"Hahaha…
Everyone, look! That Master Liuyun still hasn't begun!
It seems he's indeed not a First-Grade Treasure Pill Master and has been deceiving everyone!"
"Master? Pfah! Does he deserve the title?"
...
Everyone, seeing that Ye Yunfei had yet to begin and simply stood there watching, started mocking loudly.
"Kid, stunned by Master Qianyao's brilliant alchemy techniques, are you? Now, you should understand what a true alchemy master is, right? How about it? Regretting your decision now? But regret is useless—your hands will be crippled soon. Don't think about fleeing; there's no escape."
Jiuqu Wanderer looked at Ye Yunfei and sneered.
Simultaneously, he signaled to the platform's perimeter. Immediately, over a dozen Mystic Liquid Realm experts shifted their positions subtly, faintly locking onto Ye Yunfei.
"Fine. I'll let you frogs at the bottom of a well witness what real alchemy looks like."
Ye Yunfei shook his head and smiled.
As his words faded,
Bang!
The Chaos Cauldron appeared before him.
Swish… swish…
Ye Yunfei waved his sleeve, and all the precious medicinal materials flew into the cauldron.
Poof!
Ye Yunfei extended a finger. A fiery dragon, only the size of a finger, abruptly manifested and surged into the Chaos Cauldron.
This fiery dragon was precisely the Thousand-Year Earth Lung True Fire that Ye Yunfei had captured deep beneath Fire City not long ago and had successfully refined.
"Refine!"
Ye Yunfei pointed at the pill cauldron. Instantly, that fiery dragon within the Chaos Cauldron erupted with astonishing flames.
In the snap of a finger, the steps of incinerating herbs, refining extracts, quenching liquids, condensing pills…
Every single process was completed almost within moments.
"Nine Revolutions Spirit-Condensing Technique!"
In the final step, Ye Yunfei performed an extremely advanced pill-condensing technique, pointing at the pill cauldron once more.
Ten black treasure pills, still not fully formed, abruptly shot up from the pill cauldron. They lined up in front of Ye Yunfei, spinning rapidly at a staggering speed.
"Pill formation complete!"
A few breaths later, Ye Yunfei pointed yet again and let out a soft shout.
Those ten black treasure pills suddenly stopped, quietly floating there like ten pieces of black gemstone—crystalline, translucent, and radiant.
An extraordinarily soothing medicinal fragrance instantly permeated all of Fire City.
All who smelled this fragrance felt their Soul Bodies become indescribably comfortable.
From start to finish, Ye Yunfei had taken merely a few dozen breaths!
"How is this possible! Pill Yield Rate of ten! And each pill's quality is flawless!"
Master Qihuang's gaze was fixed deathly on the ten treasure pills floating before Ye Yunfei. As if he'd seen a ghost, he muttered hoarsely.
As Master Qihuang's words fell, the entire Fire City plunged into dead silence.
Every single person witnessing Ye Yunfei's alchemy inside and outside the city froze on the spot.
Master Qianyao had only just reached the initial steps of his pill refinement, but he too halted his actions. Staring at those ten pill-stones like black glass, he stood dumbfounded.
Master Xinglin, Jiuqu Wanderer, and Master Tianmu—these three great alchemists were all wide-eyed and tongue-tied as if they'd encountered a ghost.
For a moment, both heaven and earth were completely still.
In a dozen or so breaths of time, he'd successfully refined the Thousand Soul Solidifying Pill—renowned as the hardest-to-refine among the First-Grade Treasure Pills.
Moreover, the Pill Yield Rate and the quality had both reached the highest possible level.
Such alchemy was not only unheard of—they had never even imagined it could exist!
"Your pill-refining time has consumed over half an hour. Mine took only a few dozen breaths.
My Pill Yield Rate is ten, and the quality of every single one is flawless.
Therefore, this pill duel… is my victory."
Under countless shocked stares, Ye Yunfei held his hands behind his back, his gaze calm as he looked toward Master Qianyao and spoke indifferently.
"N-no… absolutely impossible! This isn't alchemy—this is your illusion magic, you're deceiving us! How could you possibly refine the Thousand Soul Solidifying Pill in such a short time, and with a ten-pill yield rate, all of flawless quality! Such a thing is utterly impossible! You cheat!"
Master Qianyao suddenly pointed a finger at Ye Yunfei and began shouting, his tone laced with frantic desperation.
"Illusion Art?"
The onlookers were momentarily stunned.
"That's right! It really could be an illusion! How could anyone possibly refine the Thousand Soul Solidifying Pill so quickly!"
After hearing Master Qianyao's words, many people snapped out of their daze and voiced their suspicions.
"That's right! Even the elders of the Alchemy Tower couldn't refine the Thousand Soul Solidifying Pill in such a short time, with a Pill Yield Rate and quality this outrageously good. Brat, you must be employing some kind of illusion magic to bewitch us! This is cheating!"
Jiuqu Wanderer also jumped forward, shouting indignantly.
"Fakery? Illusion Art? Inside and outside Fire City, there are tens of thousands of people watching with their own eyes. Are you saying the illusion magic I supposedly cast managed to mesmerize every single one of these tens of thousands? Besides, there are so many great alchemy masters present. A proper appraisal should easily determine its authenticity."
Ye Yunfei replied mildly.
Indeed! In all the world, what kind of Illusion Art could simultaneously mesmerize tens of thousands of people?
Hearing Ye Yunfei's words, everyone present couldn't help but nod inwardly.
"Let me examine them."
Master Qihuang stepped forward several paces, approaching Ye Yunfei to carefully observe the ten black treasure pills. He even took one and placed it in his palm, feeling it.
"I shall take a look as well!"
A white-robed elder appeared on the platform in a flash. As he spoke, he began meticulously examining the ten black treasure pills.
"Master Yandan!"
Seeing the white-robed elder, the crowd gasped in surprise.
Master Yandan was another very famous alchemy master in the Central Continent, his reputation no less than Master Qihuang's.
A moment later.
"These ten treasure pills are indeed the Thousand Soul Solidifying Pill. There's no room for doubt."
Master Yandan stated with certainty.
"They are indeed."
Following that, Master Qihuang spoke with difficulty.
Under the watchful eyes of tens of thousands, with the facts laid bare, he couldn't possibly twist black into white. Otherwise, his lifelong reputation as a revered and prestigious alchemy master would be utterly ruined from this moment onward.
"So it's real!"
Instantly, the air inside and outside Fire City buzzed with uproar.
Those who had voiced doubts about Master Liuyun moments ago all shut their mouths, unable to utter a single word.
Master Qihuang, Master Xinglin, Jiuqu Wanderer, and Master Tianmu—their faces all twisted into masks of extreme displeasure.
"Dad! Master Liuyun won!"
A small boy standing next to Lu Dachong cheered—he was Lu Dachong's son.
"Haha… I told you! Master Liuyun is a genuine First-Grade Treasure Pill Master, and an exceptionally powerful one at that!"
Lu Dachong roared with laughter.
"Wait!
Didn't I bet five hundred thousand lower-grade Spirit Crystal Stones on Master Liuyun winning? And the odds were a thousand to one… doesn't that mean I stand to win… fifty billion lower-grade Spirit Crystal Stones?!
I'm rich! Quick, let's go collect the winnings before the bookie runs off!"
Suddenly, Lu Dachong realized this. Grabbing his son's hand, he dashed toward that gambling den at top speed.