Chapter 511: Lin Chen: I Was Still Too Naive

At the moment the scent of Yuan Shengyao’s herbs drifted from his furnace, every member of the Li family believed Yuan Shengyao had already won.

Xiao Yan, it seems, realized he was no match and simply chose not to act.

Logically, this makes no sense—if he knew he couldn’t win, why did he agree to the contest in the first place?

Yet they simply could not imagine how Lin Chen could possibly win, trailing Yuan Shengyao by ten pills per furnace.

Twenty pills in a single furnace?

This is Xuan Po Dan—not some obscure low-grade elixir.

The herbs for Xuan Po Dan are potent and aggressive; the more you use, the harder they are to control. Unless you’ve reached Master level, few can produce more than ten pills per furnace.

Yuan Shengyao producing ten pills per furnace is already top-tier.

But when Lin Chen finally moved, the Li family members stared in stunned silence.

No furnace—Lin Chen snapped his fingers, a wisp of flame emerged from his fingertips, then drifted into the air, spreading until it formed the shape of a furnace.

Turning primordial fire into a furnace!

The Li family gasped—they had seen alchemists with primordial fire before; even their Fourth Elder was a Master-level alchemist with primordial fire—but none had ever seen someone use primordial fire directly as a furnace.

“Fourth Elder, what do you think?”

In the main hall of the Li family, all other Elders now fixed their gazes on Fourth Elder Li Hong—only he held the authority to speak.

“If this youth truly can craft Xuan Po Dan using only primordial fire, he will easily rank among the top fifty in the overall alchemy contest.”

Li Hong gave his judgment, but everything still depended on Xiao Yan’s final result—was he genuinely confident, or merely putting on a show?

The furnace formed from primordial fire now drew the full attention of everyone present; the entire scene fell utterly silent.

“Go!”

Lin Chen raised his right hand, and the herbs beside him rose into the air, flying directly into the flames—twice the quantity Yuan Shengyao had used.

Lin Chen waited until Yuan Shengyao finished his first furnace before acting—not to create dramatic tension or for showmanship, but to observe Yuan Shengyao’s alchemy process and determine the precise herb ratio.

With his spiritual sense, he perceived every change within Yuan Shengyao’s furnace with perfect clarity.

This is using the enemy’s strength against himself!

“Refine!”

As the herbs entered the flame-furnace, Lin Chen’s hands moved, and the entire furnace began shrinking, swirling and shifting with his gestures—one breath, two breaths…

All eyes in the crowd flickered constantly between Lin Chen and the flame before them, now a single glowing mass; Yuan Shengyao stood motionless beside him, having even halted work on his next furnace.

There was no point—he would lose if Xiao Yan succeeded, no matter how many more furnaces he produced; if Xiao Yan failed, the contest was already his.

Li Kai’s mood was the worst, yet he forced a hopeful expression on his face—he knew elders were watching with spiritual sense, especially now that Xiao Yan was alchemizing this way.

From the Li family’s perspective, if Xiao Yan succeeded, it meant his alchemical skill was extraordinary—and the higher his skill, the greater the benefit to the Li family.

If he showed disappointment or hoped for Xiao Yan’s failure, and the elders sensed it, he would face punishment.

Li Qin’s eyes sparkled with admiration; she had firmly chosen Xiao Yan based on instinct—after hearing from Li the Shopkeeper that Xiao Yan had won the preliminary round, and after meeting him personally, she felt this Xiao Yan was no ordinary alchemist.

His demands, and the events that followed in the Hidden Flame Tower, only strengthened her conviction.

And this scene before her now was the clearest proof—her instinct had been right!

Half an hour later, as Lin Chen uttered “Retract,” the primordial fire vanished into thin air, and twenty Xuan Po Dan floated silently in midair, each exuding a rich, intoxicating herbal aroma that stirred the appetite of all who smelled it.

This was the soul’s instinctive craving for the elixir!

Many Li family members couldn’t help swallowing, yet their gazes remained locked on the figure before them—they had just witnessed something never seen before: alchemizing Xuan Po Dan, a high-grade elixir, without a furnace.

The scene remained utterly silent.

Sensing all eyes upon him, Lin Chen smiled faintly at Li Qin: “I have not failed you.”

“Thank you, Xiao Shi.”

At this moment, Li Qin’s address to Lin Chen changed—Li Kai had called Yuan Shengyao “Master Yuan” in a whisper, for only Masters may be called “Shi.”

Li Kai’s private whisper of “Master Yuan” was flattery and sycophancy; if he said it aloud, it would be mockery.

To be called “Master” without Master-level skill invites ridicule.

But Li Qin’s “Xiao Shi” drew no laughter—among the Li family, everyone believed Xiao Yan becoming a Master was merely a matter of time.

Hearing Li Qin’s changed address, Lin Chen smiled: “Let’s go.”

Li Qin nodded and led Lin Chen away—throughout, neither of them asked whether Yuan Shengyao had conceded defeat.

Because there was no need!

Every member of the Li family watched Lin Chen depart with solemn respect and visible excitement—they had witnessed an unprecedented alchemy contest, and now felt confident about the upcoming alchemy grand tournament.

“No one is permitted to speak of today’s events outside this family.”

As several family members began planning to recount today’s spectacle to others, a commanding voice rang out.

Third Elder Li He appeared before the pavilion; he glanced at Yuan Shengyao, who stood dazed and defeated—Yuan’s alchemical skill was not low; he had simply met a stronger opponent in Xiao Yan.

“Take the guests to rest.”

Li He instructed Li Kai—before the overall contest ended, nothing that happened here could leak out, lest someone target Xiao Yan.

…

…

“Fourth Elder!”

Elsewhere, Li Qin, leading Lin Chen toward the guest quarters, suddenly stopped and bowed respectfully before the elder ahead.

The Fourth Elder was the family’s only Master-level alchemist, second only to the First Elder in status—but Li Qin knew this Fourth Elder had come for Xiao Yan.

“You are our guest, and we have been remiss in our hospitality these past days. I, on behalf of the Li family, offer my apologies.”

“Elder, you are too kind. The Li family has treated Xiao Yan with great care—I have not been neglected.”

Lin Chen returned the bow; addressing a Fifth-Level Primordial alchemy Master as “Elder” was entirely fitting.

“I have prepared tea in my courtyard—if you have time, perhaps you would join me for a cup?”

“Very well.”

…

In Li Hong’s courtyard, herbal fragrance filled the air.

The garden was planted with rare herbs; beside the pavilion on the lake, Li Qin served the tea.

“To be honest, when Qin'er reported your condition for entering the top ten of the overall contest, I dismissed it—I underestimated you. I offer my apology with this tea.”

“Elder, no need. I am an unknown man. Any other family would have doubted me too—if the Li family had believed me so easily, I might question whether I should continue cooperating with you at all.”

Hearing this, Li Hong paused, then burst into laughter: “You speak wisely.”

An unknown man, having won only the preliminary round, claiming he would enter the top ten—if the Li family had accepted so readily, the only explanation would be they never intended to honor the agreement.

“On behalf of the Li family, I solemnly promise: if you enter the top ten, we will provide you with three top-tier spiritual soul techniques—you may choose any two.”

“Thank you.”

Lin Chen nodded; an additional top-tier technique was beneficial to him.

“I have one question that puzzles me—but if you find it uncomfortable to answer, it’s no matter.”

Li Hong smiled at Lin Chen; after receiving his consent, he asked: “How long have you been practicing alchemy?”

Normally, an alchemist, once reaching a certain level, undergoes a rating and star assessment—not only to prove their skill, but also to gain support from the Alchemy Guild.

Formulae, herbs, alchemy notes…

Advancing within a set timeframe brings additional rewards.