Surprise

"The rules for the first round of the Alchemist Tournament are actually quite simple: refine pills, and all pills must be of grade four!" After Fama finished speaking, many alchemists at the peak of grade three looked rather grim.

However, they were prepared, since this Alchemist Tournament was selected from among the Alchemist Guild of the four great empires, and they were aware of this outcome.

People like Xiao Yu, Huo Yue'er, and Yao Yue remained calm. For them, fourth-grade pills were no challenge at all!

Fama smiled and continued, "The quality of the pills you refine this time will be key to your advancement in the second round!"

"Your scores are jointly determined by the presidents of our four major Alchemist Guild, and the final score is calculated accordingly. Alright, that's the gist of it. In short, if you want to advance to the second round with a good ranking, you must ensure that your pills are of the highest quality!"

The Fifth-grade Alchemist below the stage exchanged glances, all seeing the fighting spirit in their eyes.

Yan Xixi's gaze fell on Xiao Yu. Her brows furrowed slightly as she looked at Xiao Yu's profile, feeling a sense of familiarity, but she couldn't recall where she had seen him before.

Standing to the side, Xiao Yu also felt a gaze fixed on him, so he turned his head to look at that gaze and met Yan Xixi's eyes!

The moment Yan Xixi saw Xiao Yu's face, a flash of insight struck her, and she remembered where she had seen him before.

She once saw a portrait in Sister Xiao Yi Xian's room, and the white-robed boy in the portrait looked exactly like this!

Yan Xixi thought in shock, "Could this guy be the one that Sister Xiao Yi Xian likes? He's also an alchemist, and from the Jia Ma Empire at that!"

But thinking about it, it makes sense. It seems that Sister Xiao Yi Xian came from the Jia Ma Empire, so it's not so surprising that the person she likes is from the Jia Ma Empire.

Xiao Yu looked at the little girl in front of him. She did resemble Zi Yan somewhat, except that the girl's eyes were dark gray, giving her a somewhat eerie look.

Moreover, Xiao Yu could sense the powerful aura emanating from the girl, indicating that she was also at the Dou Wang realm. To be able to reach the Dou Wang realm at such a young age was a testament to her talent!

"Who is this person? Does the Chuyun Empire actually have such a talented alchemist?" Xiao Yu wondered to himself.

Just as Xiao Yu's powerful soul slowly swept over Yan Xixi, Yan Xixi's heart suddenly stopped, a blush rose on her face, she glared at Xiao Yu Xiao Yu, and then turned her head away from him.

Just as Xiao Yu was about to withdraw his Soul Power, he felt that Yan Xixi 'Xiao Yu aura became somewhat blurred, which surprised him!

"Huh? She noticed me?" Xiao Yu looked at Yan Xixi's face and indeed saw a blush. He felt a little embarrassed!

When Soul Power sweeps over someone with lower Soul Power without any precautions, one can sense everything about that person. Of course, if the other person is on guard, or if one's strength and Soul Power are lower than the other person's, it will be useless!

However, Xiao Yu only wanted to check Yan Xixi's aura, and did not actually scan her body completely, so he did not see anything. Judging from the looks of it, Yan Xixi must have misunderstood!

Xiao Yu didn't intend to explain anything; of course, even if he did, no one would believe him.

What surprised Xiao Yu the most was that Xiao Yu Soul Power had already reached the Spirit Realm Great Perfection. Logically, he shouldn't have been discovered by others, but in fact, he was discovered by Yan Xixi.

This means that Yan Xixi's Soul Power is no less than his, which is interesting. Although the Soul Power of Fifth-grade Alchemist is relatively strong, it is not possible for everyone to have Soul Power as strong as the Spirit Realm Great Perfection!

Take Huo Yue'er for example. Although she has reached the Fifth-grade Alchemist realm, her Soul Power should be around the Mortal Realm High Level, and she hasn't even entered the Spirit Realm yet!

Even for fifth- or Sixth Grade Alchemist like Fama and Gu He, their Soul Power was only at the Mortal Realm Great Perfection.

Reaching the Spirit Realm in Soul Power qualifies one to refine Grade Eight Pills, reaching the Heavenly State qualifies one to refine Ninth-grade Pill, and reaching the Emperor Realm qualifies one to refine Emperor-grade Pill!

This is why many people never reach a higher level of alchemy in their entire lives!

Xiao Yu originally thought that his Soul Power was the strongest among the younger generation on this continent, but now it seems that this is not the case!

Although Xiao Yu didn't know who this was, he could roughly guess that it was Yan Xixi, the strongest alchemist of the younger generation in the Chuyun Empire!

"Interesting. This girl actually has such strong Soul Power. I wonder if she'd be willing to join my Underworld?" Xiao Yu muttered, stroking his chin.

Now he wants to trick anyone he sees into going to the Underworld, and now that he's seen a genius like Yan Xixi, he's itching to get her!

When Yao Yue overheard Xiao Yu muttering to himself, she asked, "What are you muttering about?"

Xiao Yu was slightly taken aback, then said, "It's nothing. This time you have a formidable opponent, especially Huo Yue'er!"

Huo Yue'er, who was standing quietly behind him, was slightly taken aback, and then asked, "Who?"

Xiao Yu pointed at Yan Xixi and said, "It's her. She's very strong. Yao Yue is no match for her, but Yue'er can give it a try!"

"What?"

"What?"

Yao Yue and Huo Yue'er looked at Xiao Yu and said in unison.

Xiao Yu chuckled and said, "Princess Yue'er is no match for her, but Huo Yue'er can give it a try!"

Yao Yue said somewhat indignantly, "You look down on me that much!"

Xiao Yu shook his head slightly and said, "It's not that I look down on you, but even the alchemists of the Mulan Empire and the Luoyan Empire are the same. It's hard to explain now, I'll tell you later!"

Yao Yue pouted slightly and said, "Alright then!"

Huo Yue'er glanced at Yan Xixi thoughtfully.

Soon, a series of dark stone platforms appeared on the high platform in the center of the square; this was their competition venue.

"Alright, these are your number plates. Go to the stone platform according to your number plates and start refining medicine. There is a button under the stone platform. Press it and the medicinal herbs will appear!" Fama waved his hand, and dozens of black shadows rushed towards the group.

The sound of wind cutting through the air carried numbered tokens precisely towards the crowd, who clenched their hands into claws and caught the tokens.

These alchemists glanced at the number plates and walked directly to the dark stone platform.

Xiao Yu received number 34, which was near the back. To his surprise, Yan Xixi was to his left, Huo Yue'er was to his right, and Yao Yue. All the women around him were girls, which attracted the attention of some people who were interested in these three women.

After all, whether it's Yao Yue, Huo Yue'er, or Yan Xixi, they are all very beautiful, so it's understandable that they attract some attention!

However, Xiao Yu's position has aroused the jealousy of many.

Xiao Yu paid no attention to the envious looks from these people. He gently pressed the button below, and two stone slabs split open in the center of the stone platform. Then, two portions of medicinal herbs and a scroll slowly rose out of the small pit.

"The first round of the Alchemy Competition is officially beginning!" Fama announced loudly as he opened the hourglass.