Devouring Soul Emperor

"My Lord Dean, that kid’s name is Chu Qingyun."

Just then, the man beside him suddenly spoke.

This man was none other than Elder Huang, the Outer Elder of the Saint Extreme Sect who had schemed to steal Chu Qingyun’s Secret Manual and Secret Technique.

"Chu Qingyun... Elder Huang, you know him?"

Zhou Qian asked casually, his gaze already drifting back toward Zhou Ling.

"My Lord Dean, that boy is incredibly cunning and of unknown origin. He got his hands on a sect Golden Order from who knows where and even tried to pass himself off as an early-entry member of our Saint Extreme Sect."

"Fortunately, I saw through his deceitful scheme and drove him away. I never thought he’d show up again at this Celestial Martial City Pill Battle Conference."

"But from the looks of it, he probably scammed his way in again. He’s utterly shameless."

Elder Huang said respectfully.

Since Chu Qingyun had offended him before, Elder Huang naturally wasn’t going to pass up this chance to speak ill of him.

Zhou Qian merely gave a faint nod in response. He said nothing, as he had paid Chu Qingyun no mind at all.

For the people on the fourth floor of the tower, the only ones truly worthy of their attention were likely the four or five alchemists widely recognized as the best of the younger generation.

All the others were merely background characters.

An hour and a half after the Pill Battle Conference officially began, a sudden BANG erupted from in front of Wu Xinghai of the Talisman Puppet Sect, who had been setting the fastest pace.

Soon, a puff of black smoke rose from the Pill Cauldron in front of him.

His cauldron had actually exploded.

Wu Xinghai’s face was filled with astonishment.

However, he quickly composed himself. After cleaning out the Pill Cauldron, he didn’t rush to start refining again. Instead, he stared motionlessly at the empty cauldron, contemplating his failure and learning from it.

A cauldron explosion was undoubtedly the most infuriating thing that could happen to an Alchemist.

Most Alchemists would become extremely agitated in such a situation. In a competition with time and attempt limits, that anxiety would be amplified exponentially.

That Wu Xinghai could remain so composed under these circumstances—calmly analyzing his experience instead of rushing into his next attempt—was impressive.

This mental fortitude was undoubtedly outstanding, earning frequent nods of appreciation from the high-level Alchemists and Martial Emperor Level experts in the tower.

Meanwhile, Zhou Ling, to Chu Qingyun’s right, shot Wu Xinghai a gloating glance and snickered to herself. Then, she too focused her concentration and began the second step: fusing the Essence of Spiritual Medicine.

Zhou Ling didn’t need to guess; she knew Wu Xinghai must have blown his cauldron during the second step, while fusing the Essence of Spiritual Medicine.

Refining Elixirs.

It is generally divided into three steps: refining the Essence of Spiritual Medicine, fusing the Essence of Spiritual Medicine, and nurturing the mixture into a stable, finished Elixir.

For the genius Alchemists on the high platform, the first step—refining the Essence of Spiritual Medicine—was no problem at all. It was merely a matter of speed and the degree of purity they could achieve.

The second step, however, was the most difficult and the truest test of skill.

Upon reaching this step, Zhou Ling didn’t dare let her focus waver. Her expression turned serious, and her posture straightened involuntarily.

Seeing this, Zhu Tianyun of the Purple Cloud Sect, positioned behind her, suddenly broke into a sinister smirk.

"COUGH!"

Zhu Tianyun suddenly gave a light cough.

Then, he began to count silently in his mind. ’One, two, three... thirty!’

When he reached thirty, he猛然抬起头,眼中闪过一丝亮芒,一股灵魂之力忽然从他眉心中涌出,潮水般向前冲击而去.

At that same moment, Li Ruoguang of the Tianya Sect, who was in front of Zhou Ling, also mobilized a wave of Soul Power, sending it surging backward.

Once an Alchemist awakens their Soul Power, they can actively mobilize it at will.

However, this type of Soul Power possessed virtually no offensive capability.

Even the Soul Power of a Spirit Level or King Level Alchemist would simply pass through objects and people like a sound wave, possessing no real force.

As for Chu Qingyun, when he had used his Soul Power during his awakening to slow down two hidden weapons, it was only possible under extremely specific circumstances—by instantaneously unleashing all of his Soul Power at once.

Moreover, doing so would immediately trigger the side effects of over-exhausting one’s Soul Power: a splitting headache, or in more severe cases, instant unconsciousness or even mental damage.

Under normal circumstances, Soul Power was of little use.

But at this moment, it was a bit different.

The Soul Powers of Zhu Tianyun and Li Ruoguang collided, instantly becoming a chaotic mess that erupted violently in the space between them.

Which was... exactly where Zhou Ling’s Pill Cauldron was located.

Fusing the Essence of Spiritual Medicine required dividing one’s focus to control multiple streams of Soul Power with precise coordination.

Zhou Ling was already struggling with this step. At this critical moment, she was slammed by a turbulent wave of chaotic Soul Power.

As a result, her own Soul Power was disrupted.

Inside her Pill Cauldron, the flames instantly spiraled out of control, causing the temperature to fluctuate wildly.

BANG!

A dull thud.

A wisp of black smoke slowly rose from Zhou Ling’s Pill Cauldron.

She struggled to hold on for a few seconds, but the contents of her Pill Cauldron spun further and further out of control. Finally, following in Wu Xinghai’s footsteps, her cauldron exploded too.

The difference, however, was that Wu Xinghai’s cauldron had exploded because he was unfamiliar with the process of refining the Youthful Appearance Pill on his first try. He could learn from his failure.

Zhou Ling’s explosion, on the other hand, was purely due to sabotage. It was a complete waste.

"Damn it... What do you two think you’re doing?"

Zhou Ling’s face was pale with rage as she hissed in a low voice.

"Heh heh, we didn’t do a thing, Miss Zhou," Zhu Tianyun, who was behind her, snickered. "Don’t go making excuses just because your cauldron exploded. That’s not very befitting of someone from one of the Northern Domain’s Three Major Sects."

Zhu Tianyun and Li Ruoguang’s coordinated sabotage had, of course, been planned in advance.

After seeing their assigned positions, he and Li Ruoguang had secretly hatched a plan: when Zhou Ling began the second step, fusing the Essence of Spiritual Medicine, Zhu Tianyun would give a light cough. Then, they would both start counting. After thirty seconds, they would simultaneously unleash their Soul Power to strike Zhou Ling’s Pill Cauldron.

They did this because they were from the Tianya Sect and the Purple Cloud Sect.

As for the Saint Extreme Sect, both of their sects coveted its position as one of the Northern Domain’s Three Major Sects. Therefore, they used every method and opportunity to undermine it.

After Zhou Ling’s cauldron exploded, the two of them also began the second step, fusing the Essence of Spiritual Medicine.

But just then, Zhou Ling also sent out two streams of Soul Power, one surging forward and the other backward.

A Soul Power assault leaves no trace.

So, all she could do was give them a taste of their own medicine and cause trouble for Zhu Tianyun and Li Ruoguang in return.