Chapter 528

On the arena, Jiang Yaoyan and Jiang Chen locked gazes; Jiang Yaoyan’s lips curled upward, his eyes gleaming with triumph.

He had won this match.

Jiang Chen was inferior to him.

Seeing Jiang Yaoyan’s smug smile, Jiang Chen felt a flicker of regret in his heart, but he felt no anger—his skills were simply weaker, and there was nothing to say about it.

Alchemy speaks only through strength.

This competition had awakened him: previously, when sparring with fellow sect disciples and other young alchemists of Qianji Sect, he had always won effortlessly, and that had bred arrogance within him; this match had jolted him back to reality.

Losing this one match might not be a bad thing.

As for Jiang Yaoyan… though he defeated me, that doesn’t mean he can claim first place.

Jiang Chen’s gaze shifted to the last two still working—Wei Yang and Lin Chen. Jiang Yaoyan, seeing where Jiang Chen looked, sneered: “Xiao Yan has no chance left. As for Wei Yang… even with Yin Yin Flame, the Yin-Yang Pill is not so easily completed.”

As the young master of Yaowang Valley, Jiang Yaoyan’s arrogance stemmed not merely from his status, but from absolute confidence in his alchemical skill.

The Five Elements Creation Pill has a fixed process; every step must be flawless—too fast or too slow, and the alchemy fails.

Ordinary pills can be accelerated with primordial fire to speed up purification or formation, but the Five Elements Creation Pill is crafted from five main ingredients, each of a different elemental nature, combined with auxiliary materials.

From liquid to formation, these five main ingredients demand precision down to the last fraction—any delay exceeding three breaths results in failure.

The only one still capable of challenging him for first place is Wei Yang.

Both their gazes settled on Wei Yang at once.

…

“What a pity!”

In the stands, Li He sighed: “Xiao Yan overestimated himself. Had he chosen a mid-tier five-star pill like Jiang Chen and the others, he’d have fared better.”

“Third Elder, what do you mean?”

Li Qin, beside him, looked puzzled. Li He sighed: “The Five Elements Creation Pill demands extreme timing control. Xiao Yan wasted too much time on purification—he couldn’t form the pill in the end.”

Hearing the third elder’s words, Li Qin froze… Xiao Yan failed?

“Actually, failing is better. Had he succeeded, our Li family would have had no chance at all.”

Despite his regret, Li He’s face regained a smile—if Xiao Yan had succeeded in crafting the Five Elements Creation Pill this year, countless factions would have targeted him, many far stronger than our Li family; then we’d have zero competitive advantage.

Even now, even with his failure, many factions are already eyeing Xiao Yan.

Among the alchemists in the stands, several are alchemy masters; even those who aren’t masters, if they’re top-tier mid-level alchemists, know the requirements for the Five Elements Creation Pill—and all have reached the same judgment as Li He.

What a pity—the dark horse has lost its shot at first place.

But fortunately, there’s another dark horse.

With these alchemists’ explanations, every eye now fixed on Wei Yang; all knew that the winner of this year’s alchemy contest hinged entirely on how Wei Yang’s Yin-Yang Pill turned out.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths…

Wei Yang’s expression was grave; his hands moved rapidly, and as his hand seals shifted, the Yin Yin Flame beneath the cauldron flickered in rhythm.

“This is the flaw of subduing rather than assimilating primordial fire: to achieve ultimate control, you must rely on a technique. But if you’ve assimilated the primordial fire, your soul alone can communicate with it—remember this, and don’t choose subduing just because it’s easier.”

Zhuang Lie, watching Wei Yang’s ever-changing hand seals, spoke to his sect disciples nearby.

Even in Wan Huozong, many disciples choose the path of subduing primordial fire; though assimilated primordial fire releases far greater power than subdued fire, the difficulty of assimilation is far higher.

One is manageable, but two—or even three…

Many disciples, eager to boost their strength quickly, opt for the subduing path.