On the vast plaza, two figures stood facing each other, each holding a swirling flame—deep blue and purple respectively. As the flames danced and surged, their intense heat caused the space around them to subtly warp and shimmer. Watching the two hues of flame in their hands, the spectators fell into quiet silence. Only after a while did someone finally exclaim in awe. "How can Xiao Yan summon a tangible flame like this? Isn't that something only alchemists or warriors at the level of Duke or above can achieve?" "Could it be that this guy is also an alchemist?" "The purple flame—truly beautiful." Across the plaza, a continuous stream of voices rose—some in wonder, others in doubt. "How can this young man possess such flames?" Watching the developments on the field, Xiao Yu was also slightly taken aback. After a moment, she suddenly murmured, "Ah, right—when we left, I seemed to have heard that this young lad had a mysterious alchemy master as a teacher. Now it seems he must indeed be an alchemist himself. That explains how he can summon a tangible flame of the same nature as Lu Mu." At the side, Xun, who had been intently observing the scene, nodded slightly. Having heard Ling Ying's report, she now clearly understood that if Xiao Yin fully deployed all his reserves, he would likely defeat nearly any peer of his level within the academy. Though Lu Mu was undoubtedly a rare talent, he still posed only a moderate challenge to Xiao Yin. Today's Xiao Yin had long surpassed the once-undeserving, often mocked and overlooked youth from the Xiao family. His current cultivation potential would surely leave everyone in awe! On the other side of the stand, Bai Shan's expression grew slightly gloomier after Xiao Yan summoned the purple flame—something he hadn't anticipated. "Hehe, Yunshan, don't worry. Even if that guy possesses a flame similar to Lu Mu's, he won't be able to match you. Back then, didn't Lu Mu himself fall to your hands despite his blue crystal flame?" As Yunshan's expression darkened, a slightly servile laugh echoed from beside him. Turning to see, he found it was a group of classmates he'd always been close with. Though accustomed to these well-worn, familiar compliments, Yunshan didn't show any visible delight—merely nodded, and said softly, "Lu Mu's blue crystal flame was indeed formidable. I did defeat him, but that was partly due to good fortune. What I'm still unsure about is whether it was his blue crystal flame that truly stood out, or whether Xiao Yan's purple flame surpassed it even more." "Regardless of who wins, once they meet Yunshan uncles, they'll inevitably face elimination. At that point, Xun'er will surely recognize Yunshan's outstanding qualities. With her seemingly composed yet actually proud demeanor, she'd certainly never choose to stand beside a loser. And thus, Yunshan will achieve his wish. White Shan smiled pleasantly—his well-rehearsed words never grew tiresome, especially now, when he particularly enjoyed hearing others praise him in front of Xiao Yan. "Xiao Yan, I hope you can defeat Lu Mu. Otherwise, I'll lose a significant part of my enjoyment. I'll completely defeat you before Xun'er's eyes, and I want you to never appear before her again!" A quiet, bitter chuckle stirred within him, yet the warmth of his smile gradually spread across his face. He stood with his arms folded, gazing calmly at the scene before him. By the side, the red-robed girl had also been slightly astonished by the purple flame generated by Xiao Yan, but quickly recovered, murmuring softly to herself before once again focusing her attention on the match. Compared to the earlier contests, Xiao Yan’s duel against Lu Mu undoubtedly promised the most compelling spectacle—something even the proud young woman could not deny. "Fire Old Man, what do you think? Can you identify the origin of Xiao Yan’s purple flame?" the vice dean asked the quiet elder seated on the left, with a warm smile. "Based on what he consumed earlier, it appears to be a pill or tonic infused with an intense, turbulent flame essence. I hadn’t expected him to come up with such a method—though it seems simple, it’s actually quite difficult to control. If Xiao Yan intends to rely solely on this flame to counter Lu Mu’s blue crystal flame, he may face some challenges." "The elder known as the Flame Elder paused slightly, then spoke slowly. While the senior leadership of the Cangnan Academy was well-informed about most of Xiao Yan's achievements, their knowledge remained largely superficial—details such as Xiao Yan's mastery of flame techniques were still rather limited. Even with their impressive intelligence network, the Academy could not keep abreast of every development occurring deep within the vast realm of Jima. Due to the pressing urgency, the information they had about Xiao Yan largely stemmed from grassroots reports gathered by their field agents among the common people. In these often-misreported circles, many of Xiao Yan's personal attributes had not yet spread widely. Consequently, even among the senior officials who had received some information about him, they were entirely unaware of the extent of Xiao Yan's command over flame. This very fact would undoubtedly leave them deeply impressed today!" On the plaza, Lu Mu gradually regained his composure from the shock brought by Xiao Yan's purple flame, and gave the black-robed young man a deep gaze. He smiled, saying, "I didn't expect to meet a fellow traveler. I believe you must also be a pharmacist, right?" Xiao Yan nodded slightly, without denying. "Though I don't know your exact pharmacist rank, I'd wager you're at least in the second tier—such talent is truly astonishing." Lu Mu sighed lightly, then his blue flame gently swayed as he fixed his eyes intently upon it. After a moment, a surge of determined battle spirit radiated from within him. "Xiao Yan, give it your all now. Let me see just how refined your mastery of flame manipulation has become!" Lu Mu took a deep breath, suddenly lifted his head, and roared with fierce determination. As a master alchemist, he could overlook falling short in terms of qi strength, but when it came to handling fire—this was where he held his own pride. With the roar echoing, a surge of vibrant blue flames erupted from his palms, coalescing into two round, flowing arcs of blue fire that encircled him like two living, agile blue serpents, weaving gracefully around him and shielding him from all sides. Xiao Yan gently aligned his long fingers, then pulled them apart. Between his fingers, ten slender purple flames shimmered like tiny whips, twisting and intertwining into a long, vibrant purple whip. When the whip shook and struck the ground, a deep, scorched black streak appeared instantly on the solid stone surface. Watching the two combatants display their flame-control abilities with a grace and beauty akin to a performance, countless spectators on the stands were left in awe, with several girls even gazing at them with sparkling eyes. This blend of beauty and elegance had sparked an endless admiration for the noble profession of alchemists. Noticing the exceptionally long flame whip in Xiao Yan's hands, Lu Mu's eyes flashed with surprise—his expectations of the flame manipulation were exceeded, though if it were only that, the performance would still fall within manageable limits. With a subtle twist of his feet and a slight lift of his heel, Lu Mu suddenly plunged forward, his body transforming into a streak of blue as he surged directly at Xiao Yan. "Shhh!" As Lu Mu charged straight at him, Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow, vibrating his arm, and instantly sending the purple flame whip shooting out as a blurred purple silhouette. The intense heat carried a strange, boiling-oil-meeting-ice sound as it sliced through the air. The Purple Flame Lasso moved with exceptional speed, yet as it was about to strike Landu's body, the two blue flame arcs swirling around his surface suddenly accelerated, crashing into the lasso with tremendous force. Instantly, countless sparks erupted between the two streams of flame. The sparks lasted only a moment, and then the blue silhouette surged forth once more—Landu's blue flame arcs had completely repelled Xiao Yan's Purple Flame Lasso! With his foot tip shooting forward into the three-meter radius around Xiao Yan, Landu smiled gently, then opened and closed his hands, causing the blue flames to surge forth and rapidly spin, forming within a brief span a spiral cone of flame just the size of a palm. "Heh, Xiao Yan, this is a unique attack skill of our Alchemy Department—our Alchemists channel fire to transform it into energy, producing power that rivals even combat techniques. In our department, we call it the 'Dan Fire Technique.' " The spiral flame cone emitted a whistling sound in Lu Mu's palm. With a smile, Lu Mu suddenly slammed his palm against Xiao Yan's chest. The sharp tip of the cone pointed directly at Xiao Yan. Due to its high-speed rotation, blue wind patterns spiraled out and formed vortex-like patterns at the very tip of the cone. "Dan Fire Technique? It's clear the herbal medicine faculty has some depth—allowing a pharmacist's flame to be used so effectively! That's precisely why even my teacher holds the Gan'an Academy in such high regard. Indeed, there are truly outstanding qualities here!" Clearly sensing the terrifying energy carried by the spiraling flame cone rushing toward him, Xiao Yan was struck with astonishment. With a mere thought, the purple flame whip in his hand instantly contracted into a compact cluster of purple flame. The flames surged rapidly, and under the near-supernatural strength of his soul, they split in a matter of seconds—half of the flame was forcibly shaped into a solid purple flame curtain, while the other portion quietly slid down his arm, finally slumping like a lifeless serpent to the ground, unnoticed by anyone. At that moment, the spiraling flame cone, accompanied by a sharp rushing sound, slammed hard into the flame curtain, triggering a violent explosion that sent out a wave of dual-colored flames radiating outward from the center of the plaza. The heat surged forth instantly, sweeping across the entire arena, and the students on the surrounding stands instinctively turned their faces to shield themselves from the sudden wave of warmth. The scene: as the wave of flame erupted, a blue silhouette suddenly shot backward, sliding several meters across the ground before pausing to look toward where the flame was gradually fading. Eventually, the flame vanished completely—yet no trace of any person remained. With some difficulty, Lu Mu turned around and spotted Xiao Yan who had appeared behind him at an unknown moment. Xiao Yan was now slightly opening his right palm, and as his fingers moved, Lu Mu clearly felt the fire bands on his arms and feet gently pulsing. "Wait—this guy... he's actually able to manipulate the flames with such precision?" Looking at Xiao Yan, who stood over ten meters away and yet managed to control the detached flames with just his hands, Lu Mu's eyes widened in astonishment. At that distance, even a typical fourth-rank alchemy specialist would find it impossible! On the plaza, Xiao Yan stood about fifteen meters from Lu Mu, while Lu Mu himself remained rigid, standing motionless. Several purple flame bands flowed steadily over his body, like ropes, gently restraining him and preventing any movement. At this moment, the students who had just turned their heads aside due to the surge of flames now glanced back at the plaza and were immediately struck by this strange scene, their faces filled with astonishment. Only a few spectators on the stands clearly saw how Lu Mu had fallen—indeed, even figures like Bai Shan and others failed to notice it, leaving Lu Mu himself equally bewildered. "Good lad—dividing the flames into two: one to serve as a defensive barrier, drawing Lu Mu's attention, the other to sink beneath the ground, setting up traps that wait for him to step right into them. Though the traps were rather crude, during such a critical moment, with the flames themselves masking his movements, how could he possibly focus on his footing? To manage such dual concentration—distracted yet effective—requires considerable spiritual strength. Indeed, Xiao Yan has truly earned his reputation as the former champion of the Jamu Empire's Alchemy Grand Championship." The elderly man seated in the central stand exhaled slowly, his face aglow with admiration. "I've lost..." Land trembling, unable to move, after a long pause, Lu Mu finally sighed and turned to Xiao Yan, speaking with a bitter tone. As the referee's announcement settled, a thunderous wave of cheers erupted from the stands—today's fiery showdown between alchemists had truly opened their eyes! From this battle, the name Xiao Yan began to spread throughout the entire academy. Only now, the doubts about Xun'er's judgment started to fade away. After all, someone who excels not only in combat potential but also in alchemical skill—such a rare combination—was hard to find even when compared to the entire outer academy of Cana! Today, Xiao Yan had truly made his mark.