Inside the Pill Furnace before Qin Feng, a cluster of crimson-gold flame flared to life.

"What is that flame? Could it be... another Spirit Fire!"

Around the arena, everyone stared in astonishment at the crimson-gold flame burning fiercely inside the Pill Furnace before Qin Feng.

This flame contained a profound power.

It wasn’t the True Flame condensed by a Condensing Vein Realm expert.

Nor was it the Beast Fire nurtured within a Fierce Beast.

This was a true Spirit Fire.

"What kind of flame is that...? Why do I feel its power is even stronger than the Earth Evil Green Spirit Fire, and no less than Ji Huang’Er’s Heaven-Burning Blood Flame!"

Elder Zhiyu muttered to herself, her expression one of utter shock.

More than that, it was disbelief.

The disbelief morphed into anguish and then rage. "What right does he have to control such a tyrannical Spirit Fire!"

The appearance of this Spirit Fire further stoked Elder Zhiyu’s anger. ’A Spirit Fire like this is a complete waste in the hands of someone so ignorant and unskilled!’

The Name Executor Elder shook his head, sighing internally. ’Junior Sister Zhiyu is still so stubborn. It’s no wonder that even with her talent, she’s still stuck at the Fourth Grade Alchemist level!’

Lifting his head to look at Qin Feng, the Name Executor Elder said, "Junior Sister, you’re still underestimating that little fellow. He’s no simple character. Have you not noticed his degree of control over that crimson-gold flame? Have you really not seen any clues at all?"

"The quality of this tyrannical, crimson-gold Spirit Fire is not the least bit weaker than the Heaven-Burning Blood Flame—it might even be a sliver stronger. Yet he can control it with such proficiency. Compared to Ji Huang’Er’s performance just now, do you still think he’s someone who would waste the Pharmacist Guild’s medicinal ingredients?"

"This..." Elder Zhiyu was at a loss for words.

The Name Executor Elder glanced at her, then turned back to watch Qin Feng. "Based on this control over the flame alone, I can declare that no one here is more like a true Alchemist than he is!"

Hearing this, Elder Zhiyu felt a little displeased. ’Senior Brother, so what if his flame control is good? A true Alchemist is more than just someone who knows how to control a flame!’

The Name Executor Elder shook his head. When this woman became stubborn, there was simply no reasoning with her.

It was the same for young women and old women alike.

...

Qin Feng’s control over the Suihuo was superb.

No one’s furnace exploded because of the sudden appearance of this tyrannical Spirit Fire.

However, some people did get distracted and wasted another set of medicinal ingredients.

Ji Huang’Er glanced over out of the corner of her eye, looking with some surprise at the Suihuo in Qin Feng’s Pill Furnace. Her Heaven-Burning Blood Flame sensed a powerful provocation.

She suppressed the strange feeling in her heart and continued to refine the Quenching Essence Pill in her furnace. At this moment, a Jade Liquid Pill had already taken shape.

In front of his stone platform, Qin Feng naturally had no time to pay attention to the strange looks from others.

Qin Feng’s gaze fell upon the stone platform. He methodically tossed ingredients into the Alchemy Furnace in the correct order, then controlled the Suihuo’s temperature to extract the essence from each medicinal herb.

Impurities and waste gases were all refined and expelled from one side of the Pill Furnace.

Under Qin Feng’s control, in just over a dozen breaths, the prototype of the Bone Tempering Pill appeared within the crimson-gold furnace fire.

The Name Executor Elder watched this scene in astonishment. During this process, he felt as if he were watching an Alchemy Grandmaster.

Not a single shred of the medicinal ingredients was wasted in Qin Feng’s hands. His precision was so great it practically reached a realm of naturalness aligned with the Celestial Dao.

The Name Executor Elder was utterly shocked. Even he would inevitably lose some of the medicinal properties when he extracted herbal essences.

Yet Qin Feng had perfectly extracted all of the medicinal properties.

Such precise control over a Spirit Fire was simply monstrous.

Elder Zhiyu’s heart trembled. Her long-held prejudice was beginning to waver. Her shapely brows furrowed, and her eyes filled with surprise.

’He’s actually this incredible!’

This level of control was impossible unless one was an Alchemist who had achieved consummate mastery over medicinal properties and flame control.

Qin Feng was simply too young. No matter how you looked at it, it seemed impossible for him to possess such an ability.

Moreover, the speed at which he refined the medicinal essence far surpassed that of an ordinary First-grade Alchemist.

His control over the medicinal properties was practically sublime, without a single flaw.

His confidence and calmness formed a stark contrast to the other apprentices being assessed.

Even Master Long Mei’s disciples, Meng Ran and Zhou Rou, were somewhat nervous, causing more of the medicinal properties to dissipate.

BANG!

A loud explosion rang out! A young man in the second position to the left had been so engrossed in watching Qin Feng’s progress that his Pill Furnace had suddenly exploded.

The tremendous noise disturbed the others.

PFFT!

Following several more muffled, thunder-like rumbles, the ingredients being refined in the Pill Furnaces of several nearby people instantly turned to ash.

Those few wore looks of complete dejection. They had no choice but to select new ingredients and start the refinement process all over again.

The young man whose Pill Furnace exploded had a wry smile on his face. A mechanism activated beneath his feet, a large hole appeared, and he instantly fell through.

Qin Feng’s mind was like an ancient well, without a single ripple.

Seeing this composure, the Name Executor Elder nodded repeatedly. "He’s a talented little fellow. To be able to shut out distractions and remain unmoved by external factors is a rare quality!"

"Indeed. The ability to eliminate interference and remain unfazed by external demonic influences is an extremely important quality!"

Elder Zhiyu’s expression softened. Qin Feng’s performance had shaken her to the core. To be fair, even she could only perform this well.

His indifference, his composure, and especially his mentality when facing external influences had completely overturned her prejudice.

As an Alchemist who was about to touch the threshold of the next level, Elder Zhiyu knew very well that the more advanced the elixir an Alchemist refined, the greater the interference they would face.

This was especially true when refining elixirs that contained the Dao Rhyme of heaven and earth. There might even be heavenly thunder tribulations, or bombardments of earth, water, wind, and fire.

There was even the Heart Demon Tribulation.

’He’s a promising seedling. If he can pass the assessment, I must recommend him to Senior Brother Zhuang He!’ Elder Zhiyu thought to herself, a rare smile gracing her face.

While Qin Feng remained focused, the elixir inside the Pill Furnace was condensed an unknown number of times.

Finally, it took its complete form, becoming perfectly round.

This speed was extreme.

It had been less than a dozen or so breaths.

With a thought, Qin Feng made the Golden Flint Fire tremble. The mass of nearly-formed elixir in the Pill Furnace spun and shockingly split into eighteen pill prototypes.

Qin Feng controlled the Suihuo and continued the refinement. The eighteen Bone Tempering Pills rapidly took their final form. Each one was a brilliant gold, emitting a delicate, overflowing fragrance. They darted about inside the Pill Furnace, imbued with an extraordinary spirituality, their Spiritual Light swirling around them like a golden flash of lightning.

A fragrant, overflowing aroma drifted out.

PFFT!

The sound of a flame flaring up and ingredients turning to ash was heard.

Several apprentices nearby all looked up at once.

That was the fragrance of an elixir about to emerge from the furnace.

That speed was just too fast. It had been less than two hundred breaths!

’Who’s such a monster, finishing the elixir refinement so quickly?’

A black-robed youth appeared in their line of sight. Meng Ran and Zhou Rou’s expressions changed drastically. ’It’s him!’

Just as their gazes landed on Qin Feng, his brow twitched. With a flick of his finger, a wisp of energy struck the furnace lid. CLANG! The lid’s mechanism released, and over a dozen gleaming golden elixirs flew out.

Qin Feng waved his large sleeve, and an invisible force surged, forcibly catching all the elixirs and slowly guiding them to appear in his palm.

Eighteen lustrous, perfectly round golden elixirs floated above his palm like stars.

Success!

And it was eighteen Bone Tempering Pills in a single batch!

Every single one was Upper Grade! Gleaming gold, wreathed in Spiritual Qi—they were all Upper Grade!

In less than two hundred breaths, he had produced eighteen elixirs, all of them flawless Upper Grade!

The entire arena fell silent, staring dumbfounded at the black-robed youth.

This refinement speed was simply divine. He was a king of mass production, faster than a hen laying eggs!

(This is the second Chapter update. The third and fourth will follow.)