Chapter 114: Flame Movement

　　“Sure enough!”

　　A towering wave raged in Wang Chen’s heart as he watched in shock. His master, Yang Di, had often used this method of conjuring a formation with Primordial Stones, and his techniques were almost identical to this boy!

　　No, the boy seemed to be more skillful than his master! But, how was that even possible?

　　Yuan Hao’s eyes turned from cold to suspicious, then serious. He had not learned this method, but when he was a second-tier alchemist, he had witnessed Lord Yang Di demonstrate it during a lecture. That was when Lord Yang Di had just become a fifth-tier alchemist. He did not expect that he would see it again after so many years, much less performed by a boy.

　　Could it be that this boy was one of Lord Yang Di’s disciples? He gave Wang Chen a look, but when he saw the shock and incredulity in his eyes, he rejected the speculation.

　　When Jia Rong and Luo Yunshang, who were standing in the army, saw Yunxiao about to begin refining, they hurried over and watched him silently from the side. Jia Rong was very excited. Every time Yunxiao refined something, he could always obtain tremendous benefits. He was even more excited when he saw Yunxiao was using a brand-new method this time.

　　With clenched jaws, he thought to himself, ‘Just wait and see, you bunch of toads living under the rocks! How dare you look down on Young Master Yun! When this is over, his reputation will surely shake the entire world of alchemists in the Firecrow Empire!’

　　After he was done with everything, the expression on Yunxiao’s face turned placid. His look of an unbridled son of a rich family was completely gone, replaced by a demeanor of serenity and elegance, and he had a faint smile hung on his lips. For a moment, he was exuding a calm, deep air that would not change even if the sky collapsed and the earth shattered.

　　Yuan Hao’s pupils constricted abruptly as he was utterly shocked. It was not only because of the changes in Yunxiao’s expression, but also the rings of soul power fluctuations spreading out of him, which had quickly risen to the level of a first-tier alchemist.

　　“How did he do that!” Yuan Hao felt he could hardly stand still as waves of shock pounded at him over and over in his heart. He could not believe that Yunxiao could hide his strength under the divine sense of a fourth-tier alchemist.

　　Rumble!

　　Yunxiao lightly pointed out a finger. A burst of air shot out of it and hit on the Primordial Stone powder, producing a string of sparks that instantly kindled the powder and set them ablaze, with flames half the height of an adult rising wildly up into the air.

　　‘What is he doing? Trying to char some meats?’ thought Sun Zhengzong. He was puzzled, because he knew nothing about the technique. But, his eyes widened in shock quickly, because he saw Yunxiao throw the only set of ingredients he had all into the flame.

　　‘He didn’t classify nor purify the ingredients, and he didn’t even need a cauldron? He just burns them all over the flame?’ At this moment, Sun Zhengzong’s knowledge of pill refinement began to show some cracks. He shook his head and thought, ‘Focus, focus! This boy is just messing around, and his intention is to distract me! I can’t fall into his trap!’ With that in mind, he held his breath and focused all his attention back on the refining.

　　Yunxiao quickly performed a few incantation gestures with both hands and sent them into the roaring flames. Immediately, the disordered flames began to transform, shaping into various things like dragons, phoenixes, mountains, trees, and even naked girls. The sight of them took everyone’s breath and petrified them.

　　Yuan Hao was completely baffled. With a blank face, he murmured under his breath, “This…his flame controlling technique…”

　　Wang Chen’s face was serious as he said in a deep voice, “Yes, that’s the flame controlling technique invented by Lord Gu Feiyang—the Flame Movement!”

　　Astounded, Yuan Hao said, “Is he and your Master…”

　　Wang Chen shook his head slightly. There was a puzzled look in his eyes as he said, “I’ve never heard Master say he has a disciple like this. In addition to my Master, Jun Ruyun, the son-in-law of the Guwu Empire, had also inherited Lord Gu Feiyang’s alchemy legacy. Could this kid be Uncle-Master Jun Ruyun’s disciple?”

　　Yuan Hao paused for a moment, then shook his head and said, “I don’t think so. If he is really Lord Jun Ruyun’s disciple, he would not have stayed in such a small place like Tianshui, not to mention that the Guwu Empire is thousands of miles away from here.”

　　Wang Chen thought of that too, and he felt it become more and more incredible and difficult to understand.

　　The flames turned into various forms, burning the ingredients that hovered over them separately. Each was meticulously controlled; the ingredient that required only brief scorch had a tiny flower emanating warm heat beneath it while the one that needed to be tempered with high heat had a bear roaring at it. The prick of sky scorpion was held in the mouth of a flaming toad, turning red as it burned at it. The entire refining process was simply a lively and beautiful painting.

　　“It’s him! It must be him!”

　　Luo Yunshang watched with tears trickling down her cheeks. She was not one hundred percent certain before this, but when she saw the Flame Movement, she no longer had doubts. The person behind Yunxiao must be that man!

　　“Master Yuan Hao, who do you think will win the match?” Wang Chen could not help but ask when he saw both men come to the step of forming the pills.

　　Yuan Hao paused, and then he said with a wry smile, “Before Yunxiao used the Flame Movement, I had no doubt that Zhengzong will be the winner. But, I’m not so sure now.”

　　Wang Chen chuckled. “I think Master Sun Zhengzong will win. Although Li Yunxiao is skillful, he only has the soul power of a first-tier alchemist. He can’t hope to refine the Seven…”

　　His words came to an abrupt stop as if a toad had been shoved into his mouth, and his eyes grew so wide that his eyeballs seemed to almost pop out of the sockets.

　　After Yunxiao’s Bodhi pill spun three times, his soul power suddenly soared, reaching the level of a second-tier alchemist!

　　Yuan Hao’s mouth dropped open as well, and he said in shock, “What? Has he been holding back his soul power? He was using first-tier soul power before three spins, second-tier after that…Don’t tell me his soul power will rise to third-tier later! How did he manage to control his soul power so precisely? Even I can’t detect his actual strength! Is there really such an amazing cultivation technique in the world!”

　　Wang Chen swallowed hard, as if he had just swallowed a toad, and he felt sick in his chest. With his forehead covered in cold sweat, he said, “My Master once told me that a good alchemist could use his soul power at the right place, without causing any wastage. So, if an average alchemist can only refine a medicinal pill, those alchemists of the same tier who know how to minimize the wastage of their soul power can refine at least three pills!”

　　There was a look of shock mixed with envy in Yuan Hao’s eyes. “Your Master is right. Look at Yunxiao’s face! His pill has spun four times, and yet he still appears so calm as if it is nothing. Although Zhengzong’s pill has spun five times, he seems at the end of his tether already!”

　　Wang Chen nodded with a wry smile. He knew his master was right, but it was an extremely advanced soul controlling technique that even his master had just begun to learn. So, how did a fifteen-year-old boy know the technique and could even use it?

　　At this moment, apart from Yuan Hao and Wang Chen, who were talking in low voices, everyone was shocked and looked dumb.

　　The match between the two gave everyone a very strong visual impact. Sun Zhengzong was covered in cold sweat from head to toe, his face extremely pale and his movements clumsy like a laborer who was moving bricks in desperation. On the other hand, Yunxiao’s movements were graceful and smooth, with incantation seals flying around him like butterflies dancing around a flower. His handsome face looked pleasing to the eyes with the flickering flame shone at it.

　　A short moment later, Yuan Hao blurted out as if someone had struck him on the chest with a hammer, “Third tier! His soul power has risen to third-tier now!”

　　When the Bodhi pill spun the fifth time, the soul power emanated from Yunxiao grew even stronger, jumping straight up to the level of a third-tier alchemist.

　　Zhang Qingfan and Xu Han exchanged a shocked glance. Their eyes were filled with unconcealed astonishment and joy as they held their breath and watched every movement of Yunxiao attentively. The reverence in their eyes was so thick that it was as if they were not looking at a person, but the endless road of alchemy.

　　As soon as he saw their expressions, Qin Yang felt a burst of unusual depression in his heart. He knew the situation had begun to turn for the worse for him. He exchanged a look with Gao Feng, who was standing behind him, and both saw the worries in each other’s eyes.

　　Sun Zhengzong had also discovered Yunxiao’s aura, and his heart was already filled with towering waves and tremendous pressure. At the moment, his nascent pill had entered the stage of seven spins, which was where he had failed previously. Throwing all caution to the wind, he clenched his jaws and roared.

　　Meanwhile, with a slap of a hand in the air, a dark blue jade talisman appeared in his palm, flashing with blue light as tiny electric arcs darted out of it.

　　As soon as Yuan Hao squinted at it, he jumped from his seat and cried out, “A Primordial Thunder Talisman!”

　　Wang Chen was startled as well, and he said shockingly, “Is he going to use thunderbolts to condense the pill?”

　　If an alchemy product was over fifth-tier, a natural phenomenon would be triggered and the force of thunder would be produced when it was taking shape during the refining process, which was the legendary thunder tribulation!

　　It was because the object was overly heaven-defying; therefore, its existence was not permitted by the Heavenly Dao, and thunderbolts would be sent to destroy it. So, the biggest challenge any objects above fifth-tier had was not from the strength of alchemists’ soul power, but whether they could withstand the thunder tribulation.

　　However, objects that had gone through thunder tribulations were extremely powerful, and hence the fifth-tier was a watershed for alchemists. Many alchemists could refine fifth-tier objects, but most of them would turn into ashes in the face of the thunder tribulations, stopping the alchemists from becoming fifth-tier alchemists.

　　Yuan Hao was one of such alchemists.

　　The Primordial Thunder Talisman in Sun Zhengzong’s hand was a fifth-tier jade talisman. It contained a trace of thunder force that some mighty alchemist had forcibly taken when an object was transcending the thunder tribulation. Such a jade talisman was extremely valuable. It could be used directly when refining lower-tiered objects, trigging the force of thunder to improve the object’s grade. Moreover, since the thunder force in it had already been refined, it would not produce a strong damage, and was safe to use. Therefore, it was viewed as a precious treasure by all lower-tiered alchemists.

　　Sun Zhengzong turned and saw that Yunxiao’s refinement had entered the stage of six spins. A trace of resolution immediately replaced the reluctance in his eyes. Abruptly, he activated the jade talisman in his hand and slapped it on the cauldron.