Chapter 186: Fire Burning the Butt

"It seems Senior Brother Yang is quite confident in his fire control! Fine, let's compete in fire control. Senior Brother Yang, please." Ye Yuan said with a smile.

Laugh away, laugh away! Let's see if you can still laugh later! Yang Hao sneered inwardly.

In terms of overall alchemy skill, he, Yang Hao, might not be considered outstanding among the core disciples of the sect.

But when it came to fire control, he could rank in the top twenty!

What top twenty meant—this country bumpkin surely wouldn't understand.

The geniuses of Nethercloud Sect were not comparable to those in a mere outer sect training ground. Even someone like him, Yang Hao, who prided himself on exceptional talent, was nothing but a nobody in the entire sect!

Those guys in the Alchemy Hall were each more monstrous than the last!

Being able to enter the top twenty in fire control was enough for Yang Hao to be proud!

"Hmph! Watch closely—today I'll show this frog at the bottom of a well what real fire control is!"

With that, Yang Hao approached the Bright Flame, and with two fingers he beckoned.

The flame leaped directly from the lamp, dancing and fluttering with the movement of Yang Hao's fingertips, extremely dazzling.

Yang Hao formed hand seals, and the Bright Flame transformed into a slender fire dragon, coiling around him, appearing very obedient.

This move was truly exquisite, a pleasure to behold.

Suddenly, Yang Hao flicked his finger, and the fire dragon flew out from around him, heading straight for Ye Yuan's face.

Ye Yuan merely watched Yang Hao's performance with a faint smile, making no move to act.

A cold sneer flashed across Yang Hao's lips. This was a real crisis, yet Ye Yuan was still pretending to be calm.

Although the Bright Flame wasn't powerful and wouldn't cause Ye Yuan any real harm, it was enough to make him look disheveled.

Yang Hao could already picture Ye Yuan with his face charred black like a burnt head.

However, just inches from Ye Yuan's face, the fire dragon suddenly began to flicker.

Yang Hao's expression changed. The fire dragon seemed to be breaking free from his control, becoming restless. Since his fire control technique had reached mastery, he had never encountered such a situation.

The Bright Flame was merely the most ordinary earth fire, posing no difficulty for Yang Hao. How could it slip out of his control?

Could it be Ye Yuan's doing? But there wasn't the slightest fluctuation of Yuan power from him!

What the hell!

Naturally, Yang Hao wouldn't let the Bright Flame escape his control. Gritting his teeth, he increased his Yuan power to drive it. But the Bright Flame seemed to be resisting him, refusing to advance half a step.

Yang Hao intensified his efforts, but it backfired. With a "whoosh," the Bright Flame shot back, heading straight for Yang Hao!

Startled by this, Yang Hao quickly activated his fire control hand seals.

After all, the Bright Flame was a very low-grade flame, and Yang Hao subdued it in an instant.

Then, with a flick of his finger, he returned the Bright Flame to the lamp.

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

Ye Yuan applauded in admiration: "Senior Brother Yang's fire control is truly superb. I am in awe! That was close—it almost singed me. Thanks to Senior Brother Yang's restraint! But... one must be careful with fire. Senior Brother Yang, don't burn yourself!"

Yang Hao's face was ashen. Everyone present was an expert; they could tell at a glance whether he had shown restraint.

Ye Yuan's words were a great mockery.

But he simply couldn't understand why the Bright Flame had suddenly slipped out of his control.

Ye Yuan had clearly done nothing!

Not only he, but Yao Qian beside him also didn't understand. However, his gaze toward Ye Yuan had changed somewhat.

Yang Hao wanted to burn Ye Yuan with the Bright Flame, but Ye Yuan's body contained a fourth-grade Yuan fire, the Pure Sandal Sacred Flame. When the Bright Flame approached Ye Yuan, it instinctively sensed extreme danger—how could it possibly burn him?

This kind of hierarchical pressure was imperceptible to humans, but flames themselves were very sensitive to it.

"Hmph! Your turn! I want to see what tricks you can pull!" Yang Hao said darkly.

"Hehe, Senior Brother Yang is already very skilled. How could I possibly show off? I'll just follow your example." Ye Yuan said with a smile.

As Yang Hao was momentarily stunned, Ye Yuan casually reached out and beckoned. The Bright Flame obediently flew into his hand.

Seeing this, the other four in the room narrowed their eyes.

With this one move alone, Ye Yuan was far superior to Yang Hao!

Earlier, Yang Hao had to walk under the lamp and perform fire control hand seals to summon the Bright Flame. But Ye Yuan, several zhang away from the lamp, simply beckoned with one hand, and the Bright Flame flew over on its own.

The difference was immediately apparent!

Without any flashy hand seals, Ye Yuan simply raised his palm, and the Bright Flame automatically transformed into a fire dragon, circling around him.

Exactly the same as Yang Hao had done earlier!

Yang Hao ground his teeth in anger. This was outright provocation!

Ye Yuan looked at Yang Hao, suddenly gave a strange smile, and pointed at him.

Startled, Yang Hao quickly formed hand seals to prepare a response.

After forming the seals, he realized he had been tricked again—the fire dragon was still circling Ye Yuan!

"Hehe, Senior Brother Yang, don't be so tense. Just a joke." Ye Yuan laughed.

Yang Hao's face no longer held its earlier arrogance and calm; he wished he could rush over and bite Ye Yuan!

But just then, Ye Yuan spoke again.

"This time it's for real. Senior Brother Yang, be careful!" With that, Ye Yuan pointed again.

Another empty point!

Yang Hao sneered: "Repeating the same trick isn't very interesting, is it?"

"Idiot! Look behind you!" Yao Qian, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up.

Yang Hao was startled and turned around to see his own butt on fire, with a burnt smell emanating.

Startled, Yang Hao quickly formed hand seals to extinguish the flame on his rear. But his clothes had been burned through by the Bright Flame, revealing two patches of white flesh.

In an instant, Yang Hao's face flushed red to the roots of his ears.

"Hehe, Senior Brother Yang, you really look after your head but neglect your rear. How could you be so careless? If some senior sister sees you like this, your reputation will soon spread back to the sect, right?" Ye Yuan chuckled.

Hu Yan Yong, usually a man of few smiles, couldn't help but laugh.

"Ye Yuan, don't get cocky! If you have the guts, let's compete again!" Yang Hao's face was red, clearly furious and humiliated.

"Alas, Senior Brother Yang, you can't handle losing. What do you want to compete in this time? Martial arts? You're at the eighth layer of Spirit Liquid, competing with me at the second layer. Even if you win, word will get out that you're bullying the weak." Ye Yuan sighed dramatically.

"Enough! You lost, and you haven't embarrassed yourself enough? Go change your clothes!" Yao Qian's face darkened, and he spoke angrily to Yang Hao.

Scolded by Yao Qian, Yang Hao looked like a defeated rooster and went off to a private place to change.

After Yang Hao left, Yao Qian squinted at Ye Yuan and said, "Truly, heroes emerge from youth! I never thought that in the outer sect training ground of our Nethercloud Sect, there would be such a genius!"