vncnus 177. Just like alchemy
177. Just like alchemy
As Xiao Yan finished speaking, a heated discussion broke out in the council hall.
In terms of fire control techniques, the audience found it quite interesting. After all, they had all witnessed the powerful and unique flame that Xiao Yan possessed. Gu He, as a master alchemist, naturally had unique insights into flames and also possessed his own unique flame, making him even more formidable!
It's really hard to say who would win between the two!
However, when it comes to alchemy skills, Gu He is a sixth-grade alchemist. The title of Pill King is not to be faked; it is a title that Gu He truly earned for himself by making one pill after another.
Almost no one in the Jia Ma Empire knew that Xiao Yan could refine medicine. Their thinking was: Xiao Yan was only twenty years old, and to have cultivated to the Dou Huang realm was already astonishing. Even if he had learned medicine, how powerful could he be? He'd probably be at most a second or third-grade alchemist.
Such a level of skill would only make them a laughing stock in the face of ancient rivers.
Nalan Jie immediately reminded him, "Elder Xiao, Master Guhe is a genuine sixth-grade alchemist!"
To mend the relationship between the two families, Nalan Jie was willing to offend Gu He to remind Xiao Yan of this matter immediately. This was something everyone knew: in terms of combat strength, ten Gu Hes combined couldn't possibly be a match for Xiao Yan. And in terms of alchemy, many even felt that Gu He's most outstanding disciple, Liu Ling, could easily defeat Xiao Yan.
"It's nothing," Xiao Yan replied calmly, looking at Gu He quietly and waiting for his opinion.
Seeing the tense atmosphere, Ya Fei couldn't help but feel nervous for Xiao Yan. In her opinion, Xiao Yan was willing to compete with Gu He in alchemy for his own freedom. This sacrifice made Xiao Yan even more respected in Ya Fei's heart.
If anyone here has any confidence in Xiao Yan, it's Yang Lingyan, who's standing next to him. He knows that Xiao Yan's alchemy skills are unparalleled among the younger generation in the Northwest Region, and even Xu Yingwu is no match for him.
However, in his impression, Xiao Yan should only be a fifth-grade alchemist. Even if Xiao Yan has made some progress during this period, he has only barely entered the realm of a sixth-grade alchemist, which is quite different from a true sixth-grade alchemist.
Yang Lingyan's trust in Xiao Yan was entirely based on his extraordinary confidence in Xiao Yan's various miraculous performances in the Northwest Region.
Gu He, on the other hand, had a strange expression, because he was not absolutely certain that he could beat Xiao Yan in fire control. Although he was an alchemist, Xiao Yan's fire was a different kind of fire, and its ranking was far higher than his own Green Lotus Earth Core Fire.
However, he never expected that Xiao Yan would dare to compete with him in his most proficient field. If Gu He only had a 70% chance of winning the fire control technique competition, he was 120% sure he would win the alchemy competition. How could a sixth-grade alchemist be underestimated? Even in the entire Northwest Region, sixth-grade alchemists were extremely rare.
Gu He felt extremely aggrieved. Xiao Yan had chosen a field where he could never win, and the subtext was clear: either Gu He would have to admit defeat because of the Heavenly Serpent Mansion behind Xiao Yan, or if he won, he would likely face suppression from the Heavenly Serpent Mansion! If the Heavenly Serpent Mansion really targeted him, even as a sixth-grade alchemist, it would be difficult for him to continue surviving in the Northwest Region.
How to choose? This was a huge problem for Gu He as well. With everyone's eyes focused on him, Gu He began to calm down. In the past, if anyone had dared to challenge him to a duel so rudely, they would probably have already started cursing. But not today! Not a single one!
Because Xiao Yan's energy far exceeded their own, these people not only wouldn't speak up for them, but were all waiting to see them make a fool of themselves!
Gu He finally calmed himself down and tentatively asked, "So, Elder Xiao, what kind of pill refining competition would you like to have?"
As soon as Gu He finished speaking, the expressions of most people in the hall turned to admiration. An unspoken tension seemed to have vanished with a single sentence from Gu He. After all, Gu He had already shown maximum weakness; he had devised a way to both comply with Xiao Yan's demands and allow himself to lose to Xiao Yan in a plausible manner!
Since Xiao Yan proposed a pill-refining competition, even though it involved refining low-grade pills, it's understandable that he could refine pills. Therefore, it's also understandable that Xiao Yan could surpass Gu He in quality when it came to low-grade first and second-tier pills. This would also make it easier for Gu He to explain later that Xiao Yan possessed a high-ranking strange fire, making his loss to Xiao Yan understandable.
"To come up with such a good countermeasure in such a short time, Guhe is truly worthy of the name!" Jia Xingtian secretly praised Guhe in his heart. Guhe's actions were indeed very admirable.
But the next moment, Gu He's hand, which was stroking his beard, froze, because Xiao Yan's next words plunged the entire room into silence.
"Since we're going to have a competition, then Master Guhe, please give it your all. Whoever refines the pills of higher grade and better quality will be the winner."
He's completely ungrateful! What exactly does he want?
Everyone had the same question in their hearts: if Xiao Yan proposed the alchemy competition to suppress Gu He, then Gu He's show of weakness just now had already achieved his goal!
Although most people felt that Gu He's show of weakness was a bit too humble, after all, it was Gu He who proposed the competition in the first place, the meaning in his words was very clear: he did not want to have a conflict with Xiao Yan and was prepared to use his show of weakness to enhance Xiao Yan's reputation!
However, Xiao Yan's words did not offer Gu He any way out. Such a direct invitation left Gu He with no choice but to use his full strength, even if he tried to feign weakness.
Gu He was also angered by Xiao Yan's words. He felt a surge of rage; after all, he had already lowered himself considerably. He was, after all, a sixth-grade alchemy master, and couldn't allow himself to be ridiculed. If he lost to Xiao Yan again, he would become a complete joke.
"Since Elder Xiao is willing, then Gu He can only do his best to accompany him!" Gu He's tone was somewhat stiff, indicating that he really had no intention of going easy on him this time.
"Let's begin then," Xiao Yan said.
A heavy black cauldron landed in front of Xiao Yan; it was the Black Demon cauldron left by Yao Lao.