Chapter 455: The Past of Alchemists

Sixty days passed quietly.

Xiao Fan's Divine Soul left the star chart, and he slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was deep, and his aura was thick, but he suppressed it well.

His current strength was even more formidable; although he hadn't achieved a Breakthrough, he was at least thirty percent stronger than before.

If he were to fight that second-level Xuandan Realm expert who ambushed him outside the Imperial Capital again, he would definitely not be in such a pathetic state as before.

He had nearly been fallen victim to the other party's scheme at the end.

He was confident he could directly crush the opponent…

Just as Xiao Fan opened his eyes, the people around him were also looking at each other in surprise, but after a few breaths, everything before their eyes turned a vast white…

In the next instant, the people around Xiao Fan vanished. He was the only one left in the surroundings… except for him and the Pill Furnace provided by the black tower.

“Second stage of the assessment: Fire Control attainment…”

“Extract the essence of the following medicinal ingredients; there is only one extraction attempt for each type of Spiritual Plant and Spirit Medicine…”

An ethereal voice echoed in his ears, and then over a thousand types of Spiritual Plants and Spirit Medicines appeared before Xiao Fan's eyes.

These Spiritual Plants and Spirit Medicines had varying attributes; some were resistant to high temperatures, while others were not…

“I see,” Xiao Fan murmured. He circulated the Azure Flame Art and began the extraction.

Extracting the essence of medicinal ingredients is similar to adding various Spiritual Plants and Spirit Medicines during Alchemy.

When adding various Spiritual Plants and Spirit Medicines during Alchemy, one must also extract their essence…

This pure extraction simply skips the final step of condensing it into a pill.

Xiao Fan began the extraction. The black tower seemed to possess a spirit; whenever Xiao Fan finished extracting one type of Spirit Medicine, it would disappear…

The same scene was playing out not just where Xiao Fan was, but for everyone else as well.

Outside…

It was now the fourth day since the Sacred Pill Tower opened.

A large group of people had already come out earlier. Calculating the time, it should currently be the time for the second assessment.

“They should be testing their fire control right now…” City Lord Huangfu Cheng spoke, his gaze fixed on the black tower, seemingly with a hint of nostalgia.

“Yes, they should be at the fire control step,” Kong Ping said with a smile.

The few people standing nearby were all 5th-Grade Alchemists, accounting for more than half of the publicly known 5th-Grade Alchemists in Wuhuang Province.

Huangfu Cheng, Kong Ping, Pill Master Lu Yongzhen, Ling Luo, and Jiang Rushuang.

“In this stage, I'm afraid no one can compare to that little fellow from the Jixian Sect…” Jiang Rushuang smiled, her beautiful eyes twinkling.

Kong Ping didn't say a word, but he unconsciously puffed out his chest, his face showing pride.

“The Jixian Sect… who?” Ling Luo was puzzled. “Could he really be stronger than my disciple?”

He hadn't seen Xiao Fan participate in the assessment, so he wasn't clear about Xiao Fan's Alchemy attainment.

“If it's purely a competition of fire control… your disciple probably can't beat him,” Pill Master Lu Yongzhen laughed.

This time, even City Lord Huangfu Cheng became interested.

Although these Four Great Forces were at odds with each other…

They all belonged to Shengdan City and had known each other for many years, so their friendship was quite good…

“Is this person really that impressive?” Huangfu Cheng asked.

“If it's purely about fire control attainment… that little fellow should be about the same as my Yi'er,” Jiang Rushuang smiled.

Pill Master Lu Yongzhen and Kong Ping remained silent…

Huangfu Cheng and Ling Luo felt shocked.

He's reached the level of a Grade 4 Alchemist?!

“Very good. What is this lad's name? He is a genius of our Alchemy Lineage,” Huangfu Cheng praised.

The others all nodded in agreement with this statement.

However, Kong Ping's old face flushed slightly, and he didn't say anything…

This fellow Xiao Fan hadn't joined his Danding Peak yet… technically, he wasn't part of the Alchemy Lineage yet!

In Wuhuang Province, and even in most places, there was once a dark period where Alchemists were treated as lowly as grass…

In that era, there were even great forces and great Families who enslaved Alchemists, forcing them to refine Medicinal Pills for them day and night without rest.

Suffering inhuman abuse, Alchemists were not loved and respected like they are today…

Back then, when Alchemists went out, they didn't dare to admit their identity.

They were afraid of being forcibly abducted by great Families and captured to refine pills…

There were even some high-level Alchemists who would rather die than submit, only to have their clansmen captured and used as leverage to force them to refine pills.

Such things were commonplace in the old Wuhuang Province…

This was also why Kong Ping, Ling Luo, and the others could still treat each other with mutual respect and become friends despite being in their respective camps.

Because they shared a common root: they were all people of the Alchemy Lineage.

…

Inside the tower.

Xiao Fan's movements were lightning-fast. His current fire control attainment was even more skillful than before, reaching a state of perfection.

He hadn't deliberately Cultivated his fire control techniques…

Instead, they had improved imperceptibly while he was refining third-grade pills within the star chart some time ago.

Two hours passed quietly…

Xiao Fan didn't remember how many Spiritual Plants and Spirit Medicines he had extracted…

He refined every single one provided by the black tower…

Invisibly, his fire control ability improved once again…

“Why are there no more?” Xiao Fan was puzzled. He had already finished extracting the last Spiritual Plant provided by the black tower, but the tower had stopped providing them after that.

No sound came out either…

Xiao Fan looked around in confusion, wondering if something was wrong with this black tower…

But he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.

Another hour passed… the black tower's voice finally rang out.

“Second stage, passed.”