Chapter 148: Once

    ?

    "Wait and see." Liu Ling turned around, staring at the spot where Xiao Yan had disappeared moments ago. With a cold smile, he murmured under his breath, "I''ll make him feel utterly humiliated at the Alchemist Grand Meeting. The disciple of the Pill King is the most outstanding person in the Jia Ma Empire."

    ...

    Early the next morning, Xiao Yan once again arrived at the Alchemist Association under the guidance of Steward Zhao.

    Tomorrow was the official start of the Alchemist Grand Meeting, and today there would be an internal test.

    As they walked along, Xiao Yan was somewhat surprised to see fully armed troops patrolling the main streets of the city.

    Clearly, this was due to the upcoming Alchemist Grand Meeting. After all, for such a grand event, it was only natural that ample security measures would be put in place.

    The colossal Alchemist Association finally came into view after traversing several wide streets. Xiao Yan shook his head with a feeling of helplessness as he looked at the entrance that seemed even more crowded than two days prior.

    It seemed that alchemists from all over the empire, and even from other empires, were eager to make a name for themselves at this Grand Meeting.

    Stepping down from the carriage, Xiao Yan smoothly approached the main entrance of the Association under the prestigious banner of the Nalan Clan.

    Just as he was about to enter through the VIP passage, a commotion suddenly arose not far behind him, and gazes from all around were cast in that direction.

    ''Hmm? What''s going on?'' Xiao Yan furrowed his brow slightly as he turned to look toward the source of the commotion.

    A strange beast with blue flames rising from its body was pulling a silver-white carriage. From the carriage, a jade-white slender hand reached out and elegantly grasped the handle of the carriage door. Then, a graceful figure gracefully stepped out, appearing in everyone''s sight.

    The young lady who emerged was wearing a purple-colored dress that had silver-colored lines embedded in it. Her exquisite features exuded an innate noble temperament. A purple- colored belt was worn on her narrow and delicate waist, displaying the small waist vividly and incisively. She didn''t seem to be very old, probably around seventeen or eighteen, about the same age as Xiao Yan.

    This young lady, who looked quite ladylike, had a quirky and strange smile flashing across her watery eyes. Clearly, she wasn''t as quiet as she appeared on the surface.No?v(el)B\\jnn

    Steward Zhao spoke in a low voice, "That is Princess Yue Er of the Jia Ma Imperial Family. Her Master is Qie Mi Er, the Deputy Chairman of the Alchemist Association. Last year, she passed the 3rd-tier alchemist examination. She''s the treasure of the Jia Ma Imperial Family and one of the top contenders for the championship this year."

    Xiao Yan could only silently mourn for the little princess after hearing the old steward''s words. Because whether one was a 3rd-tier or even a 4th-tier alchemist, to Xiao Yan, who possessed a Heavenly Flame, Tier 6 Spiritual Strength, and peak 4th-tier alchemy skills, they were all mere also-rans.

    In a thousandth of a second before the Black Iron Spiritual Leaf was about to turn into ashes, strands of green flames rapidly threaded through the disintegrating Black Iron Spiritual Leaf. The medicinal essence was instantly extracted from it.

    The Black Iron Spiritual Leaf in the medicinal cauldron was reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye. If Xiao Yan had been even a fraction slower, the medicinal essence would have been destroyed along with it.

    The key to this technique lay in using ultra-high temperature to quickly break down the medicinal ingredient, then using Spiritual Strength to sense a critical point. At the very limit before the ingredient disintegrated, one had to swiftly use Spiritual Strength to extract the

    medicinal essence.

    This required not only powerful flames but also extremely strong Spiritual Strength capable of seeing through the medicinal properties of the ingredient.

    Xiao Yan took out a wooden box from his storage ring, placed the medicinal powder in it, and turned to leave the room.

    The entire process took less than a minute.

    Seeing Xiao Yan emerge after just a minute, while some sluggish alchemists were still

    dawdling in the hall and hadn''t even entered, Deputy Chairman Qie Mi Er smiled and said, "Young friend, there''s no need to come out just to check the hourglass in the hall. There''s an hourglass inside as well, synchronized with the one here. The time before the hourglass runs out is all for refining. The purity will be checked after time''s up. You don''t need to be

    anxious."

    It was clear that the Deputy Chairman thought Xiao Yan was overly nervous and unfamiliar with the rules, so he came out to ask.

    Xiao Yan took out the wooden box, looking drowsy and listless, and said, "I''ve already

    finished refining."

    "You''ve already finished refining??!!" The two judges, Qie Mi Er and Master Ao Tuo, both

    exclaimed in shock.

    Master Ao Tuo asked, "How many times did you refine it?"

    "How many times? Once, of course."