Devouring Soul Emperor

More and more people began to ignite their Martial Soul Fire.

The temperature across the entire high platform quickly began to rise.

Seeing that the situation had stabilized, Yu Liyuan nodded, preparing to leave.

Although he was the one presiding over the event, given his status, it was already a great honor for him to deign to explain the rules. He certainly wasn't going to stick around and do live commentary.

Moreover, Alchemists required a quiet environment for alchemy. Around the high platform, none of the Sect Disciples in the inner circle nor the crowd in the outer circle dared to make a sound.

However, before leaving, he glanced aside and frowned.

Among the more than one hundred contestants, one person was still holding a Pill Formula, interpreting it with his eyes closed.

Yu Liyuan said nothing about it. Shaking his head, he pushed off from his toes, leaped from the high platform, and returned to the fourth floor of the tower.

And the one who was still "interpreting the Pill Formula" was, of course, Chu Qingyun.

Chu Qingyun had received a powerful and complete inheritance of the Alchemy Dao. As a result, his grasp of theoretical knowledge was both vast and incredibly solid.

Furthermore, thanks to the aid of his Light Card, he also had a wealth of practical experience.

On top of that, his Soul Power had allowed him to perfectly pass the two trials set by that senior: the Array of Cauldrons and Divine Separation.

Therefore, interpreting a Spirit Level Pill Formula posed no real difficulty for him.

In truth, Chu Qingyun had fully interpreted the Pill Formula for the Youthful Appearance Pill in a mere five minutes, and that was including the time it took him to identify the Spiritual Medicines.

The reason he was still sitting cross-legged on the ground holding the Pill Formula was, of course, because his consciousness had already communicated with the Light Card in his Qi Sea and entered the Illusion Realm.

Before interpreting the Pill Formula, he had already inspected all the Spiritual Medicines.

Therefore, inside the Illusion Realm, he immediately simulated the Fire Cloud Cauldron and all the Spiritual Medicines, and began practicing alchemy over and over again.

Since he had decided to achieve a high rank in the Pill Battle Conference, Chu Qingyun had every reason to make full use of a trump card like the Light Card Illusion Realm.

On the high platform, everyone else had stood up and begun their alchemy.

Only Chu Qingyun remained seated on the ground, holding the Pill Formula Scroll and "interpreting" it. His behavior was naturally quite conspicuous.

However, he wasn't famous, so most people didn't pay him much mind. They simply scoffed inwardly before turning their attention to the other contestants.

Meanwhile, on the third floor of the tower near the high platform, Master Kang frowned as he stared at Chu Qingyun.

'This kid... how is he still interpreting the Pill Formula? Logically, it shouldn't be taking him this long...'

Just then, a King-level Alchemist next to him asked with a smile, "Master Kang, which one is the Chu Qingyun you were talking about earlier?"

The Alchemist didn't mean any harm.

He simply asked out of curiosity now that all the contestants had taken the stage.

The other King-level Alchemists nearby also turned to look at Master Kang. They were all quite curious about this young man who could make even Master Kang admit a degree of inferiority.

"Uh..."

Master Kang was at a loss for words. After a brief pause, he said, "He's the one to the left of that girl, Zhou Ling."

Thanks to her grandfather, nearly every Alchemist present knew of Zhou Ling.

So, their eyes followed his direction.

And then, they were all stunned.

The supposed genius of the Alchemy Dao, the one Master Kang claimed to be inferior to in certain details, was still sitting on the ground interpreting a Pill Formula!?

"Ahem, Kang, you must have been mistaken about him. It's been half an hour, and he still hasn't figured out a Spirit Level Pill Formula. The fastest contestant, Wu Xinghai, has probably already refined the Essence of Spiritual Medicine from nearly ten different herbs by now."

"His interpretation speed is far too slow. Regardless of anything else, he's completely failed on this point alone."

"If he can't interpret the Pill Formula within an hour, he's basically finished. Refining the elixir and figuring out the process both take time—that's why they were given five sets of materials in the first place."

The surrounding King-level Alchemists all voiced their opinions.

Master Kang's brow furrowed as well; he felt something was amiss...

However, after a moment of thought, his brow suddenly smoothed out, and a smile even spread across his face.

'Difficulty interpreting a Pill Formula usually comes down to one of three reasons.'

'First, weak Soul Power, which leads to slow reception and comprehension of information.'

'Second, a weak theoretical foundation in the Alchemy Dao. Without a solid base, one will naturally struggle to understand the formula.'

'Third, a lack of experience from not having seen enough Pill Formulas.'

'Master Kang had personally witnessed Chu Qingyun refine the Giant Elephant Frenzy Pill. Chu Qingyun's control over his Martial Soul Fire was exceptional, which meant his Soul Power was definitely not weak.'

'So, the first reason could be ruled out immediately.'

'But when he considered Chu Qingyun's background and age—a seventeen-year-old boy from some unknown, minor imperial dynasty...'

'...the answer was practically leaping out at him. The boy must lack a good teacher. Combined with his youth and lack of accumulated knowledge, it would lead to a weak theoretical base and insufficient experience.'

'The reason he was smiling was that those two shortcomings were entirely correctable.'

'At that moment, the thought of taking Chu Qingyun as his disciple had already formed in his mind.'

'He had only told the others that Chu Qingyun was from Great Xia, but he hadn't mentioned his age.'

'Seventeen years old... so young. That in itself is his greatest asset.'

'With the purity of flame from Chu Qingyun's Mutated Martial Soul, combined with his strong Soul Power, Master Kang was confident. If he personally taught the boy for a decade or so, Chu Qingyun's future accomplishments wouldn't be any less than most of the geniuses on this platform!'

Generally speaking, the more powerful a Martial Artist or Alchemist becomes, the more they prioritize their legacy as they grow old or approach the end of their lives.

For instance, the senior who had passed his Alchemy Dao to Chu Qingyun would rather struggle for millennia as a wisp of a Residual Soul, clinging to one final obsession: to pass on his inheritance.

Meanwhile, on the fourth floor of the tower, others had also taken note of Chu Qingyun's unusual behavior.

The third floor of the tower was mostly occupied by King-level Alchemists and some high-status Martial King Level experts from various sects.

The fourth floor, however, was where the Martial Emperor Level experts escorting their sects' genius alchemists had gathered, along with the invited Pill Institute Masters from the various sects.

"That young man over there is rather interesting. He's still interpreting the Pill Formula."

Zhou Qian, the Pill Institute Master of the Saint Extreme Sect, naturally noticed Chu Qingyun beside his granddaughter, Zhou Ling, while he was watching her.

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