"That furnace he lost today." Jax Jia pointed at Ethan Lin and spoke to him.
Justin Wu's expression froze for a moment when he heard about that furnace. He pondered for a while before finally responding, "Alright!"
Jax Jia brought out the Violetgold Iron and approached the staff, while Justin Wu produced a battered furnace. Though it looked unimpressive, Evan Yang, knowing its hidden qualities, stared intently at it. Finally, pressed by the crowd, he chose the nearest room.
As they walked down the corridor, Evan Yang couldn't help but ask, "How did you get this?"
"Found it by accident," Jax Jia replied nonchalantly.
"So lucky? I wish I could pick up a few pieces myself!" Evan Yang knew he was just making it up, but Jax Jia replied, "Believe it or not, it's all on the line now. You better win—if you lose, I'm not letting you off!"
"You're afraid I'll lose, but you're still betting?" Evan Yang snapped. Ethan Lin, following behind, watched the two curiously—especially when Jax Jia took out the Violetgold Iron. Its market value far exceeded his battered furnace; it was a dream material for weapon refiners, sought after by many masters.
Already inside, Justin Wu smiled, "What kind of pill are we competing with?"
"Let's just compete with Human-Rank pills—see who refines them better, purer," Jax Jia said, as if certain Justin Wu would lose.
Jax Jia's tone stunned the crowd for a moment. Some whispered privately, "Don't they know the Wu Family is famous for alchemy? Competing with them in pill refining? That's suicide!"
Justin Wu was famous in the gambling house; few dared to challenge him in pill refining. Today, though, two contenders stepped up—one with a battered furnace, the other with a piece of Violetgold Iron that could shock the whole city.
Word spread in the gambling house, and cultivators flocked in—some for entertainment, others to see who dared challenge the Wu Family, the legendary pill-refining clan.
"The Violetgold Iron will soon be mine. When I give it to the old patriarch for his birthday, he'll be thrilled!" Justin Wu thought gleefully.
Inside, Evan Yang examined the unusual room. Spectators could only gather around a central area big enough for six or seven people. Besides the spots for the pill cauldrons, only two contestants could stand inside; everyone else had to watch from outside.
In the center, a glowing barrier was activated by the judge—a safety measure to prevent accidents from injuring spectators and to block outside interference with the pill refiners.
Evan Yang stood outside, while inside, Justin Wu stared at Jax Jia and said, "Hey kid, aren't you coming in?"
"Did I ever say I was competing?" Jax Jia laughed, then patted Evan Yang's shoulder. "It's up to you now!"
The crowd had focused on Jax Jia and the Violetgold Iron, but when he pushed Evan Yang forward, everyone turned their curious gaze to the beggar, wondering if he was really some hidden expert.
Justin Wu paused, then sneered, "So it's just a beggar taking the stage!"
Evan Yang ignored his taunts, stepped into the protective barrier, and immediately felt lighter. He could only see the spectators' mouths moving, unable to hear a word. "Does this thing block sound from outside?" Evan Yang muttered.
Evan Yang realized, after the judge explained, that the barrier was one-way: the pill refiners could be heard by the crowd, but couldn't hear anything from outside. This way, spectators could follow every move and word, yet couldn't interfere.
Evan Yang, seeing such a special barrier for the first time, couldn't help but be curious. Across from him, Justin Wu sneered, "Kid, don't tell me you've never refined pills before?"
"We'll see soon enough," Evan Yang shot back, offering no further explanation.
"Kid, looks like you're an outsider. Don't say I'm bullying you—I'll use only half the materials here and still refine more and better pills than you," Justin Wu taunted.
"Oh? Then I look forward to seeing your skills, Justin Wu!" Evan Yang replied with a cold smile.
True to his word, Justin Wu immediately removed half the materials and handed them to the judge. The remaining materials were only half of what Evan Yang had.
Though Justin Wu appeared to leave Evan Yang with half the materials, Evan secretly cursed: "Half? If I got to choose, I'd only have a third."
"That's very generous of you, Justin Wu. Thanks for your gracious skills," Evan Yang said with a smile, though he thought otherwise.
A pill-refining expert, happy just to get the useless half I left behind? Truly, luck is on my side! Justin Wu thought, seeing Evan Yang's smug look.
The spectators had no idea what Evan Yang and Justin Wu were thinking. At the judge's announcement, the two began refining pills.
Evan Yang intentionally scattered some herbs, pretending it was accidental. If anyone looked closely, they'd notice he only threw away the dried, useless ingredients.
Justin Wu was skilled at pill refining and focused intently, paying no attention to the herbs Evan Yang tossed onto the floor.
"Is this beggar even any good?" Some alchemists whispered, seeing Evan Yang drop so many herbs. Others said, "Looks like the Wu Family will win again—what a bargain for their Violetgold Iron."
"Yeah, I wish they'd given me a chunk of Violetgold Iron—I could take on the Wu Family myself," some stubborn juniors grumbled.
Ethan Lin grew anxious. "Jax, are you sure Evan will be okay?" he asked.
Jax Jia was surprised to see Evan Yang so careless, but replied, "Let's wait and see."
Ethan Lin was as anxious as a rabbit, praying Evan Yang would win. Losing the Violetgold Iron would be a disaster—worth more than his own life. Jax Jia watched Evan with strange curiosity.
Spectators unfamiliar with Evan Yang criticized him and felt sorry for the lost Violetgold Iron. Meanwhile, the Wu Family's two followers were thrilled at the prospect of such a good deal for their young master.
Time ticked by. The room was packed, and even the hallway outside was crowded with people waiting for the outcome.
Many curious cultivators passing through the gambling house flocked over, abandoning their own bets to watch this wildly uneven pill duel. Most couldn't help but wish they'd been so lucky.
The crowd felt as if they were competing themselves, growing increasingly anxious.
Inside the shield, Evan Yang and Justin Wu had no idea what was happening outside or what their opponent was doing. Evan, new to pill gambling, had to focus all his attention.
This time, Evan Yang didn't use the Twelve-Shift Fire-Gathering Array. He refined pills the usual way, both because his opponent used no treasures and to keep his identity hidden. His strange pill-refining technique caught many people's attention.
"Does this guy even know what he's doing? Does he think he's just boiling herbs?" some puzzled spectators commented on Evan Yang's pill-refining style.
Inside, the two had no idea what was happening outside. They continued refining pills, and Justin Wu expertly controlled the flame beneath his pill cauldron.
Standing opposite, Evan Yang felt the heat from Justin Wu's flame and looked up curiously.
No wonder Ethan Lin felt pushed by someone—the heat really was intense. When Evan entered, he searched the shield for flaws but found none. Only now did he realize the 'push' was from Justin Wu's flame.
Some spectators who hadn't seen Justin Wu refine pills before were surprised. "Pale blue—middle-grade Fire Seed?" they exclaimed.
Evan Yang also noticed the pale blue flame, realizing it was indeed a middle-grade Fire Seed.
As expected of a pill-refining clan—even their young members have such fine Fire Seeds," Evan Yang thought to himself.
Ethan Lin couldn't hold back. "Jax, are you sure Evan can win?" Even Jax Jia was moved—losing the Violetgold Iron would be a real loss.
Seeing Jax Jia so silent, Ethan Lin didn't dare speak again. He could only watch Evan Yang and Justin Wu with burning intensity.
Amid the noisy environment, the judge called out, "Time's up—both of you, open your cauldrons."
Both stopped what they were doing. Justin Wu sneered at Evan Yang, "Kid, just admit defeat!"
Evan Yang used his divine sense to check the cauldron. He hadn't used the Fire-Gathering Array and only refined eight supreme-grade pills, but he quietly hid two. He remembered last time, refining seven pills earned him an invitation—eight would surely make him famous.
Justin Wu had no idea what Evan Yang was doing—he thought Evan was dazed or trying to swap pills, so he reached for Evan's cauldron lid.
Six supreme-grade pills lay quietly inside, along with two broken pills. Outsiders saw the broken pills as failures, but only Evan Yang knew the truth.
The sight of six supreme-grade pills stunned Justin Wu and everyone present. Most knew Justin Wu's best was four—six meant Evan Yang had won.
Ethan Lin, knowing Justin Wu's skill, was the first to react. He laughed, "Haha, we won!"