Asura Emperor Venerable
Chapter 386: Alchemy with Spiritual Fire

Chapter 386: Chapter 386: Alchemy with Spiritual Fire

Three days later, the Alchemy Dao competition began.

There were three rounds in total, each round eliminating a large number of participants.

Shi Hao, along with Song Yuxin and Wang Manyu, set out and arrived at the city’s square.

Because the number of participants in the first round was too large to be accommodated by the square, the event had to be divided into twenty groups over the course of five days.

Shi Hao’s competition was today, whereas Song Yuxin and Wang Manyu would compete on the following days; they had come purely to accompany Shi Hao.

"Shi Hao!" A clear call rang out as Fu Yao’er ran over from a distance, donning a green long dress that should have accentuated her youthful vitality at the age of double nine, yet her natural charm rendered even such an innocent attire seductive and alluring.

Upon seeing her, both Song Yuxin and Wang Manyu blushed slightly, for even women were not immune to Fu Yao’er’s charm.

Shi Hao was also slightly astounded, and then he broke into a smile, "Hello."

"So you’re really that amazing!" Fu Yao’er’s face was full of admiration. With the sharp senses of the Fu Family, they were, of course, already aware that the exceedingly handsome man before them was the youngest three-star Pill Master to have caused a stir throughout the city recently.

She was very pleased; she thought she would have had to exhaust all her arguments to convince her grandfather to agree to her marriage with Shi Hao, because as a royal daughter, could she only consider someone for their looks when marrying?

But now, Shi Hao had proven himself to be a three-star Pill Master, and what’s more, so young, with immeasurable prospects for the future.

What reasons could her grandfather have to stop them?

Song Yuxin instinctively stepped forward, attempting to break the gaze between Shi Hao and this enchantress.

"One naturally flirtatious, one cool beauty with ample bosom; what advantages do I have?" Wang Manyu muttered to herself, looking at her flat chest with a sigh.

Song Yuxin’s momentum faltered momentarily; was this junior sister trying to make her lose face?

"You all take your time to chat, I’ll take my leave," Shi Hao nodded to the three women and strode into the square.

The area was already divided into numerous sections, with many Pill Furnaces and prepared ingredients in place.

Each section corresponded to a name, and identity verification through an Identity Token was required at the time of the event to prevent cheating.

Soon, the square was filled with contestants, while those who came to watch could only stand outside the designated area.

An elder appeared and said, "The test this time is quite simple, which is the refinement of the Blue River Pill. The first twenty who refine it will pass, and all others will be eliminated."

As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately caused a commotion.

How many people were there in this square?

Thousands!

Out of a thousand people, only twenty could advance; how high was the elimination rate?

But soon, many were brimming with confidence since the Blue River Pill was a one-star elixir—one all Pill Masters were sure to know how to refine.

It was a matter of speed, and they might not necessarily lose.

"Begin!" the elder declared, starting the Alchemy Dao competition.

Everyone immediately got to work, and the scene was bustling with activity.

Shi Hao didn’t dare to be careless; if this had been about refining high-level elixirs or pursuing quality, he would not have been afraid at all, but the current requirement was speed, so he couldn’t take it lightly, especially given that any Pill Master could refine this item.

First, he sorted the ingredients, then put them into the Pill Furnace and ignited the fire, whoosh, a flame shot up.

What were the key points in alchemy? The timing of ingredient input, the control of furnace temperature, and using the soul to draw on the Power of Heaven and Earth to make the ingredients react with each other, although now it wasn’t necessary to draw on the Power of Heaven and Earth as it was only a one-star elixir.

For Shi Hao, when to add which ingredient was almost an instinct, with no room for improvement. Therefore, the only thing to work on was the furnace temperature.

Previously, he had no way to do so, but now was different, because he had mastered the Spirit Fire Rune.

With the Spirit Fire Rune combined with the power of Heaven and Earth he was channeling, it could achieve the same effect as a real Spiritual Fire; thus, Shi Hao had essentially mastered a type of Spiritual Fire.

This gave him the confidence to enhance his alchemy technique.

Furthermore, he wanted to use the Sunfire to "lure" the Cloud Flame Fire, which was something he needed to demonstrate.

Boom, the Sunfire blazed fiercely under Shi Hao’s control, waxing and waning in intensity.

What was the advantage?

If ordinary flames took about ten breaths to increase a Pill Furnace’s temperature from fifty to a thousand degrees, using Sunfire could reduce it to a single breath, or even just half a breath—could the difference be any greater?

With the aid of Spiritual Fire, Shi Hao’s alchemy speed was astonishing. He had completed the task in mere incense time.

"What, he finished that quickly?"

"That’s too fast."

"At this rate, most people would have only reached half the progress."

"Is this what they call a genius?"

The onlookers exclaimed in surprise; Shi Hao’s performance was indeed an eye-opener for them.

At a tavern far away, Qiao Junlin was also paying attention. Seeing Shi Hao finishing first and in a record-breaking manner, his pupils tightened.

He was determined to win this championship.

Because this was not just an empty title; it was the opportunity to obtain the Cloud Flame Fire, which no renowned Pill Master would overlook.

With the Cloud Flame Fire, one could elevate their Alchemy Dao by at least one level.

——It was said, Jiang Ming actually only had the ability of a four-star Pill Master but managed to step into the five-star realm thanks to the Cloud Flame Fire.

Qiao Junlin was full of ambition; he did not want to be just a five-star Pill Master, but to surpass his ancestors and step into the ranks of six-star!

Hence, he had to get the Cloud Flame Fire.

"This kid is too demonic, with him in the competition, the chances of being chosen by the Cloud Flame Fire are incredibly high."

"And with Yao’er so enchanted by him—hmpf, Shi Hao, how dare you compete with me, you’re on a path to self-destruction!"

Qiao Junlin’s expression was uncommonly cold and sinister; as the most outstanding member of the Qiao Family’s generation, he not only had astonishing Alchemy Dao talent but was also ruthless and decisive.

...

The referee came over, inspected the Elixir refined by Shi Hao, displayed it publicly, and then announced Shi Hao had passed.

In front of all these eyes, it was impossible to fake.

Shi Hao had no interest in watching the subsequent matches and returned directly.

Fu Yao’er and the other two ladies followed immediately; they naturally had no interest in the other contestants’ performances.

The next day, the third day, the first round of the knockout stages were fiery hot, but at that time, a rumor suddenly emerged.

——The murderer of Wu Guike was none other than Shi Hao!

At first, the rumor spread only within a limited scope, but it grew more intense as if someone was deliberately fanning the flames and spreading such a message.

Shi Hao guessed right away that this must be Qiao Junlin’s doing.

Besides him, there seemed to be no other enemies for Shi Hao here.

However, Qiao Junlin had actually guessed it correctly.

Following this, the Wu Family made a statement, demanding Shi Hao explain himself to the Wu Family within three days, or else... he would bear the consequences!