Invincible Soul Emperor-Chapter 223: First Place in the Sect Competition, Qingyun Sect

Although everyone had already guessed the outcome from the pill fragrance, they still watched the Qingyun Sect’s Alchemy Furnace with blazing gazes.

When the Alchemy Furnace was finally opened, a dark-green Spirit Pill floated into the air, rotating at an extremely slow pace. Only then did the crowd erupt in a torrential wave of cheers.

"A dark-green Spirit Pill! Just from the color alone, you can tell the quality is definitely high!"

"The Spirit Pill from the Heavenly Profound Sect was only light green. It seems the Qingyun Sect’s pill is of far superior quality!"

"The Qingyun Sect is truly formidable, especially that young man. He swallowed a Spiritual Fire and was unharmed, then burst forth with such incredible potential!"

"You must not know! That young man was constantly creating miracles during the youth competition. We’ve all grown used to it!"

As the cheers and discussions continued, Ye Qingchen’s feats were mentioned repeatedly. The breathtaking miracle of igniting the furnace, producing a result, and maturing a pill all within three minutes was a spectacle to behold. Despite only being a third-grade Alchemist, he had successfully refined the exceptionally challenging fourth-grade Bone Tempering Pill, and its quality even reached the special grade! Now, he had swallowed a Spiritual Fire to help his sect successfully refine a seventh-grade Spirit Pill! These deeds, one after another, were being celebrated by the people.

"Qingchen, are you alright?" Pavilion Master Zhang asked, looking at Ye Qingchen with concern.

Ye Qingchen shook his head and replied, "Thank you for your concern, Pavilion Master Zhang. I’m fine!"

Pavilion Master Zhang finally relaxed. He then retrieved the Spirit Pill and walked toward the judges’ stand. At this moment, Emperor Cai Wentao was already on his feet, his eyes revealing an eager expression.

Pavilion Master Zhang gave a slight bow to Cai Wentao before handing him the seventh-grade Spirit Pill. Cai Wentao’s hands trembled slightly. The quality of this Spirit Pill was, unquestionably, superior to the one from the Heavenly Profound Sect! After the final assessment, the seventh-grade Spirit Pill refined by the Qingyun Sect was determined to be of high grade!

Cai Wentao reined in his excitement and announced loudly, "I declare that the final winner of the Sect Battle in this Grand Alchemy Dao Contest is the Qingyun Sect!"

"Hooray!" Li Zongrui couldn’t help but jump up and cheer the moment Cai Wentao finished speaking.

Qin Yue threw herself into Qin Zhantian’s arms, pumping her tiny fists in excitement. The crowd of more than 20,000 spectators also roared with applause for the splendid scene, cheering for the Qingyun Sect!

Cheng Zhibin stared blankly at the celebrating crowd, then collapsed to the ground, the color draining from his face. It was only after Xiong Bin helped him up that Cheng Zhibin slowly came to his senses, his numb expression twisting into one of pure rage.

"Master, I’m filled with such bitter resentment! If I had just been decisive and bought that jade stone that day, Ye Qingchen could never have turned the tables like this! That Ye Qingchen is detestable!"

Xiong Bin patted Cheng Zhibin’s shoulder and shook his head helplessly, but said nothing.

At this time, Cai Wentao finished announcing the remaining rankings and instructed the guards to distribute the appropriate rewards to each sect. After this was done, he departed in a hurry.

"Zhibin, let’s go. When we get back, focus on your cultivation. In the next Grand Alchemy Dao Contest, we will crush the Qingyun Sect under our feet!" Xiong Bin said to Cheng Zhibin after receiving the storage ring from a guard.

The championship was supposed to belong to the Heavenly Profound Sect, but Ye Qingchen had ruined everything. Not only had they lost the title, but their reward was also cut from two hundred thousand low-grade Spirit Stones to one hundred thousand. Although Xiong Bin was extremely indignant, there was nothing he could do. After all, in a head-on clash, the Heavenly Profound Sect would be no match for the Qingyun Sect!

Just as the members of the Heavenly Profound Sect were preparing to leave, Li Zongrui leaped onto the stage, blocking their path. "Where do you think you’re going?" he said in a mocking tone, looking at the group from the Heavenly Profound Sect.

Cheng Zhibin was already fuming over losing the championship. Now, with Li Zongrui blocking his way, his anger boiled over. "Where we’re going," he replied coldly, "is none of the Qingyun Sect’s business, is it?"

Li Zongrui laughed heartily, ignoring Cheng Zhibin. He pointed a finger at Xiong Bin and said, "People of the Heavenly Profound Sect, don’t forget the wager you made—whichever side loses must kneel and kowtow in surrender. Are you planning on reneging on the bet?"

Li Zongrui’s words made the faces of the Heavenly Profound Sect members turn even uglier, but they couldn’t refute him. As he said, they had been the ones to propose the wager. His laughter also drew the attention of those who had yet to leave the venue. Everyone still clearly remembered Xiong Bin’s arrogant words on the stage earlier. They all waited with relish to see the Heavenly Profound Sect make a fool of themselves.

Naturally, the disciples and elders of the Qingyun Sect noticed the commotion and crowded around. The disciples of the Qingyun Sect had long despised the actions of the Heavenly Profound Sect. Now that they had finally achieved a hard-won victory, they couldn’t help but taunt their rivals.

"The Heavenly Profound Sect used despicable means to win the second match and thought they were invincible. They dared to bet against our Qingyun Sect, so now they have only themselves to blame for this humiliation!"

"Weren’t you all from the Heavenly Profound Sect so arrogant just a moment ago? Why are you silent now? Struck dumb?"

"Hmph! I thought the Heavenly Profound Sect had some real skill, but look at you now, all wilted and silent. Cat got your tongue?"

"Qingyun Sect, don’t push your luck!" Xiong Bin snarled, his face ashen as he glared at the crowd from Qingyun Sect.

"Pushing our luck?" At that moment, Vice Pavilion Master Liu walked over, a sardonic look on his face. "Xiong Bin, you should ask yourself. In the beginning, it was you who proposed the wager. We’re only asking you to keep your promise. How is that pushing our luck?"

Xiong Bin was rendered speechless. I was so sure of victory back then, which is why I proposed the bet. The goal was to thoroughly humiliate the Qingyun Sect after we won. I never expected the Heavenly Profound Sect to fail. The bet had become a classic case of me shooting myself in the foot!

Seeing Xiong Bin’s predicament, Xiong Hai knew what was at stake. If we actually follow the wager and kneel to the Qingyun Sect, the Heavenly Profound Sect will lose all face. We’d never be able to show our faces in the sect again. But if we don’t honor the bet, I’ll have to find a suitable excuse, especially with so many people watching.

With this in mind, Xiong Hai turned his gaze to Pavilion Master Zhang. "Pavilion Master Zhang," he said, "must we really take things to the point of a complete fallout?"