Battle Through the Heavens: Xiao Yan, who was kidnapped to another world

After a helpless shrug, Liu Ling and Yao Yue followed Xiao Yan's footsteps, slowly walking up the stairs on both sides of the VIP seats to the plaza, and then heading towards the center.

In the stands, looking at the square with fewer than twenty people, everyone was somewhat incredulous. In their memory, the Alchemist Tournament had never seen a situation where all the contestants combined had less than twenty people in the final round.

"Wait, I remember yesterday there was a gray-robed alchemist from the Izumo Empire who also passed the second round of the competition. Where is he?"

"An alchemist from the Izumo Empire? Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"Exactly, how could alchemists from the Izumo Empire possibly come here to participate in our alchemist conference?"

"Furthermore, in that country full of poison masters, do alchemists really exist?"

……

Of course, some viewers did notice the disappearance of the gray-robed youth from the Izumo Empire, but after those viewers pointed out their discovery, their friends and family would laugh and tell them that they had just misjudged the situation. The repeated denials from multiple people made the viewers who noticed this begin to doubt whether they had really misremembered.

In the end, the disappearance of the alchemist from the Izumo Empire did not cause much of a stir.

Ignoring the whispers in the audience, Xiao Yan quietly went to his spot from yesterday and sat cross-legged on the large stone seat behind the stone platform. He appeared to be resting with his eyes closed, but in reality, he was constantly thinking about all the difficulties in refining the Soul Rejuvenation Pill.

If Xiao Yan only wanted to teach Fa Ma how to refine this pill, he wouldn't have needed to be so careful. However, since he wanted most of the fourth-grade alchemists in the Jia Ma Empire to understand the world of fifth and sixth-grade alchemists in advance, Xiao Yan had to be cautious.

"Boom!"

At one moment, the clear, resonant chimes of bells echoed across the square.

The moment the bell rang, Xiao Yan, who had been keeping his eyes closed, slowly opened them, exhaled a breath of stale air, stood up, raised his head, and looked towards the location of Fa Ma at the VIP counter.

Fama coughed softly, his calm gaze sweeping across the entire hall. After a long while, the noisy sounds gradually subsided, and his aged yet gentle voice rang in everyone's ears—

"Ladies and gentlemen, today is the final round of the Alchemist Tournament, but after yesterday's two rounds of competition, I think everyone already knows who the champion of this tournament is actually destined to be."

Upon hearing this, everyone's gaze fell upon the young man standing calmly in the center of the square. After a day of word-of-mouth, everyone in the entire Gama Imperial City knew that the young man named "Yan Xiao" standing in the center of the square had refined a sixth-grade pill yesterday.

"How wonderful! I also want to one day bask in the envious gazes of everyone like this..."

Not far from Xiao Yan, Yao Yue looked around and noticed that even Liu Ling's teacher, the famous Pill King Gu He, was staring intently at Xiao Yan in the VIP seats. She couldn't help but mutter something to herself.

“Initially, the third round of the assessment required participants to rely entirely on themselves to refine a pill within their own capabilities within a specified time. The winner would be the one with the highest-grade and most valuable pill,” Fa Ma continued. “However, at Mr. Yan Xiao’s suggestion, this final round of the assessment was removed.”

The sudden remark brought the contestants in the square back to their senses. They looked at Fama with blank expressions. Although they knew they couldn't win, what did it mean to delete the assessment directly?

The once quiet scene was now filled with whispers after Fa Ma's words, as no one knew what the president of the Alchemist Guild of the Gama Empire was planning to do.

"All the alchemists in the entire Gama Empire, including myself, only need to do one thing today..." The surrounding whispers did not affect Fa Ma. He continued calmly, "Watch Mr. Yan Xiao refine the pill. At the same time, he will explain everything about this sixth-grade pill to us as much as possible."

"The medicinal properties, the techniques, the methods of controlling the fire... everything we want to know, everything we haven't mastered, everything we've never encountered before, Mr. Yan Xiao will tell us. Perhaps, for most of us, this will be the only time in our lives we've come across such a detailed sixth-grade pill formula, so detailed that it's as if simply placing the medicinal herbs in their hands would allow them to actually refine the pill..."

In the end, Fa Ma glanced with a hint of regret at the only empty stone platform in the square, the one reserved for the unknown fourth-grade alchemist from the Chuyun Empire, the one closest to Xiao Yan. But soon, Fa Ma withdrew the regret in his eyes.

“However, before Mr. Yan Xiao begins refining pills, there is one more thing to tell the alchemists present,” Fa Ma chuckled, already seeing the alchemists in the audience erupting in excitement.

"The Soul Rejuvenation Pill is, after all, a sixth-grade pill. Even a master like Mr. Yan Xiao can only break it down to a level that a fourth-grade alchemist can understand. If you don't understand anything now, that's okay. Just remember it, even if you can only remember the most insignificant bit. When you become a fourth-grade alchemist, recall it, and it will definitely bring you benefits."

"Finally... Mr. Rock Owl, you may begin your performance." After bowing respectfully, Fama uttered his last words.

Xiao Yan chuckled and nodded. He approached the stone platform in front of him, and with a wave of his hand, an ordinary-looking medicine cauldron, just like the lowest-level medicine cauldron that most alchemists would encounter when they were still apprentices, appeared on the stone platform.

Looking at the medicine cauldron that Xiao Yan took out, Yao Yue and Liu Ling, who were closest to him, suddenly felt a little strange. If others could only think that this medicine cauldron was "somewhat" similar to the medicine cauldron they used during their apprenticeship, the two of them had actually seen it in the apprentice area of ​​the Alchemist Guild. At least, in terms of appearance, the medicine cauldron that Xiao Yan took out this time was no different from the one they had seen before.

"From the mysterious medicine cauldron and strange fire at the beginning, to the ordinary medicine cauldron and beast fire yesterday afternoon, and now to this apprentice-level medicine cauldron..." In the VIP seats, Chemir, who knew from yesterday that Xiao Yan would perform alchemy in public today, sighed, "The flame he used should also be the most ordinary one, a flame generated by Dou Qi, right?"

Just as Chemir and most of the fourth-grade alchemists in the Alchemist Guild had thought, Xiao Yan flipped his hand, and a crimson flame appeared on his palm. Without a doubt, it was the kind of flame that all alchemists could create by using Dou Qi.

"...An apprentice-level medicine cauldron and battle qi flame?" Not far from Chemir, Gu He sighed deeply. "Is the distance between me and him... really closer than the distance between Liu Ling and him?"

Watching Xiao Yan use his Dou Qi flames to perform the step of warming the cauldron, which most ordinary alchemists would do, and explain it in plain words, Gu He felt a sense of loss in his eyes.

Indeed, a true master alchemist can create a cauldron in the palm of their hand and refine pills at will without any restrictions. However, there are certainly no alchemists of this level on this Northwest Continent. In fact, very few alchemists can even refine high-level pills using an apprentice-level cauldron.

At least, when Gu He used the apprentice-level medicine cauldron, he could only refine second-grade pills. Any higher, even low-grade third-grade pills, the cauldron would not be able to withstand his flames.

The process of warming the cauldron lasted for about two or three minutes. This was the first time that the process of warming the cauldron had lasted so long since Xiao Yan obtained his first beast fire. Of course, the most crucial thing was that Xiao Yan had to control the temperature of the flame in his hand. After all, the cauldron in front of him was only at the apprentice level. If the fire was even slightly too strong, it would explode.

After completing the Wen Ding ritual, Xiao Yan subconsciously wanted to aim his right palm at the medicinal herbs beside him. However, after reaching out his hand, he suddenly realized what was happening, shook his head, and took a small step so that his right hand could grasp the herbs.

"The name of this medicinal herb is..."

After picking up the herb, Xiao Yan slowly explained everything about it, in such detail that many low-level alchemists even thought they could handle it perfectly if it were given to them. Almost everyone forgot that the herb was a sixth-grade herb.

Time passed slowly, and it wasn't until three hours later that the medicinal liquid from the herb was extracted. A slightly grayish-green liquid appeared in the cauldron, and this slight grayness was the impurity that wouldn't have remained after being roasted by the strange fire and beast fire yesterday.

After calmly removing the dregs, Xiao Yan continued to use flames to scorch the emerald green liquid, while slowly saying, "Many alchemists haven't paid attention to the impurities in medicinal herbs, have they? That's to be expected, since these minor impurities don't actually affect the grade of the refined pills. At most, they'll just leave a little more residual medicinal power after the pills are taken..."

While explaining, they continued refining the medicinal liquid, a process that took almost as long as extracting the liquid from the main body of the medicinal materials...

Three days had passed just for refining the medicinal herbs and crafting the demon core. This time was so long that Xiao Yan occasionally began to doubt whether he was refining an eighth-grade pill. You should know that even when he first refined a seventh-grade pill, it only took two days from refining the medicinal herbs to fusing the pill. That was already the longest time in Xiao Yan's pill refining career.

But now, the preparations for fusing the sixth-grade pill have already taken three days, and Xiao Yan doesn't even dare to imagine how long the final step of fusing the pill will take.

Three days have passed, and most of the ordinary audience members have left the venue. Only the alchemists remain in their positions, and even the lowest-level alchemist apprentices are forcing themselves to carefully write down everything they don't understand.

A lecture by a sixth-grade alchemist...

Just as Fa Ma had said before, such a detailed lecture by a sixth-grade alchemist was something they might only experience once in their lives. If they missed it, they couldn't imagine how much they would hate themselves for missing it in the future.

"Old Hai, how many more days do you think this will last?"

In the royal garden, Jia Xingtian gazed intently in the direction of the alchemist conference and asked a question.

"Who knows? Probably another three or four days, maybe five days," Hai Bodong shrugged. He didn't know much about alchemy, but he knew that fusion of the pills was the most tedious step. "I don't know how he managed to keep going..."

To others, Yan Xiao was a Dou Huang-level powerhouse, but he knew that Xiao Yan's level was only at the peak of Dou Ling, still a step away from Dou Wang. The fact that he could display the strength of a Dou Huang was purely due to the secret technique.

'So, this secret technique really can last for several days?' Sensing the Dou Huang's aura, which had not yet shown signs of weakness, not far away, Hai Bodong couldn't help but mutter to himself.

“So this is what alchemists are like,” Jia Xingtian chuckled, unaware of Hai Bodong’s remark. “For them, it’s normal to spend ten days or half a month refining a single pill.”

"Perhaps..." Hai Bodong thought for a moment. Apart from this "lecture," he didn't seem to have ever seen Xiao Yan spend much time refining pills. The longest he ever seemed to spend was less than half a day, about five hours? And that time he refined...

'It seems to be... a seventh-rank official?'

"By the way, old man Hai, have you ever met Xiao Yan?" Jia Xingtian suddenly asked, noticing that Hai Bodong seemed a little distracted.

"Xiao Yan? I've met him before, what's up?" The name Xiao Yan instantly snapped Hai Bodong out of his daze, and he sat up straight and asked curiously.

"...I heard he's already a Dou Ling?" Jia Xingtian thought for a moment and asked.

"Uh...yes, Dou Ling, what's wrong?" Sensing the Dou Huang aura not far away, Hai Bodong nodded with a strange expression.

"Can Xiao Yan really win the three-year agreement?" Jia Xingtian, unaware of Hai Bodong's thoughts, continued to ask, "I heard from Mr. Yan Xiao that he can already refine fourth-grade pills... Is it really possible for an alchemist to defeat a Dou Zhe of the same level?"

"Given that this alchemist only has three years of experience."

"You can rest assured that we will win easily," Hai Bodong suddenly laughed when he heard Jia Xingtian's question. "It's no exaggeration to say that Xiao Yan's talent is in no way inferior to Mr. Yan Xiao... and Mr. Yan Xiao is someone who can defeat two equally powerful individuals with one hand!"

Aside from almost forgetting the suffix "Mr.", Hai Bodong felt that there was nothing wrong with his statement. After all, Xiao Yan was Yan Xiao, and Yan Xiao was Xiao Yan. It was perfectly reasonable to say that Xiao Yan's talent was no less than Yan Xiao's!

"So, what are you thinking?" Hai Bodong asked curiously, looking at Jia Xingtian who had suddenly calmed down. "The three-year agreement between Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran will not have any impact on the royal family, right?"

“It won’t have any impact,” Jia Xingtian nodded, “but… after the three-year agreement is over, all the entanglements between the Xiao family and the Nalan family will be over, right?”

"Come on, you're not the only one who wants to marry off their granddaughter." Hai Bodong instantly understood everything, rolled his eyes, and said.

"Have you tried it?"

“I tried, and it was Ya Fei, who has a good relationship with Xiao Yan,” Hai Bodong said casually. “But I didn’t get any response. If that kid didn’t care so much about the Xiao family, I would have suspected that he was already planning to leave the Northwest Continent.”

"Is that so...?" Jia Xingtian murmured softly.

"Just protect the Xiao family. That kid won't treat us badly. If we're lucky, he might even promote us to Dou Zun." Hai Bodong stretched.

"Although I don't think there's any force in the Gama Empire that would be foolish enough to attack the Xiao family."

“That’s true.” Jia Xingtian nodded.

Chapter 198 The Xiao Family, Xiao Yan

Fusion is the most important step in alchemy. If there is even the slightest mistake during the process, the medicinal liquid that has been painstakingly extracted will be burned in an instant. Therefore, apart from using his soul power to allow Fa Ma to understand the changes of the pills in the cauldron more clearly and accurately, Xiao Yan did not have the slightest distraction.

Although the process was extremely dangerous, Xiao Yan possessed the soul power of the Spirit Realm, so even though he occasionally shared some knowledge with the alchemists in the plaza, the worst outcome did not occur.

After about two days of fusion, a turquoise nascent pill finally took shape slowly in the cauldron.

As with the previous two times, the moment the nascent pill was formed, the alchemists in the square could clearly feel the surrounding天地能量 (heaven and earth energy) suddenly fluctuate, just like a boulder being thrown into a calm lake.

After glancing at his surroundings and confirming that he was still within a safe range, Xiao Yan continued refining pills.

As time went by, the emerald green pill in the cauldron gradually became rounder, and a dazzling light emanated from it, making it look like an emerald gem.

The moment the elixir emitted its light, ripples of energy, essentially the same as those in the cauldron, surged outwards in all directions, creating a truly awe-inspiring sight.

At the VIP reception desk, Fa Ma swallowed hard. This was the fourth time he had come into contact with the energy ripples after the formation of the Soul-Replenishing Pill. However, it seemed that the energy ripples of the first three times had been shrunk to a microscopic range under the control of Yao Lao and Yan Xiao. This time, after coming into contact with the energy ripples that were completely uncontrolled, Fa Ma's sense of shock was even stronger.

"Liu Ling, little princess, and the rest of you, move a little further away, preferably to the audience seats. There's an even bigger commotion to come," Xiao Yan suddenly said while staring at the medicine cauldron.

Upon hearing this, the surrounding alchemists exchanged glances for a moment, then all retreated abruptly, leaping several times to reach the audience seats.

After everyone around him had left, Xiao Yan's hand seals suddenly changed, and a low shout came from his mouth. In an instant, the crimson flames inside the medicine cauldron suddenly surged, almost filling the entire cauldron.

Amidst that crimson red, the emerald green specks of light became even more dazzling.

As the light spot expanded and contracted, ripples of energy spread even further. Looking down from mid-air, wherever the energy ripples spread, the alchemy platforms were directly overturned. The powerful destructive force made the alchemists who had just left show somewhat strained smiles.

The light spots expanded and contracted faster and faster, as if something was brewing.

About half an hour later, the emerald green light suddenly shrank to less than the size of a longan. At that moment, Xiao Yan released his control over Fa Ma's soul power, allowing him to withdraw his soul power in a state of shock.

"...Three, two, one!"

As the countdown reached its final countdown, the eye-sized dot of light suddenly magnified in everyone's sight. Finally, a burst of emerald light completely enveloped the entire square. At the same time, a thunderous explosion rang out, and a beam of light several meters thick shot out from the medicine cauldron, soaring straight into the sky.

Gazing at the ever-flowing beam of light, Fama's eyes were filled with longing, and a tiny bit of... confidence.

Two days later, at the Mittel family residence.

Looking at Xiao Yan, who had taken two azure-blue pills from the medicine cauldron, Hai Bodong asked, "Is it over?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan smiled and responded. The explanation of each step in alchemy a few days ago had opened up his mind, and the upgraded version of the Soul Replenishing Pill, which he had no clue about before, was produced in the past two days.

Although they are both sixth-grade pills like the Rejuvenating Soul Pill, these two newly made pills are no longer subject to the limitations of the Rejuvenating Soul Pill. They will remain effective until one's soul power reaches the Spirit Realm.

The only problem is that one of the medicinal ingredients is the Seven Illusions Azure Spirit Saliva. Of course, for Xiao Yan, who is able to bribe the young Life Flame, this is not a big problem.

"Is there something you need?" After putting the pill into his Awakening Flame Ring, Xiao Yan turned around.

"Can't I come and chat with you if there's nothing wrong?" Hai Bodong complained, then coughed twice and became serious after seeing Xiao Yan's speechless expression.