Between Going All Out and Slacking Off, He Chose to Flex a Little
"Not bad." Even Xuan Kongzi was quite satisfied with Cao Ying's results.
Having received praise from her teacher, Cao Ying became even more arrogant, looking up at Xiao Yan with a defiant glint in her eyes.
Xiao Yan did not respond, but silently waited for the Bai Family and Qiu Family, who had only been there as runners, to finish their tests before turning to the timid woman from the Dan Family and asking, "Would you like to go first?"
"Dan Chen, I also want to see if you have truly reached that realm?" Before Dan Chen could reply, Cao Ying teased her with a charming laugh.
Almost instantly, Dan Chen's delicate temperament vanished, replaced by a strong sense of self-confidence.
Dan Chen stepped forward to the stone tablet, bowed to Xuan Kongzi, then closed his eyes, exuding a mysterious aura.
Xiao Yan saw it clearly: under the influence of this aura, the Soul Power that had dissipated into the air during the first three tests was now defying common sense, gathering together again around that petite body.
All of this Soul Power was absorbed into Dan Chen's body. Although it could not become her power completely without being refined, it made her Soul Power stronger in a short period of time.
After absorbing most of the Soul Power in the air and reaching a certain limit, Dan Chen stretched out her slender jade finger and touched the stone tablet. The Soul Power was released and turned into a storm.
Cao Ying frowned slightly. She could sense that the Soul Storm unleashed by Dan Chen, who had received the blessing, seemed to be stronger than hers.
After a dozen or so breaths, the Soul Storm subsided, and a number appeared on the Mirror Disk in the center of the stone tablet:
"2097!"
A smile appeared on Dan Chen's pale, almost sickly face, and a blush spread across her cheeks, making her look more energetic.
Dan Chen returned to the crowd and stared directly into Cao Ying's eyes without any politeness.
"You're the only one left," Xuan Kongzi said, looking at Xiao Yan who was counting on his fingers.
Xiao Yan straightened his fingers, strolled forward, and gently touched the stone tablet with his index finger.
Unlike Cao Ying and Dan Chen, Xiao Yan did not unleash a soul storm. Instead, the space itself became distorted, indicating that Xiao Yan had begun the test.
Apart from Xuan Kongzi, the other four were slightly stunned. After a moment of confusion, they were surprised to find that a chilling number had appeared on the Mirror Disk in the center of the stone tablet:
"4073!"
Xuan Kongzi thought of Xiao Yan's finger-cracking motion, and then of Cao Ying and Dan Chen's grades, and his lips twitched involuntarily.
Cao Ying and Dan Chen stopped looking at each other and turned to look at the casually dressed figure.
This achievement has completely shattered their mental defenses. The gap is so large that it makes them feel desperate, and they can only look up at that towering figure.
Then, both of them changed their expressions. They remembered each other's scores very clearly, and with a little thought, they realized that Xiao Yan's score was equal to the sum of their scores.
The two women exchanged another glance, but this time there was no fighting spirit; instead, they tacitly formed an alliance...
"The Soul Test is now over. Xiao Yan is ranked first." After hastily announcing the results, Xuan Kongzi continued, "The next test is Soul Manipulation."
After speaking, Xuan Kongzi took out a jet-black iron bead. The surface of the iron bead was extremely smooth, and it looked completely dull and black, giving people a heavy feeling.
"This is a bead made of Soul Steel, called Soul Testing Bead. It is extremely light when held in the hand, but it is an unbearable weight for the soul."
"Once the Soul Manipulation begins, Soul Testing Bead will be showered down from the ceiling. You cannot use Dou Qi; you can only use your Soul Power to support them. Afterward, the ranking will be determined by the number of Soul Testing Bead you catch."
The first round of Soul Value tests whether an Alchemist's Soul Power is strong or not, but a true Alchemist is not judged solely by the strength of their Soul Power.
To refine high-level Pills, one needs not only powerful Soul Power, but also Soul Power control over it.
This second round of testing is a further assessment, based on Soul Power. Only those with strong Soul Power, and who can compress their Soul Power to a certain degree, can accept more soul beads.
"Is everything ready?" Xuan Kongzi asked.
Upon hearing this, the group all nodded, their Soul Power slowly surging between their brows, ready at any moment.
Xuan Kongzi nodded, and then his figure flashed and disappeared. At the same time, countless dark holes quietly appeared in the ceiling above the main hall.
A moment later, a deluge of pitch-black iron beads rained down on the group!
The other four dispersed, keeping a certain distance from the others, and then a powerful surge of Soul Power flowed from between their brows, capturing the Soul Testing Bead falling from the ceiling one by one.
In contrast, Xiao Yan simply closed his eyes and made no movement.
However, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that the space above Xiao Yan's head has been distorted, with an invisible dragon tumbling in mid-air, catching all the Soul Testing Bead that fall around it.
The two runners quickly gave up, having only received a few dozen Soul Testing Bead. Pale-faced and covered in sweat, they chose to give up, leaving only Cao Ying and Dan Chen to fight against the villain Xiao Yan.
A look of defiance flashed in both women's eyes—no matter what, the two of them combined had more points than Xiao Yan in this round!
One Soul Testing Bead after another fell, and Dan Chen couldn't help but start absorbing the Soul Power in the air. However, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't absorb even a little Soul Power from Xiao Yan's direction. On the contrary, Cao Ying was affected and lost several Soul Testing Bead.
After being glared at by Cao Ying, Dan Chen realized that her special physique had become useless in this round of testing, and she could only stop absorbing Soul Power and rely on her own grit to persevere.
Time passed second by second, and one Soul Testing Bead after another fell from the hole in the ceiling and was caught by the three of them.
Cao Ying and Dan Chen's auras had begun to become disordered, and they could no longer increase the number of Soul Testing Bead as smoothly as before. The Soul Testing Bead floating in front of them were also slowly descending to the ground.
However, Xiao Yan, standing in the center, remained calm with his eyes closed, and the invisible dragon above his head began to take shape as the number of Soul Testing Bead increased.
Dan Chen could no longer hold on. He glanced at the Soul Testing Bead floating in front of him, and after confirming that there were 321 of them, he chose to give up.
After a few breaths, Cao Ying was also unable to maintain the score and chose to give up as well, resulting in a final score of 364.
Just after the two women gave up, Xiao Yan opened his eyes. The invisible dragon floating above his head swooped down, circled around Xiao Yan, and then dispersed, releasing the Soul Testing Bead within it.
Its number is exactly six hundred and eighty-five.