From the Heavens Descended an Immortal Sister
Chapter 187 - 185: Giving Up and Letting Go?_1

Before long, all the students on site had finished drawing lots, and the names of the required medicinal herbs had been written on the back of the lot-drawing papers.

Following an invigilator's report at the guild hall on the various herbs, a group of alchemists from the guild began to emerge, carrying the herbs wrapped in red paper and delivering them to the various school contingents.

"Students of Drawing 2 and 3 may temporarily withdraw from the site, and those in Drawing 1, prepare your alchemy equipment. The examination will commence in 5 minutes."

As the voice of an elderly proctor faded, two-thirds of the students left the site with their herbs and lot-drawing papers and proceeded to the front of the spectator stands.

Fang Ren spread the red paper on the ground after receiving his herbs and started examining them.

"How stingy."

Upon seeing the herbs inside, Fang Ren couldn't help but smack his lips in dissatisfaction.

The variety of herbs had no issues; every type of herb he needed was present, but the quality of the herbs themselves was flawed. They were all of inferior quality, and some had been stored for too long and not preserved properly.

As a rule, all herbs for the alchemy competition should have been provided by the Central Area, where every type of herb is guaranteed to be of middle to upper quality. The inferior herbs in Fang Ren's hands were clearly not from the batch sent by the Central Area.

They were swapped by someone in the guild, who kept the better-quality herbs from the Central Area stock and gave him their stockpiled inferior goods.

But there was nothing to be done. These herbs were too expensive, and it was inevitable that some people in the Alchemist Guild might become greedy.

One thing to note is that the Central Area does not provide fourth-order elixir materials for the university student alchemy competition, as the talents who can concoct second-order upper-level pills at the university students' age are extremely rare. Providing fourth-order materials is unnecessary, as no one would be capable of concocting them.

The highest material that the Central Area can provide is for a three-level pill, just in case some out-of-nowhere genius is able to concoct a three-level pill.

The reason why there were materials for fourth-order elixirs here was that the herbs Fang Ren had chosen were some of the most expensive ones used in several three-level pills, and these herbs together were just enough for the concoction of a fourth-order elixir.

In fact, some people from the Orchid Bamboo Guild were overjoyed as soon as he had reported these herbs.

That's because any herbs provided by the Central Area that the students don't use must be returned to the Central Area, and cannot be left with the guild.

And since Fang Ren chose so many expensive herbs, the Orchid Bamboo Alchemist Guild had the perfect opportunity to cut corners.

In their eyes, a student wouldn't be able to concoct a fourth-order elixir anyway, so providing them with low-quality herbs as a ruse was sufficient, and it served as a perfect excuse to keep the high-quality herbs provided by the Central Area for themselves.

Not far away, the Seventh Elder could naturally hear what he said, and his face couldn't help but show a few moments of embarrassment, with his heart feeling a mix of annoyance and rage.

The princess and Young Master Fang had specifically come to inspect, and yet some rascals within the guild had still engaged in these underhanded tricks. Wasn't this setting their entire guild up for public disgrace?

The other aristocratic students who remained on site saw the herbs laid out on the ground by Fang Ren and immediately stirred into excitement. At first, their faces showed surprise, and disbelief, but in the end, they all shared the same look of mockery.

"That low-ability student actually chose all the most precious herbs from the three-level pills, this is hilariously foolish!"

"From what I see, those herbs put together are just what's needed to concoct a fourth-order elixir, the Entry into Void Pill. This low-ability student isn't completely ignorant, at least he knows a bit about herb pairing. But this is merely an act of puffing oneself up at one's own cost, trying to show off, and even aiming to flaunt extravagantly."

"Ridiculous! Wait until he ruins all these precious ingredients and let's see how he's going to wrap this up!"

"Every year the competition has its oddities, but I've never seen someone quite like this. To pull off such a stunt will probably cost him tens of millions. How is he going to compensate for that!"

...

In the audience stands, some parents who were dissatisfied because their children had just been lectured by the Seventh Elder now eagerly spewed out their pent-up displeasure.

"Who is the one with the low quality here? That low-ability student is blatantly destroying the competition's property! Was my child wrong in calling him out?"

"Exactly! The one in need of moral education is that trash student from Mediocre University, not our children!"

"If you can't compete, don't embarrass yourself! At this point, still trying to put on a brave face, looking for dignity? Ha, low-end schools really just produce a bunch of societal trash!"

...

Of course, the majority of aristocrats in the stands remained silent. They came to watch the competition, not a farce.

At that moment, on the very edge of the audience seating, Bai Qi sat on the stairs with a face full of anger. She just couldn't understand why Fang Ren, this idiot, had to be so stubborn at this moment?

She had made herself very clear that if he had only said the word, she would not hesitate to drop the matter of meeting Brother Song...

Behind her, stood several elders exuding an extraordinary aura, their facial expressions subtly reflecting their thoughts about everything happening in the arena.

"This student from Yangming University, having the courage to come here is commendable, yet it is not a wise move," said one of the elders in a Zhongshan suit. "Furthermore, being provoked by ridicule to the point of rage and acting recklessly shows a lack of inner strength. This experience may well shatter his confidence for good."

"A student like him probably represents those from schools that most of society doesn't pay attention to — someone with some talent who made it this far on passion alone. Once they collide with the world's top talented students, they're bound to be crushed. This is the current tragedy of human society," another elder in a gray robe commented.

"Back when I was practicing my craft, I too faced much ridicule and had to push through it. Now, seeing this scene, I still can't help but feel a bit sorrowful," sighed an elder dressed in casual clothes.

Bai Qi, listening to the elders behind her speaking in a tone quite different from the rest, found herself drawn to their conversation.

This was what she understood aristocrats to be like — reflective upon witnessing social disputes, contemplative upon seeing human discord, rather than joining the masses in mocking their less talented brethren.

Bai Qi slightly tilted her visor cap and looked back at the three elders behind her, her anxiety spiking when she recognized them as acquaintances from the Tianjiang. She quickly turned back around and pressed her cap down over her face.

It seemed that her conversation with Fang Ren from the beginning until now had been overheard by these people.

If they were to discover that she, a princess, in collusion with her fiancé, was attempting to cheat in such a major event, how embarrassing would that be?

Absolutely must not be discovered!