Heavenly Flame Ranking

"Yan'er, when... when did you learn Alchemy?" Xiao Zhan found himself less and less able to see through this son of his.

He had always known Xiao Yan was a genius, but that genius had mostly referred to his Dou Qi cultivation. Yet from what he had seen today, his son was actually an alchemist too?!

Xiao Yu stared at Xiao Yan with wide eyes. There were alchemists in Jia Nan Academy as well, and she had once tried asking for medicinal pills. In Jia Nan Academy, alchemists were extremely rare existences, and every one of them was proud to the bone, looking down on everyone else.

She never would have imagined that Xiao Yan was actually an alchemist—and judging by his practiced movements, he definitely hadn't become one in just a day or two.

Xiao Yan rubbed his nose and said with a hint of apology, "Father, sorry. I never told you because I was thinking I'd wait until I was more practiced before telling you."

Xiao Zhan rubbed Xiao Yan's head and smiled. "Silly child. How could Father blame you?"

Naturally, Xiao Yan's public display of Alchemy had ruined the entire auction. No one was in the mood to bid on the remaining items anymore, because all the forces in Wutan City understood that the entire city was about to change. They had to prepare themselves.

They had to draw a clear line between themselves and the Galio Clan and the Oba Clan in advance.

Liu Xi looked at the ashen-faced Galio Bi and Oba Pa, then quietly slipped out of the auction house as well.

No matter how stupid he was, he understood that these two clans were finished. He was only the lowest-level First-Rank Alchemist; there was no way he would refine pills for these two clans without taking money. Since these two clans no longer had any value to exploit, there was no need for him to stay here.

"What a pity. I didn't get that woman."

Xiao Yan's Soul Power was powerful, and he sensed that Liu Xi had already sneaked away. He ordered, "Great Elder, Second Elder, I'll have to trouble the two of you to ambush him at the city gate and bring Liu Xi's head back."

Hearing Xiao Yan's words, Xiao Ning and the other juniors swallowed. Xiao Yan's words were filled with sharp Killing Intent. Quite a few people knew that Liu Xi had provoked Xun Er with his words that day. They had originally thought Xiao Yan had let the matter go after beating him away, but they hadn't expected him to hold such a grudge!

After weighing things up, the Great Elder and the Second Elder nodded solemnly. Although killing the disciple of a Fourth Grade alchemist carried great risk, after some consideration, Xiao Yan might very well become a Fourth Grade alchemist in the future too. Besides, they had already offended Liu Xi, so there was no need for reconciliation.

"Father, all of you go back first. I'll pay for the alchemy furnace and return afterward. I'll leave the rest to Father and the elders." Seeing that the auction could no longer continue, Xiao Yan smiled and walked toward the VIP room.

Inside the VIP room, Xiao Yan sat on the sofa and casually picked up a piece of fruit from the table, taking a bite. With a crisp crunch, Ya Fei and Master Gu Ni walked over and sat down across from Xiao Yan.

"Well, well, little Xiao Yan. So this is how you treat your sister? You ruined my auction!" Ya Fei put on an angry expression, but her eyes carried a trace of charm and coquettishness.

Xiao Yan spread his hands and said helplessly, "Master Gu Ni once publicly demonstrated Alchemy too. How was I supposed to know it would turn out like this?"

At the side, Gu Ni smiled bitterly again and again. His Alchemy and yours had completely different meanings.

Ya Fei asked, "Little Brother Xiao Yan, I won't beat around the bush with you. According to the appraisal, the Blood Coagulation Powder you just refined reached the effect of a mid-level First-grade Pill. It's better than the Spring Return Powder Liu Xi refined, and your technique was very practiced. At the very least, you are a high-level First-Rank Alchemist, perhaps even at the peak of the first rank and preparing to advance toward the second rank."

"Would you be interested in joining our Mittel Auction House? Of course, I'm talking about the headquarters. We would give you the best guidance and provide medicinal ingredients for your practice."

Right from the start, Ya Fei extended an olive branch to Xiao Yan, inviting him to join Mittel Auction House.

Xiao Yan's talent had shocked Ya Fei too much. She was now ninety percent certain that those three bottles of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid had been refined by Xiao Yan himself.

A First-Rank Alchemist was actually also capable of refining a Tier 2 Pill. For an alchemist who had reached the peak, the way to advance was naturally to begin refining higher-grade pills.

However, whether someone became a Tier 2 alchemist was not determined by whether they could refine a Tier 2 Pill, but by their success rate, and they also had to take an examination at the Alchemist Association.

Xiao Yan put down the fruit in his hand, smiled, and shook his head. "No, Sister Ya Fei. I don't plan to join the Mite'er Family. Thank you for your kindness, Sister Ya Fei."

Although Ya Fei could still offer other, more generous conditions—high-level pill formulas, one-on-one instruction from a high-level alchemist, and so on—she knew that Xiao Yan had probably obtained some alchemist's inheritance or had a powerful Master behind him.

Otherwise, without a pill formula, no matter how skilled he was, it would have been impossible for him to refine Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, even if he had only made it by luck.

Ya Fei took out a Storage Ring and tossed it to Xiao Yan. "My training is about to end, and I'll be returning to the Royal Capital soon. Consider this alchemy furnace and the medicinal ingredients inside a gift from me. When you become powerful in the future, don't forget to come to the Royal Capital often to see your sister."

Xiao Yan caught the Storage Ring that still carried a bit of warmth and nodded. "How could I forget? Sister Ya Fei's beauty is enough to make fish sink and geese fall, to outshine the moon and shame the flowers. It'd be hard to forget even if I wanted to."

"Smooth talker."

Watching Xiao Yan's departing figure, Ya Fei propped her chin on her Jade Hand and murmured to herself, "He's actually only fifteen."

Master Gu Ni gave two light coughs and said, "Miss, I think age isn't a problem."

Ya Fei's Pretty Face instantly turned bright red. Remembering what she had said a few months ago, she blushed and said, "What are you thinking! I'm several years older than him! He's still just a little brat!"

"A woman three years older is worth a gold brick."

What came next became much simpler. The market jointly run by the Galio Clan and the Oba Clan announced its closure that very day, because countless shop owners gave up their deposits and simply shut their doors and left, rushing to the Xiao Clan Market to request that the Xiao Clan lease them storefronts.

As a result, the rent for shops in the Xiao Clan's market soared, and even with prices tripling, there was still not a single spot to be had.

The Galio Clan and the Oba Clan were only busy with one thing: seeking out the major medicinal merchants and Mittel Auction House to cancel their contracts. The result was easy to imagine. The major medicinal merchants joined forces and went to the City Lord's manor to appeal. If the Galio Clan and the Oba Clan breached the contracts, then according to the terms, they had to pay an enormous sum in damages, and the collateral would be confiscated according to the clauses.

Because the two great clans did not have that many Gold Coins, they had used their businesses as collateral. In the end, without losing a single soldier, the Xiao Clan bought more than half of the two great clans' businesses from the major medicinal merchants and Ya Fei at extremely low prices.

From then on, Wutan City became a place where the Xiao Clan alone dominated.

As for Liu Xi, he was ultimately killed by the Great Elder and Second Elder. His corpse was brought back to the Xiao Clan, where Xiao Yan burned it to ash with a single fire.

Three days later, inside the stone cave, Xiao Yan continuously absorbed the heat released by the Bone Chiling Flame and finally reached Seven-Star Dou Zhe.

Xiao Yan looked at the Bone Chiling Flame floating in midair. Not only did he show no joy at breaking through in Cultivation Level, his face was instead filled with worry.

"My cultivation speed has slowed down."

After reaching seven stars, Xiao Yan could clearly feel his cultivation speed slowing. Xiao Yan could now get very close to the Bone Chiling Flame, but the heat the Bone Chiling Flame released was limited after all. After reaching seven stars, the energy Xiao Yan needed had increased greatly, and this caused his rate of improvement to drop.

The only way to increase his cultivation speed was through pills, but Xiao Yan did not have the support of high-level pills. Wutan City was, after all, a border city, and the highest-level alchemist here was actually himself.

"Heavenly Flames... If I want to increase my Cultivation Level, the best method isn't taking pills, but absorbing Heavenly Flames."

Xiao Yan took out an ancient book. On its cover were three large words: Heavenly Flame Ranking!

This ancient book recorded in detail all the Heavenly Flames of the Dou Qi Continent, twenty-three types in total.

The Bone Chiling Flame happened to be right in the middle among them, ranked eleventh.