The Tournament's Third Round: No More Holding Back, an Easy Victory

The next day, with no competition scheduled, Xiao Yan went to purge Nalan Jie's poison. This time, Nalan Jie held on even longer than during the previous two treatments.

Only a little over thirty percent of the Brand Poison remained in Nalan Jie's body. One more purge would be enough.

After refining the Brand Poison, Xiao Yan's cultivation reached the Seven-Star Grand Dou Master realm.

That night, Xiao Yan meditated and cultivated at the inn.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes and stared at the door.

Then came a series of knocks.

"Come in," Xiao Yan said.

The door was pushed open, and Hai Bodong, who had been absent for quite some time, appeared in the doorway.

"Elder Hai, what brings you here?" Xiao Yan got up from the bed, walked over, and sat at the table.

Hearing Xiao Yan address him as Elder Hai, Hai Bodong secretly laughed. Promoting Ya Fei had not been in vain.

Today, Ya Fei had returned to the auction house, and he had naturally noticed her one-star Dou Master cultivation.

After asking a few questions, he learned that Ya Fei and Xiao Yan had crossed that line.

As for Ya Fei's sudden surge in cultivation, Hai Bodong was surprised but did not ask further.

Sitting opposite Xiao Yan, Hai Bodong explained why he had come tonight.

It turned out that Fa Ma had been suspicious of the gray-robed man's age. He, Hai Bodong, and Jia Xing Tian had gone to the man's inn.

After some probing, they discovered that he was Yan Li, the vice president of the Cloud Empire Alchemy Masters' General Guild.

He had taken an Appearance Restoration Pill, restoring his appearance to that of an eighteen-year-old.

Yan Li had entered the Jia Ma Empire's Alchemy Master Tournament to seize the championship and damage the prestige of the Jia Ma Empire Alchemy Masters' General Guild.

With that achievement, Yan Li could then naturally become the president of the Cloud Empire Alchemy Masters' General Guild.

Hai Bodong had wanted to kill him on the spot, but Fa Ma stopped him.

Yan Li's outstanding results in the first two rounds had already made him known to the audience.

If he suddenly disappeared, outsiders would surely suspect that the Jia Ma Empire Alchemy Masters' General Guild was responsible. Its reputation would suffer greatly.

With the push of certain interested parties, it could even lead to war between the two nations.

Therefore, Yan Li could not be killed for now.

But neither could he be allowed to win the tournament.

And the only person currently capable of stopping Yan Li was Xiao Yan, who had performed just as brilliantly.

"Fa Ma wants you to visit the guild. He has something to discuss with you," Hai Bodong said.

"Then let's go."

Xiao Yan needed the formula for the Three-Pattern Azure Spirit Pill.

The Three-Pattern Azure Spirit Pill was a fourth-tier cultivation-boosting medicinal pill, among the most valuable of all fourth-tier pills.

Since Xiao Yan had entered the Alchemy Master Tournament, why would he refuse the chance to obtain another fourth-tier pill formula?

Sure enough, when Xiao Yan arrived at the Alchemy Masters' Guild, Fa Ma told him the topic of the third round.

The third round allowed complete freedom. The participating Alchemy Masters had to provide their own pill formulas and medicinal ingredients.

To win the third round, one had to refine the most valuable medicinal pill.

And to accomplish that, three conditions had to be met.

First, one had to possess a pill formula.

Second, one had to have the corresponding ingredients.

Third, one had to be capable of refining it.

In order to help Xiao Yan win the tournament, Fa Ma gave him the formula for the Three-Pattern Azure Spirit Pill and three sets of corresponding ingredients.

On the third day, the battle for the championship of the Alchemy Master Tournament's third round officially began.

With only a little over a hundred Alchemy Masters remaining, each contestant was separated by three bluestone platforms, giving them ample room to refine pills without being affected by others.

"Big Brother Han Li, good luck!"

After spending time together at the night market, Princess Yao Yue had grown familiar with Han Li. She smiled sweetly as she greeted him.

"Han Li, in this final round, I'll give it everything I've got and take the championship."

Although Han Li had performed exceptionally in the first two rounds, the proud Liu Ling had not given up on competing for the title.

Perhaps because Fa Ma had exposed his identity, the gray-robed Yan Li no longer bothered concealing himself today, revealing his youthful face.

His appearance astonished the spectators. They had not expected him to be so young.

And it seemed someone had deliberately spread the news, for many spectators knew that he was an Alchemy Master from the Cloud Empire.

"I heard that gray-robed youth is an Alchemy Master from the Cloud Empire."

"He's so young, yet his alchemy skills are that incredible?"

"Surely this tournament's champion won't be taken by an Alchemy Master from another country? That would be too humiliating."

A constant buzz of discussion rose from the stands, and the Jia Ma Empire spectators wore worried expressions.

The spectators from other nations, however, looked delighted at Jia Ma Empire's misfortune. Naturally, they did not dare openly support the gray-robed youth, or they would provoke public outrage.

As Yan Li passed Xiao Yan and the other two's bluestone platforms, he paused and looked coldly at Xiao Yan before smiling.

"Of the three of you, only you have some skill. But the tournament championship is mine. You don't stand a chance."

"Kid, how dare you look down on me?"

Watching Yan Li's departing back, the slighted Liu Ling turned livid and growled furiously.

As the bell rang, Fa Ma stood in the guest seating. His voice, amplified by Dou Qi, spread into every corner of the plaza.

"The third round of the seventh Jia Ma Empire Alchemy Master Tournament officially begins. All contestants may perform freely. The champion will be decided by the value of the medicinal pill refined."

Upon hearing the topic, some of the Alchemy Masters on the bluestone platforms turned pale.

Some lacked suitable pill formulas, while others had formulas but lacked the necessary ingredients.

Only those contestants with deep reserves remained composed.

Such as Liu Ling, the little princess, Yan Li, and the others.

As the competition officially began,

the powerful contestants revealed all their trump cards.

Liu Ling summoned the fifth-tier medicine cauldron he had not used on the first day. He also stopped using Dou Qi flame and summoned a pale brown flame instead.

The little princess likewise summoned a fifth-tier medicine cauldron and used the Raging Tide Dragon Beast's Dry Blue Water Flame.

Yan Li's medicine cauldron was also of considerable grade, and he summoned a jet-black flame.

In this third-round championship battle, none of the Alchemy Masters held back any longer.

Flames of every color erupted across the plaza, thrilling the spectators in the stands as they watched with rapt attention.

Xiao Yan stopped holding back as well and directly summoned the Green Lotus Core Flame.

As the Green Lotus Core Flame appeared, the flames in the other Alchemy Masters' hands immediately weakened and leaned toward it.

As though ministers were bowing before their king.

"A Heavenly Flame! It's actually a Heavenly Flame!"

"Han Li actually possesses a Heavenly Flame."

"The saying that all flames submit when a Heavenly Flame appears is true!"

Whether they were spectators in the stands or Alchemy Masters in the plaza, all were left stunned by the Green Lotus Core Flame.

Xiao Yan smiled faintly and tossed the Green Lotus Core Flame into his medicine cauldron.

Only then did the other Alchemy Masters regain their senses. This was a competition; they could not afford to stand around in a daze.

Possessing a Heavenly Flame did not mean he was invincible. At the very least, his cauldron isn't as good as mine.

Some Alchemy Masters comforted themselves with such thoughts before throwing themselves back into refinement.

Xiao Yan skillfully extracted the essences of the ingredients he needed. Once every ingredient had been refined, he poured all their essences into the medicine cauldron.

With his soul force fully unleashed, Xiao Yan controlled the order, timing, and temperature of the fusion with absolute precision.

As time passed, a white medicinal pill began spinning rapidly inside the cauldron.

A ring of azure patterns slowly formed on the pill, and a faint fragrance drifted out.

But that was far from enough.

Xiao Yan summoned Purple Flame and threw it into the medicine cauldron.

The two flames burned within the cauldron. Next came the process of switching flames for tempering.

During the switch, the tempering temperature could not change in the slightest. Whether it dropped or rose, the pill would be ruined.

Under such harsh conditions, the requirements for an Alchemy Master's soul force and flame-control technique were extremely demanding.

But for Xiao Yan, it was remarkably easy.

First, his soul force was strong.

Second, his flame-control technique was excellent.

Third, his Flame Mantra Dou Qi possessed the trait of fusing flames.

Thus, switching flames was incredibly simple for Xiao Yan.

Within the cauldron, the edge of the Purple Flame fused with the edge of the Green Lotus Core Flame, like the boundary between the Jing and Wei Rivers, creating a strange scene of distinct yet adjoining colors.

As the Green Lotus Core Flame withdrew a thread, the Purple Flame merged in by a thread, and the flame's temperature never changed.

A few minutes later, the Purple Flame had completely replaced the Green Lotus Core Flame in tempering the spinning pill, while the Green Lotus Core Flame withdrew through another flame vent.

After the Purple Flame tempered it for over ten minutes, a purple pattern formed on the white pill, crossing the azure pattern at a perpendicular angle.

In the guest seating, Fa Ma's worries eased as he watched Xiao Yan switch flames.

At the same time, recalling how effortlessly Xiao Yan had completed the switch, a strange thought arose in his heart.

Had this little fellow fooled me?

Then Xiao Yan summoned Medicine Elder's Bone Chilling Flame.

As the white Bone Chilling Flame appeared, a layer of white frost formed over Xiao Yan's bluestone platform.

"A Heavenly Flame! Another Heavenly Flame!"

"Good heavens, he actually possesses two Heavenly Flames?!"

"Terrifying! Absolutely terrifying! How can one person possess two Heavenly Flames?"

"What Heavenly Flame is that? It looks like ice."

The moment the Bone Chilling Flame appeared, it caused another uproar in the plaza without exception.

Even Fa Ma, the president of the General Guild and an Alchemy Master nearing the sixth tier, stood up in shock.

"Limitless potential! Limitless potential! Xiao Yan possesses two Heavenly Flames at such a young age. His potential is limitless!"

A sharp gleam flared in Jia Xing Tian's eyes as he looked at Xiao Yan. Recruit him. We must recruit Xiao Yan to the imperial family.

Hai Bodong's face remained calm, but he secretly felt smug. Xiao Yan was practically his Mittel Clan's son-in-law.

However, this could not be publicized, or it would draw Jia Xing Tian's wariness.

"Damn it, he actually possesses two Heavenly Flames. But my Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill won't lose to yours. The championship is mine."

When Yan Li saw Xiao Yan summon another Heavenly Flame, jealousy filled his eyes, and he roared angrily.

If he failed to win this tournament, he would certainly never leave the Jia Ma Empire alive.

Ignoring everyone's gazes, Xiao Yan skillfully swapped the positions of the Purple Flame and Bone Chilling Flame.

As the Bone Chilling Flame tempered it, another white pattern formed on the white pill, and a rich, three-colored fragrance wafted out.

At the same time, a purple fragrance also drifted from Yan Li's medicine cauldron.

For fourth-tier medicinal pills, the more intense the fragrance, the higher the quality. A colored fragrance represented an even higher grade.

Clang! Clang!

The two simultaneously sent their cauldron lids flying. Their medicinal pills shot out and landed in their respective hands.

When the others saw Xiao Yan and Yan Li's medicinal pills—the fragrance and the surging energy—they knew the championship was beyond their reach and could only grieve in silence.

On the high platform, Fa Ma's eyes were full of delight. He had not expected Xiao Yan to truly refine the Three-Pattern Azure Spirit Pill.

Even he could not guarantee a one hundred percent success rate in refining it.

With a smile, he announced, "There is no need to explain which is superior, the Three-Pattern Azure Spirit Pill or the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill, is there?"

"Therefore, I announce that the champion of this Jia Ma Empire Alchemy Master Tournament is... Han Li."

Yan Li clenched his fists, his face turning ashen.

He had thought that after taking the Appearance Restoration Pill and entering this Alchemy Master Tournament, the championship would be his for the taking.

He had never expected Xiao Yan to appear out of nowhere and cost him the title.

He glared fiercely at Xiao Yan, then put away his medicine cauldron and hurried out of the plaza.

But Fa Ma had already laid a net around Yan Li. Whether he could return home was another matter entirely.