Xuan Kongzi shook his head slowly. "Doubt is inevitable. After all, for the Bone Chilling Flame, he endured great suffering. His purpose in joining the Pill Gathering this time is likely the Three Thousand Burning Flame. But that's fine—as long as he isn't from the Hall of Souls, anyone who can subdue the Three Thousand Burning Flame would be a blessing for our Pill Tower."
A trace of concern flickered in his eyes. The Three Thousand Burning Flame had grown far stronger—so much so that even the combined strength of the Pill Tower could barely keep it suppressed. All they could do now was pray that a fated individual would successfully subdue it. Otherwise, with the boundless might it possessed, if it ever broke free, Holy Pill City would face an unimaginable catastrophe. If not for that danger, keeping such a Heavenly Flame as a foundation of the Pill Tower would have been ideal.
Xuan Kongzi sighed softly, then turned his gaze toward Mu Gu and Liu Xi. "I wonder," he murmured, "how many colors of Pill Lightning those two will draw?"
Mu Gu slowly stood, his eyes flashing with venom as he shot a hateful glare toward Liu Xi, then let out a shrill, eerie laugh. With a wave of his sleeve, he slapped the cauldron's lid. A pillar of light burst skyward, tearing through the heavens.
A vast, surging wave of energy spread outward—an overwhelming power that eclipsed even Qing Hua, Cao Ying, and Dan Chen. The clouds in the distance churned violently. Azure, silver, red, and gold—four colors of Pill Lightning appeared in an instant, stunning everyone in the arena. But it didn't end there. From within the roiling storm, a faint purple light emerged, growing rapidly until it occupied half the thundercloud's mass.
Four and a half colors of Pill Lightning!
The arena exploded into chaos. Both participants and spectators roared in disbelief. Four-and-a-half-colored Pill Lightning—at this moment, Mu Gu was the undisputed champion of the Pill Gathering!
Song Qing and Xiao Yan were already dumbfounded. They had once believed that by refining a 7th Tier Peak Pill, they could at least make a name for themselves. Yet now, 8th Tier Pills were appearing one after another. Who would still care about a mere 7th Tier Peak Pill?
Comparison kills. That was the cruel truth.
Those who once cheered for Song Qing and Xiao Yan had long since turned their eyes toward Dan Chen, Cao Ying, and even Qing Hua. Who would still remember them now?
Meanwhile, Mu Gu's eerie laughter grew louder, though his voice, features, and aura began to shift—until, in the blink of an eye, he seemed to transform into a completely different person. "Heh heh… Liu Xi, so what if you're gifted? You're still too young. What gives you the right to surpass me? This championship—belongs to the Hall of Souls!"
The words struck like thunder. The crowd erupted into alarm.
"The Hall of Souls?! Isn't that the Pill Tower's mortal enemy? If they win the championship, things will get… very interesting."
"Not necessarily—Liu Xi is still here! This Pill Gathering just keeps getting better and better!"
"…"
"Mu Gu…" Tian Leizi ground out the name between his teeth.
Xuan Kongzi and Xuan Yi's faces turned grim. None of them had expected that even now, such a twist would occur—a deeply hidden agent of the Hall of Souls, standing boldly on the Pill Gathering stage, summoning four-and-a-half-colored Pill Lightning.
Xuan Yi drew in a long breath, her chest heaving as her beautiful eyes turned ice-cold. "What do we do?"
Xuan Kongzi cast a cold glance at the gloating Mu Gu, then turned toward Liu Xi and said calmly, "There's still a chance. Let's watch."
Thunder rolled across the heavens, vast and boundless. The power of Mu Gu's Pill Lightning dwarfed that of Qing Hua, Cao Ying, and Dan Chen entirely.
Qing Hua merely furrowed his brow. Though being surpassed displeased him, the ones who truly had to worry were the elders of the Pill Tower.
Cao Ying bit her lip in frustration, and Dan Chen's expression mirrored her own. They had both been instructed by Xuan Kongzi before this competition, yet still lost—and worse, to a member of the Hall of Souls. The thought left Cao Ying deeply unsettled.
'Teacher, I've disappointed you. I failed… Dan Chen failed… Song Qing failed… and yet—Liu Xi!'
She turned sharply toward Liu Xi's platform and froze. He stood there without the slightest hint of panic, a faint smile curving his lips.
A spark of hope bloomed in her chest, her eyes lighting up. 'If it's Master Liu… then maybe he really can turn this around.'
Dan Chen, too, turned her pale, delicate face toward Liu Xi, her eyes filled with quiet expectation. Losing was fine—what mattered was not losing to the Hall of Souls. All they could do now was pray for a miracle.
Under the gaze of the entire square, Liu Xi finally rose to his feet. Though his eyes betrayed a trace of fatigue, his expression burned with exhilaration.
"Hahaha! Now, let me make history!"
Mu Gu's earlier taunts drew nothing but a sneer from him. Perhaps once they had been evenly matched, but now? Mu Gu wasn't even worth mentioning.
Liu Xi's eyes fixed on the cauldron before him. Within the azure flames, a milky-white pill spun slowly, radiating a faint, ethereal glow—like an immortal maiden descending into the mortal world.
His hands shifted rapidly through a sequence of seals, then clenched as he shouted, "Rise!"
Boom!
A sacred white beam of light shot from the cauldron, piercing through the clouds. A gentle medicinal fragrance spread across the square, intoxicating all who breathed it in.
Mu Gu's smirk froze. The laughter died in his throat as his face twisted, eyes locked on the heavens. A deep, ominous dread crept into his heart.
Above, the clouds churned once more. Within moments, azure and silver thunderclouds appeared—followed swiftly by crimson. The completeness of the three colors already rivaled Cao Ying and Qing Hua's.
Then came gold—pure and radiant, blinding in its brilliance.
Four-colored Pill Lightning.
Mu Gu's expression twitched, unease tightening in his chest.
And as expected, a deep purple glow followed—growing, expanding, surpassing his own incomplete form until it reached full perfection.
Five-colored Pill Lightning!
Mu Gu's face turned black with fury. His eyes burned with hatred as he glared down at Liu Xi. The championship—was no longer his.
But before he could speak, he felt it—a killing intent locking onto him. When he turned, Xuan Kongzi's cold gaze met his own. Mu Gu's bravado instantly crumbled. He swallowed hard, lowered his eyes, and quickly reined in his murderous aura.
Yet the heavens were not finished.
After the purple clouds came blue, spreading wide across the sky. The entire audience gasped in disbelief. Then, before anyone could even breathe, a seventh color emerged—green, blooming beside the others like a final stroke of divine artistry.
No cheers. No shouts. Only stunned silence. The entire square had gone still, every heart frozen in awe.
At last, the immense thunderclouds solidified completely, vast enough to blot out the heavens.
Seven-colored Pill Lightning!
Upon the stone platform, amid the crackling clouds of destruction, Liu Xi stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his head slightly raised. The youthful arrogance between his brows burned bright and unrestrained.
Unprecedented. History rewritten.
(End of Chapter)
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