Chapter 86: Alchemical Prodigy (3)

“Chengtian, your son never fails to surprise us!” The emperor laughed as he spoke to Ye Chengtian. Though he called it a surprise, he seemed to have grown used to it, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.

After all, this time Ye Lang had merely displayed his alchemical weapon—an unexpected strategy, but one anyone could employ under similar circumstances.

Amidst the jubilant celebration, Li Danteng’s shame and fury grew ever more intense. He could not fathom how he had lost, especially in such a simple and effortless manner, utterly powerless to resist!

He refused to accept defeat—never!

“Ye Lang! Stop right there!” Seizing a moment when the First Sword Saint was distracted, Li Danteng suddenly sprang forward, charging straight at Ye Lang. In a fit of rage, he unleashed the strongest battle energy technique he had ever mastered in his life!

Under the scrutiny of the entire crowd, he committed an act that would forever mark him with disgrace, making him unable to ever lift his head in life again—he struck another from behind!

Ye Lang walked ahead, seemingly oblivious to the powerful surge of battle energy approaching from behind...

At that moment, everyone wanted to block Li Danteng, to prevent him from harming Ye Lang, the one whom all wished to protect!

The First Sword Saint, closest to the scene, also tried to intervene—not to protect Ye Lang, but to save his grandson from committing a grave mistake that would ruin his own life.

But he had just been distracted, and now, racing forward, he did not know if he would be in time. He could only move as fast as possible, hoping to reach them.

As for the others?

If even the First Sword Saint, who was nearest, was so pressed, the rest could do nothing but watch the events unfold, at best shouting—

“Brother, be careful!”

“Ye Lang...”

Ye Lan Yu, the Seventh Princess, and others cried out, warning Ye Lang as they dashed toward him. Though they knew they could not reach him in time, how could they simply sit by and do nothing?

“What’s all the fuss about?” Ye Lang scratched his head, turning around to ask, only to see the powerful battle energy technique bearing down upon him, caught in a daze, making no move at all.

Idiot, fool—why don’t you dodge?

Ye Lan Yu and the others cursed inwardly. Even though they knew that even if Ye Lang tried to dodge, he might not escape the technique’s range, his utter stillness filled them with anxiety!

No, not entirely still—suddenly, everyone noticed Ye Lang’s hand swiftly tracing mysterious patterns in the air, leaving behind perplexing symbols...

“An alchemical array!”

The alchemy masters’ eyes shone bright—they were the first to recognize what Ye Lang was drawing in the air: definitely an alchemical array. However, the function of this particular array was uncertain.

No one could tell what an unfinished array would do; two arrays might differ by only a tiny detail, yet that detail could make them completely distinct!

At this moment, the alchemy masters were truly excited, for now they witnessed genuine alchemical combat—using one’s own alchemical prowess directly in battle. This was far more difficult than wielding an alchemical weapon, and though it might not be as powerful, it possessed a crucial advantage—

Flexibility!

Soon, everyone realized Ye Lang was deploying an alchemical array—and they quickly saw what kind of array it was, as its effects became clear before their eyes!

Everyone saw that as Li Danteng’s battle energy technique drew dangerously close to Ye Lang, a circular alchemical array appeared before him, glowing with an ethereal radiance...

When the battle energy struck the array, it halted instantly, unable to advance even a fraction closer to Ye Lang, held back entirely by the array!

Seeing this, the crowd finally relaxed. Whether or not Ye Lang’s array could fully block the technique, it had at least bought some time—enough for someone to rescue him.

And soon, everyone was astonished to find that Ye Lang’s array didn’t merely block the attack—Li Danteng’s battle energy, once stopped, began to rebound in the opposite direction, a complete reflection!

“The Mirror of Water and Moon?!”

How could this be? How could he deploy such a high-level array? And moreover, how could the Mirror of Water and Moon be so small?

The only alchemical array capable of fully reflecting battle energy magic was the Mirror of Water and Moon—but it was usually created by many working together, forming a colossal formation. No one had ever heard of someone using it alone, and with bare hands, no less!

Furthermore, the smallest diameter of the Mirror of Water and Moon was ten meters; Ye Lang’s was not even two meters!

It wasn’t that making it so small was impossible, but to do so would require drawing an intricate array within a tiny space—something no one could currently achieve.

Also, Ye Lang seemed not to have spent much time drawing it. Was it his rapid hand speed, or was there some other reason he could complete the array so quickly?

No one could decipher how Ye Lang had done it; only that the miniature Mirror of Water and Moon had materialized, functioning perfectly!

“?!” When Li Danteng realized his battle energy was rebounding toward him, he froze, but the energy did not wait for his reaction.

“Boom!”

“Ah...” Li Danteng was struck by his own technique, sent flying backward. The force of impact caused blood to spurt from him, and at just the right moment, he let out a miserable scream!

When attacking with full force, one usually has no defense. Thus, Li Danteng, completely undefended, took his own strongest blow head-on!

In such a situation, anyone could imagine—

If not dead, then crippled!

“You are truly pitiable! But you are not worthy of pity!” Ye Lang said calmly, and then did not forget to perform a good deed—

“Physicians, quickly save him. Don’t let him die. Better to live shamelessly than die well, and besides, he’s not destined for a good death...”

Crippled is best—Ye Lang did not say this aloud, thinking it would sadden others. He was a good person, and would never utter such hurtful words...

Ahem, whatever the case, Li Danteng brought this upon himself. If he hadn’t provoked Ye Lang, if he hadn’t insisted, if he hadn’t resorted to a sneak attack, this wouldn’t have happened!

Yet, had it not happened, no one would have discovered that Ye Lang, the so-called useless scion, was in fact a terrifyingly gifted alchemical genius—a prodigy among the so-called useless!

Later, upon examining the miniature Mirror of Water and Moon, everyone grew even more convinced. Ye Lang had improved upon the array, tailoring it for a specific defensive purpose; it could only reflect certain attacks, not everything as the original did, which meant many components could be omitted.

What was even more remarkable, Ye Lang could deploy different versions of the Mirror of Water and Moon according to the situation, highly targeted—something even the most accomplished alchemy masters could not achieve.

This surpassed mere talent or skill; it required keen observation, quick reaction, swift and precise hands, and much more...

The terrifying Thirteenth Young Master of the Ye family!