Miss Loser is too enchanting

Once the members of the Alchemist Guild and the judges had taken their seats, a host came forward, bowed to the four directions, and said, "Now, please, everyone be quiet."

As soon as the person spoke, his voice carried across the entire competition field, and those who were whispering to each other immediately fell silent.

"Thank you all for attending this alchemy competition! Before we begin, let us introduce the judges. Because the outcome of this competition will determine the ownership of the Alchemist Guild Headquarters, to ensure fairness, we have specially invited judges from the Alchemist Guild of Fengling Continent. They will score everyone based on principles of fairness, openness, and justice."

The audience murmured among themselves, as none had expected that this competition would invite judges from other realms. No wonder Black and White Impermanence and Sha Bao had shown so much respect to them when they entered.

"And our chief judge is a tenth-grade alchemist from the Alchemist Guild of Fengling Continent!" the host continued, seemingly oblivious to the audience’s surprise at his announcement.

A tenth-grade alchemist, that’s an Alchemy Grandmaster!

"Okay, now I’ll explain the rules of this competition. Today, there are a total of 3,002 participants. The requirements are simple: concoct a fifth-grade elixir, the Rejuvenating Blood Pill. We will determine the ranking based on the grade of the elixir and the time of completion, eliminating 1,000 participants. There will be officials specifically tasked with timing to calculate your elixir’s grade and the time taken. Let’s begin now."

The sight of 3,000 people performing alchemy at once was unprecedented and magnificent. In the past, it was difficult even to watch one alchemist at work, but now, to see three thousand alchemizing simultaneously excited everyone in the stands. The moment everyone took out their Pill Furnaces, exclamations of wonder resounded from the audience.

Dugu Qianye looked around, considering this not only a direct competition of alchemy skills but also a grand contest of equipment. Some participants had ordinary Pill Furnaces, while others had luxurious, elegant, or ancient furnaces, among which many were of high quality.

Beyond the Pill Furnaces, another point of comparison in the Alchemy Room was the source of fire. Some used flames cultivated themselves, others used the innate flames of their Contract Beasts, and still others had drawn Strange Fire into their bodies to refine and integrate it into themselves. This last method was the most dangerous, but once the fire was tamed, it provided a significant advantage in alchemy!

Since the order of participation was determined by the registration sequence, only she and Green Emperor Xiahou were left in the last row. When Green Emperor Xiahou took his place next to her, Dugu Qianye was certain he was the notable figure of the past month.

Seeing the others already setting their flames ablaze, Dugu Qianye started slowly, first examining the medicinal ingredients on the table in front of her. She checked them carefully before taking out a Pill Furnace and producing a common flame.

Green Emperor Xiahou did similarly, checking his materials before beginning to use his Pill Furnace to perform alchemy. When Dugu Qianye caught sight of his Pill Furnace, she felt a jolt of surprise and narrowed her eyes, focusing intensely on it.

Dugu Qianye was profoundly astonished as she observed Green Emperor Xiahou’s Pill Furnace.

Its design was identical to that of the Shennong Cauldron!

Green Emperor Xiahou, noting Dugu Qianye’s shocked gaze, frowned slightly and cast an unhappy glance at her.

Dugu Qianye then snapped out of her surprise, realizing it didn’t matter whether it was the same or not. The Shennong Cauldron could not possibly be revealed to the world at this time; even if there was a connection, it was not something she could explore now. Adjusting her mindset, she focused on the competition and began refining the medicinal ingredients.

Seeing that she no longer paid attention to his Pill Furnace, Green Emperor Xiahou continued with his alchemy.

The Fifth-Grade Elixir, Recovery Pill, was familiar to some people who only needed two or three hours to refine it, and for even higher-grade alchemists, the time would be shorter.

Shayan was the earliest to complete the task, using only one hour, then he watched the others compete with pride. After the officials responsible for timing him finished, he left with his head held high and chest puffed out.

The second to finish was Green Emperor Xiahou, who only took an hour and a half. Once the officials finished timing him, he too left the competition area. Dugu Qianye glanced at his retreating figure, pondering that his level must be higher than Shayan’s. Although it took him an hour and a half, she could tell that he was controlling his speed, deliberately coming in second. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

After Green Emperor Xiahou finished, others completed their tasks one after another. Dugu Qianye also finished her refining after most people had done so. The elixir she refined was advanced, but neither the time nor her level was outstanding.

Afterward, she too left the competition area, but she didn’t leave the premises altogether. Instead, she watched the others in the rest area. Within two hours, the vast majority had finished refining, and the remaining participants were almost certain to be eliminated, so there was nothing worth paying attention to, and she left the venue.

Zi Xiao had been keeping an eye on Dugu Qianye the whole time. Seeing her leave, he quickly followed her out of the spectator stands. Hao Pengyou naturally followed behind. They regrouped at the exit and returned to the hotel together.

The results of the competition would not be available until the next morning, so the contestants did not linger at the venue after the end of the competition.

Early the next day, the results of the previous day’s competition were posted in the square. Hao Pengyou went to check and came back to report the results to Dugu Qianye.

"That Shayan ranked first, Green Emperor Xiahou second, and a guy named Meng He third, from the West Continent. You are, cough cough, in 222nd place," Hao Pengyou said, then suddenly burst into laughter, "Little junior sister, you’re really something, landing exactly in that spot. What perfect timing."

Dugu Qianye was speechless; she hadn’t been counting how many had finished before her and just went with the flow. Now that Hao Pengyou had teased her, all she could do was roll her eyes at him.

"Cough cough, no worries, the more ’out there,’ the better I like you," Zi Xiao said, looking at her with an affectionate expression.

After Hao Pengyou had his laugh, he said, "The second round of the competition is tomorrow at nine o’clock in the morning. Well, I’m going back to sleep. We’ll meet up in the morning."

"Brother, if you always sleep, you won’t be able to find a wife," Dugu Qianye teased him.

She had assumed Hao Pengyou would respond with his usual carefree attitude, saying "If I can’t find one, so be it. I enjoy being single." To her surprise, his expression suddenly darkened, and he said nothing as he headed back to his room.

Dugu Qianye looked at Zi Xiao and asked, "Brother, is there something wrong with him?"

Zi Xiao looked back at Dugu Qianye and said, "You as his junior sister really don’t know much about your own brother."

"You know?" Dugu Qianye was astonished. They had only known each other for a short time, right? How could they have gotten to a point of discussing such personal matters?

"He mentioned a few things when we were drinking together last time. He said there was a girl here he was planning to marry, but the engagement broke off, and he was poisoned. Even after the poison was cured, he developed this habit of excessive sleeping, which fortunately allowed him to automatically absorb spiritual energy and cultivate in his sleep, thanks to the timely aid of Black and White Impermanence."