"Wait, Ye Yunfei, the spirit pill you refine must be of my designation. Let it be the Fourth-Grade Verdant Wood Elixir. The required spiritual herbs are precisely all available here."
Yang Cheng spoke, pointing at the pile of herbs on the platform.
Tang Feng, upon hearing this, was momentarily stunned before a hidden smirk curled at the corner of his mouth.
Even Yan Qing narrowed his eyes.
Among Fourth-Grade spirit pills, the Verdant Wood Elixir was notoriously difficult to refine. Tang Feng and Yan Qing were both acutely aware of this fact. Not even their masters, Grandmaster Chen Xuan and Grandmaster Huangfu Sheng, would dare claim they could definitely refine the Verdant Wood Elixir.
By demanding Ye Yunfei refine it, Yang Cheng had clearly set out a formidable problem.
"The Verdant Wood Elixir? No problem," Ye Yunfei replied with a faint smile.
Naturally, Ye Yunfei understood Yang Cheng's intentions. However, Ye Yunfei could even refine Fifth-Grade, even Sixth-Grade spirit pills, let alone a mere Fourth-Grade Verdant Wood Elixir.
Having said that, Ye Yunfei walked to the herb pile, quickly selected the dozen or so spiritual herbs needed for the Verdant Wood Elixir, then took out his Pill Cauldron and placed it before him.
"Ignite!"
Ye Yunfei flicked a finger, launching a wisp of pill flame into the Pill Cauldron.
Whoosh!
The interior of the Pill Cauldron immediately erupted with roaring pill flames.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
With movements swift as lightning, Ye Yunfei grabbed the herbs without any need for a specific sequence and directly threw them into the cauldron.
What followed was incineration of the herbs, extraction of the medicinal liquid, coalescence of the liquids, and condensation of the pill...
Ye Yunfei's movements flowed smooth as clouds and water, continuous and unbroken, filled with a sense of artistry. Furthermore, the speed of every stage was shockingly fast, dazzling and bewildering to the eye.
"One can refine pills like this?!"
"I get the feeling he finds refining pills even more effortless than eating a meal!"
......
Exclamations of astonishment rose one after another across the square.
Especially those alchemists present; they craned their necks and strained their eyes, unblinking, staring fixedly at Ye Yunfei, afraid to miss a single detail.
Because the alchemy technique Ye Yunfei was displaying was truly too brilliant.
"So that's how it's done!"
"I've been struggling for years researching how to better control the flames. Now, it's as if a sudden epiphany has opened up the path!"
"So one can coalesce the liquids like this!"
......
Alchemists watched, utterly mesmerized, exclaiming with pleasant surprise from time to time. Clearly, their gains were substantial.
Both Tang Feng and Yang Cheng watched Ye Yunfei's artistic and supremely skilled pill-refining technique, their expressions growing uglier by the minute.
A moment later.
"Pill Completion!"
Ye Yunfei suddenly gave a light shout and struck the Pill Cauldron with his palm.
Swish! Swish!
Five spirit pills flew out from the Pill Cauldron in succession, hovering before Ye Yunfei. Each emitted a rich medicinal fragrance.
"Fourth-Grade Verdant Wood Elixir. Output: five pills. Quality: all Perfect-grade!"
Eunuch Ouyang stepped forward, appraised the pills, then took a deep breath to suppress the shock in his heart before announcing clearly.
Wow!
The entire square erupted completely. Nearly everyone looked upon Ye Yunfei with awe-filled gazes.
By now, everyone understood—this was a genuine, fourth-grade alchemist!
Previously, the Great Qin Empire had only two fourth-grade alchemists: Chen Xuan and Huangfu Sheng. But from this moment on, the Great Qin Empire had one more fourth-grade alchemist: Ye Yunfei!
"Master Ye Yunfei! Master Ye Yunfei!"
Suddenly, no one knew who took the lead, but the crowd in the square began shouting fervently.
Within the Great Qin Empire, a fourth-grade alchemist was truly deserving of the title "Master"!
"No!
No... I can't accept this!"
Utterly despairing, Yang Cheng staggered back several steps, muttering to himself.
Tang Feng's face was ashen, his eyes devoid of any light, utterly dim.
"Pledges must be honored. Hand over the items," Ye Yunfei said, walking over.
"Get away! These ten Star Soul Stones were meant as a birthday gift for my master. I cannot give them to you!" Yang Cheng suddenly snarled, hurriedly hiding the ten Star Soul Stones into his spatial ring.
Swish!
Like a ghost, Ye Yunfei appeared right in front of Yang Cheng in a single step. His hand shot out like lightning, grabbing Yang Cheng's wrist and twisting with force.
Crack!
Yang Cheng's wrist snapped on the spot, connected only by some skin and flesh. Ye Yunfei snatched the spatial ring from Yang Cheng's hand, took out the ten Star Soul Stones, then threw the spatial ring back at Yang Cheng's feet.
"No one can welch on a bet they made with me," Ye Yunfei chuckled coldly.
Cupping his broken wrist, Yang Cheng looked at Ye Yunfei with eyes filled with extreme malice and venom. However, he dared not take action against Ye Yunfei.
Because across the square, the martial artists of the Great Qin Empire were glaring at him with frightening, man-eating gazes. Likely, if he dared lay a hand on Ye Yunfei, those Great Qin Empire martial artists would swarm over and tear him limb from limb.
Tang Feng was quite direct. He tossed the Earth Core Meteorite Iron to Ye Yunfei, his face gloomy, not saying a word.
After obtaining the Star Soul Stones and the Earth Core Meteorite Iron, Ye Yunfei simply jumped down from the platform and returned to the Third Prince's side.
"Haha, Brother Ye! The surprise you've brought me is simply too great!" the Third Prince laughed heartily, utterly delighted.
"Oh dear, look at me, overwhelmed with joy. From now on, I should call you Master Ye Yunfei!" the Third Prince said.
"Just a form of address. No need to stand on ceremony, Your Highness," Ye Yunfei replied with a faint, indifferent smile.
Guo Shijie and Lin Ming, on the other hand, were awkward to the extreme. They simply dared not remain standing beside the Third Prince and secretly retreated backward, eventually slipping into the crowd to hide. They were too ashamed to face the Third Prince any longer.
As for the other talents and free practitioners recruited by the Third Prince, their gazes toward Ye Yunfei had now completely changed, filled with great reverence! This was a fourth-grade alchemy master, a master of the same level as Chen Xuan and Huangfu Sheng!
Even the Emperor of the imperial household or the sect masters of the Four Great Sects would treat a fourth-grade alchemy master with deference and respect, let alone free practitioners like them.
"Now, I declare that today's Alchemy Competition is officially concluded.
First Place: Master Ye Yunfei.
Second Place: Alchemist Yang Cheng.
Third Place: Alchemist Tang Feng," Eunuch Ouyang proclaimed loudly from the platform.
By now, Eunuch Ouyang no longer harbored even the slightest bit of contempt for Ye Yunfei. He directly addressed him as Master Ye Yunfei, indicating his changed attitude.
"The top three shall receive generous rewards from the imperial household. The prizes shall now be distributed."
With a wave of his hand after speaking, three spatial rings shot out from Eunuch Ouyang's palm, landing before Ye Yunfei, Yang Cheng, and Tang Feng respectively.
"Master Ye Yunfei, who has won first place in the competition, will be received in audience by His Majesty tomorrow and granted the title of Imperial Scholar!"
Eunuch Ouyang announced clearly.
"Very well, everyone. The competition concludes here. You may disperse."
Eunuch Ouyang waved his hand.
Subsequently, the Emperor departed from the square with his retinue of ministers in a grand procession. Before leaving, the Emperor cast a friendly smile in Ye Yunfei's direction.
Then, the crowd in the square also dispersed like an ebbing tide.
"Master Ye Yunfei, let us return first. Tomorrow, His Majesty's decree will arrive at my residence, summoning you to the palace."
Beaming with joy, the Third Prince brought Ye Yunfei back with him.
"Who could have imagined this Ye Yunfei is actually a fourth-grade alchemist!"
In a corner of the square, Elder Jin and Elder Ding of the Xiaoyao Pavilion stared fixedly at Ye Yunfei's receding figure, expressions complicated.
They understood that a fourth-grade alchemist possessed immense influence within the Great Qin Empire.
"The value of this lad is substantial. Let's capture him and force him to refine pills exclusively for our Xiaoyao Pavilion!" Elder Jin said after pondering.
"An excellent idea," Elder Ding nodded in agreement.