Chapter 775

"Alright, everyone, clean this place up!"

"You may all leave!"

"Three days from now, the third trial: Spiritual Sense competition!"

"Go!"

The Golden Giant Emperor waved his hand, and everyone dispersed in a rush.

Only He Pingsheng stood atop the ruins, staring blankly at the empty sky in the distance.

Is she really that heartless?

The person left, and even her avatar was slain?

If I cannot ascend, will we truly never meet again in this lifetime?

"Young master, don't worry!" Zhou Qingmei walked over to him and comforted him: "Miss Qiao said that once you ascend to the Immortal Realm, you can be husband and wife again!"

"I believe that with your talent, you will surely ascend to the Immortal Realm!"

"I believe too!" Nearby, Wang Dun clenched his fist: "Brother He… go rest well. I can't make it through the third trial—I don't know how to refine elixirs or forge magic treasures. I'm counting on you!"

"Mm." He Pingsheng nodded.

His cultivation ground had been shattered by Zhao Xiangdu.

Fortunately, there were plenty of grand halls here, and Nan Qiqi and Nan Jingci helped He Pingsheng find a new one.

He Pingsheng led Su Zhenzhen and Zhou Qingmei into the hall.

"Brother… here!" Su Zhenzhen, being thoughtful, handed He Pingsheng the top-grade Heaven-Piercing magic treasure, 【Cunlan Sword】.

He Pingsheng shook his head and said: "Keep it. It was given to you—use it. It's a top-grade Heaven-Piercing magic treasure with twenty-eight sealing layers; once you refine those seals, you can wield it."

"Alright!" Su Zhenzhen finally put away the divine sword.

At that moment, He Pingsheng's son He Tianya's voice came from outside: "Father, someone is here to see you!"

He Pingsheng's spiritual sense swept out and saw a woman standing at the hall's entrance: Qiao Xiaoqiao.

He walked out himself to greet her and brought her inside.

"Wu…wu…wu…" Qiao Xiaoqiao's face was pale, her eyes red, and she wept: "Brother-in-law… I'm so sorry… I… wu…wu…wu…"

He Pingsheng smiled gently and said: "It's fine… this isn't your fault. Zhao Xiangdu is your master. You don't understand the grudge between him and me, and he doesn't know of our connection—so don't put yourself in a difficult position."

"But…" Qiao Xiaoqiao asked, "Is sister angry? She didn't even speak to me just now?"

Earlier, she had watched Qiao Huizhu hand the sword to Su Zhenzhen. Qiao Xiaoqiao's heart ached—she thought the sword should have been given to her.

The sword itself didn't matter.

What mattered was that this gesture represented sister's approval—why not let me take care of my brother-in-law?

Why entrust it to a stranger?

Huh…

He Pingsheng exhaled deeply and reached out to pat Qiao Xiaoqiao's head: "Focus on your cultivation… after you ascend, go find her!"

"Alright, go prepare. The third trial is in three days!"

"Rest your spiritual sense!"

"Mm-mm-mm…" Qiao Xiaoqiao nodded and left.

He Pingsheng's grudge with Zhao Xiangdu stemmed from Zhou Qingmei.

It had nothing to do with Qiao Xiaoqiao.

Just after seeing off Qiao Xiaoqiao, Nan Qiqi arrived again.

And she wasn't alone—Nan Qiqi brought four maidservants!

Everyone sat down.

Nan Qiqi still sat with one leg crossed over the other: "Impressive, He Pingsheng… you're truly incredible… you survived a strike from a Mahayana Emperor?"

"What a freak!"

"No wonder my grandfather kept recommending you to help me—amazing, amazing!"

He Pingsheng smiled: "He didn't use his full strength."

"Still impressive!" Nan Qiqi said. "If it were me, I'd be dead ten or twenty times over!"

"Enough of that!" He Pingsheng waved his hand. "You didn't come here just to say that, did you?"

"Clever!" Nan Qiqi extended her jade hand, picked up a white jade cup on the table, and took a small sip of spiritual tea: "The rules for the third trial are out!"

"This trial tests spiritual sense, but spiritual sense cannot be directly measured—so it's assessed through refining elixirs, forging magic treasures, or painting talismans."

"Since most will choose elixir refining…"

"Each person is given five sets of materials for six-grade elixirs: 【Fengshen Elixir】. You'll refine using all five sets."

"After refining, rankings are determined by the quality of the elixirs."

"The higher the quality, the higher the rank."

"As before, the top one hundred advance."

"First place gets one hundred points, second ninety-nine, third ninety-eight, and so on. Of course, there are bonus points again!"

"Huh?" Zhou Qingmei couldn't help exclaiming: "More bonus points?"

He was traumatized by these bonus points.

In the first trial, getting a stone added one hundred points.

In the second trial, mastering a divine technique added one hundred points.

What bonus is this one?

He Pingsheng wanted to know too—he found the bonus system absurd: "What's the bonus this time?"

"You can't possibly gain bonus points by discovering a new elixir formula, right?"

He Pingsheng's tone carried a hint of sarcasm.

Nan Qiqi smiled: "No, no—this time, the bonus is for top-grade elixirs!"

"Refine one top-grade elixir, add one hundred points!"

"Refine two top-grade elixirs, add two hundred points!"

"Brother He, I recall you're capable of refining top-grade elixirs, aren't you?"

"Uh…" He Pingsheng felt awkward.

Nan Qiqi thought he lacked confidence and said: "Don't worry—out of the five sets, just one needs to produce a top-grade elixir. When we judge, we'll use only your best batch."

He Pingsheng said: "I'm sorry, but I really can't refine a top-grade elixir."

Top-grade six-grade elixir?

Impossible!

Previously, my top-grade elixirs all came from the Treasure Basin—but how could I use it in the trial arena?

Are you kidding?

Even if I get zero points, I won't expose this thing.

There are so many Emperor-level demons watching!

"What about upper-grade?" Nan Qiqi asked. "If you can make upper-grade, that's acceptable too."

He Pingsheng thought for a moment and said: "Upper-grade should be possible."

Elixir quality depends on two things: first, spiritual sense—the stronger it is, the higher the quality; second, proficiency.

He Pingsheng's spiritual sense was unquestionable.

And this time, he wasn't refining beyond his level—he was using Void Refinement-level spiritual sense to refine six-grade elixirs.

Upper-grade was still possible.

But only possible, not guaranteed.

He Pingsheng had once refined upper-grade elixirs before.

Back when he was a Soul Transformation cultivator, with sufficient proficiency, he refined five-grade 【Judao Elixir】 and produced two upper-grade and ten middle-grade elixirs.

"Good!" Nan Qiqi said. "Here!"

As she spoke, Nan Qiqi handed him a jade vial: "Inside is one drop of 【Nanke Immortal Spring】. If you achieve upper-grade, simply infuse this drop into one of your upper-grade elixirs—it becomes top-grade."