Observing for a Month, Advancing to Tier Two

Before long, the group was led to a vast mountaintop plaza within the Medicine Clan.

At the same time, countless columns of smoke slowly rose into the air, filled with a rich medicinal fragrance.

In previous years, the various clans had merely gone through the motions. After all, when it came to alchemy, the abilities displayed by the other clans were hardly impressive.

However, because Lei Qi had expressed considerable interest in alchemy, they had stayed behind.

Given their status, they naturally would not be kept in this ceremonial area.

At the peak of Medicine Mountain, clouds and mist curled about, while a strange medicinal fragrance spread through the air, leaving one refreshed, as though standing in an immortal realm.

At the summit of Medicine Mountain, vast stretches of medicinal herbs gathered like an ocean. Above this sea of herbs floated an incomparably enormous plaza. At its four corners stood four massive medicinal cauldrons, each emitting waves of medicinal fragrance as columns of smoke shot straight into the heavens.

Quite a few figures were already scattered across the suspended stone platform. Lively conversations continuously rang out, making the place exceptionally bustling. Following Mang Tianchi, Lei Qi looked toward the northern side of the stone platform, where rows of stone seats stood side by side. After finding their seats, Mang Tianchi led Lei Qi over to sit down. Once they had taken their seats, beautiful maidservants flitted about like butterflies, their nimble hands filling every jade cup on the stone tables.

It had to be said that the Medicine Clan's maidservants were all quite lovely.

"Little Qi, what do you think? Aren't the girls here more pleasing to the eye than those from our Thunder Clan?" Mang Tianchi asked teasingly when he saw Lei Qi watching the maidservants.

"Mm-hmm." Lei Qi nodded.

"I really don't know what the women of our Thunder Clan are thinking. Sure enough, the world outside is far more pleasing to the eye," Mang Tianchi muttered again.

"Elder Mang, you have never married all these years. Do you have someone you love?" Lei Qi asked.

"Ah, that was all in the past." Mang Tianchi did not elaborate. Yet at the mention of it, the masculine vigor he had displayed earlier vanished.

At this moment, Lei Qi's gaze also shifted downward, and he was soon drawn to a man.

A fifth-tier alchemist with the cultivation of a one-star Dou King.

A minor character like that naturally could not have caught his attention.

Rather, it was the woman beside him. She had long azure hair, delicate features, and an icy expression, carrying the air of a frosty beauty.

Such a woman was undoubtedly far more alluring.

After all, melting an iceberg and making it yield would clearly be much more fulfilling.

However, Lei Qi knew very well that, for now—or perhaps for the next ten years or even longer—he would have no chance. After all, she was a prodigy of the Medicine Clan.

"Those two little ones are siblings. The boy is called Yao Tian, and the girl is called Yao Ling. Both are outstanding among your generation. Oh, and that youngster over there is called Yao Xingji. He has quite decent talent as well." Seeing Lei Qi looking toward the arena, Mang Tianchi introduced the Medicine Clan's younger generation of geniuses.

However, Mang Tianchi felt that whether it was Yao Tian, Yao Ling, or even Yao Xingji, none of them could be mentioned in the same breath as Lei Qi.

Not yet twenty—only seventeen—and before the power of his Dou Di bloodline had even begun to fully exert itself, he had already reached the realm of a two-star Dou Emperor. Such terrifying cultivation speed would make him a top-tier prodigy even among the Dou Di clans.

After all, among the younger geniuses of the other clans, even with all kinds of resources poured into them, reaching the Dou King realm was already an extraordinary achievement.

Yet if one reached the Dou Emperor realm, the gap between them would be immense!

"If I surpass them in alchemy as well someday, wouldn't that be even more interesting?" Lei Qi said.

"I don't think that's very realistic." Mang Tianchi shook his head.

Within the Medicine Clan, there was no shortage of eighth-tier alchemists and ninth-tier treasure-pill alchemists.

As for the Thunder Clan, it currently possessed only a single alchemist at the peak of the eighth tier.

In this respect, the other clans were much the same.

Under such circumstances, even if Lei Qi was exceptionally talented, there was still an enormous gap between them.

Moreover, Lei Qi intended to cultivate both lightning and fire. If he added alchemy to that as well, how could he possibly have enough time to learn it all?

After all, biting off more than one could chew would only lead to failure.

"Heh, we can talk about that in the future." Lei Qi naturally was not so idealistic. For now, he was merely saying it.

Still, the Thunder Clan was in great need of a ninth-tier alchemist!

It was simply not easy to cultivate a ninth-tier alchemist.

Across the entire Dou Qi Continent, ninth-tier alchemists were exceedingly rare. Every one of them was either a ninth-tier alchemist from the Medicine Clan, belonged to a clan of their own, or preferred to travel alone.

The main reason was that the Dou Di clans looked down on those without Dou Di bloodlines and had no intention of nurturing anyone with exceptional talent in alchemy.

The Soul Clan was the sole exception in this regard.

Unlike the other clans, which looked down on those without Dou Di bloodlines, the Soul Clan did the exact opposite. Not only had they sent Hun Xuzi, who was skilled in alchemy, to study at the Pill Tower, they had even established the Hall of Souls to recruit experts from across the continent!

That was vision.

No matter how one looked at it, Hun Tiandi utterly crushed Gu Yuan, who was likewise a peak nine-star Dou Saint, by an unknown margin.

There was even less need to mention the other clan chiefs.

After all, to a peak Dou Saint, anyone below the ninth star was merely an ant.

The alchemy performed by the younger members of the Medicine Clan was only an opening act. To those able to come here, it was essentially nothing worth noting.

What came after the Medicine Canon was undoubtedly far more eye-catching.

Whether it was a contest between peak eighth-tier alchemists or a contest between ninth-tier treasure-pill alchemists, those were the truly astonishing displays.

However, perhaps because none of the visitors were truly top-tier alchemists, the one who acted this time was not Elder Wanhuo of the Medicine Clan. Instead, it was merely a treasure-pill grandmaster.

Even though it was not a mysterious-pill spectacle, it still gave Lei Qi and the others quite a feast for the eyes.

By the time they had watched a grand competition of the Medicine Clan come to an end, an entire month had already passed.

And Lei Qi had not gained nothing during that month.

At the very least, through watching their alchemy, he was already able to directly refine second-tier medicinal pills!

Upon learning of this, not only was Mang Tianchi stunned, but even some experts of the Medicine Clan were the same!

He had never had any experience in alchemy, yet after merely watching for one month, he could already refine a second-tier medicinal pill. Even within the Medicine Clan, few could compare to such terrifying talent.

Most frightening of all, Lei Qi was not merely exceptionally gifted in alchemy. In terms of cultivation, he was just as outstanding!

A two-star Dou Emperor—among his peers, he could be called a dazzling rising star!