Chapter 112: Competition

　　Yuan Hao asked carefully, “Have you really decided, Yunxiao? I genuinely doubt whether you do know anything about alchemy. You ought to know that every alchemist has something he or she is especially good at, and even I am no match for Zhengzong in some topics.”

　　Yes, he did not think Yunxiao would win. But, the boy was, after all, someone respected by Zhang Qingfan and Xu Han. He did not want to mess up his relationship with two fourth-tier alchemists because of this, so he tried to sound a warning.

　　Yunxiao smiled. “You will see whether I do know anything about alchemy later. Just let him choose the topic, lest he is unconvinced when defeated by me. I want him to kowtow three times to me today, sincerely convinced.”

　　What an arrogant tone!

　　Yuan Hao’s pupils constricted slightly, and he felt a little angry. “In that case, Zhengzong, you will choose the topic.” When he had finished, he narrowed his eyes and kept quiet, waiting for mayhem to ensue.

　　Sun Zhengzong swallowed. Although what he was about to say would lose him some honor, victory was more important than anything to him now. “Let’s keep this simple. We will see who’s got better pill refining skills,” he paused, his eyes gleaming grimly. Then, he went on with a hideous grin, “…but with third-tier medicinal pills!”

　　“What!”

　　Sure enough, that took everyone aback.

　　By now, the crowd already knew Yunxiao had the badge of a second-tier alchemist, and that meant he was, at most, a second-tier alchemist. But, Sun Zhengzong proposed a match of refining third-tier medicinal pills. That was not something a noble alchemist should have said, or so everyone thought.

　　The vague reverence they had for the profession of alchemist burst in that instant.

　　“Aren’t alchemists all proud fellas? I thought they will never resort to such a scheme! How can he be so crafty when his opponent is generous enough to let him choose the topic?”

　　A hint of anger crept up Yuan Hao’s face, and he felt ashamed for Sun Zhengzong. Meanwhile, Zhang Qingfan and Xu Han were flaring. “Sun Zhengzong, you are a disgrace to all the alchemists in the world!” Zhang Qingfan snapped. “If you still have a little pride in being an alchemist, choose a proper topic to compete with Master Yunxiao!”

　　Sun Zhengzong snorted. He dared not to argue with Zhang Qingfan, so he turned to Yunxiao and sneered, “Why are you so quiet? I thought you were very boastful just now? Haha! If you are afraid, you can just admit defeat and kneel in front of me right now.”

　　Yunxiao looked at him as if he were a great fool. “Have you finished? Enough dreaming? When do you want to start? I don’t have time to play with a monkey like you.”

　　“You!” Sun Zhengzong’s face was blue with rage as he screamed, “Have you heard what I said? We will see who’s got a better pill refining skill with third-tier medicinal pills!”

　　“You don’t need to repeat your shamelessness. I heard you, and so did everyone else. Do you have any other rules? Speak them now, lest you refuse to admit defeat later.”

　　Fearing that Sun Zhengzong would come out with some other rules that could bring disgrace on the Firecrow Empire’s alchemist association, Yuan Hao quickly said, “There are no other rules. You just have to refine a third-tier medicine pill each. We will compare the medicinal strength if they are the same type of pills. And if they are different, we will compare the purity. You may begin now, and you have two hours.”

　　An empty space was quickly cleared out on the platform to serve as the competition venue. Luckily, the platform was large enough, so all the courtiers and the eight hundred thousand soldiers could watch from their positions.

　　Both the princes had a bitter look on their faces. They did not expect that their fight for the title of crown prince would turn into a private competition between alchemists. Perhaps in these people’s eyes, the crown prince of a small state was nothing when compared to a third-tier alchemist.

　　Qin Yue’s palms were sweaty. He knew he would be completely defeated if he failed to take the title of crown prince today, now with all his trump cards exposed. He also knew that Yunxiao was the key to his success.

　　After all, Qin Yang’s strongest supporter, the fourth-tier alchemist Zhang Qingfan, held Yunxiao in high esteem. As long as Yunxiao was willing to speak a word or two to him, even if that could not change his stand, it could at least make him slightly neutral. Moreover, there was another fourth-tier alchemist, Xu Han, who had not stated his stand clearly.

　　Qin Yang, too, had noticed that. He stared with a glum face at Yunxiao, hoping Sun Zhengzong could defeat or, if better, destroy this monster who had appeared out of nowhere.

　　Their sister, Qin Ruxue, was looking at Yunxiao nervously, and her palms were even sweatier than Qin Yue’s. Ever since Yunxiao walked up the platform, her eyes had not left his face even for a brief moment. It was only now that she knew he had been hiding his strength so deeply. She felt embarrassed, for she had always defended him in the academy. But, it turned out that she was just making a fool of herself.

　　At the thought of that, she felt a lump rise in her throat.

　　“Let’s see how a fake alchemist like you is going to refine a medicinal pill today!”

　　Unsmiling, Sun Zhengzong walked over to the empty space on the platform and said to Yuan Hao, “I will refine a Seven-spin Bodhi pill. I need red glow leaf, white sunstone, prick of sky scorpion, aurora water, leaf of spinning parrot, and bodhi seed. Master Yuan Hao, please prepare three sets of the ingredients for me.”

　　Yuan Hao’s eyelids twitched as he said approvingly, “Bodhi pills are the type of medicinal pills that can best display the strength of an alchemist. It takes three spins to form, five spins to level up, and when it is spun seven times, it will be a third-tier pill. Moreover, there is a great difference even between the pills that are spun seven times.”

　　He casually threw out a heap of ingredients, three of each.

　　When it came to pill refinement, every alchemist had a certain success rate. No one could guarantee he or she would succeed every time. So, alchemists always prepared few sets of ingredients for backup.

　　“What about you, Yunxiao?” Yuan Hao asked curiously. He did not have high hope for this boy. At such a young age, he would be considered amazingly gifted if he could refine a first-tier medicinal pill.

　　Yunxiao smiled and said, “I’ll refine the same pill as him. It will be easier to compare.”

　　There was a flash of anger in Sun Zhengzong’s eyes. ‘This boy is looking down on me!’

　　Yuan Hao was slightly taken aback. But, as he had witnessed the boy’s arrogance, he was not bothered by that. Just as he was about to take out the ingredients, he heard Yunxiao say, “I just need one set of the ingredients.”

　　“What!”

　　That shocked him, but he just sneered and said, “As you wish!” With a wave of a hand, a set of ingredients appeared in front of Yunxiao. Yuan Hao was fuming inside. Even he, a fourth-tier alchemist, dared not to claim that he could successfully refine a Bodhi pill every time. He could not wait to see how this arrogant boy would end the match.

　　Meanwhile, Sun Zhengzong rejoiced in his heart when he saw Yunxiao only request a set of ingredients, which to him was no different from looking to be defeated. He reached out his right hand silently, and a mini blue cauldron appeared in his palm immediately, which slowly grew larger under the control of his divine sense. Eventually, it transformed into a large cauldron about half the height of an adult and fell on the platform.

　　Yuan Hao’s eyes lit up as he praised, “Zhengzong, you really have a lot of treasures.”

　　Pill cauldrons were divided into four colors: purple, blue, black, and yellow. Between cauldrons of the same grade, purple cauldrons were the best, and the blue ones came next. Sun Zhengzong’s cauldron was a third-grade blue cauldron, which was very valuable.

　　“Hehe,” Sun Zhengzong grinned, “It cost me dearly to get this treasure, and I am reluctant to use it during normal refining.” He gave Yunxiao a cold look and said, “Boy, you should feel proud to be defeated by my blue cauldron today!”

　　“You’re nuts!” Yunxiao scolded disdainfully.

　　Sun Zhengzong’s nostrils flared. Suddenly, he realized that he was the one who always started it and then got scolded. It was like he had purposely invited all the humiliation. That made him close his mouth, and he thought, ‘This is a trap! He must be deliberately provoking me, and his purpose is to make me angry and eventually affect my refining. Yes, it must be!’ With that in mind, he forced a smile at Yunxiao, with which he wanted to tell the latter that he was not angry, and that his plan had failed.

　　Looking at that ugly smile, Yunxiao could not help bursting into laughter. “Haha! Look, he’s smiling even when I scolded him. Nuts! He is really nuts!”

　　“You!”

　　The ugly smile immediately turned into a furious look. Sun Zhengzong trembled with rage, for no one had ever humiliated him in front of so many people. “Shut your mouth! Let’s see if your pill refining skill is as good as your tongue!”

　　After saying that, he calmed himself down and focused all his attention on the refinement. The first thing he did was the selection of ingredients and purification. He quickly glanced through all the ingredients, which allowed him to fully understand their quality and volume, and then he began to calculate in his mind. Even then, he waved his right hand. At the gesture, a row of crystal containers appeared in front of him, all transparent and glittering brilliantly.

　　Normally, when an alchemist reached the third tier or above, purification could be done casually. But, Sun Zhengzong did it carefully. These crystal containers were used by him when he was still an apprentice alchemist, and it had been years since he last used them.

　　But, he took them out today, because he could not afford to lose!

　　“Red glow leaf, fifty years old. Purify its juice.”

　　“White sunstone, purity only seventy percent. Remove the impurity with Primordial Qi.”

　　“The prick of sky scorpion, seventy years old…”

　　While working skillfully, Sun Zhengzong murmured under his breath, as if he were all alone. The crowd was watching in silence with a pleasant feeling. During normal times, alchemists were all proud existences, and a third-tier alchemist was someone at such a great height that most of them could hardly get in touch with him. It was a rare opportunity for them to watch one refine a medicinal pill, so everyone was very attentive.

　　After he went through all the materials once, the few crystal containers were already filled with purified raw ingredients that could be directly refined. Suddenly, he slapped the cauldron with a palm, causing the lid to fly up. Then, a ball of blue flame rose from his palm and fell into the cauldron, and after that, the lid fell back with a boom. A buzzing noise immediately rang out of the cauldron, and the blue color on its surface grew brighter and more striking.

　　“The Bluewolf Demon Flame!” There was a look of shock on Yuan Hao’s face, along with a flash of envy in his eyes. “Zhengzong, you are really wealthy!”

　　Sun Zhengzong smiled and said in a humble tone, “It is nothing when compared to Master Yuan Hao’s Soulburn Bee Flame, haha!” With a cold and proud expression, he turned and looked over his shoulder. But what he saw froze him, and he almost fainted for a moment.