Master Liuyun was this young?
Many who were seeing Master Liuyun for the first time felt somewhat doubtful.
"Is this lad really the legendary Master Liuyun?
He looks completely unreliable."
"Right, so young. Is it even possible for him to be a Treasure Pill Master?
I have serious doubts!"
"What's there to doubt about?
He's one hundred percent a fraud!"
...
Many could not help but start discussing.
"Master Liuyun! Master Liuyun has finally appeared!"
"Master Liuyun is no fraud!
His medical skills and alchemy techniques are both incredibly profound!
I witnessed it myself!"
Some who had previously sought pills from Ye Yunfei grew excited upon seeing him and voiced their support.
On the high platform, the five alchemy masters also looked at Ye Yunfei and could not help but reveal cold sneers.
Master Qihuang shook his head in disappointment, his mind already made up that this Master Liuyun before him was definitely not a genuine First-Grade Treasure Pill Master.
After all, he looked far too young!
"You actually dare to show up. Such audacity is truly admirable," Jiuqu Wanderer said with a sneer as he looked at Ye Yunfei.
Ye Yunfei, with his hands clasped behind his back, ascended step by step as if taking a leisurely stroll, arriving on the platform suspended above Fire City.
"Hmph! Still pretending at a time like this!
Kid, I guarantee you'll soon be crying tears of regret!" Master Qianyao couldn't resist snorting coldly.
Master Qihuang, Master Tianmu, and Master Xinglin remained silent, staring at Ye Yunfei with eyes filled with disgust.
"Speak. How is this pill duel to be conducted?" Ye Yunfei's gaze swept indifferently over the five alchemy masters as he spoke.
A mere few First-Grade Treasure Pill Masters were utterly insignificant in Ye Yunfei's eyes.
"Kid, I'll duel you!" Master Qianyao took a step forward, glaring down at Ye Yunfei with a superior expression as he spoke coldly.
"Fine," Ye Yunfei nodded, utterly unconcerned.
"However, the duel between you and me is not as simple as merely determining victory or defeat.
Whoever loses shall have their hands crippled!
They shall never be allowed to practice alchemy again!
Do you dare?" Master Qianyao pressed closer, enunciating each word clearly, his eyes filled with cruelty.
Hearing Master Qianyao's words, the crowds watching both inside and outside Fire City couldn't help but erupt in a commotion.
Many exclaimed how exciting this was.
Everyone had traveled long distances to watch the pill duel; if the spectacle wasn't intense, it wouldn't be worth seeing.
"Oh?" Ye Yunfei's gaze involuntarily swept over Master Qianyao.
This fellow seemed to harbor some deep grudge against him, proposing such harsh conditions for the duel.
"What?
Scared already?
Hmph! You pretended to be so impressive before. Are you starting to feel afraid now?
If you dare not, then kneel down right now, kowtow a thousand times before the public, and admit to everyone that you are a fraud, not a First-Grade Treasure Pill Master at all!"
Ye Yunfei's reaction led Master Qianyao to believe his opponent was already afraid.
"The one who should be afraid is you.
After all, you toiled through most of your life to finally become a First-Grade Treasure Pill Master. If crippled, you might not be able to bear it," Ye Yunfei replied blandly.
"Hahaha…
You think you can win against me?
Kid, I've seen many arrogant young people, but one as arrogant as you? This is truly a first for me!" Master Qianyao laughed in anger upon hearing Ye Yunfei's words.
Masters Qihuang and the other four alchemy masters also shook their heads with rueful smiles, wondering if this young man before them had something wrong with his head.
Even at a time like this, he was still stubbornly pretending!
"Can we begin?
Stop wasting my time," Ye Yunfei was growing somewhat impatient.
"Fine!
Kid, since you're so eager to die, I'll grant your wish!
The duel between you and me is simple. Both sides will refine one cauldron of first-grade treasure pill: the Thousand Soul Solidifying Pill!
Victory shall be determined by quality, pill yield rate, and time required.
The necessary medicinal herbs have already been prepared.
Agreed?" Master Qianyao said.
As he spoke, he waved his hand, and two sets of herbs flew out, hovering at the center of the platform.
Thousand Soul Solidifying Pill!
As soon as Master Qianyao's words were spoken, the entire Fire City grew quiet.
Many alchemists couldn't help but suck in cold breaths.
Among first-grade treasure pills, the Thousand Soul Solidifying Pill was notoriously difficult to refine.
Only those First-Grade Treasure Pill Masters who had immersed themselves in this realm for countless years, undergoing who-knows-how-many rounds of repeated practice, might possibly be able to refine it.
As for those who had just recently broken through and were newly promoted First-Grade Treasure Pill Masters, refining such a high-difficulty treasure pill was impossible.
After Master Qianyao finished speaking, the five alchemy masters on the platform all stared at Ye Yunfei with cold sneers, watching to see if he dared to agree.
In their view, if this young man had even a shred of sense in his head, he wouldn't agree.
"Agreed," Ye Yunfei said with a bland expression, summoning one set of herbs to float before him.
"Heh heh… Won't shed tears until he sees the coffin!" Jiuqu Wanderer sneered.
Masters Qihuang, Tianmu, and Xinglin looked at Ye Yunfei with even greater disappointment and disgust.
"Then let's begin!" Master Qianyao said sternly.
Boom!
A jade-green pill cauldron materialized before him.
Then, with a sweep of his long sleeve, a blue flame flew out from his hand.
"That's Frost Flame! It's said this kind of pill flame is harvested from the essence of ten-thousand-year profound ice at the ocean floor, refined and nurtured, harmonizing Yin and Yang. Its power is immense."
Immediately, many surrounding alchemists exclaimed in admiration and analysis.
Fwoosh!
Amidst the crowd's envious gazes, blazing flames ignited within the jade-green pill cauldron in front of Master Qianyao.
"Kid, open your eyes wide and see what the true standard of a First-Grade Treasure Pill Master really is!" Master Qianyao shouted coldly.
As his voice fell, he began his pill refinement.
Adding herbs, quenching and refining…
His technique was incredibly fluent, fluid and graceful, unrestrained as if painting in the sky, pleasing to the eye.
Inside and outside Fire City, countless alchemists who had come to watch stared unblinkingly at Master Qianyao's every move, gasping in continuous admiration, some with reverence, others with envy, still others with longing.
Among them, quite a few alchemy apprentices who had only recently entered the path of alchemy even cried out in excitement, idolizing Master Qianyao.
Even the martial artists who knew nothing of alchemy were captivated by the rhythmic, artistic fluency of Master Qianyao's technique, constantly cheering.
As the saying goes, an expert reveals their skill from the first move. As soon as Master Qianyao began, he had already subdued the audience, solidifying his reputation as a senior alchemy master.
Ye Yunfei, however, was in no hurry at all, observing Master Qianyao's alchemy technique with interest.
After all, Ye Yunfei had not truly witnessed how the alchemy masters of the Central Continent refined pills and was somewhat curious.
Ye Yunfei's alchemy techniques came from a far more advanced world.
"Look!
That Master Liuyun still hasn't started!"
"Start what?
I doubt he even knows how to refine a first-grade treasure pill."
"Hahaha, couldn't keep up the pretense after all that earlier acting?"
…
Seeing Ye Yunfei not making a move but instead watching Master Qianyao refine pills, jeers and mockery immediately arose.
"What is Master Liuyun doing? This shouldn't be!
He clearly is a genuine First-Grade Treasure Pill Master!"
Supporters like Lu Dachong were extremely anxious.
Half an hour later.
From within Master Qianyao's pill cauldron, a rich, concentrated aroma of treasure pills wafted out, spreading in all directions, intoxicating those who smelled it.
The crowd couldn't help but feel their spirits lift—this signified that all the essence from the treasure herbs had been extracted and transformed into medicinal liquid.
The next step was pill condensation!
"So tedious and cumbersome. It seems the alchemy techniques of this low-level continent, Tianxuan Continent, are quite primitive, too low-level.
The techniques are crude and flawed, and some steps are completely superfluous, unnecessary…"
Ye Yunfei watched, shaking his head repeatedly, sighing inwardly.