At those words, everyone paused. Venerable Yao's reputation was known to all, but how Xiao Yan compared with him now was an intriguing question.
"Venerable Yao is definitely still stronger," Dan Chen said, joining the conversation. She was usually quiet, but like Wei Jiangyuan, she grew interested whenever alchemy came up.
"Venerable Yao's alchemy surpassed even the Pill Tower's three great leaders. After all these years, there's no way he's been standing still. He's probably reached the threshold of a Ninth-grade Alchemist by now."
Everyone knew Xiao Yan's current limit was an Eighth-Tier Pill that drew Six-Colored Pill Lightning. His talent was astonishing, but the ninth grade was still a distant prospect. The answer to who was stronger, Xiao Yan or Yao Chen, seemed obvious.
Wei Jiangyuan noticed that Yao Qingyu seemed reluctant to join in. The Pill Convention had eased her relationship with Xuan Yi, but her feelings about Venerable Yao, the father she had never met, were bound to be complicated. It was only natural that she did not want to talk about him.
So Wei Jiangyuan tried to change the subject. "None of us can compare with him right now. After all, who among us can claim to have surpassed our own teacher?"
At that, everyone present thought of their teachers.
Mu Qingluan's teacher was Venerable Wind, a Dou Zun. Xiao Yan's was Venerable Yao, a Peak Eighth-Tier Alchemist. Cao Ying's was Xuan Kongzi, also a Peak Eighth-Tier Alchemist, while Dan Chen's was Yuan Chen, a prospective Ninth-grade Alchemist of the Pill Tower. Yao Qingyu's teacher was the Flower Sect's strongest elder, Wei Jiangyuan's was Old Man Shennong, a Ninth-grade Alchemist, and Qing Lin's was Ming Mei, a Nine-Star Dou Saint Peak expert. Lei Jingxiao had been taught by Jiang Yunyan, a Five-Star Dou Saint, though she