“How is this possible!”
Ye Yu, who had just felt a fleeting sense of relief, immediately showed disbelief again. Ten Explosive Yuan Elixirs, all flawless?
Ye Fenghua let out a long breath, and the prominent figures on the platform were seized with an intense desire to recruit Lin Xiao, determined to bring him into their fold no matter the cost.
“Good thing the quality isn’t too low!”
Lin Xiao had been immersed in refining earlier. Producing ten elixirs at once had nearly drained his spiritual energy, plunging him into a unique refining state that greatly enhanced his alchemy skills. His spiritual power was now brushing the edge of third-grade intermediate.
Hearing Lin Xiao’s words, the crowd outside erupted. He’d refined ten elixirs, and his concern wasn’t whether they were finished products but their quality?
That was just too demoralising!
“Heimu, how did you manage it?” Ye Fenghua’s puzzled voice came from the platform.
At this, everyone else turned curiously toward Lin Xiao.
With a light chuckle, Lin Xiao said calmly, “Alliance Leader, actually, refining the Explosive Yuan Elixir doesn’t require that many herbs. By tweaking the recipe a bit, you only need half the materials listed.”
“What, you improved the recipe?” Ye Fenghua asked, stunned.
“Yes, of course, it requires spiritual energy to refine,” Lin Xiao replied honestly.
“…” Ye Fenghua was speechless.
A recipe that saved so many herbs, usable only by him!
Hearing Lin Xiao’s explanation, the crowd relaxed. So it was a modified recipe, otherwise refining ten elixirs from that amount of herbs would’ve been terrifying.
Still, even with enough materials, refining ten at once was something they deeply admired and revered.
In truth, Lin Xiao hadn’t improved the recipe, he’d used the Heaven-Devouring Spirit Emperor’s version, which cut the required herbs by nearly half.
His actual refining process had been an immense ordeal, though no one else could see that.
“Everyone else, start testing to confirm the fourth-round qualifiers!” Glancing at the nearly sixty youths clutching elixirs, Ye Fenghua spoke again.
Immediately, the others began testing their elixirs. Apart from one or two failures, the rest passed one after another.
Over twenty had refined two or more elixirs, while more than thirty managed one. After checking bone ages, fifty were selected to advance to tomorrow’s final round.
“Everyone, tomorrow’s final competition offers just one refining chance. Now, I’ll announce the details.”
Unexpectedly, Ye Fenghua revealed the rules right then, “Final rule: each person provides their own herbs. Within half a day, refine the highest-grade elixir you can. The one with the highest-grade elixir wins the championship.”
His words sparked a wave of gasps. Comparing elixir grades was a common spirit controller contest, simpler than the first three rounds’ assessments.
Yet, comparing grades directly tested a spirit controller’s peak ability, making it the fairest method.
After the gasps, anticipation surged through the crowd.
“Also, per tradition, to avoid disturbing the alliance’s young disciples competing tomorrow, the alliance will bar all outsiders tonight. Tomorrow, our gates will open wide for everyone,” Ye Fenghua added.
“Damn it!” At this, many cursed inwardly.
Everyone knew the stated reason, avoiding disturbance, was a front. The real aim was to stop outsiders from poaching the alliance’s standout disciples early.
But since the youths staying in the alliance tonight were its disciples, Ye Fenghua’s guest ban left them with no retort.
He cast a glance at the family heads and others. He knew once the guild opened, these old foxes would swarm in to recruit exceptional disciples, especially a genius like Lin Xiao, who’d shone in all three rounds.
Until the competition ended, these competing spirit controllers remained part of the alliance, free to join any faction afterward.
Ye Fenghua wasn’t about to let the geniuses he’d nurtured be snatched away early.
This guest ban had been a longstanding practice for that reason.
Of course, there’d been cases before where standout disciples from the first three rounds, lured or threatened with promises, underperformed in the finals due to emotional turmoil.
So, the ban seemed reasonable on the surface, and no one could challenge the rule.
“Fine, tomorrow it is!” Emperor Meng sighed helplessly, his gaze drifting to Lin Xiao.
Lin Xiao was the one the imperial family most wanted to recruit. If he could bring Lin Xiao into the fold, his mother, the empress, would be overjoyed and full of praise.
Naturally, other factions harboured the same intent.
Lin Xiao, meanwhile, fully supported Ye Fenghua’s decision. Without it, visitors today would’ve kept him from resting.
Amid the clamour, Lin Xiao exchanged pleasantries with the group before leaving the plaza, following Ye Fenghua into the Spirit Controller Alliance.
The crowd dispersed, still buzzing with discussion.
…
“I never imagined our alliance had such a genius!” Along the way, Ye Fenghua praised Lin Xiao repeatedly. Even the vice-presidents could barely get a word in, leaving the group marvelling. Ye Fenghua himself was a prodigy, rarely lavishing such praise on any disciple.
Ye Yu, nearby, turned liver-red with frustration and finally stormed off.
“You flatter me, Alliance Leader. I just got lucky with spiritual energy,” Lin Xiao said, surprised by Ye Fenghua’s warmth. He hadn’t expected the nation’s top spirit controller, the illustrious Ye Fenghua, to be so approachable and generous with praise.
His words were true, though. Refining ten second-grade advanced Explosive Yuan Elixirs at once and excelling in the first two rounds relied heavily on his spiritual energy.
Without it, even with the Heaven-Devouring Spirit Emperor’s memories, he couldn’t have done it.
“Possessing a rare phenomenon like spiritual energy isn’t just luck. In the entire Lanlan Empire, I’ve never heard of anyone else obtaining it,” Ye Fenghua said, marvelling again.
“And even if you got it, you must’ve faced life-and-death trials to refine it, right?” he continued. Spiritual energy was elusive, and even encountering it didn’t mean one could harness it easily.
Lin Xiao nodded honestly. Refining spiritual energy indeed involved life-threatening risks.
“Your talent is truly rare. I have high hopes for you in tomorrow’s final,” Ye Fenghua concluded, startling those nearby. Few earned such confidence from him.
Lin Xiao was mildly surprised too, wondering what Ye Yu would think if he heard this.
“Heimu, since you’re a guest vice-leader from a branch, you’re entitled to alliance privileges. For tomorrow’s competition, request any recipe or herbs you need. I won’t stint on what I can provide,” Ye Fenghua said again.
His words moved Wu Meng, Pang Po, and others nearby. Access to any recipe or herbs at will was a privilege even they didn’t have!
“Thank you, Alliance Leader. I don’t need a recipe, but I do need some herbs,” Lin Xiao replied without hesitation. Tomorrow’s competition pitted him against top third-grade intermediate geniuses, so after a moment’s thought, he said, “I need red tamarisk, yellow cloud fruit, unicorn flame whisker, and some auxiliary herbs for the Ascension Elixir. Does the alliance have them?”
Ye Fenghua was taken aback, “You’re refining the Yellow Heaven Elixir? That’s a third-grade advanced elixir!”
