That was women for you—once they held a grudge, they never let it go.
Cao Ying knew Song Qing had feelings for her. She had brought him here to give Ling Xi a hard time, too.
"Ying'er..."
Seeing Cao Ying act like this, Song Qing felt his heart flare with passion. He was just about to say something when a sudden tremor surged beneath his feet, making him stagger.
"Did that come from inside this room?"
Cao Ying looked just as astonished.
With her keen soul power, she could clearly sense a violent surge of energy coming from inside the room.
The next moment, thick layers of dark clouds suddenly gathered across the blue sky above Pill Tower.
Fierce winds swept through the area, sending everything around them into a frenzy as they howled ominously.
The change came in the blink of an eye. Every powerful figure in Pill Tower sensed it at once.
"What are you doing here?"
Just as Song Qing and Cao Ying were at a loss, Xuan Kongzi suddenly appeared beside them.
"Teacher!"
"President!"
Cao Ying and Song Qing jolted and bowed to Xuan Kongzi almost simultaneously.
Xuan Kongzi gave a slight nod, but his attention was fixed entirely on Ling Xi's room. Surprise, curiosity, and even disbelief filled his eyes.
"Teacher, what exactly is this...?"
Noticing Xuan Kongzi's expression, Cao Ying rolled her eyes and asked, puzzled.
"A phenomenon of heaven and earth... It's been a long time since I last saw one."
Xuan Kongzi fell silent for a moment, then couldn't help sighing.
"A phenomenon of heaven and earth?"
Cao Ying and Song Qing exchanged glances, both seeing the same incredulous look in the other's eyes.
On the Dou Qi Continent, such phenomena generally occurred under one of three circumstances.
The first was when a high-grade pill was born, but such a phenomenon was usually accompanied by pill lightning.
The second was when someone reached an extraordinary level of strength, so that even their every move could stir up a phenomenon of heaven and earth.
The third was when someone created a Heavenly Rank Cultivation Method or Dou Technique.
"Teacher, are you sure this is a phenomenon of heaven and earth?"
Cao Ying couldn't help asking.
"I saw one once when I was young. This is indeed a phenomenon of heaven and earth."
Xuan Kongzi nodded. He could understand how Cao Ying and Song Qing felt right now.
Even he found it hard to believe.
"B-but Ling Xi in that room is only a Da Dou Shi."
Song Qing murmured as he stared at the closed door.
"How could a Da Dou Shi possibly cause a phenomenon of heaven and earth? That's ridiculous!"
Song Qing would sooner die than believe that a mere Da Dou Shi could stir up such a phenomenon.
What did that make him, a Dou Emperor? Had all those years of cultivation gone to the dogs?
"Hard as it is to believe, this is indeed a phenomenon of heaven and earth."
Xuan Kongzi gave a wry smile.
"From what I can tell, this phenomenon should have appeared because a Heavenly Rank Cultivation Method or Dou Technique was created."
As one of Pill Tower's three giants and an Eighth-grade Alchemist, Xuan Kongzi's insight and experience far surpassed that of juniors like Song Qing and Cao Ying.
"Generally speaking, the reappearance of a Heavenly Rank Cultivation Method or Dou Technique wouldn't cause any phenomenon."
"Unless... unless someone created a Heavenly Rank Cultivation Method or Dou Technique from scratch. Only then could it trigger a phenomenon of heaven and earth."
Xuan Kongzi's expression was unusually complicated.
He knew Ling You and Ling Xi's background: they came from the Ling Clan, one of the Ancient Races.
The Ancient Races possessed a foundation far beyond that of ordinary factions.
Xuan Kongzi could have accepted it if Ling You had given Ling Xi one or two Heavenly Rank Cultivation Methods or Dou Techniques to study.
But this was clearly a case of someone creating a Heavenly Rank Cultivation Method or Dou Technique from scratch. Otherwise, it wouldn't have caused such a phenomenon of heaven and earth.
"Th-this is someone creating a Heavenly Rank Cultivation Method or Dou Technique?"
Song Qing's eyes nearly bulged out of his head, his expression as if he'd seen a ghost.
Cao Ying bit her red lip, wearing the same look of disbelief.
"Boom!"
Just then, lightning flashed and thunder roared across the cloud-covered sky.
At the same time, the starry sky above Pill Tower blazed with light.
Xuan Kongzi could clearly sense the vast amount of Spiritual Qi drifting through Pill Tower Starry Sky being forcibly drawn into the room before them by a terrifying Devouring Power.
"To trigger a phenomenon like this at the Da Dou Shi level... Ling Xi's future is bound to be extraordinary."
Xuan Kongzi watched the room, his eyes flickering as no one could tell what he was thinking.
Some powerful figures in Sacred Pill City also noticed the phenomenon above Pill Tower, but after a few glances, they couldn't be bothered to pay it any more attention.
After all, this was Pill Tower. It had no shortage of Eighth-grade and even Ninth-grade Alchemists.
And since the phenomenon resembled the signs of a high-grade pill being refined, it didn't attract much attention.
An invisible surge of soul power suddenly swept out from the room.
As it spread, the thick black clouds in the sky stopped churning, then slowly dissipated.
The starry sky above Pill Tower dimmed as well.
When the last of the dark clouds cleared, sunlight once again shone down on Pill Tower.
"Is it over?"
Cao Ying asked uncertainly, looking at the sky as it cleared.
"I... think so?"
Song Qing opened his mouth, his tone just as uncertain.
Xuan Kongzi, however, said nothing. Instead, he gazed at the door to Ling Xi's room with a look of expectation.
"Crack."
A moment later, a crisp sound came from the doorframe.
Under their watchful eyes, the door slowly opened, and a powerful surge of soul power burst out from the room.
Caught in the wave of soul power, Cao Ying and Song Qing's expressions changed drastically, and they hurried behind Xuan Kongzi.
Xuan Kongzi's brows lifted slightly. Then he sharply swung his sleeve.
"Bang!"
Their soul powers crashed together in midair, making even space tremble violently. A thin, pitch-black crack quietly spread through the air.
"Your soul power has reached..."
Xuan Kongzi's pupils contracted slightly, but before he could finish, Ling Xi walked out of the room and interrupted him.
"Senior Xuan Kongzi, some things are better left unsaid. Saying them aloud would only be discouraging."
Ling Xi stepped out of the room. After more than a month in seclusion, he looked no different.
Only his eyes had changed, shining brighter than ever. Deep in his pupils, something seemed to be floating.
"Senior Xuan Kongzi, is there something you need from me?"
Ignoring Cao Ying and Song Qing, Ling Xi kept his gaze on Xuan Kongzi.
Their eyes met, and Xuan Kongzi felt as if Ling Xi's eyes had completely drawn in his gaze.
Even with his cultivation, he lost focus for a brief moment.
Before you continue