Slúbat slightly parted his lips, gazing at Gan Jing with surprise, nodding repeatedly with appreciation. "Young man, I initially took you for a charlatan, but I see now that you genuinely understand some things."

Pan Hongji’s Myriad Manifestation Eye suddenly flickered with a spark of realization. Looking at Gan Jing's composed expression, he asked, "Could it be that Ban..."

"Precisely." Gan Jing nodded, his demeanor perfectly calm. "This Mr. Slúbat has only utilized pure, theoretical methods, lacking any novel or creative thought. In the creation of the youth elixir, the outcome can only be one thing, and that is..."

Gan Jing snapped his fingers. A structure within the vast Pan family estate seemed to receive the signal from his snap, erupting with a roar even louder than before. This time, a pillar of red fire shot nearly a hundred meters into the sky, burning fiercely for several seconds before finally dissipating.

An explosion! In the span of a single day, the two preeminent alchemists of the Pan family, who rarely concocted explosive mystery potions, had both met the same fate while challenging a high-difficulty mystery potion.

"That sound of explosion..." Gan Jing shook his head with a wry smile. "It sounds almost as if it was specially prepared to welcome my arrival."

Slúbat's eyes widened, just as he was preparing to verbally rebuke the young man for his audacious talk. But before he could utter a word, the alchemy lab itself had exploded, proving the young man correct.

A brief silence followed. Much of the surprise faded from Slúbat's face, and a dry cough swept away most of the awkwardness. "It was my misjudgment. If I hadn't added Ice Sea Star Peel, but instead substituted it with the Gallbladder of the Savage Yellow Electric Eel, the result would have been..."

"Then you wouldn't have made it out of the room," Gan Jing chuckled lightly. "You would have personally experienced the explosive power of a mystery potion failure."

Slúbat froze, his mouth slightly agape. Gan Jing wagged his right index finger. "Are you referring to adding the root of the Deep Sea Hundred-Foot Mud Grass? If so, you would have felt the explosion the moment you tossed the herb in. However, if you intended to use the Thousand-Year Lava from a Volcanic Lava Wall, you might have held out until the third morning before it detonated. But the force of that blast would have been enough to level three of your mystery potion laboratories."

Slúbat kept his mouth open, speechless for a long time, his eyes filled with astonishment and confusion. How did this boy know what he was thinking? Even the ingredients he hadn't yet thought of—which this young man mentioned—had already been named by him? And he stated the outcome! Would the result truly be like that?

Situ Lei stared at Gan Jing blankly. Where on earth did this young man come from? How could he possibly conceive of the ingredients I just suggested to Slúbat?

"There are actually many more."

Gan Jing scratched his head. "If you two were given enough time, you could probably devise thirty-eight other replacement ingredients. But I advise both of you not to try. Although some won't explode, the consequences would likely be more troublesome than a mere blast. Even if you managed to create them safely in the end, if someone drank them, they wouldn't need to rush to an alchemist for emergency aid; they could simply purchase a coffin and reserve a grave plot."

The two looked at Gan Jing, half-believing and half-doubting. The accurate prediction of the two previous explosions had profoundly shaken their spirits. If they had to make such a prediction themselves, it would likely take more than a decade of continuous calculation to reach the same conclusion, yet this person deduced it simply by taking a sniff.

Gan Jing sensed their scrutinizing gaze and sighed softly. It seemed that Pan Hongji, the widely reputed wise patriarch of the Hydra bloodline family, also possessed a blind spot! The understanding these two possessed regarding mystery potions was seriously lacking! If Oulala saw this, she would just poison them to death with a single dose to save the field of alchemy from further embarrassment.

The more indifferent Gan Jing appeared, the more astonished and shaken Situ Lei became. This was incredible! How was this possible? In the entire Qian Prefecture, even among the Qian family's own alchemists, few could surpass me! I am considered a famous alchemist even in the Zhence Dynasty, yet I am being outclassed by a young man barely twenty years old. I must be truly deficient.

Pan Hongji looked into Gan Jing's eyes, his previous suspicion completely gone. These two alchemists had both received invitations from the Royal Family; their skill in alchemy was beyond question.

Yet, these two figures were silenced by a few sentences from this young man, appearing thoroughly defeated.

A freak! A true prodigy! Pan Hongji's gaze swept over the courtyard, through the doors, settling on Duan Fengbuer. He secretly resolved that he must recruit this Hydra bloodline warrior, who manifested all Nine Shadows, into the Pan family!

This wasn't just for Duan Fengbuer; it was the means to entice Gan Jing to join the Pan family as an honored guest! His ability in mystery alchemy alone was sufficient justification for the status of a guest elder.

"Patriarch..." Slúbat sighed. "I am inferior to this young man. If he isn't an alchemist, then what am I? If anyone dares call him a fraud again, they are calling me, Slúbat, a fraud as well."

Situ Lei stood beside Slúbat, nodding vigorously. "Patriarch, my sentiments align exactly with Slúbat's."

"Since that is the case..." Pan Hongji nodded. "Then, I request that you two gentlemen collaborate to brew a batch of the freshest mystery potion, one that can enhance Duan Fengbuer's awakening process for the Altar, ensuring the successful extraction of a suitable ability. I believe Gan Jing cannot refuse such an exclusive, specialized secret formula potion."

Moreover, since this was to aid Duan Fengbuer, as a friend, Gan Jing could hardly refuse. Even if the formula couldn't be improved, it was a gesture of goodwill. If it could be improved, the entire Hydra bloodline family would benefit in the future.

A guaranteed win! Pan Hongji was supremely confident. Relying solely on the auxiliary selection potion would be useless! They needed the Second Altar of the Hydra bloodline! That, too, was an altar unique to the Hydra bloodline family!

With this altar in place, Pan Hongji was certain that even if Gan Jing mastered the auxiliary selection potion, it would have no effect.

"That sounds wonderful." Gan Jing smiled even wider. He had originally considered extracting a small sample of the auxiliary selection potion from Duan Fengbuer's hands for his own research, worrying that reducing the quantity might affect Duan Fengbuer's success rate. Now, this issue seemed resolved.

"Patriarch," Duan Fengbuer stood outside the door, bowing slightly. "I thank you for your generosity. I hope you will grant me one more request."

Pan Hongji waved his hand, signaling him to speak freely. This was an opportunity to build favor with Duan Fengbuer. As long as the request wasn't to hand over the Second Altar to him, or involved repeated demands, other requests could be considered.

"I wish to see the Second Altar first," Duan Fengbuer looked directly into Pan Hongji's eyes. "I have heard much about this altar; I wish to see it beforehand."

To view the altar? Pan Hongji was somewhat surprised by the nature of the request. He planned to let him use it eventually anyway.

"No problem." Pan Hongji walked toward the door, unable to conceal the joy on his face. Meeting with Gan Jing and the others today had yielded immense gains for the Pan family! Allowing Duan Fengbuer to use the altar once was like giving candy to a child; once he tasted how sweet it was, he would crave a second time, and the conditions for the second time could be made incredibly stringent, offering a high chance of bringing this stubborn young man back into the Pan fold.

One thousand doses of the Hydra Bloodline Awakening Potion! Pan Hongji felt that no business deal today could surpass this one. He had essentially gained a thousand doses of the Awakening Potion without paying any tangible price! This would certainly allow the Pan family to achieve a measurable increase in strength.

And possibly an improved auxiliary selection potion! Pan Hongji involuntarily lifted his chin slightly. Today was truly a delightful day: a thousand awakening potions, the potential for an improved auxiliary potion, and the bait—these young people—was already prepared to lure them into the Pan family network.

The mystery potion laboratory had been destroyed and would take time to rebuild. Gan Jing followed Pan Hongji toward the backyard, passing through layers of courtyard gates until they stopped before an artificially constructed small hill.

The hill, about a hundred meters high, was densely covered with various magical arrays, into which expensive magic crystals were embedded. Dozens of mages carrying magic staffs stood guard around it. At the base of the hill, each mage had a magic array beneath them, directly connected to the hill.

Normally, these individuals could use the hill to amplify their magical power. However, if attacked, they could activate this massive construct—dubbed the "Magic Mountain"—to unleash devastating destructive power, or raise specialized magical shields to deflect terrifying attacks while awaiting rescue from the Hydra bloodline warriors.

A magic mountain capable of both offense and defense! Gan Jing did not pay too much attention to the various magical inscriptions on the mountain. It wasn't that the inscriptions lacked appeal, but he feared drawing too much attention to them might arouse Pan Hongji's suspicion, which would complicate matters.

The heavy metal doors, carved with magical inscriptions, slowly swung open to the sides. As Gan Jing stepped inside, he immediately felt his internal Dou Qi slow down, as if something was attempting to lock his internal energy.

(For the last few days, I kept intending to advertise two new books from friends, but...)

(Due to some family matters recently, I have been extremely busy every time I went to upload, and I kept forgetting.)

(Nican Tian's new book Jisha Shen Dang, from an author whose previous work broke ten thousand subscriptions.)

(Zhang Junbao's Zong Lian Ai Gao Shou Dang, currently the most powerful author of urban fiction on Qidian.)

(Yesterday, I read lyrics written by a friend about dominating the scene. Although the rhythm and rhyme weren't perfect, I really liked the flavor, so I've included it in the supplementary material here as well. (To be continued; if you wish to know what happens next, please support the author and read the authorized version!))