Xuan Yi swept her gaze across the surrounding elders. Realizing their earlier misstep, they quickly avoided her eyes and instead offered various valuable items to Xiao Meng.
Seeing that they understood, Xuan Yi withdrew her gaze.
She picked up Xiao Meng, worried that the earlier words might have affected her, and gently comforted the little girl.
"Mother Xuan Yi, don't worry. I'm fine," Xiao Meng said with a bright smile. "Compared to alchemy, I'm much more interested in cultivation. Besides, alchemy is so tiring. Look at Father—he has to practice for days on end. It's so boring."
She shook her small head like a rattle-drum, showing zero interest in becoming an alchemist. Xiao Ling could handle that. Whenever she needed pills, she would simply ask her sister to refine them. After all, Xiao Ling couldn't beat her in a fight.
As the possessor of the Thunder Indestructible Body, Xiao Meng had a natural battle-loving physique, though she was still young and her constitution had not fully awakened.
"Elder Su, prepare the Rank 4 Alchemist assessment," Xuan Kongzi instructed one of the elders.
The old man hurriedly went to arrange the necessary items.
About ten minutes later, the central stone platform had been fully reset with everything required for a Rank 4 assessment.
"Little Junior Niece, you may begin," Xuan Kongzi said gently.
Hearing his words, Xiao Ling took a deep breath.
Although she felt slightly nervous with so many people watching her refine medicine, she still had plenty of confidence.
"Go on. Father believes in you." Xiao Jietian gently stroked her small head.
Xuan Yi and Xiao Meng cheered her on from the side.
"Alright! Just wait and see my performance!" Xiao Ling tilted her head, looking like a general heading off to battle.
However, because of her young age and adorable appearance, the sight only made everyone want to smile.
...
The spot where Xiao Jietian had stood earlier was now occupied by Xiao Ling.
Before her lay three sets of Rank 4 medicinal ingredients, a pill formula scroll, and a fourth-tier medicinal cauldron.
At this moment, Xiao Ling's small face wore an unusually serious expression for her age. Her father had just displayed his might here. A tiger father would not produce a dog daughter—she had to live up to his reputation and not tarnish his prestige.
She took a deep breath, looked up at the judges with eyes full of determination rather than fear, then read through the pill formula and inspected the ingredients. Only after adjusting her mindset and state did she begin.
Her small hands formed a seal, and a wisp of green flame emerged from her palm. She slowly injected it into the medicinal cauldron.
"A green-colored Heavenly Flame possessing both fire and life energy attributes! This is the Life Spirit Flame, ranked fifth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking!" an elder exclaimed as he shot to his feet in shock.
The other elders also wore expressions of astonishment. The Life Spirit Flame was the dream flame of every alchemist, and this little girl actually possessed it.
They instinctively turned to look at Xuan Yi.
"Don't look at me," Xuan Yi said with a slight smile as she sat beside Xiao Jietian. "I don't have any Heavenly Flame from the ranking list, nor do I need one."
The elders present all breathed a subtle sigh of relief. Today was truly the most surprising and stimulating day they had experienced in many years.
A Grade 8 Alchemist in his twenties, a Rank 4 Alchemist who was not even four years old, and two Heavenly Flames—one of which was the legendary Life Spirit Flame. Although they were old monsters and could tell it was only a sub-flame, it was still not something ordinary people could possess.
Each of these achievements was shocking enough on its own, yet they were all appearing together. Was this even reasonable? Was there still any justice left in the world?
Unlike Xiao Jietian, Xiao Ling did not refine all the medicinal ingredients at once. Instead, she refined them in groups of three. She was still very young, and her skill with Rank 4 pills was not yet perfect.
"Xiao Ling'er's control over flame temperature and every other aspect is already extremely precise and flawless."
"Of course. The student surpasses the teacher, after all. How could my offspring be any less?" Xiao Jietian watched his daughter's small figure with eyes full of pride and relief.
"Isn't that just praising yourself?" Xuan Yi glanced at him with a smile. What a shameless man—always taking credit for everything.
"I'm already excellent enough. I don't need to praise myself," Xiao Jietian replied, patting her waist.
Xuan Yi's face flushed slightly. She glanced around nervously. Having been single until recently, this was her first time engaging in such an intimate gesture with Xiao Jietian in front of the Pill Tower's people. She still felt quite shy inside.
Meanwhile, the core elders of the Pill Tower watched Xiao Ling's refinement with full concentration. None of them even glanced at the couple, let alone dared to.
They were all old foxes who clearly understood what could be seen and what could be said. This was their superior—how could they casually look or speak? They would be in trouble in minutes.
In the arena, Xiao Ling focused all her attention, not daring to let her mind wander as she controlled the flames inside the cauldron.
The Life Spirit Flame continuously roasted the medicinal herbs, burning away impurities and leaving only the purest essence.
One hour later.
Xiao Ling looked at the successfully refined medicinal essences and let out a small sigh of relief.
She adjusted slightly, then began regulating the temperature inside the cauldron before carefully placing the refined essences inside in the correct order.
...
Two and a half hours later.
The uneven pill inside Xiao Ling's cauldron gradually became smooth and round.
"Is the pill about to form? She can't make a mistake now," Xiao Meng said from the judging seats. She sat up straight, eyes fixed on the cauldron, looking slightly nervous.
The moment her words fell, a rich medicinal aroma wafted out from Xiao Ling's cauldron, accompanied by faint energy fluctuations—the clear sign of a Rank 4 pill taking shape.
"Ha!"
Because the medicinal cauldron was quite large, Xiao Ling looked tiny standing in front of it. She shouted cutely, jumped up, and slapped her small hand on top of the cauldron.
"Clang!"
A crisp sound rang out as the cauldron lid was sent flying. She had seen her father and uncle do this when taking out pills, and it looked very cool.
With a wave of her battle qi, the pill that flew out of the cauldron landed steadily in her hand.
She held the pill forward with her right hand, left hand behind her back. Her cute little face was scrunched up in serious concentration as she tried her best to imitate the confident, majestic look her father had when retrieving pills.
She tilted her head slightly, chin raised high, trying to appear more imposing.
Her eyes were wide open in an attempt to look profound and solemn, as if she had just refined a peerless divine pill.
However, she was only four years old. Her height did not even reach half the cauldron's. She wore adorable little leather boots, a light pink princess dress, and a pair of thin, cicada-wing-like butterfly wings on her back.
Paired with her delicate, doll-like face, no matter how one looked at her, she was simply an adorable little princess whose cuteness could melt anyone's heart.