"This... Am I seeing things? He's only sixteen and already able to refine Body Tempering Pills! This is truly a genius!" someone shouted in astonishment.
"This Body Tempering Pill looks better than the ones we usually consume. I didn't expect Shen Xiang to be so talented and knowledgeable in alchemy! Just this potential alone is stronger than any top-quality spiritual vein," another man exclaimed in admiration.
The core disciples of the Shen family gathered in the square were all expressing their amazement, a mix of jealousy and envy evident among them.
Meanwhile, Shen Haohai, while shocked, felt a pang of heartache and anger. His face turned grim as he realized he had lost a precious thousand-year-old Blood Spirit Ginseng, which could have fetched a high price at auction.
The elders of the Shen family trembled slightly, their eyes wide with astonishment as they stared at the five snow-white pills in their palms, murmuring, "The Shen family finally has an alchemist!"
The excitement that followed that simple statement ignited a fervor among the Shen family members. Without an alchemist, the clan had to spend a great deal of money purchasing elixirs from others and had often been ridiculed by powerful martial families.
Now, with a young alchemist in their ranks, it wouldn't be long before he could become a master alchemist!
"Shen Haohai, you must honor your bet!" Shen Tianhu laughed.
"Hmph!" Shen Haohai, filled with jealousy and pain, reluctantly produced the large piece of blood-red ginseng and handed it over to Shen Xiang.
At this moment, no one in the Shen family dared to underestimate Shen Xiang. After all, he was now an alchemist at just sixteen! Many younger girls from the branch families were throwing flirtatious glances at him.
Many young women in the Shen family looked at Shen Xiang with fiery eyes, while some young men were burning with jealousy.
Shen Xiang ignored all of this. He remembered how these same people had mocked him previously.
"Don't think that just because your son can refine pills, you'll become the clan leader. The position of clan leader still depends on strength!" Shen Haohai coldly remarked.
At that moment, two of the middle-aged men competing for the clan leader position announced their withdrawal. They recognized that with Shen Xiang able to refine pills at sixteen, he had a promising future. Offending an alchemist was not a wise choice.
Now, only Shen Haohai and one other person remained to contest the clan leader position against Shen Tianhu.
Shen Haohai said, "Shen Tianhu, if you can defeat us brothers, then the position of clan leader will be yours!"
Shen Tianhu narrowed his eyes and replied, "That's what you said?"
"Do you want to fight together, or one at a time?"
Shen Tianhu chose to face Shen Haohai and his brother alone. If he had this level of strength, he could indeed earn the respect of others.
"Let's go one-on-one; otherwise, it won't be convincing," Shen Haohai said, and the crowd moved aside.
Shen Tianhu stated, "Then let's begin. Let's finish this quickly."
The crowd retreated further. A battle between two fighters at the seventh level of the Mortal Martial Realm could unleash terrifying power.
Once everyone had moved to the edges of the square, Shen Tianhu and Shen Haohai both made their moves simultaneously. They rushed toward each other at top speed, and in an instant, their palms collided.
The two were pressed together, contesting their true qi.
Shen Haohai radiated scorching true qi, while Shen Tianhu remained calm. His muscles bulged with visible blue veins, indicating the furious flow of his true qi.
With their palms pressed together, they stared intently into each other's eyes, their expressions serious. The entire square trembled slightly as they stood there, and the ground beneath them cracked, while violent gusts of wind swept outwards, raising clouds of dust.
With a loud shout, Shen Tianhu's fierce cry broke the tension, and the shaking suddenly ceased. The raging winds died down, and Shen Haohai was sent flying backwards, spitting blood, while Shen Tianhu staggered back a few steps.
Shen Haohai crashed to the ground but struggled to rise. It was clear he had lost, yet a smug smile appeared on his face.
Although Shen Tianhu had won this round, his expression was not particularly joyful.
Shen Haohai laughed boisterously, "Even though you won, you didn't come out unscathed! In the second match, you will definitely lose. Right now, even someone at the sixth level of the Mortal Martial Realm could defeat you." As he laughed, he coughed up more blood, revealing the serious internal injuries he had sustained.
"You actually reached the eighth level of the Mortal Martial Realm!" Shen Tianhu exclaimed, clutching his abdomen. He had not expected Shen Haohai to have advanced to that level.
"Aren't you the same?" Shen Haohai sneered.
Both Shen Haohai and Shen Tianhu were now eighth-level practitioners of the Mortal Martial Realm, shocking everyone present. They could clearly see that Shen Tianhu had sustained serious injuries from the fight.
And Shen Tianhu still had one more battle to face—against Shen Haohai's younger brother!
Shen Xiang hurried over to support his father, who looked as if he might fall at any moment. "Dad, how are you?" he asked, placing his hand on Shen Tianhu's abdomen, channeling pure wood-element true qi into his father's body.
Feeling the vibrant surge of wood-element true qi entering him, Shen Tianhu shuddered and stared at Shen Xiang in astonishment, quickly recovering his composure.
"My injuries are severe. Shen Haohai went all out to injure me; don't waste your true qi!" Shen Tianhu felt a rush of excitement in his heart, realizing how robust his son's true qi was, far beyond his expectations.
Upon hearing his father's words, Shen Xiang felt a heavy weight on his heart. If his father lost the next match, it would mean all hope was lost.
"It's time for the second round; don't waste any more time!" Shen Haohai weakly declared, his face pale. Despite his injuries, he felt exhilarated, certain that Shen Tianhu would not be able to defeat his younger brother.
Shen Xiang glanced at Shen Haohai, a glimmer of determination shining in his eyes as he said, "I will fight in his place!"
The crowd was shocked once again; Shen Xiang was going to replace his father in battle. They all knew that he had no spiritual veins, so his strength was unlikely to be impressive. However, he could manipulate true qi fire and control flames to refine pills, but that was no substitute for real combat strength.
And the opponent he faced was no ordinary person—he was someone with the strength of the seventh level of the Mortal Martial Realm. Many believed Shen Xiang was simply acting rashly in an effort to help his father maintain his position as clan leader.
Shen Tianhu was also surprised, but seeing the confident look in Shen Xiang's eyes, he began to consider whether he should allow Shen Xiang to fight. Given his current state, he couldn't fight; otherwise, he would only suffer further injuries.
A young man scoffed and laughed derisively, "Do you really think a guy without spiritual veins can compete with the elders? Even if you can refine some low-quality elixirs, in terms of strength, I could defeat you with ease! I'm currently at the fifth level of the Mortal Martial Realm!"
This young man was Shen Zhenhua, who had previously clashed with Shen Xiang at the Elixir Pavilion. He was Shen Haohai's son.
At his age, reaching the fifth level of the Mortal Martial Realm made Shen Zhenhua quite a rare talent, and it was understandable for him to feel prideful.
"Shen Zhenhua, what if I win against you?" Shen Xiang replied calmly, his demeanor indicating that he was anything but reckless.