Devouring Soul Emperor

Ten minutes later, Chu Qingyun opened his eyes and stared at the last cauldron.

This fourth cauldron was a full ten meters tall. Even from a distance, it had a towering and majestic presence.

Never mind lifting a ten-meter-tall giant cauldron; just looking at it was enough to feel immense pressure!

Focusing his Soul Power on the giant cauldron, Chu Qingyun’s eyes narrowed as he controlled his power to lift it.

He gave it a sudden push, but the giant cauldron didn’t budge. It didn’t even tremble.

’It’s so heavy!’

Chu Qingyun couldn’t help his surprise.

"Rise!"

Chu Qingyun gritted his teeth and focused all his energy and willpower, unleashing it upon the giant cauldron. The massive vessel trembled slightly but ultimately failed to rise.

’Damn it, am I going to be stopped at the third cauldron? I can’t accept this...’

From what Elder Qin had said before, he could infer that the better he performed in this test, the greater the reward he would receive from the senior.

And only by passing both tests perfectly could he obtain the senior’s complete inheritance!

Chu Qingyun had always taken becoming an Alchemist very seriously. He had never been one to compromise, especially regarding his Martial Soul, insisting on waiting to find the most suitable Flame Martial Soul.

’Now, with such a massive opportunity right in front of me, am I really going to fail because of this giant cauldron!?’

A wave of defiance rose in Chu Qingyun’s heart, stirring the tenacity etched into his very bones!

’So what if it’s a ten-meter giant cauldron? I *will* lift you!’

Clenching his jaw, Chu Qingyun truly gave it his all, concentrating every last shred of his will on moving the final giant cauldron.

The giant cauldron trembled continuously, the frequency of its vibrations growing faster and faster.

Finally.

After two breaths, the giant cauldron slowly rose, just a little.

By now, Chu Qingyun’s eyes were shut tight. He didn’t even look at the cauldron, simply pouring every ounce of his strength, every bit of his mental energy, into lifting it!

The giant cauldron floated up a little more. Chu Qingyun felt as if his head was splitting open, and the intense pain caused cold sweat to bead on his forehead.

But he gritted his teeth and held on!

Inch by inch, under the force of Chu Qingyun’s Soul Power, the giant cauldron slowly floated upward, its ascent steady.

Chu Qingyun felt his legs go weak, his consciousness seeming to fade away. Only a single thought remained: use every last bit of strength to lift that giant cauldron!

Just a little more.

The fourth giant cauldron finally rose, its midline reaching the same height as the other three!

"Excellent!"

Suddenly, a cheer echoed from nearby, the voice filled with undisguisable excitement.

The sound abruptly severed the connection between Chu Qingyun and the giant cauldron.

Chu Qingyun felt the pressure vanish. The world spun around him, and then, with a THUD, he collapsed to the ground.

After being unconscious for over an hour, Chu Qingyun slowly woke up.

When he woke up, his head was still a bit dizzy.

The four cauldrons were now gone. In their place was a radiant white orb of light, and above it floated countless fist-sized black holes.

"Senior, did I pass the last test?" Chu Qingyun shouted as he looked around.

He had poured all his strength into lifting the last giant cauldron, so much so that he hadn’t spared any of his Heart and Mind to even see the result.

"The Array of Cauldrons test... a perfect pass!"

Hearing this, Chu Qingyun let out a long sigh of relief and a smile spread across his face. ’All that effort wasn’t for nothing!’

"The second test is called Divine Separation."

"The previous Array of Cauldrons was a test of the strength of your Soul Power. This Divine Separation, however, tests your control over it."

"While refining elixirs, you need to be able to multi-task. You must not only control the heat from all sides but also manage the fusion of various Spiritual Medicines. You even need to reserve a part of your Heart and Mind to handle any unexpected situations. Therefore, this ability to multi-task is extremely important."

"In the Divine Separation Array, you must merge your Soul Power into that orb of light and simultaneously split off strands of white light to illuminate the black holes above."

"For a novice like you, illuminating three black holes is considered a bare pass, the minimum requirement to become an Alchemist. Illuminating five is average, eight is a sign of superior aptitude, and ten is a perfect pass."

"Soul Power is innate and very difficult to improve. However, this Distracting Technique can be trained and cultivated. You should rest for a bit. You can attempt this test multiple times."

Chu Qingyun’s perfect pass on the first test had clearly changed the senior’s attitude toward him, prompting him to explain so much more.

However, after hearing the rules for the second test, Chu Qingyun’s expression turned a little strange.

’A Distracting Technique?’

’Multi-tasking?’

’It seems I’ve been unintentionally training this ability ever since I obtained my Three-star Vine Martial Soul.’

From the Three-Star Vine to the Five-Star Vine, and then to the Ten-Star Vine, Chu Qingyun had mastered each stage step-by-step. He was capable of simultaneously controlling ten vines, each performing a different action.

Eventually, he progressed to the point where he could use his Ten-Star Vine while simultaneously executing Sword Techniques and even other Soul Techniques.

’Thinking about it now, besides the perfect compatibility with my Martial Soul, this ability to multi-task—this Distracting Technique—that I’ve trained step-by-step from the Three-Star Vine to the Ten-Star Vine must have also played a crucial role.’

It was like how people can control their left and right hands with ease, but if asked to draw a circle with the left hand and a square with the right, most would be unable to do it without extensive practice.

Realizing this, Chu Qingyun smiled.

He got to his feet, took two steps forward, and prepared to begin the second test.

"Kid, don’t you want to rest a bit? This multi-tasking isn’t as simple as it sounds," the senior kindly reminded him.

"Thank you for the reminder, Senior, but I’d still like to give it a try," Chu Qingyun said, clasping his hands.

"Fine, have it your way. I can expend a bit more energy to extend the duration of the Array for you. It’ll be good for you to get more practice..."

Having passed the first test perfectly, the senior clearly regarded Chu Qingyun with much greater importance.

Sinking his Soul Power into the orb of light, Chu Qingyun tried splitting his focus in two. He divided his Soul Power into two strands and pushed them outward slightly. Sure enough, two pointed shafts of white light emerged from the top of the orb.

’So that’s how it works. It’s just a test, no need to be too shocking. Let’s go with... twelve strands!’

With a single thought, Chu Qingyun split his Soul Power into twelve strands and sent them slowly probing out from the orb. Each strand of Soul Power was enveloped in white light.

It looked as if the orb of light had simultaneously sprouted twelve tentacles.

Carrying the white light, the strands of Soul Power traveled upward, nimbly selecting twelve black holes and channeling the light into them, causing them to illuminate.

On his very first attempt, he illuminated twelve black holes!