"Ling Xi pays his respects to Elder Ling Yuan."
At that, Ling Xi stepped forward and bowed to Ling Yuan as well.
"Ling You, are you joking with me?"
Ling Yuan merely glanced at Ling Xi, then pointed at him as he spoke to Ling You.
"I looked into this boy's background. He's nothing but a lowly Descendant Citizen with a First-grade Bloodline."
"The Dou Di Bloodline inside someone like him is so thin it might as well not exist."
"And you think he can inherit the legacy of an Eighth-grade Alchemist?"
Ling Yuan's words were extremely blunt, but among the Ancient Races, this was a universally accepted truth.
The Ancient Races inherited the Dou Di Bloodline, and every clan member took pride in their own bloodline.
The higher one's bloodline rank, the higher one's standing among the Ancient Races.
Gu Xun'er, for example, possessed a Divine Bloodline and could even attend the Ancient Clan's elders' council.
Those Descendant Citizens with thin Dou Di Bloodlines, on the other hand, occupied the lowest rung of the Ancient Races.
Though they bore the name of an Ancient Race, they enjoyed none of the benefits that came with it. Their status was even lower than that of ordinary people outside the clans.
Even the upper echelons of the Ancient Races treated these numerous Descendant Citizens with utter indifference.
They regarded them merely as breeding stock.
After all, Descendant Citizens still carried a trace of the Dou Di Bloodline, and their descendants might experience Bloodline Atavism.
"I remember that when you were trying to break through to Dou Venerate, you went to the Pill Tower to seek a pill."
There was a hint of mockery in Ling You's voice.
"Yao Chen was the one who refined that pill for you, wasn't he? Why didn't you complain that he was a Descendant Citizen of the Yao Clan back then?"
"The Yao Clan is the Yao Clan, and the Ling Clan is the Ling Clan. You can't lump them together!"
Caught with his past exposed, Ling Yuan immediately retorted in anger.
"Besides, there are countless Descendant Citizens among the Eight Ancient Clans, but isn't Yao Chen the only one?"
"One? I believe my disciple will surpass Yao Chen and most members of the Ling Clan!"
Ling You patted Ling Xi on the shoulder, a confident smile appearing on his face.
"Regardless, I already have a disciple. The clan needn't concern itself with anything else."
"If the clan has any objections, they can come speak to me directly."
With that, Ling You pulled Ling Xi along and started to leave.
"Elder Ling You, please wait!"
Just then, Ling Yi, the young man Ling Yuan had brought along to ask for a master's guidance, suddenly spoke up.
Ling You and Ling Xi stopped in their tracks at the same time.
"Elder Ling You doesn't think I'm worthy. I have nothing to say about that."
Though the young man named Ling Yi tried hard to keep his feelings in check, everyone present except him was an old fox. They could easily see the intense resentment he was hiding.
"But your disciple is nothing but a lowly Descendant Citizen with a First-grade Bloodline."
"I cannot accept you saying that he'll one day surpass most of the members of our Ling Clan."
Ling You looked Ling Yi over with interest for a moment, then smiled.
"What do you want to do about it?"
"He comes from a family of Descendant Citizens, so I assume he had no resources or legacy before becoming your disciple."
Ling Yi looked at Ling Xi and spoke in a low voice.
"By the Dou Di Bloodline of the Ling Clan, I swear that I want to compete against him in the most basic skill an Alchemist must master: soul power!"
At those words, Ling Yang, who had said very little since Ling You arrived, abruptly changed expression.
A contest of soul power was far more dangerous than a contest of Dou Qi.
The slightest mistake could cause irreparable damage to one's future.
"Xi'er, what do you think?"
Ling You didn't agree outright. Instead, he turned to Ling Xi.
"He swore on my clan's Dou Di Bloodline. How could I possibly refuse his challenge?"
"But a simple contest like this doesn't seem very interesting."
Ling Yi immediately snorted at that.
"What exactly are you getting at?"
"It's simple. I have no problem with the contest, but you'll have to put up some stakes, won't you?"
Ling Xi narrowed his eyes, looking just like a fox.
"Sounds good!"
Before Ling Yi could answer, Ling You laughed and spoke first.
"How about this? I'll put up a Sixth-grade Royal Extreme Pill as the stakes for my disciple's participation."
The master and disciple had played off each other so smoothly that they had already settled the matter between them.
"A Royal Extreme Pill? You're an Eighth-grade Alchemist, and you're putting up a mere Sixth-grade pill? Aren't you afraid people will laugh at you?"
Ling Yuan sneered and shook his head.
A Royal Extreme Pill could raise a Dou Emperor's strength by one or two stars.
It was valuable, but among the Ancient Races, it was hardly anything special.
"What do you want, then?"
Ling You asked with a frown.
"If Ling Yi wins, you'll take him on as your disciple. How about that?"
Ling Yuan didn't beat around the bush. He stated his terms directly.
"Fine. But what can you put up that's worth the same?"
Ling You agreed at once, then looked at Ling Yuan with interest.
"This is an Earth Tier Mid-grade Dou Technique called the Ember Extinguishing Spear Art."
Ling Yuan took a scarlet scroll from his Nakai Ring and announced it aloud.
"I obtained this Dou Technique from an ancient ruin. It has three forms, suited to both offense and defense. Once fully mastered, it's no weaker than any Earth Tier High-grade Dou Technique."
Ling Yuan was truly putting a lot on the line.
Even among the Ancient Races, Earth Tier Mid-grade Dou Techniques were far from commonplace.
The Myriad Spirits Annihilation Finger was a legacy Dou Technique of the Ling Clan, and it was only Earth Tier Mid-grade.
"Fine. I accept!"
Seeing that the other party had offered an Earth Tier Mid-grade Dou Technique, Ling You immediately agreed.
"But to make sure no one goes back on their word, Ling Yang, you'll serve as our witness."
Ling Yang hesitated briefly, but after seeing the confidence on Ling Xi and Ling You's faces, he nodded and agreed.
Seeing that his teacher had accepted, Ling Xi turned to Ling Yi and asked, "How exactly are we going to compete?"
"Simple. Since you're studying Alchemy Skill under Elder Ling You, you should be able to project your soul power, right?"
A smug look appeared on Ling Yi's face.
"I'm a few years older than you, so I won't take advantage of that. You can make the first move."
"If you can use your soul power to force me back, you win!"
Hearing Ling Yi's words, Ling You's expression immediately turned strange.
His disciple's soul power was far stronger than that of other clan members his age, and on top of that, he had cultivated the Myriad Spirits Returning to Origin Art.
"Go ahead!"
Ling Yi swept his sleeve, wearing such a nonchalant expression that he truly seemed like one of the Ancient Races' talented young men.
"Heh!"
For an Alchemist, projecting one's soul power was basic. Ling Xi naturally knew how to do it, too.
Under the watchful eyes of the three Dou Venerates—Ling You, Ling Yuan, and Ling Yang—Ling Xi slowly raised his hand, then gently pressed it down toward Ling Yi from across the space between them.
Vast soul power surged from between his brows, then transformed into an invisible giant hand that slammed down on Ling Yi's head.
Ling Yang and Ling Yuan both froze in shock, their expressions turning blank in an instant.
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