"Don’t even think about it!"

Ye Xiu decisively rejected An Dongye and the others. Qin Qing had absorbed Jiao Fuping’s Totem Power, causing her strength to surge, and she desperately needed a Heaven-Mending Pill to stabilize her foundation.

"Little Bro, I feel like the ship of our friendship is sinking," An Dongye said unhappily.

"How about I give you a Marrow Cleansing Pill?" Ye Xiu asked.

An Dongye’s face immediately broke into a wide grin. "Deal!"

Dongfang Chaonan, Dazhuang, Er Leng, and Utterly Beautiful—four people, eight eyes—all stared intently at Ye Xiu, as if to ask, *What about us? Aren’t you giving us Marrow Cleansing Pills?*

Ye Xiu tilted his head, pretending not to notice.

"Mr. Ye, you know how to refine Marrow Cleansing Pills?" Bai Shanjun asked.

Just then, the materials and equipment Bai Changqing needed for refining the Marrow Cleansing Pills finally arrived.

Ye Xiu said, "How about I refine one on the spot for you to see?"

In your dreams! Don’t even think about wasting Medicine King Valley’s precious herbs again... Bai Shanjun cursed internally, but he said aloud, "Let’s talk about it after our competition."

"Alright!" Ye Xiu nodded.

Soon, Bai Changqing and several youths from Medicine King Valley brought over two sets of ingredients for the Heaven-Mending Pill, along with the alchemy equipment.

"Mr. Ye, let us begin," Bai Shanjun said, making an inviting gesture. He then added a reminder, "If you feel that the alchemy is about to fail midway, please stop immediately. Do not continue to waste the ingredients."

"Alright!" Ye Xiu nodded again, casually chose an Alchemy Furnace, and began to organize the medicinal herbs.

Refining a Heaven-Mending Pill required over two hundred types of herbs, dozens of which could no longer be found on the market. To Ye Xiu, these were priceless treasures. After sorting them, he casually tossed the charcoal aside.

This gesture left Bai Shanjun and the people of Medicine King Valley feeling inexplicably impressed.

"What does Mr. Ye mean by this? Are you planning to perform alchemy without fire?" Bai Shanjun asked, puzzled.

"Senior Bai, the most critical aspect of refining a Heaven-Mending Pill is heat control. It’s difficult to maintain precise control using charcoal," Ye Xiu explained.

Seeing Ye Xiu so easily pinpoint the key to the process, Bai Shanjun secretly praised his extensive knowledge and asked, "Then what kind of fire do you intend to use for your alchemy, Mr. Ye?"

Ye Xiu didn’t answer. He waved his hand, opening the lid of the Copper Tripod Alchemy Furnace and tossing in a dozen herbs. Then, his right hand suddenly glowed like a red-hot piece of iron before bursting into flames, while his left hand turned into an ice sculpture that emanated a frosty chill.

"The Mysterious Ice Fiery Palm?" Bai Shanjun, the members of Medicine King Valley, Dongfang Chaonan, and the others all exclaimed in shock.

"How is this possible?" Bai Shanjun had completely lost his composure. "The Mysterious Ice Fiery Palm is one of the most difficult Martial Arts in the world to master, and it requires two people training in concert. How could you have possibly learned it alone?"

The others were just as stunned. Only An Dongye remained calm, as she had personally witnessed Ye Xiu use the Mysterious Ice Fiery Palm to obliterate the Fire-Water Judges.

"A trash technique like the Mysterious Ice Fiery Palm? Is that supposed to be hard to learn?" Ye Xiu shrugged.

Everyone was speechless. They had finally witnessed a true master of posturing; Ye Xiu was the real expert.

Dongfang Chaonan, Dazhuang, Er Leng, and Utterly Beautiful exchanged glances, realizing that Ye Xiu’s level of showing off was even higher than that of the legendary Pressure King, Dong Fangbai.

"Don’t tell me you’re planning to use the Mysterious Ice Fiery Palm for alchemy?" Bai Changqing asked in astonishment.

Ye Xiu feigned surprise. "So, you do have a brain."

Bai Changqing was left speechless.

By now, everyone understood. Ye Xiu did indeed intend to use the Mysterious Ice Fiery Palm for alchemy: the Furious Flame Palm to provide heat and the Cold Ice Palm to control the temperature.

"Mr. Ye, refining a Heaven-Mending Pill takes five hours," Bai Shanjun reminded him while fumbling with a lighter, trying to light his kindling. The wind was a bit strong, however, and he couldn’t get it to catch. "If you continuously use the Mysterious Ice Fiery Palm, you’ll deplete your Martial Prowess. Once it is exhausted, all your previous effort will be for naught."

Ye Xiu flicked his finger, sending a wisp of flame across the distance that instantly lit the kindling for him.

Bai Shanjun was speechless again.

While Bai Shanjun was still busy starting his fire, Ye Xiu had already begun. Everyone’s attention shifted to him. They watched as his left hand sprayed fire into the furnace while his right hovered, ready to cool it down at a moment’s notice. He was even using telekinesis to send the herbs from his side into the Alchemy Furnace. This precise control of his Martial Prowess earned the silent admiration of everyone present, as it was a feat none of them could replicate.

The contrast was stark. While Ye Xiu worked, Bai Shanjun was, well, still starting his fire. By the time a third of Ye Xiu’s ingredients were in the furnace, Bai Shanjun had finally managed to get his fire going and was just beginning to control the heat. By the time two-thirds of Ye Xiu’s ingredients were in the furnace, Bai Shanjun had just finished stabilizing his fire and was finally beginning the alchemy, adding his first herb into the furnace.

"Sigh, this is the difference between the city and the countryside," An Dongye lamented. "Little Bro is using a gas stove, while the Grandmaster is making fire by rubbing sticks together."

Bai Shanjun and the people of Medicine King Valley were speechless.

Time ticked by. As noon approached, the people of Medicine King Valley reluctantly invited An Dongye’s group for lunch. Afterward, they returned to watch Ye Xiu and Bai Shanjun continue their alchemy.

"Three hours have passed. I bet Ye Xiu’s Martial Prowess is nearly exhausted," Bai Changqing whispered to the person beside him after a glance at the time.

His companion replied, "He’s just an ungrounded, wandering healer who has never seen the world. He thought that just because he mastered the Mysterious Ice Fiery Palm, he could use it for alchemy. He completely overlooked his own limits and the long time required to refine a Heaven-Mending Pill."

"Ye Xiu is bound to lose. What a shame, wasting a whole set of Heaven-Mending Pill ingredients," Bai Changqing mourned.

"When he loses, you must humiliate him thoroughly. Force him to leave Medicine King Valley and renounce the title of Xuanse Medicine King," his companion goaded.

"I will definitely do that," Bai Changqing replied with a cold smirk.

BANG!

Just as the words left his mouth, a muffled explosion echoed. The lid of Ye Xiu’s Alchemy Furnace flew high into the air, blown off by what seemed to be excessive pressure from within.

"Haha, Ye Xiu, you’ve failed!" Bai Changqing roared with laughter.

The other members of Medicine King Valley also began to laugh. Although Ye Xiu had wasted a set of precious ingredients, at least Bai Shanjun’s victory would preserve the honor of their valley.

"Ultimately too young and too inexperienced!" Bai Shanjun remarked with a chuckle, still tending to his own alchemy.

The faces of An Dongye and her companions turned grim. None of them had expected Ye Xiu to fail, to lose.

"You’re all celebrating a little too early!" Ye Xiu grinned and slapped the side of the Alchemy Furnace.

SHOO!

A milky-white, crystal-clear medicinal pill shot out from within. Ye Xiu waved his hand, snatching it out of the air.

"My apologies for the disappointment," he said with a smile. "I’ve successfully refined the Heaven-Mending Pill."

"Impossible!" everyone from Medicine King Valley, including Bai Shanjun and Bai Changqing, shouted in unison.

"Refining a Heaven-Mending Pill takes five hours, yet you only took three! How could you possibly have succeeded?" Bai Changqing scoffed.

"You’re a frog in a well," Ye Xiu said disdainfully. "Does a chicken cooked in a pressure cooker take the same amount of time as one cooked over a wood fire?"