Chapter 565: Burst Pill

Chapter 565: Chapter 563: Burst Pill

Once the competition began, the Alchemy Masters quickly started controlling their flames to perform Alchemy. Lin Xuan immediately conjured his flame and began as well, since time was a key factor in determining the score.

One might succeed on a second Elixir Pill after failing the first, but spending too much time would lower the score. That was why every second counted; being too slow was little different from losing.

Over seventy columns of fire erupted, many of them different colors. Long Bin’s and Long Fan’s flames were especially vigorous, their colors showing a slight variance—a sign of a mutated flame.

The two of them had rather different physiques. Long Bin possessed Fire and Wood Dual Attributes. Under the influence of the Wood Attribute, his flame burned more vigorously and leaned slightly toward a greenish-blue.

Long Fan’s flame leaned toward a pale yellow, an effect of his Earth Attribute, which could slightly alter a flame’s color.

These flame variations weren’t merely for show; each came with different effects. For example, the Wood Attribute not only made the flame more vigorous but also infused it with the Wood Attribute’s Power of Life, providing a significant boost to Alchemy.

The Earth Attribute’s effect was to add a measure of substance, strengthening the pill’s efficacy!

These were considered innate flame mutations, altering the very essence of one’s fire. This was completely different from absorbing an external flame, like the Yulan Sacred Fire, which is an external flame that has been subdued and can be controlled by the user.

Possessing such flames meant they were exceptionally gifted. It was a natural talent for Alchemy that provided a huge advantage!

“Long Bin and Long Fan both have innate flames, which are highly effective for Alchemy. I wonder what Lin Xuan’s situation is. If he doesn’t have an advantage of his own, this will be much more difficult for him.” Long Xingyun thought highly of Long Fan and Long Bin; after all, they were talented geniuses who had always been worthy of attention.

It remained to be seen how Lin Xuan would contend with these two great geniuses.

BANG!

A sharp noise, like firewood crackling, echoed from one of the Tripod Furnaces.

All eyes turned to see that the person whose Tripod Furnace had suffered a Burst Pill was none other than Lin Xuan, the one who had achieved a perfect victory in the first round! After a moment of stunned silence, some even began to laugh out loud.

To have a pill burst during Alchemy was a clear sign of extremely poor Fire Control. Other contestants had failed, but none of their pills had actually burst. Only Lin Xuan’s had!

The incident drew the attention of many Alchemy Masters. Long Bin and Long Fan shot him disdainful looks. ‘So his perfect victory earlier was just a fluke,’ they thought. ‘He probably just got lucky with common herbs. We don’t waste our time on such lowly ingredients, so it’s no surprise we couldn’t name them all.’

Long Xingyun frowned, not expecting Lin Xuan to make such a low-level mistake. He considered Lin Xuan the most unique Alchemy Master he had ever seen; who could possibly imitate such novel Alchemy techniques?

“His pill actually burst… Wasn’t he supposed to be so incredible?”

“Yeah, I’m dying of laughter. His pill burst! Out of everyone here, he’s the only one!”

“We’ve barely even started and his pill already burst. What a joke! His skill level is ‘impressive’ indeed, haha!”

…

The crowd roared with laughter. They found Lin Xuan ridiculous, feeling he had finally exposed his true colors. In the end, he had no real ability, just an empty boast. The person Long Yuwei brought back was completely useless. He might have passed the first round, but the second had revealed his actual, pitiful strength.

Long Yuwei sighed and whispered, “Is this really it…?” She could only accept this fate, telling herself that this was as far as they would go.

“So, Lin Xuan’s pill burst. Is this a son of the Lin Family? His skills look ‘really impressive’…”

“I think so too. Let’s hope he keeps up the good work… oh, wait. If he continues like this, he won’t even make it to the next round.”

…

Many of the Elders sneered, utterly satisfied with Lin Xuan’s performance. They couldn’t have been more pleased; this was exactly the result they wanted.

Long Xingyun’s expression darkened. No one had expected Lin Xuan’s pill to burst—for him to make such a basic mistake. As a man of high status, he naturally wouldn’t concede so easily and said with a calm expression, “It was just an accident.”

Did the Burst Pill affect Lin Xuan? No, not in the slightest. His expression was indifferent, completely unfazed, as he continued to control the flame in his hand and channel it into the Tripod Furnace!

Phoenix Fire erupted wildly from his hand, pouring into the Tripod Furnace in a frenzied torrent. The flame filled the entire furnace, continuing to burn the shattered remains of the Elixir Pill inside.

His actions prompted another round of sneers. ‘He’s just wasting his effort,’ they thought. ‘It’s completely pointless. The Elixir Pill is already destroyed, so what’s the use?’

But he just continued the refinement process, completely ignoring the opinions of others. He said nothing, his burning gaze fixed on the flame within the Tripod Furnace as if the Burst Pill had happened in someone else’s furnace.

“Rise!”

With a low grunt from Long Bin, a perfectly round Elixir Pill flew out of his Pill Furnace. He caught it swiftly and presented it to the crowd: a complete Reincarnation Pill!

Just as Long Bin finished, Long Fan, not to be outdone, gave a sharp look and waved his hand. An Elixir Pill landed in his grasp, and a complete Reincarnation Pill appeared in his palm!

The two of them submitted their Reincarnation Pills at almost the same time. The Steward acting as a judge, himself an Alchemy Master, inspected them before saying, “Mm, both are very complete Reincarnation Pills. Although there are some minor flaws, you refined them with incredible speed. With your strength, you could have made them even more perfect, but this is more than enough. I award you both nine points.”

Worthy of their reputations as genius disciples, they had finished with impressive speed and quality, leaving the others far behind.

As time passed, more and more skilled Alchemy Masters began to submit their work. Meanwhile, Lin Xuan, who had been the center of attention just moments before, remained completely silent.

At that moment, a bright glint flashed in Lin Xuan’s eyes. The flame in his hand suddenly intensified, pouring madly into the Tripod Furnace!

“Is he crazy? He’s lost all control of the flame! The pill already burst, so what is he doing?”

“In my opinion, he just got lucky before. Now he’s lost all hope and is just releasing his flame recklessly.”

“Hehe, it’s pointless anyway. A lot of time has passed. If he keeps this up, his loss is guaranteed, right?”

…

The spectators discussed this amongst themselves, and the other Alchemy Masters were dumbfounded. Had Lin Xuan gone mad?

Just when everyone thought Lin Xuan had gone mad, Long Xingyun shot to his feet and exclaimed in astonishment, “Could it be that he deliberately caused the Burst Pill? Is he trying to re-refine it back into a brand new pill? That’s far more difficult than just starting over!”

He suddenly recalled a certain technique. A half-finished Elixir Pill could indeed be re-refined by intentionally shattering it, then re-fusing the remnants with Spiritual Liquid to condense them into a perfect Elixir Pill!

But the difficulty was immense. Was Lin Xuan really challenging something so incredibly hard?