Hong Zhuang Luo was beautiful, delicate, and slim. She wore a long black dress that accented her allure and her sexiness.
Seeing this, Ling Xian frowned slightly. He wasn't sure what this genius of the Hong Clan wanted from him.
"I am Hong Zhuang Luo, it is nice to meet you."
The beautiful lady walked up to him and said in a volume that only Ling Xian could hear. "You sure are capable. If I remember correctly, you should possess the legendary Essence of Herbalism."
"That's right, you have guessed correctly." Ling Xian lifted an eyebrow. He wasn't surprised at this.
Since he had chosen to act without restriction, he had predicted this result. After all, his behavior was far too heaven-defying and it didn't match his young age. It was unavoidable that others would think he had the Essence of Herbalism.
"That's what I thought."
Hong Zhuang Luo's eyes flashed with jealousy. She played with her bangs, "So you borrowed the ability of the Essence of Herbalism. If you didn't have that, you wouldn't have gotten first place."
"Perhaps." Ling Xian grinned, feeling too lazy to argue with this woman.
Even if he didn't have the Essence of Herbalism and he competed with his own ability, he would've been able to identify around 300,000 spiritual medicines. The reason why he used the Essence of Herbalism was because he wanted to stun everyone and because he was running out of time.
Seeing Ling Xian's composed expression, Hong Zhuang Luo raised an eyebrow, "You sure are calm. Don't you think it's cheating?"
"Cheating?"
Ling Xian shook his head with a smile and asked in response, "Then dare I ask if your surname is not Hong, would you have the achievement you have today?"
"YOU!"
Hong Zhuang Luo was stunned but couldn't find any words to argue against him.
Ling Xian was completely right. If her last name wasn't Hong, no matter how naturally talented she was, she would not be able to acquire her achievement today.
"No arguments am I right?"
Ling Xian's lips curled into a victorious smile, "If you weren't born in the Hong Clan, you wouldn't have today's achievement. In other words, the reason why you accomplished what you did was mostly that you were raised by the Hong Clan."
"How is that any different than me having the Essence of Herbalism? If you say I am cheating, then you are cheating as well."
Ling Xian's face was full of mockery as he stared at the pretty lady with a dark expression. He continued, "You have a strong background and you were born with rich resources thrown at you. that is your fortune. I possess the Essence of Herbalism and thus I can identify spiritual medicines. This is my fortune."
Pausing, he continued, "If you think it is unfair, then when it's your time to reincarnate, reincarnate into an average family. Talk to me again then."
"You!"
Hong Zhuang Luo's hands formed into tight fists as her chest puffed up and down. Yet she was speechless.
Just like Ling Xian had said, everyone has their fated fortune. He had the Essence of Herbalism, that was his ability. Plus, even if he didn't possess it, he would've gotten first place. Why would they accuse him of cheating?
"Hmmph, Ling Xian, I will remember you."
Hong Zhuang Luo glared at Ling Xian. "Winning the first round doesn't mean you are destined to win everything. I will make sure you know who's stronger during the second round."
"Oh?"
A playful look flashed across Ling Xian's eyes. "I am looking forward to the moment you show me who's stronger. Don't blame me for not warning you though, that it may end up being me teaching you a lesson."
"Hmmph, let us compete and see." Hong Zhuang Luo hissed and said, "I sure want to see how capable you are during the second round."
Then, she walked away, furious.
Seeing this, Ling Xian chuckled and immediately closed his eyes in order to replenish his drained energy.
Against the challenge set by the genius Hong Zhuang Luo, he really didn't think much of it. She was merely a lady raised richly and she didn't deserve too much of his attention.
Just like that, he calmed down and wanted to efficiently use his time on restoring his energy.
Time passed by little by little. After an hour, Cao Clan Leader's silhouette once again appeared in the Realm of Alchemy.
He flapped around his sleeve and 32 fist-sized stones appeared. They divided up and flew before the 32 people's eyes.
After the first round, most people have been eliminated. There were now only 32 people left in the running. This was why the Cao Clan Leader took out 32 stones.
Seeing the black stone before their faces, everyone was a little startled but then quickly had a realization.
Ling Xian reacted just the same. He understood what the test was about after thinking about it lightly.
The stone before them was named the Fire Testing Stone. It was a strange and rare ore from the cultivation community. It had no other property other than being able to endure flames.
It could endure extreme flames.
Legend had it that the highest quality Fire Testing Stone cannot be melted by the Godly Fire.
Therefore, cultivators like to use it to test out flame's temperature. This was the origin behind its name.
"I bet everyone is familiar with the Fire Testing Stone. I will not waste your time and I will get right into it."
Cao Clan Leader spoke softly and glanced all around, "The second test is about spiritual energy and manipulation of fire. Therefore, I need you to burn this Fire Testing Stone into the shape of a sword. whoever takes the shortest amount of time to achieve the most perfect sword will win this round."
"Remember, this sword cannot be longer than three inches and cannot be wider than one inch. If you cannot complete it within an hour, you will be automatically eliminated. If you can complete it within an hour, you will be promoted to the third round and participate in the last round."
Cao Clan Leader's expression was serious as he glanced around every single one of them. "Do you now understand?"
Hearing this, everyone nodded.
"Very good, then I now announce, the second test officially begins." Cao Clan Leader smiled in satisfaction and commented amusingly, "You guys better hurry up. The Fire Test Stone is resistant to flames and if you don't hurry, you may not complete it in time."
Hearing this, everyone's heart turned cold. They quickly sat in a lotus position and attempted to melt and mold the Fire Testing Stone.
Just like the Cao Clan Leader stated, this stone endures flames well and was highly resistant to flames. Even though the stone before them was not of the highest quality, it was not something normal flames could handle. It will be difficult to shape it into a small sword within an hour.
The difficulty of this test was not hard to imagine! It was extremely difficult!
Therefore, everyone had to use every single second and nobody dared to be reckless.
All of them began to summon the flames from within and used it to engulf the black stone in an attempt to melt it.
Just as everyone concentrated fully, a statement made with an embarrassing tone suddenly rung, which once again dragged everyone into a state of awe.
Even the important figure Cao Clan Leader didn't know how to react to this.
"Uhm, Cao Clan Leader, can you give me another Fire Testing Stone? I accidentally melted this one."
Ling Xian awkwardly smiled. In the center of his right palm, a silver flame was boiling. Within the flame, however, there was no stone, there was merely a puddle of black water.
This means he somehow melted the extremely durable Fire Testing Stone in a short second.
He truly and utterly melted it. It was now water.