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After ten long days of travel, Yang Fan finally laid eyes on the most prosperous city in Soul Land:
Tian Dou City!
Before him rose granite walls over 100 meters tall. Soldiers clad head-to-toe in armor patrolled both atop and below the ramparts. Though faint traces of soul power flowed through them, their strength was unremarkable.
The streets were wide and immaculate, lined with bustling shops and throngs of people—a vivid testament to the grandeur of an imperial capital.
Yang Fan arrived just as night fell. He wandered to the city's outskirts and settled in a quiet, seldom-visited bamboo grove.
Don't let his status as the Breaking Clan's young master fool you—his finances were tight.
Thanks to the Spirit Hall's relentless suppression, the clan's alchemy business had never truly recovered.
Two months of grueling training had drained most of his money, and he still needed to save what remained for purchasing medicinal herbs.
At this point, where he slept made no difference.
Since his martial soul awakening, he'd grown accustomed to spending nights in meditation—cross-legged, refining his energy.
Yao Lao held the freshly unearthed Blue Silver Emperor in his palm and suddenly said, "Little one—I'm ready to begin."
The finest ingredients require only the simplest preparation.
This hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor was already a divine treasure in its own right. Aside from its soul bone, adding any other herbs would only dilute the pill's potency.
"Master, what can I do?" Yang Fan asked, nerves fluttering even before the process began.
"Guard me," Yao Lao replied.
Yang Fan knew his master likely didn't need protection—but it gave him something to do, however trivial.
In the next instant—
A cauldron materialized in Yao Lao's hands.
Jet-black and massive, it radiated profound stability. Its surface was etched with swirling flame patterns that seemed to burn with inner fire.
"Master… is this the Black Demon Cauldron?"
Ranked 8th on the Heavenly Cauldron List in the Dou Qi Continent, it was a legendary artifact among alchemists.
"Yes," Yao Lao confirmed. "This is the Black Demon Cauldron I told you about."
He'd never used it before—not even when crafting the Qi-Gathering Pill, which he'd refined casually in his palm using Heavenly Flame alone.
But this time was different. This was a hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor.
With a wave of his translucent hand, torrents of Dou Qi surged forth.
Pale-white Bone Chilling Cold Flame erupted from his palm, engulfing the hovering cauldron in intense heat…
The Blue Silver Emperor, sensing its fate, thrashed wildly—its slender leaves whipping in desperation.
But it was futile.
The moment it was uprooted, its destiny was sealed.
Yao Lao tossed it into the cauldron. Minutes later, the Blue Silver Emperor's right leg bone followed.
Yang Fan watched, transfixed.
Damn it—I really want to learn this!
The more he realized he wasn't ready, the stronger that yearning grew.
About two hours passed…
Yang Fan could now clearly smell the faint, ethereal fragrance wafting from the cauldron.
Then—the atmosphere shifted.
Outside, the sky darkened unnaturally. A massive black cloud loomed over Tian Dou City.
"Pill… Pill Lightning?!"
Even if Yang Fan had never seen it before, he knew exactly what was coming.
Pill Lightning was the heavenly trial that struck upon the completion of high-grade pills.
Starting at Grade 7, pills gradually developed spiritual intelligence. Such treasures, capable of stealing the essence of heaven and earth, inevitably provoked the heavens' wrath—manifesting as a lightning tribulation to prevent their creation.
And this was it.
Though Yao Lao had crafted an extraordinarily high-grade pill for him, Yang Fan felt no joy—only dread.
Even Dou Huangs (Emperors) dared not face Pill Lightning head-on.
And unlike certain protagonists in other stories, he didn't have the cheat skill of "getting stronger every time he's struck by lightning."
BOOM—!
BOOOOM—!
The clouds parted—and Pill Lightning revealed its terrifying visage.
In an instant, the darkened city was bathed in blinding light. With a deafening CRACK!, the lightning bolt descended from the heavens.
Just then—a flash of white!
Yao Lao's soul shot into the sky above the bamboo grove. Arms outstretched, body spinning, he wove his Bone Chilling Cold Flame into a tangible shield of defense.
KABOOOM—!
A lightning bolt as thick as a barrel slammed into Yao Lao's soul. The explosion roared like the sky itself was tearing apart.
The shockwave blasted downward—even with his martial soul activated, Yang Fan felt as if every bone in his body was about to shatter.
In moments, the entire bamboo grove lay in ruins.
When Yang Fan regained his senses, Yao Lao hovered before him.
"Master…"
Though in soul form, Yao Lao clearly looked weakened.
After all—that was Pill Lightning!
"I'm fine," Yao Lao smiled weakly. "It wasn't as strong as I feared."
He opened his palm—and a sky-blue pill slowly rose from his hand.
No bigger than a marble, its surface swirled with irregular golden patterns that shimmered brilliantly under the moonlight.
"Blue Emperor Soul Bone Pill—Grade 6."
All fatigue seemed to vanish from Yao Lao in that moment.
"Thank you, Master!" Yang Fan took the pill—but didn't swallow it immediately. Instead, he asked, "Master, I thought only Grade 7 pills could summon Pill Lightning?"
"Good memory," Yao Lao nodded approvingly. "You're absolutely right."
"Pill Lightning is indeed a hallmark of Grade 7 pills—because that's when they first develop true spiritual intelligence, which triggers the heavenly tribulation."
"This Blue Emperor Soul Bone Pill is only Grade 6… but it already possesses nascent sentience. That's why it drew a minor Pill Lightning."
Precisely because it was Grade 6—not higher—Yao Lao had managed to withstand the strike.
Of course—
There was another reason: this was the Douluo Continent.
Here, Pill Lightning was significantly weaker than in the Dou Qi world.
"You foolish boy—we need to leave. Now."
Yang Fan understood.
Such a spectacle couldn't go unnoticed.
This was Tian Dou City—the imperial capital, where Title Douluos could appear at any moment.
He quickly gathered his things and fled toward the city center…
…
Spirit Hall.
Salas, wearing his five-pointed platinum crown, gazed toward the direction of the lightning strike.
"Follow me!"
His instincts screamed: a powerful expert had entered Tian Dou City.
Identity unknown.
As the Spirit Hall's chief in the capital, he had to monitor every anomaly.
…
By the time Salas and several Soul Saints from the Spirit Hall arrived, all that remained was a scorched bamboo grove—and no trace of the culprit.
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