Chapter 1136: What Are You Looking At?

Buzz! Buzz!

With two buzzing sounds, the Danfu alchemist and Yue Mo both took out their alchemy furnaces.

The second alchemy duel started anew, capturing everyone's attention.

For some reason, everyone present had a strange expression when they looked at the Danfu alchemist. He was refining pills with a chicken leg in his mouth – who knew, maybe he'd suddenly turn back into a dog halfway through to scare people.

The Danfu alchemist, who was a dog demon, completely ignored those odd glances and flipped his hand, summoning his Zhen Huo.

"Zhen Huo." Yue Mo on the opposite side exclaimed in surprise.

"What's wrong? Got a problem?" The Danfu alchemist glanced at Yue Mo.

"That's impossible." Yue Mo found it hard to believe. During the alchemist selection, he had seen this dog demon alchemist and clearly remembered that he used Di Huo. Now, with the dog demon summoning Zhen Huo, how could he not be shocked?

"How could it be Zhen Huo?" Many voices of astonishment rose from the audience, mostly from those who had attended the alchemist selection that day.

"I remember it was Di Huo for sure."

"Can Di Huo even advance to Zhen Huo?" Too many people scratched their heads in confusion.

"Are you all sure it was Di Huo?" Ku Yue frowned again and glanced at Yue Shan and the others.

"That day during the selection, it was definitely Di Huo."

"Di Huo turning into Zhen Huo." Ku Yue's eyes narrowed once more, and he couldn't help but glance at Ye Chen in between.

Amid the sounds of surprise, the duel had already begun. The Danfu alchemist's techniques were extraordinarily skilled, making Yue Mo frown across from him.

It hadn't been long, and the fact that Di Huo had turned into Zhen Huo was already astonishing enough, but his alchemy skills had also improved so rapidly. Yue Mo clearly remembered that the dog demon alchemist was only a fourth-tier alchemist!

After a final look at his opponent, Yue Mo also waved his hand to summon his Zhen Huo and fed it into the alchemy furnace.

Below, Ye Chen polished another spirit pearl until it shone brightly. As for the surprised voices from all sides, he just smiled leisurely. The power of Xian Huo far exceeded imagination; helping Di Huo advance to Zhen Huo was effortless.

As he thought about it, Ye Chen put away the spirit pearl, glanced at the duel platform, and then shifted his gaze to one side, landing on Ruo Tian Zhu Que.

Just like that night, Ye Chen stared straight at her, scanning Ruo Tian Zhu Que from head to toe, over and over again without blinking, as if searching for something.

Ruo Tian Zhu Que grew uneasy again. Even with the mindset of a quasi-saint, she felt quite unnatural under Ye Chen's gaze.

Chou sha ne?

Mu Xuan Gong was the first to notice the oddity. He glanced at Ye Chen, then looked at Ruo Tian Zhu Que with a strange expression.

Chou sha ne?

Not far away, Nian Wei paused and looked over as well.

Chou sha ne?

Soon, many people turned to look, mainly because they were all curious about Ye Chen's identity. But when they saw him, they noticed he was staring straight at Ruo Tian Zhu Que.

As a result, everyone's gazes shifted uniformly to Ruo Tian Zhu Que.

The people present all detected this subtle change and followed suit, glancing over with strange expressions. No one knew what Ye Chen was so fixated on, staring without even blinking.

Thus, the entire birthday banquet turned into this bizarre scene, with everyone's eyes sweeping over. Even Ku Yue furrowed his brow and looked.

To the point that the ongoing duel had no spectators left.

Chou sha ne?

The Danfu alchemist refining pills paused in astonishment and looked over, as did Yue Mo on the other side.

Now, Ruo Tian Zhu Que was truly unsettled. As the elder ancestor of the Zhu Que family, being watched by the masses was normal, but this moment felt entirely wrong, making her feel uncomfortable under those gazes.

The scene was unusually quiet. No one knew what was being stared at or what kind of situation this was.

Bang! Boom!

Soon, the tranquility of Ling Dan Shan was broken by two successive booms, startling everyone so much that their hearts trembled, and they quickly turned toward the duel platform.

Did the furnaces explode?

Seeing the scene on the duel platform, everyone twitched their mouths.

Wa!

From the ruins, the Danfu alchemist crawled up in a sorry state, covered in ashes. Even the chicken leg he had in his mouth was nowhere to be found – just because he glanced toward Ruo Tian Zhu Que for a moment, he lost focus and the furnace exploded, sending him flying far away.

Pfft!

Compared to him, Yue Mo wasn't any better off; he also lost focus and was blown away.

What... what is this!

The expressions of everyone present were quite entertaining. We're all looking at you two, so you deserve to have your furnaces explode.

Amid the sighs, everyone's gazes turned back to Ye Chen. They all wanted to know exactly what he had been looking at earlier that drew everyone's attention, including the two dueling alchemists, who got so distracted they were blown away.

As for Ye Chen, he was casually shaking his head, focused on polishing his spirit pearl, humming some unknown tune.

What exactly was he looking at?

Mu Xuan Gong turned his head toward Ruo Tian Zhu Que.

Ruo Tian Zhu Que took a deep breath and glared fiercely at Ye Chen, feeling an urge to lash out.

Damn it!

On the other side, Yue Mo had already returned, his face twisted in rage. He had been so sure of victory, yet this mishap left him deeply unsatisfied.

Not just him—Ku Yue felt the same, his face dark and gloomy. His disciple making such a mistake was truly unacceptable.

However, he might not realize that even if the duel continued, Yue Mo might not win, because that dog demon alchemist was also a sixth-tier alchemist. If they fought to the end, the outcome was uncertain.

A perfectly good alchemy duel ended prematurely before the pills were even formed, with both sides having their furnaces explode and suffering injuries, resulting in another draw.

Ku Yue's face was full of anger, his insides churning as if he might spit blood. Who would have thought it would end in such a draw?

I'll go!

After this interlude, Yue Jin roared and stepped forward, leaping onto the duel platform.

Pick anyone!

No matter what line Yue Jin said next, Ye Chen just waved his hand dismissively.

Yue Jin sneered coldly and, without hesitation, pointed directly at one of the many Danfu alchemists.

Yue Jin had a sharp eye; he remembered that alchemist from the selection – he was a fourth-tier alchemist with Shou Huo. A sixth-tier against a fourth-tier – who could lose?

Alright then!

That Danfu alchemist was straightforward too, wiping the oil stains from his mouth and doing a flashy backflip onto the duel platform. But when he landed, his pose wasn't quite right, and he hit the platform with a bang, spreading out like a starfish, making everyone at the scene twitch their mouths repeatedly.

A mistake!

The Danfu alchemist got up awkwardly, feeling quite embarrassed.

Show-off!

Yue Jin snorted coldly from across the way, already flipping out his alchemy furnace and laying out the materials on the platform.

Seeing this, the Danfu alchemist didn't fall behind, instantly summoning his Zhen Huo.

"It's Zhen Huo too?" As soon as the Danfu alchemist's Zhen Huo appeared, the crowd below erupted.

"I couldn't be wrong – it was definitely Shou Huo back then, so why has it become Zhen Huo?" Discussions broke out everywhere, rising like waves in a tide, with expressions of utter disbelief directed at the Danfu alchemist.

"First Di Huo turned to Zhen Huo, and now this one's even more impressive – Shou Huo turned to Zhen Huo."

"What's going on with Danfu?"

"How on earth did they do that?" Yue Shan and the others showed shock once again.

"Shou Huo turning to Zhen Huo – how is that possible?" Ku Yue was stunned, his eyes narrowing into slits again.

"It seems we've underestimated Ye Chen." Ruo Tian Zhu Que stroked his beard. "Shou Huo transforming into Zhen Huo – something unheard of."

"He's just used to surprising people." Ruo Tian Zhu Que chuckled lightly.