Chapter 176: Mysterious Gray-Robed Person

"Hehe, it seems that Miss Xian'er still holds a slight edge," chuckled President Fa Ma, looking at the four dazzling green beams in the square, especially the one that shone like a deep imperial green.

"Haha, after all, she's the only one among the participants who refined a high-quality pill," laughed the esteemed individuals.

Hai Bodong frowned slightly, muttering, "That Xiao Yan isn't bad either. If it wasn't for his Purple Flame suddenly disappearing and being replaced by ordinary Dou Qi flame earlier, he might have finished refining his pill ahead of Liu Ling, and the quality would have been higher."

"Indeed, that's true," everyone agreed. "That Xiao Yan is just slightly inferior to Miss Xian'er, which is already quite remarkable."

Wei Yang smiled, thinking, "It was because he ran out of Dou Qi, so he had no choice but to put away the tier-six beast flame and switch to the ordinary Dou Qi flame."

Earlier, during the refining process, Xiao Yan had already taken medicinal pills twice to restore his energy.

Although practicing the Flame Mantra had been upgraded to a middle-level Xuan class due to the Purple Flame and the Green Lotus Core Flame, Xiao Yan's own level was still too low. He was just a one-star Dou Grandmaster, and it was naturally unsustainable to control a tier-six beast flame, especially since he failed once, leading to a shortage of Dou Qi.

President Fa Ma obviously also noticed this. He smiled and was about to speak when his expression suddenly changed, and he made a small exclamation. His gaze swept over the large square before finally stopping at a remote corner.

There, a figure wrapped entirely in a gray robe was slowly putting a pill into the testing machine.

"What's the matter?" everyone asked, following Fa Ma's gaze and seeing his reaction, they were slightly taken aback.

"That person," Fa Ma narrowed his old eyes, a spark flashing in his cloudy eyes.

Tapping his fingers lightly on the armrest, he whispered, "That guy seems quite strong."

"Oh?" The esteemed individuals were a bit surprised, closely observing the man in the gray robe, then slightly frowned, wondering, "There's nothing unusual to be seen."

"You're not alchemists, so your perception of soul strength isn't very clear, but in my perception, that guy's soul strength is very strong!"

President Fa Ma said, "It's probably much stronger than Liu Ling, Little Yue'er, or Xiao Yan."

"In the field, the only one who can match his soul strength is Miss Xian'er. At this level, I remember when Gu He participated in the Alchemy Conference back then, his soul strength wasn't as strong as his," Fa Ma said, frowning tightly and staring down.

"What?!" The esteemed individuals were astonished, even shocked.

This conference had already been incredibly impressive with Xian'er's presence, and now there was another?

And someone previously unknown?

President Fa Ma looked at Wei Yang, "Wei Yang, what do you think?"

Everyone turned their gaze to Wei Yang, who was a sixth-grade master, naturally having stronger soul power than President Fa Ma, making his words more convincing.

Wei Yang looked at the man in the gray robe, a slight curve at his lips, and said softly, "Yes, his soul strength is very strong, enough to rival Xian'er... Mid-class plain soul, intriguing."

"Mid-class plain soul?" The esteemed individuals were slightly puzzled.

President Fa Ma's pupils contracted slightly, understanding what was meant.

Wei Yang glanced at the puzzled crowd and explained, "You can understand it as a Dou Zong level soul. Would this make it clearer for you?"

"A Dou Zong level soul!" Everyone was dumbfounded and exceedingly shocked as they looked at the man in the gray robe, a monumental wave roaring in their hearts.

President Fa Ma was also stunned. A mid-class plain soul was only a notch below his own.

Fa Ma himself was at the peak of the mid-class plain level.

...

With the pill entering the testing machine.

After a moment.

Boom!

The stone platform in front of the man in the gray robe suddenly burst with a brilliant green pillar, its brightness slightly surpassing Xiao Yan's, almost comparable to Xian'er's imperial green!

Two equally intense imperial green jade-like beams stood in the field, shining together.

This unexpected change almost instantly attracted all the attention in the square.

When everyone saw that the creator of such a light was a man curled in a remote corner, they couldn't help but be shocked.

Barely able to believe their eyes.

On the central bluestone platform, the eyes of Xian'er, Xiao Yan, and the others were similarly drawn immediately to the scene.

Seeing a beam able to contest her own, Xian'er's expression froze.

They then slightly frowned, looking at the mysterious person fully cloaked in the gray robe.

Unexpectedly, at the critical moment of distinguishing the superior, such a formidable person emerged abruptly.

Moreover, judging by his physique and position, he was clearly not among those who took part in the internal guild test earlier.

"Could he be a freelance alchemist?" the four murmured softly.

Liu Ling clenched his fist.

Another one!

He's now been pushed down to the fourth rank.

The little princess fared worse, directly falling to fifth, the bottom among the five, her mouth slightly pouting.

Xiao Yan ranked third.

As for the first and second, it's hard for everyone to judge at this point.

One could say it's Xian'er, or that the man in the gray robe seems reasonable too.

Xiao Yan slightly pursed his lips, eyes fixed on the man in the gray robe. In his intuition, he felt that this mysterious gray-robed figure might be another formidable opponent in this conference, no less than Xian'er, extremely troublesome.

And apparently sensing the gaze from Xian'er and the others, the gray-robed man slightly lifted his head, revealing a pale, youthful, but icy face. Under the cover of his hat, within the shadows, a pair of eyes flickered with faint blue light, casting a cold glance over the four.

"Who is this guy?" Astonished by this powerful opponent who suddenly appeared, the four were full of surprise, looking at each other with confusion, clearly not recognizing him.

...

In the VIP seats.

"Che Mier, give me his information," President Fa Ma abruptly turned to Che Mier, speaking solemnly.

With a stranger, a young individual with such formidable soul strength suddenly appearing, how could they not pay serious attention?

You must know, the rule for the Alchemy Conference is to be under thirty.

Under thirty, with Dou Zong level soul strength?

What a joke!

Not everyone is Xian'er!

Xian'er, at least, was a six-star Dou Huang!

A young man?

The esteemed individuals were all solemn.

And Che Mier acted swiftly, having sensed something was amiss when Wei Yang mentioned the other's soul strength.

He quickly identified the position of the gray-robed individual and, retrieving a stack of files from his storage ring, searched rapidly through them.

Soon, a sheet with details recorded on it was presented before everyone.

Wei Yang's eyes casually swept over the paper.

On the sheet, the sketched image was indeed of the mysterious gray-robed figure.

But this time, the figure had a clear facial close-up, features clearly presented.

It was a face with blue eyes, and a cold, pale teenage look; he seemed only sixteen or seventeen.

This age was strangely young, more so than shockingly so.

If they had been unaware, it was one thing.

Now, everyone took a deep breath, a shiver running through them.

Sixteen or seventeen?

A Dou Zong level soul?

What a joke!

Starting soul cultivation in the womb wouldn't be this exaggerated!

Che Mier handed the information to Fa Ma.

President Fa Ma frowned slightly, reading carefully, word by word. After a moment, his expression changed, "He's an alchemist from the Cloud Empire!"