Yuan Sheng didn’t know what a Xili Flower was. In fact, even the people around him had no idea what it was used for.

In that moment, Yuan Sheng thought, ’This is bad.’

He couldn’t answer the very first question.

He hurriedly looked to the others for help, but everyone just seemed to shake their heads, indicating they didn’t know either.

Finally, he cast a pleading look toward his master, Xiao Gu.

Standing in the crowd, Xiao Gu mulled over Jiang Chen’s question. The Xili Flower... he knew of the ingredient, but he just couldn’t recall which Elixir it was used to refine.

"I’ll count to three. If you still can’t answer, then I don’t need to say what comes next."

"One, two, three!"

"Time’s up."

Jiang Chen’s calm announcement was a bombshell that exploded in Yuan Sheng’s mind.

The color drained from his face in an instant.

Even Yuan Sheng’s companions looked utterly grim.

He couldn’t even answer the first question.

Yuan Sheng was furious. He demanded loudly, "Don’t just ask questions! You probably don’t even know what the Xili Flower is used for yourself!"

"If you’re so smart, why don’t you tell us?"

Jiang Chen shot Yuan Sheng a disdainful glance.

He stated coolly, "Since I’m the one asking, how could I not know the answer?"

"Let me tell you. The Xili Flower is the main ingredient for refining the First-Grade Elixir known as the Blood Deficiency Pill."

"And if you don’t even know what a Blood Deficiency Pill is, you should just die of shame in front of your master right now."

BOOM!

Yuan Sheng was utterly stunned, his jaw hanging open.

Looks of dawning realization spread through the crowd.

That was right. The Xili Flower was indeed one of the ingredients for refining the Blood Deficiency Pill.

The main ingredient, in fact.

The Blood Deficiency Pill was a First-Grade Elixir, and an extremely common one at that.

The most important thing was, the Blood Deficiency Pill wasn’t meant for Martial Cultivators.

It was for ordinary people with no Cultivation, used specifically to treat blood deficiency.

Most Alchemists would never bother researching Elixirs made specifically to treat the ailments of ordinary people, even if the Blood Deficiency Pill was technically a First-Grade Elixir.

In the crowd, Xiao Gu’s face was livid.

The realization had only just dawned on him as well.

To refine the Blood Deficiency Pill, one had to use the Xili Flower.

"I..."

Yuan Sheng felt like he was going insane.

He immediately tried to explain, "I knew all along that the Xili Flower is for refining the Blood Deficiency Pill! But that Pill isn’t even used on Martial Cultivators, so why would I ever pay attention to it?"

Jiang Chen waved a dismissive hand at Yuan Sheng. "Enough. Everyone’s watching. We all saw just now whether you knew or not."

At that moment, Yuan Sheng deflated like a popped balloon.

In truth, the Xili Flower was so utterly common and held so little research value that he had long since dismissed it as unimportant.

Now, because of his own oversight, he had lost to Jiang Chen.

He was incredibly resentful.

Jiang Chen continued, "Don’t worry, I have two more questions for you."

Given Jiang Chen’s vast knowledge, Yuan Sheng wouldn’t have been able to answer just about any question he posed.

He had intentionally picked an easy one, yet to his surprise, Yuan Sheng still didn’t know the answer.

After a moment’s thought, Jiang Chen asked, "Let me ask you this, then: what is Black Obsidian used for?"

After speaking, Jiang Chen watched Yuan Sheng coolly.

And Yuan Sheng, once again, seemed to be completely stumped.

He opened his mouth but was suddenly at a loss for words, having no idea how to respond.

Because, once again, he had no idea what Black Obsidian was.

He had never even heard of such an ingredient.

Of course, it wasn’t just Yuan Sheng; very few people present knew what it was either.

Only Master Qin, the Chairman, gave Jiang Chen a profoundly meaningful look.

He thought to himself, ’This kid... to have such a deep well of knowledge. Truly impressive.’

’Black Obsidian is an extremely rare ingredient. It’s also somewhat superfluous, so most people don’t pay it any mind.’

’Besides, when refining the Vajra Captivating Pill, several other ingredients can be used as a substitute for it.’

He looked at Yuan Sheng and shook his head to himself.

Glancing at Xiao Gu, he couldn’t help but shake his head again.

He could tell that even Xiao Gu had no idea what Black Obsidian was.

"I don’t know! I’ve never even heard of it! Jiang Chen, you just made up some non-existent ingredient to trick me, didn’t you?"

At this point, Yuan Sheng knew he had been thoroughly stumped by Jiang Chen.

This was the second question, and he still couldn’t answer it.

His expression was grim.

He had underestimated Jiang Chen before, but now, he was actually a little afraid of him.

The more ingredients an Alchemist knew, the stronger their own abilities were proven to be.

"What’s Black Obsidian used for?"

"Steward Jiang, why don’t you explain it to us?"

"Does this ingredient even exist or not?"

The few people with Yuan Sheng, all looking grim, began to complain that Jiang Chen was just making things up.

But Jiang Chen just sneered. "If you don’t know, then you don’t know. Don’t go around claiming the ingredient doesn’t exist."

"This ingredient is one of the materials used to refine the Vajra Captivating Pill."

"The Vajra Captivating Pill is a First-Grade Elixir. After a Martial Cultivator takes it, they can harden parts of their body, increasing their localized defensive power."

"If you don’t believe me, you can all ask Chairman Qin."

With that, he looked toward Master Qin.

Master Qin, who had just been watching the spectacle from the crowd, now found himself the center of attention as countless eyes turned his way.

"Chairman Qin!"

Everyone greeted Chairman Qin respectfully.

After all, Master Qin was the President of the Alchemist Guild, and his authority was unparalleled.

Yuan Sheng also looked at Master Qin with a mixture of shock and doubt, hoping he would refute Jiang Chen’s claim.

Master Qin cleared his throat and stepped forward.

He gave Jiang Chen another deep look before speaking. "Steward Jiang is correct. Black Obsidian is indeed one of the ingredients for refining the Vajra Captivating Pill."

"It is simply a rare and hard-to-find ingredient. Nowadays, when refining the Vajra Captivating Pill, other, more easily found ingredients are used as substitutes."

What?

Master Qin’s words instantly plunged the entire area into a dead silence.

Yuan Sheng, for his part, trembled in utter disbelief.

It was actually true.

If it had been only Jiang Chen who said it, the crowd might have been skeptical. But since the words came from Chairman Qin, not a single person doubted them.

After all, with Chairman Qin’s prestige, he would never conspire with Jiang Chen to deceive everyone. Master Qin would never do something to tarnish his own reputation.

Jiang Chen nodded at Master Qin.

Then he turned back to Yuan Sheng. "Alright, I’ll ask you one last question. If you can’t answer, you know what you have to do."

Yuan Sheng’s face was ghastly.

He began to grow nervous, all the arrogance he’d shown when cornering Jiang Chen now completely gone.

Now, his only hope was that Jiang Chen wouldn’t ask such a difficult question.

If he couldn’t answer this time, the situation would become incredibly humiliating.

Just thinking about it made his scalp tingle. His hands and feet grew cold, and a cold sweat dripped down his back.

He turned to glance at his master, Xiao Gu, but Xiao Gu wouldn’t even look at him.

After all, this apprentice was currently disgracing him. Why would he want anything to do with Yuan Sheng? His face was already dark with fury.

Seeing his master’s disappointed expression, Yuan Sheng wished the ground would swallow him whole. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

He had come here to humiliate Jiang Chen, but now, he was the one being repeatedly crushed by him.