As the laughter from the square below rang out, Han Xue’s expression visibly darkened. A suppressed, angry hum escaped from his throat as his eyes fixed on the golden flames still rising from the cauldron. His hand quickly grabbed more herbs from the stone platform and tossed them into the cauldron. This time, Han Xue was clearly more focused than before, but it seemed that his state of mind was still slightly disturbed by the first failure.
On the other side, Xiao Yan had completely closed his eyes, showing no reaction to Han Xue’s actions. The strange posture he displayed made the crowd below a bit puzzled.
In the center of the square, Han Xue methodically added more herbs to the cauldron. This time, he was making even more progress, extracting over twenty different herbs in just five minutes. Seeing how well he was doing, the members of the Alchemist Guild who had come to support him couldn’t help but cheer.
“Han Xue truly lives up to his reputation as a fourth-grade alchemist. He has some real skill… But what is Xiao Yan up to?” Watching Han Xue’s progress, which had now surpassed Xiao Yan’s first attempt, Hu Jia frowned slightly, her voice tinged with worry.
Dai Er nodded, her eyes fixed on Xiao Yan. “Don’t worry, there’s still plenty of time. Xiao Yan has two more chances.”
Though she said this, Dai Er was also a little anxious. She didn’t know much about the art of alchemy, so she couldn’t be as confident in Xiao Yan as usual.
As Han Xue’s alchemical speed increased, the laughter in the square gradually died down. However, some of the more discerning elders, after a long moment of contemplation, shook their heads slightly.
“Alchemizing isn’t about speed, but about maintaining a calm and undisturbed heart. Han Xue’s mindset is already wavering due to his earlier failure. Although things are going well now, it might not last,” Elder Hao, with his hands behind his back, watched the busy Han Xue, his brow furrowing slightly as he sighed inwardly.
“Xiao Yan did this very well, while Han Xue fell short. No wonder the Great Elder specifically asked for us to take care of him. At such a young age, he already possesses such mental fortitude. His potential is truly remarkable.”
Turning his gaze to Xiao Yan, Elder Hao could sense from his increasingly steady breathing that the earlier failure had not affected his composure at all.
A low, dull sound suddenly echoed through the square, causing everyone’s hearts to sink. They followed the sound and saw Han Xue, pale and swaying, looking like he was about to collapse. A chorus of sighs rose; they hadn’t expected such a seemingly smooth process to end in another failure.
“How could this happen… How could I fail again?” Han Xue’s face was pale, his eyes fixed on the cauldron, as he mumbled repeatedly. He had successfully extracted all the required herbs, only to have the slightest disturbance in his mindset cause the contained flame to burst with intense heat, burning the painstakingly extracted essence of the herbs into black ash. This setback was a heavy blow to Han Xue.
Just as Han Xue was lost in his failure, a long exhalation came from beside him. Turning his head, he saw Xiao Yan, who had been in a meditative state for nearly ten minutes, now opening his eyes and stretching lazily, as if just waking up from a nap.
Seeing Xiao Yan awaken, Xun Er breathed a small sigh of relief. Looking at Xiao Yan’s calm, smiling face, they felt that something was different, though they couldn’t quite put their finger on what it was.
Elder Hao, noticing Xiao Yan’s demeanor, gave a slight, surprised exclamation. His gaze then met those of a few other elders, all of whom shared a look of astonishment. Even if Xiao Yan didn’t succeed in alchemizing, his unshakable mindset alone was worth recognizing.
As Xiao Yan began to alchemize again, Han Xue looked at the last set of materials on the stone platform. His hand paused for a moment before retracting. He couldn’t afford to waste his last chance.
Stopping his own actions, Han Xue turned his gaze to Xiao Yan, thinking maliciously, “This show-off, I’m sure you’ll fail too…”
Perhaps Han Xue’s curse had some effect. As Xiao Yan threw the last few herbs into the cauldron, a light red liquid, formed from the essences of dozens of herbs, suddenly roiled violently and then exploded, sending the cauldron lid flying. The liquid inside splashed out and eventually fell to the ground.
“Sigh…” The crowd in the square, seeing this, opened their mouths in shock and then sighed in disappointment.
“Ha ha.” Seeing Xiao Yan’s failure, Han Xue finally relaxed, chuckled, and turned to the last set of herbs, thinking, “It seems neither of us will be able to successfully alchemize the Dragon Strength Pill. As long as my failed product is better than Xiao Yan’s, it will do…”
With this thought, Han Xue started the fire again and began his final attempt. But could he really alchemize a true pill with such a mindset?
Ignoring the disappointed sighs, Xiao Yan reached out his hand, a suction force surging out, drawing the falling cauldron lid back and gently placing it back on the cauldron. His dark eyes reflected the green flames, flickering slightly.
“So that’s how it is…” Staring at the rising green flames, Xiao Yan smiled lightly. After two failures, he had a vague understanding of the subtleties of the Dragon Strength Pill. Without any hesitation, he controlled the flames in the cauldron with his right hand while his left hand moved slowly over the stone platform.
Suddenly, his hand trembled, and then his arm became a blur of movement. Herb after herb, almost in a continuous stream, were thrown into the cauldron. This speed was even faster than his first attempt.
Seeing Xiao Yan’s terrifying speed, the crowd was dumbfounded. Even his careful attempts had failed; how could he possibly succeed by going even faster? Was this guy giving up and just trying anything?
Xun Er and the others were equally stunned by Xiao Yan’s actions, glancing at each other before remaining silent, not daring to disturb him.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the two alchemists on the square began their final attempts. The supply of herbs on the stone platform was gradually dwindling…
Time slipped by, and the short ten minutes seemed endless to the onlookers. The green and golden flames in the center of the square rose…
Xun Er and the others watched Xiao Yan intently, their hands unknowingly slick with sweat.
Just as they were engrossed, a faint medicinal fragrance wafted through the square. The group was startled, their faces changing as they turned their gazes to Han Xue’s cauldron.
The medicinal fragrance drew the attention of the entire square, and many surprised gazes focused on Han Xue. It seemed he was about to succeed?
Elder Hao narrowed his eyes and, after a moment, shook his head in exasperation. This guy had actually given up on successfully alchemizing a pill and instead opted for a less perfect one. He understood Han Xue’s thinking; he probably believed that Xiao Yan couldn’t succeed either.
So, since neither could make a successful pill, they might as well compare whose failure was better… Such a mentality was truly speechless.
“Bang!” After a few more minutes, Han Xue waved his hand, and the cauldron lid fell off. A pill, with a mottled color and an oval shape, flew out and was caught by him.
Staring at the pill, which was not only mottled but also irregularly shaped, Han Xue’s face flushed, but he consoled himself with the thought that having a half-finished product was better than a complete failure.
He quickly stepped off the stone platform and handed the pill to Elder Hao. Taking the pill, Elder Hao couldn’t help but be amused; could this be called a pill?
Sighing, Elder Hao held the pill but ignored Han Xue, turning his gaze to Xiao Yan, who was still intently watching his cauldron.
After a while, he glanced at Han Xue and said coolly, “I think Xiao Yan has a better chance of winning this time.”
Hearing this, Han Xue’s face darkened, his eyes fixed on Xiao Yan as he sneered, “That’s not necessarily true…”
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