Chapter 252

Originally, Xiao Yan didn't want to wear it, but the night had grown late and it was a bit chilly, so he needed a coat to avoid catching a chill.

When they saw Xiao Yan put on the Five-Grade Alchemist Long Robe, all doubts vanished instantly.

With a Mystic Flame and a Five-Grade Alchemist, such a combination to refine a Five-Grade Low-Level DragonPower Pill was perfectly understandable to everyone.

This was clearly a setup by Xiao Yan!

"No wonder—he has a Mystic Flame and is a Five-Grade Alchemist; no wonder he's so powerful."

"Exactly—he has a Mystic Flame."

"The Mystic Flame is truly incredible."

All the Alchemists present knew about the Mystic Flame, knew it was the King of All Fires, and had all heard the saying: When the Mystic Flame appears, all other fires submit.

But none of them had ever used a Mystic Flame to refine pills, nor had they ever seen an Alchemist who possessed one, so they didn't know exactly how it helped Alchemists—only that it must offer tremendous advantages, so they attributed everything to the Mystic Flame's power.

Xiao Yan didn't care how others viewed him; whether it was the Mystic Flame or his potent Soul Force, these were his own, part of his strength.

Han Xian's face turned pale, his eyes hollow as he stared at Xiao Yan—right then, he had no excuses left; this was pure power suppression.

Xiao Yan shrugged and said, "There's always a higher mountain beyond the next, beyond the sky lies more sky, beyond people lie greater people. You're already one of the most talented Alchemists I've ever met."

Xiao Yan had seen many Alchemists; in terms of talent, the Little Princess might reach Five-Grade Pill refinement by age twenty-five, and YaoLi might be on par with Han Xian.

Among the Alchemists of his generation that Xiao Yan had encountered, Han Xian's talent truly ranked among the top three.

"Good, good, good—beyond the sky lies more sky, beyond people lie greater people," Han Xian let out a bitter, mirthless laugh, shaking his head.

"Xiao Yan, you truly have ability. Today, I, Han Xian, accept defeat with full sincerity. But the Yao Bang isn't mine alone—I, Han Xian, hereby withdraw from the Yao Bang. I can join your Xiao Dian, but I cannot command the Yao Bang disciples." Han Xian stood up and spoke solemnly.

He had already decided—if he truly lost, he would take full responsibility himself, join the Xiao Dian, and help them refine pills until he graduated from the Inner Court.

Xiao Yan patted Han Xian's shoulder and said, "As boss, how can you monopolize all the benefits for yourself?"

"Huh?" Han Xian looked bewildered, not understanding why Xiao Yan said that.

Xiao Yan turned to face the Yao Bang disciples and swept his sleeve, shouting loudly, "All Yao Bang disciples who follow Han Xian into my Xiao Dian will not only learn the Pill Formulas for the Qi-Recovery Pill and the Minor Blood-Regeneration Pill, but once you reach Four-Grade, I, Xiao Yan, will personally teach you how to refine the Bone-Washing Spirit-Ice Liquid!"

As soon as Xiao Yan finished speaking, everyone still looked confused, not yet comprehending.

The first to react was Han Xian, who asked in astonishment, "You'll teach us Alchemy?!"

Instantly, the Yao Bang disciples' expressions changed—A Five-Grade Master personally teaching Alchemy! In an instant, the Yao Bang disciples began murmuring among themselves; everyone had seen with their own eyes how powerful Xiao Yan's Alchemy was—if they could receive his guidance, their Alchemy would surely improve!

"That doesn't sound bad."

"Yeah, even if we join the Xiao Dian, if we can improve our Alchemy before graduation, the profits from refining pills are just tuition."

"Most importantly, we get to learn three high-grade Pill Formulas, and get to watch Master Xiao Yan refine pills with his Mystic Flame!"

"Mystic Flame Alchemy—this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Xiao Yan looked at Han Xian and said, "Go count the numbers. I believe many will follow you. And my Xiao Dian isn't a heartless organization—we won't seize all your refining profits, only charge a patent fee for the Pill Formulas."

Instantly, the Inner Court disciples in the Guang Chang began buzzing with discussion; without doubt, they all understood that Xiao Yan's carrot-and-stick strategy had worked perfectly. The Yao Bang had coalesced precisely because Han Xian's Alchemy was strong—following him meant learning something.

Now, a more powerful Alchemist had emerged—of course, the Yao Bang disciples were eager to follow.

"Damn, after swallowing the Yao Bang, the Xiao Dian is now stronger than Lang Ya and Crack Mountain Gang!"

"In just over half a year, has the Xiao Dian become the top Faction in the Inner Court?"

Only now did everyone realize, staring at each other in stunned silence—within just over half a year, this New Student, Xiao Yan, had not only united all the New Students to form the Xiao Dian, but also swallowed the Yao Bang!

Unknowingly, he had surpassed Lang Ya and Crack Mountain Gang to become the top Faction in the Inner Court!

"Xiao Yan, that Five-Grade Low-Level Healing Pill was yours, wasn't it?" Elder Hao secretly transmitted his voice to Xiao Yan.

In fact, Elder Hao hadn't chosen the Five-Grade Low-Level Pill Formula for the contest without reason—he had guessed Xiao Yan was likely a Five-Grade Alchemist.

Only Zi Yan could have quietly taken the Medicinal Materials from inside the Protective Barrier, but Zi Yan never paid for anything she took, let alone was she an Alchemist—how could she have produced a Five-Grade Pill?

That meant there had been a second person at the crime scene—the Medicinal Materials were taken by Zi Yan, but they were needed by the second person, who was a Five-Grade Alchemist, and so he left the Pill inside as payment.

Xiao Yan merely smiled faintly and nodded. Good thing he had paid!

From then on, Xiao Yan, the Inner Court's Alchemy prodigy, the Five-Grade Alchemist who possessed a Mystic Flame, known among students as the Alchemy God, became famous throughout the Jia Nan Academy, his reputation even spreading to the Black Horn Region, and he was frequently compared by enthusiasts to the Alchemy Emperor Han Feng.

Although Han Feng was already a Six-Grade Peak Alchemist with a chance to refine Seven-Grade Pills, compared in age, Xiao Yan was far younger.

"The Alchemy God, Xiao Yan?"

At that moment, in a place called Feng Cheng within the Black Horn Region, inside the main Hall of a massive black castle, a man with strikingly handsome features, appearing no older than thirty, smiled.

Although Feng Cheng was not a large City, it held immense influence within the Black Horn Region—because of him, solely because the Alchemy Emperor Han Feng resided here.

As the foremost Alchemist in the Black Horn Region, Han Feng, already a Six-Grade Alchemist, held high status in the eyes of countless Factions and powerful figures. Indeed, a Six-Grade Alchemist was exceedingly rare even across the entire continent—ordinary Dou Huang or even Dou Zong powerhouses would treat him with great respect upon meeting him, for everyone knew what kind of influence a Six-Grade Alchemist wielded!

The man's thin lips were tightly pressed, exuding a cold severity, yet precisely this gave him an unusual charm.

His black hair fell to his shoulders, and his body seemed perpetually imbued with an odd medicinal fragrance; on the chest of his green Alchemist Long Robe was embroidered a simple Alchemy Cauldron Class Badge, upon which six golden lines symbolized his Six-Grade Alchemist Rank.

On the back of the man's Alchemist Long Robe was embroidered an exquisitely detailed character: "Feng."

Without doubt, this man was Han Feng, the Alchemy Emperor revered by all in the Black Horn Region!

Han Feng spoke coolly, "The Alchemy God? Even the old man I killed wasn't worthy of that title—he merely got lucky, obtained a Mystic Flame early, and reached Five-Grade. How could he be called the Alchemy God?"

Han Feng heard the intelligence from his underlings and scoffed twice.

"Additionally, according to reports from our spies in the Inner Court, the Tian Fen Lian Qi Ta experienced two disturbances in the past half-year—one during the period when the New Students entered the Inner Court, suspected to be caused by Xiao Yan's internal Mystic Flame."

"The other occurred recently, but both were minor disturbances, quickly suppressed by Grand Elder Su Qian."

His gaze grew grave, and suddenly deep blue flames surged into his pupils.

"Mystic Flame… hah, I, Han Feng, endured ten years in the Black Horn Region, finally waiting for the collapse of the Falling Heart Flame. If I can obtain a second Mystic Flame and devour and refine it, my incomplete Burning Scripture might change—even if I can't fully restore it, I can still improve it. And that Xiao Yan also possesses a Mystic Flame…"

His perpetually cold face suddenly flushed with fervor; the man clenched his fist tightly, about to speak—when suddenly his brow furrowed, he clutched his chest, coughing violently several times, his breath momentarily becoming disordered.

The coughing lasted for a while before slowly subsiding; the man exhaled deeply, gritting his teeth and whispering, "Damn old bastard—why didn't you just give me the Burning Scripture to cultivate back then? What nonsense about my character being flawed—my Alchemy talent is far superior to yours!"

His voice trailed off at the end, but from his tightly clenched fist, one could imagine the fury and hatred burning within him.

Time slipped swiftly away, and two more months passed.

During these two months, having absorbed the Yao Bang, Xiao Yan no longer had to worry about Fire Energy—he still entered Room Number One for twenty days each month.

Besides enhancing his own cultivation realm, he also used it to refine Mei Du Sha's physical form—faster was better than slower.

However, after reaching Seven-Star Dou Spirit, Xiao Yan clearly felt that even the acceleration provided by Training Room No. 1 had slowed considerably.

So for the remaining time, Xiao Yan devoted himself to intense Spirit Refining and successfully entered the Elder tier, using the excuse of assisting in the creation of Five-Grade Pills to acquire large quantities of Six-Grade Medicinal Ingredients.

Alchemists capable of crafting Five-Grade Pills were rare within the Inner Court—most barely ever crafted Pills for others—but now Xiao Yan, "benefiting the people," would craft Five-Grade Pills for anyone who provided Six-Grade Medicinal Ingredients, using the Mystic Flame Cultivation Technique, with his terrifying success rate and superior quality.

Even Dou Kings from the Black Horn Region were willing to pay exorbitant prices to beg Xiao Yan to craft Pills for them.

Xiao Yan used the Six-Grade Medicinal Ingredients gained from Pill Alchemy to improve his own Alchemy, repeating this cycle.

After spending over a month focused solely on Pill Alchemy, Xiao Yan had become a true Liu Pin Ji Di Alchemist, capable of crafting Liu Pin Ji Di Pills with extremely high success rates.

On a peak in the forest outside the Inner Court, Xiao Yan meditated for about ten minutes, adjusting his state to its peak.

The instant he opened his eyes, a flash of sharp light passed through his gaze.

"The Strong List Conference has less than two months left."

Xiao Yan took out all the materials for the Earth Spirit Pill, and also brought out Black Demon.

The Earth Spirit Pill was not a Liu Pin Ji Di Pill—it was a Six-Grade High-Level Pill, and even Xiao Yan had to use Black Demon's power.

Black Demon's greatest advantage was that it could elevate an Alchemist's strength by one tier, granting Six-Grade Low-Level Alchemists a high success rate when crafting Mid- or High-Level Pills.

Only such a miraculous effect, capable of enhancing an Alchemist's level, could rightfully be called a Celestial Cauldron.

Xiao Yan would challenge his limits—he would craft the Six-Grade High-Level Pill: the Earth Spirit Pill!

(End of Chapter)