So, I just noticed we made it onto the recommended list again. You all are absolutely amazing! Thank you, thank you so much! ↖(^^)↗...

"Apply the medicine!"

Mo Xingtu’s roar cut through the clamor of the manor grounds. Following his command, three neat rows of crimson-clad maidservants emerged gracefully from the right side of the high platform. Each held a wooden tray laden with an assortment of boxes—wooden ones, jade ones, stone ones, earthenware ones… all filled with potent medicinal substances.

As the more than one hundred maidservants took their positions, Mo Xingtu’s gaze swept over Nie Kong, Cheng Zixuan, and the other five, and he stated gravely, “There are one hundred and fifty different remedies here, which you are free to choose from. I will also provide you with the formulas for the poisons.” With that, Mo Xingtu extended his right fist before the group of six. Cupped within his hand were six small paper scrolls. “These contain six numbers. Whoever draws number one starts first; the rest of you are to wait behind the platform.”

I wonder which poison they will use on the 'Azure Shadow Black Bone Beast.' Still, knowing the formula beforehand should make detoxification a little easier.

Nie Kong mused inwardly. Seeing Mo Xingtu’s hand drawing near, he casually reached out and selected a scroll, unfolding it to reveal the number.

“Six!”

It was the very last spot!

In his previous life, this number would have been quite auspicious, but in this present moment, it didn't feel quite so favorable. If the Spirit Pharmacists before him managed to succeed in detoxification, being last would inevitably bring immense pressure; yet, if every previous pharmacist failed, the pressure would be even greater.

The final order was set: Mu Xiaoling second, Yu Qingguan third, Qu Xinyi fourth, Fourth Prince Cheng Zixuan fifth, Nie Kong sixth, and the very first was the little loli, Gu Qi.

The little loli glared at Nie Kong with furrowed brows, clearly still stewing in her anger toward him. She didn't immediately grasp the significance of being first place. Only when Nie Kong and the others began moving behind the platform at Mo Xingtu’s signal did she groggily snap back to awareness. “Wait for me?”

“Get back here!”

Mo Xingtu commanded with stern authority, “Number 108, Gu Qi, your fifth trial is about to begin. Are you intending to forfeit?”

Huh?

The little loli froze, quickly glancing down at the number in her hand. She leaped up like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on, crying out, “Eek? I get to detoxify first?”

...

Upon entering the vast, empty wooden shed behind the high platform, Nie Kong and the other four managed only to sit down before hearing Mo Xingtu announce the commencement from outside.

Immediately following, the roar of the crowd mingled with the enraged bellow of the ‘Azure Shadow Black Bone Beast’—presumably, one of the creatures had been forced to swallow a poison.

Throughout this, a steady, measured tick-tock sound echoed in everyone’s minds. Nie Kong estimated each tick represented one second.

From their position, they could see nothing of the outside activity, relying entirely on auditory clues.

Mu Xiaoling and the others sat quietly, exhibiting various expressions: some smiling faintly, some meditating with closed eyes, others frowning in deep thought. Regardless of their appearance, their ears were pricked up like sails, straining to discern any useful information about the detoxification efforts amidst the external din.

However, to their frustration, the distant conversations that drifted in were reduced to a mere buzzing hum, like countless bees droning near their ears.

Seeing Mu Xiaoling’s disappointed expression, Nie Kong chuckled silently. Trying to isolate a single useful voice amidst the chatter of thousands was pure fantasy, unless one’s cultivation had reached the Spirit Controlling realm or higher—then perhaps there was a sliver of a chance.

Tick-tock...

The sound struck the hearts of Mu Xiaoling and the rest, bringing an increasingly urgent sense of pressure. Soon, they gave up trying to listen, exchanging blank stares, none knowing what to say.

“Whoa!”

After an unknown amount of time, the external clamor suddenly swelled, and the perfectly rhythmic tick-tock sound abruptly ceased.

Had Gu Qi succeeded? Or failed? They looked at each other, confusion clear in their eyes.

“Mu Xiaoling!”

A call came from the side of the platform, and Mu Xiaoling offered a brilliant smile as she stood up. Before she left the shed, Nie Kong gave her a thumbs-up gesture; he wasn't sure if she understood, but even as competitors now, there was no harm in encouraging her.

Not long after, the noise of the crowd, the roars of the Azure Shadow Black Bone Beasts, and the consistent tick-tock of the timer once again drifted in...

Time slipped away rapidly.

Yu Qingguan and Qu Xinyi were subsequently called out. Soon, only the Fourth Prince, Cheng Zixuan, and Nie Kong remained in the spacious wooden shed.

Listening to the beast’s pained cries and the sudden outbursts of awe from outside, the Fourth Prince smiled faintly. “Did you hear that, Nie Kong? In this final stage, luck plays no part. Spirit Pharmacists lacking true ability, even if they manage the first four trials, will ultimately reveal their true colors.”

“Your Highness, are you mocking me?” Nie Kong asked with a laugh.

“No, I am merely offering a friendly caution,” the Fourth Prince corrected him smoothly. “The first-place reward for this ‘Thousand Spirit Medicine Assembly’ competition is not easily won. A person should receive a reward commensurate with their actual strength. To force something beyond one’s capacity only invites ridicule.”

“Ridicule from you, Your Highness?”

Nie Kong looked at the handsome face opposite him and scoffed, “But how unfortunate for you, your ridicule matters less to me than the sound of your flatulence. If you were to suddenly pass gas, I might be surprised—‘Good heavens, that’s the Fourth Prince’s gas; it must be as unparalleled as the Prince himself’—and I would quickly cover my nose and step away. But your mockery? Can it make a single hair on my head fall out?”

“What did you say?”

Nie Kong’s vulgar taunt brought a flush to the Fourth Prince’s fair, handsome face. The veins in his forehead pulsed faintly. Since childhood, he had been surrounded only by flattery and praise. Who dared speak a single coarse word to him, much less offer the pointed, unrestrained sarcasm Nie Kong was spewing?

“Does Your Highness not understand? Let me rephrase it simply. I said, if you want to surprise me, you don't need to speak; just let out a loud fart... Your Highness, are you about to pass gas? Don't hold it in; I cannot be responsible if it damages your health.”

Seeing the Prince’s face turn the color of a monkey’s rear, Nie Kong felt immensely satisfied. People, he thought, truly needed to vent from time to time for mental clarity. The old ways of self-cultivation from his past life could go to the devil for now; perhaps he could revisit them once his cultivation reached a higher level.

“Insolence!”

The Fourth Prince’s expression darkened. He brought his palm down, and surging scarlet spiritual energy pulverized the hard bluestone flagstones beneath them. The space between them seemed instantly scorched hot, drawing curious glances from the few Nie family members standing by the platform edge.

The Fourth Prince took a deep breath, calming his slightly heaving chest. He fixed Nie Kong with a look, and his demeanor miraculously reverted to its former composure. “Nie Kong, you possess great audacity to offend me thus. I am the Fourth Prince of the Great Success Empire; to stoop to your level would be beneath my status. You can listen closely in a moment and watch how I clear this final trial of the Medicine Assembly and grasp that reward with my own hands.”

“Very well. But Your Highness, please do not exert your full strength. You only needed half your power to defeat Mu Xiaoling and the others. Since I have only studied alchemy for two or three months, by that logic, perhaps only one-tenth of your strength is needed for you to secure victory? No, wait, perhaps even less than a tenth. Your Highness, you are truly formidable.” Nie Kong spoke with the wonder of a newly enlightened Columbus, his face alight with feigned astonishment.

“...”

In the art of verbal sparring, a prince like Cheng Zixuan, raised in the confines of the palace, was no match for Nie Kong. The fair complexion that had regained its composure instantly erupted in a fresh wave of crimson, his fingers clicking audibly as he clenched them. But in the end, he held back; this was Jiyang City, not Luocheng.

“Your Highness, Fourth Prince!”

A call sounded—the tick-tock timer from outside had quietly stopped again...