All eyes on him

Everyone else was seething with rage. Only Xiao Huohuo ignored him, and he had noticed that.

"Hmph, don't get too cocky. You'll have something to cry about soon!"

The youth spoke disdainfully, a cold glint flashing in his eyes!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Flames of every color suddenly blazed across the competition platform. Now that they had reached the finals, everyone brought out their true skills. Their flames and cauldrons were on an entirely different level from before!

The youth from the Chu Yun Empire also held a black flame in his hand, which directly overwhelmed the flames of all the other young contestants.

At that moment, the entire venue fell silent.

The taunting youth raised his head smugly.

"Kid, this round is mine! Hahaha!" He burst into arrogant laughter.

Xiao Huohuo narrowed his eyes. It seemed he really could no longer keep a low profile.

"Little fellow, let's put on a dazzling display before the crowd ourselves!"

Yao Lao's voice rang out in his mind.

Xiao Huohuo's eyes lit up.

All right!

Let's make this exciting!

Bang!

A massive black cauldron appeared before Xiao Huohuo. It was made from a special kind of refined black iron, with intricate patterns engraved on its lid. The fluctuations it emitted far exceeded those of the other contestants' cauldrons!

This cauldron was anything but ordinary. It was the renowned Black Demon Cauldron on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking, the very cauldron Yao Lao had used when he was alive!

"The quality of this fellow's cauldron is beyond anything I know. It seems he really was concealing his abilities..."

Fa Ma's voice carried a note of gratification.

"As long as he wins. Judging by his expression, he seems quite confident," Jia Xingtian said calmly.

Hai Bodong was not surprised. When he had gone to the Chu Yun Empire with Long Xiao, he had seen an even more terrifying, enormous golden cauldron.

The alchemist from the Chu Yun Empire also stared at Xiao Huohuo with wide eyes.

How is that possible!

How can his cauldron be of such high quality? A cauldron like that can boost your performance by several tenths!

Who on earth is this fellow, to possess such a treasure!

"I recently heard that the Chu Yun Empire's Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect is on the verge of destruction. I wonder who did it. Bi Xieyan had broken through to Dou Zong-who could have killed him?" Fa Ma said, suddenly recalling something.

"Good riddance. They weren't decent people anyway. Without the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect, what can the Chu Yun Empire possibly use to contend with our Jia Ma Empire?"

Jia Xingtian stroked his beard without committing himself further.

As a member of the Jia Ma Imperial Family, he regarded such news as cause for celebration.

Hai Bodong had witnessed everything, but he would not reveal it. After all, that man was far too terrifying.

At that moment, Long Xiao was also watching Xiao Huohuo, a trace of surprise in his gaze.

He had not expected the Black Demon Cauldron to qualify as a Spirit Artifact.

"Heavens! What happened?! Look at everyone's flames!"

"Besides that purple flame, Xiao Yan actually has an even more terrifying white flame?"

The spectator stands suddenly erupted.

On the competition platform, a spectacle had formed of countless flames bowing in homage.

A white flame suddenly blazed in Xiao Huohuo's hand, suppressing the flames of every other contestant!

Only that white flame stood tall above the rest!

"How can he have two different flames! And this sensation-is it a heavenly flame!"

Jia Xingtian's pupils contracted slightly. He had never seen an alchemist possess two flames with different attributes!

Just who is this fellow?

Fa Ma's eyes widened as well!

"It's a heavenly flame! This fellow was even hiding a heavenly flame! His talent may well be without precedent or equal!" Something suddenly occurred to Fa Ma, inwardly shocking him!

The alchemist from the Chu Yun Empire also opened his eyes wide.

He suddenly felt tremendous pressure. Just who was this Xiao Yan, to possess even a legendary heavenly flame!

Is this fellow really someone I can defeat?

But if he lost, he would lose his life as well. He gritted his teeth and decided to stake everything on one final attempt!

"Big brother, he actually has a heavenly flame?"

Curly pointed at Xiao Huohuo and shouted excitedly to Long Xiao.

Long Xiao merely held Medusa's hand with a calm expression. Wasn't it just a heavenly flame? He had swallowed one right after descending to the lower realm.

Medusa was equally unmoved. She had evolved using Long Xiao's Divine Flame. After witnessing that terrifying golden flame, heavenly flames truly seemed unworthy of taking the stage.

"Teacher, I've played every trump card this time!"

As Xiao Huohuo looked at the gazes directed toward him, a smile curled his lips. He had even brought out Yao Lao's heavenly flame.

"Yes. If you can still lose like this, you might as well find a block of tofu and bash yourself to death against it."

Yao Lao spoke with a chuckle. He knew full well that this brat Xiao Huohuo was brimming with crafty schemes.

"Don't worry, Teacher. I'm going to start refining."

Xiao Huohuo tossed the medicinal ingredients beside him into the Black Demon Cauldron one by one. At once, the entire cauldron shone with dazzling silver light.

Its force shook the surroundings, and the surrounding fire elements surged madly toward the cauldron.

Xiao Huohuo drew a deep breath and began controlling the Bone Spirit Cold Flame with both hands.

At this point, he had to concentrate and could not afford any distractions. The Dragon Strength Pill increased strength, so the ingredients used to refine it also contained violent power.

This time, Yao Lao would not intervene. He would handle the entire refinement himself.

As the heat of the Bone Spirit Cold Flame entered the cauldron, its contents suddenly grew volatile, churning without end.

Xiao Huohuo took a deep breath and fixed his eyes on the black cauldron. He released a thread of soul power and began manipulating the Black Demon Cauldron's runes, keeping its operation balanced.

The Black Demon Cauldron was, after all, a treasure on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking. Naturally, it possessed certain special abilities.

The patterns on it were actually runes. By coordinating soul power with them, he could effectively balance the power within the cauldron.

As time passed, the contents of the cauldron gradually settled.

This process lasted a full incense stick's worth of time.

All the medicinal ingredients in the cauldron had dissolved into medicinal liquid. All that remained was to form the pill.

Long Xiao yawned in the stands. This fellow had spent so long refining a pill and still had not finished. He was truly speechless.

The contestants from the Jia Ma Empire also let out sighs of relief.

At least someone could salvage their empire's dignity.

"This pill-refining method is far too primitive. Refining a low-grade pill actually takes this long," Long Xiao could not help complaining.

Medusa rolled her eyes at him. "Do you think everyone is as freakishly talented as you?"

She had witnessed Long Xiao's pill-refining ability herself. To make sixth-grade pills, he had tossed the ingredients into the cauldron like a mixed stew, as though preparing hot pot, then heated them for ten seconds-and actually produced ten pills.

That had completely overturned her understanding of pill refinement.

He truly was a terrifying fellow.

Thus, Long Xiao genuinely had the ability to back up such arrogant words.

Meanwhile, in the competition arena.

The youth from the Chu Yun Empire narrowed his eyes slightly and looked toward Xiao Huohuo.

"So what if you have a good cauldron and a good flame? Your soul power isn't as strong as mine, and you don't have my seasoned experience. Let's see how you can beat me!"

"Condense!"

As he uttered that single word, the medicinal liquid in his cauldron began spinning rapidly. Its color deepened until, at last, it slowly merged into the shape of a pill.

Multicolored pill fragrance suddenly filled the air!

Xiao Huohuo narrowed his eyes. This fellow was actually about to succeed.

"Colored pill fragrance?! Damn it, this fellow actually refined a pill with colored pill fragrance! That's a peak fourth-grade pill. Xiao Huohuo will have to refine a fifth-grade pill to stand a chance of winning!" Fa Ma's pupils contracted.

The alchemists from the Jia Ma Empire also stared with wide eyes. This boy was a freak!

"A fifth-grade pill? Is this some kind of joke? How old is Xiao Yan? How could he possibly refine a fifth-grade pill?"

Jia Xingtian's brows furrowed.