The Alchemist Competition has entered a white-hot stage, with alchemists from all sides demonstrating their skills, Pill by Pill rising from the cauldrons.
"Second Grade Pill: Bone Growing Pill. Rating: C+"
"Second Grade Pill: Ice-Clearing Pill. Rating: C"
"Third Grade Pill: Refreshing Pill. Rating: B"
"Third Grade Pill: Swift Pill. Rating: B+"
At this moment, the Pills being evaluated by the judges are all from Second and Third Grade alchemists. Though the Pills are decent, it's evidently not enough to compete for the championship.
"The little princess is about to refine her Pill!"
The guild's judges are filled with anticipation.
"What a strong fragrance! Could it be a Fourth Grade Pill?"
Amidst the surrounding waves of astonishment, a hint of pride couldn't help but appear on Yao Yu's pretty face. In the cauldron was the only Fourth Grade Pill she was confident in refining: the Sky Qi Pill. There was still a slight chance of failure, but luckily, her luck was good today, and she succeeded on the first try.
"Quick, look! Liu Ling is also about to refine his Pill!"
However, the exclamations didn't last long. From Liu Ling's cauldron beside him came an even richer and more enticing fragrance. Two fragrances rose from their respective cauldrons, blending together on the square, indistinguishable from each other.
"As expected of Pill King Gu He's top disciple. This is the Fourth Grade Pill: Beast Strength Pill. In terms of efficacy and difficulty, it slightly surpasses the little princess's Sky Qi Pill."
Though the guild judges highly favored Yao Yu, for the sake of fairness in the Alchemist Competition, they made the correct evaluation.
"Yao Yu successfully refined the Fourth Grade Pill: Sky Qi Pill. Rating: A"
"Liu Ling successfully refined the Fourth Grade Pill: Beast Strength Pill. Rating: A+"
"Hmph!"
Yao Yu, with her keen perception, could also distinguish the superiority of the two Pills. Her eyebrows furrowed as she shot Liu Ling, who was smiling at her, a fierce glare.
"Haha! Princess Yao Yu, my apologies! Let me take the lead today."
Liu Ling laughed triumphantly. Who else could compete with him?
"Liu Ling, don't be too happy too soon. Yun Tianming and Xiao Yan haven't refined their Pills yet."
Yao Yu looked expectantly at Yun Tianming.
However, unexpectedly, with a dull explosion, black smoke rose from the cauldron in front of Yun Tianming, announcing the failure of his alchemy.
"He failed? What a pity."
"How could this happen?"
"What kind of Pill is he refining? He actually needs to use multiple flames? That's strange, isn't it going to explode the furnace?"
People were puzzled and confused about this.
Only Fa Ma knew what was going on. He thought to himself: "As expected, Yun Tianming is refining the Three Lines Green Spirit Pill. That mysterious Alchemist demonstrated it before. The refining process requires simultaneous control of three types of flames, making it even more difficult than a normal Fifth Grade Pill."
"It failed because the control over the other two flames was insufficient."
Yun Tianming frowned. He had just used three types of Beast Flame, with only the Extreme Purple Beast Flame being Flame Mantra's devoured flame, and the other two being randomly bought Rank 5 Beast Flames. However, the temporary adjustment was very poor in precision, ultimately leading to an accident during the alchemy process.
"Since you failed, let me win this championship!"
Xiao Yan was spirited. He first used the Volcanic Dragon's Beast Flame, a Beast Flame that had been devoured by the Flame Mantra Qi Method, and he handled it with ease.
"What a strong fragrance. Is Xiao Yan about to refine his Pill?"
"Another Fourth Grade Pill. This guy is indeed the dark horse of this competition!"
Everyone turned their attention to him.
"Just from the intensity of the fragrance, this guy might not necessarily surpass me."
Liu Ling's forehead started to sweat, appearing somewhat lacking in confidence.
"Hmph! It's not over yet!"
Xiao Yan watched the Pill continuously churning in the cauldron, showing no intention of taking it out yet.
Encouraging voices from Yao Chen echoed in his ears: "Go for it! The championship belongs to us!"
Suddenly, a mass of pale-white flames appeared in the cauldron.
"What's happening? Why is the flame in the furnace becoming restless?"
People were astonished, feeling the temperature around them rapidly dropping.
"Where did this ice-cold Dou Qi come from?"
"Could it be that a Dou Emperor-level expert has intervened?"
The elder Alchemists in the guild instinctively released their Soul Perception, but they looked at each other and didn't notice anything unusual.
"This flame..."
At a certain moment, Fa Ma's face suddenly changed drastically. His gaze was fixed on the cauldron in front of Xiao Yan, where he seemed to vaguely see some white substance. A chill was slowly permeating from the cauldron.
Many keen-sensed Alchemists gradually realized that this chill came from Xiao Yan. They frowned deeply.
"What is Xiao Yan doing? Creating a chill during the crucial moment of alchemy? Isn't he afraid of extinguishing the flame in the furnace?"
"There's no mistaking it. This flame belonged to that mysterious Alchemist from years ago!"
"This is the Heavenly Flame!!"
Fa Ma's murmured words were not loud, but the phrase "Heavenly Flame" had an unparalleled impact on all Alchemists.
"What?!"
"It's actually the legendary Heavenly Flame!"
"Xiao Yan possesses the Heavenly Flame!!"
At this moment, all eyes in the arena were focused on Xiao Yan.
"This... How is this possible?"
Liu Ling was particularly dumbfounded. Even his teacher, Gu He, couldn't find the Heavenly Flame.
"Xiao Yan, from the Xiao Family of Wu Tan City."
"He made a three-year agreement with Nalan Yanran from the Misty Cloud Sect. Indeed, he's quite something."
After yesterday's preliminary rounds, Yao Yu had carefully investigated information about Xiao Yan.
Ignoring the scrutiny of the crowd, Xiao Yan was completely focused at this moment, controlling the Chilling Bone Flame. Under the powerful influence of the Heavenly Flame, he swiftly purified the impurities in the Pill and further enhanced its medicinal power.
"The championship is mine!"
Xiao Yan laughed heartily. A deep blue Pill rose from the cauldron, adorned with two mysterious pill marks. The fragrance emanating from it was even richer than Yao Yu's and Liu Ling's previous Pills!
"Xiao Yan successfully refined the Fourth Grade Pill: Two Lines Green Spirit Pill, rating: S!"
As the guild judges announced the result, the entire arena erupted in cheers.
For most Alchemists, witnessing the legendary Heavenly Flame was a great fortune in life, and even in defeat, they acknowledged it with respect.
But at this moment, a discordant voice sounded.
"Hehe!"
"Alchemists of the Jia Ma Empire, are you celebrating too early?"
It was a young man dressed in the robes of a Chu Yun Empire Alchemist.
"This is...!"
Fa Ma's pupils suddenly contracted.
Accompanied by that young man, a Pill rose from the cauldron, filling the entire venue with an intense fragrance surpassing everyone else's!
"Teacher, what's going on?!"
Xiao Yan's smile froze, a sense of foreboding creeping into his heart.
"Peak Fourth Grade Pill: Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pill."
"Alas, it seems you won't be taking this championship."
Yao Chen's voice sounded regretful
****
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