Han Long felt a load of shock when he saw that the person he wasn't expecting suddenly reached the same harmony level as him.
He looked at Alex, who also looked back at him and smiled.
It was then Han Long realized something was wrong.
49%
The fog increased by one more level. Gasps of shock sounded from around the place. Wan Li looked at Alex with shock in his eyes, let alone Han Long who had just been beaten. The amount of shock he was feeling right now was unreal.
Even Huang Fu seemed to be interested right now and looked at the pill tester which was the center of attention amongst everyone on stage and a lot of audience in the coliseum.
"Woah, Mingming just got 2nd place? Was he always that good sect leader?" Fan Ruogang asked. The rest of the disciples were also in shock, dumbfounded at the harmony his pill had reached.
Recognizing ingredients was one thing, but making a good pill required a different set of skills.
However, Ma Rong didn't recognize this current result and simply said, "Just watch."
50%
Another Heaven Grade pill appeared on the stage. Han Long, Wan Li, Huang Fu, the staff, the host, and the audience, all of them were shocked.
"A-Another Heaven-grade pill?" someone said in shock.
"T-That's the second place holder now," another person said.
"This participant didn't have such a result on the first pill right?" One of the staff asked.
"Nope, he only had a 43% harmony pill," another staff member said.
"Am I… really out of the third-place?" Han Long muttered to himself.
However, that wasn't the end.
51%
The pill tester hadn't stopped and the fog was still rising. Now, even Huang Fu started getting anxious. His pill was just 2% lower than Alex's. While that was a massive hurdle to pass, it didn't seem like Alex's pill tester was going to stop right now.
Unfortunately for Huang Fu, however, he was right.
52%
Now Alex's pill was 1 step away from having the same amount of harmony as Huang Fu's. He was starting to sweat. He walked a little closer to check the pill tester more clearly and in doing so he caught Alex's eyes who had just looked to the side.
From his perspective, Alex had no sort of tension in his eyes, almost like he didn't care what harmony his pills would get.
No. He realized that wasn't the case. It wasn't that he didn't care what the harmony his pill was going to be, it was more like He knew what it was going to be.
A strange premonition sprung up inside Huang Fu's mind and at the same time, it happened.
53%
The harmony level in the pill tester increased once more. Now, Alex was the first place holder of the competition along with Huang Fu. There were going to be two winners.
"Wow, a random disciple nearly beat the Royal Alchemist's direct disciple?" a staff member said in shock.
"What sect is he from? Can you guys check?" the host said.
"He seems to be from the Hong Wu sect. Ah, no wonder. They are well known for being great in alchemy," one of the staff members said.
"What happens to the rewards? Do we give out 100 points to both of them?" another staff member asked.
"If both of them get the same harmony then they both get the same points," the host said.
"Oh. But what do you mean… if?"
54%
Everyone talking suddenly stopped doing so. A pin-drop silence spread throughout the stage as the people's jaws dropped in shock.
A new champion was here.
Huang Fu was genuinely surprised that he lost to a participant that wasn't even that well known. He didn't want to believe that he had lost.
But he couldn't deny it at all after seeing the fog reach 55% in the pill tester.
"Huh? 55?" he looked in shock.
Everyone else did the same and was then dumbfounded. The harmony level of the pill had grown by another point.
"Wait, it is up to 55% now. That's like a professional Alchemist right there," someone said.
"Forget about that. How many Heaven Grade alchemists have you seen that are still a disciple?" another person asked.
"He would have to make a few more Heaven grade pills to be considered one, but if he can make 55% pills consistently, it wouldn't be wrong to consider him one," someone else answered.
"Umm… why are we talking about 55% as if that is the final harmony?" a timid voice among the bunch asked, prompting everyone to stop and look back at the pill tester.
Within 3 seconds of them watching, the harmony increased once more.
56%
Gasps rang out this time around, but nobody said anything. The staffs were already shocked beyond belief. The participants were equally shocked at someone making such a high-grade pill.
Han Long had long since accepted his fate. Wan Li was surprised at how talented Alex was, and Huang Fu could do nothing but look at the pill tester in shock.
56% was a lot of things. But what it was not, was the end.
57%
The harmony increased once more. The audience thought that they were jaded to it by now, but that wasn't true. They were still shocked. Whispers ran about the coliseum but none of it reached the stage.
Everyone expected it to stop now, but the pill tester seemed to have its own mind.
58%.
This was an unprecedented event for everyone in this competition. This was something that had never happened before and was likely never going to happen again.
While everyone was in shock, Alex was smiling, for he knew, this was not the end either.
59%
Alex's pill had now beat Huang Fu's pill by 6% of harmony difference. While everyone thought Huang Fu's pill beating Wan Li's pill by 4% was already amazing, having a 6% higher than his was something they couldn't comprehend.
Everyone turned to look at Alex and see the face of the winner. But Alex wasn't happy or excited. He was simply smiling looking at the pill tester in front of him.
At the same instant, the harmony level increased by 1 more.
60%.