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**
As the bell rang out—
On the stone platforms, all the examinees began their alchemy.
They each quickly placed their palms onto the fire mouths of their cauldrons. Instantly, Dou Qi surged wildly from within their bodies, and with several muffled poof sounds, flames began to rapidly blaze within the cauldrons.
Once the flames were burning inside the cauldrons, a transparent light curtain slowly rose around the edges of the stone platforms.
The light curtain was shaped like an inverted bowl, covering the examinees and stone platforms completely within it.
With the activation of this protective light curtain, all the whispering in the grand hall immediately fell silent.
Everyone stared intently at the examinees' actions, judging whether their performances were qualified, their movements standard, or whether there would be any outstanding displays.
At a glance, without exception, these newcomers were all using Dou Qi flames, the flames appearing pale yellow in color.
Their strengths were generally around the low to middle levels of Dou Shi.
At such a level, they would normally still be using Dou Qi flames, with very few having subdued beast flames.
Boom—
At this moment, a powerful flame aura suddenly burst forth, immediately attracting everyone's attention. They all looked over in shock.
It was a deep crimson flame that appeared in Xian'er's palm. She casually tossed it into her cauldron, where it quickly roared into a blazing fire.
The intense heat could be clearly felt even through the cauldron and the protective light curtain.
The temperature inside the grand hall instantly rose significantly.
Before this deep crimson flame, the pale yellow flames of the other examinees appeared extremely feeble, like candles flickering in the wind, trembling as if they might extinguish at any moment.
Woah—
The crowd immediately erupted in astonishment, all staring at the white-haired, beautiful young girl standing on the stone platform, their faces full of shock.
"This kind of power... it's a Rank 5 beast flame!" said Elder Ao Ba, a Tier 4 alchemist, with a serious expression.
He himself was a Tier 4 alchemist at the high Da Dou Shi realm, and even he was only using a Rank 4 beast flame.
It wasn't that he couldn't handle a Rank 5 beast flame, but rather that his cultivation level didn't allow it.
After all, refining beast flames carried certain risks—of course, not even close compared to the danger of refining Heavenly Flames.
Generally, alchemists at the Dou Ling level would consider refining Rank 5 beast flames. Even some Dou Ling would still continue using Rank 4 beast flames.
Everyone's expressions grew extremely solemn.
After all, the ability to control a Rank 5 beast flame—and doing it so effortlessly—
The opponent's strength was obvious...
Today, it looked like some people were going to be utterly crushed.
Boom!
At this moment—
Another powerful flame aura suddenly burst forth.
Everyone's eyes were immediately drawn over once more—and then their expressions turned completely dazed.
It was Wei Yang.
In his palm floated a pure black flame, exuding a rather peculiar aura. It appeared to be a Dou Qi flame, yet it didn't entirely seem like one. If one called it a beast flame, the aura felt too strange for that.
He casually tossed the pure black flame into the cauldron, where it roared into a fierce blaze.
The temperature in the grand hall rose yet again by a significant margin.
On the surrounding stone platforms, the six examinees undergoing assessment were on the verge of tears.
Because their pale yellow flames were about to collapse entirely.
At this rate, they wouldn't even be able to properly warm their cauldrons, let alone refine pills.
"This pure black flame… judging by its power, it must be at least Rank 5! Is it a beast flame?" asked a middle-aged Tier 4 alchemist, his mouth hanging open.
"It doesn't really seem like a beast flame… it looks more like a Dou Qi flame, but the aura is extremely peculiar..." Elder Ao Ba, the Tier 4 alchemist, swallowed hard as he spoke.
"Dou Qi flame..." The middle-aged Tier 4 alchemist shivered uncontrollably upon hearing this.
For Dou Qi flames to have such power... was the opponent a Dou Wang? Or even a Dou Huang?
"Quick, someone! Go outside and fetch their registration records," Elder Ao Ba quietly ordered.
"Yes, Master Ao Ba!" responded a Tier 2 alchemist, immediately taking off at a run toward the main door.
Not long after, the cauldron was quickly warmed up.
Wei Yang's gaze swept across the parchment, then swiftly skimmed over the three sets of medicinal ingredients.
With a thought—
Dozens of medicinal herbs from one set floated up simultaneously, and like rivers flowing into the sea, they were all poured directly into the cauldron.
This move caused the crowd below to widen their eyes.
Those few examinees almost had their eyeballs pop out of their sockets.
Boom—
As the herbs entered the cauldron, the pure black flame surged up and separately enveloped each of the dozens of herbs.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—
The herbs began to rapidly twist and deform.
They were being burned, and their essences refined.
Next to him, Xian'er had also finished warming her cauldron. With a change in her hand seals—
Immediately, a similar scene unfolded again.
Dozens of herbs floated up together and were tossed into her cauldron all at once.
The deep crimson flame swept over them...
From this point on, the examination essentially turned into a two-person show starring Wei Yang and Xian'er.
Everyone's attention, including that of the other examinees, froze entirely, their gazes locked tightly onto the two of them refining pills.
Their actions and techniques were so skilled and effortless that everyone else completely forgot about everything else, falling deeply into a trance-like admiration.
Especially Wei Yang—he was like a master artist, casually crafting an elementary school student's toy.
That sense of ease felt as if he were simply picking a flower or plucking a leaf by the roadside.
It gave people the illusion that alchemy was just that simple—no harder than picking up a random flower or leaf.
Some even started to think, If I tried, I could do it too.
Some people's hands even began unconsciously moving, attempting to mimic Wei Yang's techniques.
But as soon as they tried, they realized just how unbelievably difficult it actually was.
Forget refining pills—
They couldn't even keep up with Wei Yang's hand movements at all.
Even the two Tier 4 alchemists were no exception.
They couldn't help but glance at each other, eyes filled with horror.
Those seemingly casual, slow movements—
In reality, they were so fast that they only left residual afterimages in the air.
What their eyes were seeing were merely the remnants of the real hand seals.
In truth, Wei Yang's hand seals had already changed countless times within the blink of an eye.
A profound alchemy technique, paired with a master-level fire control technique, belonged solely to a true alchemist.
How could it possibly be mimicked just by watching it casually?
The more they watched and imitated, the more their minds started to feel chaotic.
In their minds, blurred remnants of the hand seals were left behind, a complete mess that refused to disappear, etched deeply into their memories.
Meanwhile, their own original alchemy techniques and memories began to fade, becoming confused and muddled.
This realization caused everyone's hearts to shudder violently.
They immediately stopped trying to imitate, their faces pale with fear, and hurriedly closed their eyes, no longer daring to watch.
If they kept watching, they truly feared they might completely forget everything they had painstakingly learned before—
and fall into madness.
"Everyone, it's fine to watch if you want to, but remember to know your limits. If you can't handle it, stop immediately. Absolutely do not force yourselves to imitate. A master's techniques are not something you can copy. We are simply not at the same level!" Elder Ao Ba, the Tier 4 alchemist, quickly reminded them.
Yet he himself continued to stare deathly hard at Wei Yang's actions, unwilling to miss even a moment—
but both his hands were tightly clenched, firmly resisting the urge to imitate.
Watching was fine, as long as he didn't try to copy.
He barely managed to comprehend a tiny, tiny fraction.
The middle-aged Tier 4 alchemist was the same. His gaze was burning hot, completely entranced by what he was seeing.
Among everyone present, only these two Tier 4 alchemists could barely understand a little bit.
And even that little bit was enough for them to gain enormous benefits.
It was as if an entirely new world had been opened up before their eyes.
The stubborn bottleneck that had plagued them for so long now seemed to show signs of loosening ever so slightly.
"Tier 5... peak Tier 5? Maybe even Tier 6?!
This is a true master! A real master!"
The two of them murmured excitedly in their hearts, almost unable to resist cheering out loud.
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