Just when everyone thought Lin Xuan was too afraid to show up, he arrived.
"Heavens, what am I seeing?"
"Lin Xuan! He actually came!"
"What? That kid is here."
The crowd exclaimed, and everyone turned to look. Sure enough, they saw Lin Xuan approaching, accompanied by people from the Supreme Hall.
The crowd gasped. "That kid actually dared to come!"
"Truly unbelievable. His courage is commendable."
"But what’s the use of courage? He can’t even perform alchemy."
"Why did he come? To embarrass himself?"
"I think that kid has become too arrogant."
"Ever since he joined the Sacred Institute, everything has been smooth sailing for him. He’s never been defeated, so now he doesn’t know his own limits and actually thinks he’s an alchemist."
"Just watch. This time, he’s bound to lose."
"Hmph! Pretending to be an Alchemy Master has serious consequences. I reckon Lin Xuan is in for a rough time."
Many people snickered.
Finally, he’s here! Shen Tang was extremely excited. Zhao Yue’s lips also curled into a sneer; he intended to expose Lin Xuan in front of everyone.
In the distance, Steward Zhang’s eyes burned with hatred when he saw Lin Xuan. As soon as Lin Xuan lost the alchemy duel, he would immediately rush out and give him ten slaps to get his fierce revenge.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Lin Xuan arrived before the alchemists.
"Which one of you is Zhao Yue?" Lin Xuan asked in a deep voice, his gaze sweeping across the area.
"That would be me!" Zhao Yue stepped out. He wore the long robe of an Alchemy Master, adorned with the badge of a Fourth Grade Alchemy Master. Golden light flickered from it, reflecting on his confident face.
He looked down at Lin Xuan condescendingly. "Kid, I didn’t expect you’d actually dare to show up."
"Why wouldn’t I dare?" Lin Xuan smiled. "I am a true Fourth Grade Alchemy Master. Why wouldn’t I dare attend a minor alchemy competition like this?"
The crowd was in an uproar.
"Damn, this kid is still bragging!"
"He’s talking tough even with death at his doorstep."
"Has he boasted so much that he’s started to believe his own lies?"
"You, a Fourth Grade Alchemy Master? If you’re a Fourth Grade Alchemy Master, I’ll give you my head to kick around like a ball."
The members of the Star Alliance ridiculed him, and Shen Tang also snorted coldly. "I’d like to see just how you plan to perform alchemy."
Lin Xuan glanced coldly at her. "You’ll see."
This Shen Tang has troubled me time and time again. I won’t let her off easily.
"Enough nonsense. Since you’re here, let’s begin our competition," Zhao Yue said. "We’ll each enter an Alchemy Room and refine our elixirs. Whoever produces the higher-grade elixir wins."
"No problem," Lin Xuan nodded.
Zhao Yue added, "The time limit is one day."
With that, he strode toward an alchemy room at the front and entered Alchemy Room No. 1.
Lin Xuan prepared to enter Alchemy Room No. 2, but Ning Xue grabbed his arm. "Are you really going in?"
"Just give up, Hall Master!" Zi Su and Zhang Shaochu pleaded.
"Don’t worry. It’s no problem," Lin Xuan said, giving them a confident smile. He then turned and strode into Alchemy Room No. 2.
RUMBLE...
The doors to the two Alchemy Rooms shut. The crowd could no longer see what the two were doing, as alchemy required absolute quiet and could not be disturbed. This was especially true when refining a Fourth Grade Elixir; even Zhao Yue had to give it his all and couldn’t afford the slightest mistake. If he failed, it would be a huge embarrassment. That was why they chose to perform their work inside the sealed Alchemy Rooms.
「Outside.」
Although the crowd couldn’t see the alchemy process, no one left. They all waited, anticipating the final result.
The members of the Star Alliance continued to mock him. "In my opinion, this Lin Xuan is simply a fool."
"It’s laughable that he actually dared to go in and perform alchemy."
"I can’t wait to see what kind of elixir he manages to produce."
"Don’t get your hopes up. He’s just a posturing clown. There’s no way he can succeed."
"Hmph, that kid really overestimates himself."
The other onlookers were also discussing among themselves, and they all felt that Lin Xuan couldn’t possibly succeed. The members of the Supreme Hall, in particular, looked grim.
Lin Xuan is definitely going to lose. When that happens, he’ll be utterly defeated, and so will our Supreme Hall. Our lives are going to be miserable after this. They grew worried just thinking about it.
Steward Zhang’s eyes blazed with fire as he stared fixedly at the Alchemy Rooms, waiting for the final result.
Elsewhere, two other figures were present—Zi Ling and Mo Fan. They had also come to watch the competition. Hearing the crowd’s discussions, a smile appeared on Zi Ling’s face. "The more arrogant the Star Alliance acts now, the harder the slap in the face will be later."
Mo Fan also smiled. "These people are all frogs in a well. How could they possibly know how formidable Lin Xuan is?"
"Just watch. They’re all going to be scared silly."
"Hmph. This Zhao Yue is about to be thoroughly humiliated."
The two of them watched on with the expressions of people enjoying a good show.
「Inside the Alchemy Rooms.」
Lin Xuan and Zhao Yue both began to refine their elixirs. Lin Xuan appeared perfectly calm; for him, alchemy was as easy as breathing.
This time, the competition didn’t specify what elixir to refine, so Lin Xuan decided to make the one he was most familiar with: the Fourth Grade Spirit Gathering Pill.
Taking out the Bahuang Fire Dragon Cauldron, Lin Xuan skillfully tossed the Medicinal Materials inside. He then unleashed his Anomalous Fire to melt the Spirit Medicines, condense the medicinal liquid, and form the elixirs. The entire process was as smooth as flowing water.
In just a single hour, Lin Xuan had succeeded. He had refined a batch of Fourth Grade Spirit Gathering Pills. There were six in total, each one crystal clear and covered in mysterious patterns.
With a wave of his hand, the elixirs flew out and landed in his palm. Lin Xuan inspected them, a smile touching his lips. "Not bad. High-tier Fourth Grade Elixirs. A normal result for me."
Then, Lin Xuan put away his Alchemy Furnace and headed outside.
「Outside.」
The crowd was still waiting. They knew that refining Fourth Grade Elixirs was a time-consuming process; even an ordinary one would take at least half a day. They had the patience to wait. However, only an hour had passed when the door to one of the Alchemy Rooms suddenly opened. What’s going on?
The crowd quickly looked up, only to see the door of Alchemy Room No. 2 slowly swinging open. Lin Xuan walked out.
"It’s Lin Xuan! Why is he out already?" everyone stammered, stunned.
"Hahaha, do you even need to ask?" Shen Tang roared with laughter. "He must have failed his refinement!"
"Hmph, that kid doesn’t know the first thing about alchemy."
"I bet he just sat in there, realized he couldn’t make anything, and gave up."
Hearing this, everyone came to the same conclusion.
"Sigh, I told you he couldn’t possibly be an Alchemy Master."
"He made such a show of entering the Alchemy Room. I actually had some hope he might refine an elixir."
"Who knew he was a complete fraud all along?"
"This guy is despicable, pretending to be a Fourth Grade Alchemy Master!"
"Just you wait, the Sacred Institute won’t let him get away with this."
The crowd was in an uproar. The members of the Star Alliance were also gloating. "Of course he’s just a posturing clown. We knew he couldn’t do it."
"The fact that he dared to compete with Zhao Yue in alchemy is laughable."
"He isn’t even worthy of carrying Zhao Yue’s shoes!"
"He failed... just as we thought." Zi Su’s face turned pale, and Zhang Shaochu looked grim.
Behind them, the other disciples from the Supreme Hall were filled with despair. Our Hall Master failed. His fate is going to be miserable... and the Supreme Hall will be completely suppressed. Many of them were already considering leaving the Supreme Hall.
Seeing this from a distance, Steward Zhang’s expression filled with murderous intent. "That brat really was deceiving me!" he roared, charging forward. He wanted revenge. He was going to slap that brat a hundred times