Chapter 45: Challenge the Profound Class Trial

The best way to deal with Poison Ants is to use fire attack.

Although Xiao Yan still cannot directly materialize his Dou Qi flame and must rely on the Alchemy Furnace and Magic Core to ignite the furnace fire, nonetheless, the Alchemist's skills are still Xiao Yan's own abilities.

Boom—the moment Xiao Yan violently flung open the lid, the Rank Two Fire Attribute Magic Core, fully ignited by Dou Qi flame, erupted in terrifying flames.

Xiao Yan used his Soul Force to control the flame, shaping it into a fire dragon that surged toward the dense swarm of Poison Ants.

Seeing the fire dragon charge, Zhang Chuanwu did not panic—he laughed instead. He had seen too many Alchemist furnace fires; though he could not refine Elixirs, he too owned an Alchemy Furnace, just used for refining poison.

"Furnace fire? True, Poison Ants fear yang extremes and dread flame. But my Poison Ants have been refined through the Poison Gu Technique, evolved and bred for three generations within my body—each one now wears a Poison Dou Qi Gauze Cloak. How could your Rank Two Magic Core's furnace fire possibly harm my Poison Ants?!"

Puff! The fire dragon opened its mouth and "swallowed" all the Poison Ants whole, coiling in midair like a ball of flame encasing countless insects.

Buzzzzz!! Strangely, the Poison Ants still moved freely within the fireball, as if utterly immune to the heat.

Xiao Yan shook his head, placed both hands on the furnace's fire inlet, and said calmly: "Too bad—my flame isn't ordinary. Though only a few strands, it's still Bone Spirit Cold Fire. Dealing with these Poison Ants is more than enough."

A few strands of pale white Bone Spirit Cold Fire coalesced into a long white needle—this technique of Xiao Yan's was precisely the "Needle Threading Flame Control" once used by Hun Xu Zi when refining Poison Pills and purifying Medicinal Materials!

Xiao Yan memorized the technique in one glance and successfully stole it!

When the Poison Water Ants saw the pale white Heavenly Flame needle emerge from the fire dragon, they all froze in terror, hissing as they turned and fled—clearly terrified of the needle formed from Heavenly Flame.

Know this—it's a Strange Flame! And it's the eleventh-ranked Strange Flame on the list! Strange Flames are the most yang and forceful substances on the Continent of Fighting Qi, and those born of heaven and earth are the natural enemies of all poisons!

Indeed, the Poison Water Ants, long fed by Zhang Chuanwu's Poison Dou Qi, were immune to ordinary Alchemy Furnace flames, let alone Xiao Yan's lower cultivation level—but encountering Heavenly Flame was like meeting their ultimate predator.

Even if Zhang Chuanwu were a Great Dou Master, even if his Poison Ants were twice as strong, once touched by Heavenly Flame, death was the only outcome.

Shhh-shhh-shhh!!! Under the Needle Threading Flame Control of the Heavenly Flame, not a single Poison Ant could resist—Poison Dou Qi Gauze Cloaks meant nothing. Xiao Yan's Soul Force had even earned Hun Xu Zi's praise; without any postnatal training, such innate Soul Force made him unquestionably a born Alchemist.

The fire dragon was merely a seal, preventing the Poison Ants from escaping—the true killing blow came from the few strands of Bone Spirit Cold Fire forming the Heavenly Flame needle!

"Come back!!" Zhang Chuanwu's heart bled—he had nurtured those Poison Ants!

By the time Zhang Chuanwu dragged his grievously wounded body toward Xiao Yan, intending to attack, all the Poison Ants had already been obliterated by Xiao Yan's controlled Heavenly Flame needle—not one left.

Seeing the Poison Ants reduced to ash, Zhang Chuanwu's face was filled with despair, his heart dead. After spitting out a mouthful of blood, he simply expired.

Had Zhang Chuanwu not been a Poison Master and instead cultivated a Heavenly Grade Advanced Technique and Dou Technique, Xiao Yan might not have defeated him.

But Zhang Chuanwu was precisely a Poison Master who bred Poison Ants, while Xiao Yan was a Two-Rank Alchemist with exceptionally strong Soul Force and a touch of Bone Spirit Cold Fire—perfectly countering Zhang Chuanwu.

To others, Poison Masters were extremely troublesome and dangerous—but to Xiao Yan, they were nearly useless.

When Xiao Yan approached Zhang Chuanwu's Corpse, he discovered the man's internal organs had long since been hollowed out—without his Poison Ants, Zhang Chuanwu was doomed to die.

"He must have joined the Trial seeking some way to save himself within the Soul Palace."

Poison Masters are unquestionably a profession that harms oneself eight hundred to injure a thousand—powerful, yes, but brutally self-destructive.

【Completed all Yellow-class Advanced Trials, awarded Yellow-class Advanced Soul Envoy title. You may choose to exit the Trial Grounds and enter the Treasure Hall to exchange Soul Points for resources, or proceed to the Profound Class Trial.】

Xiao Yan heard the Soul Sound directly entering his Spiritual Soul, his expression grim.

"Profound Class. From the perspective of Cultivation Methods and Dou Techniques, the gap between Profound Class and Yellow Class is like a chasm."

Although Xiao Yan only fought two battles in the Yellow-class Advanced Trial, both were perilous.

In both battles, Xiao Yan did not rely solely on brute force—he needed strategy, wit, and luck to win more easily.

Xiao Yan checked his Soul Token; the text naturally changed to 【Yellow-class Advanced】, and his Soul Points were exactly one hundred.

"One hundred Soul Points can exactly exchange for one Yellow-class Advanced Cultivation Method or Dou Technique."

"If I can clear every Profound Class Low-Level Trial up to Profound Class High-Level, I should have exactly one thousand Soul Points—enough to exchange for a Heavenly Grade Advanced Cultivation Method or Dou Technique."

Xiao Yan couldn't help but laugh bitterly—Profound Class High-Level? He wasn't even sure he could defeat an opponent in Profound Class Low-Level.

Profound Class High-Level might involve a Third Grade Magical Beast! A single claw from a Third Grade Magical Beast could crush Xiao Yan into pulp!

Even his father, Xiao Zhan, might not defeat a Third Grade Magical Beast, let alone Xiao Yan, a mere Dou Practitioner.

But soon Xiao Yan smiled, muttering to himself: "If I can't even earn a Profound Class rating, what face do I have returning to Xun Er?"

Yet Xiao Yan did not rush—he swallowed a Qi-Recovery Pill to restore his Dou Qi, reignited the Alchemy Furnace, sliced his fingertip, and let a drop of blood drip into the furnace, where the flame slowly decomposed the blood.

He was still poisoned.

"To refine a Detoxification Pill, you must first know the components of the Poison Pill—what toxins are present."

The poison had been absorbed by Xiao Yan, so to refine a Detoxification Pill, he needed to analyze the toxin composition in the poison fluid and counteract it with the properties of Medicinal Materials.

Strictly speaking, this was Xiao Yan's first true detoxification—Hun Xu Zi's earlier incident didn't count as proper detoxification; it was more like a riddle.

After a day and night of analysis, Xiao Yan finally identified the Medicinal Material capable of purifying the toxin, refined a Detoxification Pill, and removed the poison from his body.

"Took a whole day just to detoxify—killing is easy, saving is hard; poisoning is easy, detoxifying is difficult."

Xiao Yan muttered, then noticed the silence around him—so absolute it made him feel foolish.

"I've stayed in this Trial Grounds long enough. Time to end it—Challenge the Profound Class Trial!"

No sooner had he spoken than a loud hum echoed—a massive door suddenly appeared before Xiao Yan, far more real than the usual teleportation portals.

"No wonder it's Profound Class—the door's different too." Xiao Yan muttered as he stepped through the door.

In the Soul Realm, within the Space, in a remote City's Cultivation Grounds, thousands of youths trained in Dou Techniques.

The Instructor in the arena suddenly received a Soul Sound, pointed at a boy, and said: "Hun Yu Cun, someone from the Outside World has applied for a Profound Class promotion trial—go handle it."

Upon hearing the Instructor's words, every Soul Clan Disciple in the arena wore expressions of envy, jealousy, and resentment—why didn't such a good chance at Soul Points fall to them?

"You're so lucky, Yu Cun—advancing to Profound Class requires a hundred Soul Points. An Outside World Person? That's practically a free gift."

Hun Yu Cun's eyes sharpened; he licked his lips and said: "I love hunting these ignorant Outside World Persons—my collection gains another trophy."