Empty Man Tells Truth

"You all, look! That is..."

A sudden commotion arose from the stands, and everyone's gaze gathered toward the eastern side of the square. There, a group of young people dressed in blue Alchemist robes hurried in.

"Those Alchemists must be students from Jia Nan Academy, right?" Fa Ma narrowed his eyes, stroking his beard as he spoke to Liuli.

"Yes, President Fa Ma."

Liuli had become much quieter now. The lively, spirited air she had displayed earlier had vanished completely.

Fa Ma frowned. The stark contrast in this Jia Nan Academy elder's demeanor before and after made him feel somewhat uneasy. Still, he did not dwell on it. After all, many strong individuals he had met possessed one odd quirk or another.

"That pink-haired young girl is rather interesting. Come to think of it, she bears quite a resemblance to you. Is she related to you?" Jia Xingtian asked in puzzlement as he watched the stunning girl rush toward the center of the square.

"I'm her aunt," Liuli replied with a smile.

"This should be quite a show." Fa Ma looked toward the other Jia Nan Academy students and could not help nodding.

Among the Alchemist teams gathered from several empires, these students' Soul Power ranked among the upper tier. A few of them could even be considered top-notch. With Soul Power of that level, their Pill Refining skills were surely formidable as well.

Xiao Yan picked up the prescription placed atop the Bluestone Platform, then glanced over the medicinal ingredients on the Stone Platform. He said in astonishment, "This Alchemist Competition has some real standards. I didn't expect the first round to be this difficult."

The prescription only roughly listed the ingredients required for a second-tier medicinal pill. Not a single word had been written regarding the refining process or the proportions. It was not an oversight by the examiners—the true prescription on this sheet could only be revealed when an Alchemist sensed it with Soul Power.

"After this round, I'm afraid all Alchemists below the second tier will be eliminated. Even among second-tier Alchemists, more than half of those who are slightly lacking will be knocked out." Xiao Yan sighed. It truly deserved to be called the once-every-eight-years Alchemist Competition; the questions were indeed viciously demanding.

However, now that he had seen through the test, Xiao Yan found it much easier to handle.

"You're Mister Yan Xiao, aren't you? I'd only just arrived in the Imperial Capital when I heard of your great name!" Just then, a pleasant voice interrupted Xiao Yan's thoughts.

Xiao Yan turned and saw a pink-haired young girl standing at the Bluestone Platform beside his. Her exquisite features and bright blue-violet eyes immediately reminded him of Yu Gongtian, the somewhat eccentric Jia Nan Academy elder in the VIP seats.

Comparing their faces, they were seventy or eighty percent alike! It was as though this young girl were Yu Gongtian in her childhood!

"You..." Xiao Yan was startled. He turned toward the VIP seats and found that she was still seated there.

Seeing his expression, the young girl smiled and introduced herself. "My name is Gongsun Liuli. The one in the stands is my aunt."

Upon hearing her name and introduction, Xiao Yan's inexplicable nervousness vanished. If the one in the stands had been competing, then he would have had absolutely no chance at winning this Alchemist Competition.

"Miss Gongsun, you and Elder Yu really do look alike," Xiao Yan said.

The young girl gave a mysterious smile and nodded.

"I heard from Elder Yu that Miss Gongsun possesses a Heavenly Flame?" After some thought, Xiao Yan asked.

He was still extremely curious about this Jia Nan Academy student's Heavenly Flame. If it was the kind of Heavenly Flame Old Yao had mentioned, then the plans he had made after fulfilling the Three Year Agreement would have to be completely redone.

"Hmph, she keeps telling everyone about it. If someone sets their sights on me one day and steals my Heavenly Flame, it'll all be her fault." The young girl rolled her eyes toward the stands and muttered involuntarily.

Hearing that, Xiao Yan could not help feeling a little guilty. When he had first heard that she possessed a Heavenly Flame, a crooked thought had indeed flashed through his mind for an instant. But soon afterward, his conscience had smothered that evil notion.

"Elder Yu only told me about you because she heard that I possess a Heavenly Flame as well," Xiao Yan explained.

The young girl blinked. Curiosity immediately appeared on her pretty face as she asked in surprise, "Mister Yan Xiao has a Heavenly Flame too?"

Xiao Yan nodded in reply.

"Then how about we both summon ours and take a look at each other's?" the young girl suggested with a smile.

Xiao Yan frowned at first, but after considering it for a moment, he nodded in agreement.

He raised his hand, and a wisp of azure flame emerged from his fingertip. As it appeared, the air around them became noticeably hotter.

"Its color is like green jade, and its shape resembles a seated lotus. Mister Yan Xiao's Heavenly Flame is the nineteenth-ranked Green Lotus Core Flame on the Exotic Flame Ranking, isn't it?" the young girl observed seriously.

Xiao Yan could not help regarding her more highly. The Exotic Flame Ranking was widely circulated throughout the Alchemist world, but few people knew the various Heavenly Flames listed on it. Fewer still could identify one at a glance.

"And yours, Miss Gongsun?" Xiao Yan withdrew his Heavenly Flame and asked with a smile.

The young girl sighed and muttered, "Mine loses to yours."

Then she raised her slender Jade Hand, and an extraordinarily strange flame slowly condensed in her palm.

The flame was black and white, constantly intertwining like the twin fish of yin and yang. The black flame was remote and profound, radiating a terrifying pressure that made one feel as though death stood before them. The white flame was much gentler, flowing like holy light and filled with powerful vitality, endlessly renewing itself.

"This is..." Xiao Yan drew a deep breath. "Twenty-first on the Heavenly Flame Ranking—the Yin Yang Twin Flames?"

"Mm-hm. I didn't expect Mister Yan Xiao's Heavenly Flame to be the Green Lotus Core Flame, which provides such an enormous boost to an Alchemist's abilities. It really is enviable! Compared to it, my Heavenly Flame is far inferior." The young girl sighed, her tone carrying a trace of defeated disappointment.

"Miss Gongsun, don't say that," Xiao Yan refuted her. "These Yin Yang Twin Flames were born in the void of the cosmos, one form of flame manifested from the Yin Yang Natural Law. One flame, two fires: the Black Flame is yin fire, governing death and annihilating all things; the White Flame is yang fire, symbolizing life and saving all things. If this divine flame had not gone unseen on the continent for so many years, leaving its true effects unknown, it would never have been ranked as low as twenty-first."

"Mister Yan Xiao, you seem to know quite a lot about this. Even I, its owner, had never heard of such a reputation," the young girl said with a smile. Her earlier dejection had vanished without a trace, and her expression shone as brightly as sunlight.

Seeing how quickly she changed her face, Xiao Yan could not help sighing inwardly. They really are family. They're both just as eccentric and mischievous.

"My Master taught me these things." Xiao Yan smiled, though a trace of loneliness flickered in his eyes.

The young girl keenly caught that expression. Understanding dawned on her, and her tone became more serious. "Mister Yan Xiao, your teacher was able to raise such an outstanding disciple as you. I'm sure he must feel very proud and fulfilled."

Xiao Yan froze after hearing that. He rubbed his nose with his hand, concealing the slight upward curve of his lips. Clearly, her words had moved him.

"I'll take those auspicious words. Thank you," Xiao Yan said with a smile.

As the two chatted and laughed, Fa Ma swept his gaze over the Alchemists below once more. His aged, hoarse voice rang out again. "I trust everyone has understood the rules of the first round? This time, you must refine the required medicinal pill based on the incomplete prescription in your hands. You have two chances in total. If you fail both times, the Jade Mirror on your Stone Platform will turn red. At that point, please leave voluntarily."

He then pointed toward a massive floating hourglass on the western wall. "That hourglass marks the competition time. If you fail to refine it within the allotted time, you will likewise be considered eliminated."

"Do you understand?" Fa Ma asked with a smile.

"Yes!" More than a thousand competing Alchemists in the square shouted in unison.

"Good, full of spirit! Then I declare that the first round officially begins!" Fa Ma swept his sleeve, and thousands of fireworks burst into bloom around the square, marking the opening of the competition.

The vast majority of Alchemists present took out their Medicine Cauldrons and began refining according to the prescription with intense focus.

Yet among them, only one pink-haired young girl appeared to be in a flustered mess.

"Oh no! I forgot to read the prescription." The young girl hurriedly picked it up and began reading it carefully.

Xiao Yan summoned his own small second-tier Medicine Cauldron. Turning to look at the young girl's muddled state, he could not help shaking his head.