Invincible Soul Emperor

Chapter 215: Chapter 215 Missing the Championship

The morning’s observations had already been extremely beneficial for Ye Qingchen. With so many Pill Kings competing in the afternoon, he was certain his understanding of the Alchemy Dao would advance even further. Such an excellent learning opportunity was rare and valuable, so Ye Qingchen activated his Dual Pupil Martial Soul, determined not to miss a single detail.

Whether by chance or design, the Qingyun Sect’s stage was adjacent to the Heavenly Profound Sect’s. Before the competition even began, Xiong Bin and Xiong Hai started hurling insults at Pavilion Master Zhang and Vice Pavilion Master Liu. Pavilion Master Zhang simply scoffed at their mockery, but Vice Pavilion Master Liu was trembling with rage. It took some consoling from Pavilion Master Zhang before he managed to calm down slightly.

Ye Qingchen frowned. Through his Dual Pupil Martial Soul, he could see that Vice Pavilion Master Liu’s hands were still trembling. Perhaps this wouldn’t be a major issue under normal circumstances, but in such a crucial competition, a tiny slip could lead to a massive failure. Even a minor error could result in losing everything.

Ye Qingchen sighed. Vice Pavilion Master Liu is too principled and rigid; he falls right into the Heavenly Profound Sect’s despicable traps. He also scoffed at the Heavenly Profound Sect’s methods. Whether it was Cheng Zhibin or the Xiong brothers, they all resorted to such low-handed tactics to disrupt their opponents’ state of mind. People like that would never achieve anything truly great.

As the competition bell rang, the Elites’ Competition officially began, and Ye Qingchen focused his attention completely on Pavilion Master Zhang and Vice Pavilion Master Liu. He had spent a lot of time with the two pavilion masters recently, and they had guided him meticulously. As a result, he had a decent understanding of their respective alchemical styles. Observing them allowed him to better test and refine his own understanding of the Alchemy Dao.

Of course, Ye Qingchen understood the principle of learning from many masters, so after watching his own sect’s elders for a while, he shifted his focus to the other Pill Kings. It had to be said that although Xiong Bin and Xiong Hai were detestable people, they indeed possessed remarkable skill in the Alchemy Dao. After observing their techniques, Ye Qingchen learned quite a bit. Cheng Zhibin was Xiong Bin’s disciple, and Ye Qingchen had carefully observed him refine the Bone Tempering Pill yesterday. Because of this, watching the two of them now allowed him to cross-reference their techniques with his own knowledge.

As time passed, Ye Qingchen began to feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of activity. Understanding the danger of biting off more than he could chew, he eventually focused his attention completely on Pavilion Master Zhang and Vice Pavilion Master Liu. Pavilion Master Zhang was the strongest among them, his skill in the Alchemy Dao having reached the peak of a sixth-grade Pill King. Ye Qingchen watched, completely mesmerized. Even after Pavilion Master Zhang finished, he was left wanting more.

Unlike the youth tournament, the Royal Family had specially assigned an alchemy assistant to each Pill King in the Elites’ Competition to act as their aide. Therefore, once Pavilion Master Zhang was finished, his assistant respectfully delivered the completed Spirit Pill to the judges’ table. Pavilion Master Zhang remained in place, watching Vice Pavilion Master Liu refine his pill, and couldn’t help but nod.

By this point, Vice Pavilion Master Liu had fully recovered from his earlier anger and entered a state of complete focus, his attention fixed entirely on his Alchemy Furnace. Pavilion Master Zhang had been worried that the Xiong brothers’ disruption had disturbed his composure and would affect his performance. Although Vice Pavilion Master Liu was a fifth-grade Pill King, with a flawless performance, he still had a good chance of defeating Xiong Hai.

Just then, Xiong Bin and Xiong Hai also completed their pills. Seeing that Vice Pavilion Master Liu was not yet done, they exchanged a smirk.

Xiong Hai spoke in a snide, taunting tone, ”Well, well, Old Liu hasn’t finished yet? At this rate, even if you succeed, you’ll lose a lot of points for being so slow.”

Xiong Bin laughed heartily and added, ”Brother, you give him too much credit. He’s been stuck at the fifth-grade Pill King realm for so many years without a hint of improvement, and you still expect him to succeed? What a joke!”

Vice Pavilion Master Liu had just reached the critical pill formation stage and couldn’t spare any attention for their antics, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t hear them. Although he tried his best to suppress his anger, his hands still began to tremble involuntarily.

Pavilion Master Zhang frowned. Xiong Bin and Xiong Hai were truly despicable to interfere at the crucial moment of pill formation. Even with his normally placid temperament, he was now genuinely furious. ”Is this how your Heavenly Profound Sect competes for the championship?” he said coldly to the two brothers.

But Pavilion Master Zhang had overestimated their sense of shame. His icy rebuke didn’t restrain them in the slightest; instead, their taunts toward Vice Pavilion Master Liu only grew sharper.

Vice Pavilion Master Liu’s face was now beet red, and he looked as if he could lose control at any moment. Seeing the situation was dire, Pavilion Master Zhang bellowed, ”Vice Pavilion Master Liu, focus!”

The shout was like a bucket of cold water, snapping Vice Pavilion Master Liu back to his senses. He immediately refocused all his energy on the final steps.

But down in the stands, Ye Qingchen couldn’t help but shake his head. He had kept his Dual Pupil Martial Soul active the entire time, observing every single one of Vice Pavilion Master Liu’s movements with minute precision. Just a moment ago, as his hands trembled, Vice Pavilion Master Liu had allowed the temperature in his Alchemy Furnace to drop slightly. He regained control of the heat in less than a second, but in high-level Spirit Pill refinement, tiny details like this determined everything. That single second was more than enough to affect the final quality of the Spirit Pill.

Just then, Vice Pavilion Master Liu completed his final step, finishing the refinement process. Pavilion Master Zhang stopped the alchemy assistant from submitting the pill. He took it in his hand for a look, his brow furrowing slightly, before passing it back to the assistant to be delivered.

Seeing Pavilion Master Zhang’s expression, Vice Pavilion Master Liu’s heart sank. He said nothing, but disappointment was written all over his face. As Pill Kings, both men understood that the Spirit Pill now had a flaw. It was subtle, but it was enough to affect the final score.

Finally, Princess Cai Yunji announced the results of the competition.

”In this Elites’ Competition, first place goes to Pill King Zhang Dingqiang of the Qingyun Sect!”

This result was within everyone’s expectations. With Pavilion Master Zhang’s alchemical skills, his victory was well deserved. The announcements continued: Xiong Bin took second place, and Xiong Hai took third. Due to that slight misstep, Vice Pavilion Master Liu could only take fourth place.

Although Pavilion Master Zhang won first place, the Qingyun Sect’s total score still fell behind the Heavenly Profound Sect’s because of Vice Pavilion Master Liu’s result. Thus, the final outcome was Heavenly Profound Sect as champions and Qingyun Sect as runners-up.

Coupled with the results of the youth competition, the Qingyun Sect’s one win and one loss put them at a tie with the Heavenly Profound Sect.