Chapter 383: I'm Fine

Yang Xiu, upon seeing Ye Yuan, also looked somewhat uncomfortable.

An authority like him had been questioned by an unknown young man, and the questioning had succeeded—no matter how you looked at it, it was quite embarrassing.

He reckoned that by tomorrow, this matter would spread throughout the royal city.

But this was a matter personally inquired into by the Star Abyss Emperor, so he couldn't afford to lose his temper.

"Just don't let me catch you slipping, or I'll make sure you die a miserable death," Yang Xiu thought to himself.

Composing himself, Yang Xiu announced, "Third match: Ji Qing of the Xiao family versus Tong Wenchang of the Tong family. Begin!"

"First round: Combination Elixir! Bring forth the spiritual herbs!" the quasi-Dan King's voice rang out again.

As soon as the words fell, Tong Wenchang was as if injected with chicken blood, brimming with inexplicable excitement.

Ye Yuan across from him, however, was resting with his eyes closed, as if everything happening here had nothing to do with him.

"Hmph, putting on an act!" Tong Wenchang said disdainfully.

Soon, a hundred types of spiritual herbs were laid out on the table, filling it completely.

Tong Wenchang immediately set to work, rapidly entering his information into the jade slip.

At this moment, Ye Yuan still hadn't made a move.

Tong Wenchang sneered coldly, but his speed of entry did not slow down.

Identifying these spiritual herbs posed little difficulty for him; the real challenge was combining the pills.

Tong Wenchang was extremely fast, faster than anyone before! It was clear that his foundational skills were terrifyingly solid.

Even Xiao Rufeng, hailed as the number one genius of the Xiao family, was far inferior compared to him.

"Hmm? Why hasn't Ji Qing started yet? Could it be that he has already given up?"

"I told you, he must have just happened to know that obscure bit of knowledge and got lucky. A teenage kid, how deep could his alchemy skills really be?"

"Alas, Ji Qing performed so brilliantly before, I was hoping for some surprises, but it seems I was overthinking it."

Ye Yuan's unusual behavior left many people deeply disappointed.

In this moment where every second counted, Ye Yuan was actually still resting with his eyes closed—what was he playing at?

Showing off isn't done like this. Even if you put on a great show, what's the use if you end up losing miserably?

Seeing this, Xiao Changfeng wished he could jump up and wind Ye Yuan up like a clockwork toy.

What was he trying to do?

"What is Ji Qing thinking? Why isn't he making a move yet?" Xiao Changfeng said anxiously.

"Father, Ji Qing must have some deeper meaning in doing this," Xiao Ruyan said weakly, though she wasn't sure herself.

But that Ye Yuan was indeed very mysterious; maybe he really did have his own plans.

"What deeper meaning? I just don't get it. Can he sniff out every spiritual herb with his nose? Or is he already deducing the pill formula in his mind?" Xiao Changfeng said, somewhat exasperated.

"This..." Xiao Ruyan didn't know how to argue.

What her father said was obviously impossible; no one could do something so heaven-defying.

Although Xiao Ruyan had already seen Ye Yuan in a new light, she didn't think he could go that far.

"Haha, kid, just keep showing off. Let's see how you explain yourself to the Xiao family later!" Tong Wenchang said smugly, already halfway through identifying the herbs.

But just then, Ye Yuan finally slowly opened his eyes.

"Look, Ji Qing is about to start!"

"Starting now? Isn't that too slow? Tong Wenchang has already identified half the herbs!"

...

However, Ye Yuan did not start identifying the herbs from the beginning as everyone expected. Instead, he directly picked up the jade slip and began recording content!

This scene stunned everyone even more.

"What is he trying to do? Start recording the moment he opens his eyes?"

"Haha, is he trying to defy the heavens? Could he have already identified all the spiritual medicines?"

"I see it now. This kid is purely here to make a joke. His earlier questioning of the seven elders was probably just a fluke—a blind cat catching a dead mouse!"

Ye Yuan's unusual behavior left everyone dumbfounded.

Not to mention a teenager of just over ten, even those alchemy kings who had lived for centuries wouldn't dare answer questions like this!

A quarter of an hour later, Ye Yuan slowly spoke: "I'm done."

With that, Ye Yuan handed the jade slip to the quasi-alchemy king.

Tong Wenchang was taken aback by Ye Yuan's move and couldn't help but pause.

"No way, you're already done? Are you challenging the elders' bottom line? Forget it, I can't be bothered with you." Tong Wenchang was utterly speechless.

Outside the arena, there was an uproar!

"My god, where did this kid come from? I'm thoroughly defeated."

"Hmph, does he think he's a god? A single glance and all the answers are clear in his mind?"

...

All kinds of jeers came from outside, but the arena had a soundproof formation, so Ye Yuan couldn't hear them at all.

After handing in the jade slip, he went to rest alone in a corner.

"Smack!"

The cup in Xiao Changfeng's hand was crushed into powder.

"Is this kid making a fool of our Xiao family? To be so perfunctory! Earlier, he told me that Tong Wenchang would never have the confidence to refine alchemy again—that's pure bullshit!" Xiao Changfeng said through gritted teeth.

"……" Xiao Ruyan was speechless.

To be honest, she also felt it was too perfunctory.

Could it be that what happened before was just her illusion?

…

Two hours later, Tong Wenchang finally deduced all the answers and submitted them.

The quasi-Dan King presented both of their jade slips together.

Yang Xiu took the two jade slips, casually placed the jade slip with the standard answers and Tong Wenchang's jade slip into the spirit artifact, and a light screen appeared.

He did this because he was already convinced that Ye Yuan was here to cause trouble.

How could anyone finish all the answers in just a quarter of an hour?

That kid got lucky earlier—Heaven truly has no eyes!

After comparing, Yang Xiu nodded inwardly. This Tong Wenchang was very reliable, indeed worthy of being the first among the younger generation to become a quasi-Dan King.

"Tong Wenchang, one hundred medicinal herbs, all correct! The seven of us deduced a total of seventy-three combinations, and Tong Wenchang answered fifty-six!" Yang Xiu announced.

"Truly worthy of being the top of the younger generation, so impressive! In my opinion, even if Xiao Rufeng really breaks through to the Huahai realm, he probably won't be a match for Tong Wenchang!"

"Yes, this first round tests purely an understanding of pharmacology, unrelated to cultivation level. Tong Wenchang's performance is far better than Xiao Rufeng's!"

"Don't forget, there's still that funny kid!"

"Hahaha..."

Yang Xiu looked at Ye Yuan with a rather sardonic expression, placed his jade slip into the spirit artifact, and said, "Now let's take a look at Ji Qing's answers. He finished in just a quarter of an hour—he must be very confident, right?"

These words were clearly sarcastic; finally, it was time for him to vent his anger!

The light screen was densely covered with characters, even more than the standard answers!

With a sense of malicious amusement, Yang Xiu glanced at the light screen, and the expression on his face became extremely interesting.