This Battle Was in the Bag!

Almost everyone in the Vast Heaven Sect was celebrating the sect's victory, with the exception of Chu Cheng, the number one man of Kaoshan Village, who had the makings of a Great Emperor.

It was only almost everyone because, apart from Great Emperor Chu Cheng, the people from the Heavenly Medicine Palace were there too.

Luo Ying'er was heartbroken!

How could this be?!

How could my senior brother Zheng Yu lose to that bastard Chu Xinghe?

What gives him the right to win?

My senior brother Zheng Yu is a man of peerless beauty! He should be the most invincible person in the world, yet he lost to that bastard Chu Xinghe!

That bastard must have used some despicable, sordid, shameless, filthy trick to scrape out a victory over the kind, magnanimous, righteous, heroic senior brother Zheng Yu!

Claiming she felt unwell, Luo Ying'er skipped the Vast Heaven Sect's banquet and went alone to the pill room the sect had prepared for the Heavenly Medicine Palace to train diligently.

Luo Ying'er swore that she would defeat that bastard Chu Xinghe!

I, Luo Ying'er, will protect senior brother Zheng Yu's peerless beauty!

Still... the Vast Heaven Sect isn't entirely without good people. Take senior sister Wan Lin, for example...

Though senior sister Wan Lin had been drunk, she had still remembered to visit her. Even in that state, she had given her a full-body massage to help her relax after her hard work practicing alchemy. The memory of her technique still made Luo Ying'er's whole body tingle.

Senior sister Wan Lin really is an unparalleled good senior sister!

Fortunately, Chu Xinghe had been drunk and knew nothing of it. Otherwise, he would surely have pointed at Wan Lin and shouted, "Leave her alone! She's still a child..."

After a night of revelry, the Vast Heaven Sect returned to normal the next morning.

After breakfast, Chu Xinghe came to the Medicine King Palace. Today, not only were the Spirit Crane Palace disciples present, but quite a few people from the other palaces had also come to watch the excitement.

Martial Emperor City's people had left in defeat, but the Heavenly Medicine Palace's people had yet to depart.

Although the Heavenly Medicine Palace could not compare to Martial Emperor City in either strength or status,

in the world of alchemy alone, the Heavenly Medicine Palace held considerable influence, and it had challenged the Spirit Crane Palace no few times over the years.

The great elder led Wu Qun, the master of the Heavenly Medicine Palace, to a seat in the Medicine King Palace.

Although Wu Qun was the Heavenly Medicine Palace's master, his status was not high enough for someone like Gu Mingchao to receive him personally. Having the great elder attend him was already giving him ample face.

After breakfast, Chu Xinghe also came to the Medicine King Palace. As soon as he entered, he saw Luo Ying'er glaring straight at him, looking like a furious squirrel.

Beside her, junior sister Wan Lin seemed to be comforting her, but why were her hands wandering all over the place while she did it?

Junior sister Wan Lin, could you show a little restraint? You're not even hiding it from anyone anymore, are you?

"Xinghe pays his respects to the great elder and greets Palace Master Wu Qun." Chu Xinghe walked over and bowed to the great elder and Wu Qun.

The great elder looked at Chu Xinghe with satisfaction, while Wu Qun could not help but sigh. Heroes truly did emerge among the young.

After yesterday's battle, Chu Xinghe's name could be said to have spread throughout the world. Word that he was the number one person of the younger generation was already spreading outside.

Not only was Chu Xinghe tremendously strong, but he was also an alchemy prodigy. He possessed the Vermilion Bird Spirit Fire and had obtained the Medicine Saint Inheritance. His future in alchemy was boundless as well. What a pity that such a person was not a disciple of the Heavenly Medicine Palace.

After Wu Qun and the great elder exchanged some pleasantries, the competition between the Vast Heaven Sect and the Heavenly Medicine Palace began.

Wu Qun introduced his disciple Luo Ying'er, and Chu Xinghe also asked the great elder about the extraordinarily gifted girl.

She might have been young, but she had made quite a name for herself in the alchemy world, shining even brighter than Chu Xinghe.

But no matter how skilled Luo Ying'er was, he was sure to lose today!

The first thing Chu Xinghe had done upon waking that morning was to reflect deeply on his mistakes.

What was I showing off for against Zheng Yu yesterday?

I just had to show my skill and lose without going below my bottom line! Lose in spectacular fashion?

What skill do I have? What bottom line do I need? Why make it spectacular?!

After his deep self-reflection, Chu Xinghe swore that this time he absolutely would not make the same elementary mistake he had made against Zheng Yu. He would not give his opponent the slightest chance to lose.

An alchemy contest, is it?!

As a former cauldron-exploding expert, what surer way was there to secure a loss than blowing up the cauldron?

No matter how skilled this girl is, as long as she doesn't blow up her cauldron today, she can forget about suffering a defeat in my Vast Heaven Sect!

No, that's not right! Even if she blows up her cauldron, there's no chance she'll lose, because even if we both blow ours up, I'll definitely blow mine up more thoroughly and decisively than she does!

I'm going to lose so badly there won't be an inch of skin left on me! Even if the heavens themselves come down, they can forget about stopping me from blowing up my cauldron!

As the saying goes, bite down on the green mountain and never let go; I swear I won't rest until I blow up the pill cauldron!

I don't know why that Luo Ying'er across from me is so angry she looks like a little squirrel, but rest assured, even if you puff up like a pufferfish, you can forget about taking a defeat from me, Chu Xinghe!

Soon, the great elder announced the subject of the alchemy competition.

A fifth-grade pill, the Feather Ascension Pill!

It was a very uncommon pill.

Taking it would not make someone ascend on the spot and become an immortal. Instead, it would temporarily give them a pair of feathered wings, allowing them to fly a short distance above the ground for a time.

However, because its effect was short-lived and it could not carry a person very high or fast, no one would normally make it.

Moreover, the refining method for the Feather Ascension Pill was extremely troublesome. Even an ordinary fifth-grade alchemist would have difficulty making it, which made it even less popular.

Wu Qun must have proposed the Feather Ascension Pill for this contest. Otherwise, given the great elder's habit of acting as the mastermind behind the scenes, there was no reason for him not to have told Chu Xinghe in advance.

But the Feather Ascension Pill was fine too. Although the Medicine Saint Inheritance contained countless ways to refine it perfectly, Chu Xinghe had never actually made one.

It's my first time refining a Feather Ascension Pill. It would be perfectly reasonable for my cauldron to blow up, right?

Soon, the ingredients for the Feather Ascension Pill were ready. There was virtually no difference in quality between the two sets.

As their guest, Little Squirrel Luo Ying'er naturally chose first.

The remaining set was then given to Chu Xinghe.

But before Little Squirrel could begin, Chu Xinghe spoke. "Junior sister Luo Ying'er, simply refining a Feather Ascension Pill is too dull. How about we add something else?"

"Add what?"

"Besides these specified ingredients, we each choose one medicinal ingredient for the other. That ingredient must also be added during the refining process. Then we determine the winner. What do you think?"

The moment Chu Xinghe said this, an uproar broke out around them. Even the great elder could not help frowning.

The ingredients for pills had been determined through hundreds or thousands of years of research. Adding or removing even one ingredient would cause unimaginable changes to the original refining process, so the extra condition Chu Xinghe proposed left people utterly baffled.

"Fine!" Luo Ying'er agreed without a second thought.

Without another word, a blue light flashed in Luo Ying'er's hand, and a piece of sea-blue stone appeared out of thin air.

Luo Ying'er placed the sea-blue stone among Chu Xinghe's ingredients. It was the ingredient she had chosen for him.

At the sight of it, everyone around them who understood alchemy went pale.

The Feather Ascension Pill was a fire-element pill, while sea-blue stone was a water-element ingredient. Water and fire were incompatible, and that was no mere saying. If sea-blue stone were added to a Feather Ascension Pill, wouldn't it explode on the spot?

Chu Xinghe looked at the sea-blue stone before him, and tears came to his eyes.

Junior sister Luo Ying'er is so considerate! I only proposed this because I wanted an even more perfect excuse for blowing up my cauldron.

Now that sea-blue stone has been added, no matter how I blow it up, I'm as steady as an old dog!

Since junior sister Luo Ying'er is being so kind and righteous, I can't do anything to make her unhappy.

Soon, Chu Xinghe also chose an ingredient for Luo Ying'er!

"Plantain herb? Has junior brother Xinghe gone mad?"

When they saw the ingredient Chu Xinghe had chosen for Luo Ying'er, everyone around them was dumbfounded.

"Plantain herb is also a water-element ingredient, but its medicinal properties are mild. Adding it to almost any pill has hardly any major side effects. Luo Ying'er chose sea-blue stone for junior brother Xinghe, but he chose plantain herb for her? What is junior brother Xinghe doing?!"

"With sea-blue stone added, how can he possibly refine the Feather Ascension Pill?"

"Junior brother Xinghe is so kind and righteous! He must have seen that Luo Ying'er is just a young girl and felt it wouldn't be right to bully her too much, so he deliberately made things harder for himself this way!"

"That does sound like something junior brother Xinghe would do. He's afraid outsiders will say our Vast Heaven Sect is bullying the Heavenly Medicine Palace, so he's doing this to shut their wagging mouths! But this girl has gone too far, choosing sea-blue stone!"

"Junior brother Xinghe chose plantain herb for her, which hardly has any major effect, but she chose sea-blue stone, whose medicinal properties clash with the pill, for him. How can two people be so different?!"

The senior brothers of the Spirit Crane Palace discussed it among themselves.

They were not the only ones. Even Luo Ying'er was somewhat taken aback when she saw the ingredient Chu Xinghe had chosen for her.

When Chu Xinghe first made his proposal, her immediate reaction had been, That bastard Xinghe must be plotting something!

So she had chosen sea-blue stone, the hardest ingredient to deal with, for the bastard Xinghe without hesitation. But she had never expected him to choose plantain herb for her.

As a genius alchemist, how could Luo Ying'er not know just how great the difference was between plantain herb and sea-blue stone?

At that moment, Luo Ying'er's heart suddenly wavered. But she quickly remembered senior brother Zheng Yu's peerless beauty, and her wavering heart grew firm once more!

That bastard Xinghe must be plotting something! He must be afraid of losing to me, so he's using this seemingly disadvantageous condition to make an excuse in advance!

That must be it!

Her resolve firm and her mind clear of distractions, Luo Ying'er began summoning the earth fire without another word.

As the earth fire rose, blood-red flames emerged from underground and gathered in midair in the form of an auspicious Qilin beast!

"Qilin True Fire! That girl actually possesses Qilin True Fire!"

"That's Qilin True Fire, on par with Vermilion Bird Spirit Fire! Luo Ying'er is actually the inheritor of Qilin True Fire!"

The sight of the rising Qilin True Fire sent a shock through the entire Medicine King Palace. For a moment, even Feng Fei and the others looked at Chu Xinghe with a hint of concern.

Among the various flames, Qilin True Fire was in no way inferior to Vermilion Bird Spirit Fire. In a normal contest between Qilin True Fire and Vermilion Bird Spirit Fire, junior brother Xinghe should still have been assured of victory thanks to the Medicine Saint Inheritance. But the sudden addition of sea-blue stone had completely erased all of Chu Xinghe's advantages. Junior brother Xinghe was in trouble in this contest!

The great elder frowned as well. Even he was beginning to worry.

But Chu Xinghe nearly jumped with excitement when he saw the Qilin True Fire.

Though he had previously heard the great elder say that Luo Ying'er might control Qilin True Fire, it had only been a rumor. Now that it was confirmed, Chu Xinghe could hardly contain his excitement!

I'm going to lose!

This battle! It's in the bag!