Chapter 442: Mantle

Song Qing stared in stunned silence at the thunderclouds in the sky, a sense of defeat surging through his heart—he was truly far behind talents like Cao Ying and Dan Chen.

Immediately, Song Qing turned his head to look at Xiao Yan, who had been standing there for nearly a month, and sneered: "What damn enlightenment? He's just a coward running away from alchemy."

Many shared Song Qing's thoughts, since no one had personally witnessed Xiao Yan refining pills; the initial rumor that he was an Eight Grade Alchemist had come from Feng Qing'er'er's mouth.

Some had verified the events with disciples from the Wind and Thunder Pavilion, and after reconstructing the whole incident, they discovered Feng Qing'er'er had claimed Xiao Yan was an Eight Grade Alchemist because the Yan Alliance had once purchased medicinal materials and an Eight Rank Magic Core for Fuling Green Pills, and shortly after, the Heavenly Flame Elder regained partial strength and reached Three-Star Peak Dou Zun.

In other words, Feng Qing'er'er had no evidence at all—she was just guessing.

During the five great families' examinations, Xiao Yan had demonstrated immense Soul Force, but strong Soul Force didn't mean strong alchemy skills—the Soul Hall's people also had tremendous Soul Force.

After a month of speculation, a new trend had emerged in Sheng Dan Cheng: Xiao Yan wasn't in enlightenment at all—he was simply avoiding alchemy, so he could keep his title as an Eight Grade Alchemist.

The most vocal proponents of this theory were naturally the Wind and Thunder Pavilion, the Nine Underworld Earth Snake Clan, and even the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan.

If Xiao Yan's title as an Eight Grade Alchemist were shattered, the entire Yan Alliance would be on the brink of collapse, ready to be overrun by a joint assault from the Wind and Thunder Pavilion and the Nine Underworld Earth Snake Clan.

After resisting the Pill Lightning and harvesting the elixir, Cao Ying looked toward Xiao Yan, still in enlightenment.

"I will defeat you at the Pill Gathering—but not with this kind of meaningless victory."

Time was running out; almost all alchemists on the stone platforms had stopped, whether successful or failed. Only Mu Gu remained refining.

"That man must be him." Xuan Kongzi's gaze, cold and sharp, locked onto Mu Gu's direction—he could easily tell through observation that Mu Gu's pill was nearly complete.

"I've observed for a long time—his alchemy technique has changed, but there's no doubt—he's that traitor, Mu Gu!" As he spoke the name "Mu Gu," Xuan Yi clenched her teeth, her eyes brimming with unmasked killing intent.

Suddenly, the old man Mu Gu slowly curled his lips into a sinister smile, then rose slowly and removed the Soul Hall's disguise secret technique, revealing his true face.

"Ah! He's disguised!"

Mu Gu cast a cold, piercing glance at Xiao Yan, then could no longer contain his laughter, roaring wildly: "Barrier! Hahahaha!! I won! I'm the one who ultimately won! My Lord, I will stand shoulder to shoulder with you at last!"

His chilling, owl-like laughter echoed across the sky; lightning flashed, blinding light illuminating Mu Gu's face, making it appear eerily grotesque.

A massive column of light, under the gaze of countless eyes, shot straight into the sky—the boundless power within it caused everyone present to turn pale with shock; judging by the energy fluctuations alone, none of the previous contenders had reached this level!

In an instant, the thunderclouds above the sky churned violently, and four-colored Pill Lightning appeared over Sheng Dan Cheng!

"Barrier, Xuan Kongzi, sorry—but it seems this year's Pill Gathering Champion will be claimed by this old man!" Mu Gu stared at the Pill Lightning above his head, even he hadn't expected he'd truly refined an Eight Grade Pill that summoned Four-Colored Pill Lightning!

Under Xiao Yan's pressure, he had truly surpassed his own limits!

Sensing Mu Gu's aura, Cao Ying turned pale—she recognized him as the black-cloaked man who had hunted her in the Dan Realm!

"What do we do now? Should we kill him?" Xuan Yi's face turned ashen, her first words a call for slaughter!

"Let's watch the situation first—we might strike in the Star Domain. Too many people here now; if we kill him, the Dan Tower's reputation will be ruined, and worse consequences may follow." Xuan Kongzi clenched his fist, yet at this moment, a strange feeling rose inexplicably within him.

Xiao Yixian, who had been watching Xiao Yan closely, her beautiful eyes flickered with a glint of light, and she smiled gently: "He's finally awakened."

Whoosh—the man who had stood for nearly a month exhaled. That single breath drowned out the thunder above!

At this moment, Xiao Yan's eyes had grown profoundly deep, as if he had endured an immeasurably long span of time.

"You're celebrating too soon."

Xiao Yan's calm voice echoed in every heart—not just Xiao Yixian's, but every single person on the Guang Chang turned their gaze toward Xiao Yan.

Many felt pity for Xiao Yan—had he truly awakened, his strength would surely have surged, but now, time was gone.

Mu Gu sneered in a twisted laugh: "Barrier! Xiao Yan, what good is your enlightenment now? You've got one day left—what can you possibly do?!"

Xiao Yan did not turn to look at Mu Gu; his deep gaze fixed on a distant direction—the direction of the Jia Ma Empire.

"One day is enough to send you to your grave."

At that very moment, in the Jia Ma Empire, Cai Lin slowly opened her eyes, gazing toward the same distant horizon—she understood now, Xiao Yan held an irreplaceable, unique place in her heart.

Xiao Yan was her Cai Lin's man!

Her man would not lose!

!! Suddenly, a sharp pain surged in Cai Lin's abdomen; her pupils contracted—she knew, she was about to give birth!

Calming her emotions, Xiao Yan slowly lowered his head to the medicinal materials on the table—he had always intended to refine a Shi Dan, a miraculous elixir that grows with the infant, subtly enhancing its potential—a true miracle pill capable of defying fate.

And this elixir could summon Five-Colored Pill Lightning—if he could refine it, he would win.

Once, the Alchemy Master had refined it for Han Feng.

After a moment of contemplation, Xiao Yan's eyes flickered with reluctance, but he understood—he had to grow up. He was no longer the boy from Wutan City; he now had a child.

He reached into the pocket of his Alchemist Long Robe and pulled out the Bone Flame Ring—he had not worn it since arriving in Sheng Dan Cheng.

"That's the Bone Flame Ring!!" The moment he saw the ring, Xuan Yi's face changed drastically—she recognized it instantly: it was 'his' storage ring!

Xiao Yan stared at the Bone Flame Ring in his palm, his heart filled with countless emotions—it had accompanied him for twenty-two years.

Gently brushing the Bone Flame Ring, a black shadow appeared on the stone platform.

"Black Demon! It's him! It's really him!"

Xuan Kongzi grabbed Xuan Yi, who was about to rush out, and said: "Calm down—no matter what, wait until the Pill Gathering ends."

From the storage ring came not only Black Demon, but also a silver-white robe—this robe differed from ordinary Alchemist Long Robes; its Class Badge bore no Rank, but instead depicted a Nine-Colored Light-emitting Alchemy Furnace.

The Alchemist Long Robe reserved exclusively for the Pill Gathering Champion!

Also the Alchemist Long Robe of the Alchemy Master.

The moment Mu Gu saw this robe, his eyes narrowed—he recognized it! At that past Pill Gathering, that man had stood like the sun, the last one remaining, and won this robe—he had even seen it up close back then!

Taking off his own Alchemist Long Robe, Xiao Yan gently donned this robe of profound significance, carefully fastening each button with his hands.

Xiao Yan inherited his mantle.

Watching Xiao Yan put on that robe, Xuan Yi covered her mouth with both hands, her body trembling uncontrollably, tears streaming endlessly from her eyes.

So similar.

Slowly sliding on the Bone Flame Ring, Xiao Yan looked down at it and whispered to himself: "Master, watch well—this is your disciple's answer."

The boy from Wutan City had finally grown up; when Xiao Yan reached Eight Grade, he realized the Alchemy Master's legacy was nearly at its end.

He now had to walk the alchemy path alone—henceforth, Xiao Yan would no longer have endless Pill Formulas, no more ancient texts filled with annotations and explanations, no more hand-written journals brimming with meticulous experience and insights.

He, Xiao Yan, was ready to graduate.

Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed; after his enlightenment, his alchemy skills improved once more, and he now felt something strange.

He opened his palms, and with two soft whooshes, two fused strange fires appeared in his palms. Excluding Void Swallowing Flame and Earth Sub Flame, eight complete strange fires had been split and merged into four new ones.

With two soft puffs, Xiao Yan flicked his fingers, sending the two fused strange fires into the Ten Thousand Beasts Cauldron and the Black Demon.

Xiao Yan clapped his palms against the alchemy furnace, and terrifying battle qi flooded uncontrollably into the fused strange fires; in an instant, the temperature of the entire Guang Chang rose several degrees, making the audience feel like frogs in a hot pot, nearly cooked.

"What is he trying to do!"

"Two flames? Two alchemy furnaces!"

"He doesn't mean to—!"

At this moment, even Xuan Kongzi and Tian Leizi showed expressions of surprise; Xuan Kongzi exclaimed, "One mind, two uses? What is he aiming for?"

Tian Leizi narrowed his eyes and said, "When refining medicinal materials, you must be extremely careful and follow the sequence, because some materials' properties cannot be refined together—you must refine one herb, then the next, or their essences will clash and spoil."

"Xiao Yan is speeding things up by separating conflicting medicinal materials into two alchemy furnaces!"

Xuan Yi also regained her composure, her beautiful eyes fixed on Xiao Yan, saying, "This does indeed speed things up, but only someone with an extremely deep understanding of the pill formula and the nature of the materials can do it. Even I, refining an Eight Grade Pill, could not manage it."

Meow! Suddenly, a black cat appeared from Space; Xiao Yan nodded, and Mao Wu swallowed an Eight Rank Magic Core in one gulp.

Xiao Yan wasn't just using one mind for two tasks—he was also refining the Magic Core simultaneously!

"Is that a Spiritual Flame? Black?" Xuan Kongzi was stunned; how could Xiao Yan produce flames so bizarre?

The first two flames were clearly strange fires, immensely powerful, yet he couldn't identify which ones—they didn't match any on the Strange Fire Ranking. And this black cat gave them an odd sensation: it felt like a strange fire, yet not quite—it seemed to exist between being and not being.

Xiao Yan's Burning Scripture spun at top speed; the temperature inside the Ten Thousand Beasts Cauldron and the Black Demon surged. His Soul Force poured out of his body, and the medicinal materials on the Stone Platform instantly split into two piles, flowing like a conveyor belt—one herb after another entering the Ten Thousand Beasts Cauldron and the Black Demon.

Remember, Xiao Yan was using four fused strange fires; their temperature and power were terrifying. As the medicinal materials entered the furnaces, they visibly withered, refined into medicinal powder and medicinal essence.

Crackling sounds emerged from the furnaces; as each herb was thrown in, the noise continued like firecrackers during the New Year.

At this moment, everyone in the Guang Chang stared in stunned silence—even non-alchemists understood how outrageous this was.

He was using one mind for two tasks, and his refining speed was absurdly fast—he showed no fear of burning the materials. His control over temperature reached a divine level of precision, and his command over the herbs' properties was flawless: at the exact moment the heat reached the point, he withdrew the flame and extracted the essence, then replaced the herb.

Below the stage, Liu Ling was numb. Normally, he carefully raised the temperature, terrified of accidentally destroying the herbs or of the heat being too low to extract anything.

Others increased heat gradually; Xiao Yan jumped straight to the perfect temperature—of course his speed was faster!

"Just auxiliary herbs! There are plenty of auxiliary herbs—he's not afraid of failure. Hmph, wait until he gets to the main herbs; let's see how he keeps up this act." Still, some refused to believe.

But these people didn't notice: from the beginning until now, Xiao Yan had never failed once in refining auxiliary herbs.

"So amazing—Xiao Yan brother is incredible!" Dan Chen's lips parted slightly; her special physique allowed her to sense that Xiao Yan's Soul Force had already reached the mid-Spirit Realm, higher than hers and Cao Ying's, even surpassing Mu Gu's.

"That enlightenment really is that powerful! Or has his strength always been this way?" Cao Ying, who had already finished refining her pill and was waiting for the end, hadn't taken her eyes off Xiao Yan. Seeing his actions, she now regarded him as a celestial being.

As an Eight Grade Alchemist who had just produced an Eight Grade Pill with Three-Colored Pill Lightning, she saw far more than ordinary people. She knew Xiao Yan wasn't taking reckless risks—this was pure skill.

Xiao Yan's technique was like a phantom—his alchemy movements flowed seamlessly, each gesture radiating confidence and charm.

Even non-alchemists could understand the meaning behind his every motion—it was flawless, without a single imperfection.

"Impossible, impossible—you can't possibly make it!" Mu Gu, who had just survived the Pill Lightning, was beginning to lose his mind.

He had a strong premonition: Xiao Yan would finish refining before time ran out.

Even refining one Eight Grade Pill in a single day was impossible—his own master and senior brother couldn't do it.

But after seeing Xiao Yan's gaze, his instinct told him: it would succeed.

Click-click-click-click-click—several brocade boxes containing the main herbs opened automatically; instantly, a medicinal fragrance began to spread.

These were the main herbs of the Yi Shi Pill—reaching Eight Grade Intermediate level, and one herb even reached Eight Grade Advanced, extremely precious.

"It's the Yi Shi Pill!" The moment Xuan Kongzi saw the main herbs, he instantly knew what pill Xiao Yan intended to refine.

"The Yi Shi Pill can summon Five-Colored Pill Lightning. If he succeeds, he'll surpass Mu Gu."

Time passed second by second; the sand in the giant hourglass high in the Sky was nearly gone.

"It's over! Xiao Yan is still refining the final main herb—there won't be enough time!"

"He hasn't even fused the pill yet!"

"This step takes the longest—alas, if only he'd started sooner!"

Due to Xiao Yan's performance, many spectators had forgotten the passage of time; without realizing it, a full day had passed, and the hourglass now held only a few invisible grains of sand.

"Hehehe, Xiao Yan, you're indeed strong—but unfortunately, this Pill Gathering's Champion is mine!" Mu Gu clenched his fists; seeing Xiao Yan hadn't fused the pill, he knew he had won.

No sooner had he spoken than Xiao Yan slowly opened his eyes, gazing at the frenzied Mu Gu, feeling a touch of pity for the poor man.

Even if Xiao Yan failed to refine the Yi Shi Pill within the allotted time, would that prevent him from becoming a participant in the Imperial Pill Plan?

No.

Reality isn't a game. Hun Xu Zi, unless he's an idiot, knows the gap between Xiao Yan and Mu Gu. The Pill Gathering is merely a test for Hun Xu Zi to see clearly—if Hun Xu Zi were here right now, he could immediately declare Xiao Yan the winner.

The outcome of the contest doesn't matter. What matters is who has the ability to reach that level and join Hun Xu Zi in refining the Emperor Pill.

Clearly, Xiao Yan has greater ability than Mu Gu.

"Your vision is limited by rules—you're destined never to reach that step," Xiao Yan said calmly, smiling faintly as he glanced at the hourglass.

Time—enough.

"Fuse the pill."

Xiao Yan's mind stirred—pang, pang—the lids of the Ten Thousand Beasts Cauldron and the Black Demon flew open, and two clumps of medicinal powder, wrapped in fused strange fires, shot out.

Space twisted; the three strange fires occupied three positions—and at that moment, the three strange fires began to merge!

As the Burning Scripture fused the strange fires into a new one, it also fused the medicinal powder and the Magic Core together!

This was Xiao Yan's new fusion technique, born from his own insight—the Strange Fire Fusion Method! His first step, forged by his own enlightenment!

"That's that cultivation method!!" Mu Gu's face twisted in shock—he instantly understood what Xiao Yan's strange fires were.

It was the mysterious cultivation method obtained by the Pill Sovereign, the very method that led to Han Feng's betrayal!

Shhh—the hourglass released its final thread of sand; the instant before the last grain fell, Xiao Yan retracted the strange fires. The moment the flames no longer enveloped the pill, a pillar of milky-white pill fragrance shot upward, revealing a pill as white as jade before everyone's eyes!

"It really… really succeeded!!!"

"No way! One day??"

"I take more than a day to refine a One Grade Pill. He's refining an Eight Grade one."

At that moment, even the three Elder Giants were stunned; Dan Chen and Cao Ying were dumbfounded; all the Alchemists from the Dan Family, Cao Family, Bai Family, and Qiu Family who attended the Pill Gathering felt their worldviews shattered.

Can Spirit Refining really be this fast!

The thunderclouds above the horizon, as if drawn by some invisible force, churned and gradually became dazzling. In less than two minutes, the dark clouds transformed, before the stunned gazes of all, into a radiant five-colored thundercloud—and then, slowly, a sixth color emerged!

Beyond!

With Xing Tian present, the Pill Lightning was no issue; Xing Tian, having absorbed the Six-Colored Pill Lightning, now bore traces of gold.

"Xiao Yan!!"

Looking at the furiously roaring Mu Gu, Xiao Yan slowly retracted his Shi Dan.

"You lost."

(End of Chapter)