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"Hehe, as expected, Miss Xian'er still has the upper hand," President Fa Ma chuckled lightly as he gazed at the four dazzling green beams of light rising from the square. Especially one of them—it resembled a deep, imperial jade green, standing out even more vividly.
"Haha, after all, she's the only one among all the participants who managed to refine a high-grade pill," the various esteemed elders laughed and nodded in agreement.
Hai Bodong, however, furrowed his brow slightly and murmured under his breath, "That Xiao Yan isn't bad either. If it weren't for his Purple Flame suddenly vanishing and being replaced with ordinary Dou Qi flames, I bet he would've finished before that Liu Ling and even produced a high-grade pill."
"Indeed, that's true," the crowd nodded in agreement. "That Xiao Yan is only slightly inferior to Miss Xian'er, which is already very impressive."
Wei Yang smiled quietly to himself and thought, It's because he ran out of Dou Qi. He had no choice but to retract the Rank 6 beast flame and switch to ordinary Dou Qi flames.
During the refining process, Xiao Yan had already taken medicinal pills twice to recover his depleted energy.
Although Flame Mantra had evolved to the Mid-Level Xuan Grade due to the combination of Purple Flame and Green Lotus Core Flame, Xiao Yan's own cultivation was still too low—only a One-Star Da Dou Shi. Controlling a Rank 6 beast flame naturally couldn't last long, and after failing once midway, his Dou Qi had been drained.
President Fa Ma had clearly noticed this too. He was about to speak with a smile when his expression suddenly shifted slightly. He let out a soft "Hm?" as his gaze swept across the massive square, finally stopping in a remote corner.
There, a figure fully wrapped in a gray robe was slowly placing a pill into the testing apparatus.
"What's wrong?" The others followed Fa Ma's gaze, noticing his reaction. They looked over and paused in confusion.
"That person..." Fa Ma's old eyes narrowed, and a sharp light flashed in his usually cloudy pupils.
He gently tapped his finger on the armrest and muttered, "That guy... seems a little strong."
"Oh?" The elders exchanged surprised glances, carefully examining the gray-robed man. But then they frowned slightly in confusion. "We don't see anything unusual."
"You all aren't alchemists, so your perception of soul power isn't that sensitive. But I can sense that guy's soul power—it's very strong," Fa Ma said. "Stronger than Liu Ling, Xiao Yue'er, and even Xiao Yan."
"Among all the contestants, only Miss Xian'er can compare to him in terms of soul power. This level of strength... if I remember correctly, even Gu He back in the day didn't have such powerful soul power when he competed," Fa Ma said seriously, his brows tightly furrowed and his gaze fixed on the figure below.
"What?!" The elders were all stunned, even shocked.
Xian'er's presence alone had already amazed them. And now—another one?
And someone previously completely unknown?
Fa Ma turned to Wei Yang. "Wei Yang, what do you think?"
The others also looked toward Wei Yang. As a Tier 6 Alchemist, his soul power far exceeded Fa Ma's, and his opinion carried even more weight.
Wei Yang stared at the gray-robed man, a faint smile curling at his lips. "Indeed, his soul power is very strong. Comparable to Xian'er... I'd say it's at the Mid-stage Mortal Realm level."
"Mid-stage Mortal Realm soul?" Some of the elders looked puzzled.
But Fa Ma's pupils contracted slightly—he understood immediately.
Wei Yang glanced at the confused expressions and explained, "You could think of it as the soul level of a Dou Zong. Does that make it clearer for you?"
"A Dou Zong-level soul?!" The elders were dumbfounded, their gazes snapping to the gray-robed man with utter disbelief. A storm of shock roared through their hearts.
Even Fa Ma was stunned. Mid-stage Mortal Realm—that kind of strength was just a notch below his own.
Fa Ma himself was at the Peak of Mid-stage Mortal Realm.
With the pill inserted into the testing apparatus...
Moments later...
Boom!
From the stone platform before the gray-robed man, a dazzling green beam of light suddenly shot skyward. Its brilliance slightly surpassed that of Xiao Yan's, and it nearly matched Xian'er's imperial jade green pillar!
Now, two vibrant emerald-green beams of similar intensity stood tall in the square, echoing and complementing each other.
This sudden development immediately drew the attention of everyone in the square.
When they saw that the person who had produced such a beam was actually a gray-robed figure hiding in a remote corner, they were all visibly stunned.
Some even doubted their own eyes.
At the central stone platform, Xian'er, Xiao Yan, and the other three were also instantly drawn to the spectacle.
Looking at that beam of light that could rival her own, Xian'er's expression froze.
Xiao Yan and the other two were equally dumbfounded.
Immediately, the four on the platform frowned slightly as their eyes locked on the mysterious figure cloaked entirely in a grey robe.
To think that, just at the decisive moment when rankings were being finalized, such a formidable dark horse would suddenly appear out of nowhere.
Judging by his body shape and the corner he was stationed in, he clearly wasn't any of those who had participated in the internal tests of the Alchemist Association earlier.
"Could he be an independent alchemist?" the four of them murmured quietly.
Liu Ling clenched his fists.
Another one?!
His rank had now been forcefully pushed down to fourth.
The little princess fared even worse—she was bumped to fifth, dead last among the five. Her lips puffed up in displeasure.
Xiao Yan now ranked third.
As for first and second place, no one could easily determine who deserved which.
It could be Xian'er.
But it might just as well be that mysterious grey-robed man.
Xiao Yan pressed his lips together slightly, eyes fixed on the man. Deep in his gut, he sensed that this mysterious figure might be just as formidable—and just as troublesome—as Xian'er herself.
And as if sensing the gazes from the four, the grey-robed man slightly lifted his head, revealing half of a pale, youthful face. Beneath the shadow of a conical hat, a pair of eyes glimmering with faint blue light swept coldly and indifferently across them.
"Who is this guy?"
All four were stunned as they stared at this unexpectedly powerful rival. Exchanging glances, they found the same look of bewilderment reflected in each other's eyes—they clearly didn't recognize him at all.
In the VIP section—
"Qie Mi Er, give me his file," Fa Ma suddenly turned toward Qie Mi Er and said in a deep voice.
A stranger of such youth, yet with soul power this terrifying—how could they not take him seriously?
After all, the rules of the Alchemist Grand Meeting clearly stated: only those under thirty could participate.
Under thirty… and possessing a Dou Zong-level soul?
What kind of joke was that?
Does he think everyone is another Xian'er?
Even with her freakish talent, Xian'er was still a six-star Dou Huang!
But this was just a boy.
Even the elders now wore solemn expressions, their brows tightly knit.
Qie Mi Er was quick to act. Back when Wei Yang had first identified the soul power of the mysterious man, Vice President Qie Mi Er had already sensed that something was off.
He quickly identified the contestant number associated with the grey-robed man's position, then retrieved a stack of documents from his storage ring and began rapidly flipping through them.
Soon, a thin piece of paper was selected and laid out before everyone.
Wei Yang's gaze swept over it casually.
On the paper was a drawing—an accurate portrait of the mysterious grey-robed man.
Only this time, the portrait also included a clear close-up of his face. His features were now fully and unmistakably revealed.
It was the face of a young man with piercing blue eyes and a complexion pale and cold, looking to be no older than sixteen or seventeen.
That age—so young it felt almost unnatural. Not even shocking, just… eerie.
They might have shrugged it off before, but now—
Everyone around inhaled sharply, chills crawling up their spines.
Sixteen or seventeen years old?
A Dou Zong-level soul?
Was this a joke?
Even if you started cultivating your soul in the womb, it wouldn't be this exaggerated!
Qie Mi Er handed the document to Fa Ma.
Fa Ma furrowed his brows as he began to read carefully, word by word. A few moments later, his expression changed slightly.
"He's an alchemist from the Chu Yun Empire," Fa Ma announced grimly.
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