The Strange Flame Rekindles in Battle Through the Heavens

Chapter 64 An Unexpected Breakthrough

Just when everyone thought Xiao Yan was about to succeed in refining it, suddenly, the energy in the air around Xiao Yan became unusually active. A strange suction force suddenly emanated from within Xiao Yan's body, and the energy in the world rapidly converged towards him.

Strands of heaven and earth energy continuously flowed into Xiao Yan's body, and the internal cultivation technique began to circulate rapidly.

"Is he about to break through?" The people on the platform all showed expressions of shock.

"This breakthrough couldn't have come at the worst possible time!" the crowd lamented.

"Sigh! Why did you have to break through at this time!" Fa Ma sighed.

At this point, Xiao Yan only had two choices. The first choice was to give up alchemy and focus on breaking through to a higher level, which would allow him to advance by one star level. After all, opportunities to break through are rare and hard to come by.

But doing so would mean losing the competition. The prize money for this competition is extremely generous, and in terms of real value, it would be no less than 20 million gold coins. Even so, it would be in high demand but not available for sale.

But what if I give up this breakthrough and choose to continue refining pills? While that might win the competition, if the energy of heaven and earth enters my body without being refined, it will cause my internal battle qi to become impure.

Allowing these mixed energies to circulate freely in the meridians can damage the meridians and have a significant impact on the body, thereby affecting future potential.

Moreover, if one does not choose to break through this time, the difficulty of breaking through next time will increase several times, and one may even never be able to break through again in one's lifetime.

"Sigh! We've lost, so be it!" Fama sighed deeply again.

Princess Yaoyue, standing beside Xiao Yan, also looked at him with regret. However, although she felt sorry for him, she also thought that it would mean one less competitor! At this moment, Xiao Yan would definitely give up alchemy and choose to focus on breaking through to the next level.

"Even the heavens are helping me!" Liu Ling's joy was palpable as she watched Xiao Yan advance and break through at this moment.

Just when everyone thought Xiao Yan would give up alchemy and focus on breaking through to the next level, they found that Xiao Yan did not sit down cross-legged, but continued to refine medicine.

"Foolish!" Seeing Xiao Yan still refining medicine, Fa Ma was so angry that he wanted to step down from the stage to stop Xiao Yan's foolish behavior. Losing was no big deal, but if it affected his future potential, how could he face that person again?

"President Fa Ma, wait! I think Mr. Nie Feng must have something to rely on if he continues to refine medicine!" Just as Fa Ma was about to stop him, Nalan Yanran spoke up from the side.

"What did you figure out?" Fama asked in a deep voice.

Fa Ma was displeased that Nalan Yanran dared to stop him. He knew that in such a critical moment, even a slight delay could affect Xiao Yan's future.

If Nalan Yanran doesn't provide a reasonable explanation, even if he is the disciple of Sect Master Yun, Fa Ma will not let him off the hook.

"I wonder if everyone has noticed that Mr. Nie Feng has never taken a Qi-restoring pill since he started refining medicine," Nalan Yanran hurriedly explained when she saw that Fa Ma's expression was somewhat unpleasant.

Her status and position are now far inferior to what they used to be. Since losing to Xiao Yan, her standing has plummeted. In the past, she would have received a warm welcome at the Alchemist Guild, and the two princesses of the Jia Ma Empire would have been very polite to her. But now, everyone just offers a perfunctory greeting. Such is the fickleness of human nature and the coldness of the world.

If Nalan Jie can cure the brand poison, that would be fine. But if he can't, Nalan Yanran will only be able to maintain her position in the Yunlan Sect if she defeats Xiao Yan two years later.

Of course, this is only a possibility, since adults are driven by self-interest. Once the Nalan family is no longer worth courting, then Nalan Yanran will have no value whatsoever.

Even if Yun Yun loves Nalan Yanran dearly, she will have to consider the attitude of the sect elders. If the elders oppose her, she cannot act unilaterally and will have to abolish Nalan Yanran's position as the young sect leader.

But if Nalan Yanran loses again in the duel between Nalan Yanran and Xiao Yan two years later, forget about the position of young sect leader; she'll be lucky to stay in the Yunlan Sect and not be expelled.

Nalan Yanran's reminder to Fa Ma was also a huge risk, involving an element of gambling. Although the relationship between Xiao Yan and Fa Ma is unclear, judging from Fa Ma's various actions, the two must have a very close relationship.

If the bet is lost and Xiao Yan truly suffers a backlash, the Nalan family will have an unprecedentedly formidable enemy. At that point, Fa Ma won't even need to lift a finger; a single gesture from him will be enough to destroy the Nalan family. Because, given Fa Ma's age, he owes countless favors.

If she wins the bet, she can make Fama owe her a favor. Even if the Nalan family loses his grandfather, their pillar and powerful backer, no one will dare to act rashly, and the Nalan family will not have to leave the capital like the Xiao family did back then.

Given a few years, Nalan Yanran's talent for cultivation will surely allow her to become a pillar of the Nalan family once again.

"Now that you mention it, I think I've also realized that Mr. Nie Feng has never taken any pills to increase his battle qi," Yao Ye chimed in from the side.

"And didn't you notice that Mr. Nie Feng remained calm throughout? He hasn't actively refined the energy of heaven and earth for so long. Anyone else would have been in great pain from these mixed energies long ago," Nalan Yanran explained again.

"Hehe, you've observed quite carefully, no wonder you're Yun Yun's apprentice. As for your grandfather, you don't need to worry too much, there will always be a way. Even if your grandfather really passes away, I will still take care of the Nalan family." Fa Ma's expression finally softened. Knowing that Xiao Yan had a trump card, he was no longer so worried.

"Thank you, President! You were all so focused on observing his alchemy that you didn't notice. Princess Yaoye and I don't know anything about alchemy, so we were able to notice these things," Nalan Yanran said happily. She knew she had made the right bet; with Fa Ma's words, part of the crisis facing her Nalan family had been resolved.

"I never expected that just when the Nalan family was about to lose the protection of the Yunlan Sect, they would actually climb up to the Alchemist Guild. It seems that the plan will have to be changed!" Yao Ye's face showed a hint of gloom after hearing Fa Ma's promise to the Nalan family, but it disappeared in a flash.

"I never expected to break through at this time!" Xiao Yan, who was refining pills, shook his head, somewhat amused and exasperated. However, it was to be expected; after refining pills for over ten days, his internal Dou Qi was constantly being consumed and generated, naturally accelerating his advancement. Originally, it would have taken Xiao Yan a month to break through to the sixth-star Dou Zhe level, but now he had achieved it in just twenty days.

Although he was on the verge of a breakthrough, Xiao Yan didn't make any further moves. There really wasn't much else to do! His cultivation techniques were all running on their own, essentially in an auto-play state; even if he sat cross-legged to cultivate, it wouldn't make much difference. So continuing to refine pills was the best course of action.

(End of this chapter)