"Haha, that's true. This gentleman is merely an onlooker. Master Hu's invitation is rather unreasonable. Therefore, we would like to ask that you reveal your identity, your name, and which faction you come from?"
At the same time, another middle-aged man among the ten also stepped forward with a light laugh, looking at Xiao Yan with a smile, while his sharp eyes were constantly scrutinizing the latter.
They were extremely curious about such a talented individual. The fact that such a young Fourth-Tier Alchemist could be born in the Northern Region made them eager to know his identity and background, which would facilitate future negotiations.
"My name is Xiao Yan. I have just arrived in the Northern Region and have no powerful backing. I am all alone."
With a light laugh, Xiao Yan looked at the middle-aged man, his words revealing nothing, nor was there anything for him to hide.
Upon hearing this, the others exchanged bewildered glances, their eyes flickering slightly, their thoughts unreadable.
Among the crowd, the disheveled old man couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, a hint of surprise flashing in his bright old eyes.
"Hehe, since you've come all the way to the Northern Region, it's quite fate that we've met. Today, we'll have to rely on Mr. Xiao Yan to uphold justice in our alchemist competition among the five great families."
Master Hu, who had spoken first, smiled kindly at Xiao Yan. As he finished speaking, his cloudy eyes turned to the five young men in the room who were putting away their medicine cauldrons.
"It's nothing, just a small matter."
Since we're just passing through, why not take a break and have some fun? Consider it a rest stop along the way.
A thought flashed through Xiao Yan's mind, and he agreed.
At this moment, each of the five people in the room held a pill, from which a rich fragrance wafted, creating a thin layer of mist that floated in mid-air.
"You lot better watch closely. Mr. Xiao Yan is the true role model for your generation. At such a young age, he's already Fourth-Tier Alchemist. Let's see if you still dare to be so arrogant in the future. Don't think that just because you've become Third-Tier Alchemist, you're invincible. You must understand that there are always people more capable than you, and there's always something beyond your understanding. Mr. Xiao Yan has taught you a very important lesson today!"
While Hu was reprimanding the five people on the field, the other families kept sneering. On the surface, he was indeed teaching these five young men a lesson, but judging from Master Hu's words, it was probably more of a flattery of Mr. Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan naturally ignored these words; with his own experience, he had long since lost interest in them.
"Old man, you really think of him as some greenhorn? How foolish."
Seeing that Xiao Yan remained unmoved, the middle-aged men couldn't help but sneer inwardly. At the same time, Master Hu also turned his gaze to a young man directly in front of him.
" Lin'er, hand over the pills you have to Mr. Xiao Yan Xiao Yan. He will be the one to judge the quality of the pills for the five of you."
Upon hearing this, the five young people exchanged glances, their expressions showing a hint of hostility. The other four, at the signal of their family elders, stepped forward and handed the pills to Xiao Yan.
The identification of the pills only took a few minutes. With Xiao Yan's current eyesight, he could basically tell the difference between five third-tier pills at a glance.
However, precisely because of this, Xiaoying began to hesitate.
He had fully grasped the quality characteristics of these five pills, but the differences between them made Xiao Yan feel a little suspicious, and even a sense of trouble.
Because, among these five pills, the medicinal power of one of them has actually dissipated to a certain extent. This means that this pill was not just refined, but was a substitute that had been refined long ago and was replaced at some point.
Although the medicinal power within this pill has dissipated considerably, due to its inherent quality, its medicinal power and efficacy still surpass those of the other four pills.
This alone demonstrates that the original owner of this pill was unable to complete its original preparation.
And coincidentally, the owner of this ammunition was that young man from Master Hu's faction. It could be said that this was Master Hu's own handiwork.
The ability to refine such a high-quality pill is definitely not something an ordinary Third-Tier Alchemist could do, and the five people present clearly did not possess this ability. In addition, considering the origin of this pill, Xiao Yan could be certain without much consideration that it was refined by Master Hu.
However, regardless of who refined the pill, switching pills during a pill-refining competition is already a violation of the rules. It seems that Master Hu knew that his junior could not defeat these four people, which is why he resorted to this trick.
However, regardless of the circumstances, his actions violated the competition rules of the alchemist world, something that Xiao Yan, also Fourth-Tier Alchemist, could not simply turn a blind eye to.
therefore...
"Ahem, Mr. Xiao Yan, have you finished your assessment?"
However, at that moment, Master Hu suddenly coughed twice and looked at Xiao Yan with a slightly flickering gaze.
Upon hearing this, the other four families couldn't help but look at Master Hu with a hint of suspicion in their expressions.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan nodded, his eyes narrowing slightly, and said:
"Indeed, I have completed the appraisal of these five pills, and I now know their efficacy and quality."
"Haha, that would be perfect. Sir, you must accurately disclose the quality and efficacy of the pills to ensure the fairness and impartiality of the competition, is that alright?"
The other four families frowned, their suspicions deepening. Meanwhile, somewhere in the crowd, a disheveled old man grinned, revealing a row of gleaming white teeth, and looked at Xiao Yan with a smirk, seemingly waiting for the latter to announce the results.
His bright eyes were now also filled with a look of surprise; he too wanted to know what the results Xiao Yan had announced were.
"All five pills are third-tier pills, four are mid-grade and one is high-grade, and they are undoubtedly Complete Pill. And this pill is..."
Xiao Yan slowly raised his hand, palm open, exposing the pill refined by the young man from the Hu Clan to the air.
"But..."