Death... and me

The Alchemy competition did go well, but nothing surprising came out of it. Roan wasn't joking when he said he wasn't confident in getting any amazing result. There were too many new herbs and concocting methods that he wasn't able to check yet.

Of course, if he had used the Alchemy Repository's tools, he definitely could have done much better. However, they were different from Rean's Circuitry Runes. Rean's runes were things made on the spot with the materials available. Roan's alchemy tools, on the other hand, had to be taken out to be used.

For the sake of fairness, no one was allowed to use their own cauldrons, pestles, mortars, and such. Instead, they were given identical ones. It was basically a copy of the alchemy test Roan had in the Sasamil Empire, but with just one match. The one who made the best quality pill would win, that simple.

They had their own formations that could be used to test a pill's property. Roan didn't do that badly, though. He chose a Cross-Realm Pill to concoct. Even though Roan was in the Silver Middle-level, his pill ended up between the Silver Peak-level alchemists' pills. It was all thanks to his Dark and Light Element-based purification, which shot his pill level to the roof. The only thing that puzzled others around him was why his hair changed to black and white during the concoction. Fortunately, no one bothered to ask as everyone had their own ways of practicing alchemy.

Back in the elders' room, Ranmgues was delighted to see Fugo back out. After all, Roan's performance was definitely much better than what Fugo could achieve. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to get a reward in Divine Stones.

Nevertheless, Roan still caught a lot of attention. After all, his pill ended up in the top 30, considering he was still in the Middle Stage of the Soul Transformation Realm. The Alchemist Guild Branch Leader also made up his mind to talk with Roan after the assembly was over. He was very curious about the purification method Roan used.

Once Roan returned to the Lukimira Sect's group, he didn't seem disappointed at all. Rean then shrugged his shoulders as he asked, "I guess you saw everything you wanted to see, huh?"

Roan glanced at Rean for a moment and nodded. "Indeed. I think I understand how those nine alchemists reached the Golden-level while still in the Initial Stage of the Saint Realm. I have a lot of things to look into after this assembly is over."

Wamil and the others were still surprised by Roan's performance. A pill in the top 30 was proof of Roan's high alchemy talent. Roan didn't seem to care about their cheering, though.

As for Fabio, he didn't waste time. The moment the alchemists finished their test, he immediately opened the spatial door for the next competition. "Soul Power Cultivators, you can come ahead now. The Soul Power test is about to start. Those who won't take part in this test can simply wait outside."

It was then that Rean looked at Roan, telling him, "You have to participate as well."

Roan narrowed his eyes in response as he replied, "You do know that your Soul Power is slightly higher than mine."

"I know," Rean nodded in response. "However, the second and third place also get a prize in Rank One Divine Stones! Divine Stones are worth quite a lot, so we should take as many as we can."

Roan pondered in silence for a little and nodded in the end. "Alright."

Just like that, both twins entered the Soul Power competition. Not only them, though. The last disciple of the Lukimira Sect that came with them, Kilau, also followed behind. "Seems like we are in this together."

Rean and Roan nodded, and they just so happened to pass by the Spatial Door when Trinio was there as well. "Hey, Rean. So, no more hiding?"

Rean smiled in response, telling him, "Yep. You can wait for a spectacle from my brother and me this time around."

Trinio obviously knew that Rean was the so-called Jaspion. "Your brother too?! Well, you are twins, after all." Trinio couldn't help but sigh as he muttered, "I guess one's genes really matter."

Rean smiled but didn't say anything.

In the elder's room, Ranmgues couldn't help but let out cold sweat. 'Both twins are taking part in this test?' He then looked at Kayla, who seemed to be as surprised as him. 'Could it be that she didn't know they had Soul Power?' Then again, if Ranmgues' disciples didn't enter the Soul Power Contest this time, his sect would use the last chance available for them. Well, it wasn't as if Ranmgues could talk to the disciples inside there.

Of course, the Qianbel Sect disciples noticed when Rean, Roan, and Kilau moved to participate in the test. "Should we not enter this test as well?" Everyone asked as they looked at Tuly.

However, Tuly shook his head. "We only have one more absence available. We better use it for something else like the Free For All Battle." Tuly then looked at another disciple from his sect. "Plinio, it's up to you now. They might just be pretending that they are good at Soul Power, so don't be afraid. Give it your all in the test."

Plinio immediately nodded. "Alright, Tuly. I'm going"

After the last participant passed through the spatial door, it disappeared. Inside, the elder responsible for the test immediately started to talk. "I'm Erfalis, the one presiding this test. Alright, the Soul Power Contest has three phases, as shown on the board outside."

"The Soul Power Strength Test. This one is pretty obvious. The one with the highest score wins."

"The Soul Power Manipulation Test. As the name says, we will test your capability of fine controlling it. Usually, the stronger the Soul Power, the harder it is to keep stable."

"Last but not least, the Soul Power and Divine Energy Synergy. Soul Power is always used to support Divine Energy. The better the synergy, the stronger and better you can use them in several situations. We'll see just how good you are at combining these two."

After that, Erfalis pointed behind him. "The Soul Power Measurement Formations are right behind me. We will test you all one by one to make sure no one is cheating."

However, just as Erfalis was about to call the first name, he received a Divine Sense Message from Fabio. After all, the restrictions to communication didn't apply to the ones responsible for the assembly. 'Leave those twins for last, understood?'

Erfalis was taken aback after hearing that. However, he quickly recovered. 'Yes, Senior Fabio.'