Story 3 - Spiritual Vines and a Smokey Pill Cauldron (18)

Story 3 - Spiritual Vines and a Smokey Pill Cauldron (18)

Ignoring my slightly reddened hand, I peered into my bottle and grinned.

This pill had a recipe that was Sky rank, meaning that the difficulty in its creation and the effectiveness of the medication were the equivalent of a sky rank pill when done properly. When done improperly, this could lead to the pills becoming low quality, and if done poorly enough, they could even drop a rank or two.

When I inspected my own pills with my divine sense I discovered that, while they were all at sky rank, their quality varied. Six were at the pinnacle, four were at high, and the rest were at medium.

I sighed. Well, this was the limit of ancient methods, even with me hiding a few modern ones in there. If I’d fully used the newer methods, near all of the pills would have come out at the pinnacle.

Still, it didn’t look so bad. This should be enough to get me into the next round.Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience

When I looked up from my focus I noticed that a majority of the crowd and the judges were staring at me.

Had... had I been too eye-catching or was I the last to finish?

No, there was some fancy-looking guy in the back just adding his last two herbs. Oops, he forgot to split that last one in two. And over there, Violet Pill Fairy had just put in her Crimson Blush-Chrysanthemum. Wow. Even at this young age, she knew to be careful with every step, even if it meant taking her time.

Well, much like food, pills were best judged while still hot.

Burning Tyrannical Stallion picked up the bottle, poured the pills into a jade bowl, and examined them. He could have used his divine sense so he likely did this out of politeness for the younger generation who wouldn’t understand how that sense worked. With an almost bored expression, he nodded to me and turned to White Lily.

He smiled seductively —at least that was what I assumed he was trying to do— and handed the bowl to her as if she were a delicate flower.

White Lily —obviously not interested in him— took it, examined the contents, and smiled at me.

“Your master taught you very well, but it is also your own effort and skill that allowed you to create this many Pinnacle quality Sky rank pills.”

She placed the bottle on the table and slid it over to Ruthless Divine Medicine. This Pill Otaku gently took the bowl and moved the amber-colored pills around it as if visually checking every micrometer for flaws. Finally satisfied, he nodded and poured the pills back into the bottle.

“So many pills at pinnacle quality! They even have a sophisticated pill fragrance! And you managed this at such a young age. Impressive. Very impressive. I think we can all agree that you pass to the next round!”

Yes!

I bowed. “Thank you for your assessment, Pill Masters.”

Before I could grab my pills and return to my station to clean up, Violet Pill Fairy sauntered up to the judges. After greeting the judges, she placed her pill bottle right next to mine as if she was, once again, mocking me for being just that much worse than her.

Not this time, bitch.