“Next, the examination is called soul manipulation…” Elder Sheng smiled, gazing at Xiao Yan and the others. He then took out a jet-black iron bead from his Nalan Jie. The surface of the iron bead was extremely smooth, yet it had no sheen, giving off a heavy feeling. “This is made of soul steel, called the Soul Measurement Bead. If you hold it with your hands, it seems light, but for a soul, it feels as if it weighs a thousand pounds…”
“When the soul manipulation begins, many soul beads will be released from the ceiling. You need to support them using only your soul force without using Dou Qi. Afterward, whoever catches the most beads will be deemed the best in this test. Thus, the ranking will be determined.”
Saying this, Elder Sheng glanced at Cao Ying, then turned his gaze to Xiao Yan, smiling: “Cao Ying set the record for this test. She once managed to catch 89 soul beads, and this record has not been broken to this day.”
Upon hearing Elder Sheng’s words, everyone’s eyes converged on Xiao Yan. They were very curious to see if all the records set by Cao Ying would be broken by the young man named Xiao Yan today.
“Hmph, these people are overestimating that guy. It was just luck that he managed to get such a score,” Cao Shan’s mouth twitched, and he sneered under his breath.
Cao Ying shot him a glance, and indifferently said: “Xiao Yan truly is capable; it’s not just about luck. I am quite interested to see what kind of score he can achieve in this soul manipulation test.”
The size of the soul value represents the strength of a alchemist’s soul power, but a true alchemist doesn’t rely solely on the strength of soul power. To refine high-grade medicinal pills, one must have an extremely keen and proficient control over soul power, otherwise, it’s like smashing an egg with a giant hammer—there’s enough strength, but the egg breaks.
Only someone with both powerful soul power and exceptional soul control can truly be called a grandmaster alchemist!
“So, are you ready?” Elder Sheng asked, smiling at Xiao Yan and the others.
Receiving the message, everyone nodded slowly, and their soul power began to surge subtly from their brows, ready to burst out at any moment.
“A reminder to all of you: do not think you can catch all the beads at once. Distracting your soul power in this test is the most foolish thing to do!” Elder Sheng warned seriously, then suddenly darted back. As he moved, the ceiling above revealed a dense array of black holes. Moments later, a torrent of black iron beads rained down like a storm!
*Swish, swish!*
Seeing the beads falling like rain, Xiao Yan and the others instinctively darted away, maintaining a certain distance from each other. Their hearts stirred, and vast soul power surged out from their brows!
Thanks to Elder Sheng’s warning, Xiao Yan did not disperse his soul power into a net. Instead, he condensed it into an invisible hand, snatching the densely packed black beads in the air. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the invisible hand plucked the beads, since it didn’t grab wildly but instead, its invisible fingers rapidly captured them, holding them firmly between two fingers!
As soon as the first soul bead was caught, Xiao Yan felt the invisible hand, formed by his soul power, suddenly sink. The bead even sank halfway into the soul fingers…
“Indeed, so heavy…” Sensing the change, Xiao Yan’s heart tightened. He quickly scanned and saw Bai Ying and Qiu Ji struggling to avoid the falling beads. The soul power they had spread above their heads barely slowed down the beads, which pierced through immediately due to the dispersion of their soul power.
Apart from these two, Cao Xiu and Dan Xuan fared better. Although they were a bit flustered at first, they soon got into the rhythm, gathering their soul power as much as possible, then catching one bead after another, carefully not being too greedy.
After catching the first bead, Xiao Yan became significantly calmer, understanding the weight and characteristics of the beads. His soul hand roared out, producing a low-pitched sound. The black beads were continuously caught, then hovered lightly around him… One, two, three, four…
As the beads continuously joined the circle around Xiao Yan, the observers grew tense, counting the number of beads in their hearts. Forty-three, forty-four…
While Xiao Yan continued to catch more beads, Qiu Ji and Bai Ying gradually gave up due to the overwhelming burden on their souls. As they exited, they had 31 and 43 beads respectively…
Soon after, Cao Xiu also gave up, with 56 beads floating before him.
With Cao Xiu’s exit, only Xiao Yan and Dan Xuan remained. However, as the beads continued to fall, Dan Xuan’s face started to flush, and his breathing became more rapid.
Heaving a sigh, Dan Xuan finally stopped, glancing at the 66 beads before him.
*Swoosh!*
Exhaling a breath, Dan Xuan felt he had exerted his soul power to the limit. Adding one more bead would make him the camel crushed by the last straw…
His spirit relaxed, and the soul power dissipated. The beads before Dan Xuan lost their support and fell to the floor with a crisp sound.
As Dan Xuan gave up, Xiao Yan smiled and stopped accepting more beads. Gently sweeping his fingers over the floating beads, they began to spin rapidly around him, creating a howling wind.
“Ninety-three beads, I thank you all…”
With a light tap, the spinning soul circle stopped. Xiao Yan snapped his fingers, and the beads fell. He then bowed to Dan Xuan and the others with a smile.
Facing Xiao Yan’s smile, Dan Xuan and the others could only smile bitterly. Seeing his composure, it was clear that he hadn’t given his all, but even so, his performance had once again broken Cao Ying’s record.
Bai Ying’s face was ashen, but he dared not utter another sarcastic word. Xiao Yan’s performance made it clear that his strength was far beyond what he could match.
*Applause!* As the beads fell, thunderous applause echoed through the hall. Xiao Yan’s performance assured them that the Ye family was saved…
In the midst of the applause, a faint smile tugged at Cao Ying’s lips. Her beautiful eyes fixed on the slender figure, with a hint of fiery interest. Over the years, there were only a few alchemists of her generation who could be regarded as real opponents, and now, perhaps Xiao Yan was another one.
Elder Sheng gazed at Xiao Yan, his face filled with satisfaction. Ninety-three beads, four more than Cao Ying, and Xiao Yan’s calm demeanor suggested he was doing it casually, not at his full potential.
“Not bad… not bad…” Elder Sheng chuckled, saying it twice. At his stage, power meant less to him. He preferred to see more and more talented young alchemists emerging, as it ensured the vitality and potential of the Pill Tower.
“For the second test, Xiao Yan is still first, Dan Xuan second, Cao Xiu third…”
Hearing Elder Sheng’s announcement, Ye Zhong and Xin Lan on the Ye family’s seats smiled more broadly. Xiao Yan’s performance throughout the tests had exceeded all their expectations, and he had shown them what it meant to overshadow all others in the Five Families’ examination.
In the hall, Elder Sheng stroked his beard and said with a smile, “Soul power is the foundation of an alchemist, but our test not only measures soul power but also demonstrates its offensive capabilities, as it is one of the alchemist’s effective attack methods…”
“The final test is simple. You five enter this circle and use your soul power to fight each other. Whoever remains in the circle at the end wins…”
Elder Sheng pointed to a wide, ten-yard red circle on the field, smiling.
Hearing this, the five nodded and were about to enter when a melodious laugh suddenly echoed in the hall.
“Elder Sheng, the Cao family wants to change candidates midway. Is that allowed?”
All eyes in the hall shifted, finally landing on Cao Ying, who leaned forward slightly, showing her enticing curves.
Elder Sheng was taken aback, and his brow furrowed.
“Hehe, Elder Sheng, according to the rules, the champion’s family from the previous year has the right to change a candidate once… Don’t worry, I won’t cause trouble. I just feel like testing myself, and you can consider the Cao family as having forfeited. Just remove the Cao family’s name from the final results, and it won’t affect the outcome.”
“How about it?” Cao Ying smiled, her last words clearly directed at Xiao Yan.
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