pertwk 586. Final Effort
586. Final Effort
A day later, under the gaze of hundreds of thousands of eyes, Xiao Yan finally opened his eyes.
The instant he opened his eyes, those closest to Xiao Yan had a fleeting illusion: it seemed as if dazzling lightning flashed in Xiao Yan's eyes. That subtle yet powerful impact caused several people to change color for a moment.
What everyone was most concerned about at this moment was: just how far could Xiao Yan's soul power reach? After all, everyone had witnessed the Heavenly Thunder Forging Spirit process just now. Anyone with decent strength could feel Xiao Yan's increasingly powerful soul power. Could Xiao Yan take advantage of that momentum and directly enter the late stage of the Spirit Realm?
Xiao Yan activated his soul power and felt a powerful and abundant sensation.
Peak of the mid-stage Spirit Realm!
This was the final result of Xiao Yan's use of the Heavenly Thunder Spirit Forging Hammer. In fact, Xiao Yan still had a chance to directly break through to the late stage of the Spirit Realm using the power of thunder. However, he ultimately realized that his soul realm had advanced too quickly under the Heavenly Thunder Spirit Forging Hammer. Aside from whether this would shake his already solid foundation, the inability to properly understand the differences between each soul realm would certainly be detrimental to his future career as an alchemist.
Therefore, Xiao Yan also maintained his usual restraint, keeping his soul realm at the peak of the mid-stage of the Spirit Realm, just one step away from the late stage of the Spirit Realm.
Even so, it was still incredibly impressive. After all, everyone could confirm one fact from Xiao Yan's performance: Xiao Yan was able to cultivate his soul power using the power of the Pill Lightning.
This ability is truly captivating, or more accurately, Xiao Yan's rate of progress is incredibly tempting. It's important to understand that for alchemists, soul power is the true foundation of their livelihood, and advancing in soul power is notoriously difficult. Generally, aside from some extraordinary encounters with rare and precious materials, one can only rely on perseverance to make small but continuous progress, eventually accumulating significant gains.
Xiao Yan's brutal and direct method of soul advancement was so exaggerated that even many of the elders of the Pill Tower were tempted.
Even Ling Zhuo, upon witnessing this scene, couldn't suppress the urge to covet it. He was determined to seize Xiao Yan's soul cultivation technique, no matter the cost.
He never imagined that Xiao Yan's ridiculously exaggerated cultivation technique was actually given to him.
Wei Jiangyuan and the other two arrived in front of Xiao Yan as soon as he had stabilized. Wei Jiangyuan said with emotion, "Congratulations on taking another step forward. But if you tell me that you accelerated the formation of your core just to absorb the three-colored pill lightning and strengthen your soul power, I will definitely give you a good beating first."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan shook his head immediately. Of course, he couldn't be such a short-sighted person.
"Old Wei, do you have any extra herbs prepared? Bring them all out for me. We still have a chance to beat Ling Zhuo." Xiao Yan didn't answer Wei Jiangyuan's question, but instead gave him a simple and direct order.
This left Yao Qingyu and Lei Jingxiao somewhat puzzled, while Wei Jiangyuan, the other protagonist, fell silent for a long time before finally asking Xiao Yan, "What kind of opportunity are you referring to?"
Xiao Yan's eyes were serious as he said in a deep voice, "There's still some time before the Pill Gathering ends. I'm going to start another batch and see if I can beat Ling Zhuo's results!"
Upon hearing this, Yao Qingyu's pretty face immediately showed an expression of disbelief. After all, almost everyone had already assumed that this year's Pill Gathering was over, and even the final rankings had been determined; they were just waiting for the Pill Tower to make the final announcement. Xiao Yan's idea was completely unexpected, and the impact was so great that Wei Jiangyuan didn't know how to respond for a moment.
Yao Qingyu immediately remembered something and said, "Senior brother, today is already the thirtieth day of the Pill Gathering. Even if you have all the materials and make no mistakes, there's still no time to spare."
Apart from Lei Jingxiao, everyone present was an eighth-grade alchemist. All three of them shared a basic consensus: it would take at least twenty days to refine a qualified, uncompromising eighth-grade pill.
The 45-day timeframe for the Pill Gathering was not set arbitrarily; it was the reasonable time required for several eighth-grade alchemists from the Pill Tower to continuously refine two eighth-grade pills under extreme conditions, as personally tested by them.
"Even if you can make some compromises, you still need at least twenty days. Fifteen days? Are you sure you're not joking with me?" Wei Jiangyuan looked at Xiao Yan seriously. Usually, he was the one who loved to joke, but now he really hoped that Xiao Yan wasn't joking.
Xiao Yan glanced at Ling Zhuo, who seemed to be watching him as well, though a mocking smile played on her lips. After a brief eye contact, Ling Zhuo gave Xiao Yan a defiant look; she had already confirmed the outcome of the Pill Gathering.
"Junior Sister Qingyu," Xiao Yan suddenly asked softly, "Do you think Master's wife would want to see me win the championship?"
"Of course I hope so, but Senior Brother..." Yao Qingyu was interrupted by Xiao Yan before she could finish speaking.
"I have to give it a try!" Xiao Yan admitted frankly, "Actually, I'm not very confident myself, but I have to try!"
"It's not for the Pill Tower, it's just for my master's wife. After all, she holds that position, and if I can do it, I want to ease the pressure on her shoulders."
"For my teacher, who was able to win the championship back then, I, as his disciple today, naturally cannot tarnish his reputation."
When Xiao Yan said this, Wei Jiangyuan felt a little strange, but he was powerless to do anything about it now.
"Of course, it's also mostly for my own sake. Since the strange fire is right in front of me, since I have this championship, and since Ling Zhuo insists on blocking my way, why shouldn't I take it?"
Xiao Yan was, after all, still a young man in his twenties. He usually controlled his emotions very well, but Ling Zhuo's actions had displeased him several times. When Xiao Yan caught the pill lightning, he glanced in the direction of Little Fairy Doctor a few times. The latter's eyes seemed unwavering, filled only with trust in him.
In such a grand occasion as the Pill Gathering, with his lover, his elders, and even his unborn child present, Xiao Yan couldn't contain his youthful passion. He wanted to defeat Ling Zhuo honorably and win the Pill Gathering championship!
"Well said. I can provide you with the herbs, but could you grant me one request?"