When the Golden Finger Lands in the Hands of the Villain
Ch. 10 - I can't be bought by money.

He actually said thank you! The crowd is astonished that he can’t see that the vice president is trying to trip him up. Oh, what a fool.

Only Xiao Yue smiles, full of expectations, looking at Kong Wuying, believing that the man can once again do something unexpected. This time won’t be an exception.

The alchemy examination officially begins and everyone hurries around, replaceing a chair and sitting down in a good position to watch. It would take a few days to complete the tests but Ning Zhao's strength is so incredible that missing a second is a loss for them.

First of all, refine a first division Breakthrough pill. In full view of the public, Kong Wuying begins to choose utensils and herbs.

Huang Xun murmurs to himself, “Black Profound furnace, Nether fire, Bamboo Heart water, this doesn’t match." The Black Profound furnace is masculine, the Nether fire is Yin, and the water from the Bamboo Heart is peaceful. They won’t coordinate well with each other.

To refine pills, the strength of the master is naturally the most important, but the matching of utensils and the age of medicinal materials are also very important. Alchemy is a matter of concentration and exact amounts, if a small mistake is made on a higher level pill, a whole city can be destroyed. Even low level pills can destroy a furnace.

Huang Xun doesn’t understand the Lost Heart pill, but for the Breakthrough pill, the best combination is a jade tripod furnace, White Xiang fire and Ice Lotus water.

Kong Wuying doesn't understand such things as coordination, and he doesn't pay attention to it either. He picks equipment and materials by intuition.

The system is very afraid of Kong Wuying’s training, and no longer dares to easily question his decisions. Anyway, with the strength of the host, he can decide how to play around if he wants to.

After selecting the utensils, Kong Wuying begins to choose materials. He takes a whole basket of herbs this time, and Huang Xun tries to distinguish them all.

“Dijie Zhi, White Rosen fruit, Jiuye flowers, Bihu lotus dew, Hundred Flowers honey, Tian Jing sand, and Mint Heart grass."

The first three are for the Breakthrough pill. Never mind the Hundred Flowers honey, what are the rest used for? Is it his unique recipe?

Well, write it down. Huang Xun takes out his pen and paper to record it. Next to him, his colleagues start coversing.

"Alas! You don't have to remember, that must also be used for seasoning, just like Hundred Flowers honey. It's no use remembering. "

"Oh, yes."

When they hear that, they remember the days of testing when they had been trapped in a pot of honey and put down their pens and paper.

Kong Wuying has his furnace boiling water, and then adds the medicinal materials in order into the furnace.

Then he reaches out and controls the flame with his wood spirit.

Everyone knows it’s the main part of the refining. They all stare intently, holding their breath, and don’t dare to take their eyes off the scene.

Kong Wuying wraps his hands with wood spirit and touches the stove, then steps back to dissipate his spirit.

Everybody nods. Press first and then wait, this is to give the medicine in the furnace a little more flexibility, starting from the melting method. And then what?

And then nothing. Kong Wuying puts out the fire and turns to Wan Qian. “Done.”

Wan Qian tilts his head. “What?”

“The pills are done,” Kong Wuying reiterates.

What a liar! It's said that the most difficult first level pill is the Breakthrough. How can it be so easy to refine? Have they all dozed off and lost track of time?

Kong Wuying open the furnace and a green pill can't wait to jump out. He pushes it back in. Another gets halfway out and Kong Wuying presses it back.

Actually, it's a living pill! Are living pills so easy to come by? Can you trip over one when you go for a walk?

But it's not right, it doesn't look like a Breakthrough pill. So it’s possible that even a genius can stumble! After all, how can this kind of random refining work properly? Adding so much impure seasoning, of course something strange will come out.

But Wan Qian becomes excited. “This - this is a Lost Heart pill?" He moves forward to take one from the furnace and observes it carefully until he’s sure that the pill is exactly the same as what he’d seen in a book.

The vice president doesn’t know what a Lost Heart pill looks like, he’d only read about it in ancient books. He added it to the test for the sake of making things difficult for Ning Zhao.

As long as Ning Zhao showed a little bit of humility and admitted he didn’t know how to make the Lost Heart pill, Wan Qiao would have changed the test immediately. This joke can also be regarded as saving some dignity for their guild after the Master’s Oath competition.

Who knew this Ning Zhao had not only heard of the Lost Heart pill but could also refine it.

Suddenly, a yellow pill jumps out of the stove and hovers in the air, looking oddly like it had its back straight and chest puffed out. It seems that this pill is dissatisfied that everyone is only paying attention to his brother pill.

Wan Qian takes one look at the yellow pill and he lets out a cry. “It’s a Breakthrough pill!" In disbelief, he looks at a calm Kong Wuying and then at the furnace.

Yellow and green. Yellow and green pills that are very distinctly different, five of each.

Xiao Yue is also amazed. “A furnace of twin pills. Shocking people is really brother Ning’s specialty. It's an eye opener.”

Twin pills are different from living pills. The former is a technique and the latter improves the quality. In fact, it's not as good as living pills and there is no use for it except to save time, but the skill needed is immense.

Wan Qian looks at Kong Wuying. This man’s technique has far exceeded his imagination.

"What's wrong?" Kong Wuying feels like something is strange. The look in Wan Qian’s eyes isn’t normal. Did Kong Wuying do something shocking?

No, they already know he can make living pills. He did this test completely according to their requirements, making two different pills at a time. To be honest, it would be a little difficult for him to make three pills at a time. It's not that his control is insufficient, but the furnace is too low grade for something that requires that much control.

"No, no.” Vice President Wan wipes away his sweat and praises, "Mr. Ning's alchemy is really marvelous."

All the people present nod rapidly. This kind of technique is miraculous.

A female voice scoffs loudly enough to be heard by everyone. “Small bugs are also worthy of being told they have technique? How disgusting.”

The crowd looks back, discontent with such a smarmy voice ridiculing a great master.

There’s a seventeen or eighteen-year-old woman with a dress colored red like fire, a face pretty like flowers, and water spirit refreshing as a high mountain stream.

Xiao Yue is taken aback. “Ruoruo, when did you get here?"

"I've been here for a long time!” she complains. “But you've been staring at other people and didn't notice me."

For some reason, Xiao Yue’s cheeks become warm.

The woman steps forward, raises her chin and says to Kong Wuying, "Since they all say that your alchemy is marvelous, how about it? Would you like to have a competition with me?”

Xiao Yue frowns. "Ruoruo, don't make a fool of yourself!"

She doesn’t answer, instead she glares at Kong Wuying.

She’s drowning in jealousy. She has regarded Xiao Yue as her future husband since she was a child. She also thought that only Xiao Yue could be worthy of her.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Yue treated her nicely but didn’t say anything past that this whole time. She thought it was just his temperament, but today she saw him pay such close attention to a stranger, how could she not be angry?

So this man’s alchemy is passable, so what? No matter how good a first level pill is refined, it’s no more than a first level pill. The master themself is the most important thing!

She would let this man know her strength today. She is full of fighting spirit, her whole body tensed like a boxer about to get the knockout blow-

“Not interested,” Kong Wuying says.

She splutters. "What! A-are you afraid?"

Kong Wuying is a ‘go with the flow’ kind of person but he’s here for a badge and this is just wasting his time. He ignores her and puts away the pills he refined.

Yuan Ruoruo fidgets for a while as she thinks hard. She turns to Wan Qian, "I'll challenge your Alchemy Association. As a member of the association, that man will fight."

Wan Qian explains, "Master Ning is only being assessed in our guild, he’s not a member. What's more, Master Yuan, you are a second-division pill master. If you challenge him, it will be considered bullying the weak.”

Xiao Yue sighs. “Don't make a fool of yourself, leave for now."

It just adds fuel to the fire. Yuan Ruo takes out a jade badge and says to Wan Qian, "I'm Yuan Ruo, a second-division pill master of Danta. I'm here to challenge your Alchemy Association. If you don't fight, you just have to accept defeat.”

Looking at the jade badge she took out, Wan Qian’s expression shifts. As an Alchemy Association, Danta has been hostile to them for many years. If they retreat without fighting today and the rumours spread to headquarters, he will no longer be a vice president.

He can only look at Kong Wuying with pleading eyes.

Kong Wuying purses his lips and looks away. “I have something urgent to take care of at home, I’ll go first.”

Wan Qian nods solemnly. “You will receive 100,000 gold coins as a thank you.”

Kong Wuying rears back. "Vice President Wan, do you think a little money can buy me off!?"

Wan Qian hesitates. "This-"

"Because the Tiger Skin orchid you stock up on is pretty good quality."

“……”