Invincible Soul Emperor

Chapter 210: Chapter 210 I Want to Refine the Bone Tempering Pill too

Faced with Cheng Zhibin’s mockery, Ye Qingchen smiled faintly. ”Since the competition allows us to choose any elixir freely, what’s wrong with me choosing a third-grade Breakthrough Pill?”

Cheng Zhibin gave Ye Qingchen a cold sneer before bursting into laughter. ”Ye Qingchen, although the Breakthrough Pill is the most difficult to refine among third-grade Spirit Pills, so what if you manage to refine one of top quality? Could it possibly score higher than a fourth-grade Spirit Pill?”

Ye Qingchen simply shook his head, refusing to waste any more words on Cheng Zhibin. These were merely attempts to unsettle his conviction, and he wouldn’t be so easily fooled. He turned and walked to his station to begin inspecting the medicinal herbs.

Cheng Zhibin snorted coldly, already calculating how he would mock Ye Qingchen after his inevitable victory. He didn’t just want to crush Ye Qingchen; he wanted to crush the entire Qingyun Sect.

Looking at the medicinal herbs before him, Ye Qingchen sighed to himself. The royal family really is extravagant. Back then, I spent so much effort just to find the ingredients for a third-grade Breakthrough Pill. Now, they’ve casually brought them out, and the quality is top-notch!

After sighing, Ye Qingchen felt even more confident about this round of refining. In fact, another reason he chose to refine a third-grade Breakthrough Pill first was to verify his suspicion that he had already advanced to the realm of a fourth-grade Alchemist.

Twenty minutes passed quickly, and the strongmen struck the copper bell again, announcing the official start of the competition.

All the alchemists began their refining with fiery intensity.

Thanks to his prior experience refining Breakthrough Pills, Ye Qingchen found the process to be smooth sailing. He calmly placed the medicinal herbs into the Alchemy Furnace one by one. As his Soul Power had increased, his speed at refining medicinal herbs had also increased significantly.

However, Ye Qingchen refrained from using the Fen Tian Earth Fire to speed up the process. While the Fen Tian Earth Fire would not only improve his efficiency but also significantly enhance the elixir’s quality, he didn’t want to reveal his trump card under the public’s watchful eyes.

Ye Qingchen knew that several Pill King experts were present. If he used the Fen Tian Earth Fire, they would surely recognize it at a glance.

Even without the Fen Tian Earth Fire, the third-grade Breakthrough Pill no longer posed any difficulty for him.

Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion. Ye Qingchen was secretly pleased, noticing that his control over his Vitality Force had increased several-fold compared to before.

Thus, after just over ten minutes, the third-grade Breakthrough Pill he was refining was complete.

Upon inspection, Ye Qingchen nodded in satisfaction. The quality of this Breakthrough Pill had reached the top grade. It seems my alchemy strength has indeed grown tremendously. Back then, I needed the help of both the Fen Tian Earth Fire and the Dual Pupil Martial Soul, and even then, it took over ten attempts to barely succeed in making a top-quality pill.

Ye Qingchen nodded in satisfaction and put away the third-grade Breakthrough Pill.

However, he didn’t hurry to begin his second refinement. Instead, he turned his attention to Cheng Zhibin. At that moment, Cheng Zhibin had just begun refining his medicinal herbs, which meant Ye Qingchen could witness the entire process of him crafting the Fourth-grade Bone Tempering Pill.

When Cheng Zhibin saw Ye Qingchen looking at him, a disdainful smile appeared on his face.

He naturally wasn’t afraid of Ye Qingchen stealing his techniques. After all, if someone could master a Fourth-grade Spirit Pill just by watching once, wouldn’t that make them a genius?

What Cheng Zhibin didn’t know, however, was that whether Ye Qingchen was a genius was debatable, but he did possess the alchemical legacy of Fen Tian and the foundation of the Pill Emperor’s Heart Sutra. Both contained extremely detailed records about the Bone Tempering Pill, from the formula to the refining method. Most importantly, Ye Qingchen had the help of his Dual Pupil Martial Soul.

Therefore, even though he was only watching Cheng Zhibin refine the Bone Tempering Pill, he could meticulously observe every detail. This included the changes to the herbs inside the Alchemy Furnace and Cheng Zhibin’s specific alchemical techniques. The experience was equivalent to refining the Bone Tempering Pill himself, perhaps even more valuable.

After all, Cheng Zhibin was a bona fide Fourth-grade Alchemist. Since he dared to choose the Bone Tempering Pill, he must have practiced it repeatedly and was fully confident in his ability to succeed. Observing Cheng Zhibin’s process was like having refined the Bone Tempering Pill countless times himself. The experience he gained was on a completely different level.

Using his Dual Pupil Martial Soul, Ye Qingchen didn’t miss a single detail of Cheng Zhibin’s process, constantly comparing it to the legacies in his mind and gradually gaining enlightenment.

Under the observation of his Dual Pupil Martial Soul, Ye Qingchen still spotted several minor flaws in Cheng Zhibin’s technique. By cross-referencing with the Pill Emperor’s Heart Sutra and Fen Tian’s legacy, he mentally corrected each error. While these mistakes wouldn’t prevent the pill from forming, such small imperfections would directly impact its final quality—the very key to determining the winner.

After continuous observation, Ye Qingchen finally achieved a complete understanding. He confidently walked towards the judges’ bench.

Cai Yunji had noticed long ago that Ye Qingchen had finished his refinement, but he had yet to submit his Spirit Pill. She grew curious about what grade of Spirit Pill he would choose to refine this time.

”Princess Cai Yunji, I wish to request a portion of herbs for the Bone Tempering Pill,” Ye Qingchen said calmly, bowing to Cai Yunji, completely disregarding the impact his words might have on the crowd.

The martial artists who had come to witness the Alchemy Dao competition were all formidable, so even though Ye Qingchen’s voice wasn’t loud, it reached the ears of everyone present.

”What? This kid actually wants to refine the Fourth-grade Bone Tempering Pill? But he’s clearly just a Third-grade Alchemist!”

”Hmph, it seems winning the championship yesterday has gotten to his head. He thinks he’s capable of anything, daring to attempt the Bone Tempering Pill.”

”Even an average Fourth-grade Alchemist might fail to produce the Bone Tempering Pill. This kid is too arrogant!”

From the stands, a wave of skeptical voices erupted in response to Ye Qingchen’s words. After all, no one believed a Third-grade Alchemist could refine a Fourth-grade Spirit Pill. This was especially true for the Bone Tempering Pill, considered the most difficult to refine among its grade.

Vice Pavilion Master Liu also frowned, saying with concern, ”It seems we’ve put too much pressure on Qingchen, which is why he’s taking such a risk by choosing the Bone Tempering Pill. I just hope he won’t get disheartened and damage his Dao heart if he fails!”

In Vice Pavilion Master Liu’s view, Ye Qingchen’s choice was far too reckless. The probability of successfully refining the Bone Tempering Pill was minuscule.