This means that the Heavenly Rank Academy faces a very slim chance of victory against the Heavenly God Academy; only luck would allow them to win.
Therefore, most people found the match uninteresting, but who doesn't enjoy a bit of self-deprecation, eagerly anticipating a victory on the brink of despair?
The Heavenly God Academy's participants were as arrogant as ever, all holding their heads high and exuding an air of confident victory.
Moreover, they looked upon the Heavenly Rank Academy, and indeed everyone from the Southern Continent, as if they were mere ants.
Deep within the clouds high above, from early morning, a myriad of auspicious lights shone, preceded by swirling mists, with faint ribbons of color fluttering.
Through the ethereal clouds and mist, figures sometimes flickered in and out of sight.
Xing Mian and Jiang Xia frequently looked up towards the depths of the clouds, their gazes fixed on something unknown.
A knowledgeable student whispered, "The Heavenly Gods are acting as judges!"
"Heavenly Gods as judges? My heavens, that's preposterous."
"But where are the Heavenly Gods? I only see light and red ribbons there, but no people."
"What can you see with your cultivation level?"
Mo Qi was assigned to the waiting area for the matches. He glanced at the others and found that, besides himself, there were three other people. To his surprise, he knew all three: Du Gu Jun, Lu Xiao Yue, and Xue Nu.
Lu Xiao Yue and Xue Nu maintained a cold demeanor towards everyone else, but with Du Gu Jun, they were like sisters who hadn't seen each other in a long time, chatting animatedly. They talked about clothes, jewelry, cosmetics, small butterflies flying in the sky, and little flowers by the roadside – they had endless topics.
Watching them chat, Mo Qi, for some inexplicable reason, felt no jealousy.
He felt that this was how women were supposed to converse with each other.
Mo Qi looked at the opposing team and truly felt their strength.
At least five individuals had unfathomable cultivation levels, while the other four had cultivation levels that should be comparable to his own.
The competition was divided into three rounds of alchemy duels and four rounds of cultivation duels.
The participants from the opposing side for the cultivation duels were likely among those five, while those for the alchemy duels were likely one of the four with weaker cultivation.
Since Dean Xing had assigned Mo Qi to participate in all three of their alchemy duels, he deduced that the opposing side would also field a single participant for alchemy.
Those five with unfathomable cultivation were either in the late stage of Mahayana or the Mahayana stage itself; in any case, they were beyond what Lu Xiao Yue and the others could handle, which explained Dean Xing's nervousness.
Xing Mian certainly held no hope for Du Gu Jun, Xue Nu, and Lu Xiao Yue. Their participation was a last resort, as there was simply no one else to choose.
These three were all recommended by their families: one by the Du Gu family, one by the Chao family, and the third, well, was recommended by the Mo family.
Xue Nu suddenly turned to look at Mo Qi, "Didn't you leave?"
"I intended to, but Dean Xing couldn't bear to let me go." He suddenly raised an eyebrow, "And you, what are your thoughts? Do you wish I would leave?"
Xue Nu glanced at him sideways, "I'm wondering if you killed Yuwen Yan?"
Mo Qi pondered for a moment and said, "Between life and death, is there no other choice? For example, could I trap her?"
Xue Nu immediately shook her head, "No, that would be worse than letting her go and letting her fend for herself."
Mo Qi said without hesitation, "If I release her now, people will die!" He then deliberately looked at Xue Nu as if to intimidate her, "She also said she wanted to possess you. What do you think, do I dare release her?"
"You've reminded me. I think that's feasible," Yuwen Yan said with a smile. "Young and beautiful, she fits my requirements."
"Just look, don't be envious!" Mo Qi transmitted mentally.
Yuwen Yan let out a soft snort, "Envious? I used to..." She wanted to say how beautiful she used to be, but suddenly realized that saying it would only lead to him nagging her again, so she stopped mid-sentence.
Xue Nu's face turned ashen with fright, and she retreated repeatedly, "You're not telling the truth, are you? I remember when she was very kind when we were children."
Mo Qi smiled faintly, "If that's the case, why must you insist on her death?"
Lu Xiao Yue watched the two of them chatting and felt a pang of sourness. She stopped talking with Du Gu Jun, glared at Mo Qi, and cursed inwardly, "You lecher! I should have beaten you to death when we were kids!"
At this moment, the sound of drums and music filled the air, and auspicious lights cascaded from the clouds, bathing the plaza.
Everyone looked up in unison, witnessing the descent of myriad auspicious energies, feeling as if they were wandering amidst the clouds.
A figure appeared in the sky, bathed in ten thousand rays of light, with red ribbons fluttering before them. Their posture was graceful, their form enchanting, exuding an ethereal aura, yet their face remained indistinct.
From the contours of their face and figure, it was evident that this was a peerlessly beautiful celestial maiden.
"Begin," three words drifted down from the sky, like the chirping of orioles, slowly descending from the heavens to the mortal realm.
On the ground, there was a host, Du Gu Sheng of the Seventh Tier.
Du Gu Sheng stood at the forefront of the stage and announced in a clear voice, "The competition consists of two main events: alchemy and cultivation. The cultivation event is further divided into four sub-rounds, with ten points awarded to the winner of each sub-round. The alchemy event is divided into three sub-rounds, with ten points awarded to the winner of each sub-round. The side with the higher total score wins. Alchemy and cultivation will take place simultaneously in two separate venues."
According to Xing Mian's arrangement, the first round of the spellcasting competition would be by Lu Xiao Yue, the second by Du Gu Jun, and the third by Xue Nu.
Just as Xing Mian was about to announce Lu Xiao Yue's participation in the first cultivation duel, two figures descended from the sky and bowed before Xing Mian, saying, "Students Wei Jian Fei and Zhuang Shao Kun report to Dean."
Xing Mian was overjoyed and immediately stood up, smiling, "You've returned at the perfect time. Heaven truly assists me."
He paused, then turned to Lu Xiao Yue, who was preparing to step onto the stage, and said, "You don't need to go up first. Let them compete first."
Lu Xiao Yue looked disappointed. After taking a few steps, she dejectedly walked back.
Xue Nu comforted her, "It's alright, you'll still have a chance to compete."
Wei Jian Fei and Zhuang Shao Kun both had the air of returning kings, their heads held so high their noses nearly touched the sky.
According to Xing Mian's arrangement, Wei Jian Fei would compete in the first round, while Zhuang Shao Kun retreated to the waiting area.
Mo Qi also entered the arena at this time. Zhuang Shao Kun then stood with Xue Nu and the other two, but he clearly maintained a distance from them.
It felt as if he wasn't on the same side as them. Apart from occasionally stealing glances at Xue Nu and Lu Xiao Yue, he barely looked their way, his gaze fixed on the nine people on the opposing side, projecting an aura of "only I can contend with you."
The alchemy competition was divided into preparation, unassigned alchemy, and directed alchemy.
Alchemy preparation involved mixing many medicinal ingredients and raw materials together. The contestants had to separate them and remove impurities from each material, which was much more difficult than simple purification.
Unassigned alchemy meant refining any pill one wished, as long as it improved the tester.
Directed alchemy required the contestants to refine a specific pill as instructed by the judges.
When the list of participants was announced, Mo Qi was dumbfounded. The opposing side had three participants!
And on their side, there was only him, fighting alone.
Upon hearing the referee's announcement, the opposing side was also full of surprise, followed by general laughter, "It seems the other side has no one left."
"That child, how many pills has he actually refined?"
"Has the Heavenly Rank Academy given up completely? Have they already forfeited?"
"Alas, the Heavenly Rank Academy is declining."
The Heavenly Rank Academy's arrangement was entirely based on Dou Bai's suggestion. He said that in the path of alchemy, no one could compare to Mo Xin, and regardless of how the competition was conducted or in what manner, Mo Xin had to participate.
Initially, someone suggested to Xing Mian that Ying Dan Sheng participate in one round, but Supervisor Qin, Dou Bai, and others insisted that only Mo Qi should compete, stating that they were offering professional advice and it was up to him whether to accept it; if he didn't and lost, it would be his dereliction of duty.
Under immense pressure, Xing Mian had no choice but to agree to their suggestion.
At this moment, Ying Dan Sheng stood among the crowd. He couldn't understand why, despite having pulled strings through the dean to find people, he still couldn't compete.
He watched as three people from the opposing side competed, while on his side, there was only Mo Qi. Jealousy, anger, sadness, and hatred surged within him. He kept looking at Mo Qi and Xing Mian, thinking: You made your own choices, now bear the consequences.
In the first round of alchemy preparation, the opposing contestant was a male cultivator who appeared to be around thirty years old, named Zhu Gang. He wore a green long gown and blinked his eyes incessantly, unconsciously.
He didn't even glance at Mo Qi, as he considered him no opponent. His only opponent was himself; as long as he performed normally, or even slightly below par, he was sure to win.
In front of each of them was a stone table, with raw materials and medicinal ingredients piled messily together, looking a riot of colors and a complete mess.
Spectators nearby began to discuss, "This is too difficult. Even with spiritual energy and spells, it's impossible to separate those raw materials one by one."
"Yes, some are even in powder form. How can they be separated?"
"My head hurts just watching. I believe that child feels the same as me and will probably give up soon."
Zhu Gang acted as if no one else was present. He channeled his spiritual energy, his sleeves billowing, and a ball of mist slowly flowed out, forming a vortex as it circulated.
One end of the vortex split, extending forward and instantly enveloping the pile of medicinal ingredients. The mist swirled and slowly diffused, lifting the pile of ingredients and gently, gracefully floating upwards, slowly sinking into the vortex.
After a period of circulation, from the other end of the vortex, like a funnel, red raw materials flowed out first, slowly falling and accumulating into a pile on the table.
Then, green raw materials slowly fell, forming another pile.
Afterward, white, black...
Various colors appeared, distinct and pure, without a trace of impurity.
The surrounding people (mostly those from the Heavenly God Academy) were greatly astonished by what they saw and erupted into applause, "Truly a feast for the eyes."
"Clean and efficient."
"Unparalleled in the world!"
Hearing these praises, Zhu Gang became somewhat conceited, his inner pride swelling infinitely.
To the point where he looked down contemptuously at the ant beside him.
Upon looking! What was going on?
He saw that in front of Mo Qi, the materials were also clearly separated into several piles, and there were even more piles than his, but without repetition, and not a speck of impurity was visible.
Zhu Gang was stunned. How did this ant accomplish this? Did anyone see?
Is this an ant? How could it shine so brightly?
Was he mistaken?
He rubbed his eyes and checked carefully again. This time, he was even more disappointed; the other party had indeed separated everything clearly and cleanly!
He turned his gaze to the surrounding crowd of spectators, who were also looking bewildered. They had been so captivated by Zhu Gang's magical technique that their attention had been focused entirely on him, and they hadn't noticed how Mo Qi had achieved this.
"It's alright, continue with the competition. You'll crush him in the latter half," everyone encouraged him.
Zhu Gang took a deep breath again and continued to sort the raw materials.
Fine, the next stage was the crushing moment, because he saw that one of the ingredients was a North Sea Ice Silkworm Cocoon, and drawing out its silk was his specialty.
His record of drawing out nine hundred and eighty threads had yet to be broken. How could this child possibly compete with him? He would surely bow down to him.
Zhu Gang took another deep breath. His slightly fluctuating emotions gradually calmed down. He felt that his enemy was still himself; as long as he performed normally, he could still defeat his opponent.
Starting with the easier tasks, he first sorted and removed impurities from the other simpler raw materials, and finally proceeded to draw silk from the North Sea Ice Silkworm Cocoon.
He worked with composure and calmness, picking up the North Sea Ice Silkworm Cocoon and drawing out its silk. Everything proceeded smoothly, without any resistance. Soon, he surpassed nine hundred threads.
This was his true level, but he had to remain calm and not get too excited. He needed to endure the solitude and proceed step by step.
Thus, very steadily, he drew out nine hundred and eighty threads. Moreover, today seemed to be a day of divine assistance; the remaining impurity threads didn't seem as difficult to him.
He then drew out three more impurity threads!
He had broken through! He had surpassed himself! He was invincible!
At that moment, Zhu Gang's blood boiled with excitement, and the joy of victory already filled his heart.