Yan Xiao's Failure

Different flames, each dazzling in its own way!

Xiao Yan and Su Heng faced off once more. There was no point in testing each other now; from the moment they made their move, it was the ultimate contest of flames.

Azure Heavenly Flame and six-colored Beast Flames. Though the other Alchemists in Royal Plaza also possessed flames of various colors, they were instantly overshadowed beside those two.

"These two are actually this strong! I really was too reckless yesterday!"

The little princess, Yao Yue, muttered under her breath, feeling thoroughly depressed.

She possessed the Beast Flame of the Imperial Family's guardian magical beast, the Nether Sea Flood Dragon Beast: Dry Blue Water Flame.

It was the Beast Flame of a Sixth-Order Magical Beast, and an exceptionally rare water-attributed Beast Flame at that.

This flame was cold in nature and best suited for female Alchemists. If its wielder was still a virgin, its effects could be enhanced further, even doubled.

With this Beast Flame, little princess Yao Yue stood among the very strongest Third-grade Alchemists.

Naturally, she had absolute confidence in her own flame. Yet after Xiao Yan revealed his azure Heavenly Flame and Su Heng unleashed six Beast Flames, Yao Yue's confidence had utterly vanished.

The power of the Heavenly Flame instantly made the Dry Blue Water Flame dim and submit, while four of the Beast Flames in Su Heng's hand were no weaker than the Dry Blue Water Flame.

The moment little princess Yao Yue sensed all this, her usual arrogance was almost instantly corrected.

Compared to the little princess's frustration, Liu Ling was much calmer.

After all, he was currently using Su Heng's Snake Emperor's Mysterious Flame.

When Su Heng had gone shopping at Mittel Auction House earlier, he had traded away the last of the Snake Emperor's Mysterious Flame to Pill King Gu He.

Pill King Gu He then divided that Snake Emperor's Mysterious Flame into two. Aside from the portion he refined himself, he passed the rest to his disciple, Liu Ling.

Liu Ling had rapidly broken through to become a Fourth-grade Alchemist with a Sixth-tier Beast Flame. Since Su Heng possessed even more and stronger Beast Flames, there was naturally no suspense. Thus, Liu Ling appeared extremely composed.

As the dazzling display of flames from all sides came to an end, the contestants gradually focused on the first challenge before them: refining medicinal ingredients.

To achieve a good ranking in the final assessment of the Alchemist Competition, one had to refine at least a Third-grade Pill. To enter the top ranks, one needed to refine a Fourth-grade Pill.

A Fourth-grade Pill required at least twenty different medicinal ingredients. Refining them all to a relatively pure state within the allotted time was extraordinarily difficult.

For most Alchemists above the third grade, refining medicinal ingredients to purity was not difficult, but it required a great deal of time.

The greatest challenge in a competition was time. Completing something within a set time limit was dozens of times harder than simply completing it.

Many powerful Alchemists could refine a pill of top quality when given enough time, but if they were required to refine the same pill within a time limit, they might only barely succeed in forming it.

To complete a task within a time limit required excellent time management, and only the most experienced could accomplish that.

Looking across all the Alchemists in Royal Plaza, when it came to experience refining Fourth-grade Pills, there was only one person who stood far above the rest!

That was Su Heng, whose soul had been damaged from refining too many Fourth-grade Pills.

Humanity's most precious wealth was experience. As the saying went, having an elder at home was like having a treasure; it spoke of the importance of rich experience.

Though Su Heng had desperately refined pills in his desire to see his family prosper and his friends rise, severely damaging his soul in the process,

his extensive experience refining Fourth-grade Pills still allowed him to remain calm and plan perfectly under these circumstances.

Using the fire-wood dual-attributed Green Nether Flame and Peach Blossom Flame as a foundation, he augmented them with the other four Beast Flames, driving the flames' power to its limit before simultaneously refining all the ingredients needed for a Three-Stripe Green Spirit Pill.

At this moment, only Su Heng could accomplish such a feat.

Even someone as strong as Xiao Yan could only use the Green Lotus Core Flame to refine the medicinal ingredients one by one.

Half an hour later, some Alchemists preparing to refine Third-grade Pills had already finished refining their ingredients and begun preparing for the next step, pill fusion.

Unfortunately, no audience members paid attention to those Alchemists who had finished refining.

Every spectator's gaze was focused on Yan Xiao and Su Heng. They understood that the champion would emerge from one of these two.

Su Heng was fully concentrated, his eyes unblinking as he observed everything inside the cauldron.

He had already refined the ingredients for the Three-Stripe Green Spirit Pill three times. Even if he began pill fusion now, the finished pill would rank among the best pills he had ever refined.

However, Xiao Yan, who possessed a Heavenly Flame, had not stopped refining his ingredients, so Su Heng naturally would not stop either.

"It seems that this time, I'll be refining a pill that even I would want to spend a fortune to buy."

Su Heng looked at the surging medicinal liquid and powder inside the cauldron, once again increasing the output of his Soul Strength as he began sensing the tiniest impurities and flaws within the ingredients.

Within the medicinal liquid and powder in the Flame Phoenix Cauldron, some grayish-white particles remained. Su Heng had already removed all the black impurities.

Those grayish-white particles were roughly ingredients that still retained around sixty percent of their medicinal potency.

Most Alchemists would not be so nitpicky as to remove even those. Even Su Heng normally would not.

But today, Su Heng would!

The burden on his soul increased as he repeatedly refined the medicinal ingredients, and beads of sweat gradually began seeping from Su Heng's forehead.

Yet the refinement had reached a critical moment. Su Heng had no time to wipe away his sweat. He steadied his mind and devoted everything to the final round of refinement.

This time, Su Heng became the slowest person among everyone to finish refining his ingredients...

Xiao Yan, Liu Ling, and Yao Yue all completed their ingredient refinement before Su Heng. Precisely because of this, every one of them felt an immense pressure.

Because Su Heng was still refining his ingredients!

None of the three doubted Su Heng's alchemy skills. The medicinal potency of ingredients refined over and over by him would undoubtedly be elevated to the highest level.

"Brother Su, it seems winning against you this time will truly be difficult!"

Xiao Yan stored his refined ingredients into jade bottles on the bluestone table, preparing to begin pill fusion. Yet before doing so, he hesitated slightly.

The Three-Stripe Green Spirit Pill required three different flames, but Xiao Yan now possessed four.

Green Lotus Core Flame, Purple Crystal Winged Lion Flame, Snake Emperor's Mysterious Flame, and Bone Chilling Flame!

By borrowing Medicine Elder's Heavenly Flame, Xiao Yan would surely gain an absolute advantage during pill fusion. Even if Su Heng refined his ingredients to the utmost purity, he would still lose.

Because the hardest part of refining a Three-Stripe Green Spirit Pill was not refining the ingredients, but pill fusion.

The Three-Stripe Green Spirit Pill required three different flames to imprint pill patterns onto the pill's surface.

Thus, during pill fusion, the Three-Stripe Green Spirit Pill imposed extremely demanding requirements on flame switching. Moreover, the higher the quality of the flames, the higher the quality of the finished pill.

Whether it was the Purple Crystal Winged Lion Flame or the Snake Emperor's Mysterious Flame, both were trash before the Bone Chilling Flame.

But the Bone Chilling Flame did not belong to Xiao Yan. If he borrowed a flame to refine pills, then even if he won, it would be an unworthy victory!

In the end, Xiao Yan still decided to use one Heavenly Flame and two Beast Flames that he personally possessed for pill fusion.

If he had been facing anyone else, Xiao Yan would have used the Bone Chilling Flame without hesitation. But against Su Heng, he wanted a fair and honorable battle.

Xiao Yan slowly closed his eyes as surging Soul Strength spread out from between his brows.

Under the perception of his Soul Strength, every minute reaction from the fusion of medicinal ingredients inside the Black Demon Cauldron would instantly be relayed to Xiao Yan's mind.

By comparing those reactions to the contents described in the pill formula, Xiao Yan could determine whether his pill refinement was proceeding correctly.

As Xiao Yan began pill fusion, little princess Yao Yue and Liu Ling also finished refining their ingredients one after another and began the pill fusion stage.

More than ten minutes later, the lid of the nearly person-tall Flame Phoenix Cauldron flew up. Su Heng removed all his refined ingredients and prepared to begin pill fusion as well.

Once they entered the most difficult pill fusion stage, faint muffled sounds began intermittently echoing across the vast Royal Plaza.

Alchemists were very familiar with those sounds, because every time a cauldron exploded from a failed pill refinement, it made this incredibly irritating noise!

As the explosions rang out, many dejected Alchemists lowered their heads and left the grounds gloomily.

In just half an hour, only several dozen Alchemists remained in the plaza.

The hourglass that marked the time slowly flowed. On the plaza, some Alchemists whose expressions had initially been calm began gasping for breath.

The massive consumption of Soul Strength made everyone realize that the competition was nearing its end.

The spectators held their breath as they awaited the result, while the leading figures of the empire in the VIP room also grew impatient to receive an answer.

"Can you tell whose pill is of the higher grade?"

Hai Bodong slowly walked behind Fa Ma, looked toward the plaza, and asked softly.

"Not yet..."

Fa Ma shook his head and replied quietly.

"However, when the pills are about to take shape, certain signs will become apparent."

"Before a Fourth-grade Pill takes shape, it will produce a unique Pill Fragrance. The richer the fragrance, the higher the pill's grade."

"As for a Fifth-grade Pill, the energy contained within it will be so immense at the moment it forms that it will produce tangible ripples of energy."

Hai Bodong nodded faintly and said nothing more. With his hands clasped behind his back, he quietly awaited the competition's end.

When another half hour passed under the expectant gazes of countless people,

Fa Ma's expression suddenly changed in the VIP room. A trace of delight appeared on his aged face as he looked toward Xiao Yan.

There, a faint Pill Fragrance was slowly spreading from within the enormous Black Demon Cauldron.

"This little fellow is about to form his pill so quickly? A Heavenly Flame truly is extraordinary!"

Fa Ma sincerely praised Xiao Yan's strength and the power of the Heavenly Flame.

At the same time, the faint medicinal fragrance seeping from Xiao Yan's cauldron was noticed by Su Heng and the others.

"This is the Pill Fragrance of a One-Stripe Green Spirit Pill. Brother Xiao Yan, if all you can produce is a One-Stripe Green Spirit Pill, that won't do..."

Su Heng was exceptionally familiar with the Pill Fragrance of the Green Spirit Pill. If the pill Xiao Yan was refining emerged now, it would merely be a One-Stripe Green Spirit Pill, with negligible competitiveness.

Xiao Yan also clearly understood his situation. A One-Stripe Green Spirit Pill was nowhere near enough to compete for the championship.

After all, he had learned clearly from his second brother, Xiao Li, that Su Heng could refine Three-Stripe Green Spirit Pills.

Both Xiao Ding and Xiao Li had consumed Three-Stripe Green Spirit Pills gifted by Su Heng, greatly increasing their cultivation.

Though the Pill Fragrance had begun spreading everywhere, Xiao Yan did not stop moving. His right hand quickly took out a pale purple pill from his Storage Ring and stuffed it into his mouth.

At the same time, the Soul Strength controlling the Green Lotus Core Flame suddenly contracted. The formerly surging azure flames quietly weakened.

At the instant the azure flame was about to vanish, Xiao Yan opened his mouth and shot out a mass of purple flames, sending it into the cauldron.

"Using the Purple Crystal Winged Lion Flame first? Now that's more like it!"

Xiao Yan planned to use the Purple Crystal Winged Lion Flame, the flame he controlled most skillfully, to imprint the second pill pattern on the Green Spirit Pill. It was the safest plan, and Su Heng strongly approved.

If he were refining it himself, he would have made the same choice.

As the second pill pattern was imprinted, the Pill Fragrance inside Xiao Yan's cauldron grew increasingly intense. Nearly every spectator throughout the plaza could smell the refreshing fragrance.

"Yan Xiao actually refined a Two-Stripe Green Spirit Pill. To possess such strength at his age is truly rare!"

Fa Ma had now confirmed that Xiao Yan had successfully refined a Two-Stripe Green Spirit Pill, and he immediately conveyed the news to everyone in the VIP room.

Hai Bodong nodded with a gratified expression, while the other important figures wore varying expressions.

Jia Xingtian regretted that Yao Ye had failed to recruit Yan Xiao. He sat there with a long face, thinking over countermeasures.

Nalan Jie, meanwhile, made no effort to conceal his admiration for Yan Xiao. His gaze even kept drifting toward his granddaughter, Nalan Yanran.

If Nalan Yanran could become Yan Xiao's woman, the Nalan Clan would surely dominate one region.

Watching the somewhat strange look in her grandfather's eyes, Nalan Yanran did not get angry for the first time. She had indeed developed feelings for Yan Xiao. His talent and strength were enough to make her willingly become his woman.

However, whenever Nalan Yanran approached him, Yan Xiao would become cold as ice, leaving her deeply puzzled.

As for families like the Mu Family, which had experienced minor conflicts with Yan Xiao, their expressions were even uglier.

Mu Chen kept shaking his head as he looked at Mu Zhan. Mu Zhan had fought Yan Xiao over Ya Fei. It would likely be no easy task to recruit him in the future.

Those outside the arena considered how to recruit a genius, while those within it considered how to go further and refine perfect pills.

"Still not enough! It has to be three stripes!"

Both Su Heng and Xiao Yan had the same thought. Only by refining a Three-Stripe Green Spirit Pill could they stand on the same starting line and compete for victory.

As the purple flames engraved a pill pattern onto the pill, Xiao Yan steadily controlled his Soul Strength and extinguished the Purple Flame.

The final flame, and also the flame most familiar to Su Heng, was summoned by Xiao Yan.

At the instant the Purple Flame went out, black flames ignited. Under Xiao Yan's control, the Profound Flame was like a gentle kitten, slowly wrapping around the pill and beginning to imprint the final pill pattern.

"Brother Xiao Yan, the final pill pattern of the Three-Stripe Green Spirit Pill requires an extremely fierce flame to complete."

"Compared with the Purple Crystal Winged Lion Flame, the Snake Emperor's Mysterious Flame is harder but lacks ferocity."

"When imprinting the final pill pattern, the flame must be released outward rather than drawn inward. That's a difficult problem!"

The final pill pattern of the Three-Stripe Green Spirit Pill required an exceptionally fierce flame to draw out its utmost medicinal potency.

The Snake Emperor's Mysterious Flame was less fierce in nature than the Purple Crystal Winged Lion Flame. Therefore, to use it for the final step, its temperature had to be raised to an extremely high level.

It was impossible for Xiao Yan to form the pill gently. Yet releasing the flame's intensity placed tremendous demands on Soul Strength. The slightest mistake would cause the cauldron to explode.

It was like using a beer bottle to smash a walnut. Only by striking with the hardest and most suitable part of the bottle could one crack the walnut; otherwise, the beer bottle itself would shatter.

Just as everyone stared fixedly at Xiao Yan, waiting for him to imprint the final pill pattern,

the previously calm black flames inside the Black Demon Cauldron suddenly became chaotic. Xiao Yan still made an error while switching and raising the flames.

A violent explosion erupted. The black flames blasted the lid of the Black Demon Cauldron more than a yard into the air, and black smoke rose from within, making Xiao Yan cough repeatedly.

After climbing a mountain nine fathoms high, he failed for want of one basket of earth. At the final moment, Xiao Yan failed to imprint the pill pattern, and the cauldron exploded!

After the explosion, the black flames completely went out, and a faint cloud of black ash spilled from the cauldron.

Hearing the thunderous blast, everyone in the audience and VIP room froze for a moment before sighs and regretful cries arose.

"Ah... Yan Xiao actually failed..."