Spirit's Awakening: The Path of Lightning and Water-Chapter 384: How Many Pill Clouds?

The competitors had already processed and mixed their ingredients, and the earliest eliminations had begun. Now came the most critical test of their skills—the actual refinement and bottling processes.

For the pill refiners, this meant compressing their pill essences to the absolute limit, ensuring purity and maximizing medicinal potency before retraining the round spheres and storing them inside the typical corked-glass bottles.

For the potion brewers, this was the moment they would finalize their elemental fusions, balancing the volatile energies within their elixirs before pouring their final products into vials.

Up in the VIP section, Lassim leaned slightly forward, arms crossed, his storm-filled eyes scanning the field. The tension among the competitors reached its peak.

All across the stage, the air was thick with the scents of potent herbs burning, extracted essences swirling through the air, and the crackling of lightning-infused flames struggling to remain stable under pressure.

The first failure came from the potion brewing side—and it was spectacular.

A young female disciple, her Personal Disciple robes were well worn and signs of her effort as alchemist were shown through her slightly singed sleeves from the heat of her brewing station.

She hovered her hands carefully over her cauldron, guiding her mana into the distillation flask with a steady breath. Her potion had a deep sapphire glow, rippling with faint arcs of lightning.

It looked stable. But—

A single mistake occurred.

Her hands trembled for just a moment as she poured in the final catalyzing extract. The two liquids met and curdled instantly.

A violent BOOM erupted from her station as the potion collapsed, releasing a shockwave of violet mist.

She barely had time to throw up a defensive barrier before the entire flask detonated, sending shards of glass and scorched residue scattering across the stage.

The audience gasped at the sudden eruption.

Niko winced, shaking his head. "Ah, that’s rough! Overloading the elemental infusion at the final stage—classic mistake for this potion! That’s going to be an automatic disqualification as I can tell her spare materials were caught in the explosion, unfortunately."

The failed contestant stood frozen, completely pale, before slumping in defeat. No Elder came like the previous disciple, but a pair of Alchemy Division attendants that helped set up the stations earlier swiftly arrived at her station, ushering her off the arena platform as she kept her head down, devastated.

And just as she disappeared into the exit tunnel—

Another failure.

This time from the pill refining side.

A male disciple with short dark, almost black but still purple hair, his face drenched in sweat, struggled to compress his medicinal essences. His cauldron trembled, the golden liquid inside swirling chaotically as his hands shook. He was too slow.

The moment he tried to force the compression—

POOF!

His entire batch collapsed into ash.

What had once been a glowing golden pill essence disintegrated into a pile of worthless dust, floating upwards pitifully into the air.

The contestant’s eyes went wide in horror, his lips parting in disbelief. His trembling hands reached forward, as if to somehow stop what had already happened—

But it was too late.

Niko’s voice rang out. "Oof. That’s another one down! Overcompression of the essence, a very common mistake among pill refiners attempting this level of refinement! Without perfect balance, the medicinal energies will simply refuse to solidify! He’s a bit short on time, but he’s still got herbs to spare, can he pull off a miracle?!"

The failed contestant slammed his fist onto his workstation, his face twisted with frustration as he began working hastily through the previous steps in a desperate attempt to refine a new batch.

And then—

A third one fell.

A potion brewer once again this time, a slightly older disciple, had managed to keep his brew stable—or so it seemed. His potion was in its final moments of refinement, its liquid swirling with a promising blue liquid with a remarkable golden sheen.

But the moment he transferred it into his final containment flask—

The color shifted.

Instead of maintaining its luminous glow, it darkened into a sickly, murky sludge. The contestant’s face fell immediately.

"…No," he muttered under his breath, hands trembling as he watched his potion turn into nothing more than useless dregs.

Niko let out a low whistle. "Ahhh, for those unsure of what just happened, we call this a classic case of miscalculated heat retention! The potion was too cold when it was transferred, causing a complete collapse in elemental stabilization! If he had noticed the golden sheen earlier, usually a promising sign in many other potion recipes, he would’ve known that for this particular recipe it spells not an omen of success but instead DOOM! Looks like he wasn’t as familiar with this recipe as he should’ve been. And just like that, another one bites the dust as it seems this was already his second batch of herbs and extracts!"

The coliseum crowd buzzed with murmurs and reactions, watching as yet another failed competitor was escorted off the field.

The eliminations weren’t stopping.

One by one, competitors were making critical mistakes—and each time, the consequences were unforgiving. This just showed the incredible difficulty of the potion and pill recipes that the sect had chosen to test the Personal Disciples that had joined in the last 5 years. This harsh test was meant to prove their teacher’s efforts, explanations and consistency in pushing their pupils to high levels with solid foundations. Each failure just spoke of the inadequacies of their master’s teachings.

On the pill refining side, another disciple attempted to speed up their essence compression by infusing too much lightning mana at once—only for their cauldron to explode outward in rejection, scattering glowing remnants of failed pill powder into the air.

Another eliminated.

On the potion brewing side, a contestant tried to take a shortcut, skipping the proper pouring technique—only for their brew to destabilize, releasing a wave of noxious fumes that had to be immediately dispelled by one of the nearby alchemy division attendants.

Yet another eliminated.

And then, just as the dust began to settle—

The first finalist finished.

Lassim’s attention was pulled back to Tessa Myren, the potion brewing prodigy.

Her Life-Lightning-infused mixture had remained completely stable the entire time, its vibrant emerald glow shimmering within her cauldron.

Now, she carefully raised a glass vial, her hands steady as she ladled the final potion into it. The crowd held its breath as she lifted the finished product into the air.

Despite the stormy skies above, despite the dimly lit arena, her potion reflected light like a flawless gemstone, its liquid shifting between emerald green and sapphire blue as it caught the faintest flickers of lightning in the distance. On the projection screen, her potion looked like liquid crystal.

Niko grinned, pointing toward the screen. "Oh? Oh?! Look at that clarity! You can see straight through the liquid without a single impurity! That is textbook Earth-grade potion refinement! Her Life-Lightning constitution has even added some additional effects to it, visible through those added emerald green colors we see in the shifting luminescence. Wonderful! I’d wager two months of my disciple resource allocations that this would qualify as a Top Level Earth-Grade potion too."

The crowd erupted into cheers.

Even Volten gave an approving nod, "That’s a rare level of purity. The potion could be improved slightly, but only just. Overall, that’s an incredibly refined product. Elder Gwen, congratulations. You must be proud."

Elder Gwen, standing with the rest of the elders beside him, gave a confident smile, her arms crossed as she watched her disciple stand tall with her finished elixir.

Tessa remained composed, offering a small bow of respect toward the judging panel. Her expression wasn’t arrogant, but self-assured. She had done her best, and she knew it. An attendant came to take the completed vials over to the official judges for their review and scoring.

"What a beautiful potion. I bet that first place for Potion Brewing is all but secured," Lassim murmured, still watching the perfect clarity of the potion.

Niko’s voice boomed again.

"And with that, Tessa Myren is the first competitor to officially finish their refinement on either of the sides! Now, let’s turn our attention back to the Pill Refiners’ side!"

The projection screen immediately zoomed in on Calem Vren, who was deep in his final compression.

His three pills hovered just above his cauldron, glowing in a rich golden hue, medicinal energies swirling within them as they neared completion. Then, a thin, mist-like aura began rising from them.

The audience gasped and Niko’s voice rose in excitement.

"There it is! The formation of Pill Clouds!"

Calem’s expression remained calm, his control precise as the soft golden mist curled above his pills.

More clouds began to form.

One.

Two.

Three.

A fourth cloud began to emerge—but something wasn’t right.

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Lassim caught Volten’s gaze narrowed slightly and smile turn into a frown via his Spirit Sense as they watched. Even some of the Alchemy Elders seated below furrowed their brows in subtle confusion.

Niko hesitated for a split second before speaking. "It… appears that Calem has managed to form four clouds! That’s an exceptionally rare result! However… something about the fourth cloud seems… thin?"

Lassim saw it clearly now. The first three pill clouds were dense, vibrant, signaling proper refinement. But the fourth was barely holding together—as if it was being forced into existence.

Volten exhaled through his nose, slightly irritated, as he explained to Lassim, "He’s using an advanced compression technique to force the fourth cloud into existence. A trick that may fool his fellow disciples, but we’ve seen it before."

Lassim raised a brow. "A trick?"

Volten’s eyes released a few orange sparks, "A clever one, but a trick nonetheless. Rather than letting the medicinal essence naturally stabilize, he’s using his lightning control to artificially overcompress the last bit of pill energy—just enough to create a visual illusion of a fourth cloud. It’s incredibly wasteful of some of the extra medicinal properties just to create this false cloud."

Lassim tilted his head, watching closely. "Will the judges known it’s a fake cloud then?"

Volten chuckled. "Of course. They wouldn’t by my Lightning Sect Elders if they were fooled by some brat. They’re already frowning."

The judging panel had indeed noticed. Several Alchemy Elders were exchanging silent glances, their expressions neutral but clearly evaluating Calem’s results with careful scrutiny and low favoritism.

Elder Varis, Calem’s mentor and master, didn’t seem bothered. His arms remained crossed, his expression unreadable.

But before any final verdict could be made or announced by Niko, a new development caught the announcer’s attention.

Niko suddenly whipped his head toward the front stations of Pill Refining side, eyes widening as through his spirit sense he noticed another competitor finishing their refinement.

"Wait—hold on!" he shouted. "I think we may have another contender for the top spot! Quickly! Station 12!!!"

The projection screen shifted.

A young man, barely noticed before now, had just completed his refinement process—and the results were staggering. The pill clouds rising from his cauldron were already thicker than Calem’s. Not just thicker—denser, more stable, and more vibrant.

The moment Lassim saw it, his gaze sharpened immediately.

Niko’s voice rose in excitement.

"Everyone—This is the reason for our Elder Summit competitions! Brag all you want and brew as many potions and pills as you desire through the year to rise in the rankings… but in the end, who cares! As long as you strive your hardest on the competition day, you may create a miracle!!! We have an underdog who might just upset the entire competition!!"

The entire coliseum buzzed with sudden electric anticipation as the pill clouds were forming.

Even the Alchemy Elders, who had been focused on the favorites Calem and Tessa, turned sharply to observe the new contestant.

Lassim asked, "Who… is that?"

Volten’s frown turned into a smirk again, "Well… it looks like this just got interesting."

The crowd leaned in, waiting, watching, as the unknown disciple stepped back from his cauldron—his expression calm, composed.

And above his pills—

Six.

Six perfectly formed, incredibly dense pill clouds. One should know that the maximum number of clouds by even the best Elders typically only reached 9 out of the mythical 13 total pill clouds possible.

A sharp, heavy silence fell over the arena.

Then—

The entire coliseum exploded into a deafening chaos of cheers.