The Art of Chaotic Divinity

Chapter 426: Six-legged Taotie Cauldron!

After a moment, Hong Haotian finally regained his composure. He swallowed hard, looked up at Yan Cangtian, and asked in a deep voice, "Brother Yan, you're not joking with me, are you? How old is this boy?"

"Just because he's young doesn't mean his skills are lacking," Yan Cangtian smirked. "This kid's alchemy skills, conservatively speaking, are at least at the sixth-grade!"

"Ridiculous!"

"Nonsense!"

"Utterly preposterous!"

As soon as Yan Cangtian finished speaking, several fifth-grade alchemists present jumped up in disbelief. They had been stuck at the fifth-grade for decades, accumulating experience and seniority, yet even they found it incredibly difficult to advance to the sixth grade.

The gap between the fifth and sixth grade was a significant one. Only upon reaching the sixth grade could one be considered a true grandmaster in alchemy!

And now, a youngster was being called a grandmaster in alchemy?

It was no wonder these old alchemists found it hard to accept.

Hong Haotian, once again shocked, took a deep breath and finally regarded Ling Feng seriously. He asked, "Young friend, do you truly have the skill of a sixth-grade alchemist?"

Ling Feng rubbed his nose, smiling sheepishly before saying, "Elder Yan is really overpraising me."

Overpraising?

The surrounding alchemists finally let out a sigh of relief. So, it was just an exaggeration!

But the next moment, they were dumbfounded again.

Ling Feng continued, "I'm almost able to refine seventh-tier medicinal pills."

As these words were spoken, the room fell into dead silence!

Being able to almost refine seventh-tier medicinal pills essentially meant he was a sixth-grade alchemist. (Authors note: Typically, a sixth-grade alchemist can attempt to refine seventh-tier medicinal pills, but the success rate would not be very high.)

He Taichong, the vice-president, twitched his mouth. He now understood why even Master Yun called Ling Feng a prodigy in alchemy!

Hong Haotian's expression turned somewhat complicated as he internally grumbled: Could you not talk in such a roundabout way?

Taking a deep breath, Hong Haotian, filled with disbelief, asked again, "Young friend, can you truly refine seventh-tier medicinal pills?"

Ling Feng shrugged, replying nonchalantly, "I can try."

Although Ling Feng's answer was vague, Hong Haotian saw the confidence in Yan Cangtian's eyes and was nearly certain that this young man indeed possessed the skill of a sixth-grade alchemist.

Hong Haotian could hardly express his feelings. In his eight years as the president of the Alchemist Guild, he had seen many prodigies, but compared to Ling Feng, those so-called geniuses were nothing.

"Well then, if there are no issues, let's arrange for his assessment as soon as possible," Yan Cangtian said loudly. "I'm looking forward to seeing this kid become the honorary president!"

"Gulp..."

A series of gulping sounds filled the room. The elders looked at each other, seeing only shock and astonishment in each other's eyes.

"Hmph, whether he has real skills or not, we'll find out through the assessment!"

Elder Hua snorted, his face stern. "President, let's first test this boy's capabilities!"

"Alright." Hong Haotian nodded slightly, his gaze fixed on Ling Feng. In a deep voice, he said, "Young friend, Master Yan should have informed you of the purpose of bringing you here today. I won't say much more, as alchemy skills cannot be proven by words alone."

"I understand." Ling Feng smiled nonchalantly, "Please, seniors, present the challenge."

"Very well." Hong Haotian gave Ling Feng a meaningful look before turning to the crowd, saying, "Everyone, please follow me to the alchemy room."

The elders, each with their own thoughts, mostly did not believe that such a young man could possess the skills of a sixth-grade alchemist.

However, since he dared to participate in the assessment, he must have some capability.

Shortly, everyone followed Hong Haotian to a spacious alchemy room.

Ling Feng glanced around, secretly admiring the place. This was indeed the headquarters of the Alchemist Guild. Rows of tall wooden shelves were filled with various rare materials. The entire room's temperature and humidity were tightly controlled.

In addition, there were rows of bookshelves filled with precious alchemy texts.

In the center of the alchemy room stood a huge six-legged giant cauldron, which was Hong Haotian's personal alchemy furnace.

This alchemy furnace was evidently of a higher grade than Yan Cangtian's. Engraved on its base was a top-tier fire control array, which could automatically release the Six Yang True Fire when controlled with true qi, making pill refining more efficient.

If not for testing whether Ling Feng truly had the skills of a sixth-grade alchemist, Hong Haotian wouldn't have let him use such a precious spiritual artifact-level furnace.

"What a fine Six Yang True Fire array. Combined with this Six-legged Taotie[1] Cauldron, it can probably increase the success rate of making pills by at least twenty percent!" Yan Cangtian stroked his beard, eyeing the cauldron with envy.

"Brother Yan, you truly have keen eyes. This Six-legged Taotie Cauldron cost me a lot to acquire," Hong Haotian said with a faint smile.

Then he looked at Ling Feng and said, "Young friend, today's challenge was devised by me and the elders. Next to the cauldron are the main ingredients for refining a seventh-tier medicinal pill. Using these main ingredients, if you can refine a seventh-tier medicinal pill, you'll pass the assessment.

"Let me remind you, you can freely select any additional materials from the shelves around you."

"Oh?" Ling Feng raised an eyebrow, a slight smile on his lips.

This assessment was clearly more challenging than directly giving Ling Feng a pill formula to refine. However, a seasoned alchemist should be familiar with various precious pill formulas. So, if Ling Feng truly had the skills, this wouldn't be too difficult an assessment.

"Can I start now?" Ling Feng asked with a smile.

"You can start at any time." Hong Haotian made a "please go ahead" gesture and said, "Once you start, we will activate the hourglass. If you can complete the seventh-tier medicinal pill within twelve hours, you will have succeeded."

"Twelve hours?" Ling Feng frowned. Twelve hours is too long!

"What's wrong? Too short?" Hong Haotian thought it over. Considering the boy's age, even if he could refine a seventh-tier medicinal pill, identifying a complete pill formula from just a few main ingredients and successfully refining it was no easy task.

After all, who could guarantee success on the first try? Even Hong Haotian himself had only a sixty-five percent success rate when refining seventh-tier medicinal pills, and that was using the Six-legged Taotie Cauldron. With an ordinary cauldron, his success rate would drop to fifty percent.

"Let's discuss it with the elders. If they agree, we can extend the time a bit."

Hong Haotian's attitude was quite considerate.

"Uh..." Ling Feng was momentarily stunned, and then shook his head with a smile. "No need, twelve hours is enough!"

1. Taotie - ancient Chinese mythological creature, one of the "four evil creatures". ☜