’A person blessed with great Qi Fortune?’

Qin Feng sneered as he looked at Ye Ding, who was full of confidence and carried himself with a self-proclaimed elegance and composure.

In the Golden Era, people like him who were blessed with great Qi Fortune were not uncommon.

CLANG!

Just then, a crisp bell chime rang out.

The Name Executor Elder glanced at the Sun Dial in the center of the arena before looking to Master Lianshan for confirmation. Master Lianshan gave a slight nod.

The Name Executor Elder immediately took a step forward and called out clearly.

"The examination for Second-grade Alchemists begins now!"

At the same time, a group of Alchemists in gray robes walked in, carrying white jade trays.

Qin Feng’s gaze fell upon the trays. On them were sheepskin scrolls sealed with wax.

Before long, a gray-robed Alchemist walked up to Qin Feng.

"Please select a Pill Formula!"

Qin Feng’s gaze fell upon the tray. A dozen or so Pill Formulas, all perfectly preserved in wax, were arranged neatly on it.

Qin Feng casually picked up a sheepskin scroll, peeled away the wax, and a Pill Formula appeared before his eyes.

Soul Refining Pill.

A peculiar look flashed in Qin Feng’s eyes. He was no stranger to the Soul Refining Pill. In fact, he had previously spent a fortune at the Contribution Hall to purchase this very Elixir.

This Elixir was greatly beneficial for Martial Artists of the Martial Arts Twelve Heavens, and even for those of the Martial Arts Thirteen Realms.

It could enhance a Martial Arts Strongman’s True Qi. A single Soul Refining Pill was worth several months of cultivation with other elixirs.

This item was incredibly precious.

Back then, buying just two bottles had nearly bankrupted him.

In the Contribution Hall, a single Soul Refining Pill required not only two hundred Points but also five Merit Points.

That was an astronomical price!

Among the many Second-Grade Elixirs, the Soul Refining Pill was slightly more advanced than the Jade Spirit Pill, but its refining difficulty was considered moderate.

Qin Feng looked up. Some people around him had drawn the extremely difficult-to-refine Essence Pill. This was a Second-Grade Elixir that helped fuel a Martial Arts Strongman’s Essence Fire during their breakthrough to the Condensing Vein Realm.

Others had drawn the Source Condensing Pill, a Second-Grade Elixir that helped temper a Martial Arts Strongman’s Sixth Sense and bring their Spiritual Power to Perfection.

These were all among the most difficult Second-Grade Elixirs to concoct.

By comparison, Qin Feng’s luck was much better.

In truth, whether it was the Soul Refining Pill or the more difficult Essence Pill and Source Condensing Pill, for the current Qin Feng, any of them would have been child’s play.

He closed his eyes, sensing the Heaven and Earth Sui Fire raging within the Pill Furnace.

Batch after batch of Spirit Medicines were methodically tossed into the Pill Furnace. Qin Feng manipulated the crimson-gold Suihuo to gradually eliminate their impurities and merge some of their medicinal properties.

Some were refined into a liquid essence.

Some were refined into a medicinal powder.

Some were refined into a fine dust.

...

He multitasked with ease, and his every movement possessed a rhythm that was a delight to behold.

This quality of his was utterly unique.

It unconsciously drew the gazes of many Alchemists.

Qin Feng paid these gazes no mind. On the stone platform, the refined Spirit Medicines were tossed back into the Alchemy Furnace, one batch after another.

Each time he added the Spirit Medicines, Qin Feng would repeatedly adjust the flame, ensuring the temperature was neither too high nor too low. This guaranteed that the medicinal properties would be perfectly expressed, without the slightest error.

This perfect control over the flame left some of the observing Elders stunned.

"Whose disciple is this little fellow? His skill is quite something! Look at how he extracts the properties of the various Spirit Medicines. His movements are as smooth as flowing water, without a hint of hesitation. Both his mastery of the flame’s temperature and his study of the Pill Formula have reached a point of sheer perfection. Which old master does he belong to? And why was he hidden away for so long?"

Master Lianshan had noticed Qin Feng from the very beginning. Qin Feng was simply too young.

He stood out like a crane among a flock of chickens in the crowd of middle-aged Alchemists.

He had originally assumed the black-robed youth was just there to experience the process of the Second-grade Alchemist examination, but as he watched more closely, Master Lianshan found himself growing increasingly astonished.

Qin Feng’s methods were simply too masterful.

This ability to combine the properties of Spirit Medicines so freely and effortlessly was something not even the average Third Grade Alchemist possessed.

The more Master Lianshan watched, the more perplexed he became. He hadn’t heard of any of the other masters from the All Stars Academy’s Alchemist Guild taking on such an exceptional disciple in recent years.

Nearby, the Name Executor Elder and Elder Zhiyu were already completely baffled by Qin Feng’s fluid series of techniques.

His technique for refining the Soul Refining Pill was nothing like that of a First-grade Alchemist who had just passed their exam.

People would absolutely believe it if you told them he was a Third Grade Alchemist.

In barely half a quarter-hour, the Second-Grade Elixir—the Soul Refining Pill—was already beginning to coalesce within the Alchemy Furnace.

Such speed was simply horrifying.

One must understand that at this point, the other participants were still condensing the supplementary Spirit Medicines in batches, step by step.

’This kid can actually concoct a Second-Grade Elixir! He wasn’t just joking about wanting to experience the examination process!’

As this thought crossed their minds, the Name Executor Elder and Elder Zhiyu exchanged a look, both clenching their fists tightly.

"Why are you silent?"

Master Lianshan turned, frowning as he looked at the Name Executor Elder and Elder Zhiyu. The expressions on the two Elders’ faces were quite strange.

At his words, the Name Executor Elder and Elder Zhiyu were abruptly jolted from their shock.

After a moment’s hesitation, the two looked at each other, wry smiles touching their lips.

The Name Executor Elder took a small step forward and said softly, "Senior Brother Lianshan, this boy has no master!"

’No master?’

Master Lianshan’s eyes lit up.

...

Inside the Pill Furnace, the crimson-gold flame burned steadily, neither too fast nor too slow, gradually forming twelve round Jade Liquid Pills in the furnace’s core.

The Jade Liquid Pills were semi-liquid, semi-solid—the embryonic form of the Elixir had already appeared.

Qin Feng manipulated the Suihuo to continue the refinement. The twelve Jade Liquid Pills took their final form one by one within the flame, each suffused with a purple glow. They pulsed with a brilliant Spiritual Light inside the Pill Furnace, as if they were alive.

Qin Feng continued to refine them with the Suihuo for another seven or eight minutes, then his eyes snapped open. With a flick of his finger, a strand of True Qi struck the mechanism on the Furnace Tripod’s lid.

CLICK.

The Pill Furnace swung open.

Twelve points of purple light shot through the air like stars.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!

The Soul Refining Pills already possessed a hint of sentience!

’Thinking of running?’ The corner of Qin Feng’s mouth twitched. With a slight shudder, a crimson-gold Spirit Vein erupted from his body, transforming into a Spiritual Serpent that instantly swallowed the twelve Soul Refining Pills.

The Suihuang Spiritual Vein, carrying the twelve Soul Refining Pills, disappeared back into his body.

"Nourishing the elixir with one’s body, and nourishing one’s qi with the elixir!"

From a distance, many Alchemists’ eyes lit up as they watched this scene unfold.

This was an ability possessed only by some Advanced Alchemists. It was a profound skill that allowed one to draw an Elixir into their Spirit Veins for further Nurturing.

The Spirit Vein tempers the Elixir, and the Elixir, in turn, nourishes the Spirit Vein.

This was a truly profound state to achieve.

Having reached this stage, Qin Feng could now officially be considered a Second-grade Alchemist.

All eyes fell upon the black-robed youth, the shock in them impossible to hide.

A fifteen-year-old Second-grade Alchemist.

In the thousand-year history of the City of Many Stars, only Yue Ji had ever accomplished this.

Such aptitude was rarer than a phoenix’s feather.

Even Ye Ding had been a step behind at this age.

In the viewing stands, Ji Huang’Er’s beautiful eyes stared blankly, her mind lost in a daze.

’That bastard actually succeeded! A fifteen-year-old Second-grade Alchemist... Am I going to be outdone by him again?!’

Ji Huang’Er’s beautiful eyes were filled with unwillingness.

Gazing at Qin Feng on the stone platform, his Soul Refining Pills complete, Master Lianshan’s eyes shone with an ever-intensifying light.

"It looks like in just a few years, our City of Many Stars will have another young Fourth Grade Alchemist! This is a true blessing for our city’s Alchemist Guild!"

Qin Feng sat cross-legged on the ground, regulating his breath. He turned his senses inward. Within his crimson-gold Suihuang Spiritual Vein, the sparkling purple Spirit Pills surged joyfully, accepting the tempering and Nurturing of the Heaven and Earth Sui Fire. At the same time, these Elixirs released a mysterious strand of qi, causing a wondrous change to occur within his Spirit Vein...