Read Novel Full Chapter 210: Cloud Empire (30)
Chapter 210: Cloud Empire (30)
Kyrian kept his eyes fixed on Sun Hao from the moment the nobles pointed him out. Kyrian watched as he began to work.
Among hundreds of participants, he stood out not because of exaggerated movement, but because of the absolute absence of waste.
Every gesture was minimal, precise, almost as if the cauldron and the flames were natural extensions of his body.
Kyrian observed everything with cold, analytical attention, his crimson eyes capturing details that most people in the stands would not even dream of perceiving.
Sun Hao ignited two flames simultaneously. One red-orange, stable, and hot, to heat the black jade cauldron.
The other, pale blue, thin like a line, to refine the ingredients at the exact moment.
It was a dual-flame technique that required extreme mental control and an immense Qi reserve.
The blue flame circulated inside the cauldron like a living thread, burning impurities without touching the vital essences of the herbs.
Kyrian thought in silence, using his brief knowledge acquired in the library and what he was witnessing.
’He separates the process into layers. First, he heated the cauldron to the critical point without letting the temperature oscillate by more than a single degree. Then, he added the nine main herbs in exact sequence.’
’Floating Cloud Root first to stabilize the base, then a Blue Dew Leaf to increase purity, and so on. Each herb is inserted at the instant the previous one begins to release its essence. There is no interval.’
’If I had to guess... he has already refined this pill hundreds of times. Maybe thousands. His body remembers the process better than his mind.’
While Kyrian analyzed, the arena began to show results.
Two and a half minutes after the start, Sun Hao’s cauldron emitted a soft crystalline chime.
A gentle silver light escaped through the half-open lid. He opened the cauldron calmly, and a single pill floated out, perfectly round, with bluish veins running across its surface like miniature clouds.
The scent that spread was sweet, pure, almost ethereal.
A murmur of admiration rose from the stands.
"He already finished... that fast?"
"Sun Hao really is the favorite. Look at the quality of that pill."
Soon after, others began to finish.
Liang Chen, of the Liang House, was the second. His ancient bronze cauldron released golden vapor before revealing a slightly smaller pill, but with intense brilliance.
Not as perfect as Sun Hao’s, but still impressive.
Zhao Yu, of the Zhao House, finished third. His pill had a more opaque tone, but the surface was smooth as a mirror.
A sign of excellent control over the ethereal flame he used.
Sun Hao remained still, observing the others with a neutral expression. He did not celebrate. He merely waited.
Meanwhile, not everyone shared the same fate.
A young man from the Wei family, whom the nobles had praised moments earlier, exploded his cauldron at the final stage.
A cloud of black smoke and jade fragments flew in all directions. He fell to his knees, coughing, as an auxiliary elder approached and eliminated him with a dry gesture.
Another participant, a disciple of the Eternal Flames Sect, managed to form the pill, but when he removed it, it was cracked and emitting poisonous smoke.
The elder destroyed it with a touch of Qi and declared.
"Purity failure. Eliminated."
More explosions followed. A spiritual iron cauldron split in half. Another released uncontrolled flames that nearly burned its own participant.
Some gave up halfway through the process, lowering their heads in shame and leaving the arena in silence.
Kyrian observed all of this with clinical attention.
’Most fail at the stage of fusing the three beast essences. They try to force the integration instead of guiding it. Sun Hao did not force it. He let the essences attract each other naturally inside the cauldron, using the blue flame only as a catalyst. It’s a passive refinement technique...’
Mei Li whispered beside him, barely moving her lips.
"As expected. He really is on another level. The others look like they’re fighting against the cauldron."
Kyrian only nodded slightly.
Two hours passed.
The spiritual bell rang again, deep and final.
"Time is up!" announced Grand Master Sun Wei.
Anyone still attempting to manipulate their cauldron failed automatically. Some cauldrons released faint smoke or simply stopped emitting heat.
The participants who had not finished lowered their heads and left the arena in silence.
Then the evaluation began.
Three auxiliary elders, all at the late stage of the Core Formation realm, spread out across the arena, collecting pills one by one. They placed them on floating jade trays that were carried directly to Grand Master Sun Wei.
The old man analyzed each pill calmly. Sometimes he nodded. Sometimes he shook his head. Some were returned to their owners with a simple "Approved" or "Rejected."
After nearly half an hour of analysis, he returned to the center of the arena.
His voice echoed once more.
"From the first phase, 312 participants began. 87 managed to form a Cloud Threshold Pill with the minimum acceptable quality. The rest are eliminated."
A collective sigh rose from the stands. It was expected, but still impressive to see so many talents fall so early.
Sun Wei continued.
"As for quality... the best pill of this phase was produced by Sun Hao, with eighty percent purity. An almost flawless work."
Applause echoed, especially from the areas reserved for the Sun family and their allies.
"In second place, Liang Chen, with seventy-four percent purity. In third, Zhao Yu, with seventy percent. The others range between sixty percent and sixty-eight percent."
"All approved participants advance to the second phase."
More applause rang out.
Sun Hao remained impassive, only inclining his head in acknowledgment. He did not smile. He did not celebrate. He simply stored the pill back into his spatial ring and waited.
Kyrian watched the young man for a few more seconds.
Mei Li, at his side, whispered.
"Eighty percent purity on a Rank 4 threshold pill... at only what? Nineteen twenty years old? He’s not just talented. He’s been trained for this since childhood. He probably hasn’t missed a single day of practice."
"He’s the absolute favorite. If he continues like this, no one will be able to catch up to him in the next phases."
Kyrian did not respond immediately.
’Alchemists like Sun Wei are richer than many powerful cultivators. A single Rank 5 or 6 pill can be worth tens of thousands of spirit stones. If I have the time... maybe it really would be worth learning.’
’Perhaps, when I return to the Blood Court, after all, I already have a fire I can rely on.’
He looked at the arena one last time. The second phase would be announced soon.
And even without participating, Kyrian had already learned something interesting that made his thoughts about other cultivation professions change.
Perhaps it was the complement he needed for his strength to increase even faster in the future, without depending on the Court’s resources, he had a way to become even more independent.