Just What I Had in Mind

Fama, Frank, and Master Bu Lin, along with their group of alchemists, were all slightly taken aback while sitting in the VIP section.

Fama looked at Xiao Yu and laughed, "This little guy seems quite confident in his alchemy skills. No wonder he's refined the Ironwood Spirit Leaf ten times. However, to fuse all six herbs, he needs powerful Soul Power to maintain balance. If he doesn't control it properly, all his efforts will be in vain!"

Master Bu Lin and the others sitting behind Fama also wore wry smiles. Although Xiao Yu's actions were a bit reckless, he never seemed to do anything without being sure of success. Now, they could only hope that Xiao Yu's Soul Power could control these six medicinal herbs well.

Xiao Yu kept his eyes fixed on the churning flames in the cauldron. He hadn't initially planned to use Heavenly Flames, and this was the first time he had ever used Dou Qi to catalyze a flame, but he quickly became adept at it.

The six medicinal herbs tumbled continuously within the cauldron, separated by deep yellow flames. Xiao Yu's powerful Soul Power allowed the flames to rapidly refine and then fuse them together!

A third of the time had passed, and two alchemists in the square had failed to refine their medicine twice, their red lights flashing as they left the scene.

Within the enormous hourglass, grains of sand continuously slid down.

"Clang!"

A soft sound immediately drew everyone's attention, causing a stir among the crowd. In the center, Xiao Yu gently patted the cauldron, and a round pill shot out. With a flick of his wrist, Xiao Yu caught the pill accurately in his hand.

Fama smiled and said, "This little fellow has mastered both alchemy and fire control to the extreme. Moreover, from what I can sense, his Soul Power is very strong, at least stronger than Liu Ling, Little Yue'er, and Yan Xiao. I now suspect that with his alchemy skills, he might even be able to pass the assessment for Fourth-grade Alchemist!"

These words surprised Elder Jia, who was sitting to the side. He said, "Elder Jia, isn't what you're saying a bit too outrageous? Soul Power overpowering Little Yue'er and the others?"

Fama and said, "Didn't you see it just now? From the moment Xiao Yu started refining pills, it seemed like he only had eyes for that one thing. His pill-refining technique was completely natural, like an art form. And while you guys couldn't really sense his Soul Power, to me, the little guy's Soul Power was much stronger than the three of them."

Looking at the Little Princess, Elder Jia had to admit that, judging from her movements and expressions, she was indeed somewhat awkward and anxious. Even Liu Ling was only slightly better than the Little Princess. Although Xiao Yan's expression didn't reveal anything, his alchemy skills were also somewhat clumsy.

As for Soul Power, Fama, being Peak Fifth-Grade Alchemist, had a lot of credibility in his words!

Elder Hai smiled faintly, "If that's the case, then wouldn't Xiao Shi Yi have the best alchemy skills, followed by Yan Xiao, then Liu Ling and the Little Princess?"

Fama shook his head slightly and said, "That's not entirely true. The specific quality of the pills needs further testing before a conclusion can be drawn. However, I think the quality of the pills that little guy Xiao Shi Yi has should be quite good!"

At this moment, another soft clang rang out. Liu Ling slammed her palm heavily on the Medicine Cauldron, shaking the lid open. A perfectly round pill shot out from it, which Liu Ling caught in her hand. Then she looked at Xiao Yu provocatively.

Xiao Yu naturally paid no attention to Liu Ling's gaze. No one saw that a barely perceptible ring of Pill Pattern appeared on the surface of the pill lying quietly in his palm.

"Clang!"

With another crisp sound, the Little Princess on the other side waved her slender hand, and a pill shot out from the Medicine Cauldron.

Xiao Yan followed closely behind the Little Princess, slapping the Medicine Cauldron and holding them in his hand. Judging from his rather calm expression, the pills must have been well-refined.

With their pills successfully refined, the other Third-grade Alchemist followed suit, as if in a chain reaction. The lids of their Medicine Cauldron were lifted, and pills shot out, which were then excitedly grabbed by their owners.

Soon, time ran out, and some alchemists were eliminated because they exceeded the time limit and both of their medicinal materials were burned. Red light flashed continuously on the field.

Fama looked at the noisy square, stretched out his hands and pressed them down, and the noisy place gradually quieted down.

"Congratulations to those of you still standing in the square. You've successfully passed the first round of preliminary tests. However, this isn't over yet..." Fama said with a smile, "As you all probably know, some cunning little fellows always like to pull off some inexplicable things in an attempt to deceive you. What looks like a pill might actually have nothing to do with the pill you're trying to refine. So, now we need to test whether the Bone-Nourishing Pill in your hands meet the requirements."

Fama's slightly hoarse voice slowly rang in everyone's ears. "Now, all of you, please find the green button in the lower left corner of your Bluestone Platform and press it."

Upon hearing this, everyone indeed found the green button in the lower left corner of their Bluestone Platform. Xiao Yu gently pressed it, and a slight tremor suddenly occurred on the smooth Bluestone Platform. A stone slab slowly appeared on the platform, and as the stone slab was fully revealed, a black hole could be seen on it.

"This is a testing machine. Put your refined pills into it, and it will automatically identify whether your pills meet the requirements!" Fama chuckled.

The alchemists who had already successfully refined the product looked at the testing machine in front of them with rather grim expressions; they hadn't expected things to turn out this way.

"Alright, let's begin. Green means pass, red means fail," Fama said.

As the alchemists poured their concoctions into the space, the empty square became a kaleidoscope of colors, with red and green lights intertwining, evoking joy in some and anger in others.

Liu Ling looked at Yan Xiao and asked, "Do you dare to put them in together?"

The Little Princess chimed in, "Yes, Mr. Xiao Shi Yi, Mr. Yan Xiao, why don't we go together? I'd really like to see the quality of the pills you two have refined!"

"Whatever..." Xiao Yan shrugged indifferently, noticing the competitive look in Liu Ling's eyes.

Xiao Yu looked towards a corner of the square, where a gray-robed man stood. He remembered that this guy seemed to have come to cause trouble. When he was refining pills, he noticed a Soul Power. This Soul Power was weaker than Xiao Yu's, but definitely stronger than Xiao Yan and the other two. That's why he was sure that the gray-robed man was Yan Li, the vice president of the Alchemist Guild of the Chuyun Empire!

"What? You don't dare, Xiao Shi Yi?" Liu Ling frowned and looked at Xiao Yu, speaking sarcastically.

Xiao Yu glanced at him and said, "Idiot, there's another alchemist there with decent skills. The pills you have are probably not as good as his!"

Liu Ling followed Xiao Yu's gaze and saw a gray-robed boy of about sixteen or seventeen years old. She sneered, "If you don't dare, then don't dare. Why bring up that boy? His position represents the strength of Second-grade Alchemist. He's not worthy to compare with me!"

Xiao Yan frowned slightly and said, "Since he doesn't want to compete, then we won't. If you want to compete, then we can compete. Anyway, he and I are fellow disciples!"

"Great, that's exactly what I was thinking too!" Liu Ling raised an eyebrow and looked at Xiao Yan.