Martial Peak

Translator: Silavin & Tia

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

“Both of you have respectively won one round of the physical fights, so the contest is currently a draw. You can have a discussion among yourselves regarding the last round.” Wu Zheng Qi looked around. Yang Kai and Wei Cheng had already come to an agreement, and it was an unspoken rule in Profound Pill Sect. They naturally wouldn’t object to it.

Since the last round was about Alchemy, Wu Zheng Qi, a cultivator, was unable to interfere.

Standing on the Martial Methods Stage, Yang Kai said, “Alchemist Wei, I’m a newcomer, so I’m not familiar with the Sect’s rules. You can decide on what to compete. I’m fine with anything.”

Wei Cheng snorted, “You’re truly confident, Alchemist Yang. What if I say we’ll compete against each other using Alchemy Flames? Will you accept the challenge?”

Upon hearing that, the Alchemists around the stage broke into a commotion and Wu Zheng Qi immediately raised his hand, “You can’t do that!”

A curious Yang Kai asked, “Why can’t we fight using Alchemy Flames?” It seemed to him that it was a serious issue to fight against one another with Alchemy Flames.

An astounded Wei Cheng asked, “Why don’t you even know this? Have you been living under a rock?”

On the side, Wu Zheng Qi explained, “Alchemist Yang, all Alchemists have their own Alchemy Flames, which are divided into different Grades. You’ve been to the Divine Flame Cave, so you must be aware that a powerful Alchemy Flame can swallow a weaker one to upgrade itself. That’s why some Alchemists fight against each other using their Alchemy Flames. However, this kind of fight is extremely dangerous. Usually, the Alchemy Flame of either party will end up getting swallowed. Once that happens, the Alchemist will suffer from a severe backlash. Therefore, unless it is an unresolvable blood feud, Alchemists never compete against each other using Alchemy Flames.”

After explaining it to Yang Kai, he turned to look at Wei Cheng, “Alchemist Wei, you and Alchemist Yang are important treasures of Profound Pill Sect. It isn’t like there’s a life-or-death feud between the two of you. It will be fine if it’s any other form of competition; however, if you really want to fight using Alchemy Flames, this Wu will have no choice but to report the incident to the Elder Council and ask them to interfere.”

Wei Cheng pressed his lips together, “This Wei was just making a point. Of course I know how dangerous it is to fight using Alchemy Flames. Please don’t take it seriously, Vice Hall Master Wu.”

It was only then that Wu Zheng Qi nodded, “That’s good.”

Wei Cheng turned to look at Yang Kai, “We won’t fight using Alchemy Flames. However, it will be far too time-consuming if we compete against one another in a complete Alchemy session. Why don’t we refine some medicinal liquid? Let’s see who will be able to refine a purer, more concentrated medicinal liquid from the same herbs. It’s a simple contest and won’t take a long time.”

Yang Kai was naturally fine with it as he nodded, “En.”

It was apparent that Wei Cheng was well prepared. As he clapped his hands, the Heaven Realm Blood Warrior who was previously sent flying away from the stage by Yang Kai, leaped up with two boxes in hand.

With his hands behind his back, Wei Cheng stated, “These are Starry Sky Flowers. They are similar in terms of their medicinal age and size. You can examine them and pick out one. Instead of using any Alchemy Furnaces, we’ll only use our own Alchemy Flames to refine the medicinal liquid and see who can do better.”

As he spoke, the Heaven Realm Blood Warrior reached Yang Kai with the boxes and let him examine them.

The Alchemists around the stage whispered among themselves.

“Alchemist Wei is trying to refine a Starry Sky Flower? It isn’t an easy task.”

“That’s right. Of all the Heaven Grade herbs, even though Starry Sky Flowers are not the most precious, they are definitely the most difficult to refine. I heard that even the best Heaven Grade Alchemists in Profound Pill Sect can only refine 70% of its medicinal efficacies.”

“Even the Spirit Grade Alchemists from the Elder Council can only reach 90%, let alone Heaven Grade Alchemists.”

“However, it’s a good test to find out an Alchemist’s foundation. This will be interesting.”

…

Noises could be heard coming from everywhere as Yang Kai gazed at the boxes. Just like what Wei Cheng had said, there was no difference in size or age between the two herbs. They could be said to be identical. They looked like flowers the size of a palm with eight petals each, on which silver lines were seen glowing, making them look like a sky full of stars.

Yang Kai had never seen these flowers before and had a feeling that they were native to the Divine Armament World.

Wei Cheng extended his hand, “Please, Alchemist Yang.”

Yang Kai nodded and randomly selected one. The bodyguard then walked towards Wei Cheng with the other flower. Wei Cheng took the flower and said with a smile, “By the way, Alchemist Yang, I have some unique insight when it comes to refining Starry Sky Flowers, so you’ll definitely lose.”

He wouldn’t have come up with such a form of competition if he were not confident in himself. That was the reason he had prepared two starry Sky Flowers from the start.

Yang Kai didn’t respond to him.

Right then, Wu Zheng Qi was heard saying, “If the two of you are ready, you can start at any moment.”

“Please, Alchemist Yang!” Wei Cheng shouted while activating his Spirit Qi. At the same time, an orange flame appeared above his palm. The brightness of the flame suggested that it was a very high-quality Heaven Flame, though Yang Kai wasn’t sure exactly what kind of flame it was. The Heaven Flame surrounded the Starry Sky Flower as its intensity shifted from time to time. Under Wei Cheng’s control, the flame started extracting the medicinal liquid out of the Starry Sky Flower.

Seeing that, Yang Kai hurriedly activated his Spirit Qi and Alchemy Flame. A white flame appeared out of thin air and flickered in the next moment. Although it appeared very pure, it wasn’t comparable to the Heaven Flame of Wei Cheng when it came to colour or Grade.

“A Mortal Flame?” Someone exclaimed all of a sudden.

Many of them were dumbfounded as they gazed at the flame above Yang Kai’s palm. Although they had no idea what kind of Alchemy Flame it was, they reckoned that it was a Mortal Flame just judging from its appearance.

It was inconceivable that the Alchemy Flame of a Heaven Grade Alchemist was a Mortal Flame.

If they hadn’t seen it with their eyes, they wouldn’t have believed it. Mortal Flames were usually used by new Alchemists as they were the lowest Grade of Alchemy Flames.

Wu Zheng Qi was also astounded. Yang Kai had visited the Divine Flame Cave a few days ago, so he should have gained something. Why did he only get a Mortal Flame?

A busy Wei Cheng took a glance at Yang Kai, then guffawed, “Alchemist Yang… how can you use a Mortal Flame to refine a Starry Sky Flower? Do you know that it’s a Heaven Grade herb? There’s no way a Mortal Flame will work on this Spirit Flower. I suggest that you admit defeat now to save you from embarrassment.”

Yang Kai shot him a glance and replied impassively, “What difference does it make whether it’s a Mortal Flame or a Heaven Flame? The Alchemist is the foundation of everything. As long as one is skillful enough, he can refine a Heaven Grade herb using a Mortal Flame… like this!”

As he spoke, the white flame surged while the medicinal liquid was extracted out of the Starry Sky Flower and formed into a ball. With continuous burning, the impurities were slowly removed.

Wei Cheng was stunned, “How is that possible?”

While he was in a dazed state, his Heaven Flame almost destroyed the starry Sky Flower. Flustered, he quickly restrained the Heaven Flame’s power.

The Alchemists around the stage broke into a commotion as the sight before their eyes was inconceivable. A white Mortal Flame could really refine a Heaven Grade herb as fast as the Heaven Flame of Wei Cheng.

In fact, Yang Kai was actually suppressing the white flame.

Although he already knew that the white flame he had obtained from the Divine Flame Cave was strange, he hadn’t had time to carry out any experiments with it yet. It wasn’t until this moment that he realised the white flame was incredibly powerful when it came to refining medicinal liquid. He didn’t really exert much force when the medicinal liquid was extracted out of the Starry Sky Flower. Moreover, the impurities in the medicinal liquid were swiftly purified with the help of the white flame.

This made Yang Kai feel even more curious about the kind of Alchemy Flame he had obtained. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any record about it in the Sect’s Records Hall.

The competition was still ongoing. On the Martial Methods Stage, Yang Kai and Wei Cheng continuously adjusted the intensity of their Alchemy Flames. The original Starry Sky Flowers were now gone and replaced by two drops of medicinal liquid. The drops of liquid glowed as though a sky full of stars had been condensed together. As the impurities were removed, the drops of medicinal liquid shone brighter and brighter.

Wei Cheng’s forehead was covered in sweat. He didn’t mind losing 300,000 Red Jades, but he couldn’t bear to embarrass himself in such a way. It had been decades since he joined Profound Pill Sect, so if he lost the competition against a newcomer who only arrived a few days ago, he would be too embarrassed to show his face again. Moreover, Yang Kai was only using a Mortal Flame in this competition.

Therefore, Wei Cheng went all out. Under such immense pressure, he was able to exceed his own limits and compared to the times when he refined Starry Sky Flowers in the past, he actually achieved a new record in performance.

One hour later, Wei Cheng took a deep breath and abruptly withdrew his Heaven Flame.

There was a drop of very pure medicinal liquid hovering above his palm, swirling around in mid-air with the influence of his Spirit Qi. Under the sunlight, the medicinal liquid reflected a rainbow of lights.

He let out a breath and without even needing to look at it, Wei Cheng knew that he had extracted 70% of the medicinal efficacies from the Starry Sky Flower. Although it wasn’t the best record in Profound Pill Sect, it was the best he had personally achieved so far.

Then, he looked up and saw that Yang Kai had also finished his refinement. There was also a drop of Starry Sky Flower’s medicinal liquid hovering above his palm, and from the looks of it, the drop of medicinal liquid was about the same as his own.

With a conflicted expression, he felt his chest tightening.

That sight before his eyes alone made him realise that he had lost. That was because he used a Heaven Flame to refine the Starry Sky Flower while Yang Kai used a Mortal Flame. Wei Cheng didn’t think he could have achieved the same result using a Mortal Flame.

Still, this was a competition between two Alchemists with a huge wager on the line, so Wei Cheng naturally wouldn’t admit defeat easily. He looked provocatively at Yang Kai and commented, “You’re pretty amazing, Alchemist Yang.”

Yang Kai nodded, “You’ve done pretty well yourself, Alchemist Wei.”

Seeing that none of them was sincere, Wu Zheng Qi coughed and said, “This Wu is a cultivator who knows nothing about the profundities of the Alchemic Dao. Both of you will be the judges of the results. I believe you’ll be impartial and conscientious.”

He might have been sincere when he said those words, but it could also be that he wasn’t willing to be the judge of the last round. Both parties came to a draw in the combat rounds, and the winner would emerge in this final contest. It was inappropriate for Wu Zheng Qi to decide and announce the winner; therefore, he decided to leave the matter to the two competitors themselves.