"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How could that waste possibly pull this off?" Nangong Baixue’s brow furrowed tightly. She couldn't process it. She glanced over at Ye Chen, who was sitting cross-legged, eyes closed, cultivating.

Nangong Baixue bit her lip. "Such theatrics! That waste, Ye Chen, is getting more and more pretentious. What could he possibly cultivate in such a short time?"

Several hours later, the disciples emerged from the barrier. Everyone was complaining that the Spirit Herb Mastery test had been brutally difficult.

A few geniuses from the Yao Family looked solemn. "I only managed to complete eighty percent of the questions this time! It was too hard!"

Another genius countered, "If the test is hard for everyone, it serves to separate the truly talented. If it were easy, how could we distinguish the levels of Spirit Herb Mastery?"

A young woman from the Yao Family smiled faintly. "If even our Yao Family only managed eighty percent, the talents from other factions must have performed far worse!" They immediately turned their gaze toward the Pill Fragrance Sect.

The disciples of the Pill Fragrance Sect wore expressions of bitter defeat. The alchemist prodigies from the other factions were clutching their heads, looking utterly devastated.

Just then, Gu Yuefang, Pill Saint Yunyang, Dan Xiangzi, and the others rose into the air. Boom! Boom! Boom! Divine light surged above the void, and the pressure of Profound Saints was vast as the ocean.

Gu Yuefang swept his gaze over the disciples below and smiled faintly. "The difficulty of this Spirit Herb Mastery test was indeed immense! If you completed seventy percent, your mastery is considered superior. If you completed eighty percent, your Spirit Herb Mastery is profound!"

Hearing this, the Yao Family geniuses finally smiled. Profound! They hadn't disgraced their family.

Gu Yuefang flicked his sleeve, and a dazzling spirit-rune ranking list appeared in the sky.

"First Place: Grand Dao Sect, Ye Chen!"

"Second Place: Yao Family, Yao Huanhuan!"

"Third Place: Yao Family, Yao Beixuan!"

"Fourth Place: Pill Fragrance Sect, Luo Yin!"

"..."

The crowd instantly erupted in an uproar. The top ten were almost entirely dominated by the Yao Family and the Pill Fragrance Sect—six from the Yao Family, three from the Pill Fragrance Sect.

Nangong Baixue desperately scanned the list for her name, finally finding herself at the three-hundredth position. She looked thoroughly miserable. "I'm not that weak! This ranking must be flawed."

Meanwhile, all the alchemist prodigies were staring at Ye Chen in utter disbelief. Ye Chen was first in Spirit Herb Mastery?

Yao Huanhuan slowly stood up and bowed respectfully to Gu Yuefang. "Senior Gu, may I ask how many questions Ye Chen answered correctly?"

Gu Yuefang chuckled. "All of them! A perfect score!"

A perfect score! The venue fell into a dead silence. How could this be possible? Yao Huanhuan was hailed as the Yao Family's once-in-a-millennium alchemy genius, a walking "Herbal Encyclopedia" who had memorized the Yao Family's herbal scripture. If even she only completed four hundred questions, how could Ye Chen have finished every single one?

Suddenly, Nangong Baixue leaped to her feet, pointing at Ye Chen. "Master, I believe Ye Chen cheated!"

Hearing the accusation, Pill Saint Yunyang looked deeply embarrassed and sent a spiritual sense transmission to Nangong Baixue: "Sit down!"

Nangong Baixue frowned slightly but didn't move. She glared at Ye Chen. "Ye Chen, if you're a man, admit you cheated!"

Ye Chen merely responded with two cold words: "Idiot."

At that moment, Dan Xiangzi spoke calmly. "Ye Chen did not cheat." He turned his gaze to Nangong Baixue. "Instead of tearing others down, focus on improving yourself! That is all this old man has to say."

The statement instantly drew all eyes to Nangong Baixue. Her face flushed crimson, and she slumped onto the ground, utterly mortified. She couldn't believe it. How could that waste, Ye Chen, get a perfect score? When had Ye Chen even become an alchemist?

Moments later, Gu Yuefang swept his sleeve and announced, "The second round, the Alchemy Competition, now begins! Three hundred alchemists have advanced!"

Nangong Baixue was, ironically, the very last name on the list.

Yao Huanhuan looked at Ye Chen and smiled faintly. "I look forward to seeing Ye Chen's actual pill refining skill."

Yao Baili smiled warmly. "This young man is indeed promising." After all, Spirit Herb Mastery was only theory.

Soon, the three hundred advanced alchemists walked toward the barrier. Nangong Baixue shot a look of pure hatred at Ye Chen. "Ye Chen, I won't let you get away with this," she muttered. During pill refining, one could engage in Soul Combat. She planned to use it to cripple Ye Chen! Her trip to the Grand Dao Sect had been nothing but public humiliation, all thanks to this waste! She shuddered to think what Qin Xiao would say if he ever found out.

The three hundred alchemist prodigies quickly entered the barrier. Gu Yuefang stated, "You have four days to refine any pill you wish. We will judge your results based on the pill's grade, medicinal potency, difficulty, and overall quality."

As his voice faded, everyone immediately summoned their alchemy furnaces, warming them up while preparing their spirit herbs. Ye Chen looked up at the sky. "Peak Master Gu, could I borrow a cauldron and a spirit fire?"

The crowd froze. Ye Chen didn't have a cauldron or spirit fire?

Nangong Baixue sneered. "You didn't even prepare a cauldron or spirit fire? Why bother refining pills? What a disgrace!"

Gu Yuefang looked from Ye Chen to Lu Xuan, his face a mask of utter frustration. "Peak Master Lu, what kind of master are you? Where are Ye Chen's cauldron and spirit fire?"

Lu Xuan was dumbfounded. Wait, what? How is this my fault? I'm getting blamed for this, too?

With a wave of his hand, Gu Yuefang sent a Storage Ring flying toward Ye Chen. Ye Chen caught the ring, and his spiritual sense probed inside, causing a slight shock. The ring contained a Saint-tier alchemy cauldron, a Profound Venerate-tier Beast Fire, and a massive quantity of spirit herbs!

Ye Chen bowed respectfully. "Thank you, Peak Master Gu!"

Gu Yuefang simply nodded. Ye Chen silently apologized in his heart: "Master, my fault!"

He summoned the Saint-tier cauldron and began warming it up while preparing the herbs. Ye Chen's movements were fluid and graceful, like flowing water. The spirit fire enveloped the cauldron, radiating a faint, steady light.

For this round, he planned to refine an Earth-tier Fifth-grade pill, the Earth Essence Pill, a highly sought-after elixir that nourished the soul and consolidated one's cultivation foundation.

In the sky, Yao Baili watched Ye Chen's movements with astonishment. "How is Ye Chen's fire control so skilled? It's already approaching Perfected Mastery!"

Dan Xiangzi frowned slightly. "His technique is extraordinary, completely natural. Others couldn't achieve this without a century of experience!"

Cang Li snorted. "Peak Master Gu, you've been hiding this one deep!"

Gu Yuefang forced a strained smile. I genuinely know nothing! I'm completely in the dark about Ye Chen! How the hell did this kid learn all this?

At the same time, Nangong Baixue secretly transmitted a message to a dozen fellow disciples from the Supreme Profound Sect. "For the price of half a Saint Soldier, I need you to attack Ye Chen later! Cripple him!"

The disciples hesitated. "On the Grand Dao Sect's turf? Isn't that risky?"

Nangong Baixue immediately upped the ante. "One full Saint Soldier each! Plus two hundred thousand high-grade Spirit Stones! Just cripple Ye Chen!" Hearing the exorbitant price, they instantly agreed. Nangong Baixue instructed, "We'll strike when Ye Chen reaches the critical moment of his pill refinement!" "Understood," they replied.

Several hours passed. Ye Chen began extracting the essence from the spirit herbs, feeding them one by one into the cauldron. His hand seals shifted rapidly, and the spirit fire changed shape continuously, tempering the herbal essence. Wisps of fragrant mist slowly drifted from the cauldron.

Dan Xiangzi looked astonished. "Look at Ye Chen's refining technique! I've never seen anything like it!"

Yao Baili and Pill Saint Yunyang scrutinized the process, and tidal waves of shock crashed in their hearts. Ye Chen's technique was perfectly natural, emanating a trace of Dao and Essence! How was this possible? Ye Chen wasn't a Heaven-tier Alchemist! Only Heaven-tier Alchemists could achieve that!

Cang Li’s eyes darkened. "This isn't Gu Yuefang's lineage, nor the Yao Family's, nor the Pill Fragrance Sect's... I have never witnessed such a refining method!"

With that, Cang Li immediately sat cross-legged, intently studying Ye Chen's pill refining. His hands began to mimic Ye Chen's seals, attempting to replicate the technique! After just a few dozen breaths, Cang Li suddenly burst into loud laughter. "Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! To think that coming to the Grand Dao Sect would yield such an unexpected treasure!" Streams of brilliant light erupted from his body—he had entered a state of enlightenment!

Dan Xiangzi looked thoughtful, then also sat down cross-legged, divine radiance emanating from him as he began to comprehend Ye Chen's technique. Boom! Boom! In an instant, dozens of alchemists in the sky all sat down. They had all realized that Ye Chen's refining method contained profound, ultimate wisdom! The more they watched, the more terrified they became, as if they were watching a Pill Emperor at work!

Seeing this spectacle, the alchemists watching from the ground were stunned. Why had all the Heaven-tier Alchemists suddenly entered enlightenment? Then, someone gasped in shock. "Look closely! Elder Cang Li, Senior Dan Xiangzi—their hand seals are exactly the same as Ye Chen's!"

Everyone immediately compared Ye Chen's movements to those of the Heaven-tier Alchemists. They were dumbfounded! How was this possible? A group of Heaven-tier Alchemists were learning alchemy from Ye Chen?

In the next moment, someone else sat down and began replicating Ye Chen's hand seals, breathing heavily. "Ye Chen's technique is too profound! It's interwoven with Dao and Essence! If I can comprehend even a fraction of it, my alchemy skills will advance immensely!"

As the words spread, other alchemists followed suit. Above and below, everyone was imitating Ye Chen's refining method! Tens of thousands of alchemists moved in perfect, synchronized imitation of Ye Chen!

Ye Chen performed a slow-motion move with his left hand, then his right, and tens of thousands of alchemists followed, left hand, right hand, slow motion. The synchronization was absolute! Only Lu Xuan watched the crowd with a look of utter bewilderment. What a beautiful scene!

Lu Xuan couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Come, draw a dragon with me on the left, come, draw a rainbow on the right..." In this corner of the world, every single alchemist looked utterly possessed. Lu Xuan sat leisurely in the center of the chaos, looking completely out of place!

This astonishing event immediately alerted Elder Mu, the Cangxuan Old Ancestor, the Sect Master, and the other supreme elders. Boom! The Cangxuan Old Ancestor and the others descended into the deep void. They watched the scene below with profound shock. The Sect Master’s body trembled slightly. "Ye Chen's alchemy technique... it caused such a massive sensation? These Heaven-tier Alchemists are actually learning from him?"