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**
Liu Ling and the Little Princess turned their slightly annoyed gazes over.
They saw that in front of the gray-robed youth, the flame within his cauldron was burning fiercely—a blazing blue-white flame.
After another moment, a stream of pill fragrance tinged faintly with purple quietly began to rise, like drifting smoke.
"Colored pill fragrance!"
As they stared at that light purple fragrance, nearly every alchemist on the plaza who knew what that meant cried out in shock.
Even the expressions of the various VIPs on the platform began to turn grim.
Pill fragrance that possesses color—such a phenomenon generally only appears with Tier 5 pills.
Of course, some peak Tier 4 pills could also produce such a result.
Though technically still of the Tier 4, such peak-grade pills often held value and energy comparable to ordinary Tier 5 pills.
Judging by the situation before them, the pill refined by this gray-robed youth was undeniably a full level higher than those of the Little Princess and Liu Ling.
The difference in strength was clear.
Now, only Xian'er remained.
All eyes turned toward Xian'er, who still stood motionless.
At this moment, that figure in white robes and silver hair, ethereal like a celestial being, had become their last hope.
But everyone's hearts grew heavy.
Because until now, they had not seen her switch to a third flame.
A Two-Line Green Spirit Pill likely wouldn't be enough to secure victory.
"Wei Yang, if this continues…" Fa Ma looked up at the sky, bit his lip, and said, "Why don't you take the stage?"
Wei Yang glanced at Xian'er. A faint smile flickered in his eyes as he replied calmly, "Stay calm. Don't panic."
…
"Gaga—you all lost!" The gray-robed youth burst out in arrogant laughter.
He swept a scornful glance over the Little Princess and Liu Ling, whose faces had both instantly turned pale and dispirited.
Then, his gaze shifted to Xian'er, still unmoving. He sneered coldly, "Gaga, is the Two-Line Green Spirit Pill your limit? Makes sense—even for a Tier 5 alchemist, refining a Three-Line pill comes with a high failure rate. Two-Lines are decent, but compared to me? Not enough! Gagaga~"
The Little Princess and Liu Ling lowered their heads in silence.
Before such an overwhelming advantage, any argument felt utterly pointless and powerless.
Just then—
"You think you've already won? Not necessarily." A calm and clear voice suddenly rang out—Xiao Yan's faint laugh.
The unexpected voice stunned the crowd. Instantly, countless gazes turned toward one direction.
They saw that the youth who had stood motionless like a wooden post atop the stone platform had, at some point, lifted his head once again. His face now bore a rare, gentle, and confident smile.
That smile—no one knew why—gave off a completely different feeling.
It felt as if something had changed. As if some kind of new aura and confidence had emerged.
"An awakening in a moment of desperation… Did he break through?" Wei Yang murmured to himself, a trace of emotion flickering in his eyes.
He'd exploded.
Xiao Yan had just broken through a bottleneck.
And not just any bottleneck—it was a breakthrough in soul power!
Truly incredible!
…
With a soft chuckle, Xiao Yan turned his head to glance at the gray-robed youth who had just been sneering at him.
He smiled faintly, then slowly raised a thumb toward the youth—only to flip it downward in front of everyone.
"So arrogant? Do you really think the match is already decided? Didn't I say—I'll nail you down. Want the championship? Better ask me first," Xiao Yan said softly.
"Heh… so you got your mindset back—so what?" the gray-robed youth sneered. "With less than half the time left, you think you can still refine a pill better than mine? Hahaha! You need to know your limits—or you'll just end up a joke."
Xiao Yan only smiled, saying nothing more.
He waved his sleeve. A gust of Dou Qi swept across the stone platform, clearing away the scorched black ashes before him.
With a flick of his finger, a glimmer of light shot from his storage ring—and a whole pile of medicinal ingredients appeared once again.
Xiao Yan slowly extended his hands. After a moment of stillness, a wisp of green flame rose from his body.
Then, one flame after another emerged from within him.
By the end, the green flames had completely enveloped his entire body—
Transforming him into a man of fire.
A blazing figure, bathed in surging green flames.
"What the—?!"
"To control so many Heavenly Flames… what kind of soul power would that take?!"
Every alchemist on the scene stared wide-eyed at Xiao Yan, now almost entirely a figure of fire, unable to stop themselves from gasping in shock.
Even the gray-robed youth's eyelids began to twitch wildly.
He couldn't understand—within just that brief stretch of time, what had happened to this young man?
How had he suddenly begun to unleash such terrifying soul power?
In the VIP section—
"This little fellow's soul power… it's clearly much stronger than before!" Fa Ma exclaimed in astonishment, staring at Xiao Yan, whose entire body was now engulfed in blue flames.
His voice carried not just comfort, but also a trace of envy. "He broke through under pressure. This kind of powerful soul power, even many elders within the Association can't compare. He's gained too much this time!"
"Comparable to a peak Dou Huang… only slightly inferior to Xian'er's soul power. I'd say he's at half-step mid stage Mortal Realm," Wei Yang also gasped.
This sudden power spike was just… ridiculous!
To say they weren't envious would be a lie.
After all, Xiao Yan was currently only a mere one-star Da Dou Shi!
A One-Star Da Dou Shi, yet already possessed soul power that could rival a peak Dou Huang…
Damn.
Everyone knew—without a soul cultivation technique—an alchemist's soul power could not be actively cultivated.
It could only accumulate slowly over time, or grow slightly with each breakthrough in cultivation level.
Of course, nothing in the world is absolute.
There were rare heavenly treasures capable of enhancing soul power. But such items were extremely rare.
Aside from that, only special methods or fateful encounters could trigger a leap in soul power.
Xiao Yan's case was clearly the latter—a special method.
This was a major stroke of fortune.
Under immense pressure, he shattered his limits.
This kind of state was somewhat similar to an epiphany.
In a mystical, indescribable state of enlightenment—if one was lucky—they could gain tremendous soul power.
What Xiao Yan displayed now was exactly that kind of state.
No wonder Wei Yang was so deeply envious.
…
On the plaza—
Xiao Yan had begun refining the medicinal ingredients.
This time, his refining speed was noticeably faster than before, and his movements no longer bore that previous hesitation or caution.
As he controlled the Heavenly Flames, there was not even a hint of doubt. Every gesture and movement revealed a faint air of calm and composure, the kind that only appeared in truly seasoned alchemy masters.
Like Fa Ma. Like Wei Yang.
At this moment, Xiao Yan still seemed to be enveloped in that mysterious state.
Roar—!
Nine green fire dragons coiled and swirled inside the cauldron.
One by one, herbs were tossed into the cauldron, where the fire dragons opened their jaws and devoured them.
With his other hand, he gathered the refined medicinal essence and casually stored it into jade bottles.
His movements were as smooth as flowing water, with an ease and grace that felt effortless despite the complexity.
Everyone watching was utterly stunned, mouths agape.
For a moment, some even felt as if they had been transported back in time—witnessing once again the scene of Master Wei publicly refining a Dou Ling Pill.
Right now, Xiao Yan gave off an eerie sense of déjà vu—he actually seemed to carry some of Master Wei's aura and elegance.
The difference was: one was currently refining a Three-Line Green Spirit Pill, and the other, back then, was refining a Dou Ling Pill.
And now, aided by this mystical state, Xiao Yan's soul power had reached its peak. The many herbs laid out on the stone platform were being refined at an astonishing speed into pure essence.
Even the elders of the Alchemist Association were watching with dazed expressions.
Because Xiao Yan's current display—the ease and grace he showed—was something even they couldn't match.
At the scene, perhaps only Vice President Qie Mi Er, President Fa Ma, and Master Wei could refine a Three-Line Green Spirit Pill with such mastery and lightness of touch.
From the spectator stands, the crowd that had witnessed everything burst out in an earth-shaking cheer, echoing across the massive square.
At this moment, countless people had been completely convinced by Xiao Yan's performance.
And without doubt, this was Xiao Yan's personal highlight moment.
"Humph." The gray-robed youth heard the deafening cheers. His cold eyes glanced at Xiao Yan and, seeing those effortless movements, a flash of astonishment and seriousness finally flickered across his gaze.
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