Chapter 117: Don't Even Bother Thinking About It, You've Already Lost

Ye Jiuyao sat on the edge of the bed. Sensing the shifting expressions of Baimei through his soul power, a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"How about it? Any more?"

"My turn."

"Yu Xiu, make it difficult. This brat is no simple character," Baimei said to Yu Xiu.

Yu Xiu nodded, pushed open the door, and stepped inside, a medicinal pill rotating in his palm. "Let’s have a pill-refining competition."

"What are the rules?"

Ye Jiuyao loved alchemy. Inspired by Xuantian Zha’s techniques, he had picked up a few tricks himself. Since alchemy was excellent for unlocking human potential, the mention of a competition brought a flicker of delight to his eyes. After all, alchemy was his specialty. He had dabbled in and studied a vast array of pills—arousal pills, itching powders, enlargement pills, and so on.

"We shall test our ability to identify the medicinal properties within a pill. Each of us will refine one, write down the ingredients beforehand, and have Baimei seal them away. We have the duration of one incense stick. How about that?"

"Agreed."

Ye Jiuyao looked at Yu Xiu’s face, which seemed to be practically begging for a slap. He couldn't help himself; he was an honest man, and whenever he had the chance to slap a face, he would never settle for slapping a hand.

The two selected their pill types, secretly scribbled down their answers, and handed them to Baimei.

"Begin." Baimei sealed the answers with his internal energy.

"Wait a moment. You go outside, and I’ll stay in here. Otherwise, what if you peek at what ingredients I’m using?"

"Uh... this... fine." Yu Xiu was speechless. Did he look like that kind of person? It was obvious that he was, so he obediently stepped outside.

"Do I need to go out too?"

"Are you going to go out to provide the answer?"

"..." His heart ached.

Baimei looked at Ye Jiuyao’s strange, pained expression. Why was his credibility so low? He had been openly despised. But Baimei dared not retort; he had just "humbly asked for advice"—with heavy irony—so he endured it.

"Begin!"

At Baimei’s command, Yu Xiu took out his cauldron and began tossing in herbs with swift, furtive movements, terrified that Ye Jiuyao might catch a glimpse of his process.

Ye Jiuyao’s method was far simpler. As he channeled his "Eating and Sleeping Technique," the Heavenly Demon Fire, which lay dormant within him, sensed his call and "poofed" into existence on his palm.

"This... what kind of flame is this? Why does it feel so terrifying?!" Watching the fire suddenly appear, Baimei felt a tremor of apprehension.

"Refine!" Ye Jiuyao didn't hesitate. He began crafting Xuantian Zha’s pride and joy: the Arousal Pill. The ingredients were simple, but because the process took only an instant, Baimei couldn't see exactly what went in. What took time to describe happened in the blink of an eye.

Soon, the Heavenly Demon Fire in Ye Jiuyao's hand crackled with tiny, rhythmic explosions.

"Done!" Sensing the message from his flame, Ye Jiuyao smiled and whispered. Baimei heard him clearly.

"Finished?! Already?!" Baimei stared in disbelief. Yu Xiu took at least half an hour to refine a pill, while Ye Jiuyao had taken less than a minute. The discrepancy was like watching someone finish a hundred jobs while another was still struggling with the first.

"Pill formed!" Ye Jiuyao extinguished the fire. The room filled with a rich, medicinal fragrance, and energy surged in the air. Thirteen ruby-red pills, each the size of a dragon’s eye, hovered above his palm. Each one emanated a refreshing aura that instantly put anyone who smelled it at ease.

Baimei was stunned. The pill was not only refined with incredible speed, but it was also of top-tier quality, possessing a soul-soothing, spirit-awakening essence. If used for cultivation, it would surely yield twice the result with half the effort.

If Ye Jiuyao had known his thoughts, he would have laughed himself silly. This was no ordinary pill; the effect after it exploded was terrifying—truly monstrous. It had been developed by Xuantian Zha for the sole purpose of wreaking havoc on everything in sight.

Ye Jiuyao tucked away twelve of the pills, kept one, and flicked it toward Baimei. "I’m going to catch some shut-eye. Wake me when he’s finished."

With that, he collapsed onto the bed and was snoring within seconds, wasting no time.

Baimei looked at the surreal pill in his hand and then at the sleeping Ye Jiuyao. His face was etched with the weary sorrow of an old man whose children had abandoned him. "What... is this?"

Baimei smiled bitterly at the warm pill in his palm. It was so simple, yet it radiated such an alluring scent that he almost succumbed to the urge to swallow it right then and there.

Time flew. An hour passed in a flash.

"Haha! I’ve finished! Come out, brat, and prepare to be my apprentice!" Yu Xiu’s arrogant voice echoed from outside. In the inner room, Baimei shook his head, his expression strange.

"Old man Baimei, I’ve won! I’ve definitely won!" Yu Xiu charged in, grabbed Baimei, and shouted.

"Who is it? So noisy. Can’t a guy get any sleep?" Ye Jiuyao’s lazy, slightly irritated voice drifted from the bed.

"What?!" Yu Xiu looked over to see the youth sprawled on the bed, eyes bleary. "Old man Baimei, did he... give up?"

"..." Baimei nodded, then shook his head.

"What does that mean?" Yu Xiu asked.

"You’re done? Then let’s compare," Ye Jiuyao said, shaking off his sleepiness and sitting up.

Baimei took out the pill Ye Jiuyao had refined. Yu Xiu was incredulous. He hadn't felt any heat when he entered, which meant Ye Jiuyao had finished long ago. Yet, the pill was full, vibrant, and flawless. How could it have been refined so quickly?

"Don't overthink it. You’ve already lost," Ye Jiuyao said bluntly, as if reading Yu Xiu’s mind.

"Let’s just compare. We’ll write down our analysis." Yu Xiu refused to accept defeat; he had been immersed in the art of alchemy for years.

Soon, both men wrote down their observations of the pill's composition. But when Baimei compared Ye Jiuyao’s notes with Yu Xiu’s, he was left in complete shock.