Chapter 152

Xiao Yan was stunned.

Xiao Yan had thought the medicinal material had some special property he didn't know about, and finding that property was the exam's question.

When he saw others gradually pouring out their refined medicinal powder, he couldn't help sighing.

It wasn't that his single refinement had any problem—it was that these people needed to refine ten or eight times just to achieve sufficient purity.

It was like ancient times, when forging weapons required hammering iron blocks and quenching them—to remove carbon from the iron and forge high-quality steel.

But that was only because ancient industrial technology was underdeveloped; modern industry no longer needs repeated hammering to obtain high-quality steel.

Xiao Yan possessed a Heavenly Flame, the Burnt Decree, and extremely strong Soul Force, plus precise Alchemy Technique, making his refinement as efficient as modern industry—he could effortlessly obtain medicinal substances of ultra-high purity.

One refinement achieved perfection.

Others needed multiple refinements to remove the black impurities from Black Iron Spirit Leaf; he directly used his Heavenly Flame to destroy the leaf, then extracted the needed medicinal substances from its destruction.

When Xiao Yan saw that Liu Ling and Yue Er's powder was gray-white, and some others' was even gray-black, he finally understood. These people were pathetic!

Deathly silence fell—the once-bustling Hall instantly became utterly still, even breathing sounds diminished.

Hearing Xiao Yan's question, Chimer and Otto had no intention of answering. Why refine so many times? Isn't that obvious? Without refining this many times, you can't remove impurities!

This was also why Xiao Yan could often produce multiple pills in a single furnace—he possessed a Heavenly Flame, so his refinement wasted almost nothing and achieved extremely high purity, making his pills not only high-quality but also saving medicinal materials.

Liu Ling and Yue Er leapt to their feet, staring at the white powder on the tester. As Alchemists, they knew exactly how terrifying that purity was.

"Almost one hundred percent purity!" Yue Er gasped, covering her mouth, her beautiful eyes fixed on Xiao Yan—this was a purity even the President couldn't achieve!

"How is this possible? I've only seen this level of purity from my master, and even then, only with the lowest-grade medicinal materials," Liu Ling trembled inside—wasn't this saying Xiao Yan already possessed Six-Grade power!

Cheating was even more impossible—Xiao Yan never left, and even if he had, who could refine Black Iron Spirit Leaf to this degree!

While all the Alchemists were stunned, wondering why, it was Liu Ling who finally gave the answer.

"A Heavenly Flame! You truly possess a Heavenly Flame!" He had still had some doubt—after all, removing Luo Du could theoretically be done another way—but now he was certain.

"A Heavenly Flame!!"

"He actually has a Heavenly Flame!"

"No wonder—it's because he has a Heavenly Flame."

As if finding an excuse for their failure, all the Alchemists, including the Vice President, nodded in relief.

They couldn't believe—and wouldn't accept—that an eighteen-year-old boy could do what even the President couldn't. They couldn't accept how vast the gap was between their talent and Xiao Yan's.

They couldn't accept that they were, in truth, utterly mediocre compared to Xiao Yan.

So their psychological defense mechanism activated, blaming everything on "luck."

They believed Xiao Yan was simply lucky to have obtained a Heavenly Flame—if they had a Heavenly Flame, they could do it too.

Xiao Yan merely smiled slightly; he didn't mind others attributing his success to his possession of a Heavenly Flame. In truth, possessing a Heavenly Flame was part of his strength, an inseparable part of who he was.

After much murmuring in the Hall, the noise gradually subsided.

A hundred glances—filled with awe, curiosity, envy, resentment, and more—constantly pierced the slender back.

Not a single look of contempt.

Beside him, Liu Ling's handsome face darkened, his eyes locked on the white score. For Liu Ling, whose pride ran deep, this was hard to accept.

But Liu Ling forgot one thing: the machine's display of ten points was only because its maximum was ten—it didn't mean Xiao Yan had only ten points of power.

Their gap wasn't just three points.

"May I leave now?" Xiao Yan asked with a smile.

Looking at this smiling boy, Chimer and Otto, both Fourth-Rank Peak Alchemists nearing Five-Grade, trembled inside.

For some reason, they felt Xiao Yan's power was higher than theirs—and far higher!

Chimer and Otto could only nod dumbly. Xiao Yan bowed politely, then left the Hall first, leaving behind an inscrutable silhouette.

Outside the Hall, many waited for the results; Zhaoguanjia had been waiting long before.

"Young Master Yan, the carriage is ready," Zhaoguanjia said with utmost respect.

Xiao Yan nodded and followed Zhaoguanjia out of the Alchemist Convention—this was merely the exemption test; the real Alchemist Convention was tomorrow.

Of course, for others, it was already over.

Whether the Alchemists called him lucky or admired him, he didn't care—he only cared that the Sixth-Rank Formula didn't stand him up.

"Young Master Yan, was your test smooth?" Zhaoguanjia asked as he drove the carriage.

"Fine, nothing challenging," Xiao Yan replied, gazing out the window at the bustling streets.

Hearing Xiao Yan's calm tone, Zhaoguanjia understood: Xiao Yan was almost certainly first. He was one of the few who had personally witnessed Xiao Yan's detoxification and pill refining.

"Tonight, the family will host a gathering, bringing together families large and small from Wang Du, to celebrate the Family Head's recovery. Will Young Master Yan attend?" Zhaoguanjia asked softly.

Xiao Yan's eyes flickered; he smiled inwardly: "This is clearly a banquet to announce to all Wang Du families that Nalan Jie—the Ten Great Warriors of Jia Ma Empire—has returned, to intimidate the families with ill intentions these past years."

"Then I'll attend. I'm curious which young talents of Jia Ma Sheng Cheng can impress me—Alchemists of this generation won't cut it." Xiao Yan smiled faintly; the young Alchemists were nothing special—none had surprised him at all.

He could only hope for some strong cultivators among the Young Generation.

Night fell. Xiao Yan awoke from cultivation, stepped down from the lotus platform, fed Mao Wu a Purple Flame Pill, glanced at the Seven-Colored Devouring Sky Serpent still sleeping as it reshaped its body, then stepped out the door toward the Hall.

He didn't even bother changing clothes—he still wore the same casual attire from morning.

Xiao Yan sauntered slowly closer; laughter and chatter, mixed with music, drifted from the Hall—the entire space had become a festive gathering.

Xiao Yan scanned the Hall and was slightly surprised to find not only Liu Ling and Xiao Princess Yue, but also Ya Fei among them.

She wore a red form-fitting qipao, with a snowy white fox fur shawl adding elegance and nobility; her graceful, alluring curves drew many men's heated glances, secretly cast her way.

In contrast, Nalan Yanran, daughter of the Nan Lan Clan, stood alone beside a stone pillar, quietly sipping red wine. She still wore the silver-moon-colored robe of Yun Lan Sect, occasionally revealing the elegant curves beneath.

Such an aura made many present gaze at her in fascination; a woman with such transcendent grace was no surprise to attract countless men.

Whether intentionally or not, Ya Fei smiled upon seeing Xiao Yan: "Oh? Is this gentleman the top scorer of today's internal Alchemist test?"

Instantly, everyone turned to stare at Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan rolled his eyes at her, shrugged, and slowly walked into the Hall.

(End of chapter)