thefictionvixens Page 68
Page 68
"The Pill Cauldron Sect, I have heard of that sect. It is a very famous alchemist sect in the Pill Domain," Ye Chen said with a light laugh.
However, judging from his expression, he didn't take that Mu Xuan seriously.
A twenty-nine-year-old alchemist who is only a high-level sixth-grade alchemist is far inferior to the two of them, let alone the Gao Ming who is not even twenty-five years old and is already a mid-level sixth-grade alchemist. His talent far surpasses that of the former.
Don't underestimate the difference of three or four years. For this group of young alchemists, who can be considered the most talented in the entire Central Continent, it might mean leaping a level in just one year...
As I said before, the rate at which a genius improves cannot be measured by ordinary standards.
Song Qing, standing next to Ye Chen, clearly shared a similar thought. However, what concerned him was: "Isn't this guy already a disciple of the Pill Cauldron Sect? Why is he participating in the Pill Tower's assessment?"
Gao Ming chuckled and said, "Brother Song, this is the Pill Tower, a sacred place in the hearts of all alchemists on the entire continent. If you have the opportunity to join such a force, do you think anyone would still care whether they are in a sect or not?"
"Moreover, even for the Pill Cauldron Sect, if one of their disciples could join the Pill Tower, they would be overjoyed, so how could they possibly refuse to let them go..."
Song Qing nodded in sudden realization, "I understand!"
Just as he was about to say something, his gaze inadvertently swept over a certain spot, and he was instantly captivated...
Song Qing's unusual behavior naturally caught the attention of Ye Chen and Gao Ming, who couldn't help but look in the direction of Song Qing's gaze.
"It's her!" Ye Chen suddenly realized, no wonder Song Qing looked so distraught.
Gao Ming was clearly also deeply attracted, his gaze somewhat eager. Seeing Ye Chen's unmoved expression, he immediately asked, "Brother Ye, do you know this woman?"
Ye Chen smiled slightly and said, "Brother Gao, didn't you say before that you wanted to see how amazing that genius girl from the Cao family is? Perfect, this is it."
Although this enchanting woman from the Cao family was still bright and beautiful, her aloof and arrogant demeanor made it impossible for anyone around her to approach her.
"Is that so?!" Gao Ming was surprised at first, then nodded in understanding, and silently withdrew his gaze.
"I've heard that this woman has terrifying talent and has almost already secured a spot. What do you think of this, Brother Ye?" Suppressing his excitement, Gao Ming couldn't help but start probing for her information.
Unfortunately, Ye Chen didn't intend to reveal too much information about Cao Ying to her, after all, the two had only met by chance.
Unconsciously, at this moment
Those who have passed the basic assessment have already arrived in the square.
Ye Chen glanced around and saw that only about two hundred people remained in the arena, which showed how strict the Pill Tower was in its requirements for basic abilities such as the medicinal properties of herbs.
At this moment, Mu Rong, the chief examiner, reappeared in the center of the square. He stopped, slowly scanned the area, smiled, and said, "Since everyone who passed the previous test has arrived, I won't say much more. This round tests soul value. The top fifty will advance to the next round. Those whose names are called, please come forward..."
The first fifty...
In other words, out of the 235 people present, only the top 50 are qualified to continue the assessment, which has made everyone quite nervous.
Another point is that the Soul Value Test is unique to the Pill Tower. Apart from the members of the five major families, this is the first time for everyone else. Some of them have never even heard of it before, so they are inevitably even more uneasy at this moment.
Mu Rong slowly stepped back. Behind him was a stone tablet that was about ten feet tall. Actually, calling it a stone tablet wasn't quite accurate, because it was transparent and looked like crystal.
"Let's begin the test."
After Mu Rong made the announcement, a special elder from the Danta Tower was in charge of calling out the names, and then the candidates walked up to the high platform one by one to take the test...
A young alchemist with a nervous expression stepped onto the platform, then gently placed his palm on the stone tablet, closed his eyes slightly, and channeled his spiritual power along his arm into the testing stone tablet...
"Drip drip."
As the soul surged into the stone tablet, a beeping sound suddenly emanated from the smooth mirror at the center of the tablet. Then, the blood-red number suddenly soared up, and after a few seconds, it finally stopped at the position of 501 under the watchful eyes of many people around and in the field.
The alchemist conducting the test clearly had no idea what level this value represented, and looked hopefully at Mu Rong on the stage...
But the latter's face remained expressionless; he simply said, "Alright, you can leave now."
Upon hearing this, the young alchemist could only walk away with a helpless expression. His only hope now was that the others' soul values were lower than his...
And so, one test subject after another went up to the platform, and then came down, some disappointed, some excited, and some bewildered.
Their soul values also vary greatly.
But even now, the highest score hasn't exceeded 600, which makes Ye Chen shake his head inwardly.
What should I say...
Although a soul value of five or six hundred is considered normal for a sixth-grade alchemist, to be valued by the Pill Tower, one's soul value must exceed their alchemist rank. Only those with such a soul value have the potential to advance to a higher level.
"Brother Ye, what soul value do you think is needed to be selected by the Pill Tower?"
Seeing that it was almost his turn, Gao Ming became a little nervous and couldn't help but ask Ye Chen for advice.
His words were overheard by the people around him, and they all perked up their ears, wanting to hear if Ye Chen, this genius from one of the five great families, could give them a reassuring answer.
Ye Chen glanced at Gao Ming, whose face was filled with tension, and smiled gently, saying, "Didn't the examiner already say that the Pill Tower will select the top fifty to advance to the next stage? The specific soul value isn't actually that important..."
Chapter 154 Shocking the Audience
Is Soul Value really unimportant?
This isn't entirely wrong for ordinary test takers, since all they need to do is make it into the top fifty.
However, for people like Ye Chen and Cao Ying who possess powerful soul force, the soul value test alone is enough for them to pass all the other tests and be directly selected by the Pill Tower.
Although he didn't get a definite answer, Gao Ming didn't have a chance to ask again, because he was about to go on stage...
"Brother Ye, do you think Gao Ming has a chance to advance to the next level?" Song Qing asked, leaning closer with a curious expression.
Ye Chen glanced at him and said irritably, "What, has your soul returned again?"
Hearing Ye Chen's teasing, Song Qing just chuckled and didn't respond. Instead, she urged, "Hurry up and tell me, you haven't answered my question yet."
He shook his head speechlessly. Clearly, the Song Qing he knew in this life was far less shrewd than the Song Qing who appeared in the original novel.
But isn't that precisely why Danxuan and I became so close to him?
"This talent is quite good; he should be able to pass this test. However, whether he can make it to the end is another matter."
Sure enough, not long after Ye Chen finished speaking, Gao Ming's soul value appeared...
625!
The highest number to date.
After the numbers settled, Gao Ming finally released his grip, glanced at the numbers on the dial, and breathed a sigh of relief. At least this number represented the current number one, which stirred an irrepressible excitement within him.
Gasps of surprise rippled through the stadium, clearly astonished by the number.
Seeing this number, Song Qing, who was next to Ye Chen, also seemed to be deep in thought. He could sense that Gao Ming possessed considerable soul power, but this final value was only 625. From this glimpse, he could also vaguely guess the approximate range of his own soul value.
However, based on this comparison, if this were applied to the person beside him, Song Qing instantly realized that everyone present was likely about to witness the emergence of a terrifying prodigy...
The test continues.
Although several others had a soul value exceeding 625, Gao Ming consistently remained within the top ten, with only a few points separating them. This reassured him, making him feel confident that he had secured this level.
"Next, Cao Ying..."
As soon as the name was announced, the once noisy square instantly fell silent.
Countless eyes were focused on that tall figure, but Cao Ying, the object of attention, showed no timidity like a little girl. Instead, she stood tall and proud, like a haughty fairy, and walked step by step onto the high platform...
"Greetings, Elder Mu." Cao Ying gracefully arrived at the high platform, greeting Mu Rong with a light smile.
Mu Rong's expressionless face changed at this moment, and he laughed and said, "Hehe, Cao family girl, don't try to get close to me. If you don't pass the test later, I won't give the Third Elder any face!"
Of course, this is just a joke.
Cao Ying smiled confidently, her long, flowing hair swaying gently as she placed her palm directly on the stone tablet.
The next moment, a surge of immense spiritual power violently flowed through her jade-like arm and into the stone tablet. The smooth mirror suddenly...
A rapid beeping sound followed, and then the blood-red numbers surged wildly, finally settling at 806 after more than twenty seconds...
boom!
As soon as this number was announced, a tremendous roar erupted throughout the entire square, then soared into the sky.
"How is this possible... how could there be so many!" Gao Ming, who had been at peace, was now completely distraught.
The other party was clearly just a little girl of thirteen or fourteen years old, and her alchemist level was only at the fourth grade, yet her soul value was almost two hundred points higher than his!
"What kind of monster is this...?"
At this moment, countless people must have felt the same sentiment.
Even Ye Chen, who was already mentally prepared, was still shocked by Cao Ying's performance...
"Tsk tsk, this Cao family enchantress is truly extraordinary..."
Although in the original novel, Cao Ying's soul value test, representing the Cao family, reached 976, that must have been after she had become a disciple of Xuan Kongzi. After all, she was accepted as a disciple by Xuan Kongzi at the age of fifteen, and not only did her strength increase rapidly afterward, but she may even have possessed a lost method of soul cultivation, so it's not surprising that she could obtain such a terrifying value.
Unexpectedly, Cao Ying, who is currently only at the Dou Ling realm and whose alchemist rank is only at the fourth grade, already possesses such terrifying soul power!
Now, the only thing limiting her alchemist rank is probably her insufficient battle qi cultivation...
"This is really... terrifying!" Song Qing stared at the number for a long time before finally uttering this sentence.
Immediately, Ye Chen noticed that the guy's previous infatuated expression had disappeared. Although his gaze towards Cao Ying was still ardent, it no longer contained the desire for beauty he had before. Instead, it was filled with a soaring fighting spirit...
Clearly, Song Qing was still very dissatisfied with the fact that she might be surpassed by a fourteen-year-old girl.
After all, one person who can leave you far behind is enough; if there are more, Song Qing's pride won't allow it!
"Alright, it's your turn." Ye Chen patted his friend's shoulder, who was full of fighting spirit, and said with a light laugh.
As expected, Song Qing's soul value did not disappoint, exceeding 700 and reaching 785.
This number is definitely not low!
If Ye Chen remembered correctly, during the assessment of the five major families in the original work, Qiu Ji, who represented the Qiu family, only reached 707 soul points.
At that time, the other party's alchemist rank was the initial seventh rank!
"Very good, very good!" Mu Rong, the chief examiner, couldn't help but exclaim, then looked at Song Qing with some fervor.
Although he knew very well that this assessment was destined to be a stage for the younger generation of the Ye and Cao families, Song Qing, despite being an ordinary person, actually possessed such talent. If given the opportunity, he wouldn't mind directly taking him as his personal disciple...
"Thank you for the praise, Elder!" Although he was a little annoyed that he hadn't caught up with the little girl's soul value, Song Qing still quickly bowed to Mu Rong to express his gratitude.
Little did he know that just a moment ago, he had been almost on the verge of becoming a core disciple of the Pill Tower...
If he can make it to the end, then barring any unforeseen circumstances, he will definitely be selected by the higher-ups of the Dan Tower. This alone puts him ahead of most of the people who are still striving for a single spot.
Chapter 155 The Final Appearance
Song Qing walked downstairs looking dejected, but his expression almost made those around him, who didn't even have six hundred, want to beat him up...
This is a classic case of getting the benefit and then complaining!
What they didn't know was that Song Qing was genuinely unhappy at that moment.
Who told him to compare himself to a vixen like Cao Ying!
As one examinee after another ascended the platform, Ye Chen's name was finally announced.
"I'm coming……"
Upon hearing Ye Chen's name, everyone, whether on or off the field, whether they had already passed the test or were still undergoing it, instantly focused their attention on him.
Previously, the Cao family member had already displayed a terrifyingly powerful soul force, so what kind of performance will Ye Chen, who is also from one of the five major families and is even older, show?
This immediately drew the attention of not only the audience and examinees, but also the three giants and three elders of the Dan Tower on the high platform.
"Old Dan, what level do you think this Ye family boy's soul power will reach?" On the high platform, one of the three elders, a thin old man dressed in black robes, asked the white-robed old man beside him with a flicker in his eyes.
"What, worried that your junior will be surpassed?" The white-robed elder, known as "Old Man Dan" and the second elder of the Dan Tower, chuckled.
The one who had just asked the question was Cao Rui, the third elder of the Pill Tower and also the patriarch of the Cao family. Upon hearing this, he waved his hand and said, "No, that's not the case. After all, Ying'er is still young. Even if her soul value is surpassed, it doesn't matter. I believe that she can improve quickly after entering the Pill Tower. Although that Ye family boy is already a peak sixth-grade alchemist, I don't believe that his soul value is that high!"
Cao Rui spoke with great confidence about this.
Although Ye Chen was also born with unusual phenomena, seemingly possessing an extraordinary talent for fire, and was also precocious, there was no record of him having any special abilities in terms of soul power.
Unlike Cao Ying, whose soul power at the moment of her birth almost killed her mother, demonstrating just how terrifying her soul talent was!
Both women have their strengths, but in this particular round, Cao Ying holds a significant advantage...
However, Old Man Dan did not agree with Cao Rui's words, but he didn't say anything. Anyway, the Dan family was not participating in this assessment, so he could just sit back and watch.
However, there were quite a few people on this high platform who shared the same thoughts as the two of them.
Especially Xuan Kongzi, the president who was in the middle, showed a hint of anticipation in his eyes when he saw Ye Chen appear...
On the high platform, Ye Chen, who had already reached the testing stone tablet, bowed slightly to Mu Rong and said, "Greetings, Elder Mu!"