.”

“Hardly worth the effort.”

After taking the elixir and analyzing it, the man praised it, yet couldn’t help but sigh with mixed feelings.

They, of course, knew why Lu Feng had initiated this Pill Battle. It was just that the outcome hadn’t gone according to his plan.

Yang Chan might even use this to rise, turning Lu Feng’s actions into his own stepping stone.

“You’re all looking at the elixir Lu Feng refined. I’ll go take a look at the one Yang Chan made.”

“This newly promoted Genius Pharmacist truly lives up to his name. Let’s see just how far beyond Top Quality our genius’s elixir is!”

A slender assistant watched the others go to inspect the elixir Lu Feng had refined. He, on the other hand, was more interested in the one Yang Chan had made.

He was more curious about the Alchemy Ability of a Genius Pharmacist.

After all, this was the first Top Quality Nourishing Vein and Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill Yang Chan had ever publicly refined. Even if he hadn’t achieved this breakthrough during the battle itself, he must have done so under immense pressure over the last few days.

An ability like that was enough to earn the admiration of many, including them.

Moreover, with the potential Yang Chan was now displaying, he would likely surpass all of them before long.

The young can always create miracles.

“The quality of this elixir is truly high. This rich medicinal aroma is so refreshing… The Pill Qi is dense, enveloping the Nourishing Vein and Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill… The quality of this elixir… How is this possible?”

“How can the quality be this high? Did I see that wrong?”

As the slender assistant was analyzing the elixir, his words suddenly trailed off. An extremely surprised expression appeared on his face, and a flash of doubt crossed his eyes. He began to inspect it again!

“I’m not seeing things… The quality of this elixir actually reached the ninety-point threshold! It’s a Perfect Level elixir!”

“How is that possible?”

An elixir with a quality score of eighty was considered Top Quality. Technically, anything above eighty was still Top Quality, but within the Merak Sacred Land, there was a more detailed classification. A score of ninety was a special threshold, hailed as the Perfect Level.

However, this was an internal classification known only to the upper echelons of the Merak Sacred Land Pill Pavilion, a way to further subdivide and grade elixirs in more detail.

There weren’t many Pharmacists in the Pill Pavilion who could refine Top Quality Level elixirs. And since Yang Chan had only recently joined the Merak Sacred Land, he was unaware of these classifications.

“Perfect Level? That’s impossible!”

“Let me see!”

Upon hearing this, the stouter assistant from before, his eyes flashing with doubt, came over directly to see for himself.

“How can it be? It really is Perfect Level! Yang Chan’s talent for alchemy is terrifyingly strong!”

After carefully inspecting it, the stout assistant’s hands began to tremble.

He had never imagined Yang Chan could achieve such a feat.

Although elixirs with quality scores of eighty-five and ninety were both nominally at the Top Quality Level, in the eyes of Third Level Alchemists like them, the difference between the two was crystal clear.

Not every Third Level Alchemist could refine a Perfect Level elixir, because some people simply had a ceiling on their abilities.

Take Lu Feng, for example. They knew his Alchemy Ability. His upper limit was basically around eighty-five. On a rare occasion, he might produce one with a score of eighty-six, but that was his absolute peak. Normally, an elixir in the low eighties, at the Top Quality Level, was standard for him.

This was why they all said Lu Feng was consistently stable.

But now, Yang Chan had refined an elixir of the Perfect Level. The gap between them was immense.

A quality score of ninety represented Yang Chan’s current ability, but it didn’t necessarily represent his upper limit. It could be even higher. And from this upper limit of quality, one could gauge a Pharmacist’s potential.

In their eyes, Yang Chan’s potential in alchemy had long surpassed that of a Third Level Alchemist and reached the level of a Top Level Pharmacist.

It seemed that for Yang Chan, the Top Level Pharmacist tier was merely his starting point.

After hearing this unbelievable outcome, the others also rushed over to see. Once they saw the result for themselves, their expressions became extremely complicated.

What was the ultimate goal for them was merely the starting point for Yang Chan. And so, upon seeing this result, their expressions were all incredibly complex.

It was like being told that the poor loser you ate with every day was actually the sole heir to a billionaire, with a massive fortune to inherit. Could you remain calm in that situation?

This was the exact expression on the faces of the assistants judging the Pill Battle.

“Since the inspection is complete, it’s time to announce the results of the Pill Battle!”

Shen Mingxiu naturally saw the looks on everyone’s faces and wasn’t surprised. He too had been taken aback when he first saw the result of Yang Chan’s alchemy.

Shen Mingxiu had, of course, heard about Yang Chan’s situation. He made it a point to have people investigate the background of anyone involved in a Pill Battle.

And since this involved a Third Level Alchemist and he had to personally judge the outcome, he paid even closer attention.

He knew Yang Chan was a Pharmacist from one of the Merak Sacred Land’s Affiliated Forces. He was only twenty years old, still so young. He never expected this young man’s alchemy techniques to be so powerful.

‘Back when I was his age,’ he thought, ‘I couldn’t do what he’s doing now.’

‘This young man is even more formidable than I was in my youth.’

‘If only I had met him sooner, I might have taken the initiative to accept him as my disciple. A Genius Pharmacist would naturally attract Top Level Pharmacists like me. After all, we all wish to pass on our legacy.’

‘As for ordinary Pharmacists, they simply don’t catch my eye.’

‘But now, Yang Chan is already a Third Level Alchemist. He has already forged his own unique path in alchemy and has a bright future ahead of him. Naturally, I no longer have any thought of taking him as a disciple.’

‘It’s no longer necessary.’

‘If he can’t inherit my mantle, there’s no point in making him my disciple.’

‘Still, it’s a bit of a shame,’ he thought. ‘If only I had discovered Yang Chan sooner.’

“I will now announce the results of the Pill Battle!”

“The winner is… Yang Chan!”

“Pharmacist Yang Chan’s Top Quality Nourishing Vein and Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill achieved a Pill Formation quality of ninety, higher than Pharmacist Lu Feng’s Top Quality pill, which scored an eighty-five!”

“Both elixirs are here for all to inspect!”

Shen Mingxiu announced the final results of the Pill Battle right there in front of everyone.

The difference in quality between the two elixirs was so vast that it was easy to tell them apart. Therefore, the final verdict was simple to reach, with no need to deliberate over other factors.

The outcome of a Pill Battle naturally prioritizes the elixir’s quality—it’s the most important condition. Besides, the time it took for both of them to complete their Pill Formation was roughly the same.

“How is this possible?”

On the high platform, when Lu Feng heard Shen Mingxiu announce the results, he was initially calm. He felt he should have won. Even if it wasn’t exactly as he’d envisioned, the final result should have been close to his expectations.

But he never expected that the moment Shen Mingxiu spoke, everything would be completely different from what he had anticipated.

Hearing the announcement, he froze for a moment. When he finally processed it, his gaze turned dull and vacant.

He had lost the Pill Battle. And it was a crushing defeat.

Lu Feng knew exactly what a quality score of ninety meant. It was the Perfect Level—an existence he could only dream of but never reach.

In all his years of alchemy, he had never once refined a Perfect Level elixir.

Lu Feng quickly snapped out of it and rushed directly to the pavilion where the elixirs were displayed. He stood before the elixir Yang Chan had refined and observed it. Soon, his face turned pale, for he could now clearly see the gap between them.