Chapter 209: Chapter 146: A Storm is Approaching
Before stepping out, Lu Yun felt he should let Qu Feng and Di Qing know about his intentions to participate in the Fourth Grade Alchemist assessment.
After a series of inquiries, he learned from Di Ruoling and others that Qu Feng and Di Qing did not return yesterday.
With that, Lu Yun set out alone.
Just as he stepped outside rhe tavern, he heard a muffled noise coming from afar.
Rumble!
The ground shook, as if an earth dragon was turning over.
Immediately afterwards, they saw a rapid galloping of iron hooves, trampling on the stone-paved ground, raising dust in the air.
On the flat and wide ground, a large number of horses galloped, followed by numerous elite soldiers, all at least veterans in the Body Tempering Realm, strong-willed and possessing a strong spirit of aggression.
Among these elite soldiers, there were several giant apes walking, carrying heavy crossbows on their shoulders and other large-scale weaponry, all heading towards the city gate.
At the very front of the army were commanders and generals riding Fierce ligers and Wild Lions, the creatures under them emanating powerful auras, at least Fourth Rank or higher.
in the sky outside the city, faintly visible were huge dark shadows covering a vast area.
“Those are Black Boats, at least a thousand of them!”
Seeing the dark sky, Lu Yun’s eyes were filled with an astonished look.
“What happened to dispatch a 1OOO Black Boats?”
Lu Yun thought about it, then withdrew his gaze and quickly headed towards the Alchemist Union building.
Somehow, seeing the army set out and the Black Boats in the sky, he had a feeling that something significant happened in Ling Province, otherwise such a large-scale army would not be mobilized.
Passing through the bustling streets, the massive complex of the Alchemist Union soon came into view.
By now, it was no longer as lively as before outside the Alchemist Union.
Lu Yun noticed that the Alchemists entering and leaving the main entrance all walked quickly, looking hurried.
“The army has set out, has even the Alchemist Union sped up?”
With this doubt in mind, Lu Yun quickly approached the entrance.
With his Third Grade Alchemist identity, he easily made his way into the main hall, where he looked around, pondered for a moment, then approached a relatively elegant looking Alchemy Apprentice walking past and pulled him to a stop.
At first, the beautiful female Alchemy Apprentice was slightly annoyed when she was pulled aside, but after seeing Lu Yun’s face, her beautiful eyes narrowed, and a look of excitement appeared on her pretty face. She timidly asked, “You… are Lu Yun? The Lu Yun who won the championship in yesterday’s Alchemy Conference?”
“Mhm…” Lu Yun nodded slightly and asked in a whisper, “Do you know the location of the Spirit Martial Prefecture Division President?”
“Ah, you really are rhe Alchemist Lu Yun!” Upon receiving confirmation, the female Alchemy Apprentice’s mouth opened wide, her eyes sparkling with excitement. After some time, she recovered, pointed to a quiet area with fewer people, and laughed, “All the Division Presidents of Ling Province and the Elders of the headquarters are in that area, apparently discussing some important matters.”
“Haha, thank you!” Lu Yun smiled faintly, expressed his thanks, and walked towards the quieter area.
Before entering, he was stopped by two guards, but seeing the Third Grade Alchemist Badge on Lu Yim’s chest, their attitude was relatively polite.
“Please inform rhe President of the Spirit Martial Prefecture Division, Qu Feng, and Elder Di Qing that Lu Yun is here to see them.11 Lu Yun smiled at the two strong-looking guards in front of him.
“Lu Yun?” The two guards looked slightly surprised when they heard this name, then quickly reacted.
As of yesterday, the news of Lu Yun winning the Alchemy Conference had already been spread, and anyone with a certain status or within the Alchemist Union system was aware of it.
Glancing at the Third Grade Alchemist Badge on Lu Yun’s chest, and then at his young face, the two guards knew that he was the person in question. They immediately stepped aside, and said to wait shortly. One of them went inside the building to relay the message.
Lu Yun waited at the doorway quietly with his hands tucked into his Star Robe, eyes half closed.
With the improvement of his Alchemy Technique, his Spiritual Power was also enhanced, greatly improving his five senses.
Standing at the entrance, he could faintly hear hurried footsteps around him, and even occasionally pick out whispered conversations.
Before he could listen carefully to the nearby conversations, a hurried figure approached him.
A moment later, Lu Yun opened his eyes slightly and saw an elderly figure.
“Lu Yun, how did you get here?”
Seeing Lu Yun, Di Qing’s face was filled with joy and surprise.
“After a day of rest, 1 have recovered to my peak state and am ready to rake the assessment for a Fourth Grade Alchemist.”
Lu Yun had originally wanted to inquire about what he had seen and heard on the road earlier, but for now, it was more important to focus on the Fourth Grade Alchemist assessment. Once he became an honorary executive of rhe Alchemist Alliance headquarters, someone would naturally tell him everything.
Hearing Lu Yun’s words, Di Qing shook his head with a bitter smile, saying, “You just refined the fire seed yesterday. I’m afraid you may nor even be able to control the spiritual fire well enough at this point, and using it to refine pills would undoubtedly be a waste of spirit herbs. Why don’t you wait until you’ve adapted a bit more, and come back for the assessment once you can control rhe spiritual fire at will.”
“Is controlling spiritual fire difficult?” Lu Yun asked with some surprise. After he had refined the White Lotus Flame’s fire seed, it had completely merged into his bloodline, and with just a thought, the spiritual fire could be easily mobilized like Aura Origin. However, judging from Di Qing’s rone just now, it seemed that some time was needed to adapt after refining the fire seed.
“Hehe, of course. Only spiritual fire can be used to refine Fourth Rank pills, so refining the fire seed and possessing spiritual fire are rhe prerequisites for becoming a Fourth Grade Alchemist. Most alchemists refine beast-born fire seeds, which are relatively easier to refine. Even so, it takes one to two months to completely master them. As for you, who has obtained a natural fire seed, it’s even more difficult to master. Considering this, it’s only fair to give you three months to pass the Fourth Grade Alchemist assessment.”
Lu Yun nodded slightly, smiling, “Because of my Aura Origin attribute, I am relatively close to the spiritual fire, and 1 have already mastered it.”
As he spoke, Lu Yun bent his fingers, and a strand of white flame leaped out from between his fingers.
Then, one strand after another…
Strands of white flame appeared in front of Lu Yun. Under his control, the size, shape, and power of the flames changed as he wished.
Seeing Lu Yun’s superb control of fire, Di Qing’s smile on his face suddenly froze, and his eyes stared intently at Lu Yun.
After a long time, Di Qing spoke slowly, “Are you sure you just refined the fire seed yesterday?”
“I indeed got the fire seed yesterday.” After saying that, the white flame in front of Lu Yun suddenly swelled, forming a white lotus seat. The surrounding space was twisted by the scorching heat, and even rhe light was slightly shifted.
Seeing this white lotus seat flame, Di Qing finally confirmed that it was undoubtedly the White Lotus Flame.
However, the power of the White Lotus Flame seemed terrifying.
He suddenly found that all common sense seemed illogical when applied to Lu Yun. Perhaps this was why Lu Yun was so extraordinary.
After pondering for a short while, Di Qing decisively slapped Lu Yun’s shoulder heavily, saying, “Come with me.”
They arrived in front of a building that looked like an Alchemy Furnace.
Seeing Di Qing approaching quickly with Lu Yun, a man in a black robe came out. Judging from the silver badge he wore on his chest, he was a Fifth Grade Alchemist.
Apparently recognizing Di Qing, he came out with a light laugh, asking, “What are you doing here instead of attending the meeting?”
And then he turned his eyes back to Lu Yun, looked at him for a while, and revealed a thoughtful expression.
“Ao Tuo, conduct the Fourth Grade Alchemist assessment for Lu Yun.” Di Qing didn’t bother with pleasantries and went straight to the point.
“He just got the fire seed, right?” Although he said this, he didn’t slack and immediately arranged for the attendants to register Lu Yun.
With Di Qing present, and considering Lu Yun’s extraordinary identity, everything was handled very quickly. After paying the registration fee of fifty spirit crystals and choosing the Fourth Grade pill he needed to refine, Lu Yun entered the Alchemy Room.
In the Alchemy Room, there was a huge Alchemy Furnace, which was purple in color, intricately constructed, and fully functional.
Compared to this furnace, Lu Yun’s own was simply like scrap metal.
On the green stone platform next to the Alchemy Furnace, there was a purple jade mirror.
After an alchemy apprentice placed two sets of materials for refining the Three-Striped Azure Spirit Pill and then excused himself, the stone door of the Alchemy Room closed slowly, leaving only Lu Yun inside.
In the surveillance room outside the Alchemy Room, there was a large mirror that allowed real-time viewing of the scene inside the Alchemy Room.
Looking at the mirror, Ao Tuo laughed and asked, “The Spirit Martial Prefecture Division may not have been doing well these past few years, but surely you can afford to let an Alchemy Conference champion try his hand at refining a few Fourth Grade pills!11
At these words, Di Qing smiled faintly, “We would have liked to let Lu Yun try, but he is just too extraordinary! “