Today, Shen Xiang didn't immediately go to accelerate the growth of his spiritual herbs. Early in the morning, he headed to the massive square at the center of the Shen family estate, because today was the day when the clan leader's position would be decided. The Shen family had been without a leader for over three months, causing some disorder within the clan.
In the large square, paved with stone bricks, stood about three hundred of the most important disciples of the Shen family, all elite members of the clan.
The Shen family members surrounded the square, leaving a large empty space in the middle. Five middle-aged men stood there, including Shen Tianhu, Shen Xiang's father.
Shen Xiang was also among the crowd, watching the proceedings. If necessary, he would step forward to help his father fight for the clan leader's position.
A middle-aged man with thick eyebrows and a somewhat graying head of hair, smirked coldly and said, "Shen Tianhu, you should know that there is a very important requirement to become the clan leader of the Shen family."
This middle-aged man was named Shen Haohai, one of the more powerful leaders of a branch family of the Shen clan. He was older than Shen Tianhu and had reached the seventh level of the Mortal Martial Realm. This level of strength was quite decent within the Shen family, and so he believed he had the qualifications to become the clan leader. In terms of seniority, Shen Xiang would even have to call him uncle.
Shen Tianhu glared at Shen Haohai with anger in his eyes and said coldly, "Of course I know. The clan leader's relatives must also have good potential, to prevent the clan leader from using public resources wastefully on his own kin."
Shen Xiang's mother had passed away long ago, and Shen Tianhu only had Shen Xiang as his sole family member.
"Haha... But your son is someone without spiritual veins! If you become the clan leader, you would surely waste a lot of precious elixirs on him! You've been buying herbs and elixirs everywhere these past few years just to prop up your son, but we all know his foundation." Shen Haohai laughed, "Everyone knows he's a useless waste who will never amount to anything!"
Shen Tianhu knew very well that his son was actually extraordinary among his peers; he merely wanted Shen Xiang to keep his strength hidden to avoid attracting unwanted attention.
"My son can summon true qi fire! He has the potential to become a skilled alchemist. Can you still say he's useless? I don't think the elders of the Shen family would agree with you." Shen Tianhu retorted with a sneer.
At this, everyone began to murmur among themselves. The incident where the head of the Elixir Pavilion wanted to take Shen Xiang as a disciple, only to be refused, had already spread throughout Crouching Tiger City. Even though Shen Xiang lacked spiritual veins, the fact that he could summon true qi fire meant he had a chance to become an alchemist.
Shen Haohai snorted, "But he rejected the Elixir Pavilion master! Without a teacher, he'll never become an alchemist."
At that moment, Shen Xiang's calm and steady voice rang out, "I can already refine the Body Tempering Pill, a low-grade mortal-level elixir."
Hearing Shen Xiang's words, everyone was stunned, and Shen Haohai burst out laughing, "A mere boy, only sixteen years old, claiming to refine elixirs? Don't think you can help your father win the clan leader's position by spouting lies. Also, lying in front of your elders will result in severe punishment."
"Do you think you're the prodigy from the Yao family? The Yao family is a renowned alchemy family with a deep foundation!"
Shen Xiang stepped out of the crowd with a calm and clear gaze. He took out a pill furnace, looked at Shen Haohai with a smirk, and said, "Do you dare make a bet with me? If I can refine a batch of Body Tempering Pills, you will kneel and apologize to me in front of everyone."
Shen Haohai could no longer laugh, and everyone else was dumbfounded. They hadn't expected Shen Xiang to be so bold and make such a challenge!
A junior daring to act so brazenly in front of him infuriated Shen Haohai.
Shen Tianhu, however, supported his son's actions. He knew the moment had come for Shen Xiang to prove himself.
Shen Haohai's face was filled with rage, and he said in a deep voice, "What did you just say?" As he spoke, a wave of true qi surged toward Shen Xiang, but it was dispersed by Shen Tianhu.
Shen Xiang stared directly at Shen Haohai, raising his voice, "I want to make a bet with you! If I can refine a batch of Body Tempering Pills, you will kneel and apologize to me in front of everyone."
Shen Xiang repeated himself seriously, showing no signs of joking. His tone was full of arrogance, a quality rarely seen among the younger generation of the Shen family.
Shen Haohai trembled with anger. He wanted to strike Shen Xiang, but he didn't dare, knowing that killing a fellow clan member's young disciple would bring severe consequences.
An elder spoke up, "Since that's the case, Shen Haohai, you should make the bet. However, kneeling to apologize is unnecessary, as that's just the childish talk of a youngster. Instead, if Shen Xiang successfully refines a batch of pills, you should compensate him appropriately."
"I agree. If my son loses, I will withdraw from the contest for the clan leader's position!" Shen Tianhu declared, nodding at Shen Xiang.
Once again, the crowd erupted in shock. Shen Tianhu had made an enormous wager!
Shen Haohai snorted, "Fine! If I lose, I'll give him the thousand-year-old Blood Spirit Ginseng I just acquired."
The mention of the thousand-year-old Blood Spirit Ginseng caused the crowd to gasp. It was an extremely rare and valuable low-grade profound-level herb.
"Shen Xiang, you may begin refining the pill. How long will it take?" the elder asked. He was one of the senior members of the Shen family with considerable influence.
From what everyone knew, refining a low-grade mortal-level pill would take at least half a day, with the fastest being two to three hours. And that would be for a seasoned alchemist, not a sixteen-year-old boy.
"It won't take long. I won't delay everyone for too long," Shen Xiang said as he sat cross-legged. The elder and Shen Haohai moved closer to inspect the furnace, making sure Shen Xiang wouldn't cheat.
"A low-quality furnace. Looks like you're quite poor, Shen Tianhu!" Shen Haohai mocked. Everyone knew that Shen Tianhu had spent all his money on Shen Xiang.
Shen Xiang took out the ingredients from his storage bag, checked and prepared them, then released his true qi fire to heat the furnace. Only after that did he place the herbs into the furnace with practiced ease.
His movements were skilled, and his control over the true qi fire left the crowd slightly surprised. While many people could release flames through certain martial arts techniques during attacks, controlling fire so effortlessly, like Shen Xiang did, was rare. Such control typically required specific fire manipulation techniques, which were scarce and difficult to master.
As the furnace was filled with flames, wisps of herbal fragrance began to waft out.
After an hour had passed, everyone saw Shen Xiang suddenly frown, clearly entering a critical phase. Even Shen Haohai was starting to sweat, worried that he might lose his prized Blood Spirit Ginseng.
Mist began to rise from the pill furnace, and Shen Xiang opened his eyes with a pleased expression. Standing up, he said, "Please, check it."
"What? Finished in just one hour?" The crowd expressed their disbelief.
The first to step forward was the elder. Though not an alchemist himself, he was well-versed in the alchemical process. He had been closely observing Shen Xiang and knew the boy had a solid foundation in alchemy. While he couldn't see inside the furnace, he could sense the precise shifts in the heat emitted from the furnace, which were extremely subtle.
When the elder opened the furnace lid, the crowd immediately smelled the familiar scent of Body Tempering Pills. Everyone watched as the elder pulled out five snow-white pills, and they couldn't help but exclaim in shock.