Lu Ming's entrance was welcomed with a huge uproar. The rank one of the previous tests impressed a lot of people with his achievements. A high fire affinity meant that he could easily cultivate fire energy. Once affinity also dictated how efficiently one could control that element.
"The boy's grade 8 natural body is sure to showcase some heaven-defying result this time." A representative of one of the top forces spoke out.
"Having a natural body doesn't fully determine the control over a certain element. It requires a huge amount of training and practice to gain control over the element, especially fire. We shouldn't be too optimistic about his results." A Teng family representative spoke up.
"I guess the Teng family is quite riled up due to the last test's result. One should never forget that there always exists someone above you." One of the elders from the Pill valley taunted the Teng family representatives. "We can't deny the obvious effect of the Grade 8 body. Just his body alone would allow him to control 12 lanterns, and to top it off he is an intermediate level-3 alchemist."
The Teng family representatives weren't the only ones who were taunted about this fact. All ten families were being cautious about Lu Ming. He was the only unencountered factor in the whole Pill-brew competition.
......................
Lu Ming went up to the stage. 20 lanterns were placed in front of him waiting to be lit up. HE sat down and closed his eyes. The audience immediately got silent.
"What is he doing? You just need to light up the lantern."
After a short breath, a short thread of crimson energy began to emerge from his body. The thread slowly flowed into the lanterns and began powering the first one up.
"Is he using a genuine innate flame? The most talented participants don't even possess a beast flame. You are banging a hammer on your foot."
��Maybe he doesn't need to use it up just yet. Just wait and see."
The first lantern soon lit up. I have extended the thread to the second one and will continue thereafter. Long Tao could feel the lanterns lighting up and with each lantern, the burden kept on increasing. The tenth lantern soon lights up and Long Tao was still controlling it with his normal Qi.
"I guess I need to start using the acupoints." Once the acupoints were being utilized the burden got extremely less. Soon enough the 15th lantern lit up. Lu Ming was just one step behind from the top score. A thread began to emerge, but the lantern no longer lit up. Long Tao managed to encapsulate all the remaining five lanterns.
"Is he insane? Trying to light up the last five lanterns is the most difficult task. One isn't even able to control it one by one, and he is trying to control it at once. This is an absurd thought on his part."
Lu Ming continued to close his eyes and supply the fire energy into the remaining five pieces.
A few hours later-
A long time passed but there was no moment. Even the elders testing the participants lost their patience.
"I guess it's time for you to step down. We can't waste any more time here. You are already ranked second in the test and have managed to prove yourself."
He was about to extend his hands up when Lu Ming suddenly opened his eyes up and all of a sudden, a massive outburst of fire energy took place. Even the elder who was near Lu Ming had to jump backward in fear of the massive energy outbreak. "All the elders began creating a barrier around them. We can't let the participants be affected by this energy.". The elders around were about to take action when a shocking event took place.
All five remaining lanterns suddenly lit up and began floating at the same time. Twenty lanterns were dancing in the air, all lit up, extruding an ancient aura. The view was breath-taking, with Lu Ming sitting silently in the middle. Every single audience member was silent.
...............…..
"I guess he did it. He didn't betray our trust in him." The sect leader of the Pill Hall was viewing the competition along with the first elder.
"He certainly manages to break the expectations of people. My disciple finally managed to achieve something I couldn't."
"If I remember correctly, you, the leader of ten household and the valley master achieved the same result as him."
"We did but the situation was different in our case. 20 lanterns are left by that entity from the past. The lanterns don't just test the disciple but also hold another secret in it."
"Are you implying that it holds the secret to his legacy?"
"When one is capable enough to light all the lanterns, the soul of the participant is dragged into another realm. It was one of the reasons for Lu Ming to be sitting silent all this time. There is a memory of the old patriarch within the illusion along with one of his refining techniques. It is a technique that both I and the valley head use to refine pills. It catapulted us to the top of alchemy. One could easily imagine how powerful the technique is."
"Except for that, one can comprehend more things depending on how long one manages to stay in there. The sect leader couldn't last longer than an hour and we got enough knowledge to be able to reach this place. What do you think about Lu Ming's situation?"
The leader wasn't able to say anything. She was too shocked regarding the talent of her disciple.
..................….
In the Teng family manor-
The patriarch Teng Luo was cultivating in his secluded room. He couldn't be bothered about the general events occurring within the Pill Valley. He had dedicated most of his life to alchemy and tried his best to advance to the next level. One would be surprised to feel the aura radiating from his body. It was on a similar level to the Peak of Qi emperor realm and radiated a huge amount of pressure on the surroundings.
"I would request the patriarch to spare some time for this old man."
Teng Luo opened his eyes. "How do I owe the pleasure of a visit from Grand elder? The matter seems to be quite serious for you to come here personally."
"I have come to report the current situation of the competition."
"I hope Teng Huan performed well."
"He managed to light up 16 lanterns."
"Well done. We need to reward the boy for his hard work. I guess the meeting is coming to an end now."
"The matter I have come to report here is about Lu Ming." The sentence managed to invoke no expression change from Teng Luo.
"Did the boy surpassed Teng Huan?"
"Not only did he surpass and achieve the first rank, but he also managed to light up all twenty lanterns." Teng Luo's eyes burst open upon hearing this. All Twenty lanterns signified him to have achieved a chance to comprehend the memories of that man.
"How long did he stay in comprehension?"
"4 hours." The seclusion chamber shook from a sudden outburst of energy from Teng Luo. Even the patriarch who was communicating with him got injured internally.
"I beg your pardon for this sudden outburst. Call a meeting immediately. We need to bring this boy onto our side."
"Should we abduct him?"
"It too late for that. This news is sure to attract the attention of that man. He will personally oversee the competition after now."
....................
"Impressive. Someone finally managed to surpass the previous record."
Pill Valley, the hall of inner elders-
Senior counsels were on their way to discuss the matter of this year's inner disciple placement when a sudden message attracted their attention.
"The valley head asks us to look out for a disciple named Lu Ming in this year's Pill-brew competition." Multiple elders moved out to watch the competition.
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