Chapter 24: Heavenly Flame Ranking

"Yan Er, you... when did you learn alchemy!" Xiao Zhan found himself increasingly unable to fathom his own son.

All along, he knew that Xiao Yan was a genius, but that genius was mainly related to his cultivation of Dou Qi. Yet today, his son turned out to be an alchemist as well?!!

Xiao Yu stared at Xiao Yan with wide eyes. There were alchemists in Jia Nan Academy, and she had once tried to seek their help for medicinal pills. Alchemists were extremely rare in the academy, and every one of them was proud and haughty, with their noses in the air.

She had never imagined that Xiao Yan was actually an alchemist. Moreover, the skilled way he performed suggested that becoming one was not just a matter of a day or two.

Xiao Yan touched his nose with a hint of apology and said, "Father, I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. I was waiting until I got more skilled before letting you know."

Xiao Zhan touched Xiao Yan's head and laughed, "Silly boy, how could Father blame you?"

The entire auction was naturally ruined by Xiao Yan's public display of alchemy. No one was in the mood to bid on the remaining items. It was clear to all factions that the power dynamics within Wu Tan City were about to shift, and they needed to be prepared.

They would start by distancing themselves from the Jia Lie and Ao Ba Clans.

Liu Xi looked at the pale-faced Jia Lie Bi and Ao Ba Pa, then quietly slipped out of the auction house.

No matter how stupid he was, he understood that these two clans were done for. Even though he was the lowest 1st-tier alchemist, it was impossible for him to refine pills for these clans without payment. Since these two clans had no more value to offer, he had no reason to stay.

'It's a pity I couldn't get that woman,' he thought regretfully.

With his powerful Spiritual Strength, Xiao Yan sensed that Liu Xi had sneaked away. He instructed, "Grand Elder, Second Elder, please lay in ambush at the city gate and bring back Liu Xi's head."

Xiao Ning and some of the younger members swallowed hard when they heard his words. They could sense the intense killing intent in his words. Many knew that Liu Xi had verbally provoked Xun Er that day. They had initially assumed that Xiao Yan would let bygones be bygones after kicking out the other party, but they hadn't expected him to hold such a grudge!

The Grand Elder and the Second Elder solemnly nodded their heads after gauging the situation. Even though killing a disciple of a 4th-tier alchemist posed a significant risk, upon further thought, they realized that Xiao Yan might eventually become a 4th-tier alchemist himself. Moreover, since they had already offended Liu Xi, there was no point in seeking reconciliation.

"Father, you all should go back first. I'll settle the payment for the medicinal cauldron and then go back. You and the elders can handle the rest of the matters," Xiao Yan said with a smile and headed for the VIP room when he saw that the auction could not continue.

...

Inside the VIP room, he sat down on the sofa and picked up a piece of fruit from the table in a nonchalant manner. Ya Fei and Master Gu Ni entered with a crisp sound and took a seat across from him.

"You little rascal, is this how you treat your Elder Sister? You ruined my auction!" Ya Fei put on an air of indignation, yet there was a hint of coquetry and playfulness in her eyes.

Xiao Yan helplessly spread his hands and said, "Master Gu Ni himself has demonstrated alchemy in public before. How could I have known that it would turn out like this?"

Master Gu Ni could only smile wryly on the side. His public demonstration of alchemy was entirely different in significance from Xiao Yan's.

Ya Fei cut to the chase, "Little Brother Xiao Yan, I won't beat around the bush. Based on the evaluation, the Blood Clotting Powder you just refined has achieved the effects of an intermediate 1st-tier medicinal pill, which is even better than the Rejuvenation Powder refined by Liu Xi. Moreover, your technique is very skillful. You're at least a high-grade 1st-tier alchemist, possibly even at the peak of the 1st-tier, ready to advance to the 2nd-tier."

"Have you ever considered joining our Miteer Auction House? Of course, I'm referring to the headquarters. We will provide you with the best guidance and supply you with medicinal ingredients for your practice."

Ya Fei extended an olive branch to Xiao Yan as soon as she arrived, inviting him to join the Miteer Auction House.

His talent left her astonished. She was now ninety percent certain that Xiao Yan himself had refined the three bottles of Foundation Building Pill.

It was possible for a 1st-tier alchemist to refine 2nd-tier medicinal pills. For an alchemist at the peak of their tier, the next step was naturally to start refining higher-tier medicinal pills.

However, to become a 2nd-tier alchemist, it was not only a matter of being able to refine 2nd-tier medicinal pills, but also a matter of success rate and passing the Alchemist Association's assessment.

Xiao Yan put down the fruit in his hand and shook his head with a smile. "Thank you for your kindness, Sister Ya Fei, but I have no intention of joining the Miteer Clan."

Although Ya Fei could have offered more favorable terms, such as providing high-tier pill recipes or one-on-one guidance from a high-tier alchemist, she knew that Xiao Yan had most likely received an inheritance from an alchemist or had a powerful Master behind him.

Otherwise, without a pill recipe, no matter how skilled he was, it would have been impossible for him to refine the Foundation Building Pill, even if it were just by a stroke of luck.

Ya Fei took out a storage ring and tossed it to Xiao Yan as she said, "I will soon finish my training and return to the imperial capital. Consider this medicinal cauldron and the medicinal ingredients inside as my gift to you. When you become stronger, don't forget to visit your Elder Sister in the capital often."

Xiao Yan caught the slightly warm storage ring and nodded. "Forget? How could I? Sister Ya Fei's beauty could outshine the moon and put flowers to shame. It's hard to forget."

"Smooth talker."

Watching Xiao Yan's departing figure, Ya Fei rested her chin on her hand and murmured to herself, "He's only fifteen years old..."

Master Gu Ni cleared his throat lightly and said, "Miss, I don't think age is an issue."

Ya Fei's pretty face suddenly turned bright red as she remembered her words from a few months ago. Blushing, she retorted, "What are you thinking! I'm several years older than him! He's just a little kid!"

"Age is just a number, and women age like fine wine."

…

The events that followed were much simpler. The market jointly operated by the Jia Lie and Ao Ba Clans announced its closure on the same day, as countless shop owners forfeited their deposits, closed their shops, and left to apply for rental space in the Xiao Clan Market.

As a result, the rental rate for shop spaces in the Xiao Clan Market skyrocketed, increasing up to threefold, yet spaces were still in high demand.

Meanwhile, the Jia Lie and Ao Ba Clans had only one thing on their minds: to cancel their contracts with the major medicinal merchants and the Miteer Auction House. As expected, the merchants banded together to file a complaint with the City Lord's office. If the Jia Lie and Ao Ba Clans violated their contracts, they would have to pay huge compensation as stipulated in the contracts, and their mortgaged properties would be confiscated.

The two major clans did not have enough gold coins. Therefore, they used their properties as collateral. Eventually, the Xiao Clan acquired most of the two clans' properties from the merchants and Ya Fei at a very low price, without even engaging in any battle.

From then on, Wu Tan City fell under the sole control of the Xiao Clan.

Liu Xi was ultimately killed by the Grand Elder and Second Elder. His body was taken back to the Xiao Clan, where Xiao Yan burned it to ashes with a single flame.

…

Three days later, Xiao Yan continuously absorbed the heat released by the Bone Chilling Flame in a cave, and finally reached the 7-star Dou Practitioner stage.

His expression was not one of joy at his breakthrough as he looked at the Bone Chilling Flame floating in the air. Instead, his face was etched with worry.

'My cultivation speed has slowed down.'

Xiao Yan distinctly felt that his cultivation speed had slowed down after reaching the 7-star stage. Even though he was now able to get very close to the Bone Chilling Flame, the heat it released was ultimately limited. He required much more energy after reaching the 7-star stage, which resulted in a slower improvement rate.

The only way to increase his cultivation speed was to take medicinal pills. However, he lacked the support of high-tier medicinal pills. Wu Tan City was, after all, a frontier city, and the highest-tier alchemist turned out to be himself…

'Heavenly Flame... The best way for me to improve my cultivation is not to take medicinal pills, but to devour a Heavenly Flame.'

He took out an ancient book, and on the cover, three large words were clearly written: <Heavenly Flame Ranking!>.

This ancient book listed all the Heavenly Flames on the Dou Qi Continent. There were twenty-three kinds in all.

The Bone Chilling Flame was the 11th rank, right in the middle.