Chapter 2023: Perhaps One Day

"Go, scout again!" Yun Yi said through gritted teeth.

The servant acknowledged and quickly withdrew.

Yun Yi's expression was extremely grim. He had initially thought Ye Yuan was just a pretentious grandmaster, but who would have guessed that even a mere maidservant of his could defeat a renowned alchemy prodigy of the Southern Domain.

More importantly, that girl was only a five-star Divine Alchemist!

"Could it be... that Ye Yuan really is an alchemy grandmaster?" Zheng Buqun said hesitantly.

Yun Yi sneered, "An alchemy grandmaster over a thousand years old? Have you ever seen one? Unless he is a personal disciple of the Medicine Ancestor, otherwise... don't even think about it!"

Zheng Buqun was taken aback and felt he had overthought it.

To reach the grandmaster level, one must at least be in the middle or late stages of the Dao Realm.

Breaking through in alchemy is extremely difficult—not to mention the Dao Realm, even the Initial Realm is immensely challenging.

Only at the Cloud Alchemy Convention could one see so many experts in the middle, late, or even peak stages of the Initial Realm.

As for the Dao Realm, there are far too few!

And once one reaches the Dao Realm, every bit of progress is extremely arduous.

Take Piao Yu Venerable, for example; it took countless years of accumulation to reach his current realm.

Even so, without exceptional talent, even given millions of years, one might not necessarily reach the Dao Realm Perfection.

Most participants in this Cloud Alchemy Convention were alchemist prodigies around three to five thousand years old. Yun Yi, reaching the early Dao Realm at his age, was already a phenomenal talent.

As for grandmaster, how could that be possible?

"Heh, if he could reach the grandmaster level at this age, wouldn't that make not just us, but even Grandfather and Piao Yu Venerable, a laughingstock?" Yun Yi sneered.

Zheng Buqun nodded, "Brother Yun is absolutely right! It seems this girl does have some skill, but defeating Du Ruofei was just a stroke of luck!"

Yun Yi nodded, "That should be the case."

However, the subsequent developments completely exceeded their expectations.

Before long, the servant returned to report: "Ning Siyu versus Jia Qing, complete victory!"

"Ning Siyu versus Song Fang, complete victory!"

...

As news came in one after another, everyone in the private room was utterly dumbfounded.

One or two victories could still be attributed to luck.

But taking down seven or eight in a row—could that still be luck?

This battle lasted four days and four nights.

By the end, Yun Yi and the others were already numb.

Ning Siyu fought over twenty matches without a single defeat!

Such strength stunned countless onlookers.

By now, the East Street Market was packed, with more and more alchemists drawn to the scene.

"How can this girl be so strong? She looks only a step away from the Dao Realm!"

"Judge the master by the servant—could this Grandmaster Ye truly be the number one alchemy prodigy?"

"Is this girl here for the Cloud Alchemy Convention? With such strength, who among the five-star Divine Alchemists can rival her?"

...

The audience gasped in admiration, now utterly in awe of Ning Siyu.

To dominate a group of six-star prodigies with the strength of a five-star Divine Alchemist—such a feat was enough to make her famous.

At this moment, Luo Yue was sweating profusely, his shock beyond words.

He was no nobody; his alchemy had reached the late Initial Realm, just a step away from Perfection.

Yet even so, after two hours of battling Ning Siyu, he was firmly suppressed.

Now, he was powerless to turn the tide.

Over the past few days, he had been observing Ning Siyu.

From initial disdain to shock, then to awe, he had long lost his earlier contempt.

But he still had confidence in himself.

Based on his observations, Ning Siyu's alchemy strength was only at the late Initial Realm, similar to his own.

However, he was older than Ning Siyu and believed he wouldn't lose to her.

Yet after the battle began, he quickly realized he was wrong!

Ning Siyu's alchemy flowed like water, as vast and unending as the sea, leaving no openings.

In the two-hour contest, he couldn't find a single opportunity.

Suddenly, he felt Ning Siyu's aura growing stronger and sharper.

Luo Yue felt as if his opponent had descended like a celestial being, her presence becoming overwhelmingly majestic.

A powerful aura crushed down like a tidal wave.

Pfft!

Finally, unable to bear it, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

He stared at Ning Siyu in shock, utterly incredulous.

"She... she actually broke through!"

Ye Yuan watched Ning Siyu with a gratified expression.

The reason he had brought Ning Siyu to Cloud Alchemy Grand Capital was to give her an opportunity to break through.

With so many prodigies gathered, this was clearly the best training ground.

Ning Siyu did not disappoint him. Under Ye Yuan's immense pressure, she fought more fiercely and finally broke through to the Initial Realm Perfection.

With this step, she could now aim for the Dao Realm.

"Initial Realm Perfection! A five-star Divine Alchemist reaching Initial Realm Perfection—what... what extraordinary talent!"

"Why have we never heard of such a prodigy before?"

"Could this girl really have been trained by Grandmaster Ye? But... but he is even younger than her!"

...

Exclamations surrounded them, and now their doubts about Ye Yuan's strength began to waver.

At this moment, Ning Siyu slowly opened her eyes and said calmly, "What is so remarkable about a five-star Divine Alchemist reaching the Initial Realm? The master had already entered the Dao Realm when he was a three-star Divine Alchemist! He is the true prodigy!"

Having broken through to Initial Realm Perfection, Ning Siyu felt her mindset had completely changed.

She had originally thought she was no match for the scions of great families.

But now, she was full of confidence!

Among her peers, she could find no rival.

Hadn't these six-star Divine Alchemists all fallen before her?

Yet the more she realized this, the more she found Ye Yuan unfathomable.

If comprehending the Initial Realm was so difficult, how had Ye Yuan grasped the Dao Realm while still in the Insightful Realm?

Was he not worthy of being called the number one alchemy prodigy?

In Ning Siyu's heart, even the Medicine Ancestor might be no more than this.

But her words caused an uproar among the crowd.

"What? Three-star Divine Alchemist, Dao Realm? This... this can't be a joke!"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! If that were true, wouldn't all so-called prodigies become a laughingstock?"

"This girl, even if she won, doesn't need to hype that guy up like this! Who would believe such words?"

...

Ning Siyu reaching Initial Realm Perfection as a five-star Divine Alchemist was already shocking enough.

Now she claimed that Ye Yuan had comprehended the Dao Realm as a three-star Divine Alchemist—that was utterly preposterous!

If he was in the Dao Realm as a three-star Divine Alchemist, what realm would he be at now as a six-star Divine Alchemist?

At this moment, Ye Yuan slowly stood up, walked over to Luo Yue, and said calmly, "It seems your strength is not enough to earn the right to challenge me. Go back and train some more. Perhaps one day, you will be qualified to challenge me."