This unusual sight that suddenly appeared on the plaza had unexpectedly surprised Xiao Yan. Gazing at the array of astonished glances directed at him, he could only shrug helplessly, then waved his hand, sending the jade-blue flames into the cauldron. Only then did the flames held by the contestants return to their normal state. "This guy..." the young princess murmured, slightly frustrated. She had never personally witnessed the power of the unique flames, so she had always assumed her own "Qianlan Water Flame" was only slightly inferior to it. However, the extraordinary behavior of her flame earlier—clearly observable to anyone with a sharp eye—revealed that it was far from matching the strength of the unique flames. Otherwise, the obedient, submissive manner it displayed would not have been so evident. Compared to the little princess's disappointment, Liu Ling's face was slightly pale. This brown flame had been painstakingly obtained by his teacher, who had summoned several powerful beings, from a five-stage beast comparable in strength to a human Duke-level warrior. Yet, just as he had managed to bring it into play today, it had already bowed gracefully before another's flame—something that left him utterly speechless. "Hmph. What good is a beautiful flame if one cannot command it? In the end, one will only end up burning oneself out," said Yan Li, coldly, as he poured the black flame into the medicinal cauldron. ... On the field, as the unusual scene faded, the contestants gradually refocused their attention on the challenges ahead. They poured their flames into the cauldrons and then retrieved their herbs from their personal storage devices, beginning the first step of the process: refining the ingredients! Xiao Yan fixed his gaze on the cauldron, occasionally waving his hand to toss a few herbs from the stone platform into the pot, then carefully regulating the flame temperature to slowly extract and refine the essential essence required for the elixir, as specified in the detailed prescription. Though his mind was filled with an intricate formula, he remained utterly cautious. The materials he had prepared were limited to only three sets—any loss of a single herb due to oversight would significantly increase the risk of failure, something he absolutely could not tolerate. Even with his exceptional skill in controlling the Qinglian Earth-Heart Flame, he did not dare to pour all the herbs in at once, instead opting for a cautious, safe method of refining two herbs at a time. Few people shared Xiao Yan's thoughts. Even the young princess, Liu Ling, and the once-boastful and arrogant Yan Li now appeared serious, carefully controlling the intensity of the flames and cautiously extracting the essence from each herb. Everyone knew that losing just one herb at this moment would be deeply painful. "The Strange Fire is a rare treasure never possessed even by the Ancient Elder—its energy is far beyond that of the flames obtained from the beasts by the young princesses and her companions." Nalan Yanran smiled beside her. "Indeed," Nalan Jie nodded, then turned to Nalan Yanran, frowning, "Did the person who came from Yunlan Sect this morning urge you to return already?" "Yes." Nalan Yanran gave a slight nod. "Ah..." Nalan Jie sighed, her voice a bit low, "Is it because the three-year agreement has now come to an end?" "Heard this, Lan Yanran's hand, which had just been about to brush aside the strands of silvery hair at her forehead, slightly stiffened. She bit her lips and spoke softly, 'It must be for this reason...' 'Xiao Yan has been missing for nearly two years. I've already told you that when he left Wutan City, he had already gathered the spiraling energy and became a Battle User. Yet, this has only been less than a year. You must know how difficult it is for a Battle User to advance during the early stages of their journey. Yet he has risen remarkably in such a short span—this means his previously mysterious cultivation potential has returned...' Lan Jie exhaled deeply and said, 'Over the past two years, I've received no updates on him. However, judging by his cultivation talent, I believe he must have reached at least the Battle Master level...' Lan Yanran nodded in agreement." "Ah, I don't really want to say much more—what I say you won't listen to. But I hope, no matter who wins or loses in this three-year agreement, you'll find the courage to apologize to him." Nalan Jie rubbed his forehead, speaking with a sense of weariness. "Apologize?" Nalan frowned slightly, her brows furrowed, then fixed her gaze on Nalan Jie with a determined resolve. "I didn't do anything wrong! Why should I apologize?" "You could have gone to the Xiao family privately, spoken kindly to Xiao Zhan, and proposed to drop the engagement—perhaps that would have avoided all this turmoil. Instead, you chose to leverage the power of Yunlan Sect to pressure the Xiao family into withdrawing the engagement. You yourself know how much damage this has done to their reputation. Over the years, as your status has grown more prominent, you've simply been unwilling—and even reluctant—to offer an apology..." Nalan Jie gazed calmly at his granddaughter. "But do you realize that if this continues, it will only deepen the gap between Xiao Yan and you?" "Even if the gap grows wider, I and he will never be together. Since that's impossible, then how deep the gap matters?" Lan Yanran furrowed her brows, waving her hand to block Lan Jie, and softly said to her grandfather, "Grandfather, please don't worry about my matter. After all, once this three-year agreement is fulfilled, I'll have no further connection with him. My granddaughter isn't exactly without prospects—why keep thinking of him all the time? Alright, please stop. Just enjoy the match." With that, Lan Yanran turned her gaze toward the square, a gentle aura of ki flowing gently over her ears, clearly unwilling to hear any more of Lan Jie's chatter. Seeing her expression, Lan Jie, though somewhat annoyed, could only sigh and glare at her firmly before turning his eyes toward the square, resigned. … At this point, nearly half an hour had passed since the assessment began. On the plaza, several alchemists who had extracted fewer materials had completed their extractions and were now preparing for the next steps. Ignoring those who had finished, Xiao Yan fixed his gaze intently on the cauldron. With his left hand, he occasionally added a herb, while with his right hand, he swiftly drew out the already-extracted materials from the cauldron and transferred them into jade vials. As he worked busily, sweat gradually gathered on his forehead—though he didn’t pause to wipe it away. He finally added the last herb onto the cauldron’s surface, and after about ten minutes, carefully drew out the final batch of extracted materials and placed them into a jade vial. Seeing the smooth progress of the extraction process, Xiao Yan finally exhaled deeply, turned his head, and was somewhat surprised to find that Princess Xiao Ling, Liu Ling, and Yan Li had still not completed their extractions. "Hm, it seems the medicinal pills they're trying to concoct this time are of quite a high rank. Although the quantity of herbs extracted doesn't necessarily determine the pill's grade, generally speaking, the more complex and abundant the materials required, the higher the grade should be." After giving a slight shake of his head, Xiao Yan took a brief rest before settling into a serious expression and began the next step—melting the pills. A gentle flame rose slowly within the cauldron. Xiao Yan fixed his gaze tightly on the dancing flame, and after a moment, his hands suddenly began to move swiftly. One by one, he poured the refined essence materials he had previously prepared into the cauldron, causing the flame to surge upward and instantly envelop the materials. Closing his eyes, a powerful spiritual force radiated from the center of his forehead. Now, this spiritual energy poured out in full force—every subtle interaction among the materials within the cauldron was instantly transmitted to his mind, where it was rapidly compared against the reactions described in the prescription, allowing him to judge whether the alchemical process was proceeding correctly. As Xiao Yan began the process of refining the medicine, Princess Xiao, Liu Ling, and Yan Li also completed their material extractions without pause or delay. They immediately poured their refined materials into the cauldron and began the refining process right after. On the vast plaza, occasional dull thuds would resonate—sounds familiar to the alchemists, as each failed potion creation produced such exasperating noises. With every such sound, some contestants would grow disheartened and quietly depart. As a result, the number of participants on the plaza steadily diminished. The grand event seemed like a sieve with noticeable gaps, filtering out the smaller, less capable candidates, leaving behind only the rising stars among the younger generation. Time passed slowly, and even those contestants who had initially appeared composed began to show signs of mild breathlessness. The sustained physical strain proved deeply tiring. "Can you tell which of the potions they're preparing has a higher rank?" Hai Bo Dong walked slowly to Fa Ma's side, gazing at the plaza and murmuring the question. "It's not quite there yet..." Mafu shook his head, pondering. "But before Dan's formation is complete, certain clues begin to emerge. A fourth-rank pill, prior to taking its final shape, emits a distinct aroma—the stronger and more pronounced the aroma, the higher the quality of the pill. As for a fifth-rank pill, when it finally takes form, the concentrated energy within it becomes so intense that it generates tangible ripples of energy in the air..." Haimo Dong nodded slightly, silent, his hands resting behind him, patiently awaiting the conclusion of the competition. When time, once again, passed half an hour under the collective anticipation of countless spectators, Mafu's expression suddenly brightened. A look of delight spread across his weathered face, and his gaze shifted toward Xiao Yan's direction—there, within the dark red cauldron, a delicate fragrance was slowly rising and spreading. "This young one is forming his pill quite swiftly!" Indeed, the other flames are no ordinary thing... The subtle aroma seeping from the medicine pot in Xiao Yin's hands was also noticed by Princess Liu Ling and Yan Li, who stood nearby. While the former two were slightly astonished, Yan Li, after inhaling several deep breaths of the fragrance, merely sneered. At this concentration, the aroma fell far short of the quality of the pills he had just prepared. If this were the best the man could offer, then this championship title would undoubtedly belong to him, Yan Li. Staring intently at the swirling emerald elixir in the cauldron, Xiao Yan inhaled the fragrant aroma drifting out and shook his head slightly. This ordinary three-ringed Qingling Elixir—winning with it would be quite difficult. "We'll have to go all out," he murmured, then deeply breathed in the air laced with the scent. With his right hand, he swiftly retrieved a pale purple pill from his storage amulet and placed it in his mouth, gently chewing it. At the same time, the soul energy controlling the emerald flame suddenly contracted. As the soul energy withdrew, the vigorous emerald flame quietly diminished with a soft "pffft." Just as the emerald flame was about to vanish, Xiao Yan opened his mouth, and a burst of purple flame shot out, then surged into the cauldron. "This little one... seems determined to create a two-ringed elixir?" Watching Xiao Yan’s actions, the heart that had just relaxed once again tightened in Mapha’s chest. He knew well that if Xiao Yan were to win, it would not be enough to rely solely on the ordinary San-Wen Qing-Ling Pills. Each time the flame transitioned, it would be the most difficult to master—indeed, even when he himself first attempted the process, he had failed several times before finally succeeding. Xiao Yan, however, had only received the prescription overnight, and still hadn’t fully grasped many of its critical aspects. After all, no matter how talented he might be, it would be impossible to thoroughly study and master a Fourth-Rank prescription within such a short timeframe. His gaze was fixed firmly on the central plaza, where the deep purple flame of the medicinal cauldron was nearly bursting free from the lid, its heat making the air around the stone platform seem slightly ethereal. The commotion had immediately drawn countless eyes from the audience seats; upon seeing Xiao Yan's flushed, perspiring face, they all murmured in astonishment. "Ah... it's failed..." After a moment of feeling the increasingly turbulent energy, Fama sighed softly, a touch of bitterness etched upon his weathered features. Not long after Fama's words, a deep, resonant sound suddenly erupted from within the cauldron before Xiao Yan, sharp and piercing. The purple flame gently faded, and delicate black ashes began to spill out from within. "Ah..." Upon hearing the sound, a wave of sympathetic sighs rose up from both sides of the audience.