With the pill formed, Zhao Li withdrew the Flame. The Pill Lightning quickly gathered, silencing the two Giants watching from the top of the tower.
Meanwhile, in the Alchemy Square, the crowd was equally stunned to see Zhao Li attracting Five-Colored Pill Lightning:
"My heavens! What kind of Pills is he refining? It actually attracted Five-Colored Pill Lightning!"
"Who is he? When did the Pill Tower get such a powerful person?"
"I don't know, it seems like no one recognizes him."
"This trip wasn't in vain, not in vain at all!"
The crowd grew lively. Some exclaimed in surprise, some inquired about Zhao Li's identity, and some were satisfied with what they had witnessed...
Xuan Yi and the other person exchanged glances but remained silent.
The immense disparity weighed heavily on their hearts.
Zhao Li paid no mind to them. Facing the Thunder Cloud, his eyes clearly revealed joy.
With a thought, a wisp of colored Thunder appeared at Zhao Li's fingertips and shot towards the Thunder Cloud!
Zhao Li's sneak attack, ignoring martial ethics, seemed to disrupt the Thunder Cloud's rhythm. It rolled for a long time before continuing to gather.
But just as it began, Zhao Li shot another bolt of Thunder at it, then carefully sensed it.
Repeating this process, the Thunder in Zhao Li's hand became increasingly vibrant and dazzling, and its power grew more contained.
After a long time, the Thunder Cloud gradually dissipated. From beginning to end, it hadn't managed to strike down a single bolt of Thunder.
The people in the square looked at each other, utterly bewildered.
"What happened?"
"Huh? Didn't you see? The Thunder Cloud was undergoing a Lightning Tribulation just now."
"..."
Zhao Li let out a deep breath of stale air. With the Pills successfully refined and his strength further improved, it was truly a double blessing.
"Zhang Li, quickly come to the top of the Pill Tower!"
A somewhat urgent voice reached Zhao Li's ears. Zhao Li recognized the owner of the voice; it was the old man who had given him the Pill Formula.
Putting away the Pills, Zhao Li looked up at the clouds, unsure of what the matter was.
Before refining, he knew it would definitely attract a lot of attention, but he still decided to proceed with the refining.
While hiding one's abilities was good, sometimes revealing one's strength could lead to more resources.
After all, the Pill Tower was different from other forces. It was more like a self-organized alliance or guild of Alchemists and wouldn't impose significant restrictions on its members.
Zhao Li pondered for a moment, greeted Elder Han and the others, then flashed away.
Arriving at the top of the tower, Zhao Li saw two old men standing at the edge with their hands behind their backs.
Zhao Li walked forward and with a glance, took in the entire Alchemy Square. He understood in his heart that perhaps the two had witnessed his every move during the refining process.
After a brief look, Zhao Li withdrew his gaze, bowed, and asked:
"Greetings, President Wind Lightning! President Spirit Pearl! May I ask why the two Presidents are looking for me?"
The two did not reply, repeatedly scrutinizing Zhao Li. After a while, Spirit Pearl said happily:
"Very good, very good, you are excellent. To have such achievements at such a young age is truly humbling. We just didn't expect it to cause such a commotion. For the next period of time, I'm afraid you won't have much peace."
Hearing this, Zhao Li smiled:
"Thank you for your concern, Senior Spirit Pearl. It's all minor matters."
Zhao Li felt a bit strange, not knowing the true purpose of them calling him up.
After a short silence, Wind Lightning asked:
"Zhang Li, has your Soul Power reached the Heaven Realm?"
Hearing this, Zhao Li's heart stirred. So it was because of his Soul Power.
He inwardly grumbled:
What big deal did I think it was? Just this? Making me guess back and forth. They could have just asked me earlier. I'm such an honest person, wouldn't I tell them?
Zhao Li grumbled inwardly, but his face showed no extra expression. Naturally, he looked puzzled, furrowed his brow, and asked in return:
"Heaven Realm? I haven't heard of it. What is that?"
As it turned out, he was not honest.
The two old men exchanged glances, quite surprised. For a moment, they couldn't tell if Zhao Li genuinely didn't know or was pretending not to know.
Although Wind Lightning was surprised, he quickly recovered. He told Zhao Li about the different levels of Soul Power: the Mortal Realm, Spirit Realm, Heaven Realm, and the legendary Emperor Realm, four realms in total.
Whether it was Alchemists or cultivators, there were very few methods to actively increase Soul Power. Normally, Dou Sects and even Dou Venerates were mostly in the Mortal Realm, rarely in the Spirit Realm, and the Heaven Realm was even rarer, only reachable by a few Alchemy Great Grandmasters.
Wind Lightning explained in great detail. Zhao Li nodded from time to time, then his eyes flickered. Looking at the two Presidents, he said excitedly:
"So, does that mean I can refine Ninth Grade Pills now? So I'm already this amazing!"
Although Zhao Li already knew, now was the time to play dumb.
So, he started praising himself from the bottom of his heart.
Hearing this, the two shook their heads helplessly. Spirit Pearl said,
"Soul Power is just the most basic requirement. To become a true Alchemy Great Grandmaster, you still need to practice more."
Zhao Li scratched his head and chuckled,
"Thank you, Presidents, for letting me know. So I already have the potential of a Great Grandmaster, huh? Tsk... As expected of me."
"Alright, if you don't have anything else to do, you should stay at the Pill Tower for now to avoid trouble outside."
The two kindly reminded Zhao Li again.
Hearing this, Zhao Li nodded in agreement. He had already experienced something similar back in the Jia Ma Empire.
After Zhao Li left, Wind Lightning asked,
"What do you think?"
Spirit Pearl said earnestly, "Nonsense, of course I'm looking with my eyes."
Then he chuckled and continued,
"Aside from those two sentences where he praised himself, I'm skeptical about everything else he said."
"Me too. Then I'll trouble you to continue holding down the fort at the Pill Tower, and I'll go probe his background."
Before he even finished speaking, Wind Lightning vanished in a flash. Spirit Pearl's mouth twitched slightly, and he pouted,
"If you want to leave, just say so. Why make excuses? These things don't need you to do them personally."
...
Zhao Li found a place to stay in the Pill Tower and settled down. Recalling the events of the day, he felt he hadn't revealed any flaws.
Then he relaxed, sat cross-legged, and concentrated in thought. The various details of pill refining and undergoing the Lightning Tribulation replayed in his mind. Zhao Li watched and summarized them carefully, as if he were an observer.
After a long time, Zhao Li finished absorbing the insights.
He glanced outside. The dark sky hung low, accompanied by bright stars, and insects flew about.
Zhao Li lay down and fell asleep.
Early the next morning, Zhao Li woke up early, and for a moment, he didn't know what to do.
Ever since refining the Soul Purification Spirit Pill, Zhao Li had gained some confidence in his Alchemy Technique. Just as he had said to the two Presidents earlier, he truly possessed the strength of a Great Grandmaster; he was indeed that formidable.
Pills above Eighth Grade, aside from Spirit Imbuement, were not much different from Seventh Grade or even lower-grade pills. And those tedious tasks of refining Medicinal Ingredients were effortless with Zhao Li's current control ability.
With my current ability, wouldn't it seem like I'm bullying people if I participate in the Pill Convention again?
Unconsciously, Zhao Li thought of the Pill Convention.
Although the Pill Convention was very attractive to Alchemists, the restriction that one person could only participate once in their lifetime meant that the Pill Convention had fewer true Alchemy Great Grandmasters.
Although many Alchemy Grandmasters would emerge in each session of the Pill Convention and gradually become famous throughout the continent.
But upon closer inspection, held every thirty years, it seemed more like a competition specifically for young juniors to make a name for themselves.
Shaking his head, Zhao Li stopped thinking about it. After all, there were still three or four years left, so it was indeed a bit early to consider it now.
I wonder how things are outside. I'll ask Elder Han.
On the second to last floor of the Pill Tower, Zhao Li knocked on Han Zichuan's door. Elder Han, the diligent worker, was indeed inside.
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