My Synthesizer Has Talent

After resisting the temptation.

On the surface, Su Qing was the picture of integrity, but inside, he was in agony.

’I really wanted to go!!!’

Su Qing screamed inwardly, but his resolve quickly deflated.

He saw his status panel, with "Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer" displayed in stark reality.

It gave him no sense of security at all.

That was why Su Qing resisted the temptation and chose to focus on his Cultivation instead of visiting that place of earthly delights.

...

「Five days later.」

Su Qing set out early in the morning for the Thousand Tribulations Hall.

Even at this early hour, quite a few people were already gathered at the Thousand Tribulations Hall.

And they were all heading toward the large square behind the hall.

"It’s certainly lively today."

Su Qing muttered to himself, then followed the crowd toward the square behind the Thousand Tribulations Hall.

---

"We’re in for quite a show today."

"You bet. Every Alchemy Master in Qianjie City is here. How could it not be lively?"

"Which Pill Master do you think will get into the Ten Thousand Tribulations Sect?"

"If you ask me, I think it’ll be Pill Master Zhou Ming."

"He’s a veteran Tier One Alchemist, already at Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation, and only thirty-five. He’s a real dark horse."

"Heh, I disagree. It’s definitely going to be Alchemist Xu Luo."

"She’s beautiful, in her early thirties, and at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer. She’s much stronger than Pill Master Zhou Ming."

"Bah! You think she’s a good bet? You’re just lusting after her body!"

...

...

"Pill Master Su, you’re here?" Baili Sudan had also arrived early and was waiting in the square of the Thousand Tribulations Hall.

"Brother Sudan, you’re not much earlier than me."

Baili Sudan said, "I was waiting for you. Of all the Pill Masters from our shop, you’re the last one to enter."

"Ah, we had to be here this early? I didn’t think I was late."

Su Qing looked at the sky, which was still dark, and couldn’t help but question himself.

’They said early morning, but the sun isn’t even up yet. You’re all here so early... this rat race is killing me.’

Baili Sudan led Su Qing forward.

The center of the square was cordoned off by an Array.

Only Alchemy Masters were allowed to enter.

Each station was connected to a source of Earth Fire and equipped with a Medicine Cauldron.

A dozen or so people were already inside.

After Su Qing entered,

he saw a familiar figure.

His pupils contracted.

His first thought was, ’Fantasist.’

That’s right, it was the Demon Cultivator who had attacked him before.

The same Demon Cultivator who had managed to escape.

And he was here.

The crucial thing was, everyone here was an Alchemy Master.

Song Zhining, feeling the stare, followed the line of sight.

The moment he saw Su Qing, he froze for an instant.

’What a coincidence!’

’The Ten Thousand Tribulations Sect? Isn’t this kid from the Zhengxuan Sect?’

Then, Song Zhining grinned and gave Su Qing a smug nod.

Su Qing retracted his gaze.

He hadn’t expected to run into the guy who had escaped from him.

He was supposedly a Fantasist.

Natural-born Fantasists were exceptionally talented by nature; it wasn’t something caused by a Visualization Map.

Therefore, Su Qing couldn’t gain any benefit from him.

He chose to ignore him, focusing his gaze on his nose and his awareness on his heart.

He waited quietly.

Before long, all the Pill Masters had arrived and were waiting in the designated area.

A little while later, the sun rose.

Suddenly, a middle-aged man appeared above the square.

"Greetings, Lord Jin."

The Servant Disciples from the Ten Thousand Tribulations Sect who were present immediately recognized him and bowed. Even Baili Sudan knew who he was—a Golden Core Master.

He also bowed hurriedly.

One after another, everyone present bent down in a respectful bow.

Su Qing didn’t dare to be disrespectful either.

"Rise. I’ve told you all to dispense with such formalities."

"Alright, any Pill Masters who registered but have not arrived are hereby disqualified."

"Now, I will give you a Pill Formula I obtained: the Muscle Regeneration Pill."

"This is a Tier One Pill Formula derived from a partial recipe within a Tier Three Pill Formula that I found in some ruins."

"Cherish this opportunity."

"You will now have five chances at Alchemy. Each person gets five sets of ingredients for the Muscle Regeneration Pill."

The middle-aged man in the air reached out and pointed a finger forward.

Su Qing’s mind suddenly felt a little heavy.

Then he felt the Pill Formula for the Muscle Regeneration Pill appear in his mind.

"Hiss!"

’So powerful.’

’This is transmission of knowledge through thin air,’ Su Qing thought, rubbing his head.

"Begin. You have three hours."

The Golden Core Master in the sky vanished, but some Pill Masters began to channel the Earth Fire, eager to start.

However, none of them dared to actually begin.

After all, they only had five chances for trial and error.

The formula didn’t even specify the order in which to add and refine the ingredients, which presented a significant challenge.

As soon as Su Qing received the Pill Formula, he began to silently assess the properties of the ingredients he was familiar with.

After a long while,

Just as Su Qing finished analyzing the properties of the ingredients and was about to light his cauldron,

BOOM—

A loud explosion echoed.

Su Qing looked over and saw that a Pill Master’s Tripod Cauldron had actually exploded.

"Cauldrons can still explode? Weren’t Low Tier Elixirs not supposed to cause explosions?" Su Qing glanced over in confusion.

After arranging a set of ingredients,

he activated his Silk Binding Hand and began to control the Earth Fire...

---

"What? It was Pill Master Zhou Ming’s cauldron that exploded? How could that happen? I bet a hundred Spirit Stones on him!"

"Hahaha, I put fifty Spirit Stones on Alchemist Xu Luo. Look, her Alchemy is very stable right now."

"No, wait, look! There’s a Pill Master whose Alchemy Technique looks so natural, not the least bit awkward."

"Hiss!"

"That’s the Silk Binding Hand at the Perfection stage, of course it’s not awkward! That Pill Master is so young, yet his Silk Binding Hand has actually reached Perfection."

"He’s the real dark horse of this competition, isn’t he?"

The person the surrounding audience was discussing was none other than Su Qing, who had just begun his first attempt at refining the elixir.

Su Qing was seen steadily controlling the Earth Fire, adding the ingredients into the Medicine Cauldron to be melted down in an order based on their Compatibility.

He removed the incompatible impurities from within. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

His first attempt.

Su Qing refined for thirty minutes.

The pill formation failed.

---

’That’s not right. What I just removed weren’t impurities. They might have clashed with the medicinal properties, but with so many ingredients, they might actually combine and allow the pill to fuse smoothly.’

After his failure, Su Qing glanced around.

He discovered that every single Pill Master had failed their first attempt.

This was normal.

Su Qing began his Alchemy once more.

This time, he didn’t remove any impurities, melting down the ingredients completely.

But during the pill formation stage, the mixture began to grow chaotic and agitated. Even though Su Qing used every technique of his Silk Binding Hand to rapidly control the flames and congeal the elixir,

it still ended in failure.

...

’Just as I thought, you get what you pay for. Even at the Perfection stage, I’ve exhausted all the techniques of the Silk Binding Hand.’

’And it still failed.’

After all, the pill fusion process was over in an instant.

By the time Su Qing thought to use his Immortal Control Hand, it was already too late.

...

"Lord, I’ve succeeded!"

A clear, confident shout stunned the entire arena.

Su Qing slowly looked over.

He saw that the person was, of all people, the Fantasist.

’Wishful thinking becomes reality?’

At this moment, Song Zhining was confident and proud.

He was the first person in the entire competition to successfully refine the Muscle Regeneration Pill.

It was something worth being proud of.

At his shout,

the Golden Core Master personally appeared before Song Zhining.

Song Zhining bowed respectfully. "Lord."

Jin Zhentu picked up the Muscle Regeneration Pill.

"Not bad. This is indeed a Muscle Regeneration Pill. You’ve done well."

"The difficulty of refining this elixir is about that of a Tier Two Elixir. Your Talent for Alchemy is quite good."

"What is your name?"

"Reporting to the Lord, I am Song Zhining."

"Song Zhining? Very good. Although you are a Demon Cultivator, your Alchemy Talent is top-class. And so young. Not bad."

"Wait here. After the assessment is over, you will be allowed to join the Holy Pill Hall of the Ten Thousand Tribulations Sect."

"Thank you, Lord," Song Zhining said joyfully, his eyes filled with excitement.

Joining the Ten Thousand Tribulations Sect meant drawing a clear line between himself and Loose Cultivators.

Moreover, the Ten Thousand Tribulations Sect was one of the top Demon Dao Major Sects in the region. Joining it was like ascending to the heavens in a single step.

...