Chapter 163: I Don

Meow! A cat's cry echoed from within Xiao Yan's heart.

(▼ヘ▼#)

Meow meow meow! (I'm a Spiritual Flame too, you know!)

"You're still not there yet. When one day you appear and all flames bow to you, then you'll have truly reached the stage of a true Spiritual Flame," Xiao Yan said with soul resonance, smiling.

Mao Wu, though a sub-flame, is the offspring of the second-ranked Void Swallowing Flame—its full growth potential is certainly no weaker than any other Spiritual Flame, and even surpasses those ranked lower.

Xiao Yan had long anticipated that all flames in the Guang Chang would submit; he lightly pressed his palm against the Alchemy Furnace, and the Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame instantly filled the entire furnace.

When the Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame entered the Alchemy Furnace, all the Alchemists' flames in the Guang Chang returned to normal.

"This guy really crushes morale," the little princess muttered. She had heard Xiao Yan possessed a Spiritual Flame, but had never witnessed its might firsthand, so she'd always believed her Flame from the Six Rank Demon Beast—Dry Blue Water Flame—wasn't much weaker than a Spiritual Flame.

Yet, not only could she not compete—her Beast Fire had literally knelt before it!

Any observer could see: no flame could possibly rival a Spiritual Flame, or such submission would never occur.

Compared to the little princess's confusion, Liu Ling's face darkened. His flame, too, came from a powerful Demon Beast—he'd planned to use it as his trump card, only to lose before the contest even began.

"Hmph! What good is a strong flame? Alchemy is about Alchemy Technique!" Yan Li growled as he poured his black flame into the Alchemy Furnace.

"Today, I, Yan Li, will prove that possessing a Spiritual Flame means nothing!"

Yan Li, no doubt the Vice-Chairman of the Chu Yun Empire Alchemist Guild, quickly calmed his mind and swiftly placed all Medicinal Materials into the Alchemy Furnace.

Yan Li's method of refining Medicinal Materials was just as fast as Xiao Yan's technique of refining them all at once. Though he still refined each herb individually, he immediately stored the refined material inside the Alchemy Furnace.

As yesterday, Xiao Yan was still the slowest to begin—and this time, he didn't dump all the Medicinal Materials in at once; instead, he carefully placed each herb one by one into the Alchemy Furnace.

"Clearly, Xiao Yan's Spiritual Flame still holds the upper hand," said Nalan Jie from the VIP seats.

"Indeed. After all, a Spiritual Flame is a Supreme Treasure even Gu He Elder dreamed of but never obtained—it's naturally incomparable to the flames of Liu Ling and the others," added Nalan Yanran, her beautiful eyes fixed on Xiao Yan's position; she had seen the power of a Spiritual Flame before.

"Did the Yun Lan Sect's messenger come this morning to urge you back?"

"Yes, I applied for early entry into the Zong Men Mi Jing," Nalan Yanran nodded slightly.

"Sigh," Nalan Jie sighed, shaking his head. "Yanran, across the entire Jia Ma Empire, I doubt any man your age can surpass Xiao Yan—he's the only one who meets your criteria."

At this, Nalan Yanran's hand, just about to brush aside the strands of hair before her forehead, froze. She pressed her Red Lips together and whispered softly, "Probably."

Seeing her expression, Nalan Jie said no more. Some mistakes are mistakes, and once passed, they're passed. Mistakes can be corrected; missed chances are gone forever.

Nearly two and a half hours had passed; on the Guang Chang, some Alchemists refining Third-Rank Low-Grade Elixirs had already completed the final fusion.

They produced one after another alluring Elixir.

At this moment, Fa Ma and the other Alchemist Guild judges descended from the VIP seats to inspect the Elixirs.

Of course, even the contestants knew: their Third-Rank Low-Grade or even Mid-Grade Elixirs were nowhere near enough to win the Champion title.

Ignoring those who had finished, Xiao Yan stared fixedly at the Alchemy Furnace, his left hand occasionally adding a Medicinal Material, his right hand swiftly drawing out the refined substance and sealing it into a Jade Bottle.

He moved with extreme caution.

Time ticked by second by second; now only four remained unfinished: Yan Li, Liu Ling, Yue Er, and Xiao Yan!

As the competition neared its final stretch, the little princess's Alchemy Cauldron first solidified its Elixir; after a long moment, a rich Pill Fragrance burst forth from her furnace.

"Pill Fragrance spreading, forming Medicinal Mist—is this a Fourth-Rank Pill?!!"

"Not just the little princess! Look at Liu Ling—his furnace has Medicinal Mist too! And it seems denser than hers!"

"My god! The little princess and Liu Ling are both refining Fourth-Rank Pills—and they're about to succeed!"

"Wait, aren't they only Third-Rank Alchemists? How can they refine Fourth-Rank Pills?"

"You're wrong. Third-Rank Alchemists have a tiny chance of successfully refining a Fourth-Rank Pill—that's how they advance to Fourth-Rank."

"Looks like they both bet and won."

Without doubt, both the little princess and Liu Ling, after learning of Yan Li's situation, realized that refining only a Third-Rank Pill—even a Third-Rank Peak Pill—would still lose.

If the contest wasn't about winning the Champion, they might as well go home and farm. So both the little princess and Liu Ling decided to take the gamble!

Seeing the nearly formed Elixirs in their furnaces, Fa Ma's expression eased slightly. "Two Fourth-Rank Pills—these two kids truly possess talent equal to Gu He's."

"Hahahaha! Two bratty kids with the stink of milk still on them think they can steal the Champion title from me?!" A strange laugh suddenly rang out—Yan Li's Cauldron blazed fiercely, and a pale purple Medicinal Mist rose slowly from within!

"Colored Pill Fragrance?! That's a Fourth-Rank Peak Pill!!!" All Alchemists who understood what this meant screamed in shock.

Fa Ma's face darkened as he slowly said, "This guy actually succeeded."

Even a Fourth-Rank Peak Alchemist would have less than a fifty percent success rate refining a pill of the same rank—yet Yan Li succeeded!

As if heaven itself stood by his side.

"We're definitely beaten now."

The little princess and Liu Ling stared blankly at the pale purple Pill Fragrance rising from Yan Li's Alchemy Cauldron, their faces instantly drained of color and hope.

Before absolute superiority, any excuse is utterly powerless.

"Hahahaha! The Champion is mine! You can't afford to lose—and neither can I!"

With a sudden roar, Yan Li slammed his palm onto the Alchemy Furnace—the lid shot off, and a torrent of pitch-black flame erupted like a tidal wave. At its center, countless violet lights blasted outward.

A thick purple Pill Fragrance rose slowly, finally forming a cloud-like mist with a will of its own, hovering above Yan Li's head.

"Hahahaha! How could a bratty kid like you ever beat me? Look—this is my masterpiece!! Purple Heart Obstacle-Breaking Pill!!!"

Upon hearing the name of the Elixir, even Fa Ma's pupils shrank sharply.

Purple Heart Obstacle-Breaking Pill—that was a Fourth-Rank Peak Pill capable of rivaling a Five-Grade Pill!!

"It's over… it's Purple Heart Obstacle-Breaking Pill…"

The entire Guang Chang fell into deathly silence. Everyone stared in horror at the purple Elixir floating in Yan Li's furnace, their faces filled with despair.

"You said 'bratty kid with the stink of milk'—you weren't talking about me, were you?" At that moment, Xiao Yan's calm voice shattered the deathly quiet.

(End of Chapter)