Chaos Heavenly Emperor Technique

Chapter 426: Chapter 426: Six-legged Taotie Tripod! (3 more)

After a long while, Hong Haotian finally regained his composure and, with difficulty, swallowed a mouthful of saliva. He looked up towards Yan Cangtian, and said in a grave voice, ”Brother Yan, you’re not joking with me, are you? This young man, how old is he?”

”Being young doesn’t necessarily mean a low level,” Yan Cangtian pursed his lips. ”Conservatively estimating, this kid’s proficiency in the Alchemy Dao would make him a sixth-level Alchemist!”

”Ridiculous!”

”Utter nonsense!”

”Sheer absurdity!”

No sooner had Yan Cangtian’s words fallen than several fifth-rank Alchemists on the scene sprang up, having stagnated at the rank of fifth-rank Alchemist for a decade, or even decades. Both in experience and qualifications, they were quite seasoned, but even so, they too struggled to progress from the fifth rank to become sixth-level Alchemists.

Moving from the fifth to the sixth rank is a watershed. Only by reaching the sixth level can one be regarded as a true master in the Alchemy Dao!

And this teenager, barely in his teens, a master in the Alchemy Dao?

That was precisely why those old men found it difficult to accept.

Hong Haotian was again astounded, taking a deep breath. His gaze swept over Ling Feng and, finally regarding the young man seriously, he asked, ”Young friend, do you truly have the standard of a sixth-level Alchemist?”

Ling Feng touched his nose and said sheepishly, ”Elder Yan is really overestimating me.”

Overestimating?

The old heads from the Alchemy Master Guild breathed a sigh of relief, so it was just an overestimation!

But the very next moment, they were stunned once more.

All they heard Ling Feng say with a pursed mouth was, ”I can, more or less, refine some seventh-rank Elixirs.”

Upon these words, the entire venue fell dead silent!

Being able to refine some sixth-level Elixirs essentially meant being a sixth-level Alchemist! (PS: To clarify, generally speaking, a sixth-level Alchemist can refine seventh-rank Elixirs, but the success rate is not very high.)

As for the Vice President He Taichong, the corners of his mouth twitched as he now understood why even Master Yun had praised Ling Feng as an Alchemy Genius!

Hong Haotian’s eyes also took on a look of ”deep resentment,” as he complained inwardly: Must you speak with such breathlessness?

Drawing a deep breath, with eyes full of disbelief, Hong Haotian continued to ask, ”Young friend, can you truly refine seventh rank Elixirs?”

Ling Feng shrugged his shoulders and answered indifferently, ”I guess I could give it a try.”

Although Ling Feng’s response was ambiguous, Hong Haotian felt 70 to 80 percent certain from Yan Cangtian’s smug look that this youngster absolutely possessed the standard of a sixth-level Alchemist!

Hong Haotian truly couldn’t describe his inner feelings with words. He had been the president of the Alchemy Master Guild for only about seven or eight years and, in that time, had seen many talented geniuses in the path of alchemy. However, compared to Ling Feng, those so-called talents were not even worth mentioning.

”So, what do you think? If there’s no problem, hurry up and arrange for the kid to be tested,” Yan Cangtian said nonchalantly, ”I’m still waiting to see this kid become the Honorary Guild Master!”

”Gululu...”

The sounds of swallowing saliva were incessant. The elders at the scene looked at each other, each seeing shock and amazement in the others’ eyes.

”Hmph, whether he has real talent or not, we’ll only know after testing!”

Elder Hua harrumphed and said in a stern voice, ”President, let’s first put this youngster to the test before anything else!”

”Hmm,” Hong Haotian nodded slightly, his gaze fixed on Ling Feng as he asked in a deep voice, ”Young friend, I believe Master Yan must have already told you about the purpose of bringing you here today, so there is no need for me to say much more. After all, the level of alchemy cannot be conveyed by mere words.”

”I understand,” Ling Feng replied with a nonchalant smile, ”Please go ahead and set the task, seniors.”

”Good,” Hong Haotian gave Ling Feng a meaningful glance before announcing loudly to everyone, ”Please follow me to the Alchemy Room.”

The group of Elders harbored their own thoughts, the vast majority quite skeptical that such a young lad could possess the skills of a Sixth-rank Alchemist.

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

In a short while, everyone followed Hong Haotian to a very spacious Alchemy Room.

Ling Feng looked around appreciatively, secretly admiring the place. As expected of the headquarters of the Alchemy Master Guild, the towering rows of wooden shelves around him were filled with various rare materials, and all conditions including temperature and humidity within the entire room were under strict control.

In addition to this, there was a row of bookshelves filled with precious Alchemy Classics.

In the middle of the Alchemy Room, stood a colossal Six-legged Taotie Tripod, which was Hong Haotian’s personal Alchemy Furnace.

This Alchemy Furnace was obviously of much higher quality than Yan Cangtian’s, and on its base, the most top-notch Fire Control Array was engraved. One only needed to channel a certain amount of True Qi to control the Array, and it would automatically release Six Yang True Fire to smelt and refine the Elixir.

If it were not for testing whether Ling Feng truly possessed the skills of a Sixth-rank Alchemist, Hong Haotian would have been truly reluctant to let Ling Feng use such a valuable Spiritual Artifact Level Elixir Furnace.

”What an excellent Six Yang True Fire Array, coupled with this Six-legged Taotie Tripod, it can certainly increase the success rate by at least 20 percent!” Yan Cangtian stroked his long beard with an envious look at the large tripod in the center.

”Brother Yan is truly well-versed and knowledgeable. It indeed cost quite a price to acquire this Six-legged Taotie Tripod!”

Hong Haotian smiled faintly, his gaze shifting back to Ling Feng as he stated calmly, ”Young friend, the task for today has been conceived by myself and the other Elders. Beside the Six-legged Taotie Tripod, there are some main ingredients placed for refining a Seventh Rank Elixir. If you can use these main ingredients to refine a kind of Seventh Rank Elixir, then you will be deemed to have passed the assessment.”

”I’ll remind you in addition, that you are free to select any of the materials on those surrounding shelves.”

”Oh?” Ling Feng’s eyebrows shot up, a curve forming at the corner of his mouth.

This kind of assessment, compared to directly giving an Elixir Recipe for a specific Elixir, obviously increased the difficulty considerably.

However, as a seasoned Alchemist, one should be intimately familiar with all kinds of precious Elixir Recipes, so if Ling Feng really had the genuine skills, this should not be too difficult an assessment.

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

”You can begin at any time,” Hong Haotian gestured invitingly and said indifferently, ”Once you start, our people will flip the hourglass. If you can complete the refinement of the Seventh Rank Elixir within 24 hours, then you will be considered successful.”

”24 hours?” Ling Feng frowned slightly: Isn’t that too much time?

”What’s the matter? Is it too short?” thought Hong Haotian. Indeed, this young man was only a few years old, and even if he truly could refine a Seventh Rank Elixir, it’s no easy task to come up with a complete Elixir Recipe just by looking at a few main ingredients and then to refine it successfully.

After all, who could guarantee success on the first attempt? Even as the President of the Alchemy Master Guild, his success rate when refining Seventh Rank Elixirs was just over 65 percent; that is with the support of the Six-legged Taotie Tripod. With a regular Alchemy Furnace, his success rate was only about 50 percent.

”How about this, I will discuss with the other Elders, and if they agree, we will extend the time a bit more.”

Hong Haotian was quite accommodating in his approach.

”Uh...” Ling Feng was taken aback for a moment, then touched his nose and shook his head with a smile, ”No need, 24 hours will be just fine!”