"Pressure cooker?"

This term was utterly foreign to the people of Medicine King Valley.

"What kind of pot is a pressure cooker?" Bai Changqing asked.

"Country bumpkin."

Dongfang Chaonan scoffed, instantly transforming into a know-it-all. "A pressure cooker is a pot that uses high-pressure electricity for cooking. You know what high-pressure electricity is, right? It’s the power in the wires on the electric poles. When you cook, you just set the pot on the wires, and the food cooks fast and tastes amazing. It’s obvious you people have no idea. Your Medicine King Valley is just too backward; you still haven’t even started using light bulbs."

Ye Xiu stared at Dongfang Chaonan in shock. Buddy, your dead-serious nonsense has completely derailed my plan to put Medicine King Valley in their place.

"Master, watch what you say. Don’t spout nonsense," An Dongye reminded him quietly.

Dongfang Chaonan paused. "Did I misunderstand something?"

An Dongye scoffed.

Just then, Master Baishan said, "Ye Xiu, stop bluffing. While Medicine King Valley may know little about the outside world’s technology, we are the experts when it comes to alchemy. It is absolutely impossible to refine a Heaven-Mending Pill in just three hours."

The leader of the neutral faction in Medicine King Valley added, "For over two thousand years, everyone in Medicine King Valley who has successfully refined a Heaven-Mending Pill has taken five hours. Ye Xiu, are you suggesting your alchemy skills surpass those of all the ancestors of Medicine King Valley?"

Everyone from Medicine King Valley looked at Ye Xiu with mockery. In their eyes, he knew he had failed to refine the Heaven-Mending Pill but refused to admit it, choosing instead to create a spectacle to save face.

"You people from Medicine King Valley are all talk," Ye Xiu chuckled. "If you want to verify whether I’ve refined the Heaven-Mending Pill, why don’t you come over and take a look for yourselves?"

Everyone was stunned. That’s right! Why waste words arguing with Ye Xiu when they could simply inspect the elixir he had refined?

"Let me see!"

The leader of the neutral faction walked over and took the medicinal pill from Ye Xiu’s hand.

He sniffed it, his expression turning serious as he pondered for a moment. He then scraped off a bit of the Heaven-Mending Pill’s powder with his fingernail, licked it, and smacked his lips, tasting it for a while. Suddenly, his face changed dramatically.

He said in shock, "This... this is a Heaven-Mending Pill, and its quality is the best I have ever seen among all Heaven-Mending Pills! This... how is this possible?"

What?!

Upon hearing his words, Master Baishan, Bai Changqing, and everyone else from Medicine King Valley cried out in shock.

"Old Gu, are you sure you’re not mistaken?" Master Baishan asked.

"You’re not the only one in Medicine King Valley who can refine a Heaven-Mending Pill. I can too, so there’s no reason for me to be mistaken," the neutral faction’s leader retorted.

Master Baishan’s composure crumbled. "Quick, give it here and let me see!"

The leader of the neutral faction casually tossed it over.

Master Baishan caught it and repeated the leader’s inspection process, first sniffing, then tasting. Everyone from Medicine King Valley stared intently at him. They hoped to hear him declare the pill a fake, as they knew all too well what it would mean if this Heaven-Mending Pill was real.

"It is indeed a Heaven-Mending Pill, and it’s practically perfect," Master Baishan said reluctantly.

UPROAR!

The members of Medicine King Valley were in an absolute uproar, and they all turned to look at Ye Xiu in astonishment.

This guy! Not only had he refined a Heaven-Mending Pill, but he had also shattered Medicine King Valley’s two-thousand-year-old record and ironclad rule by doing it in just three hours.

"Elder Bai, can you refine a Heaven-Mending Pill of better quality than mine?" Ye Xiu asked with a faint smile.

Master Baishan wanted to say yes, but he knew he couldn’t. He said, "Mr. Ye, your Medical Skills are indeed superior to mine. I am utterly convinced of my defeat."

As he spoke those words, his composure shattered.

The spirit of everyone in Medicine King Valley broke.

Master Baishan’s concession meant that the status of Medicine King Valley was no longer paramount. From now on, the Totem Clans, organizations, Hidden World families, and other experts who had sought help from Medicine King Valley would have a new option—Ye Xiu.

At that moment, Master Baishan and Bai Changqing were green with regret. Just because they had underestimated Ye Xiu and wanted to test his Medical Skills, they had ended up humiliated and had even contributed to his rise.

Once word of today’s events spread, Ye Xiu’s renown would surpass that of Medicine King Valley, establishing him as the true Xuanse Medicine King!

"Does anyone else object? Feel free to challenge me to a match!" Ye Xiu’s voice boomed as he swept his gaze across everyone from Medicine King Valley.

Provocation. Humiliation. Arrogance.

Although everyone from Medicine King Valley was seething with rage, no one dared to accept his challenge. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"In that case, while Elder Bai’s Heaven-Mending Pill is still being refined, I’ll go ahead and refine the Marrow Cleansing Pill for Bai Changqing!"

Ye Xiu took the Heaven-Mending Pill from Master Baishan’s hand, slipped it into his pocket, and prepared to start refining the Marrow Cleansing Pill.

Master Baishan was dumbfounded. "Mr. Ye, why did you put the Heaven-Mending Pill in your pocket?"

"I’m the one who refined it," Ye Xiu stated simply.

"But you used ingredients from Medicine King Valley. The Heaven-Mending Pill should belong to us," Master Baishan reminded him.

"Consider this pill the prize for the wager you just lost to me," Ye Xiu said with a gentle smile.

Shameless! Master Baishan and everyone from Medicine King Valley cursed inwardly.

But since Ye Xiu had already said it and pocketed the pill, they knew there was no getting it back.

PFFT!

Master Baishan and the people of Medicine King Valley nearly coughed up blood from anger. They had suffered a catastrophic loss today! They had lost Medicine King Valley’s paramount status and thrown in a Heaven-Mending Pill to boot!

"Ye Xiu, I admit my Medical Skills are inferior to yours, but do you dare compete with me in martial prowess?" Bai Changqing challenged. "If you lose, you leave the Heaven-Mending Pill behind."

Master Baishan’s and the others’ eyes lit up, silently praising Bai Changqing for his brilliant move.

Ye Xiu chuckled. "Is this a Bronze challenging a King?"

Bai Changqing and the people of Medicine King Valley had no idea what "Bronze" and "King" meant.

Bai Changqing goaded him, "Are you too scared to accept?"

"Fine, I accept." Ye Xiu decided that since he had already crushed Medicine King Valley in Medical Skills, he might as well crush them in martial prowess too. "If I lose, the Heaven-Mending Pill is yours. If I win, the Marrow Cleansing Pill I’m about to refine belongs to me. How about it?"

"Deal!" Bai Changqing was overjoyed.

"Alright. Once I’ve finished refining the Marrow Cleansing Pill, I will fight you," Ye Xiu said.

Bai Changqing readily agreed.

Master Baishan and the others started to smile. Bai Changqing was the foremost prodigy of Medicine King Valley and had already awakened his Totem Power. Even a Ye Xiu at full strength would be no match for him, let alone one whose martial prowess would be severely depleted after the immense consumption of refining both a Heaven-Mending Pill and a Marrow Cleansing Pill.

Bai Changqing was guaranteed to win!

An Dongye, Dongfang Chaonan, Dazhuang, Er Leng, and Mei Li silently chided Ye Xiu for his rashness. Even if Ye Xiu was stronger than Dongfang Dazhuang, even if he had killed the Fire-Water Judges, he was definitely no match for Bai Changqing.

"Elder Bai, the alchemy process can be quite dull, so allow me to explain my purpose for coming to Medicine King Valley," Ye Xiu said.

Everyone was taken aback.

"You mean you didn’t come simply to visit Medicine King Valley?" Master Baishan asked.

"Visiting was only one of my objectives for this trip."

Ye Xiu’s expression grew serious as he said, "I have another purpose, which is to ascertain the stance of the conservative and neutral factions within Medicine King Valley."