Chapter 115: Moisture-Aperture Pill

Although the man before them had only pointed out the flaws in three alchemists' pill refining, the ability he displayed filled everyone with fear and panic.

Not to mention anything else, just now with Cheng Jiang, who moved so fast and refined pills in such a short time, he was able to observe every move, analyze the origin of each technique, and successfully deduce that he had stolen techniques from others...

This alone, in terms of insight and knowledge, was beyond anyone else's reach.

"Three alchemists have conceded. There are seven left. Who will go first?"

Seeing no one speak, Zhang Xuan continued to look around.

In the Pill Debate, all ten alchemists must concede; otherwise, it wouldn't count as passing.

"This..."

The remaining seven remained silent.

It was one thing that the opponent had sharp eyes, but the three alchemists he had just spoken of—one was publicly exposed for wearing a green hat, another was on the verge of death, and the last had lost all reputation...

They had only come to participate in the Pill Debate, not to be exposed to the point of utter disgrace!

But with the opponent's eyesight so formidable, any slight disturbance in mood would be detected. In such a situation, who would dare to step forward?

Moreover... in the Pill Debate, one couldn't concede without even competing!

Doing so would be equivalent to going easy or cheating. Once discovered by the headquarters, they would surely be stripped of their alchemist qualifications.

Thus, none of the remaining seven dared to be the first to stick their neck out.

"Everyone, please hurry up. We can't keep dragging this out forever!"

Sensing the awkwardness of the situation, Ouyang Cheng couldn't help but speak up.

"I'll go!"

After a moment of silence, Alchemist Du Man stood up.

He had some acquaintance with Zhang Xuan and had even made a bet with him. He had thought the latter was just an arrogant brat who didn't know his place, never dreaming he possessed such insight and ability!

Even he himself was far inferior.

Still, there was no choice; they couldn't just stay here forever.

"Alchemist Du Man, hold on. Let me go first!"

Just as Du Man was about to start refining pills for Zhang Xuan to point out flaws, an old man stood up.

"It's Alchemist Bai Ming!"

"Zhang Xuan just exposed Cheng Jiang for stealing his Thousand Silk Phantom Hand technique. He must be quite angry. Why is he stepping in now?"

"I don't know. Let's watch!"

...

Seeing this old man, everyone felt a shiver.

Alchemist Bai Ming, though not the oldest or most senior among them, was undoubtedly the most prestigious.

Because he was not only an alchemist but also the actual head of the Bai family, one of the four great families of Tianxuan City.

He wielded considerable power and influence behind the scenes.

"Since Alchemist Bai is stepping up, I'll watch for now."

Alchemist Du Man sat down.

Compared to this Bai Ming, he was slightly inferior in both seniority and status.

"Zhang Xuan, your eyesight is indeed good, and your analytical skills are strong. However... you are merely taking shortcuts, not truly understanding much about alchemy!" Having chosen his opponent, Bai Ming looked at Zhang Xuan, his tone unfriendly.

No wonder he was angry. Having his family's secret manual stolen during his birthday celebration was bad enough, but being publicly exposed also caused him a great loss of face.

After all, the mighty Bai family couldn't even stop an alchemist; if word got out, it would only bring shame.

"Taking shortcuts? What makes you say that, Alchemist Bai?"

Zhang Xuan was slightly taken aback.

"Simple. Just now, with Meng Yan, Chen Xiao, and Cheng Jiang, the flaws you mentioned—though they hold up at first glance—if you think carefully, could easily have been deduced by backward reasoning, based on prior knowledge of their character flaws and recent events!"

Bai Ming snorted.

"Backward reasoning?"

"Exactly! Now that Alchemist Bai mentions it, I've thought of it too!"

"Yes, take Meng Yan for example. If you knew in advance that he had killed his concubine that morning and had murderous intent and anger in him, you could easily conclude that his Tranquil Heart Pill would be ineffective!"

"The same goes for Alchemist Chen Xiao. Knowing he was ill and had little time left, you could naturally point out problems with his pill. The Tranquil Heart Pill reflects one's state of mind. If you knew these things in advance, even a pig could tell something was wrong with the pill!"

"Now that you mention it, I understand a bit more. If he had prepared in advance and knew that Cheng Jiang had stolen techniques from all of us, it would be simple to guess which ones he had borrowed!"

...

Bai Ming's words were like a stone thrown into a still lake, stirring a thousand ripples. Everyone suddenly had a 'revelation,' as if they understood something.

Earlier, they had been terrified because they couldn't understand how he saw those flaws. Now that they knew the 'reason,' their fear dissipated.

To be honest, if they had been given that information, they too could have judged the flaws in their pill refining and identified the problems in advance.

"Oh? Backward reasoning? An interesting idea!" Zhang Xuan smiled faintly, surprised at how imaginative Alchemist Bai Ming was. "Never mind what method I use. As long as I can point out the flaws in your pill refining, that's enough!"

"True, if you can point out the flaws in my pill refining, you win. But I also want to change the rules!"

Alchemist Bai Ming said.

"Oh?"

"You will still watch me refine pills and point out my shortcomings, but... I want you to point out genuine flaws in the refining process, such as technique, furnace control, herb compatibility... not mix in emotions or trivial matters, and not give you the chance to backward-reason from known information!"

Bai Ming snorted.

"That's good!"

"This way, he can't exploit emotions and such!"

"With this rule, even if he wants to backward-reason from known information, he won't be able to!"

"Yes, this is truly pointing out flaws..."

...

Everyone nodded.

To be honest, everyone was scared by Zhang Xuan's ability to point out flaws. As cultivators, advancing through the ranks and standing out from millions, who didn't have one or two shameful secrets? If this kid exposed them publicly, it would be truly embarrassing.

Thus, as soon as Alchemist Bai Ming proposed the new rule, it immediately gained everyone's approval.

He was only allowed to point out flaws in alchemy, not to bring up things like murder or imminent death.

Though they were alchemists... they couldn't take such scares either!

"Are you sure?"

Knowing what they were thinking from the rule, Zhang Xuan curled his lips.

"Of course!" Alchemist Bai Ming flicked his sleeve. "It depends on whether you dare!"

"Let's begin!"

Zhang Xuan didn't want to waste time.

"Good!"

Hearing his agreement, Alchemist Bai Ming breathed a sigh of relief. After thinking for a moment, he selected the herbs and walked to the furnace.

Whoosh!

The flames ignited, and the pill refining began.

Not long after, the furnace fire subsided, the furnace opened, and three round pills were taken out.

A first-grade pill, the Moisture-Aperture Pill! A pill specially prepared for warriors at the sixth level, capable of moisturizing acupoints and allowing one to go further in the Aperture-Opening Realm.

Back then, Elder Shangchen had spent a great price to obtain one for Shang Bin, who later gave it to the Explosive Sky Lion as a price for teaching Zhang Xuan a lesson.

Even so, the Explosive Sky Lion still defected, which left Shang Bin deeply resentful.

Regardless, the Moisture-Aperture Pill was considered quite good among first-grade pills, far superior to the Tranquil Heart Pill.