For the Alchemists’ Association, a warrior who possesses one of the Twelve Divine Flames is an absolute treasure.
No matter what, they must bring him into the association.
Among the Twelve Divine Flames, the True Samadhi Flame is the one most suited for pill refining, something countless people desperately crave.
How could he not be excited?
“If he only possessed the True Samadhi Flame, that would be one thing, but this lad controls it with such ease. His movements simply do not look like those of an amateur. We two old fellows might really have misjudged him.”
Tiemu spoke with utmost seriousness.
“Exactly. Divine flames are extremely difficult to control. Even a low-rank Yellow-grade alchemist couldn’t handle it as freely as he does.
A warrior with the True Samadhi Flame martial soul would find it very hard to use that flame for pill refining unless they reached the Cave Heaven realm. At the very least, they wouldn’t be this relaxed.
This boy is no ordinary person.”
A trace of delight began to appear on Lin’s originally angry face.
“No ordinary person? The way I see it, he has probably been a low-rank Yellow-grade alchemist for a long time and simply never came to our Alchemists’ Association for assessment.”
Tiemu gave a wry smile.
“That can’t be right. He’s only sixteen. By your logic, he must have started learning pill refining while still in his mother’s womb.”
Lin shook his head.
“But the facts are right in front of us. I’m not making this up.”
Tiemu shrugged.
“Could Master Yuan Zun really still be alive? If he is, he would be a strong contender for the position of president of the main Alchemists’ Association. Our current president would be panicking.”
Lin suddenly chuckled.
The reputation of the current president was far from good. He had obtained the position through the backing of certain people.
Originally, the president of the Alchemists’ Association belonged to no country or faction and stood independently.
Yet now, the association was on the verge of becoming a subordinate organisation of someone else.
Although many people were unhappy about it, they dared not speak out.
Those who did speak up had more or less been dealt with.
Lin was one of those dissatisfied with the current president. If Yuan Zun were truly still alive, it would be tremendously good news for the Alchemists’ Association.
At the very least, they would no longer be controlled by others.
“I don’t know whether Yuan Zun is still alive. What I do know is that this lad is probably no inferior to Sikong Yue. The youngsters these days really make one hesitate to underestimate them.”
Tiemu smiled bitterly. “My granddaughter has always treated Sikong Yue as the target she needed to surpass. Now, out of nowhere, someone who might be just as good has appeared. She’s going to cry.”
“That may not necessarily be the case. Being able to control divine flame skilfully doesn’t mean he can perfectly refine pills. Apart from flame control, pill refining has many other requirements, including the strength of one’s soul force and understanding of medicinal ingredients. It’s still too early to say he is no worse than Sikong Yue.”
Lin shook his head. “Let’s keep watching.”
Tiemu smiled and said no more. He was now very curious about what kind of astonishing result this youth, Ling Xiao, would produce.
Countless people were focused on Ling Xiao.
Not because of his handsome appearance, but because of his remarkably skilful pill-refining technique.
Sikong Yue’s talent in pill refining was genuinely outstanding. She could actually control the flame’s heat while still paying attention to the commotion Ling Xiao had caused.
Previously, she had not paid much attention to Ling Xiao.
At most, she thought he was passably good-looking.
But when Sikong Yue judged men, she never cared much about looks. What she valued far more was a person’s ability.
She had always believed her control over flames and her grasp of medicinal ingredients were the best among the younger generation.
Yet when she looked at Ling Xiao, all her former pride and arrogance instantly crumbled.
“This is impossible!”
She cried out in shock and, because her attention wandered, her pill refinement failed.
She did not dwell on it too much and continued watching Ling Xiao’s hands dance above and below the cauldron.
Those hands were simply a pair of magical, enchanting hands. Even the branch president Lin and vice-president Tiemu did not possess such accomplished skill.
Had this fellow really started learning pill refining from the womb?
Her pride instantly collapsed.
On the other side, Tie Yunshan’s pill also failed.
She, too, had been stunned by Ling Xiao’s superb refining technique.
“This guy was pretending to be a pig so he could eat the tiger. He made me embarrass myself.”
Remembering the words she had said in front of Ling Xiao, Tie Yunshan instantly felt she had no face left.
She had actually claimed that the other person would fail and blow up the cauldron, yet now the one whose refinement had failed was her.
This reversal was somewhat hard for her to accept. It was simply too tragic.
The two of them watched for a long time before reluctantly turning their eyes away and placing their second set of ingredients into their cauldrons.
No matter how shocked they were, they still had to complete the assessment first.
Especially Sikong Yue. Although she was shaken by Ling Xiao’s outstanding technique, she had no intention of admitting defeat.
This was merely the low-rank Yellow-grade alchemist examination.
Afterwards, she still had the mid-rank and high-rank examinations to take.
If everything went smoothly, she believed she could obtain the high-rank Yellow-grade alchemist certification without any problem.
Even if Ling Xiao’s technique was better, if his rank was lower than hers, she would still hold the advantage.
Thinking of this, her fighting spirit returned.
However, Ling Xiao, whom she now regarded as a rival, remained completely unaware of their reactions and thoughts.
At this moment, Ling Xiao had poured all his focus into refining the Burst Qi Pill.
As Lin and Tiemu had said, although divine flame was far more effective for pill refining, it was also much harder to control.
If he did not possess the Mountains and Rivers Martial Soul, he probably could not have managed it.
Therefore, he had to be even more careful and attentive.
If he failed, it would be utterly humiliating. After all, he had taken only one portion of ingredients. If he ruined it, there would be nothing left to use.
Pill refining is an extremely tedious process.
Time passes very quickly.
Unknowingly, half an hour had already gone by during this monotonous refining.
In order to produce a perfect-grade Burst Qi Pill, Ling Xiao had put in a great deal of effort.
He refused to refine defective or inferior pills. That would ruin his reputation.
If he was going to do it, it had to be perfect.
A perfect Burst Qi Pill eliminated all flaws. After consumption, it would not cause physical weakness. In a way, that benefited warriors.
“It’s done!”
He controlled the timing down to the smallest possible unit. With a wave of his hand, the cauldron opened. A wave of fragrance drifted out, and a crimson pill flew straight out from inside.
Ling Xiao took out the prepared porcelain vial and neatly caught the pill inside.
The entire process was smooth and seamless.
To onlookers, it looked particularly suave and dashing.
Clap, clap, clap!
The instant he completed the refinement, thunderous applause rang out.
It was definitely not just one person clapping.
Almost everyone present was applauding.
That even included Tie Yunshan, who had already finished her own refinement.
