The Bet, Victory or Defeat!

To do a good job, one must first sharpen one's tools; cheap goods come with plenty of excuses, and poor students blame their stationery.

To some extent, those two sayings were true, and Su Heng now understood them more deeply than ever.

Although the cauldron Lin Fei had lent him was only first-tier, its materials and craftsmanship far surpassed the standard practice cauldrons used by the academy. Its resistance to flames was on an entirely different level.

After getting used to the high-quality cauldron Lin Fei had given him, Su Heng used this most basic apprentice cauldron again and suddenly injected it with high-temperature flames. The apprentice cauldron could not withstand the heat and exploded on the spot.

At the same time as the cauldron exploded, Su Heng sensed another problem through his soul power.

"My body hasn't fully recovered yet. My control over my Dou Qi is a little unstable. I need to finish this quickly today!"

Sensing that his control over Dou Qi had weakened, Su Heng decided to stop while he was ahead today and not attempt anything unnecessary.

He lit the cauldron once more and, before everyone's eyes, threw all five stalks of Blood-Stanching Grass into it.

"Has this guy gone mad? Refining five medicinal herbs at once? Who does he think he is?"

"Exactly! Even a first-tier alchemist couldn't refine five medicinal herbs at the same time."

"Sigh... He's so young, yet that explosion must have fried his brain. What a tragedy..."

"Want to make a bet on how long before his cauldron explodes? I bet it'll happen within five minutes!"

Seeing Su Heng's actions, the apprentices almost all thought he had gone insane. Many had even begun betting on when his cauldron would explode. Even Master Otto on the platform frowned deeply at Su Heng's baffling move.

"Refining five stalks of Blood-Stanching Grass at once requires extremely precise control of the heat. One mistake and the cauldron will explode. Even second-tier alchemists avoid such a method. Su Heng, don't let cleverness become folly. I truly can't afford this embarrassment!"

The same medicinal herb might require different levels of heat depending on its quality, but the temperature itself did not need to be controlled within overly harsh limits.

Over the past three days, Su Heng had sacrificed ten stalks of Blood-Stanching Grass in order to purify their medicinal powder. By now, he could precisely control the heat, adjusting the flame's temperature within a tiny range and selectively dissolving those stubborn impurities.

Now, he merely needed to refine five stalks of Blood-Stanching Grass into medicinal powder. Such temperature control was not difficult for him.

Inside the cauldron, pale yellow flames surged as they freely refined the herbs.

The outer skins of the Blood-Stanching Grass were quickly burned into black residue. The remaining juice gradually gathered beneath the flames' embrace, fusing into an egg-sized sphere that began rolling around the center of the cauldron.

Under Su Heng's control, the bright flames gently compressed the semitransparent liquid. Faint moisture steamed out and completely evaporated within the cauldron.

Half an hour later, the medicinal liquid formed from the five stalks of Blood-Stanching Grass had been thoroughly dried by the flames, becoming a mass of grayish-white medicinal powder.

Looking at the powder inside the cauldron, Su Heng let out a long sigh and shook his head helplessly. This powder contained at least thirty percent impurities. Its actual medicinal effect was not even half that of the pure white powder he had refined before.

If he had enough time, Su Heng was confident he could refine this entire pile of medicinal powder into pure white powder. But that would take at least half a month. No matter how unpleasant it looked now, he could only leave it at that.

With a soft sound, the cauldron lid, tortured until it had twisted out of shape, slowly rose. A mass of grayish-white medicinal powder floated out. Su Heng raised a blue porcelain tray and steadily caught it. The task was complete.

"Teacher, I'm done!"

Silence. Absolute silence. Even the sound of flames burning gradually faded away. Throughout the entire Alchemy Hall, there was nothing but boundless stillness.

Every alchemy apprentice stared at Su Heng. They allowed the herbs in their own cauldrons to burn into ashes because they could not believe what they were seeing.

The apprentices neither dared nor wished to believe that a fool who had exploded three cauldrons a day just five days ago, an idiot who had just blown up a cauldron while lighting it, could now refine five medicinal herbs at once in just over half an hour.

What exactly was going on?

Every apprentice's mind was filled with doubt. Even Lin Fei and Xue Mei wore expressions of utter disbelief. Lin Fei hurried to Su Heng's bluestone table, snatched away the medicinal powder, pinched up a small amount, placed it in her palm, and inspected it over and over.

Xue Mei, meanwhile, stood to the side without saying a word, cold as ice with her delicate brows slightly furrowed.

"Move aside. Let me see."

Master Otto slowly descended from the platform. He gently pushed Lin Fei aside, took Su Heng's medicinal powder, picked up a small pinch to examine it, then leaned closer and lightly sniffed it.

"It is indeed fully refined Blood-Stanching Grass. Su Heng, you pass."

"What? Impossible! He must have cheated! He cheated! He... he must have hidden the medicinal powder beforehand."

Before Otto could finish speaking, a shrill scream rang out from the other side of the Alchemy Hall. Su Heng looked over and saw that it came from one of the "grandmaster-level" gamblers.

He had bet thirty stalks of Blood-Stanching Grass that Su Heng's cauldron would explode today. Now his eyes were bloodshot, his breathing ragged, and his entire body trembling from his crushing loss.

Seeing him on the verge of collapse, Su Heng could only sigh helplessly.

"Willing to bet, willing to lose." It was easy to say those words, but truly difficult to do. At least this fellow clearly could not manage it.

"Senior Brother, I know you lost badly, but a bet is a bet. Someone who can't afford to lose looks very ugly. Why make such a scene?"

Su Heng did not hold back. If Lin Fei had stepped forward to accuse him of cheating, he might actually have felt upset and refined pills in public to prove his innocence. But this random apprentice? Who even was he?

"I also don't believe you can refine five medicinal herbs at once. Just now, everyone was fully focused on refining their own herbs. Who knows whether you tampered with something in secret?"

A crisp yet icy voice came from the crowd. Xue Mei took light steps forward. Dressed in silver-white, she looked like a fairy descending into the mortal world, but in Su Heng's eyes, she was now not even as appealing as a plucked pheasant.

"Xue Mei? You don't accept it either? I've long heard that you and Senior Sister Lin Fei are rivals. Could it be that you can't afford to lose too?"

"I merely raised a perfectly reasonable point. You're so eager to refute me. Could it be that you have a guilty conscience?"

Xue Mei looked coldly at Su Heng. She had no favorable impression of him, and because of Lin Fei, she even disliked him somewhat.

"It seems that if I can't prove my innocence today, word will spread and damage Teacher's and Senior Sister's reputations."

"Since that's the case, how about we make a bet? If I win, you provide twenty sets of ingredients for Blood-Staunching Pills. If I lose, I'll withdraw from the academy tomorrow and leave the Black Rock City Alchemist Guild. How about it? Do you dare?"

Su Heng did not show Xue Mei any courtesy. Relying on being a goddess admired by everyone, she acted so arrogantly. Today, he would make her bleed heavily, teach her a lesson, and let her know there was always someone better.

Upon hearing Su Heng's wager, Xue Mei visibly hesitated for a moment. Twenty sets of ingredients for Blood-Staunching Pills were no small sum, even for her.

To refine one Blood-Staunching Pill required one stalk of Blood-Stanching Grass and two Qi-Replenishing Fruits. That meant twenty stalks of Blood-Stanching Grass and forty Qi-Replenishing Fruits, worth around thirty thousand gold coins.

For an alchemy apprentice who was merely a Dou Practitioner, taking out thirty thousand gold coins would probably wipe out an entire year's living expenses.

Seeing Xue Mei's troubled expression, Lin Fei felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction. She quickly stepped forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with Su Heng, saying smugly.

"Too scared to bet? Didn't you just say my junior brother cheated? Why are you suddenly scared now that you have to pay up? Or do you know my junior brother didn't cheat at all, so you're unsure and afraid?"

Lin Fei laughed smugly. She lightly patted Su Heng's shoulder and gave him a sweet smile that said, "Well done."

"Fine, I'll bet! I refuse to believe you didn't cheat. If you can refine five stalks of Blood-Stanching Grass successfully again in front of everyone, in front of Master Otto, you win. If you can't do it within forty minutes, you lose!"

Xue Mei clenched her silver teeth and gripped her silver dress tightly with both hands. Several wrinkles had already been pulled into the originally flawless dress. Regardless of who won or lost, the silver dress had retired early.

"Fine. Heaven and earth as witnesses, our teachers as witnesses, and all our fellow students as witnesses. I'll refine five stalks of Blood-Stanching Grass within forty minutes. If any of the rest of you want to place bets, I suggest you do it soon."

Su Heng smugly swept his gaze around. The male apprentices nearby were nearly grinding their teeth in fury as they glared at him. Xue Mei was the goddess in their hearts, and now that she had been so offended, the emperor had not even panicked before the eunuchs did.

"I bet twenty stalks of Blood-Stanching Grass that Junior Brother Su Heng wins!"

Lin Fei was the first to speak. She proudly thrust out her chest, and the naturally gifted curves that seemed ready to burst forth caused a stir in the crowd. When it came to figure, Lin Fei far surpassed Xue Mei.

"I bet ten stalks of Blood-Stanching Grass that Senior Sister Xue Mei wins!"

"I bet five stalks of Blood-Stanching Grass that Senior Sister Xue Mei wins!"

The cries of betting rose one after another. Soon, all the apprentices had made their wagers. Just as Su Heng had expected, aside from Lin Fei's unwavering support, everyone else stood on Xue Mei's side.

It was not that they truly cared so much about Xue Mei. They simply refused to accept that Su Heng was a genius.

"Fine. I'll serve as the judge today. Su Heng, once you're ready, you may begin."

Master Otto stroked his beard, looking rather pleased. He vaguely felt that Su Heng was not boasting and might truly succeed, so Otto was also looking forward to his performance.

Pale yellow flames slowly burned within the cauldron. Under everyone's watchful eyes, Su Heng tossed in Blood-Stanching Grass that he had casually taken from other bluestone tables.

Under Su Heng's control, the flames inside the cauldron were sometimes gentle and delicate, sometimes violent and fierce. The five stalks of Blood-Stanching Grass dissolved into liquid in an orderly fashion, and as the flames flickered, the liquid gradually evaporated and transformed into grayish-white medicinal powder.

When the final drop of liquid turned into a wisp of white smoke and drifted through the quiet air, Xue Mei's suspended heart finally died.

She had witnessed Su Heng's entire refining process with her own eyes. There had been no cheating, no tricks. There was only ultimate control over the heat, perfect coordination between soul perception and Dou Qi.

Even if she practiced for another three years, she might not reach his level. At that moment, she finally realized her own ignorance, arrogance, and shortsightedness.

"You... won..."

Xue Mei lowered her head and spoke in a voice so soft it was nearly inaudible.

What she had lost was not merely twenty sets of ingredients, but also her pride as a genius. Before her stood an imposing mountain she could never hope to climb.

Su Heng casually removed the medicinal powder from the cauldron and placed it onto a white porcelain tray. Only then did he turn to look at the stunned losers.

"You lost. Remember to pay up!"

"Ah!! This shouldn't be happening!"

A miserable wail rang out again. The "grandmaster-level" gambler rolled his eyes back, foamed at the mouth, and fell stiffly to the ground, unconscious.

Amid the cries of despair, Xue Mei, who had lost everything, lowered her head and blushed as she turned to leave the Alchemy Hall. After all, she had never said she would hand over the twenty sets of ingredients today. Right now, she only wanted to leave this place of sorrow as quickly as possible.

"Hey, don't run! Didn't you say that among the younger generation of Black Rock City, no one could surpass you? Now that person has appeared. Let me think, I remember you said you would..."

Lin Fei gleefully grabbed Xue Mei, who was trying to escape. Xue Mei had mocked her relentlessly these past few days, and Lin Fei finally had a chance to strike back. There was no way she would let it go.

"Sorry, he isn't from Black Rock City."

Xue Mei lowered her head even further. Whether from frustration or shame, her entire face had turned crimson. She shook off Lin Fei and only wanted to flee this place as quickly as possible.

Lin Fei wanted to continue pressing her, but Otto stopped her from the side. Xue Mei was Master Frank's disciple and the apple of his eye.

Having lost so badly was already enough of a blow to her. If they went too far, Frank might come looking to fight him to the death. It was best to stop while they were ahead.

"Hmph, let's see if she dares act so smug in the future!"

Lin Fei pouted and smiled smugly. A moment later, she seemed to remember something. She wrapped an arm around Su Heng's and asked.

"You brat was still blowing up cauldrons five days ago. How did you suddenly become so amazing? What happened? Explain yourself honestly!"

"Of course, it's because of Senior Sister Lin Fei's help. Without the cauldron and medicinal herbs you gave me, I wouldn't have had the chance to practice day and night. This is all thanks to you, Senior Sister."

Su Heng smiled at Lin Fei. More than half of what he said was true, and Lin Fei was naturally delighted. Leaning against him, she rubbed herself against him several times and said coquettishly.

"You did well, brat. I'm treating today. Let's celebrate properly!"

"Ah, I haven't been this happy in such a long time! Yay!!"

A joyful smile bloomed across Lin Fei's face. She had endured so much frustration these past few days, and now that everything had finally gone her way, she practically felt like she could fly.

"Alright, I'll listen to Senior Sister in everything!"

The moment he finished speaking, Su Heng felt his legs go weak. His body swayed, and he collapsed onto the stone chair beside the bluestone table. He had wanted to finish quickly and go home to sleep, but after all those twists and turns, he had still exhausted the last trace of his Dou Qi. What suffering!