Soul Emperor Martial God

In the Medicine Tower, the final round of competition was carried out with great fervor.

Outside the Medicine Tower, a crowd of spectators listened tensely to the ongoing reports.

Apart from Xiao Yi, the elders of the other 17 alchemy prodigies were all present here.

Shortly after,

A deacon emerged from inside the Medicine Tower.

"How is the competition progressing now? Is Jie Mo still in the lead?"

Elder Mu inquired.

"Reporting to the Elder." The deacon bowed, then replied,

"The one in the lead is indeed Jie Mo."

"He has already reached the Eighth Layer and is now completing a Peak of Fifth-grade pill recipe."

"The two Sword Masters are trapped on the Seventh Layer,"

"Completing a High-grade Fifth-grade pill recipe."

"But from my observation, it won't take them long to enter the next layer,"

The deacon reported.

Among the spectators, several veteran alchemists were already smiling so broadly that their faces couldn't close.

"Master Xingmo, it seems like this time your young master is going to take first place."

Master Xingmo was a Peak of Sixth-grade Pharmacist under the command of the Prince of Xingmo County.

Although he was not on par with Elder Mo, who was known as the top Alchemist below Seventh-grade,

his Alchemy Technique was still exceptionally formidable.

Accompanying Jie Mo to this alchemy competition

was none other than Master Xingmo.

The surrounding spectators congratulated him without exception.

"You guys did well, too." Master Xingmo spoke humbly,

his elderly face smiling more brilliantly than flowers,

"The two Sword Masters, I fear, will have to contend for the second and third places."

Elsewhere,

Elder Mu listened to the conversations around him, frowning deeply.

Yi Xiao was, after all, the person he had personally chosen to mentor.

Even though he had only taught him for a day,

if Yi Xiao's performance in this round of the competition turned out to be dismal,

it would reflect poorly on himself.

"Where is Yi Xiao now?" Elder Mu asked.

"Reporting to the Elder," the deacon replied,

"Yi Xiao... he..."

The deacon hesitated for a moment, but still said, "He's on the Third Layer."

"What? Still on the Third Layer?" Elder Mu asked, surprised and doubtful.

"And the others?"

The deacon replied, "Most of them have reached the Fourth or Fifth Layer."

"On the Third Layer, apart from Yi Xiao, there are only a handful of others."

Upon hearing this, Elder Mu's brows furrowed even tighter.

"What is this kid playing at?"

...

An hour later,

Inside the Medicine Tower, on the Fourth Layer,

Xiao Yi had arrived there and successfully refined three Elixir Elixirs.

In truth, he could have been faster,

but he deliberately slowed down.

He was in no rush.

He knew very well that, in the 33 layers of the Medicine Tower, the incomplete pill recipes appearing on the higher levels would definitely be of a Peak of Sixth-grade or higher.

Jie Mo and the others wouldn't be able to climb that high.

He spent most of his time selecting five rare Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.

Other competitors, not wanting to waste time,

mostly refined three Elixir Elixirs and picked any random precious treasure before leaving.

He was different.

It was rare to enter the Medicine Tower, and with only three days' time,

he naturally intended to make reasonable use of it.

Those piles of rare Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures under the Flowing Light Restriction

were so tempting that he couldn't help but covet them.

After a while, once he had chosen his five items,

he finally advanced to the Fifth Layer completely.

...

Time ticked away, minute by minute, second by second.

The deacons from each layer of the Medicine Tower took turns coming out to report the state of the competition,

until several hours later,

when the battle situation suddenly changed dramatically.

A deacon came out to report,

"Reporting to the Elder, the one in the lead is still Jie Mo."

"Hmm, to which layer has he advanced?" Elder Mu asked.

He had become numb to the repetitive situation every time a deacon came out to report.

The deacon replied, "An hour ago, he was still on the Eighth Layer."

"Now, he has reached the 21st Layer."

The surrounding spectators couldn't help but gasp at this news.

"What?" Elder Mo was also surprised and questioned,

"In just an hour, to jump across 13 levels and break 13 prohibitions?"

"Yes." The deacon said,

"After them are the two Sword Masters."

"An hour ago they were on the Seventh Layer."

"Now, they are climbing the tower with great speed."

"Just before I came out to report, they were reaching the 20th Layer."

"It probably won't take long for them to reach the 21st Layer as well."

Elder Mu sighed, then asked, "What about Yi Xiao?"

"Pardon me," the deacon said, seeing Elder Mu's complexion turn sour.

Hesitantly and in a low voice, he added, "Yi Xiao is on the Eighth Layer."

Though his voice was soft,

the Alchemists present, none of whom lacked profound Cultivation,

naturally heard him.

'Pfft,' a chorus of jeers erupted on the scene.

"Ha ha ha ha, he's still on the Eighth Layer?"

"Jie Mo and the others have already reached the 21st Layer."

"The gap is just too big."

The Wanshan Sword Master chimed in at the right moment, "I told you before, that Yi Xiao, who knows where he learned his third-rate Alchemy Technique."

"He just can't cut it when it really comes to testing Alchemy Technique."

"Speaking of which," continued the Wanshan Sword Master,

a look of doubt on his face, as well as a playful gaze directed at Elder Mu.

"Elder Mu, if I remember correctly, you were the one who coached Yi Xiao in the last round."

"Could it be that you had already discovered that fellow was all show and no substance?"

"Is that why you helped him cheat last time?"

"Otherwise, how could an Alchemist capable of refining a Perfect Level Heavenly Will Pill,"

"struggle so much when completing those Low-level pill recipes?"

Elder Mu's face turned ghastly.

It would have been one thing if Yi Xiao had just fallen behind once or twice.

One could guess the youngster was fooling around.

But every time the deacon came out to report, it was the same.

Now he was directly 13 floors behind.

"Hey, are all of you from Northern Mountain County this useless?" the Wanshan Sword Master spoke up again.

And he looked towards the Third Elder of the Sky-splitting Sword Sect from Northern Mountain County.

That was Ye Ming's Master.

Upon hearing this, the Third Elder's face did not change; he simply smirked faintly.

"What are you laughing at?" the Wanshan Sword Master said disdainfully.

"I'm laughing at your stupidity," the Third Elder responded.

"You're courting death," the Wanshan Sword Master's face chilled.

"How dare an old man, only at the Mystic Breakthrough Eighth Layer, speak to me like that?"

The Wanshan Sword Master was about to make a move,

when Elder Mu sharply rebuked, "Hold your ground, this is Medicine King Valley, it's not your place to start using force on a whim."

Faced with Elder Mu's stern rebuke,

the Wanshan Sword Master quickly ceased his actions.

"Hmph, consider yourself lucky," he scoffed coldly.

"I've seen what people from Northern Mountain County are like."

"The weakest and most useless county, and yet you talk the biggest game."

"What a joke."

Immediately, laughter filled the hall.

The Third Elder, however, kept his expression unchanged.

"We'll see who the laughingstock is soon enough."

"Purple Flame Yi Xiao is the Heavenly Talent of our Northern Mountain County."

"Since his rise, he has achieved one earth-shattering feat after another, to the point that we of the older generation can't hold a candle to him."

"He never let us down in Northern Mountain County."

"And he will not do so in the Royal Capital."

"All those who have mocked him, ridiculed him,"

"will only become yet another powerful testament to his unbeaten record."

The Third Elder remained unperturbed,

because he had full confidence in the name Purple Flame Yi Xiao.

"Undefeated?" The onlookers around, most shook their heads with laughter.

"When it comes to Martial Arts Talent, we admit that he's impressive."

"But in terms of Alchemy, it's clear he's nothing right now."

"Wanshan Sword Master, we advise you to not talk too much,"

said a Alchemy Talent who had been defeated by Xiao Yi in the previous round.

"Otherwise, Yi Xiao might come looking for trouble with you when he gets out."

The Wanshan Sword Master laughed lightly, "What's there to fear, this is the Royal Capital."

"I am the Sword Master, if he dares lay a hand on me, let the Sky-splitting Sword Sect demand his life."

"Nevertheless, that Yi Xiao really has some nerve,"

"being able to make Elder Mu cheat for him."

"Well, it's understandable, Elder Mu is a judge and was his coach in the last round."

"Elder Mu wouldn't want to lose face, either."

"Ha ha ha ha."

Clearly, the Wanshan Sword Master resented Elder Mu's scolding from earlier and now spoke with mockery.

Elder Mu snorted indignantly and offered no explanation.

He couldn't be bothered to explain.

This Wanshan Sword Master had the Prince of Wanshan County and the Wanshan County Sky Splitting Sword Sect Leader behind him.

The Prince of Wanshan, a figure not inferior to the Prince of Meteor County.

And as for the leader of Wanshan County, he was a regular visitor at the Sky-splitting Sword Sect and had many friends within the sect.

No wonder the Wanshan Sword Master dared to ridicule even him.

"Kid, it can't be that I've truly gone blind," Elder Mu thought to himself.

Several more hours passed,

and the deacon came out to report in turns.

"Elder, there has been a change in the competition."

"Speak," Elder Mu urged immediately.

"Jie Mo and the two Sword Masters have reached the 22nd Layer. But, they're stuck there."

"The rest of the competitors are almost all trapped on the Eighth Layer, none able to cross over."

"What about Yi Xiao?" Elder Mu asked, holding onto his last sliver of hope.

The deacon answered, "Only Yi Xiao is still ascending."

"The other 17 contestants are each stuck on different floors."

...

...

First update.