Seeing the Thousand-Year Peach Wood Fire on the verge of dissipating, the crowd looked in astonishment at the wisp of black flame in Shen Haoran’s hand. ’What kind of flame is that?’ they wondered. ’To think it could suppress Guan Zhi’s Thousand-Year Peach Wood Fire!’

The onlookers couldn’t recognize it, but as Alchemists, Elder Song and Guan Zhi identified it in a single glance. It was a Fire Spirit Black Obsidian, one of the Heaven and Earth Spirits that held a fatal attraction for all Alchemists!

As everyone knew, to become an Alchemist, one must possess both Fire and Wood Attribute Spiritual Power. The higher the quality of these two types of Spiritual Power, the greater one’s achievements in Alchemy would be!

The Fire Spirit Black Obsidian and the Wood Spirit Cyan Profound could not only manifest as tangible flames to aid in Alchemy, but also greatly enhance the quality of one’s internal Spiritual Power. Therefore, these two Heaven and Earth Spirits were not only a great temptation for those in Martial Cultivation, but an even greater one for Alchemists!

However, Heaven and Earth Spirits were incredibly difficult to find. Even if one were found, few would dare to consume and refine it. The Energy they contained was enough to destroy the heavens and earth, let alone a fragile human body!

To think that Shen Haoran had refined the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian at such a young age—a trace of envy appeared in Elder Song’s eyes! At the same time, his mind raced. ’He possesses the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian and also understands such a profound Alchemy Skill... Could it be that he has an incredibly powerful master behind him?’

Meanwhile, Guan Zhi’s expression was grim. He stared greedily at the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian in Shen Haoran’s hand, then said coldly, "Even with a flame like that, it’s nothing but a waste without the skill to back it up!"

With that, Guan Zhi snorted and threw the nearly extinguished Peach Wood Fire from his hand into the dark gold Pill Furnace. Shielded by the furnace, the Peach Wood Fire flared up again.

Shen Haoran also flicked his finger, and the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian fell into his jet-black Pill Furnace to preheat it. A moment later, Shen Haoran took a deep breath, looked at the Spirit Medicines on the table, and with a swift grab of his hand, began the refinement.

Shen Haoran’s speed was incredible. He tossed one Spirit Medicine after another into the Pill Furnace, his hands moving so fast they left afterimages. The crowd was stunned by his practiced technique and speed!

"This... Wasn’t Shen Haoran supposed to be just a Second Grade Alchemist? Even a Third Grade Alchemist might not possess this level of skill!"

"This is definitely the level of a Fourth Grade Alchemist! So he’s been hiding his true strength all along!"

Meanwhile, Guan Zhi watched Shen Haoran’s masterful technique with a grim expression. ’I can’t believe he tricked me!’

In truth, Shen Haoran hadn’t deceived anyone. The refinement of those Second Grade Elixirs had indeed been a bit crude, but that was because he had been producing them in bulk. With such a large quantity, even the most profound Alchemy Skill would result in a rougher product.

Shen Haoran’s speed was astonishing. Soon, dozens of Spirit Medicines had been refined and fused. Just as he was about to continue the process, a soft POP echoed from within the Pill Furnace.

PUFF... The Essences of Spiritual Medicine that had just been fused together now turned into a pile of dregs and slid out of the Pill Furnace. Seeing this, Shen Haoran quickly caught the Spirit Medicine still in the air, then looked down at the residue, lost in thought.

Seeing Shen Haoran fail, a wave of sighs and whispers went through the crowd. Guan Zhi just sneered, "Hmph. So it was all just for show."

Then, Guan Zhi turned his attention to his own Pill Furnace. The corner of his mouth curled into a smirk as he said, "Let me show you the true power of a Fourth Grade Alchemist!"

With that, Guan Zhi began his refinement. His technique and speed were even a notch faster than Shen Haoran’s!

"Look at Guan Zhi’s masterful technique! He must be close to becoming a Fifth Grade Alchemist!"

"Now this is the true power of a Fourth Grade Alchemist. Shen Haoran can’t compare at all!"

The crowd was full of admiration, but no sooner had the words left their mouths than a soft sound came from Guan Zhi’s Pill Furnace, and a lump of black residue flowed out.

"This..." The crowd was momentarily stunned. They had only just uttered two sentences of praise when Guan Zhi failed. And from the looks of it, he had only managed to refine four or five Spirit Medicines, a far cry from Shen Haoran’s attempt!

Guan Zhi himself stood there in a daze, the Spirit Medicine he was about to toss into the furnace frozen in his hand mid-air.

"How is that possible? I controlled the heat perfectly! How could I have failed!" Guan Zhi said in disbelief.

Watching Guan Zhi, Elder Song couldn’t help but shake his head. ’Both of them failed, but Shen Haoran wasn’t frustrated by his failure. Instead, he immediately began to examine his mistakes. And Guan Zhi? He’s done nothing but deny the reality of the situation. The gap between these two isn’t just in their Alchemy Skill, but in their mindset. Shen Haoran is far superior to Guan Zhi in that regard!’

Elder Song had only provided two sets of ingredients to each of them. To be honest, he didn’t think either of them could successfully concoct the Three Pure Spirit Pill.

He was well aware of Shen Haoran’s abilities. Although Shen Haoran possessed astonishing experience in Alchemy, his own current strength limited the most profound principles of the Alchemy Dao to mere theory. Perhaps in the future, Shen Haoran would become a great Alchemy Master, but that was the future, not now.

As for Guan Zhi, Elder Song had been unimpressed from the start. A person who declares they will fail before they even begin will never succeed.

Now, both of them had only one chance left.

Neither Shen Haoran nor Guan Zhi dared to make a move. There was only one chance. Failure meant losing the match.

Guan Zhi stared at the complicated refinement steps, growing more and more agitated. Recalling his earlier failure, his thoughts took a vicious turn. ’Hmph, if I can’t even refine it, there’s no way Shen Haoran can either! In that case, I just need to make sure my failed product is better than his!’

With this in mind, Guan Zhi began the refinement process once more.

Seeing Guan Zhi make his move, everyone turned their gaze toward him.

"Guan Zhi has started refining again, but Shen Haoran still hasn’t moved. It seems Guan Zhi has the upper hand after all!"

"But... doesn’t Guan Zhi’s refinement seem a bit strange? It looks like he’s not following any method at all!"

The disciples present were all interested in Alchemy, so they knew a thing or two about it. They could see that Guan Zhi was haphazardly fusing the refined Essences of Spiritual Medicine together. A gray mass of Essence of Spiritual Medicine appeared in his Pill Furnace.

"This... Has Guan Zhi given up?" the crowd exclaimed in surprise.

"The Three Pure Spirit Pill is a Fifth Grade Elixir and incredibly difficult to refine. It looks like he’s settling for second best, trying to create a failed product just to beat Shen Haoran!"

Watching the Pill slowly taking shape in Guan Zhi’s Pill Furnace, the crowd’s expressions turned strange.

"Open!"

A moment later, a gray Pill flew out of Guan Zhi’s Pill Furnace. Looking at the gray lump that could hardly even be called an Elixir, Guan Zhi’s face flushed with embarrassment. But at the thought of being able to beat Shen Haoran, he couldn’t be bothered with that now.

Guan Zhi had finished his refinement, but Shen Haoran remained deep in thought. From the looks of it, he wouldn’t be snapping out of it anytime soon.

"Hmph, just putting on an act," Guan Zhi said coldly, clutching the gray Pill in his hand.