Chapter 330: Day Two of Imperial Competition
The massive white quartz trembled violently under the influx of pure spiritual energy before projecting a golden array numeral that illuminated the entire amphitheater.
Final Average Purity: 98.9%
Time Elapsed: One-Tenth of an Incense Stick
Dead silence.
For three full seconds, you could hear a pin drop in the colossal Imperial Grand Arena.
Even the other competitors who were desperately trying to stabilize their own furnaces stopped dead in their tracks, staring at the golden numbers in numb, soul-crushing despair.
How were they supposed to compete with a monster like this?
"H-Heavens..." The crimson-robed Imperial Envoy standing at the central balcony finally broke the suffocating silence, his voice trembling noticeably through the grand amplification array.
He reached up with a unsteady hand, wiping a thick layer of cold sweat from his forehead.
"Participant Tang Yilan... clears the Trial of Ten Thousand Essences! First place for Day One is officially secured!"
ROOOOOAAAAAARRRR!
The moment the declaration fell, the grandstands erupted into a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering frenzy.
Cultivators tore at their robes in sheer disbelief, screaming her name until their throats grew hoarse, with thousands bowing down toward her platform in absolute reverence.
In a single, breathtaking morning, the name of Tang Yilan, Matriarch of the Tang Clan, was permanently etched into the souls of every major faction across the territory.
Up in the elite private viewing pavilion, Shen Yu leaned back against his velvet seat, a calm, satisfied smile gracing his lips as he watched the roaring sea of people below.
Had he chosen to step onto the arena floor himself, he easily could have swept the entire competition with even more terrifying dominance, elevating his own personal prestige to astronomical heights. But he had deliberately chosen to stand in the shadows.
In his past life, he had walked the path of a solitary cultivator, traveling alone, fighting alone, and standing at the apex alone.
While that lone path carried its own dark freedom, it was ultimately hollow.
Now, in this life, he was surrounded by these magnificent, breathtaking women whose dormant bloodlines and supreme potential had been unlocked by his very hands.
He had no intention of keeping them as mere decorative ornaments hidden away in his inner harem.
He wanted his women to stand on their own two feet at the very pinnacle of the world.
He wanted each of their names to command the exact same awe, glory, and absolute terror that his own name would inevitably bring to the empire in the future.
Today was simply the first grand step of that vision.
While Tang Yilan was already a renowned beauty and authority within Thousand Waves City, after today’s terrifying display, her reputation as an untouchable Alchemy Grandmaster would sweep across the entire southern region of the empire like wildfire, and with it, the Tang Clan’s status would soar straight into the clouds under his shadow.
Down on the arena floor, amidst the thunderous applause and frantic cheers of hundreds of thousands, Yilan slowly turned her head toward the elite viewing pavilion.
Catching Shen Yu’s golden gaze looking down at her with unreserved pride, her heart fluttered wildly in her chest, a soft, radiant smile blooming across her face.
Because she had already shattered the trial standards and secured her pass for the day, Yilan was not required to remain on the arena floor for the rest of the four-hour duration.
Leaving her platform in the hands of the stunned imperial guards, she glided up toward the elite VIP balcony, her dark blue robes swaying with every graceful step.
As she entered the viewing pavilion, Shen Yu smiled warmly and stepped forward to greet her.
"You were completely dominant down there, Aunt Yilan," he said, his golden eyes filled with quiet pride.
Yilan’s cheeks flushed a soft, lovely pink at his praise, her heart fluttering.
"It was all thanks to your guidance, Yu’er," she replied softly.
The rest of the group, Lixue, Meng Yan, the He Clan patriarch, and City Lord Wu Shan, immediately gathered around to offer their enthusiastic congratulations, heaping praise upon her godlike display.
After exchanging pleasantries, Shen Yu’s group had no interest in watching the remaining average competitors struggle through their extractions, so they bade farewell to the City Lord and returned to the estate.
Yilan immediately retired to her private quarters to rest and meditate, ensuring her mind and spiritual energy would be in pristine condition for the second day.
The next morning, the Imperial Grand Arena reconvened under even higher anticipation.
The trial for Day Two was announced: The Crucible of Imperfection.
Each remaining qualifier received an identical recipe scroll for a standard Tier-3 Spirit-Restoring Pill, alongside a basket of ingredients.
However, the trial carried an insidious trap, three crucial balancing herbs had been secretly omitted and replaced with mildly poisonous, counter-active substitutes, such as Corrosive Nightshade in place of Heart-Nourishing Grass.
Candidates were given no prior warning and had to identify the structural defect through keen observation before or during the heating process, altering their flame temperature and ingredient order on the fly to neutralize the toxins.
To make matters even more cutthroat, the resulting pills were to be fed directly to Toxin-Sensing Jade Beetles.
Any pill that poisoned the beetle or failed to reach atleast 80% purity resulted in instant elimination, with only the top 10% advancing to the final day.
When the gong struck, chaos erupted almost immediately.
Dozens of alchemists who blindly followed the corrupted scroll suffered sudden furnace explosions, while others produced blackened, toxic slimes that instantly turned the testing beetles jet-black, leading to mass disqualifications.
Yilan, however, remained completely unbothered.
The moment her Spiritual Sense scanned the ingredients, she spotted the toxic contradictions effortlessly.
Utilizing her supreme flame control, she adjusted her hearth’s thermal rhythm, using her azure flame to purify and alter the molecular structure of the Corrosive Nightshade mid-refinement, effectively neutralizing its venom while amplifying its latent energy.
Within a mere fraction of the allotted time, Yilan’s furnace opened with a crisp, echoing chime.
Three pristine, translucent pills shot into the air, surrounded by three distinct, glowing pill rings, a telltale mark of Top-Tier Purity!
When her pill was placed before the Toxin-Sensing Jade Beetle, the creature not only showed zero signs of poisoning, but actually absorbed the radiant pill aura and let out a joyful, buzzing hum, glowing with pure green light.
Once again, Yilan took first place with effortless, overwhelming superiority, cementing her position as the undisputed dark horse of the entire competition as she smoothly coasted into the final day.