Devouring Soul Emperor

The final ten minutes passed quickly.

The last few contestants, who had held on until the very end but failed to refine their elixirs, sighed in resignation as they extinguished their Martial Soul Fire and recalled their Pill Cauldrons.

As they leaped down from the high platform, the ten-hour-long alchemy competition of the Celestial Martial City Pill Battle Conference finally came to a close.

Next, it was time to judge the results.

At this point, only seven people remained on the high platform.

These seven were the only ones among the more than one hundred and twenty young Alchemists who had successfully refined a Youthful Appearance Pill.

The people from the tower now leaped down one after another, landing on the high platform. They formed a circle, surrounding the final seven contestants in the center.

Fortunately, the high platform was quite spacious.

Even with over one hundred and twenty people refining elixirs earlier, it had still felt roomy, so there was naturally more than enough space now.

Around the platform, everyone—from the Sect Disciples in the inner circle to the crowd in the outer circle—craned their necks, trying their best to get a clear view of the situation.

Everyone knew that the final victor was about to be decided.

Whoever achieved the final victory could be called the strongest young Alchemist in the entire Northern Domain!

The winner would not only gain immense prestige and fame but also receive an extremely valuable prize.

Moreover, some of the Sect Disciples present knew what the prize was. The mere thought of the reward, and the significance behind it, made their hearts burn with excitement. They wished they could leap onto the stage themselves to compete for the championship, but it was only a dream.

After all, the Pill Battle Conference was an event exclusively for Alchemists.

"Good. Very good. To successfully refine an elixir you've never seen before within five attempts—on this point alone, you all deserve to be called geniuses."

"Now, line up. From left to right, present your results one by one."

Yu Liyuan, the Dean of the Talisman Puppet Sect's Pill Institute, said with a smile as he faced the seven contestants.

The seven lined up in their current standing order. Chu Qingyun happened to be to Zhou Ling's right, placing him at the end of the line.

At the head of the line was an Alchemist from the Cyan Leaf Sect.

Facing the gazes of so many Alchemy Dao seniors and powerful Martial Dao experts, the man appeared somewhat nervous. "Esteemed seniors, my skills are lacking. I only managed to refine one Lower Grade elixir."

As he spoke, he held out his hand, revealing a cyan elixir. A very faint, almost invisible layer of Pill Mist surrounded it.

"Mm, not bad. It is indeed a Lower Grade elixir."

"To fail four times but succeed in refining a Lower Grade elixir on the fifth attempt is quite impressive."

"With such talent, he has a chance of breaking through to become a King-rank Alchemist in the future."

Several senior Alchemists nodded in approval.

The Elders of the Cyan Leaf Sect also looked at him with expressions of great satisfaction and relief.

Evidently, securing a spot in the top seven was enough to satisfy the Cyan Leaf Sect.

Second in line was a young Alchemist from the Stone Spirit Sect. He had also refined a Lower Grade Youthful Appearance Pill, but judging by its Pill Mist, it was slightly denser than the first one—a relatively high-quality Lower Grade elixir.

Third in line was Wan Jianping of the Celestial Sword Sect.

Seeing all eyes focused on him, Wan Jianping's eye twitched. His expression was ugly, and he seemed to hesitate.

"Hm? Wan Jianping, show us your elixir," Yu Liyuan said.

Wan Jianping grunted and reluctantly extended his hand, uncurling his fingers to reveal the elixir within.

Instantly, ripples of laughter spread through the crowd.

The few Alchemists from the Celestial Sword Sect also grunted, their faces darkening.

Among the contestants, Zhou Ling couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Wan Jianping, after refining an elixir like that, you still have the nerve to stand here?"

Wu Xinghai also just smiled faintly and shook his head.

The first two contestants, meanwhile, were struggling to hold back their laughter, wanting to laugh but not daring to do so aloud.

It turned out that Wan Jianping's elixir had a crack on its surface, one so large it almost split the entire elixir in two.

The medicinal power of such an elixir would be completely unstable. Even if you gave it away for free, no one would dare to consume it, as there was no guarantee what the consequences might be.

"A defective elixir. For now, you'll be ranked third," Yu Liyuan said, shaking his head.

It was only because this was the Celestial Martial City Pill Battle Conference. If a disciple from the Talisman Puppet Sect dared to present such an elixir, he would have slapped them right off the stage.

Wan Jianping retracted his elixir, his face grim.

However, he was a little puzzled. He had noticed that after seeing his elixir, Li Ruoguang and Zhu Tianyun, who were behind him in line, didn't look like they wanted to laugh. Instead, they seemed… 'disappointed?'

"Next, Li Ruoguang of the Tianya Sect," Yu Liyuan said, looking at Li Ruoguang.

Li Ruoguang's expression was similar to Wan Jianping's just a moment ago—he looked conflicted.

"Ruo Guang, take out your elixir and let them see."

"That's right, Ruo Guang. Let them see the results of your years of hard practice."

The two King-rank Alchemists from the Tianya Sect were both smiling at Li Ruoguang, clearly very confident in his abilities.

"This…"

With a sigh of resignation, Li Ruoguang had no choice but to extend his hand and show his elixir.

Instantly, another burst of laughter erupted from the crowd.

Even Wan Jianping and the first two contestants couldn't help but laugh.

"Brother Ruo Guang, I thought I was going to be last, but I didn't expect your elixir to look even worse than mine! HAHAHA…" Wan Jianping laughed, gloating over his misfortune.

It turned out that the elixir Li Ruoguang presented was covered in pits and divots; it couldn't even maintain a basic spherical shape.

A muscle in Yu Liyuan's cheek twitched. He snorted coldly and said, "A Wasted Pill. You'll be ranked fourth for now!"

Under the furious glares of the several King-rank Alchemists from the Tianya Sect, Li Ruoguang sheepishly retracted his Wasted Pill.

However, he too found it strange. He realized that Zhu Tianyun, who was behind him, had uncharacteristically not seized the opportunity to mock him.

Cold sweat was already beading on Zhu Tianyun's forehead.

"Deans, Elders, Seniors… I… I give up. I withdraw from the judging," Zhu Tianyun said, wiping away his sweat, his voice dry.

Instantly, a sense of foreboding filled the hearts of some from the Purple Cloud Sect.

"You bastard! You've made it this far, and now you say you want to withdraw!?"

"Show us your elixir!"

One defective elixir, and another so wasted it wasn't even properly formed—Yu Liyuan was so angry his beard was practically bristling.

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