The Extreme Alchemist of the Mighty Cauldron

Both of these young men were wearing pill refiner robes, each adorned with a triple-cauldron pill refiner badge on their chests.

“Li Jianlong, Li Feng, what brings the two of you here?” Elder Su asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

Hearing their names, Fang Lin immediately recognized their identities.

They were triple-cauldron pill refiners from the Li family, each ranking highly on the leaderboard. Li Jianlong held the fifth position while Li Feng ranked seventh.

Ranked in the top ten!

Although both were young, their high rankings indicated the strength of their alchemy skills. One could only imagine how powerful these two members of the Li Family were.

“Elder Su, we heard there was a ranking challenge occurring here, and we were curious, so we came to observe,” Li Jianlong said with a broad smile.

Li Feng, however, stood aloofly to one side. His contemptuous and venomous gaze surveyed Fang Lin, as if no one else was worth his attention.

“You’re welcome to watch, but don’t disturb their contest,” Elder Su said, sounding somewhat displeased.

“Yes,” Li Jianlong said with a laugh, then he and Li Feng stood together.

Fang Lin redirected his attention away from the two members of the Li family. Despite their unwelcome appearance here likely indicating trouble, Fang Lin’s priority was to focus on the contest with He Liangyong.

He Liangyong glanced at the two distant figures from the Li family, then whispered to Fang Lin, “I suspect they’ve come specifically for you.”

Fang Lin nodded, expressing his gratitude to He Liangyong.

Both competitors had long since prepared the medicinal herbs needed to refine their pills. As soon as Elder Su gave the signal, they both sprang into action.

Once they began, their expertise became evident.

Fang Lin moved with lightning speed, his hands flitting through the various herbs like a butterfly among flowers, quickly dividing them into the correct proportions, leaving spectators dazzled.

He Liangyong, on the other hand, was clearly not as fast, but he wasted no time and moved steadily. Although his speed was not as impressive, there was no fault to be found in his technique.

Once the ingredients for the pills were all prepared, Fang Lin slapped the pill furnace, and flames surged up.

The sight of Fang Lin kindling the fire caused many among the observers to frown slightly; they had hoped to see him demonstrate the Shaking Three Mountains ancient alchemy technique.

In crafting the Rhinoceros Pill, Fang Lin had decided not to use Shaking Three Mountains because the process was too intricate and required a solid and methodical approach rather than simple speed.

Once the pill furnace was thoroughly heated, Fang Lin started to add the herbs one by one, following a specific order. His eyes lit up with a golden glow.

Micro Gold Pupil!

This brought an excited buzz from the crowd. Although they couldn’t see the Shaking Three Mountains technique, witnessing Fang Lin’s Micro Gold Pupil was a treat all the same.

The two Li family members looked slightly taken aback. They had known that Fang Lin could utilize Micro Gold Pupil, but seeing it with their own eyes was a different matter.

They weren’t overly surprised, however. Although the Micro Gold Pupil technique was extremely difficult to learn, among the top ten people on the leaderboard, many were capable of using it.

The real subject of their interest was Shaking Three Mountains — the technique thought to have been lost to the past. In all the Nine Countries, Fang Lin was probably the only one who knew it.

Of course, they had no idea that Fang Lin had already shared the method to learn Shaking Three Mountains with Elder Su, who had successfully picked up the technique.

Meanwhile, He Liangyong was also starting to add the herbs to his pill furnace. Without the use of Micro Gold Pupils, he was relying purely on experience.

By comparing their progress, it was clear that Fang Lin was slightly ahead. However, this was not enough to assure victory; what mattered most was the quality of the pills produced.

“Nothing special,” Li Jianlong said with disinterest.

Li Feng nodded. As exceptional tri-cauldron pill refiners and the Li family’s top talents in the Alchemical Tao, their standards were exceptionally high. As far as they were concerned, Fang Lin’s performance so far was nothing more than ordinary, and failed to impress them.

“I was under the impression that this Fang Lin was something special, but it seems the rumors were mistaken,” Li Feng said.

Wearing a smile, Li Jianlong responded, “Well, since he’s an enemy of our Li family, we naturally won’t pass up any opportunity to suppress him.”

Their conversation was very low, audible only to themselves.

In the meantime, Fang Lin had added the last herb into the pill furnace. However, instead of closing the lid immediately, he left it open.

“What is he doing? If he doesn’t close the lid, the temperature inside the pill furnace won’t rise, and he won’t be able to refine the pills,” a steward murmured.

Not only him, even Elder Su was curious. What was Fang Lin thinking?

Although they were puzzled, no one believed Fang Lin had forgotten to close the lid. Even a novice pill refiner would remember that.

He Liangyong looked at Fang Lin, a hint of confusion crossing his face, but he chose not to worry about it. His only task was to concentrate on his own work.

Suddenly, a blue flame appeared in Fang Lin’s hand.

Everyone’s expression changed at the sight of this flame, no one managed to remain calm.

Soul Commanding Pill Fire!

“When did that guy get the Soul Commanding Pill Fire?” Elder Su thought in surprise. He remembered that when Fang Lin had visited the Pill Alliance last time, the latter didn’t seem to have it.

But it was also possible that Fang Lin had been concealing it back then.

The blue flame flickered in Fang Lin’s palm, echoing with sounds of surging waves.

In the following instance, Fang Lin threw the blue flame into the pill furnace, causing it to immediately erupt, the flame resembled a massive wave threatening to flood the hall.

Everyone felt as though they were on the verge of suffocation. It was clear to all that this blue flame was extraordinary.

The ranking of the Soul Commanding Pill Fire was hierarchical. Beast Flame was the least significant, Heaven and Earth Origin Fire was better, and a Pill Refiner’s self-cultivated fire was the best.

This blue flame, surging like the sea, seemed to have originated from deep within the ocean.

When He Liangyong saw Fang Lin harness the Soul Commanding Pill Fire, he knew he had lost.

Had Fang Lin not had the Soul Commanding Pill Fire, He Liangyong would have had confidence in competing with him. However, the presence of the Soul Commanding Pill Fire upset the balance. Having it offered a distinct advantage over not having it.

Even though he knew he had lost, He Liangyong didn’t resign himself to despair, remaining focused on his work instead.

The Li family members wore solemn expressions. It was not until they saw Fang Lin’s Soul Commanding Pill Fire that they abandoned any last notion of underestimating him.

As time went by, both Fang Lin and He Liangyong maintained their focus, remaining highly concentrated even during the final stages.

The scent of the pills gradually filled the air; Fang Lin had successfully refined his pills. The interior of his pill furnace glittered with transforming lights, seeming extraordinarily remarkable.