Although Lu Ming already formed a subpar image of the Teng house in his mind, Teng Huan's character was appeasing to his eyes. "I whole-heartedly accept any challenge issued by my fellow competitors, given they dare to compete with proper means, and not try to sabotage the event from shadows."
The comment was like a sharp slap on the face of the Ten family. Teng Huan was visibly embarrassed and his face turned all red. Lu Ming said his comment out loud, resulting in many people hearing it. This further resulted in some short talks taking place, as many of the competitors had to go through a similar approach from the Ten families.
"Your comments are trying to undermine the prestige of my family. Sorry to say that I can't let it pass. The matters concerning you don't involve my family." Teng Huan's embarrassment turned into a tinge of anger. Although his family did use a backhand, they suffered quite a big loss due to yesterday's event.
"I am not scared of making enemies out of people who are blind enough to underestimate their opponent. If the matter is of no concern to you, why are you getting so worked up." Lu Ming said with a mocking expression. The process of undermining Teng Huan began to feel funny.
Teng Huan was at a loss for words. Lu Ming's sharp tongue managed to morph the situation to let people believe that the Ten families did try to harm Lu Ming from shadows and failed to do so. It was like a double slap as of now.
"Since you are so eager to compete with me, why don't we bet something on the next trial?" Lu Ming's words rang in Teng Huan's ear, who was busy thinking of possible comebacks to his earlier statements.
"What do you have in mind?"
"Now that I think about it, the matter does seem absurd. You are just a Qi general of the Teng Family. What valuable thing could you get your hands on that can interest me to follow up on a bet?"
Teng Huan's embarrassment was getting bigger and bigger. Lu Ming's words were constantly undermining his prestige in front of such a large group of people. He took out a small pouch from his storage ring and showed it to Lu Ming.
"This resource was awarded for my performance in the competition." Lu Ming took the pouch and looked inside. There was a small amount of unpolished stone. A strong aura of wind energy was emanating from them. Lu Ming was surprised to see elementals stones in possession of Teng Huan.
"It's interesting to see that you own elemental stone, that too of wind type, which is generally difficult to find." Lu Ming took out a small pouch too and threw it at Teng Huan, who caught it. When he looked inside, a shock spread over his face. "Let's proceed with this lousy bet."
Lu Ming left shortly after, leaving behind a surprised Teng Huan. One of the Teng family elders contacted him with telepathic messaging. "What are the contents of the bag?"
"Bunch of top-grade fire stones." The elder was shocked by it. Top-grade fire stones were too valuable yet Lu Ming just threw them like they were nothing.
........
Crimson Lord World-
"Those stones would be quite helpful for your cultivation. Although they are low in quality, they are elemental stone nevertheless. They will help you open your wind elemental acupoints."
"You should start making the formation. I won't be able to hold back my cultivation for a long time."
"The materials are not enough yet. It will take a very short amount of time to make the formation. The artifact will help you to compress your cultivation."
Lu Ming could feel that he was already strong enough to break through the 8th level of Qi in general. Although he had the benefit of cultivating a greater number of levels due to the Hell-forger arts, the Qi general part had only ten levels in it. He couldn't suppress his cultivation for long on his own.
"I aim to connect with the Law of Chaos, and I am willing to spend any amount of resources to reach that stage."
......…
As the soul test proceeded and the mid-rankers started to show much more promise than the lower-ranked ones. The number of beads to be controlled reached as high as 25 for some of them. Many dark horses started to showcase their talent.
"This year seems to be more promising than last year."
"I hope the top tier performs even better."
The top rankers soon entered the competition and the number of beads which were controlled by them reached upwards of 30 soul beads. Even the inner elders were watching the competition with extreme interest. The participants were way better than last year's and some of them would be prospective candidates for becoming their future disciples.
The competition was slowly approaching its end, and it was finally time for the top 10 of the previous rounds to showcase their strength. Controlled beads were slowly growing in numbers. By the time it was Teng Huan's turn, the highest number of beads had reached a huge number of 42.
"I wish Brother Huan luck for the upcoming competition." Lu Ming spoke with a playful voice just when Teng Huan was climbing the stage. Although Teng Huan's had to go through some embarrassing scenarios before, he calmed his mind and began the test.
"The boy's mentality suits the path of alchemy." The Keeper conveyed his message to Lu Ming. "He could prove to be a good follower in the future."
"I guess I know what to do next." Lu Ming's smile gave a sense of unease to those who looked at it. It felt like he was plotting something.
...........
The soul beads started dropping down and Teng Huan closed his eyes, as his soul qi was released. The number of soul beads was steadily increasing. The Teng family really invested in training this prodigy, as he was not even feeling anxious even after controlling 30 beads.
The first sign of struggle started to appear after the 40th bead. More and more beads were raining down on Teng Huan, and he was trying his best to keep them afloat. The number soon reached a shocking 49.
"The Teng family is quite blessed to have such talented youngling among their ranks. He has a bright future ahead of him." Many inner elders began to appreciate Teng Hun's performance. The beads were slowly becoming dimmer with an increase in number.
Teng Huan tried his best to persist through the process. Veins popped all over his face as the number touched the 55th mark. Beads of sweat began to appear all over his face as he tried his best to keep the beads floating.
He opened his eyes with the last bit of effort and the beads fell after reaching the humongous number of 58. Teng Huan took a deep breath and slowly walked down the altar.
.........…
"Brother Teng Huan is quite a genius to have persisted for so long." Lu Ming's comment attracted many scornful eyes. Although he did shock everyone in the test of control, this was the test of soul. He might not be able to surpass Teng Huan.
"I wish you luck." Teng Huan cordially replies.
"I guess I will thank you for the stones." Lu Ming climbed up the stairs and sat in the middle of the altar. The test began and soul beads started raining down.
The number was increasing but Lu Ming was sitting there casually. 10, 20, 30, 40, there wasn't even a change of expression. This led to the audience being shocked. It was the third time someone has surpassed the limit of 40 soul beads. Lu Ming sat there with ease and the beads were slowly increasing in number.
He could feel their weight and the soul qi expended in keeping them afloat. If he were in the soul master realm, he would be struggling as of now, but the break-through to the soul grandmaster level gave a huge upgrade to his soul Qi reserves.
"This is a good exercise for my soul power." Lu Ming's statement once again led to a feeling of dissatisfaction from the public. The beads crossed Teng Huan's number and increased one by one. It slowly crossed the 60th mark, and then the 65th mark, approaching seventy. The elders, who were watching the scene casually, sat straight up in their seats.
"70 might be his limit." One of the elders spoke out. They began to comprehend the reason behind the valley head's order to watch the competition.
The 70 soul beads mark was crossed and soon enough the number was approaching 80. It was at this time that the expression of struggle finally started appearing on Lu Ming's face.
To everyone's horror, Lu Ming crossed the 80 mark too and stepped into the realm of the 80s.
"What a monster!" Those were the only words ringing within the ears of the crowd.
