Astonishing the Crowd

The Ice Condensation Pill was a top-tier Second-grade Pill.

Though its name contained the word "ice," it was not exclusive to cultivators with water- or ice-attributed affinity.

The key to this pill lay in condensing qi. It could assist a Dou Zhe in gathering Dou Qi, increasing their advancement speed severalfold.

While it could not directly let a Dou Zhe advance, a Seven-star or Eight-star Dou Zhe who would normally need a year to rise a star could complete that advancement within a month after taking an Ice Condensation Pill.

The Ice Condensation Pill's value lay in the fact that it required an extremely difficult medicinal ingredient—Ice Jade Marrow—as its main ingredient!

This herb possessed an extremely cold nature and was encased in an icy jade shell!

If the flames were too fierce during refinement, the jade marrow inside would melt and lose its effectiveness.

Yet if the flames were too weak, they could not draw out the jade marrow's medicinal potency. Only flawless and precise control over the flames could successfully refine Ice Jade Marrow.

Not to mention Second-grade Alchemists, even many Third-grade Alchemists found this difficult to achieve. Thus, the Ice Condensation Pills on the market were almost all refined by Fourth-grade or even Fifth-grade Alchemists, making them exorbitantly expensive and nearly impossible to buy.

What was even more interesting was that Frank and Otto had actually announced the examination's content in front of everyone.

Upon hearing that the two contestants were to refine Ice Condensation Pills, the knowledgeable Alchemist Apprentices were so shocked their eyes went wide. Even the other Alchemists from the Black Rock City Alchemist Guild looked as if their jaws had hit the floor.

"Sister Lin Fei, your hand is so cold. What happened?"

Qing Lin noticed that the jade-like hand she was holding felt like ice freshly taken from a cellar.

Lin Fei's expression was panicked, her limbs ice-cold, and her heart lodged in her throat. Angry and anxious, she cursed inwardly.

Otto, you old bastard! You're obviously trying to make Junior Brother embarrass himself in public! Even you only have a fifty-percent chance of refining an Ice Condensation Pill, let alone Junior Brother Su Heng!

"Qing Lin, even those two old men on the stage might not necessarily succeed in refining an Ice Condensation Pill. Do you understand now?"

Lin Fei's face was as dark as frost as she glared fiercely at Otto, venting her dissatisfaction.

Xue Mei also looked at her teacher, Frank, somewhat speechlessly. Deliberately setting such a difficult problem in an examination was truly hard for her to accept.

The Black Rock City powerhouses watching from the sidelines were equally dissatisfied. Deliberately making things so difficult for an examinee was rather disgraceful.

The crowd was indignant, yet the two people in the examination area remained calm, even smiling faintly.

The Ice Condensation Pill was exactly what they wanted. Only such extreme difficulty could allow them to truly determine who was superior.

Black and purple flames rose within their respective medicine cauldrons.

With an opponent this formidable, concealing their abilities was unnecessary. Neither held anything back as they displayed everything they had learned.

Refining an Ice Condensation Pill required a total of five medicinal ingredients. The handling method for the main ingredient, Ice Jade Marrow, was especially important. Yet Xiao Yan and Su Heng's methods of processing herbs were vastly different.

Each time, Su Heng placed only one medicinal ingredient into his cauldron. Once he had completely refined it to utmost purity, he removed it from the cauldron and stored it in a jade bottle that preserved medicinal potency.

As for Xiao Yan, he placed every ingredient other than the Ice Jade Marrow into the cauldron at once, refining four herbs simultaneously.

Their only similarity was that they had both left the Ice Jade Marrow for last.

On the host platform, Frank and Otto watched the two completely different methods and began whispering to each other.

"Old Otto, Xiao Yan's soul strength is truly terrifying. Different herbs require completely different temperatures, yet he can refine four at once. Even you and I can hardly match such fire control."

"As for that disciple of yours, his methods were already rather conservative during his previous alchemy lessons. It seems he is still the same now."

In Frank's eyes, Su Heng refined only one herb at a time because he feared losing control of the temperature and making mistakes, so he had chosen the most conservative method of alchemy.

"Su is best at completely removing impurities from medicinal ingredients. Refining one herb at a time lets him maximize its medicinal potency. Focus makes one strong, division of focus makes one weak. I think you're the one who's gone senile!"

Otto shot Frank an annoyed glance. It was obvious Xiao Yan suited Frank's tastes perfectly. If Xiao Yan had not already had a teacher, Frank would probably have rushed over to take him as a disciple long ago.

"Isn't it simply because he lacks the ability to control the temperature and can't refine four ingredients at once? Denying it is useless."

The two old men could not help bickering again on the stage, while Lin Fei and Xue Mei below wore expressions full of black lines.

Though they found it embarrassing, they had to admit that Frank's words made sense.

Two hours passed in a flash, but no one in the hall felt the slightest fatigue. They remained fully focused as they watched this clash between gifted youths.

Su Heng had already refined the other four medicinal ingredients and sorted them into four jade bottles of different colors.

Xiao Yan, meanwhile, was still refining his herbs. Purple Flame wrapped around the four ingredients like cotton, and he remained unhurried as time passed, waiting until the Purple Flame had completely removed every impurity within them.

So far, Xiao Yan's performance had clearly surpassed Su Heng's. He had refined four herbs at once while still bringing their purity to the highest level.

Even Otto and Frank on the stage willingly admitted inferiority before such exquisite fire control.

"Frank, it seems this little fellow's teacher is at least a Sixth-grade Alchemist. You should stop dreaming of taking him as your disciple."

Otto exposed Frank's hidden thoughts, leaving the latter rather embarrassed. With a dark expression, Frank said,

"Hmph, your disciple does indeed look like someone taught by a Fourth-grade Alchemist."

"You...!"

Seeing Su Heng at a disadvantage, Otto was left speechless by Frank's retort. He could only snort and turn away.

Within the examination area, Su Heng, having finished refining the four ingredients, finally began working on the Ice Jade Marrow.

He carefully placed the Ice Jade Marrow into the medicine cauldron, suppressed the temperature of the flames to their lowest point, and then began raising it gradually.

For medicinal ingredients whose required temperature was difficult to control, gradually increasing the heat to test their requirements was the safest and most basic method.

"He doesn't know the temperature required to refine Ice Jade Marrow?"

Gradually increasing the heat would exhaust his Dou Qi and end with the cauldron exploding!

This was the very mistake Su Heng had made when he first learned alchemy. Seeing this, Frank could no longer contain his surging emotions and rose from the host platform.

Otto's eyes widened at the sight, and he nearly fainted. He simply turned his head away, unable to bear watching any longer.

He had never expected Xiao Yan's strength to be this terrifying!

If Otto had still retained even a trace of hope, Xiao Yan's next action crushed it completely.

Without the slightest hesitation, Xiao Yan directly tossed the Ice Jade Marrow into his medicine cauldron.

The instant the Ice Jade Marrow entered the cauldron, the other four ingredients rushed at it like children seeing their mother, tightly wrapping around it.

Enveloped by the medicinal ingredients, the Ice Jade Marrow began rapidly melting and swiftly fused with the other herbs.

At this sight, Frank and Otto could no longer remain seated. Xiao Yan actually knew how to use the mutually reinforcing relationship between different medicinal ingredients to break apart the shells of herbs that were difficult to refine.

The shell of the Ice Jade Marrow was extremely difficult to refine, but the jade marrow within was exceptionally gentle.

Taking advantage of the fact that the Ice Jade Marrow's shell would not resist herbs with mutually reinforcing properties, Xiao Yan used pure medicinal potency as a guide to completely dismantle its stubborn defenses.

Even Otto and Frank, both Fourth-grade Alchemists, were incapable of such a method.

"This little fellow's teacher is the truly frightening one. Now I think his teacher is at least a Seventh-grade Alchemist..."

"Yes... I never expected such a person to emerge in the Jia Ma Empire. It is truly terrifying."

The two old men were astonishingly united in opinion. Before them, not to mention Su Heng, even the two of them would likely suffer crushing defeats if they took the stage.

The other spectators now shared Otto and Frank's view.

Su Heng's alchemy methods were too simple, still stuck at a purely basic level. Compared with Xiao Yan, who could wield complex alchemy techniques, he was like a child beside a hero.

"Junior Brother... I never thought even you... would lose..."

A powerful sense of defeat enveloped Lin Fei's heart. At that moment, Xiao Yan's slender black figure seemed like a vast canopy blotting out the sky, obscuring everyone else's brilliance and making every apprentice of the Black Rock City Alchemist Guild seem inferior by comparison.

The other Black Rock City apprentices also fell silent. Xiao Yan had already completely refined the Ice Jade Marrow, while the shell in Su Heng's cauldron had only just begun to melt.

In other words, Su Heng had only now found the temperature required for the Ice Jade Marrow.

"Xue Mei, I've realized that all our previous fighting was just child's play. This is too discouraging..."

"Yes... it's too discouraging... Even if we trained for another ten years, we still wouldn't compare to a fraction of Xiao Yan. There is always a higher sky and a greater person. Today, I have truly seen it with my own eyes."

The longtime rivals no longer had any barriers between them. Before absolute talent, reality had slapped them awake.

Among the gradually quieting crowd, a young and anxious voice tore through the increasingly still atmosphere. Tears filled Qing Lin's eyes as she shouted at Su Heng.

"Brother Su Heng, don't lose! Don't lose to him!"

When everyone else had already given up on you, I would still stand by your side and believe that you could win.

"Don't worry! I won't lose. Just wait and see."

At this critical moment in alchemy, he could not afford even the slightest distraction. Su Heng did not turn around, merely responding calmly to Qing Lin's encouragement.

He had heard the conversations around him, and he had clearly felt Xiao Yan's extraordinary alchemy skills.

But had Su Heng truly lost?

The pill had not even taken shape yet. How could victory or defeat already be decided?

The gradually rising temperature completely melted the shell of the Ice Jade Marrow, leaving only the milky-white Jade Marrow Fluid flowing within.

Yet this Jade Marrow Fluid had merely been separated from its shell. It was nothing more than another unrefined medicinal ingredient.

Su Heng could clearly sense a vast number of black particles within the Jade Marrow Fluid. Those minute impurities had a decisive impact on its medicinal potency.

For others, obtaining the Jade Marrow Fluid would already mean success. But for Su Heng, only perfectly pure and flawless Jade Marrow Fluid was what he wanted.

The black flames blazed again. Amid the fierce fire, the milky-white Jade Marrow Fluid gradually shrank from the size of an egg to only the size of a longan.

Under Su Heng's refinement, the Jade Marrow Fluid slowly changed from milky white to a translucent bright white. Only then had the impurities in the Ice Jade Marrow finally been completely removed.

Refining such a tiny amount of medicinal ingredient had taken Su Heng a full three hours.

By then, sweat had soaked through his clothes, making him look as if he had just been pulled from the water.

Xiao Yan, on the other hand, remained composed, with a trace of joy at his impending success on his face.

After refining the Jade Marrow Fluid, Xiao Yan did not hurry to fuse the pill. Instead, he refined all five medicinal ingredients simultaneously, repeatedly optimizing them to enhance the pill's potency.

As Su Heng placed the other four refined ingredients back into his medicine cauldron, everyone understood that this duel was about to reach its end, and the victor would soon be revealed.

Within the surging flames, the refined ingredients had begun merging inside their cauldrons. Two masses of azure-blue medicinal liquid gradually condensed beneath the flames' embrace.

Su Heng's face was deathly pale, without a trace of color in his lips. His Dou Qi was nearly exhausted, and his body had begun trembling uncontrollably.

Xiao Yan was equally pale. Refining the Ice Condensation Pill had consumed more than he expected, and the intense drain on his Dou Qi left him somewhat dizzy as well.

Since teaching himself alchemy, this was the first time he had expended all his strength to refine a single pill.

In both alchemy and Dou Qi, they had reached their limits!

"Condense for me!"

Su Heng was the first to break the oppressive silence. Within his medicine cauldron, a sky-blue pill solidified, radiating dazzling brilliance.

Su Heng shouted, and the cauldron lid soared into the air. The sky-blue pill shot out of the cauldron and flew directly toward him.

The pill formed, and the flames died. The black flames silently extinguished after the pill flew from the medicine cauldron. Su Heng's gaze was resolute as he extended his right hand and caught the pill steadily in his palm.

Without any unnecessary movement, Su Heng swiftly placed the pill into a white jade bottle, tightened the stopper, and gently set the bottle upon the bluestone table.

After completing all this, Su Heng felt the world spin around him, and he nearly collapsed. With the last of his awareness, he gripped the corner of the bluestone table tightly, trying to force himself to remain standing.

However, his utterly depleted strength no longer allowed him to persist. Su Heng's legs went limp, and his body fell backward.

"Puff!"

A soft yet powerful touch came from behind him. Cool Dou Qi slowly entered Su Heng's body, while a pair of small, tender hands caught him just as he was about to fall.

"Qing Lin... thank you. Brother is fine..."

Su Heng's voice was weak and soft. His words, "I'm fine," sounded less like reassurance and more like an attempt to prove it to himself.

"Brother Su Heng, stop talking..."

Tears filled Qing Lin's eyes as she anxiously and gently supported the nearly collapsing Su Heng.

The instant Su Heng formed his pill, she had ignored Lin Fei's attempts to stop her and charged into the examination area like she had gone mad.

At the same time, on the bluestone table opposite them, Xiao Yan had also formed his pill. The indigo-blue pill released an enticing fragrance, drawing gasps from the crowd!

A Second-grade Pill had actually been refined with Pill Fragrance!

One had to know that Pill Fragrance was a unique aroma normally emitted only by pills of Fourth Grade and above, yet Xiao Yan's Ice Condensation Pill was merely a Second-grade Pill.

After putting away the pill, Xiao Yan's slender body also became unsteady, swaying as if he might fall at any moment.

Before he could react, however, more than a dozen curvaceous and beautiful young women rushed forward, competing to "support" him.

In an instant, Xiao Yan was surrounded by beautiful women, soft jade and warm fragrance in his arms, making everyone else green with envy.

An Alchemist capable of refining Pill Fragrance into a Second-grade Pill was a one-of-a-kind existence throughout the entire Jia Ma Empire.

More terrifying still, this Alchemist was only seventeen years old!

Countless young women had already made him the man of their dreams, and who knew how many factions were willing to treat him as an honored guest.

Meanwhile, Su Heng, who had remained at a disadvantage throughout and had nearly sacrificed half his life refining the pill, received no attention at all. Only his fellow disciples, Lin Fei and Xue Mei, stepped forward to care for him.

Some people were born to be protagonists, while others were destined to become victors!

"This time... I won..."

Looking at Xiao Yan, surrounded by admirers and soft, fragrant beauty, Su Heng smiled.