Translator: Silavin
On the Alchemy Peak, all were old foxes. Even if they mocked each other subtly, they would not go too far and make themselves a laughingstock in front of the others.
However, below the Alchemy Peak, it was a true battle.
Especially between Zhao Ritian and Lin Yi.
Of course, when it came to verbal abuse, even a hundred Lin Yis were not a match for Zhao Ritian. After all, if one could call it talent, Zhao Ritian would be unmatched. It was basically Zhao Ritian alone dealing tons of damage, while Lin Yi not even having a chance to retort.
Still, fighting was not an Alchemy Master’s forte. Otherwise, Lin Yi would have surely rolled up his sleeves and started fighting.
The start of the Alchemy World Summit finally saved Lin Yi from his predicament.
When the time came, several Tower Masters appeared, instantly becoming the focus of everyone.
They were undoubtedly the people standing at the peak of the World of Alchemy in the Thousand Mist Empire.
“Silence!” The middle-aged man standing among the Tower Masters spoke, his voice like silk, resonating in everyone’s ears. Instantly, the originally noisy scene fell silent.
This middle-aged man was the Alchemy Peak Master, Qu Huazheng.
Though he looked like he was in his forties or fifties, his true age was actually that of several hundred years old. His ability to maintain his youthful appearance showed how profound his cultivation was.
Qu Huazheng’s gaze swept across the venue, and immediately everyone’s burning gazes focused on him. Seeing this, Qu Huazheng slowly said. “The Alchemy World Summit now begins!”
As his words fell, deafening cheers erupted throughout the venue.
“As everyone knows, Spiritual Energy is the most important foundation for an Alchemy Master. Only with sufficiently powerful Spiritual Energy and mastery can one walk further along the path of the Dao of Alchemy…”
Qu Huazheng smiled at the competitors representing various regions in the venue, then took out a black iron-like orb.
The orb’s surface was extremely smooth, appearing without any lustre. Its pitch-black appearance gave others an extremely heavy feeling.
“This orb is made of Soul Iron, called the Soul Testing Orb. This thing is very light when held in hand, but for Spiritual Energy, it’s like a weight of hundreds or thousands of kilograms.”
“The first thing to do in the summit is to test your overall Spiritual Energy. Soon, numerous Soul Testing Orbs will fall from above you, and you’ll need to support them using only your Spiritual Energy, without using your body or Yuan Energy. Whichever region catches the most Soul Testing Orb will be the winner of this event. The rankings will be determined accordingly.”
This first event tested one’s strength of their Spiritual Energy and control over it.
“How about it? Is everyone ready?” Qu Huazheng looked at Qin Yichen and others, asking.
Hearing this, everyone slowly nodded, Spiritual Energy gradually surging at their brow, ready to burst forth at any moment.
“Don’t foolishly try to catch them all at once. Dispersing Spiritual Energy is the most foolish thing to do in this challenge.”
Zhao Ritian became more serious and reminded Qin Yichen.
“Qin Yichen, if you can’t handle this round, don’t force yourself. We just need to avoid last place in the first event. We’ll have chances to turn things around in the last two events.”
Wang Daoyun seemed worried about Qin Yichen and spoke up.
Qu Huazheng waved his sleeve, and countless Soul Testing Orbs, divided into five large groups, hovering above the fifteen people. A moment later, these black iron-like orbs poured down like heavy rain.
As the Soul Testing Orbs poured down, everyone’s minds stirred, and powerful Spiritual Energy burst forth from their Knowledge Sea.
Qin Yichen’s Spiritual Energy also transformed into an invisible large hand, lightning-fast grabbing at the dense black Soul Testing Orbs falling from midair.
When catching the first Soul Testing Orb, Qin Yichen felt the invisible hand formed by Spiritual Energy suddenly sink, with that Soul Testing Orb even sinking halfway into the Spiritual Energy palm.
“They are indeed quite heavy.” Noticing this change, Qin Yichen’s heart tensed. His gaze was quickly scanning around, discovering that some contestants from the Southern Region and Central Province were in quite a mess.
Perhaps several of them were also attending the summit for the first time. Their Spiritual Energy was too dispersed, and those Soul Testing Orbs directly pierced through their Spiritual Energy constructs and fell to the ground.
Meanwhile, for people like Qiao Huang, Zhao Ritian, and Lin Yi, who had attended the summit before, they showed far greater proficiency. Though they seemed slightly busy at first, they quickly got into the rhythm, concentrating their Spiritual Energy and catching the falling Soul Testing Orbs one by one.
After catching the first Soul Testing Orb, Qin Yichen also appeared more composed, having gained some understanding of the orbs’ weight. His mind stirred, and his Spiritual Energy hand whistled out with a low wind-breaking sound. He was now continuously grabbing the black Soul Testing Orbs and making them float lightly beside him.
At this moment, all spectators held their breath, afraid to make even the slightest sound might affect these contestants from the various Alchemy Towers.
“Qiao Huang’s Spiritual Energy has already reached the Partially Accomplished Spirit Realm, and with his Spiritual Energy mastery in the Understanding Realm, I wonder if these youngsters from the Eastern Region can break the summit’s record!”
On the high platform, the Central Province Tower Master praised admiringly.
Hearing his words, pride flashed across the Eastern Region Tower Master’s face. The record for catching Soul Testing Orbs in the summit’s first event was still held by Eastern Region Alchemy Tower’s Apprentices from several decades ago… out of three hundred Soul Testing Orbs, they caught one hundred and ninety-eight!
“Oh? That New Apprentice from the Northern Region seems to have some skill. While others are holding the Soul Testing Orbs in their Spiritual Energy hands, he’s making them float in front of him. Hehe, quite presumptuous…”
The Western Region Tower Master Qiu Yushu let out a light exclamation, speaking with a mocking tone and an ambiguous smile.
The Soul Testing Orbs were made of special material. Making them float in front required dividing one’s attention to maintain control. With too many, they could easily lose control at the end, resulting in all their efforts being wasted.
Such incidents were not rare in the previous Alchemy World Summits.
At this moment, the Northern Region Tower Master Zuo Xuezhen also frowned but did not say anything. In his heart, he had already cursed Zhao Ritian thoroughly. He had specifically instructed him to explain to Qin Yichen what to watch out for during the summit, but from the looks of it, that trash-talking bastard had definitely thrown his instructions into some unknown corner.
*Swoosh! Swoosh!*
Thirty-eight, thirty-nine, forty…
Around Qin Yichen, Soul Testing Orbs continuously joined the others, and the faster he grabbed them and placed them in front of himself, the more pronounced the mockery became in the eyes of the Tower Masters on the high platform.