"Hehe… That kid has definitely lost his mind."
Long Hai, seeing someone dare to question his prized disciple, also sneered coldly.
The other high-level members of Tongsheng Gate found it strange as well.
However, they were all high-ranking individuals within Tongsheng Gate, each with status and prestige. Under public scrutiny, a quarrel among the juniors wasn't something they felt appropriate to intervene in directly.
Thus, none of Tongsheng Gate's leadership spoke up.
"What I said is fact. Her innate alchemy talent indeed surpasses yours; there's not a shred of doubt," Ye Yunfei stated calmly.
"Fine! Since you claim her alchemy talent is higher than mine, how dare you accept a wager!" Sima Xuan roared.
"What kind of wager?" Ye Yunfei asked.
"We'll wager on who, between me and this insolent girl, refines a True Spirit Pill of higher quality. If the pill I refine is of superior quality, you lose. You must perform ten audible kowtows and apologize humbly to me," declared Sima Xuan.
"And if you lose?" Ye Yunfei asked indifferently.
"Hmph! There's no way I could lose! Even if, against all odds, I did, these five hundred Soul Stones would be yours." Sima Xuan waved his hand, producing five hundred dark, gleaming Soul Stones from his spatial ring, which landed on the table beside him.
"Very well. I accept your wager," Ye Yunfei immediately nodded. Those Soul Stones contained rich Soul Power energy, which held considerable use for him.
"Hmph! Get ready to kneel and kowtow!" Sima Xuan flicked his sleeve, snorted, then turned back to focus on his pill refining, ignoring Ye Yunfei further.
"Hu Miao, can you use your illusion art on her, to boost her confidence?" Ye Yunfei asked Hu Miao via sound transmission.
"I can. The Illusion Arts of our Ancient Celestial Fox clan are not something to be boasted about lightly," Hu Miao chuckled.
Thus, Hu Miao immediately cast her art. Strands of illusion principles quietly enveloped the young girl. Hu Miao was extremely cautious, as there were three Yuan Foundation Realm experts around the platform. Any large disturbance could easily be detected.
"Start refining the pill. Believe in yourself. You can do it," Ye Yunfei said to the girl.
Already under Hu Miao's illusion, the girl's nervousness and fear gradually dissipated. She began to grow confident. Hu Miao's art had a hypnotic-like effect, drawing out the confidence buried deep within her.
"Now, I'll teach you a very simple alchemy mantra and technique. Just do as I say. Believe in yourself; you can certainly do this," Ye Yunfei transmitted to the girl via Soul Power.
"Huh?" The girl was startled, looking up to see Ye Yunfei wink at her.
"Alright." Under the influence of Hu Miao's illusion, the girl had become exceedingly confident by this point.
Thus, Ye Yunfei promptly began imparting a very simple yet highly practical Alchemy Technique to the girl. With Ye Yunfei's personal guidance, she quickly grasped it. Step by step, she began refining the pill with calm and steadiness!
Firstly, the girl's alchemy talent was genuinely not bad.
Secondly, to receive direct guidance from an Alchemy Master… this was a privilege countless alchemists across the world could only dream of!
This refining session showcased the girl's true excellence.
Within moments, she completed the step of igniting the spiritual herbs. She moved on to extracting the medicinal essence and finally began condensing the pills.
"Look! That girl really seems capable of refining True Spirit Pills!" Many in the crowd around the platform exclaimed in amazement.
"Hmph!" Seeing this, Sima Xuan's face couldn't help but darken with displeasure. "So what if this girl manages to refine a True Spirit Pill? The quality of the pills she produces could never possibly match the True Spirit Pills I refine!" he thought to himself spitefully.
Moments later.
"Pill formation complete!" Suddenly, Sima Xuan slapped his Pill Cauldron and shouted loudly.
Swoosh! Swoosh!… One by one, pills shot out from the cauldron before him.
A total of five True Spirit Pills now hovered in the air in front of him.
"Five pills yielded! Three of medium quality, two of superior quality!" The middle-aged man overseeing the assessment stepped forward to inspect them. After a deep breath, he announced clearly.
"He yielded five pills from one cauldron! Incredible!"
"As expected of Young Master Sima Xuan!"
"At such a young age, to possess such pill refining skills, his future is limitless!"
… Instantly, the entire venue erupted in chatter.
Generally, an average alchemist's pill yield rate was three or four pills per cauldron, sometimes even just one or two. Five pills per cauldron was truly excellent.
Moreover, Sima Xuan was still very young, with immense room for future growth.
"Hahaha… Well done," Long Hai couldn't resist letting out a hearty laugh.
The other high-level Tongsheng Gate members also nodded in praise.
"Hmph! Insolent girl, let's see how you beat me!" Sima Xuan turned his head towards the girl, sneering. However, at this moment, under Ye Yunfei's guidance, the girl was fully immersed in her pill refining, paying Sima Xuan no heed.
"Kid, prepare to kneel and kowtow! Remember this for the future: there are some people you cannot afford to offend," Sima Xuan swept his gaze towards Ye Yunfei, looking down on him from a position of perceived superiority.
Ye Yunfei gave a faint smile and simply pretended not to see him.
"Pill formation complete!"
"Pill formation complete!"
… Soon, other youths also successfully refined True Spirit Pills.
However, none matched Sima Xuan's performance.
The best of them produced three True Spirit Pills, all of inferior quality.
This only fueled Sima Xuan's growing arrogance. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, sweeping his gaze over the others with disdain.
Moments later.
The girl suddenly became visibly excited.
"Pill formation complete!" She gently tapped her Pill Cauldron. Pills flew out, one after another.
A total of five True Spirit Pills now floated before her.
"How… How is this possible?!"
At this moment, everyone present was utterly dumbstruck. Staring in shock at the five pills before the girl, their faces were filled with disbelief.
This girl, who had initially failed twice in igniting the spiritual herbs and displayed truly abysmal pill refining skills… now she had refined five True Spirit Pills from a single cauldron? The contrast was simply too immense!
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible…"
Sima Xuan's face underwent a dramatic change. He retreated several steps, shaking his head vigorously, utterly refusing to believe it. He had been certain this girl wouldn't even be capable of refining a single True Spirit Pill. Yet now she had produced five!
"And the quality of those five True Spirit Pills… how could this be?!"
Currently, those most stunned were Tongsheng Gate's high-level members. Each of them stared fixedly at the five pills before the girl.
These senior members were all renowned and skilled alchemists. They could tell at a single glance that the quality of those five True Spirit Pills was extraordinary!
After a long pause, the middle-aged invigilator finally walked over to carefully inspect the five True Spirit Pills before the girl.
"Impossible… How could this be? Am I seeing this right? What in the world is going on?"
Shortly, the middle-aged man seemed to have lost his senses, sometimes showing a face full of astonishment, other times shaking his head with a bitter smile, muttering to himself.