Chapter 157

Xiao Yan's EagleWings were absurdly massive, spanning nearly four meters when fully extended, and the blood-red Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame emitted faint beast roars that made all who heard them tremble inwardly.

Up close, one could even see lifelike spirit-beast carvings on the fiery wings.

The enormous wings completely blocked Yao Ye and Ya Fei behind him, even obscuring Nalan Yanran not far away, and drew the eyes of every spectator in the stands.

At this moment, even on the VIP seats, neither the Guild Master Fa Ma nor the Dou Huang Hai Bodong or Jia Xingtian held as much attention as Xiao Yan.

"No way! Spiritual Qi Wings!! Is he a Dou Wang?!"

"An eighteen-year-old Dou Wang?! How is that possible?!"

Whether spectators in the stands or the countless Alchemists in the Guang Chang, all began murmuring.

The first to notice, naturally, was Guild Master Fa Ma.

"No, this isn't Spiritual Qi Wings—it's an extremely rare Flying Dou Technique!"

With a boom, Xiao Yan flared his wings and shot straight up into the Nine Heavens; Ya Fei hurriedly covered her skirt with both hands, blushing, to keep the gale from lifting it.

A streak of blood-red flame slashed across the sky like a meteor, then faded into a glow before slowly descending onto the very center of the only Guang Chang—the position for first place in the internal test.

"He's the youngest one." Nalan Yanran naturally knew Xiao Yan possessed a Flying Dou Technique, and she also knew he deliberately expanded his EagleWings to their maximum.

Xiao Yan was truly the most childlike one!

Without doubt, Xiao Yan's massive fiery wings had ignited the entire arena; waves of cheers, screams, and applause surged like an ocean.

"So cool!"

"Roar!! So awesome!"

Just this fiery wing alone had captivated countless women in the crowd, drawn to the young man who alone wore no Alchemist robe.

"He really does have some talent—no wonder my great-grandfather holds him in such high regard," Yao Ye murmured softly, watching the youth in the arena calmly accepting the endless cheers.

Even Nalan Yanran's beautiful eyes turned toward the brightest star in the arena, her delicate face showing a rare softness, as if lost in some thought.

Mu Clan's Dou Wang Mu Chen narrowed his eyes, staring at Xiao Yan in the arena. After a long while, he turned his head to Mu Zhan, whose right hand was bandaged behind him: "Is he the one who broke your hand?"

"Yes!" Mu Zhan growled, his greatest humiliation being how he'd been beaten in front of Ya Fei!

Of course, accustomed to bullying others, he never considered that he'd been the one to strike first.

After a moment's thought, Mu Chen shook his head: "Don't provoke him."

"But—"

Mu Chen cast a cold glance at Mu Zhan: "You can't outplay him. If you truly like Ya Fei, pursue her through proper means—but I advise you to give up. The Miter Clan won't choose you."

Mu Zhan opened his mouth to protest, but seeing Mu Chen's darkening face, he shrank back and reluctantly replied, "Yes."

Xiao Yan, of course, had no time to ponder the discussions on the VIP seats; he had already picked up the Two-Rank Pill Formula on the table.

This was not a Soul Force-crafted official Pill Formula—it was a hand-copied one, making precise refinement during Alchemy extremely difficult, requiring the Alchemist's personal judgment.

"This round will likely eliminate most below Third-Rank." Though this was the lowest-grade Two-Rank Pill Formula—Bone-Rebuilding Elixir—without an accurate formula, ordinary Two-Rank Alchemists couldn't produce it, and even Third-Rank ones would struggle.

And on the table were only two sets of Medicinal Materials—just one chance to make a mistake.

"I assume you've all grasped something: the first round requires you to use this incomplete Pill Formula to refine a finished Elixir. There are two sets of Medicinal Materials. If you exhaust the materials or the time runs out and the Elixir isn't successfully refined, you're eliminated."

"Do you understand?"

Fa Ma's voice, amplified by Spiritual Qi, echoed across the entire Guang Chang.

"Yes!"

From below, the Guang Chang roared like distant thunder.

"Then the first round begins!"

No sooner had the words left his lips than over a thousand Alchemists pulled out their Alchemy Furnaces; a chorus of clattering sounds filled the air.

Xiao Yan turned his head toward Yue Er and Liu Ling; both used premium Alchemy Furnaces—each a five-mouth furnace.

After a moment's thought, Xiao Yan did not use Black Demon; instead, he took out the five-mouth Alchemy Furnace he'd taken from the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King—he refused to gain any advantage from superior equipment.

With a whoosh, a cluster of Black Flame appeared in Xiao Yan's palm; he gently dropped it into the furnace and infused it with Spiritual Qi, and soon Swallowing Flame filled the entire furnace.

"Huh? That flame isn't as strong as a Spiritual Flame—Xiao Yan isn't using a Spiritual Flame, is he?" On the VIP seats, Vice Guild Master Chimer frowned in confusion.

Xiao Yan's possession of a Spiritual Flame was common knowledge, and many strong cultivators had already sensed the terrifying power of that blood-red flame when he used his EagleWings.

Guild Master Fa Ma's aged eyes fixed on Xiao Yan's Alchemy Furnace and said calmly: "That black flame feels strange. Though not as powerful as the red Spiritual Flame, it's certainly not ordinary fire. That boy probably doesn't want to rely on the advantage of a Spiritual Flame."

Fa Ma and the others were not wrong—the sub-flame and the original flame did differ greatly.

Watching the roaring Black Flame inside the furnace, Xiao Yan stopped overthinking and swept his hand—dumping all the Medicinal Materials into the furnace at once.

"How did he just throw all the Medicinal Materials in at once?!"

"Each material requires a different Infernal Heat—throwing them all in together will ruin everything!"

Naturally, Xiao Yan drew the most attention; seeing him dump all the Medicinal Materials into the furnace at once, the spectators erupted in uproar.

Even some Elders from the Alchemist Guild on the VIP seats were baffled, unsure why Xiao Yan did this.

Fa Ma nodded inwardly and explained: "Normally, refining requires using the Alchemy Furnace to extract each Medicinal Material separately, because each needs different Infernal Heat. After individual extraction and processing, they're then fused into a Pill."

"This causes the extracted medicinal essence to be exposed to air contamination—even if it's only one in ten million, it still lowers the Elixir's quality and speeds up the refining process."

"But Xiao Yan's method completely isolates the medicinal essence, preventing contamination. However, this technique demands extreme precision in Fire Control Power and Soul Force—only someone with exceptional control can achieve it. He has absolute confidence in his Fire Control Power and Soul Force."

Hearing Guild Master Fa Ma's explanation, the Elders suddenly understood.

Beside him, Yao Ye murmured: "His Fire Control Power and Soul Force have already reached Four Grade."

Without a precise Pill Formula, even extracting the Medicinal Materials required extreme caution—fearing even a slight temperature spike. This Two-Rank formula only listed the ingredients; all other details were absent.

But Xiao Yan hadn't practiced Alchemy for just a day or two—his skill came from countless accumulations and failures.

His Soul Force instantly condensed; all medicinal essences fused in perfect proportions and sequence. Years of Alchemy experience allowed him to instantly discern how these ingredients should be combined to produce the desired effect.

Not long after, three sharp *dong-dong-dong* sounds rang out, and Xiao Yan sealed three Pills into a Pill Bottle.

"Three Pills from one furnace!!"

"Is this real? Is he really making Bone-Rebuilding Elixir for the first time? Even with a hand-copied formula, he extracted the medicinal essence perfectly!"

(End of chapter)