The first encounter between Cao Ying and Xiao Li didn't have any tension.
It was like two old friends reuniting.
But this still made many people envious.
After all, countless people wanted to say a few words to Cao Ying but never had the chance, yet Xiao Li received her Initiate a conversation.
How could they not be envious?
With the arrival of the Cao Family, all members of the Five Great Families were present.
The center of the main hall suddenly vibrated, and then the ground slowly rose, revealing a spacious plaza.
In the plaza, an Elder walked forward.
"Everyone, this assessment for the Five Great Families will still be presided over by this old man. Do any of you have objections?"
"Elder Sheng, with your status, who would dare to object?" Cao Ying said with a charming laugh.
The others dared not speak.
After all, Elder Sheng's status was too high; everyone present had to be polite to him.
"This is Elder Shengyao, one of the Eight Great Elders of the Pill Tower, a true high-ranking member of the Pill Tower," Ye Zhong briefly introduced to Xiao Li.
Xiao Li nodded.
"You're quite sweet-tongued, girl." Elder Sheng chuckled, then turned his gaze to the entire hall.
"Alright, the assessment is about to begin. The assessors from the Five Great Families, please enter."
As Elder Sheng's words fell, several figures began to step down.
The assessors from the Dan Family and Cao Family were Dan Xuan and Cao Xiu.
From the Bai Family was Bai Ying.
From the Qiu Family was Qiu Ji.
They were all the outstanding young talents of their respective families, possessing extraordinary talent.
"Without further ado, today's assessment is about to begin."
Elder Sheng stepped back a few paces and uncovered a black cloth, revealing a crystal stone over two meters tall.
"The assessment is divided into three parts. The first part is soul testing."
"You all know how important soul power is to an Alchemist, I believe."
"So, all you need to do is inject your soul power into this Soul Testing Stone, and it will read your soul power value, which we call Soul Value."
"The higher the Soul Value, the stronger your soul power."
"A Soul Value of 400 or above is considered passing."
"And to date, the highest recorded Soul Value was 976, measured by Cao Ying back then, and it has yet to be broken."
Hearing Elder Sheng's words, the others cast surprised glances at Cao Ying.
Cao Ying, however, merely rested her chin on her hand, casually playing with a jade bead in her hand, paying no attention to the gazes of others.
"The rules are clear, so who wants to go first?"
After Elder Sheng finished speaking, Qiu Ji from the Qiu Family stepped forward and placed his palm on the Soul Testing Stone.
With a flash of light, a blood-red number immediately appeared on the Soul Testing Stone—707.
This value was quite good; even an average Seventh-Grade Alchemist wouldn't have this value.
Elder Sheng nodded: "707, not bad. Next."
Next, Bai Ying stepped forward to test.
The Soul Testing Stone once again glowed, and the number flickered—785, significantly stronger than Qiu Ji's!
This showed how strong Bai Ying's talent was.
"Good, talented," Elder Sheng also showed a look of approval.
Next, Cao Xiu stepped forward.
He placed his palm on the Soul Testing Stone, and surging soul power erupted, causing the number to rapidly increase, quickly surpassing 800, and finally settling steadily at 846.
This value was very good!
"It's your turn."
Cao Xiu stepped back and glanced at Dan Xuan and Xiao Li.
"Then let me go first."
Dan Xuan smiled slightly and slowly walked out.
Seeing him, many people cast eager gazes, and even Cao Ying showed a bit more interest.
Dan Xuan, the famous genius of the Dan Family, possessed extremely high talent and was sure to become the leader of the Dan Family in the future!
Under everyone's gaze, Dan Xuan also completed his soul test—
903!
Seeing this number, the entire hall fell silent.
Immediately, countless pairs of eyes simultaneously focused on Dan Xuan.
His talent was too strong... Although it couldn't compare to Cao Ying's record back then, it was still the second strongest in history.
"Brother Xiao, it's your turn."
Dan Xuan returned, smiling slightly at Xiao Li.
His demeanor was quite gentle, like a refined young master, giving people a good impression.
Xiao Li nodded, walked to the Soul Testing Stone, and placed his palm on it.
"Xiao Li, if the Ye Family wants to retain its seat this year, you must achieve a top three ranking."
"Currently, Bai Ying is in third place, with a Soul Value of 785. You must surpass this value to secure a glimmer of hope for the Ye Family," Elder Sheng whispered.
This was something everyone clearly understood.
And Xiao Li's appearance successfully drew everyone's attention to him.
Ye Zhong and Ye Xinlan also watched him nervously.
Whether the Ye Family could keep its seat depended on Xiao Li!
Xiao Li nodded, and his soul power began to surge out, rushing into the Soul Testing Stone.
The next moment, an invisible soul storm began to rapidly form, centered around Xiao Li.
This anomaly immediately changed Elder Sheng's expression.
"This boy, he actually has such strong soul power?"
Such a commotion also occurred once when Cao Ying was tested.
Now, Xiao Li had actually caused such a commotion?!
Cao Ying, seated nearby, also cast a surprised glance, her beautiful eyes shimmering.
This man... is quite interesting.
The soul storm lasted for quite a while before slowly subsiding.
Then, a blood-red number appeared on the Soul Testing Stone—1999!
The blood-red number was shocking, instantly petrifying everyone.
1999!
This value was more than a thousand higher than the record set by Cao Ying back then!
Cao Xiu, Bai Ying, and the others were all dumbfounded after seeing this number.
What kind of alchemy genius? In front of this number, they were all useless!
Xiao Li, whom they had always looked down upon, actually had more than double their soul power?!
Cao Ying's eyes also flickered with surprise, and a hint of bewilderment appeared on her beautiful face.
"Zhongzhou truly hides crouching tigers and hidden dragons; I didn't expect such a character to exist."
She wasn't too concerned about Xiao Li's Soul Value.
Although it was much higher than her Soul Value back then, that was a record from three years ago.
The current Cao Ying didn't feel that she was inferior to Xiao Li.
Elder Sheng was even more surprised in his heart.
He clearly understood what this Soul Value represented—this was no longer the soul power of a Seventh-Grade Alchemist, but an Eighth-Grade Alchemist!
A Soul Value exceeding 1500 meant reaching the threshold of an Eighth-Grade Alchemist!
Now, Xiao Li's Soul Value was 1999; could he even have reached the soul power of an Eighth-Grade Alchemist?
"Is this all?" Xiao Li, however, was a little disappointed.
He had thought it could be a bit higher.
Elder Sheng, though, couldn't help but laugh aloud: "Hahaha, excellent, excellent. In this round of assessment, the first place naturally goes to Xiao Li, the representative of the Ye Family."
"And this record, I believe, will be very difficult for anyone to break in the future."
Elder Sheng was extremely pleased to witness such a genius.
"Then, next is the second round of assessment."