The Ancients Had a Saying: You're Just After My Body!

Alchemy was a job that required alchemists to concentrate one thousand percent. Unless you wanted to experience exploding on the spot. Of course, Gu Xia was an exception—a bug, even.

For a mere first-tier pill, Gu Xia naturally did not need to act personally. He directly handed the task of refinement to the Azure Lotus Emperorheart Flame, which had already become an intelligent microwave oven... Pah! Which had already gained a certain degree of intelligence.

Meanwhile, he leisurely cracked sunflower seeds at the side, occasionally watching the big brother next to him refine pills, or observing the slightly unfamiliar refining techniques of the silver-haired girl.

Frank, the Alchemist Guild president serving as the examiner, was no longer constantly watching the three contestants' refining methods and procedures. He merely lowered his head as though deep in thought...

For most people, the process of refining medicine was exhausting and tedious work. Even Gu Xia, who could have his strange flame automatically refine pills, felt the same way.

"Hmm... This automated alchemy can only help me refine fourth-tier pills at most. It can't handle fifth-tier pills. I wonder if it's because I've never refined a fifth-tier pill before..."

After watching the show for quite a while, Gu Xia felt that he ought to start considering his own situation as well...

"Sigh, I thought that as long as I knew the Emperor Pill formula and found the materials, I could have Little Qing directly refine an Emperor Pill for me. Looks like I was thinking too much..." Gu Xia recalled how, when he had first learned that the Azure Lotus Emperorheart Flame could automatically refine pills for him, he had thought he had struck gold.

But when he had tried to make Little Qing, the Emperorheart Flame, refine a fifth-tier pill for him, it immediately treated Gu Xia to a five-star spiritual medicine explosion!

Although its pathetic power had not even blown the lid off his cauldron, it still calmed Gu Xia down from his excited state...

After many more experiments, Gu Xia discovered that his Azure Lotus Emperorheart Flame seemed capable of refining only pills he had successfully refined before. If Gu Xia had never refined a particular pill, then even if he gave it the formula and all the ingredients, he would get nothing but a pile of scraps in the end—even for a first-tier pill...

"Forget it. This is already pretty good. At least Little Qing refines medicine much faster than I do..."

Indeed, having the intelligent Azure Lotus Emperorheart Flame help Gu Xia refine pills was much faster than refining them himself. Although the quality was just a little lower than when Gu Xia personally refined them, it was still within an acceptable range.

Little Qing, the Emperorheart Flame, refined medicine nearly twice as fast as Gu Xia! Before obtaining a strange flame, Gu Xia had only been about one-third faster than an ordinary alchemist!

While the other two had only just begun refining their spiritual herbs, Little Qing on Gu Xia's side had already started condensing the pill and was about to finish...

Frank had only been thinking for around ten seconds. Although he had seen that Gu Xia could control this strange flame, which appeared to possess a measure of intelligence, alchemy did not rely on fire alone. Soul perception, control over the heat, the proportions of the various ingredients—each of these was an extremely important link. He still did not dare make a decision and intended to continue observing.

If the pill he produced was of sufficiently high grade, then the sole candidate for the opportunity granted to Frank from above might be this young fellow. And Frank himself could ride on Gu Xia's brilliance to reach that legendary place—the paradise of all alchemists...

Frank shook his head, temporarily tossing those still-distant thoughts aside. He continued watching Gu Xia's little fire man refine pills.

As a fourth-tier alchemist, he naturally knew that an alchemist in the midst of refining could not be disturbed. Although Gu Xia himself was not refining the pill, Frank still chose to be cautious and said nothing. His gaze remained fixed on the youth inside the light barrier, who was so bored that he was stacking sunflower seeds into a tower.

He wore a strange expression and remained silent... As he quieted down, the hall fell silent once more. This time, however, most gazes stayed fixed on Gu Xia. Many people wanted to know whether this handsome youth, capable of controlling strange flame fire, could still perform outstandingly in other aspects.

Because Gu Xia had deliberately restrained the Azure Lotus Emperorheart Flame's special aura, the silver-haired girl and young man, who had entered the alchemy state before Gu Xia, were not affected by the "miraculous" scene on his side. They continued steadily refining their own pills according to procedure.

"Teacher! I told you to walk faster! Now look, that bad guy who bullied me has already started the examination..."

Just as Gu Xia was so bored that he was about to guess whether the white... jade pendant on the silver-haired girl's chest was genuine or fake, a sweet voice carrying slight dissatisfaction reached his ears from beyond the soundproof light barrier...

"Girl, don't think I don't know what you're up to. In Black Rock City, is there anyone who could bully you? It would already be good enough if you didn't bully others. Tell me, is that young man as handsome as I was when I was young?"

What followed was a teasing voice full of indulgence. Judging by the sound, it belonged to an elderly man...

"Of course!... Pah, pah! Teacher! What nonsense are you saying? I've only met him once..."

"Oh? Our little girl has learned to be shy. It seems you really do like that brat. Fine, let your teacher take a look and see what kind of talented young man could make our genius girl look like this..."

"Teacher! If you keep talking nonsense, Fei'er will ignore you!"

This time, the girl's voice was clearly tinged with coquettish embarrassment.

When Gu Xia heard the girl's shy, protesting voice, his heart was filled with cold laughter.

Gu Xia's inner thoughts: I knew it. You fairies are all after this Emperor's body! I, Gu. Brilliant and elegant, talented and handsome, suave and dashing, resourceful and clever, fresh and refined, shameless, worse than a beast, an alloy straight man. Xia am the man you fairies will never have!

(Of course, all you readers are likewise exceptionally handsome and refined, broad-minded and generous! So you definitely won't mind that there's only one update today!)

"Ha ha ha, come on, girl. Let's go in and take a look at that bad~ man who bullied you..."

With the old man's hearty laughter, the hall doors opened another crack, as though they feared disturbing the examinees inside. One old and one young figure quietly slipped into this place where alchemists were assessed for their ranks...