Reaching the pinnacle from Doupo

Chapter 295 Friend Fee, Cao Ying
The next morning.

Lin Yuan walked out of Medusa's room slowly, closed the door gently, tidied his clothes, strolled leisurely, and came to the front yard of the mansion.

In the front yard hall, eight figures sat quietly, with their eyes closed, waiting for the arrival of the host.

Among these eight people, there was a middle-aged man whose aura was exceptionally powerful. Not only did he faintly exude the power of a two-star Dou Zun, but there was also a hint of spiritual energy surrounding his brows. It was obvious that his soul had already entered the spiritual realm.

Ye Zhong stood outside the hall neither servile nor arrogant, quietly waiting for Lin Yuan's arrival.

When Lin Yuan appeared in his sight, he breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly came forward, saying respectfully: "Sir, the guests who came to watch the ceremony are here!"

Lin Yuan nodded slightly and said softly: "Yes! Thank you for your hard work. I will go to see him..."

Afterwards, he still maintained a leisurely pace and walked slowly into the hall, with Ye Zhong following closely behind him.

The moment Lin Yuan stepped into the hall, the eight people in the hall opened their eyes at the same time and looked at him together. An invisible pressure at the soul level diffused out.

However, Lin Yuan seemed unaware of anything. He walked calmly to the main seat, turned around, and sat down steadily.

The eight people looked at Lin Yuan's young face, and a hint of surprise appeared in their eyes. Then, they tacitly restrained their own auras. The brief test just now had made them understand... the person in front of them was definitely not an ordinary person.

Lin Yuan looked around the hall, his eyes fell on Ye Zhong in front of him, and chuckled, "Elder Ye Zhong, please introduce my friends to me!"

“Yes, Master Yuan!” Ye Zhong bowed his hands and said solemnly: “The eight gentlemen who came to watch the ceremony today are all well-known and wise men in the Holy Land City and the Alchemy Region. This one is the master of the Wanyao Pavilion…”

Afterwards, he introduced seven of them to Lin Yuan at once, and all seven of them greeted Lin Yuan in a friendly manner.

Finally, Ye Zhong looked at the eighth person, and a complex expression flashed in his eyes. Obviously, the relationship between the two was not that simple...

However, he did not let this emotion affect his introduction.

Ye Zhong remained calm and objective, and introduced impartially: "This gentleman is the current head of the Cao family, one of the five major families, Grandmaster Cao Mu Cao!"

"Thank you Elder Ye for the introduction!" Cao Mu nodded slightly and chuckled.

Then, he stood up and took the initiative to bow to Lin Yuan: "After hearing about you from Cao Yun, I have been looking forward to meeting you."

After a pause, his tone was more appreciative: "My friend is indeed as he said, heroic and talented..." There was not much arrogance of an eighth-grade master in his words, and he seemed quite friendly.

As the father of the demon girl of the Cao family, Cao Muyuan understood Lin Yuan's talent better than anyone else, and also understood what this talent represented...

The moment he confirmed that Lin Yuan had broken through the spiritual realm, he immediately adjusted his thinking - to do his best to befriend Lin Yuan.

The matter of annexing the Ye family is not comparable at all to the young man in front of him.

After making up his mind, Cao Mu acted decisively.

He snapped his fingers and a white jade bottle flashed out from the ring, with five tiny grains of glittering dust sealed inside.

Cao Mu's eyes flashed with a trace of pain. He handed the jade bottle to Lin Yuan and chuckled, "I heard that you are collecting soul-pregnant dust. Unfortunately, I happen to have five of these. I will give them to you as a gift for my first meeting with the younger generation of Tianjiao!"

Lin Yuan smiled slightly, took the jade bottle, and said in a deep voice: "Thank you, Master Cao! This is exactly what I need, so you're welcome! The Cao family will be my friends from now on..."

Showing off one's talent is just to attract investment.

If I refuse now, won't it discourage others? Won't it hinder my future progress? There are still people watching...

As expected, when the other seven people saw Cao Mu giving gifts, they immediately followed suit.

Not long after, Lin Yuan received another large amount of "friend fees" - eight grains of soul-forming dust, two portions of bodhi body-transforming saliva, and some precious medicinal materials.

After a brief exchange of greetings, Lin Yuan stood up and chuckled, "I should go and take the test. Everyone, why don't you go with me?"

Upon hearing this, the eight people quickly responded...

With a slight smile, Lin Yuan looked at Ye Zhong again, "Elder Ye Zhong, bring Xin Lan along! This is a good opportunity. Let her see the refining process of the eighth-grade elixir. It will be helpful for her to practice alchemy in the future..."

Hearing this, Ye Zhong quickly bowed and said, "Thank you, sir." After that, he quickly walked towards Xin Lan's courtyard.

Soon, more than ten figures came out of the mansion and headed straight for Danta.

Half a day later, several women emerged from the mansion and turned into several streams of light, rushing towards the outside world.

This elegant courtyard has regained its tranquility.
-
Danta.

Led by Elder Sheng, Lin Yuan and his party stopped outside the spacious hall on the upper floors of Danta.

"Elder Lin, President Xuankong is waiting for you in the hall, please come in!"

After hearing what Elder Sheng said, Lin Yuan nodded and said to everyone, "I will go to pay my respects to Elder Xuan. Please wait a moment." Then he straightened his clothes, pushed open the door, and walked into the hall calmly.

On the floor of the hall stood rows of bookshelves filled with the scent of ink, on which many precious classics were placed.

Under the dome of the hall, many beast fires of different colors are dotted underneath. With the interweaving of colorful flames, the hall has a more dreamy and mysterious feeling.

Lin Ran looked carefully while walking slowly between the bookshelves.

A few minutes later, he walked through the sea of ​​books and came to the open area in the center of the hall. The figures of Xuan Kongzi and a girl in black appeared in his sight.

Hearing the noise, the two people who were teaching stopped what they were doing, turned around at the same time, and looked at Lin Yuan intently.

"Lin Yuan, you're here!" Seeing the person coming, Xuan Kongzi's eyes showed a smile and he said gently.

“Greetings, Master Xuan!” Lin Yuan stepped forward quickly, bowed, and said respectfully: “Lin Yuan, as agreed yesterday, I am here today to take the eighth-grade alchemist assessment. I’ll have to trouble Master Xuan for this assessment…”

"It's just a small matter. It's my duty!" Xuan Kongzi waved his hand casually and said playfully, "Did you invite those people outside to watch the ceremony?"

Lin Yuan nodded slightly and said frankly: "I will be staying in Danta for a long time in the future, so I need to build some connections. I asked the elder of the Ye family to help me choose some partners who I can get along with. I will take this opportunity of the assessment to show them my value."

"Good, very thoughtful consideration!" Xuan Kongzi praised.

He was quite satisfied with this matter in his heart... After all, the fact that Lin Yuan paid attention to these trivial matters showed that he was serious about joining Danta.

"When traveling outside, you really need more friends! It just so happens that I want to introduce a friend to you..."

With a slight smile, Xuan Kongzi stepped aside and introduced the girl next to him to Lin Yuan: "This is my disciple, Cao Ying from the Cao family. You must have heard of her, so I won't introduce her in detail. I hope you can take care of her in the future..." "Since she is the younger generation of Master Xuan, this is natural!" Lin Yuan nodded and chuckled.

He turned to look at the girl in black. "The name of the 'witch' of the Cao family has been circulating in the Dan Region for a long time, and I have heard of it a long time ago. After seeing her today, I can see that her beauty and talent are indeed well-deserved. Hello, Miss Cao, I am Lin Yuan..."

Having said that, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he looked closely at Cao Ying who was standing next to Xuan Kongzi.

The girl's delicate face was now clearly presented before his eyes.

Judging from her face, Cao Ying was not very old, about seventeen or eighteen years old, but she already possessed stunning beauty.

She was wearing a tight black dress, with her long black hair casually draped over her shoulders, adding a touch of softness and elegance. Her graceful figure and snow-white skin were even more graceful against the black dress, exuding a charming charm.

The girl's cheeks were slightly thin, but like fine porcelain, they exuded an extraordinary refinement.

In those narrow and slightly lazy eyes, there was a hint of enchantment and charm, as if it could easily touch people's hearts and make people fall in love with it.

Looking at Cao Ying, the words "pretty lady" suddenly emerged in Lin Yuan's mind.

In terms of appearance, among the people Lin Yuan knows, Cao Ying is currently on par with Qing Lin, and they are also the same age.

However, Qinglin and Cao Ying have quite different temperaments. Unlike Qinglin's lovable temperament, Cao Ying's temperament of coldness, arrogance and seductiveness is more likely to arouse men's desire to conquer her.

However, when it comes to this aspect, Lin Yuan is an exception.

There are two main reasons for this: first, Cao Ying is still young and immature; second, Lin Yuan has seen her ultimate evolved form - Medusa.

If Cao Ying is called a "pretty lady", then Medusa can be called a "stunningly beautiful lady".

In terms of mixed and contradictory temperaments, among the many beautiful women Lin Yuan has seen, Medusa is the ultimate in this regard. The contradictory temperament of coldness, arrogance and charm is just one of the many mixed temperaments she possesses.

Lin Yuan has traveled around and seen many beauties, but in terms of temperament and beauty, Medusa has always been ranked third and first, especially after her evolution.

However, Cao Ying's cultivation is quite extraordinary.

At the age of seventeen, his cultivation had already reached the peak of Dou Wang. In terms of soul, he was even more outstanding and had reached the level of a sixth-grade peak alchemist.

According to Lin Yuan's inference, this woman's strength is probably much stronger than Mu Qingluan.

However, Cao Ying looked at the elegant young man in front of her, and a hint of doubt emerged in her eyes... Is this person in front of her really a peerless genius who surpasses herself?

Since she was born, Cao Ying has been a legend, the pride of the Cao family and Danta, and the undisputed number one among her peers.

Until this morning, her teacher Xuan Kongzi told her that a genius named Lin Yuan, a genius of the same generation as her who was three years older than her, would take the eighth-grade assessment today, and asked her to observe and learn together.

Three years older than me, that means I’m twenty years old. A twenty-year-old eighth-grade alchemist...how is that possible?

Even she, according to her teacher Xuan Kongzi, could be promoted to the eighth rank before the age of 25, but that would also require some opportunities to accomplish...

Cao Ying released her soul perception, sensed the young man who was smiling gently, and then was slightly startled.

She, who always had a strong soul perception, could not feel any soul fluctuations from the other party, nor could she see the other party's cultivation. You know, even her father, an eighth-grade three-color alchemist, could vaguely feel something.

Could it be that Lin Yuan is stronger than his father's soul? Impossible... Absolutely impossible...

Cao Ying's beautiful eyes were filled with a bit of solemnity, and she said in a deep voice: "You are Lin Yuan who is going to take the eighth-grade assessment? Are you really an eighth-grade alchemist? What is the eighth-grade?"

Facing Cao Ying's three questions with one click, Lin Yuan just smiled casually, "Miss Cao, you will know soon." Feeling the calmness and casualness in Lin Yuan's tone, Cao Ying's face was slightly stunned. After a moment, a strange color appeared in her eyes.

Due to her top-notch talent in alchemy and her extraordinary appearance, she has always been the center of attention, especially among the younger generation, and has been loved and paid attention to by everyone.

Whether in the Cao family or in Danta, other men of the same generation would be a little nervous in front of her. She always answered every question and responded to every request...

However, the young man in front of her with deep eyes really didn't seem to care about her - his attitude towards her was quite casual, and the look in his eyes when he looked at her was very calm, without the hint of passion in the eyes of other men of the same age.

However, this attitude actually aroused Cao Ying's rebelliousness... Why did this man do that? Was it because he was an eighth-grade alchemist?
Thinking of this, a strange light flickered in Cao Ying's beautiful eyes. If someone knew her well, they would be able to see at this moment that this enchantress of the Cao family had a strong desire to win in her heart.

As for the target of this strong desire to win, it is unknown...

Xuan Kongzi waved to the two of them and said, "Lin Yuan, Ying'er, follow me to the assessment site!" After that, he walked out of the hall.

"Yes, Mr. Xuan!"

Lin Yuan responded and followed. Cao Ying also took two quick steps and followed Lin Yuan side by side.
-
The eighth-grade assessment site is located in a special square on the top of the Danta Tower.

This place is one of the best places for Danta to refine medicine.

The eighth-grade assessment is usually not held in secret, but semi-publicly. Some qualified people in the tower will receive the news and come to watch the ceremony. In addition, the assessor is also qualified to invite some people to watch the ceremony.

Of course, if the examinee has his own requirements, he can also choose to hold it publicly and become famous in the entire Dan Region...

Lin Yuan had no need for this kind of fame, so he naturally chose a semi-public assessment.

Besides the ten people he invited, the old spectators included the two giants Xuan Kongzi and Tian Leizi, five of the eight elders, and many grandmasters and masters in the tower, as well as their younger generations...

The appearance of every eighth-grade master is a great blessing for Danta and the alchemy world, enough to make many people stop what they are doing.

And for the younger generations, seeing an eighth-grade master making pills will be of great benefit to their future practice of alchemy.

"There are quite a few people watching the ceremony..."

Walking to the center of the square, Lin Yuan looked around, his lips curled up slightly, "It's been a long time since I last made an elixir in front of people, I can't mess it up!"

With a light chuckle, Lin Yuan sat cross-legged on the central stone platform, closing his eyes and adjusting his state.

And in his mind, the recipe for a pill and the many carefully studied details of its refining kept flowing through his brain.

Upon seeing this, the alchemists lowered their voices and looked at the unusually young man on the stone platform in amazement, even though they knew that their noisy voices would be filtered out by the spatial fluctuations set up around the stone platform.

At a certain moment, Lin Yuan slowly opened his eyes, and with a thought, a red medicine cauldron fell to the ground with a "bang".

(End of this chapter)