The medicinal ingredients entered the cauldron.
Cao Ying moved extremely fast.
The Red Sun Flower turned into a mass of crimson medicinal liquid in her flame. The Three-Sun Bone-Shedding Branch was peeled open layer by layer by the Demon Phoenix Crimson Flame, its bone-vein medicinal properties drawn out. The instant the Seven-Leaf Cold Heart Grass entered the cauldron, she used the force of the fire to press it into the deepest part of the medicinal liquid, turning cold into a lock that sealed away the excessive yang force.
Her alchemy was extraordinarily beautiful.
The flames were like a dance, and the soul threads were like zither strings.
Every shift of the fire seemed to land precisely on the weakest point of the medicinal properties, forcing the ingredients to surrender their purest essence.
On Xiao Fan's side, however, he was much slower.
A pale-green flame wrapped around the ingredients, nurturing, separating, and tempering them one by one. Each step was so meticulous it was almost cumbersome.
By the time Cao Ying had completed most of the fusion of the medicinal liquid, Xiao Fan was still processing the Three-Sun Bone-Shedding Branch.
Whispers gradually rose from the spectator stands.
"Mu Fan is slow."
"His supplementary formula is more complicated than Cao Ying's. If his firepower isn't enough, he won't have time to condense the pill later."
"The Ye Family's first place might not hold."
Ye Xinlan's fingertips turned white.
Yet Ye Zhong stared fixedly at Xiao Fan's Medicine Cauldron. There was no panic in his aged eyes; instead, there was a trace of indescribable anticipation.
He could not see through Xiao Fan.
But he knew Xiao Fan would not make a low-level mistake at a time like this.
Cao Ying saw it too.
The smile in her eyes slowly faded, and she suddenly