Reborn as the General's Useless Daughter-Chapter 342: The Tri-Academy Exchange Arc (Part-34)

"You—Zora!" Rowena fumed.

She had never encountered someone so sharp-tongued yet so composed.

Zora raised her hand slightly, cutting her off.

"There’s no need to say more. We’ll see the truth in the competition. You’d better not lose to a ’half-hanger’ like me, or that would truly be a disgrace to your Academy."

Rowena glared at her furiously. "In your dreams! That will never happen!"

Zora merely shrugged, utterly unconcerned, and turned her gaze away.

Black quietly gave her a thumbs-up. "So dark-bellied."

White chuckled as well. "Master really knows how to play the pig and eat the tiger."

At that moment, even they were looking forward to how loud the coming slap in the face would be.

Black and White had always admired their master’s ability to hide her edge.

She clearly possessed real strength, yet she never rushed to declare it. Instead, she waited patiently for the perfect moment, letting others choke on their own arrogance. Just imagining the expressions Rowena and the others would wear at the end was enough to make the two little fellows secretly delighted.

As for their praise, Zora felt rather innocent. She was not deliberately pretending to be weak.

It was simply that Reynard and the others had already made up their minds. Even if she openly claimed her alchemy skills were strong, they would never believe it.

Since that was the case, why waste breath?

She had always been someone who explained herself only to those she cared about. As for people she felt no goodwill toward, if they liked to think that way, then so be it.

Sooner or later, reality would teach them otherwise.

"Zora, we won the first round and put pressure on them," Sylvandria said softly. "That’s why they deliberately provoked us, trying to disturb our state of mind."

As an Alchemist, Sylvandria understood this tactic very well. In alchemy, calmness of mind was crucial. Once the mind wavered, mental power would become chaotic, and mistakes were almost inevitable.

Zora nodded slightly, a faint smile on her lips. "Don’t worry. Such little tricks won’t affect me."

Seeing her calm and composed, Sylvandria also relaxed. In truth, those petty taunts were meaningless in the face of real ability.

After a brief rest, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Malrick announced the second round.

"The second stage of the alchemy contest: refining Black Rock Wood. Those who fail in refinement or cannot complete it within the allotted time will be eliminated!"

The moment his words fell, expressions across the venue changed.

Every ingredient Alchemists use in potion making was typically dug up from the wilderness, and it goes without saying that no ingredient remains pure. Every ingredient has impurities, which will be expelled later during the process of concoction.

However, some ingredients were tough to crack, so they need to be refined properly. And Black Rock Wood was such an ingredient.

Black Rock Wood was notoriously difficult to refine. Its outer shell was as hard as stone, requiring sustained high heat to break. Yet the essence sealed within was extremely fragile. If the flame was not adjusted at the precise moment after the shell cracked, the essence would instantly evaporate into nothing.

For Alchemists of their age, this was an exceptionally harsh test, and one many dreaded.

Compared to the first round, the difficulty of the second soared dramatically. Sylvandria knew very well that for most young Alchemists, extracting Black Rock Wood was no easy feat.

When she had first learned alchemy, she herself had been utterly helpless before this material.

Only because the elders in her family seemed to enjoy throwing such difficult challenges at her had she been forced to wrestle with Black Rock Wood repeatedly. After long practice, she had finally mastered its extraction and refined her control of mental power to a far more delicate level.

Now, facing Black Rock Wood again, countless memories surfaced in Zora’s mind. A faint, nostalgic smile slowly appeared on her lips.

Reynard and the others looked far less relaxed, their expressions darkening. Clearly, this round would not be easy to pass.

Yet when they glanced at Zora and saw her calm demeanor, some of the unease in their hearts inexplicably eased...

In Reynard’s eyes and the minds of the others, there was only one possible outcome for Zora in this round.

Failure.

A so-called "half-baked" Alchemist like her had no chance when it came to refining Black Rock Wood.

What angered them even more was her attitude earlier. By all logic, someone at Zora’s level should have been utterly inferior in front of them. Yet not only did she show no trace of weakness, she even dared to laugh and speak calmly in their presence.

In this second round, they were determined to strip away that composure piece by piece and see how long she could remain arrogant.

Once Zora was eliminated, they would seize the chance to humiliate her thoroughly.

Yet when everyone’s gazes turned toward her, they were met with disappointment.

She still looked indifferent, as though everything unfolding had nothing to do with her at all.

On the alchemy platform, six people stood in a straight line. In front of each of them sat an identical alchemy cauldron, and beside each cauldron were three pieces of Black Rock Wood laid neatly on the table.

"Now, the refinement of Black Rock Wood begins," Lionel announced, his voice ringing clearly.

"The allotted time is one hour. If you fail to refine a piece within that time, it counts as a failure. If all three Black Rock Woods fail within one hour, you will be eliminated!"

Zora glanced calmly at the three pieces of Black Rock Wood beside her.

Three chances only.

In truth, that was already generous. Refining Black Rock Wood was notoriously time-consuming. If all three attempts failed, there would be no time left to attempt a fourth, even if one were available.

With a sharp clang, Lionel struck the bronze gong.

The second round officially began.

The high platform instantly fell into silence. Zora and the others began to kindle their flames, preparing for refinement.

Below the platform, however, murmurs continued to ripple through the crowd.

Alchemy was a lonely and quiet art. Aside from Alchemists themselves, most spectators found the process dull. After all, they could only watch the flames beneath the cauldrons and wait, unable to see what truly happened inside.

"This round, Zora is definitely getting eliminated."

"Right. This isn’t a team assessment anymore. She’s a Spirit Warrior first and foremost. Her alchemy can’t be that strong."

"Even so, being able to cultivate like that and still know alchemy at all is already impressive."

Most people nodded in agreement. In their eyes, Zora had already proven herself beyond doubt in cultivation. As for alchemy, they assumed she was merely there to fill a slot.

No one expected her to achieve anything remarkable.

Reesa and the others, listening to the whispers around them, felt an odd amusement rise in their hearts.

Everyone here was underestimating Zora.

On the platform, Zora calmly adjusted the flame within her cauldron. Her movements were steady and precise, without the slightest hint of haste.

Then, she placed a piece of Black Rock Wood into the cauldron.

The instant it entered, the flames surged upward, completely engulfing the dark, stone-like material.

Zora slowly closed her eyes.

Her spiritual sense spread outward like a quiet tide, completely enveloping the cauldron. In an instant, every subtle change inside the cauldron was clearly reflected in her mind.