Beast Tamer Ascension

Vol 3 Chapter 25: The Path to the Crown

Finally obtaining information on a flame that could burn lifespan, Lin Jing felt his spirits lifted—it seemed that mastering the Heavenly Demon Physique was just around the corner.

The first-place prize in the Pill Assembly was not determined by the pill’s grade but rather by its impact…

It seemed to be encouraging alchemists to pursue innovation, bringing transformative change to the cultivation world.

This competition format was incredibly favorable to Lin Jing. Thanks to his collection of "special plants," he had plenty of top-tier pill formulas at his disposal…

For instance, the Dining Pill—without a doubt, it could bring significant changes to the cultivation world…

However, Lin Jing had a major problem—all of his pills relied on the unique ability of his Glazed Immortal Eyes, making them nearly impossible for others to replicate.

Would Tongtian Tower be willing to trade a top-tier exotic flame for a pill that was difficult to reproduce? That was a huge concern.

"No, it’s not an issue," Lin Jing reassured himself. "My previous deal with Shenji Manor and now this transaction with the female alchemist prove it."

Jie Geng noticed Lin Jing deep in thought and asked, "So, are you satisfied with this information?"

"Yes."

Lin Jing raised his hand slightly, and several bottles of Gluttonous Pills floated toward Jie Geng.

"If I have time, I’ll come take a look at this Pill Assembly."

Jie Geng smiled. "The next Pill Assembly is in a few years. Here, take this participation token."

She tossed him a jade token before leaving the Nameless Pill Pavilion, having achieved her goal.

After Jie Geng left, Lin Jing sat back in his wooden chair and pulled out some books detailing the history of the Pill Assembly…

The last champion was a sixth-rank alchemist from Tongtian Tower.

Their winning pill was the Heavenly Human Pill, a sixth-rank pill that guaranteed a Nascent Soul cultivator would fully comprehend celestial energy and ascend to the Soul Formation stage.

The champion before that was a demon beast alchemist from the Toad Clan.

They refined the Tadpole Pill, which guaranteed that a child would inherit one parent’s cultivation physique.

The one before that was the Ginseng King, a sentient plant.

It refined the Lightning-Avoiding Pill, which made the user almost completely immune to lightning-based techniques and natural tribulation lightning—especially useful for surviving heavenly tribulations. РÄ₦ОꞖÊŠ

After reading, Lin Jing fell into deep thought.

As expected, this was a true alchemy competition with no racial discrimination.

For three consecutive assemblies, the champions had all been from different races.

Compared to the Ancient Kingdom, Qingzhou was far more open-minded.

Then again, it made sense—although Tongtian Tower was human-led, it had demon beast disciples as well. Allowing non-humans to compete was logical.

Lin Jing also realized the difficulty of the competition.

Whether it was the Rising Dragon Pill, Gluttonous Pill, Pain Pill, or even the Solar False Core he had yet to perfect—none of them could completely surpass those winning pills.

"For centuries, Nascent Soul cultivators relied on creating avatars to comprehend celestial energy and ascend to Soul Formation. The Heavenly Human Pill wasn’t the first pill to assist in this breakthrough… but it was the first to have a 100% success rate."

"The Tadpole Pill… ignoring the ridiculous name, its effect was astounding. Cultivation physiques aren’t always hereditary. Take Xia Yan, for example—he has an Acquired Fire Spirit Body instead of inheriting his father’s Innate Fire Soul Body, making his talent much lower. For factions that emphasize bloodline inheritance, especially those with Innate Divine Physiques, this pill would be invaluable."

"The Lightning-Avoiding Pill… heavenly tribulations are one of the few truly uncontrollable disasters. Weak cultivators can’t possibly withstand them, so this pill would drastically increase the survival rate of weaker cultivators."

These pills all had game-changing effects, though their refining difficulty was surely just as high…

Regardless, Lin Jing knew that his current pill formulas were still lacking compared to these.

Even the Solar False Core, which he had just begun to conceptualize, wouldn’t be enough.

False Core techniques already existed in the cultivation world. While they were rare, adding one more wouldn’t shake the system. In terms of impact, it probably wouldn’t even surpass the Dining Pill.

However, the Dining Pill had its own issue—its low grade.

At most, it could help with the digestion of fourth- or fifth-rank spiritual materials. Once a cultivator’s realm advanced too high, it became ineffective.

It couldn’t help high-level cultivators digest treasures beyond their limits—it only worked for lower-level cultivators.

Even though the Pill Assembly claimed to judge only a pill’s impact, Lin Jing didn’t fully believe that.

Looking at past champions, almost all winning pills benefited powerful cultivators.

Pills that benefited low-level cultivators were acknowledged but rarely took first place.

And the Dining Pill was a pill that benefited low-level cultivators.

Moreover, it was not cost-effective.

Even with digestion-enhancing pills, low-level cultivators still couldn’t fully absorb high-grade resources—there was always waste.

No faction could afford to train an entire generation of young cultivators using sheer wasteful consumption.

High-level resources were better spent directly on already-powerful cultivators, making them even stronger.

Xia Yan’s case was an exception, not the rule.

"In the end, power still belongs to the strongest cultivators. If I want to win the next Pill Assembly, I need to create a pill that truly appeals to those above the Nascent Soul stage."

Lin Jing sighed.

To achieve that, he would need to refine at least a fourth-rank pill.

…

Fire Qilin Dragon was right—it really couldn’t be avoided.

After all, Lin Jing could only refine third-rank pills at present.

But the Fire Qilin Dragon, thanks to its Rare Beast Physique and exotic flame fusion, could already refine fourth-rank pills.

Once it reached Core Formation, refining fourth-rank pills would be effortless.

Fortunately, back when he was in Thousand Illusions Mountain, Lin Jing had mastered the Beast Taming Sect’s Fusion Secret Art—Immortal Rebirth.@@novelbin@@

Without a background, sending the Fire Qilin Dragon to compete alone in the Pill Assembly would be dangerous.

But with Immortal Rebirth, it could escape most dangers like a cicada shedding its shell.

"Roar!!!"

Inside the meditation staff, the Fire Qilin Dragon assured Lin Jing that it would be fine.

"How could I be at ease?" Lin Jing scoffed. "You’ve been following me since you developed intelligence—you haven’t experienced real hardships. Even if you’re now an emperor-tier Fire Annihilation Dragon, in my eyes… you’re still just a little carp."

Fire Qilin Dragon: !!!

"I’ve decided. Before you go to the Pill Assembly, I’m going to release you on your own. You need to gain real experience and toughen up."

"Ever heard of The Adventures of Little Carp?"

Fire Qilin Dragon: !!