Invincible Soul Emperor

Chapter 206: 206 Chapter Too Magical

”Look at that kid!”

It was unclear who first cried out in astonishment, but all eyes in the stands suddenly fixed upon Ye Qingchen.

”My God, why is his Ironwood Flower growing so quickly? Wasn’t it said that Ironwood Flowers are extremely difficult to cultivate?”

”Yeah, they say an iron tree blooming is a rare sight, but this kid’s Ironwood Flower went from sprouting to full bloom in only three minutes!”

”Heavens, what am I seeing? This is a miracle! I doubt even the Pill Kings could achieve this, right? But this kid is clearly just a third-grade Alchemist!”

The crowd in the stands was abuzz with discussion, punctuated by gasps of amazement.

Even Emperor Cai Wentao’s gaze lingered on Ye Qingchen’s Ironwood Flower. He nodded slightly, and a knowing smile appeared on his face.

”Pavilion Master Zhang, did you see that? Qingchen really did it!” Vice Pavilion Master Liu called out to Pavilion Master Zhang beside him, unable to contain his joy.

Pavilion Master Zhang just smiled and nodded. I suspected something from the moment Ye Qingchen chose the seed. Although Ye Qingchen cultivated the Ironwood Flower slowly, I saw no sign of anxiety on his face. This only strengthened my conviction that the seed he had chosen must be extraordinary. Based on his understanding of Ye Qingchen, Pavilion Master Zhang knew that while the boy was young, his mind was incredibly steady; he would never attempt anything he wasn’t completely sure of.

Qin Yue’s anxiety vanished. She excitedly grabbed Qin Zhantian’s arm, relieved of the worry that had plagued her just moments before.

”But there are less than ten minutes left in the competition. It has only just bloomed. What will he do now?” Li Zongrui muttered, torn between wanting Ye Qingchen to bring glory to the Qingyun Sect and not wanting him to steal the limelight.

Li Zongrui’s words cast a shadow of worry over the faces of those present. That was right; the flower had only just bloomed. Next, it had to bear fruit, and then the fruit had to mature—another lengthy process. It had taken the other Alchemists several hours to complete this step, and now Ye Qingchen had only a few minutes left.

On the platform, Cheng Zhibin realized this as well. He quickly suppressed his astonishment and said to Ye Qingchen with disdain, ”Even if you made the Ironwood Flower bloom, without bearing fruit, you still have no score!”

Cheng Zhibin was actually quite rattled. The sight of the Ironwood Flower blooming had been too shocking, and he feared Ye Qingchen might genuinely pull off another miracle. That’s why he spoke mockingly, aiming to disrupt Ye Qingchen’s state of mind. He knew that the later stages of cultivation required stricter control over one’s mind and Soul Power. The slightest distraction could lead to complete failure.

Thinking this, Cheng Zhibin continued, ”Ye Qingchen, you can only blame yourself for wasting so much time picking a seed. With only a few minutes left, let’s see what you can possibly do.”

As if intentionally trying to infuriate Cheng Zhibin, the moment he finished speaking, the vibrant flowers on Ye Qingchen’s plant began to wither. A light breeze swept by, carrying the falling petals away.

Then, where the blossoms had been, unripe green fruits began to form.

”Impossible! How can it be so fast!” Cheng Zhibin couldn’t help but cry out again. It had taken him nearly an hour to go from flowering to bearing fruit.

And now Ye Qingchen’s Ironwood Flower had fruited in three minutes? Was this something a third-grade Alchemist could really do?

Cheng Zhibin swallowed hard, staring resentfully at the Ironwood Flower in front of Ye Qingchen.

”A miracle! A true miracle! It bore fruit in just three minutes, that’s unbelievable!”

”Flowering in three minutes, fruiting in three minutes. Is that even humanly possible?”

”And his Ironwood Flower actually bore nearly sixty fruits! Isn’t the limit for an Ironwood Flower supposed to be thirty?”

The audience’s astonished gasps were electrifying. Some curious onlookers began counting the fruits on the Ironwood Flower—there were a full fifty-eight!

”Pavilion Master Zhang, if I’m not mistaken, the seed Qingchen selected must be special, right?” Vice Pavilion Master Liu also sensed something was unusual, but he wasn’t certain and turned to Pavilion Master Zhang for clarification.

Qin Zhantian and Qin Yue also looked at Pavilion Master Zhang with curiosity, hoping he would solve the mystery for them.

However, Pavilion Master Zhang seemed to enjoy keeping them in suspense, merely smiling without a word. It made everyone itch with curiosity, but they were helpless to do anything about it.

At this point, on the stage, Cheng Zhibin finally buckled under the pressure and began to panic. The miracle of a flower blooming and then fruiting in mere minutes was simply too shocking. If Ye Qingchen is allowed to continue like this, he might actually perform another miracle.

Thinking this, Cheng Zhibin cast his dignity aside and shouted to Princess Cai Yunji, ”Your Highness, isn’t time up yet? Shouldn’t the results be announced?”

Hearing Cheng Zhibin’s shout, Princess Cai Yunji frowned. A sense of disgust for him grew in her heart as she replied coldly, ”There are still four minutes left!”

Hearing the princess’s icy tone, Cheng Zhibin dared not say more. He could only channel his fear into rage, screaming hysterically at Ye Qingchen, ”Ye Qingchen, there are only four minutes left! Even if you produced fruit, as long as they aren’t ripe, you still have no score! In the end, you’ll just be a laughingstock!”

However, Ye Qingchen continued to ignore Cheng Zhibin’s hysteria.

This made Princess Cai Yunji frown again. I once thought Cheng Zhibin was a talent worth nurturing, but his character is truly awful. The purpose of the Alchemy Dao Grand Competition is to provide a platform for alchemists to exchange knowledge and test their skills. Victory is important, but for someone like Cheng Zhibin to repeatedly try to disrupt Ye Qingchen’s state of mind goes against the competition’s very spirit. Such behavior is utterly despicable. Besides, she was now quite curious to see if Ye Qingchen could create another miracle.

And indeed, Ye Qingchen did not disappoint. The moment the Ironwood Flower’s fruits appeared, they began to grow at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The fruits shifted from their initial green to a light purple, and finally, to a deep purple!

This meant the Ironwood Flower’s fruits were fully mature!

However, Ye Qingchen seemed unsatisfied and continued channeling his Soul Power to ripen the fruits further.

Purple fruits? And are those threads of Thunder Attribute power? I see... Cai Yunji nodded, finally understanding how Ye Qingchen had managed to accomplish such a feat.

The seed Ye Qingchen had cultivated was a Thunder Attribute seed, the most difficult of all types to nurture