Chapter 24

As the two alchemical furnaces opened simultaneously, the one belonging to Yao Tianhua contained five green pills, while Shen Xiang’s furnace had three black pills.

"Yao Tianhua has refined five Spirit Origin Pills, and Shen Xiang’s are... three Bone Cleansing Pills." An elder of the Shen family said, his voice filled with excitement. The Shen family had produced a refining genius, and any member of the Shen family would be equally thrilled.

Yao Tianhua and the elders of the Yao family looked at the three black pills, sniffing the fragrance of the pills. They were indeed Bone Cleansing Pills, and the head of the Spirit Pill Pavilion also picked one up to examine it closely.

"These are indeed Bone Cleansing Pills, and they are of very high quality! This is truly hard to accept! Such a young child can actually refine such pills." The head of the Spirit Pill Pavilion exclaimed repeatedly, his face full of complex emotions. Suddenly, he felt that his seventy or eighty years of life had been wasted.

A wave of exclamations rose in the square. After confirmation, everyone was incredibly shocked. They had witnessed the refining process with their own eyes, and Shen Xiang had indeed not cheated; he had truly refined middle-grade Bone Cleansing Pills!

The fact that Shen Xiang lacked a spirit vein had long been forgotten. At this moment, he was seen by everyone as a potential great alchemist!

Yao Tianhua’s face was ashen, his handsome face filled with anger, jealousy, and malice. If he could, he would have killed Shen Xiang, as he felt that losing to Shen Xiang was a humiliation.

"Accept the bet and hand over the items!" Shen Xiang said with a faint smile, but in Yao Tianhua’s eyes, it was a look of disdain and mockery, which made Yao Tianhua seethe with anger.

The elder of the Yao family trembled with rage, purely because of the loss. The Yao family not only lost the items but also their reputation, as their genius was inferior to a Shen family member who lacked a spirit vein.

The elder of the Yao family reluctantly handed over the bet to Shen Xiang.

The thousand-year beast core was as large as an egg, looking like a green gemstone, with the essence of a thousand-year-old beast flowing inside. The Thousand Pattern Fruit was as big as an apple, heavy when picked up, and one could feel the energy it contained when held in hand.

Obtaining these two precious alchemical materials, Shen Xiang felt a surge of satisfaction. If he refined them into pills, his strength could be quickly enhanced.

"Shen Xiang, I want to challenge you to a duel!" Yao Tianhua drew his precious sword, his voice filled with killing intent.

Shen Xiang had already defeated someone at the Seventh Level of the Mortal Martial Realm, so Yao Tianhua was no match for him. Therefore, the Shen family felt very confident.

Shen Tianhu sighed lightly, "Young man, don’t be arrogant, or you will suffer the consequences." At this moment, Shen Tianhu was extremely excited, as his son could not only refine Bone Cleansing Pills but also obtained two precious alchemical materials.

"Let’s duel. If you get injured, don’t blame me, after all, fists and feet have no eyes." Shen Xiang said slowly, and the elders of the Shen family and Shen Tianhu had already moved to the side.

The elder of the Yao family was somewhat worried. He had lived for several decades and could see that Shen Xiang was extraordinary, not the weakling without a spirit vein as rumored.

"Tianhua, do you have the confidence to win?" the elder of the Yao family asked solemnly.

"Absolutely, I am a Fifth Level Mortal Martial Realm warrior, and the martial arts I practice are all excellent." Yao Tianhua looked at Shen Xiang with burning anger, wishing to kill him.

"Alright, just a simple sparring match. Don’t take his life, after all, we are in the Shen family’s territory." The elder of the Yao family left the platform.

Shen Xiang found it somewhat amusing. Previously, others thought he couldn’t refine Bone Cleansing Pills, and now Yao Tianhua still believed he was weak.

"Since it’s a match, how about adding a little more to the bet?" Shen Xiang said with a smile.

Seeing that Yao Tianhua didn’t respond, Shen Xiang knew the Yao family couldn’t afford to bet anymore.

Shen Xiang smiled, "If you win, the thousand-year beast core and the Thousand Pattern Fruit will be returned to you! If you lose, the head of the Spirit Pill Pavilion will join our Shen family as an alchemist, and I will also take half of the spirit herbs from the Spirit Pill Pavilion. How about that?"

The Spirit Pill Pavilion would become the Yao family’s property, indicating that the head of the Spirit Pill Pavilion had been recruited by the Yao family. Since the head of the Spirit Pill Pavilion had a certain level of expertise in alchemy, Shen Xiang wanted to recruit this talent for the Shen family.

"No problem! But the Spirit Pill Pavilion will still belong to us." The elder of the Yao family agreed readily, thinking it was just an alchemist and some spirit herbs, which the Yao family didn’t lack, especially since Yao Tianhua had a hundred percent chance of winning.

The head of the Spirit Pill Pavilion only sighed lightly, feeling unhappy about being used as a bet, but he thought joining the Shen family wasn’t bad. Perhaps he could exchange some Hell Spirit Grass with Shen Xiang.

"Draw your weapon!" Yao Tianhua brandished the gleaming sword in his hand coldly.

Shen Xiang shook his head, "I don’t need a weapon."

"Then don’t blame me for being impolite." Yao Tianhua swung his sword, his steps steady, causing the platform to tremble. It was clear that his attack would be filled with fierce power.

It was already late at night, but no one felt sleepy. Instead, they were very alert, as the duel between two young alchemical geniuses was about to begin.

Alchemists are often not perceived as strong, but this is a very wrong notion. To become a qualified alchemist, one must first have complete control over true qi and a powerful divine sense, which allows them to manipulate flames at will and handle sudden dangers during the refining process.

Sometimes alchemists need to gather herbs themselves, which is also a very dangerous task. Moreover, alchemists often consume many pills, so their strength is never weak. It’s just that alchemists are usually protected, so they don’t need to fight often.

Seeing the sharp sword thrust at him, Shen Xiang stepped forward and punched out. Green true qi instantly enveloped his arm, forming a tiger’s head in an instant.

"Heavenly Tiger Fierce Killing Fist! This child has actually reached the Sixth Level of the Mortal Martial Realm!" Shen Tianhu exclaimed in surprise. The Heavenly Tiger Fierce Killing Fist was a high-level spiritual martial art he had created, like a fierce tiger pouncing, generating an explosive force of true qi.

Anyone with eyes could see that Shen Xiang had entered the Divine Sense Realm, as he could use his divine sense to control the overflow of true qi and form it into a shape, such as a tiger’s head, which only those at the Divine Sense Realm or above could do.

At sixteen years old, not only could he refine Bone Cleansing Pills, but he also possessed the strength of the Sixth Level of the Mortal Martial Realm. Such talent was a once-in-a-thousand-years occurrence, and only Xue Xianxian of the Xue family could compare. According to rumors, Xue Xianxian once fought evenly with the elders of the Xue family, though it was just a rumor, many people chose to believe it.

After all, those elders were all above the Sixth Level of the Mortal Martial Realm and had extensive combat experience. For a girl of fourteen or fifteen to match them, such talent was probably only comparable to Shen Xiang.

Shen Xiang’s punch was like an enraged tiger, the fierce true qi breaking through the air, causing a series of explosions as it met the sword thrust.