Chapter 30 – Alchemy Duel Ends in Victory, Xiao Wusheng Accepts a Disciple
Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW
You can buy coins here to unlock advanced chapters: https://gravitytales.com/coins-purchase-page/
At that moment, the crowd of onlookers held their breath, eyes wide with anticipation.
Alchemy itself wasn’t a rare event.
But performing alchemy in front of such a massive audience? That was rare!
Especially when the stakes were life and death!
This young man… truly had skills and courage beyond measure.
Yu Xian remained calm. He raised his hand with practiced ease.
The hand techniques he had drilled thousands of times over the last three months were now as natural to him as drinking water. Eight pieces of high-grade bamboo charcoal flew into place beneath the cauldron in a precise triangular formation.
With a flick of his hand and a fireball incantation, the charcoal ignited.
The alchemy furnace began to heat.
The crowd, watching this, was mostly indifferent at first.
But those familiar with alchemy knew at once… this youth truly knew how to make pills!
Gao Cong’s face turned even paler.
Now he was sure—Yu Xian could refine pills.
But he was riding a tiger and couldn’t back down. All he could do was grit his teeth and wait for Yu Xian to fail.
So what if he could refine pills?
As long as the final product wasn’t of high grade, he wouldn’t lose!
After all, making high-grade pills wasn’t easy.
Even in the quiet of a proper alchemy room, producing one high-grade pill out of a whole batch was considered good.
Now, surrounded by noise and spectators, with the tension of a life-or-death gamble… how could this kid possibly succeed?
Yu Xian preheated the cauldron.
More and more people gathered.
Unnoticed by most, a few powerful cultivators quietly approached and watched in silence.
“Begin.”
After about ten minutes of preheating, Yu Xian—still seated cross-legged—opened his eyes and calmly lifted the first herb with a gesture.
With dazzling precision, he activated the medicinal properties.
At first, the audience hadn’t been impressed. But now, seeing his flawless technique in extracting each herb’s essence with perfect timing, even those who didn’t know alchemy were left gasping.
The hall grew noisy.
Gao Cong’s group took advantage of the chaos, shouting deliberately:
“What kind of dogshit technique is that!?”
“It’s all wrong!”
Zhou Wen, though not an alchemist, furrowed his brows and glared at them.
His look alone silenced them instantly.
Still, the crowd wasn’t quieting down.
They weren’t obligated to keep silent—after all, this was just entertainment to them.
But Yu Xian was completely unaffected, moving as though in a tranquil alchemy chamber. Calmly, flawlessly, he activated the herbs in sequence, tossing them into the furnace with near-perfect rhythm.
Finally—
With a clang, the lid closed on the furnace.
“Well done. While not revolutionary, your technique is solid and precise. You’ve mastered the foundational insights left behind by your seniors. Now let’s see how you handle fire control—Bloodburst Pills are difficult in this regard…”
A soft, subtle voice emerged, lost in the noise of the crowd.
And indeed, fire control for Bloodburst Pills was tricky. Yu Xian had wasted more than forty batches before mastering it.
The fire had to shift three times in total.
Yu Xian focused. After precisely timed intervals, he removed charcoal bits to reduce heat, then re-added others, gradually increasing the intensity.
Fifteen minutes in—
With a flash in his eyes, he roared, “Open!”
Boom!
The cauldron burst open as Yu Xian flicked a hand—pouring the purifying essence into the furnace.
Hiss!
A rich, fragrant medicinal scent burst out with the steam.
As spiritual energy surged, three Bloodburst Pills flew out, landing in Yu Xian’s open palm like pearls.
“He did it! He actually did it!”
“He refined pills!? That seemed way too easy!”
“No way…”
“It’s real!”
The hall exploded into an uproar—shocked, thrilled, amazed!
Sweat beaded on Yu Xian’s forehead, but his eyes remained cold. He stood and raised the pills high.
“Senior brothers and sisters, behold—high-grade Bloodburst Pills! Please witness!”
“Bloodburst Pills! Three per bottle! Worth thirty low-grade spirit stones!”
“Incredible… that little brat just made thirty spirit stones in minutes? I want to learn alchemy too!”
“Yup, it’s real!”
“Top quality! Look at those pills—round, lustrous, fragrant and condensed. True high-grade pills! These three are worth more than six average ones!”
The surrounding crowd gasped in admiration. Those unfamiliar with alchemy knew only that these were powerful and expensive.
But the experts knew—these were high-grade pills!
Yu Xian turned toward Gao Cong, his gaze icy.
“I’ve made the pills. I’ve won the bet. So, senior brother… shouldn’t you honor your part?”
“Shouldn’t he!?” he shouted to the crowd.
“Yes!”
“He has to!”
“Make him keep the bet!”
“Honor the deal!”
“Kill or be killed!”
The mob roared—fueling the pressure.
Gao Cong was trembling, face pale as death.
Yu Xian threw a sword toward him.
“Please, senior brother, fulfill your vow. Cut off your own head.”
“I… I…” Gao Cong trembled violently.
He had never imagined Yu Xian would actually succeed—much less so easily.
He didn’t want to die. Forget that stupid bet—he had no intention of keeping it. None at all.
“You don’t plan to honor your word?”
Yu Xian growled. “Then let these fellow brothers and sisters help you keep it!”
Gao Cong nearly collapsed in fear, panicking.
He turned and tried to flee.
“No respect for your oath? I’ll help you!”
Yu Xian’s eyes flashed murderously as he formed a seal.
He truly intended to kill Gao Cong!
“Hmm? Fire Jiao Art?”
Just then, a calm voice rang out, “Enough!”
A figure like a ghost appeared between them and grabbed Yu Xian’s hand, interrupting his technique.
“A farce like this should end now.”
The man was tall and slender, his voice resonant and firm.
“The hall master!?”
“Greetings, Master Xiao!”
“Greetings to the Hall Master of the Alchemy Hall!”
Shocked gasps spread through the crowd as they recognized him—
Xiao Wusheng, the Hall Master of the Alchemy Hall.
One of the most powerful figures in the outer sect—peak Foundation Establishment level!
“A farce!?”
Yu Xian struggled, shouting, “This was a deathmatch! He has to die! You’re the hall master—you can’t protect him!”
“You child…”
Xiao Wusheng looked at Yu Xian with exasperation.
“You didn’t go to the Arena and register a life-and-death duel. How can this count as a proper bet? Even if you killed him, the Judicial Hall would still punish you. I’m doing this for your sake.”
“For my sake!?”
Yu Xian’s eyes were red with rage.
“He wanted to kill me! If I had lost, would you have saved me!?”
“I would’ve!”
Xiao Wusheng bellowed, “Even Zhou Wen wouldn’t have let you die! Do you understand White Cloud Sect law? Enough nonsense!”
Yu Xian saw the seriousness and sincerity in Xiao Wusheng’s eyes. Finally, he clenched his fists, trembling—but held back.
“Gao Cong, crawl over here.”
Xiao Wusheng’s calm voice froze the room.
Gao Cong had made it to the exit.
He could’ve run.
He could ignore the crowd.
But Xiao Wusheng’s words? They were absolute.
His body froze, then began crawling like a ball—rolling across the floor.
He knelt at Xiao Wusheng’s feet, crying, “Please spare me! I didn’t mean it! It was a joke! I never agreed to the bet!”
“I told you to crawl,” Xiao Wusheng said indifferently. “Now apologize to him. Explain everything.”
Gao Cong looked at Yu Xian, then prostrated, slamming his head to the ground repeatedly.
“Junior brother, I was wrong! I was tempted by that wretched Zhang Quluo. I heard you had spirit stones, so I tried to extort you. I was wrong! Please spare me! I won’t ever offend you again!”
Bang, bang, bang—he kowtowed frantically.
Yu Xian wanted to kill him, but the Hall Master had intervened and extracted an apology. That made it impossible.
He snorted coldly, “On Hall Master’s account, I’ll spare your life. But if you ever extort anyone again—I won’t show mercy.”
“I won’t! Never again!”
Gao Cong was overjoyed, still kowtowing.
Xiao Wusheng sighed. “Gao Cong, you tried to extort, slandered a fellow disciple… a serious crime. But you’ve served in the Alchemy Hall for years, so I’ll spare your life.”
“From now on, you are expelled from the Alchemy Hall. Report to the Mining Hall.”
He looked around coldly. “And the rest of you—go back to your business. This isn’t a theater!”
Gao Cong’s face turned ashen as he knelt.
The crowd quickly dispersed.
Even Zhou Wen bowed slightly and left.
The false accusation was now completely resolved.
Once the crowd had gone, Xiao Wusheng turned to Yu Xian and smiled.
“Satisfied with this result?”
“What’s your name? How old are you? When did you enter the sect?”
Yu Xian gave a respectful bow. “Greetings, Master Hall. My name is Yu Xian. I’m fifteen years and seven months old. I joined the outer sect seven months ago.”
“You’re not even sixteen!?”
Xiao Wusheng was amazed. “Then stay here in the Alchemy Hall! I’ll personally teach you the path of alchemy. How about it?”
Yu Xian hesitated. After a moment of thought, he bowed again.
“I was assigned to the Mining Hall upon entry. The master there might not let me go.”
Xiao Wusheng laughed, waving dismissively. “Don’t worry. Su Mofeng won’t say no. He gets most of his pills from me!”
Yu Xian’s eyes lit up.
He took two steps back and bowed deeply.
“Disciple Yu Xian thanks the Hall Master for his guidance and support!”
