Among the students of Jia Nan Academy, there were nobles and commoners.
Han Feng could see the difference just from the flames in their hands.
Although he had tried his best to make the competition fairer, how could there be absolute fairness in the world?
The instances of commoners successfully challenging the nobility were, after all, a minority.
After a rough observation of the performance of a few individual seed contestants, Han Feng had already estimated who the final winners would be.
"That girl from Jia Nan Academy, what's her background?" Han Feng condensed his qi into sound and asked Elder Huo.
Elder Huo transmitted his voice back, "Is the Medicine Emperor talking about Chen Xiaoyu? She is the second young mistress of the Chen family from North Mang City in the Central Plains. Her talent is quite outstanding."
Han Feng nodded. It seemed Jia Nan Academy also had an ace up its sleeve.
Two hours later, the final round ended. Some alchemists left the stage dejectedly. Only about thirty alchemists had successfully refined the pill.
Official personnel used detection instruments to check the quality of the pills. This process lasted for about half an hour.
After everyone had rested for a while, the results were announced.
Among the top ten, three were from Feng City, two were from Jia Nan Academy, one each from the Black Emperor Sect and the Demon Flame Valley. Of the remaining three, one was from the Zuo Family Village in the Black-Corner Region, one was from the Thousand Medicines Workshop, and another was an alchemist from the Heavenly Snake Nation.
A huge list was displayed in mid-air, and everyone turned their eyes to the top of the list.
[First Place: Chen Xiaoyu (Jia Nan Academy), Pill Quality: High-grade (7.2)]
[Second Place: Zuo Ming (Zuo Family Village), Pill Quality: High-grade (7.0)]
[Third Place: Xu Fan (Feng City), Pill Quality: Mid-grade (6.5)]
[Fourth Place: Liu Yanping (Demon Flame Valley), Pill Quality: Mid-grade (6.3)]
...
On the Dou Qi Continent, besides the grade of a pill, there was also a distinction in quality.
For a pill, if it could retain fifty percent of its medicinal essence, it was equivalent to a low-grade pill.
If it couldn't even retain fifty percent of its medicinal power, it could only be considered an inferior-grade pill.
Inferior-grade pills with thirty to fifty percent medicinal power could still be sold, but pills with less than thirty percent medicinal power were considered waste pills. The Alchemist Guild prohibited the sale of waste pills.
The reason was simple: all medicine has some toxicity. If one consumed too many waste pills, the pill toxins accumulated in the body to a certain extent would, at best, affect one's cultivation aptitude, and at worst, directly affect one's life.
Of course, a large number of waste pills circulated among the lower-level cultivators. They had no time to worry about pill toxins; they simply couldn't afford such expensive pills, so they could only use waste pills.
On the continent, low-grade pills accounted for about eighty percent. These pills were considered safe. As long as one was not addicted to taking them, they generally would not affect one's life, but they might have some impact on cultivation.
However, those who had been taking low-grade pills all their lives were probably not prodigies, so most of them didn't need to worry about this problem.
The requirement for a mid-grade pill was to retain sixty percent of the medicinal essence. This was a greater test of an alchemist's professional skill. It couldn't be refined casually; it required slow and meticulous work, removing impurities as much as possible to increase the pill's purity.
If one could retain seventy percent of the medicinal essence, it was a so-called high-grade pill.
By this logic, eighty percent was called top-grade, and ninety percent was called peerless-grade.
As for tenth-grade, it was almost impossible. Even at Han Feng's level in his previous life, he wouldn't dare to say that he could refine a perfectly pure pill.
Of the three thousand Great Daos, there is always one that is lacking.
Pills of the ninth grade and above already had the qualification to transform into a human form, and it was impossible for a person to be without impurities.
...
The host of the conference announced the top ten list. The expressions of Su Qian and Elder Huo were filled with joy.
Elder Huo had kept an ace up his sleeve. This second young mistress of the Chen family was the trump card he had played!
Although the fact that Second Miss Chen had reached her current level had no particularly great relationship with him, in this competition, she had won first place on behalf of Jia Nan Academy.
The crowd did not have much objection to this.
Jia Nan Academy was the strongest faction to begin with, so it was reasonable for them to take first place.
On the field, Zuo Ming sighed faintly and looked at the lively young girl with a single ponytail not far away.
He hadn't expected to still fail to win the championship even after refining a high-grade pill.
The young girl won the cheers of her companions.
Although not many from Jia Nan Academy had entered the top ten, they were all proud that their academy had won first place.
"Senior Sister Chen, I didn't expect you to be so amazing!"
"Low profile, low profile," the young girl waved her hand.
"Can you help me get an autograph from the Medicine Emperor!"
"Ah, that's not a very good idea. After all, he's a seventh-grade alchemist..." the young girl declined with some difficulty.
"I'll give you one hundred Sky Fire Energy!"
"Actually, it's not entirely out of the question..."
"I'll give you one hundred and twenty!"
"Everyone is too enthusiastic... one at a time."
The young girl's smile was very beautiful. A golden light shone in her eyes, and she had already taken out a pen and paper to start taking notes.
Zuo Ming and Xu Fan, who had originally wanted to join in the fun, were now completely stunned.
———
The competition came to an end. Han Feng handed the formula for the sixth-grade Dou Spirit Pill to Chen Xiaoyu.
"You did very well."
Han Feng praised her with a smile on his face, and then saw the girl take out a notebook and a pen.
"Lord Medicine Emperor, can you give me an autograph!"
"Hmm?"
Han Feng was taken aback. Behind him, the faces of Su Qian and Elder Huo turned slightly dark, and they gave Chen Xiaoyu a warning look to mind the occasion.
However, the young girl stared straight at Han Feng, completely ignoring the two elders' emotions.
Han Feng smiled and signed his name with a brush.
"Lord Medicine Emperor, could you sign a few more? My classmates want one too!"
Han Feng: ...
"How many more?"
"Five!"
Han Feng sighed, infused his soul power into the brush, and the force of his writing penetrated five layers of paper.
"Alright."
Chen Xiaoyu took the pen and paper in pleasant surprise.
"Thank you, Lord Medicine Emperor. You are such a good person."
Han Feng smiled and said, "Your alchemy skills should be at the fourth-grade level, right?"
Chen Xiaoyu nodded.
"I can refine some fourth-grade pills, but the quality is not that high."
Han Feng nodded. "This pill formula can only be read once, so I suggest you first learn about fifth-grade pills and solidify your foundation. You can ask Elder Huo for guidance on this. Of course, I will be going to Jia Nan Academy next, so you can also come and ask me for guidance."
"Ah! Really?!" Chen Xiaoyu said in pleasant surprise. "Is Lord Medicine Emperor coming to our academy?"
"Ahem!"
Su Qian interrupted the conversation at this moment.
"Xiaoyu, don't keep pestering the Medicine Emperor. The other winners are still waiting."
Chen Xiaoyu hugged the pill formula and closed her mouth, but her eyes were like they could speak, winking at Han Feng, unabashedly expressing her joy and happiness.
Han Feng also gave Chen Xiaoyu a gentle smile.
This little girl was quite nice. He hoped she would spread the news of his impending arrival in the academy.