Douluo Traversal: I Pull Out a Dou Technique and You Don't Explode?

Liu Bai faced the curious, skeptical, and expectant gazes of the two Grandmasters and everyone in the hall, then calmly uttered three words.

"Third Grade."

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Otto nearly tore out a strand of his own beard.

"My young friend, the Alchemist assessment is no joke, and the examination can only begin from First Grade."

Liu Bai chuckled.

"Then I'll take the First-Grade test first, followed by the Second-Grade test, and finally the Third-Grade test."

Frank carefully examined Liu Bai upon hearing this. Sixteen years old?

That face looked rather familiar. Could it be...

He recalled someone—the strongest genius in the Jia Ma Empire, and currently the Royal Family's greatest genius.

Liu Bai. That was right, his name was Liu Bai as well. Frank had initially assumed they merely shared the same name, but it was actually him.

Frank had never met Liu Bai, but given Liu Bai's current status and talent, it was difficult for any of the Jia Ma Empire's true upper echelons not to know him.

Otto was naturally an exception. That fellow truly did not know him and never paid attention to such matters, usually devoting himself solely to researching alchemy.

The two exchanged a glance.

Remembering the young man's identity, Frank suddenly understood. If he really was that legendary genius, then a sixteen-year-old taking the Third-Grade Alchemist assessment, though shocking to the world, was not entirely impossible.

"Ahem."

Frank cleared his throat, suppressing the turmoil in his heart and restoring his president's dignity as he announced loudly.

"Since young friend Liu Bai is so confident, we shall proceed according to the rules. The First-Grade Alchemist assessment begins now! Everyone, please inspect the herbs and equipment on your stone platforms. Once you are ready, the bell will be the signal to begin!"

The other examinees in the hall, including the young people who had initially looked at Liu Bai with jealousy or suspicion, put aside their distracting thoughts and focused on their own assessments.

To them, passing the First-Grade assessment was the most important matter.

Liu Bai first had Xiao Yi Xian sit nearby and watch. He was then led to an empty stone platform. On it sat a standard medicine cauldron, several neatly sorted portions of herbs, and a sheet of parchment bearing the examination requirements.

Liu Bai picked up the parchment and glanced over it. It contained the formula for a First-Grade medicinal pill, the Qi Recovery Pill.

The Qi Recovery Pill could rapidly restore a small amount of Dou Qi. Among First-Grade medicinal pills, its refining difficulty was above average, requiring precise control over the timing and heat used to fuse three ingredients.

This is simpler than I expected.

With Soul Power comparable to that of a Fourth-Grade Alchemist and his current command over Flame, refining such a pill posed virtually no challenge to him.

Unlike the other examinees, he did not immediately ignite a Flame to preheat the medicine cauldron. Instead, he unhurriedly inspected every herb, confirming their age and quality before lightly tapping the medicine cauldron with his fingers.

To Frank and Otto on the raised platform, his calm, professional, and meticulous actions made them silently nod in approval.

"This kid has a solid foundation. He isn't arrogant or impatient, and he's meticulous with every inspection step."

Otto quietly said to Frank.

Frank stroked his beard and smiled without speaking.

"Clang—!"

A crisp bell rang through the hall, announcing the official start of the assessment!

In an instant, firelight flickered before every stone platform as Dou Qi surged forth. The examinees pressed their palms against their cauldrons' fire ports and activated their Dou Qi Flames.

The temperature in the hall immediately rose noticeably. Flames of various colors surged within the medicine cauldrons, most of them pale yellow or light red, representing the fact that most of the examinees were at the Dou Zhe stage.

Only Liu Bai's stone platform remained quiet.

He neither ignited a Flame at once nor hurriedly added the herbs. Instead, he simply closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment.

"What's he doing? Did he get scared stiff?" An examinee caught sight of him and sneered inwardly.

Yet Frank and Otto on the raised platform had slightly grave expressions. They could sense a condensed and powerful Soul Power quietly spreading from Liu Bai's body, like an undercurrent beneath a placid lake.

At that moment, Liu Bai opened his eyes, his gaze clear.

He raised his right hand, palm upward, his five fingers slightly spread.

"Whoosh—"

A cluster of blue-gold Flame sprang into existence above his palm!

The Flame was not especially violent, yet it was condensed almost to the point of being tangible. It emitted a gentle but impossible-to-ignore heat, blue and gold intertwining and flowing together in breathtaking beauty. It also carried an indescribable spirituality and pressure!

"True Flame! He condensed True Flame?!"

A middle-aged Alchemist standing nearby cried out in shock, nearly dropping the recording brush in his hand.

"The Flame's color... blue-gold? What kind of Flame is that? I've never seen it before!"

Another Alchemist widened his eyes as well.

In an instant, everyone in the hall had their attention drawn to that strange blue-gold Flame.

Even the examinees who were nervously refining pills could not help glancing over, their faces immediately revealing shock.

Condensing True Flame was one of the hallmark abilities of a Fourth-Grade Alchemist!

Yet the young man before them had not only condensed True Flame, but its temperature was extraordinarily high!

Straight to Third Grade

What kind of Flame was that?

Frank and Otto's pupils contracted as well.

As Fourth-Grade Alchemists, they could naturally condense True Flame. However, the Flames they condensed, whether in color or aura, were far inferior to the blue-gold Flame in Liu Bai's palm in terms of purity and liveliness!

"This Flame... could it be a Heavenly Flame? No, it isn't a Heavenly Flame. Could it be Beast Flame? How peculiar! Its temperature control is exquisite to the extreme. It possesses both the enduring flexibility of water and the blazing explosiveness of fire... Where did this kid obtain such a strange Flame?"

Otto muttered to himself.

Frank's heart was churning even more violently.

It really is him... This strange Flame is probably related to the Dry Blue Water Flame of the Royal Family's Nether Sea Flood Dragon Beast, though it is also different. It seems to have fused with some other, even stronger fire-attributed power... Elder Jia has truly spared no effort in nurturing him!

Under everyone's horrified gazes, Liu Bai's expression remained unchanged.

With a flick of his wrist, the blue-gold Flame drifted lightly into the medicine cauldron's fire port as though it possessed life.

Boom!

The Flame entered the cauldron and immediately burned steadily, evenly preheating it.

The entire process flowed like water, his control over the Flame reaching an astonishing level of precision.

Once the preheating was complete, Liu Bai began adding the herbs in an orderly fashion.

His movements did not seem fast, yet they carried a unique rhythm. The timing and quantity of every addition were incomparably precise.

His Soul Power continuously monitored every shift in temperature within the medicine cauldron and every reaction of the herbs.

Extraction, purification, fusion, pill formation...

Liu Bai's movements did not pause in the slightest. Every step connected seamlessly with the next.

Under the control of his will, the blue-gold Flame effortlessly completed the tempering process, while extraction and fusion posed no difficulty at all.

His relaxed, effortless manner made it seem as though he were not participating in a tense First-Grade assessment, but performing a pleasing work of art.

On the raised platform, Frank and Otto watched without blinking. The surprise on their faces had long since been replaced by deep admiration, along with a trace of shame at their own inferiority.

They asked themselves honestly: even with their status as Fourth-Grade Alchemists, when refining a First-Grade medicinal pill, they might not be able to perform more perfectly or calmly than the young man before them!

The other examinees were even more devastated.

They were still clumsily controlling their crude Dou Qi Flames, cautiously preventing the medicinal liquids from burning or congealing. Meanwhile, a faint medicinal fragrance had already drifted from Liu Bai's medicine cauldron. During pill refinement, that usually indicated that the pill was about to be completed. How long had it been? He was already about to finish?

Were they supposed to have any chance at all?

"Pill fragrance! It already has pill fragrance?!"

"I've only extracted half my herbs..."

"Comparisons really make people furious!"

Whispers arose from the corners of the hall.

Xiao Yi Xian watched with rapt attention. She had never expected Liu Bai to look so handsome while refining pills. He was completely different from his usual somewhat carefree appearance.

The scene before her looked like something out of a painting.

About the time it took to burn an incense stick, the medicine cauldron before Liu Bai gave a slight tremor. Its lid automatically opened a narrow crack, and several round, plump, lustrous white Qi Recovery Pills flew out, landing accurately in the jade bottle he had prepared beforehand.

Light flowed across the pills' surfaces, their fragrance was pure, and their quality had clearly reached the superior grade!

From beginning to pill formation, he had used only one-third of the time an ordinary examinee would need. He had succeeded in a single attempt, and the quality was outstanding!

"The First-Grade assessment is passed."

President Frank announced loudly, his tone carrying undisguised praise.

He did not even need to inspect the pills to know that Liu Bai's work was of exceptional quality. The pill fragrance and the refining process had already made everything perfectly clear.

A wave of subdued exclamations rose through the hall.

The gazes many examinees directed at Liu Bai had changed from their initial doubt and jealousy into admiration and reverence.

When the gap became large enough, so-called envy and resentment could only turn into awe.

Liu Bai remained calm and did not stop. He looked toward Frank and Otto, cupped his hands, and said,

"President, Grandmaster, this junior requests to immediately take the Second-Grade Alchemist assessment."

Frank and Otto exchanged a glance, both smiling bitterly.

They knew that, for the young man before them, the First-Grade assessment had probably truly been nothing more than a warm-up.

"Prepare the herbs and formula required for the Second-Grade assessment!"

Frank waved a hand.

Before long, new herbs and a Second-Grade pill formula for the Pulse-Protecting Pill were delivered to Liu Bai.

The Pulse-Protecting Pill could protect one's meridians during cultivation or breakthroughs. Its refining difficulty was several times greater than that of the Qi Recovery Pill, requiring a profound understanding of the complex medicinal properties of at least five herbs, as well as more exquisite Flame control.

The instant the herbs arrived, he ignited that strange blue-gold Flame once more.

While refining the Second-Grade medicinal pill, Liu Bai remained completely at ease.