Around the arena, candidates began picking up their trays and selecting their ingredients with hurried hands.
Gao Tian did the same, his fingers moving calmly as he examined and collected the components laid before him.
He picked out:
1. Three pieces of Spirit Grass Root
2. Two Azure Cloud Leaves
3. One radiant Golden Sun Flower
4. A pinch of Earth Marrow Dust
5. A small spoon of Refined Beast Bone Ash—harvested from a rank-two beast
6. Powder from one crushed Low-grade Spirit Stone
Holding the ingredients in his palm, Gao Tian stared at them thoughtfully.
Yes, this should be the combination. Yang Kai once explained the formula for a Heaven Ascension Pill. If I remember it right, I can make this.
A shadow of weariness flickered across his face.
That guy made me memorize over a hundred thousand ingredients and the pills they could produce. Every night I thought my head would explode.
Tong Lin's voice suddenly echoed through the arena.
"So, has everyone selected their ingredients?"
A resounding shout erupted from the contestants: "Yes!"
Tong Lin nodded and announced with a grin, "Then let the Pill Refining Competition begin!"
The stands erupted into cheers and whistles. Excitement coursed through the spectators as the cauldrons ignited with spiritual fire and the scent of herbs began to fill the air.
Candidates swiftly placed ingredients into their cauldrons. Some refined them one by one with careful control, while others risked refining two at once in an attempt to save time.
Shu Yu stood silently in her section of the arena, her expression blank but focused. She moved her hands with sharp precision, placing three ingredients at once into her cauldron, her spiritual fire weaving around them like threads of light.
Meanwhile, Gao Tian had yet to start.
He stood still, looking down at his ingredients and the tray as if lost in another world.
The woman from the Pill Tower standing before him began to feel a growing concern.
Why isn't he refining? Does he not know how? Or is he just wasting time?
Gao Tian's eyes were locked on the ingredients, deep in thought.
I have so many high-level alchemy techniques… what if this weak cauldron can't handle them?
He closed his eyes for a moment and sorted through his thoughts.
Yang Kai… what did you teach me that might work here…? Think Huan Li… oh! That's right.
His eyes opened with a spark of realization.
"I'll use the Nine Serenities Secret Records of Alchemy: First Part."
It was a rare technique passed down by Yang Kai himself—a method said to be created by him after years of studying heavenly herbs and demonic fire.
The Nine Serenities was a complete alchemy scripture. Each record was more profound than the last. The First Part was simple and stable, ideal for basic tier pills and low-grade cauldrons.
But from the outside, Gao Tian looked completely idle. The Pill Tower woman raised her brows.
Ten minutes have passed… and he still hasn't started refining.
Just then, a loud BOOM rang out from beside Gao Tian. A cloud of black smoke shot into the air as one candidate's cauldron exploded violently, scattering half-cooked herbs across the floor.
One by one, more explosions erupted across the arena.
Bang. Bang. BOOM.
Cauldrons cracked, flames burst out, ingredients were scorched and wasted.
Screams and cries echoed through the space as spiritual backlash caused some contestants to collapse to the ground, clutching their arms or coughing violently.
Tong Lin stepped forward and raised his voice, his tone now stern.
"All candidates whose cauldrons have exploded—step behind me. You are disqualified."
Dozens of participants hung their heads in shame. Some cursed themselves under their breath, others wiped tears from their eyes. One or two threw their trays to the ground in frustration.
They walked slowly behind Tong Lin, joining the line of the fallen.
But Gao Tian remained still, calm as water, untouched by the chaos around him.
The woman before him stared in disbelief.
Is he going to start… or is he going to wait until every other cauldron explodes first?
He simply exhaled, gathered his spiritual power, and the blue flame under his cauldron flickered to life—gentle and steady.
Gao Tian narrowed his eyes and gazed into the gentle flame flickering beneath his cauldron.
"I'll use the low-grade Blue Azure Flame," he whispered to himself.
In an instant, a vibrant blue fire surged up from beneath the cauldron, its color as clear as a sapphire lake under moonlight. The flame wasn't wild, but the moment it appeared, an invisible pressure swept across the entire arena.
All eyes turned toward Gao Tian.
Even Shu Yu, who had been fully immersed in her refining, instinctively looked up. Her usually calm expression faltered for a fraction of a second.
Ruler Dog's sharp eyes suddenly shifted, locking onto a familiar yet shocking sight—blue flames flickering gently around one figure in the arena.
It was Gao Tian.
The pup's golden pupils constricted slightly, a flicker of disbelief crossing his usually expressionless face.
That flame... Blue Azure Flame?
Impossible.
He sat up slightly straighter on Shu Yu's head, his fluffy ears twitching.
That's a low-grade flame back in the Immortal World... barely worth noticing.
But here… in this lower realm… it's low-grade in Immortal World... but it's the strongest flame that exists in this world. It shouldn't be in his hands.
Whispers burst out like wildfire.
"What is that flame? It looks terrifying!"
"Yeah, the moment it appeared… I could feel it crawling on my skin like it wanted to devour me alive!"
"My legs… I can't move! Somebody help me!"
Among the candidates, murmurs turned to panicked conversations.
"His flame… it's affecting mine."
"My fire won't even ignite! What kind of monster is that guy?"
"Even my spirit feels like it's bowing to his flame. This is insane."
High above the arena, within the observation pavilion, Sen Zhuo leaned forward with intrigue glinting in his eyes.
"That boy is… exceptionally talented. How is someone using such a powerful flame at his age?"
Tong Men, standing beside him, folded his arms with a frown.
"Maybe he's just showing off—warning the others that they don't stand a chance."
Back in the arena, emotions were mixed. Some candidates clenched their fists in anger, their pride burning hotter than their flames. Others were paralyzed by fear, unsure whether to continue or give up.
Yet amidst the stir, Shu Yu forced herself to regain composure. She turned her attention back to her own cauldron. Flames wrapped around her ingredients with elegant precision.
Her own fire wasn't to be underestimated.
A golden-brown flame danced around her hands—her Tianlei family's ancestral flame, known as the Inferno Dragon Flame. It roared like a hidden beast, its essence proud and noble.
But even with her pride in that flame, she couldn't help but think—
Gao Tian is not simple at all. How can someone from a mid-grade clan wield such a terrifying flame? If I didn't have my family's flame… I might already have lost the competition.
Meanwhile, the woman from the Pill Tower standing in front of Gao Tian began to tremble slightly, even though she was a cultivator in her own right.
Why… why does my spiritual energy feel like it's being consumed? I'm not weak… but why does this flame make me feel so small?
But Gao Tian paid no attention to the chaos around him.
His focus was locked.
He didn't hesitate. With calm precision, he placed all six ingredients into the cauldron at once—Spirit Grass Root, Azure Cloud Leaf, Golden Sun Flower, Earth Marrow Dust, Refined Beast Bone Ash, and the crushed Spirit Stone Powder—all in a single breath.
The Pill Tower woman's eyes widened.
He's crazy! Refining all ingredients at the same time is suicidal. He'll blow the cauldron to pieces!
Just as she took a step back, preparing for the worst, a strange phenomenon unfolded.
Gao Tian placed his palm gently against the cauldron and whispered softly.
"Nine Serenities Secret Records of Alchemy—First Part."
A spiritual ripple pulsed through the air behind him.
From the void, a small blue spiritual dragon emerged—no bigger than a cat, but crackling with silent power. Its eyes were bright like twin stars, and its body coiled gracefully around the cauldron.
The moment the dragon circled it once, the blue flame stabilized, wrapping around the cauldron like a protective veil.
Gao Tian then sat cross-legged before it, his fingers forming seals with practiced grace.
The entire arena fell into stunned silence.
Then the audience erupted.
"Did you see that?! A spiritual dragon appeared!"
"What kind of alchemy technique is that?!"
"He just tossed in all the ingredients and it's working! How?!"
Sen Zhuo stood up from his chair.
"This… this is unheard of."
Even Tong Lin, standing centerstage, couldn't help but murmur aloud.
"Just what kind of monster is he…"
Gao Tian, eyes closed, continued refining—calm and silent amidst the storm.