I had no proof. And as a Qi Condensation Practitioner with an ’imaginary’ immortal backing me, I wasn’t in a position to find it either.

Regardless, I didn’t mind laying the blame for Old Smokey’s untimely demise on her silk-clad feet. I mean, she was the same woman who managed a monopolistic take over of a single spiritual vine and raised the price on it by 120,000%. And people fucking thanked her for it because it was still cheaper than the previous herbs.

“I have a suggestion,” I spoke up with confidence. White Lily raised a brow at me. The Pill Otaku finally took his eyes off the bottles and considered me. Pill Master Burning looked like he just wanted to get the fuck out of here and wouldn’t listen to anything I had to say. Seriously, he should just take a break if he needed it.

“I fully admit that I am injured, and I’m sure there are others here who were also injured and require some time to recover. Once you’ve finished judging the pills, Why not allow us to take a short recess for recovery and to allow the guild to investigate this mishap, and then we can continue.”

Pill Master Burning rolled his eyes. “You don’t have a cauldron, if you pass, how are you going to have us continue the tournament?”

I grinned. “Let us have a pill debate for the final round!”

Violet raised her brows at me. “Interesting. How old are you? Eight? Nine?”

“Nine,” I said with feigned proudness.

“Yet you believe you could debate and hold your own against me?”

“What? Are you scared that you’ll lose face after you’ve lost to a child?”

“I won’t lose.”

“They haven’t even judged our pills yet,” The poor extra Foundation Establishment cultivator said. “Who knows. I could come in first.” He smirked.

Violet and I shared a look, for once.

“Then it’s decided that we’ll take a recess and then you both shall participate in a pill debate for your final round... if Apprentice Lin passes and not Apprentice Golden Grass.”

The extra apprentice, who actually had a name, huffed. A vein ticked in his forehead, likely from being ignored.

We nodded.

With obvious impatience, Pill Master Burning grabbed all three bottles.

He brought out three white bowls and poured the pills from each into them.

All of the pills were a translucent chartreuse, just with varying levels of yellow to green ratio and cloudiness. My single pill, which stood out among the rest by its loneliness, was slightly more green than yellow, and it was perfectly translucent without a single cloud within it. A truly beautiful pill.

Pill Master Burning Bowels gestured to the first batch that had Extra Apprentice Golden Grass’s set of ten pills.

“Your highest quality pill is on the low end of pinnacle quality. But there is only one of them. The rest are all Medium and Low. You were also in the very back of the room, so your cauldron wasn’t affected by the mass explosion like your two fellow apprentices.”

“I second that,” Pill Master White Lily said. “Apprentice Golden Grass, you are excellent for your age... but you’re going against two geniuses.”

Pill Master Ruthless Divine Medicine just glanced at the bowl and grimaced. Then he waved the poor kid away.

Poor Extra Apprentice Golden Grass seemed to have physically taken a wound to his heart. He shuffled over to his pills, poured them back into the jade bottle, and walked off. He tripped a bit on the stairs leading to the stands and sat down forlornly on the first available seat.

“I think we can go on break now,” Pill Master Burning Bottom said.

“Hold on,” White Lily sent us a gentle smile that seemed to warm the soul. “These two deserve to have their pills be judged. As well as have their amazing actions today highlighted.”

”You’re right. Of course.” The man sighed deeply and then turned to me. His sharp glare would have sent a chill down my spine if I were a real nine-year-old.

“Apprentice Lin. You are in over your head,” Pill Master Burning Jerkface said. “Am I impressed that you were able to save your concoction and make a single perfect pill at your cultivation level? Yes. But you shouldn’t have done it. You were risking your own life doing something so stupid when you should have just backed out of the tournament. So, while I pass you onto the next round, know that it is with reluctance.”

I would have rolled my eyes at this if I weren’t pretending to be a kid. Instead, I bowed, “Thank you for your advice, Pill Master.”

He huffed and handed the bowl with my pill to White Lily. She examined it carefully. “This is, one of the most beautiful examples of the Nine Snakes Explosive Tempering Dan That I have ever seen.”

Damn straight it was.

“But what I’m more impressed with, is the bravery in the face of an explosion that I witnessed from you. Although you are a small Qi Condensation cultivator, you didn’t hesitate to notice the trouble outside of your isolation formation. And when you saw something suspicious, you took action to protect yourself and your concoction.”

I am super awesome.

“You must have an amazing master. That said, Pill Master Burning Tyrannical Stallion is also correct.”

What now?

“You risked your life to create a pill. When you realized that there was something wrong with the situation, you should have run away. Your life is more important than that. Especially since I believe you might be the most talented alchemist of your generation... That said, I also agree with you moving onto the next round.”

Wow. White Lily was super sweet for a Nascent Soul. A little misguided, but still sweet.

I bowed. “Thank you for your advice, Pill Master.”

Pill Master Ruthless Divine Medicine brought the bowl over to him and studied the pill for way longer than I thought he would. I almost wondered if he were doing it on purpose to make Pill Master Burning Asshole over there suffer more.

“With this lovely color, clarity, and scent, this is a prime example of what a Nine Snakes Explosive Tempering Dan should look like. While that in and of itself makes this pill lovely, the fact that this pill was created under such circumstances and by such a young cultivator should be applauded. You pass onto the next round,” He turned, slightly to the other two, “With enthusiasm. Alchemists need to risk their lives to advance in their craft, just like other paths. So, while being careful is fine, taking chances to create something beautiful is also part of our profession.”

Damn. Well said, Pill Otaku. I knew you were my favorite for a reason.

I collected my pill and returned to the side to watch the assessment.

Finally, it was Violet Pill Fairy’s turn.

Pill Master Burning Tyrannical Stallion, who by this time had a skin color that was not unlike a cooked lobster, seemed to waver a bit between wanting to act suggestive and taking care of his problem. “Apprentice Violet Pill. Yours are almost all at the pinnacle. And your best one, when put next to Apprentice Lin’s appears to be equal in quality.”

Are you kidding me right now? We fuckin’ tied? No, wait. She had more pills so, if we tied for quality then she technically would have won this round. Bitch.

“When you realized that there was trouble with the exploding cauldrons. You immediately worked to protect yourself and your concoction. You even rescued a few nearby cultivators so the guild’s team of enforcers didn’t have to work as hard.” He sent her a brief smile, “Because of these reasons, I strongly approve of you moving onto the next round.”

And she even helped people? What? Was she having a guilty conscience for putting those poor cultivators in that situation in the first place?

“Thank you for your approval, Pill Master.” She bowed elegantly. The corners of her lips turned up even higher.

White Lily took the bowl and scanned the contents. “I agree with that assessment, and strongly approve of you moving onto the next round. Excellent work. And it was fantastic to see you helping your fellow apprentices.”

“Thank you for your approval, Pill Master.”

Pill Master Ruthless, pulled the bowl over to him. He squinted at it then nodded. “They are very similar, though I believe Apprentice Lin’s is slightly clearer and has a bit more efficacy. But not enough, unfortunately, to say that it is definitely better.” He rolled the batch of pills around in the bowl. “Regardless, there is no winner during the rounds only a pass or fail. So I will not say that anyone won this round. But I will point out, that while you were impressive in both your concoction and your ability to help others while creating such a high-quality pill. Apprentice Lin’s cauldron, literally exploded, where yours did not. She is a mere Qi Condensation practitioner while you are a glorified Golden Core. These facts should speak for themselves.”

He paused for a long moment and finally looked into Violet’s eyes. “You pass. Congratulations.”

Damn, Pill Otaku. You tell it like it is.

“Thank you for your approval, Pill Master.” Violet bowed but the smile had finally been wiped off her smug ass face.