Divine Wilderness Dragon Emperor

After taking the Elixir, Sect Leader Yuan and Grand Alchemist Yuan Chun opened their eyes half an hour later, a sharp glint flickering within them.

"Wonderful! The profoundness of this Elixir is enough to make one king of Alchemy in the Southern Wilderness." Grand Alchemist Yuan Chun couldn’t help but praise him the moment he opened his eyes.

Before, he had only witnessed the miraculous effects on the Black-Scaled Eagle and the Sword-Horned Bear; he hadn’t had a direct experience of taking the Elixir himself.

Therefore, he couldn’t give a definitive evaluation of the Elixir.

But after taking it this time, he finally understood its profundity.

Even though he was already a Nascent Soul Realm powerhouse, after taking this Elixir, he still felt his Heart Spirit become clear and lucid. It was as if his Spiritual Wisdom had been unlocked, making him more intelligent. The entire world seemed to be undergoing subtle changes—changes that presented him with new possibilities for growth.

Many times, a Cultivator will encounter a bottleneck.

The feeling was hazy, like being shrouded in a fog. It was clear that if he could just push aside this fog, he would see a wider world.

But the heart lacked the strength; the fog was difficult to part, and progress became impossible.

That feeling of powerlessness was both frustrating and a barrier to advancement.

However, after taking the Spirit Awakening Pill, Grand Alchemist Yuan Chun felt the fog surrounding his soul’s Nascent Soul actually begin to thin.

Faintly, he felt like he could see a glimmer of dawn.

This filled him with excitement. It was hard to imagine a single Elixir could have such a miraculous effect.

With this Elixir, one could truly become the king of the Southern Wilderness Alchemy World!

"Indeed, this Elixir has a miraculous effect." A glint flashed in Sect Leader Yuan’s eyes as he nodded. After taking the Elixir, even he could feel a change in his soul. Many things now seemed clearer and more transparent at a glance. Before, he would never have imagined his soul could still make progress.

The significance of one’s mind improving and comprehension increasing was immense.

For Cultivators stuck at a bottleneck, even the slightest improvement could allow them to transform from a fish into a dragon, soaring above the nine heavens.

"But, Ling Fei, this Elixir’s effects are so good. Giving it to outsiders could be very troublesome!" As he marveled at the magic of the Spirit Awakening Pill, Grand Alchemist Yuan Chun’s brow furrowed. "If people from other Sects make rapid progress because of this, we might end up nurturing a tiger that turns on us."

Sect Leader Yuan was also slightly worried.

After all, no one could guarantee that those who became powerhouses after taking the Spirit Awakening Pill wouldn’t suddenly turn against the Lingyun Sect.

"Peak Master Yuan need not worry about that." Ling Fei, however, wasn’t overly concerned.

Sect Leader Yuan and Grand Alchemist Yuan Chun listened intently.

"First, I can control the strength of the Spirit Awakening Pill’s effects. The Spirit Pills for outsiders will naturally have a weaker effect," Ling Fei said with a smile.

"Oh!" Hearing this, Sect Leader Yuan’s eyes lit up.

"That’s good." Grand Alchemist Yuan Chun also breathed a sigh of relief.

If the Elixir’s effects could be controlled, then there was nothing to worry about.

"Furthermore, in the path of cultivation, while comprehension is important, without great perseverance, it’s not so easy to truly grow strong," Ling Fei said. "So, the Elixir is just the foundation. What truly determines whether a person can grow is their mental fortitude."

"That is indeed true." Yuan Huaitian nodded. As a powerhouse himself, he naturally understood this principle.

Over the past few hundred years, he had seen too many examples of exceptionally talented Cultivators being surpassed by those with resolute minds.

"The Martial Arts Competition is tomorrow. You should go and rest," said Sect Leader Yuan. "This time, the top geniuses from all the Sects will be participating. It will be a rare opportunity for you to temper yourself."

"Alright!" Ling Fei nodded and took his leave. He, too, was filled with anticipation for tomorrow’s Martial Arts Competition.

He had been in seclusion ever since his spar with Lian Shuang three months ago and had long been itching for a match.

However, within the Lingyun Sect, only Lian Shuang could be considered his opponent, so opportunities to spar and temper himself were too few.

Naturally, he wouldn’t miss the opportunity this competition presented.

「The next day, at dawn.」

When the morning bells rang, disciples from every Sect pushed open their doors and emerged.

Ling Fei had also left early.

As Cultivators who had reached their level, they could remain full of vigor even with just one hour of sleep.

"Good morning, Ling the Pill Master!"

"Morning, Ling the Pill Master!" As Ling Fei walked out, people greeted him one after another.

Ling Fei’s current status among the Lingyun Sect disciples was even higher than that of some Elders.

Many were even hoping to be rewarded with a Spirit Awakening Pill.

WHOOSH!

The Elders from twenty-one Sects led their disciples and flew toward the North Spirit Platform.

Yuan Chong watched Ling Fei, who was beside him, and sighed with emotion inwardly.

He still remembered how, when Ling Fei first joined the Sect, many had sneered at this young man who possessed no True Fire.

Who would have thought that he would not only succeed in fusing with an Anomalous Fire but also take first place in the alchemy competition?

Now, the Spirit Awakening Pill he refined was highly sought after by every Sect.

And all this had happened in just over a year.

’If only I had Junior Brother Ling’s talent,’ Yuan Chong thought to himself, looking at Ling Fei with envy.

"Senior Brother Yuan, are you still worried about your failure in Alchemy?" With his powerful perception, Ling Fei naturally noticed Yuan Chong’s emotional fluctuations.

"If I miss this chance, I’m afraid I’ll never be able to recover." Yuan Chong sighed. Who didn’t want to be the center of everyone’s attention?

"Senior Brother Yuan, don’t worry," Ling Fei said with a smile. "If I win a Plaque in the Martial Arts Competition, I’ll just give it to you."

"Really?" Yuan Chong was overjoyed upon hearing this.

"Of course," Ling Fei smiled. "What, you don’t believe I can break into the top twenty in the Martial Arts Competition?"

"I believe you, of course I believe you!" Yuan Chong’s face was full of joy.

One had to understand that in the Lingyun Sect, only Lian Shuang could contend with Ling Fei.

And Lian Shuang was likely one of the top five among the younger generation of all the major Sects in the Southern Wilderness.

As for the geniuses from the Minor Sects, it would be impressive if they could even compare to He Tianming.

Ling Fei’s strength was even greater than He Tianming’s, so his chances of breaking into the top twenty were very high.

Filled with anticipation, the crowd arrived at the North Spirit Platform.

On the North Spirit Platform.

People from the various Sects landed and settled in one after another.

The moment Ling Fei landed, many gazes immediately fell upon him—some filled with reverence, others with venomous hatred.

Xu Zitao, for example, stared coldly at Ling Fei.

However, geniuses like Beichen Feng wore looks of awe.

Back in the Falling Star Mountain Range, Beichen Feng had already experienced Ling Fei’s power firsthand.

Even Beichen Feng hadn’t expected Ling Fei to have such achievements in the Alchemy Dao; even the mysterious Xu Zitao couldn’t compete with him.

’A genius like this appears once in a millennium. I don’t know whether to be happy or sad to be born in the same era as him,’ Beichen Feng muttered to himself.

"Haha, today is the martial arts portion of the Southern Wilderness’s grand competition! This competition will be an elimination tournament based on a points system."

On the high platform, Vice Sect Leader Jiang smiled and began to explain the rules of the competition. "Each person will have a Waist Token with three Inscription Patterns on it. For every match you lose, you will lose one Inscription Pattern. When you lose three matches, you will be eliminated. Likewise, for every match you win, you will gain an Inscription Pattern."

"Those with the top one hundred Inscription Pattern counts will proceed to the final tournament."

It was a cruel elimination tournament of constant challenges and plundering Inscription Patterns.

"Everyone, do you understand the rules of the competition?" Vice Sect Leader Jiang asked in a deep voice from the platform.

"We understand!" the crowd answered in unison.

In fact, the Elders of each Sect had already explained the rules.

The competition would begin with random matchups.

Afterward, the Inscription Patterns on the Waist Tokens would attract different opponents based on each person’s combat record.

For this competition, each Sect could send one hundred geniuses to participate. Generally speaking, it was difficult for the top-tier geniuses to encounter each other in the early stages.

"In that case, I will ask each Sect to send twenty people to the stage!" Vice Sect Leader Jiang announced. He turned slightly to look behind him.

Behind him was a massive Waiting Battle Platform.

Surrounding the four sides of that platform were numerous smaller battle platforms.

Upon a closer count, there were a shocking two hundred and eighty battle platforms in total.

This meant that five hundred and sixty people could compete simultaneously on the North Spirit Platform.

Soon, every Sect sent twenty of their geniuses to compete.

As for Ling Fei, Lian Shuang, He Tianming, Zhao Fan, Fang Yuan, Huang Feng, and the other top geniuses, they were in no hurry to fight.

From the twenty-one Sects, four hundred and twenty people landed on the Waiting Battle Platform.

"As long as you touch your Waist Token with your Essence Qi, you will automatically be assigned an opponent," Vice Sect Leader Jiang said to the crowd.

Just so, the people on the stage touched their Waist Tokens, and Light Patterns immediately began to flicker on the Waiting Battle Platform.

Then, one by one, the Cultivators were drawn by a Light Pattern and flew toward the adjacent battle platforms.

Match after match began.

Most of these people were at the Celestial Pill Realm, and their strength was considerable.

However, there were also clear differences in strength among them. Some powerful individuals defeated their opponents with overwhelming force, taking their Inscription Patterns.

Ling Fei released his Divine Sense, observing the matches on the platforms.

’These people are pretty strong, but unfortunately, there’s almost no one on the level of a genius like Senior Sister Lian Shuang.’ After a quick scan with his Divine Sense, Ling Fei retracted it.

Without a sufficiently powerful opponent, he naturally couldn’t muster any interest.

And so, round after round of matches concluded.

After the first group of people each fought five matches, contestants were continuously being eliminated.

Then, they began to rest, and the second group was sent onto the stage.

After the second group sparred, it was the third group’s turn.

...

It wasn’t until the third day that it was finally Ling Fei’s turn.

When Ling Fei stood up, Xu Zitao of the Beiming Sword Sect also rose.

’This guy is participating in the Martial Arts Competition too?’ Xu Zitao’s eyes were ice-cold. ’Excellent. This time, I’ll make him pay the price.’ His expression was savage, wishing he could stomp Ling Fei viciously under his foot to vent the frustration from the last alchemy competition.

There were many geniuses in this batch of contestants.

The geniuses from the Beiming Sword Sect, besides Xu Zitao, also included Beiming Shang and Shangguan Wan’Er.

As they landed on the high platform, an invisible killing intent emanated from the disciples of the Beiming Sword Sect.

They all stared fiercely at Ling Fei, wishing they could flay him alive.

Lian Shuang stood beside Ling Fei, completely indifferent. She showed no reaction to the expressions of the people from the Beiming Sword Sect.

It seemed as if nothing in the world had anything to do with her.

He Tianming and the others, however, felt immense pressure.

Both Xu Zitao and Beiming Shang exuded a wild and domineering Sword Momentum.

"Ling Fei, this time I’ll make you regret participating in this competition," Xu Zitao said to Ling Fei on the platform, making no effort to hide the anger in his heart.