“Heh, what good does it do to recover? Do you think you can refine a pill that surpasses mine in the remaining half of the time? Haha, you must know your limits. Otherwise, you’ll just be a laughingstock… Haha…” Jeering at Xiao Yan, Yan Li sneered coldly.
Smiling, Xiao Yan ignored his mocking words. He waved his sleeve, and a gust of energy blew away the black ashes on the stone platform. Tapping his ring, he instantly laid out a large pile of medicinal herbs on the stone platform once more.
Standing straight before the stone platform, Xiao Yan slowly extended his hands. After a brief silence, a wisp of azure flame surged from his body, clinging to the surface of his clothes. Soon after the first wisp of azure flame appeared, clusters of flames began to continuously gush out from Xiao Yan’s body. In the end, the azure flame completely enveloped him, roaring and burning, turning him into an azure fire man.
“Are all of these flames exotic flames? To control so many exotic flames, how much soul power would one need?”
On the square, a group of alchemists gaped at Xiao Yan, who had almost turned into a fire being, and couldn’t help but draw a breath of cold air.
When the azure flames rose around Xiao Yan, the little princess and Liu Ling, who were about to collect their pills, froze in shock. Yan Li, standing nearby, although controlled his expression well, his eyelids began to twitch uncontrollably. He couldn’t understand why, after such a blow, this young man could still exhibit such astonishing capabilities.
“This kid’s soul power seems to have increased significantly…”
On the high platform, Fa Ma looked at Xiao Yan, who was completely enveloped in flames, with astonishment. His voice, tinged with admiration, held a hint of envy: “He chose the right path, and achieved a breakthrough under pressure. Such a robust soul power, even some elders in the guild, find hard to compare. This time, his gains are not small!”
It was well known that an alchemist’s soul power could not be actively cultivated; it could only become more robust as time passed.
Of course, there were always exceptions. In the vast Dou Qi continent, there were some fortunate individuals who, due to luck, found themselves in various strange states. Those lucky ones in such mysterious states could receive a great enhancement in soul power as a reward.
What Xiao Yan was currently displaying was very similar to that situation. Therefore, even Fa Ma, a master alchemist, couldn’t help but feel a bit envious.
“Does he still have a chance to win now?” Hai Bo Dong stroked his beard and asked with a smile.
“I don’t know…”
Shaking his head slightly, Fa Ma sighed softly: “As I said before, everything depends on Yan Xiao’s performance. Although his current state is excellent, his opponent is no pushover. This time, it’s likely going to be another fierce battle.”
“He’s starting to refine…”
Hai Bo Dong nodded slightly, and his eyes suddenly brightened as he watched the scene in the arena.
…
In the square, Xiao Yan, fully enveloped in flames, slowly raised his hand. A surge of raging azure flame burst from his fingertips and rushed into the medicine cauldron. In a blink of an eye, the blazing flames began to burn and surge within the cauldron.
Gazing at the flames in the cauldron, Xiao Yan flicked his fingers, and several herbs on the stone platform were simultaneously fanned into the cauldron using skillful force. Instantly, the azure flames enveloped them, beginning a frenzied burning and refinement.
This time, Xiao Yan’s refining speed was noticeably faster than before, and there was no longer any hesitation or caution in his movements. When controlling the exotic flames, there was no trace of hesitation, and his gestures exuded a certain composure.
Such composure usually only appeared in those alchemy masters with extremely rich experience, like Fa Ma…
Xiao Yan continued to throw in herbs, and with the other hand, he controlled the essence extracted from the cauldron, pouring it into jade bottles. Under this condition where both hands were used and soul power was at its peak, the herbs on the stone platform were rapidly transforming into the essence materials needed for the Three-Line Azure Spirit Pill…
Xiao Yan’s renewed spirit in alchemy undoubtedly sparked a climax in the square. Previously, because of his failure, countless people had placed their hopes on the little princess and Liu Ling. However, they had already fallen behind Yan Li due to their lack of strength. So, when they saw Yan Li about to win the championship, the resurgence of Xiao Yan, originally the most hopeful, brought a huge sigh of relief to the audience.
Thus, the countless gazes from both sides of the stands were now almost entirely focused on the figure enveloped in azure flames in the square, and the deafening cheers echoed through the square.
“Hmph…”
Hearing the noisy cheers, Yan Li cast a cold glance at Xiao Yan’s direction. Watching Xiao Yan’s smooth and flowing refining process, his eyes finally showed a trace of surprise and seriousness. From the sudden increase in soul power and the composed demeanor, Yan Li understood that this young man not only hadn’t been crushed by his earlier failure, but had actually made a breakthrough in his desperate situation… Such a temperament and determination were truly terrifying.
“This guy… Indeed, he has some foundation. I wonder which old master could have nurtured such a student? Judging from his performance, he is clearly much better than that disciple of Gu He. Heh, the title of Pill King Gu He isn’t entirely accurate, at least in terms of teaching students, he is far inferior to others…”
With a cold laugh in his heart, Yan Li turned his gaze back to his own blazing medicine cauldron. Through the transparent lens of the cauldron, he could clearly see the rudimentary form of the pill rotating in the flames.
“Almost… Almost there…”
Watching the forming pill, Yan Li felt invigorated. A faint look of satisfaction appeared on his youthful face. He had absolute confidence in the pill he was refining!
His slender hands, enveloped in flames, moved continuously on the stone platform. As his hands moved swiftly, the herbs on the platform were rapidly decreasing, while the jade bottles filled with essence materials were piling up on the other side.
The little princess and Liu Ling had already formed their pills. With a wave of their hands, they stored the pills flying out of the cauldrons into the jade bottles. Looking at the colorful pill aroma seeping out of Yan Li’s cauldron, both of them sighed in frustration and then lifted their heads, directing their gazes towards Xiao Yan’s position.
Now, he was the only one with a slight chance of surpassing Yan Li. The championship of the Alchemists’ Conference of the Jia Ma Empire would depend on Xiao Yan’s performance…
However, beneath the indiscernible azure flames, if anyone could see, they would surely be astounded. For although Xiao Yan seemed to be in peak condition, his eyes were closed, and his brows were slightly furrowed, as if he were in a strange state between sleep and wakefulness.
Even though his eyes were closed, Xiao Yan could sense the outside world with even greater clarity than with his eyes open. In the cauldron, the surging soul power allowed him to see clearly the gradual disintegration of the herbs as they burned in the flames, and the essence materials he needed remained after the high temperature…
Letting out a slow breath, Xiao Yan could feel that this alchemy session was the most peak and perfect one he had ever performed without relying on Elder Medicine’s help. In this state, Xiao Yan even felt bold enough to challenge a fifth-grade alchemist.
The herbs enveloped in azure flames in the cauldron seemed to follow Xiao Yan’s will, and the temperature of the exotic flame was controlled to match the prescription perfectly…
“Extraction complete…”
At a certain moment, the materials on the stone platform were once again completely refined. Xiao Yan’s tightly closed eyes slowly opened, and his body momentarily fell silent. Then, he suddenly waved his sleeves, and a burst of energy shattered the twenty or so jade bottles in front of him. The invisible force sucked up the essence materials inside and poured them all into the cauldron, causing the flames to surge once more.
This time, Xiao Yan’s extraction time was more than halved compared to the previous attempt…
In the cauldron, the azure flames roared, and over twenty kinds of essence materials slowly merged under the careful wrapping of Xiao Yan’s soul power.
Time flowed like water, slipping quietly past his fingertips. And now, there was less than an hour left until the end of the competition. On the other side, the colored pill aroma seeping from Yan Li’s cauldron was getting thicker, indicating that his pill was about to be formed!
“Three-Line Azure Spirit Pill, it’s about to succeed…”
Frowning at the scene, Fa Ma suddenly muttered, but his face showed no sign of relief. He knew that relying solely on a normal Three-Line Azure Spirit Pill, there was no way to surpass Yan Li!
In the square, the cauldron with the surging azure flames suddenly quieted down. A faint pill aroma wafted out, and a round, emerald-like azure pill spun continuously within the cauldron.
As the pill spun, the azure flames enveloping Xiao Yan’s body began to rapidly retract. In a blink of an eye, the azure flames retreated like a tide into Xiao Yan’s body. And just as the azure flames in the cauldron were about to completely disappear, Xiao Yan’s slightly chewing mouth suddenly opened wide, and a burst of purple flames shot out, pouring into the cauldron.
Seeing Xiao Yan spout purple flames once more, Fa Ma’s heart suddenly clenched. His eyes were fixed intently on Xiao Yan’s direction.
If it failed this time, the championship would be completely out of reach for Xiao Yan! And then, the reputation of the Alchemists’ Guild would suffer greatly!
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