Fighting Soul Clan Demoness

Chapter 654 We Can't Afford to Lose
As expected, Cao Ying finally couldn't sit still any longer!

Inside the main hall, the previously noisy atmosphere suddenly plummeted to freezing point. Countless people held their breath, as if they could sense the sparks flying between Cao Ying's eyes even through the air.

Elder Sheng frowned slightly, a look of helplessness appearing on his aged face.

Based on his understanding of Cao Ying, he naturally knew what kind of pride this seemingly always smiling girl possessed in her heart.

Even looking at the entire Dan Tower, perhaps the only one who could subdue her was that important figure known as one of the three giants?

After a slight hesitation, Elder Sheng finally turned his gaze to Hun Ruoruo, trying to solicit her opinion.

He naturally wouldn't resist such a fair and honest competition, especially since the two of them belonged to the Pill Tower. Regardless of who won or lost, it would only boost the morale of the Pill Tower.

This is a good opportunity to intimidate those villains from the Soul Palace!
Having made up his mind, Elder Sheng smiled kindly and said:
"Hehe, it is indeed a bit unfair to the Cao family to determine the family ranking based solely on the results of the last round. It just so happens that Cao Ying and you are both successors of the Pill Tower. If the two of you can show some alchemy skills here, it would be a good thing for our Pill Tower."

"What do you think, Miss Ruoruo?"

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes, including Cao Ying and Dan Chen's, immediately focused on Hun Ruoruo, waiting intently for her response.

Intangible expectations are not just praise, but also a constantly rising platform.

If she chooses to stop or turn back, all the previous praise will turn into the most frenzied backlash, and those who blindly followed her will choose to cut ties and get away in an instant.

Cao Ying was perfectly aware of this.

That's why she gradually increased the prize pool for Hun Ruoruo until she couldn't escape.

"I actually have a feeling that you and I are the same kind of people. Even if you are in an unreachable position, even if your strength is far beyond our imagination, you and I are the same. We can't afford to lose."

Cao Ying's lips parted slightly, and with each opening and closing of her mouth, she formed syllables that only Hun Ruoruo could hear:
"I'm betting my life on this; do you dare take the bet?"

If Dan Chen is like snow, innocent and naive, then Cao Ying is like a cloud high in the sky. Once baptized by the blazing sun, she will transform into a burning sunset on the horizon, even more indifferent and resolute.

Knowing she was no match for him, she never considered any delays or retreats from the beginning, and instead chose to go all in.

Advance, and you will find a way out of this desperate situation; retreat, and you will be destroyed.

Hun Ruoruo gazed at Cao Ying, who was smiling with her lips pursed, and remained silent for a moment. Then, she revealed a smile that could be described as bewitching, as if she were not looking at a beautiful young girl, but at a fine work of art.

"please."

Upon hearing this, Cao Ying moved with lightning speed, gracefully leaping into the arena like a butterfly, and chuckled softly:
“Cao Dan, step aside, let me play with this young lady on behalf of the Cao family.”

Cao Dan's face stiffened, but in the end he didn't dare to stop him at all and quickly jumped off the stage.

Cao Ying held an extremely high position in the Cao family; even the patriarch took her words very seriously. Although the Cao family publicly claimed that Cao Ying was his blood-related younger sister, Cao Dan knew that this was not the case.
Seeing that the two had reached an agreement, Elder Sheng's smile widened, and he raised his hand to take out two alchemy tables:
"Since there are no problems, let's follow the rules of the Pill Tower's alchemy competition. The challenger will choose the subject of the contest first. Miss Ruoruo, are you ready?"

Upon hearing the words "Dan Tower Sparring," the already excited audience erupted into a frenzy, with even Dan Chen, who was seated, slamming his fist on the table in frustration.

"A sparring match at the Pill Tower? This kind of special competition, which can only be witnessed by insiders, is actually something we can feast our eyes on?"

"Elder Sheng is indeed shrewd and calculating! As an appetizer to warm up the Pill Gathering, there is indeed no more suitable choice than sparring at the Pill Tower."

"It seems that after this, the status of the five major families will likely rise even higher."

Upon hearing this, Hun Ruoruo's eyes flickered slightly, clearly indicating that she had also heard of this so-called 'Dan Tower Sparring'.

The Dan Tower Sparring, as the name suggests, is a special competition that is completely different from the competitions of other forces, and is judged solely on the level of alchemy skills.

However, due to age differences, the ranks of the alchemists varied. Therefore, to ensure a fairer competition, the so-called Pill Tower sparring was divided into two parts—

First: 'Type specification'.

Secondly: 'Ranking system'.

The challenger and the challenged can each choose one option to determine the grade and type of elixir they will jointly refine.

In this way, the differences caused by age are avoided, and alchemists are encouraged to challenge each other. It can be said to be the most authoritative competition method in the Pill Tower!

Knowing she couldn't refuse, Hun Ruoruo casually nodded.
“Since it is a competition within the Dan Tower, I naturally have no objections.”

Seeing this, Elder Sheng smiled at Cao Ying, who was standing to the side:

"In that case, Ying, tell me the topic you'd like to choose for the sparring match."

"I choose the rank."

Cao Ying answered almost without hesitation. She gently brushed aside the stray strands of hair that had fallen across her forehead, tying her beautiful hair up completely. The smile on her alluring face had now been subtly replaced by a hint of artifice.

"As the outward face of the Pill Tower, this competition should naturally add to the excitement of the Pill Gathering. As for the grade, I think the seventh grade is just right."

Seventh grade!

Upon hearing the rank announced by Cao Ying, everyone present gasped, their eyes filled with undisguised shock.

In fact, there were quite a few seventh-grade alchemists among them, such as Cao Dan from the Cao family and Dan Xuan from the Dan family, both of whom had successfully entered the ranks of seventh-grade alchemists.

However, there are differences even among those at the seventh rank!
For Cao Dan and his group, refining seventh-grade pills was a trump card, a skill they kept hidden away, requiring perfect timing, location, and human skill, and even then, there was a risk of failure. But Cao Ying was now going to use it to compete with others.
"Can the same type of seventh-grade pill really be differentiated in terms of quality?"

Ye Hen stared blankly at the field, muttering to himself.

Upon hearing this, Ye Xinlan immediately picked up the antique book in her arms and gently adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses:

"For them, refining a seventh-grade pill shouldn't be difficult, but distinguishing their quality among the same type of pill is probably..."

Ye Xinlan hesitated for a moment, then whispered:

"I'm afraid only Danwen can do that."

Although Ye Xinlan tried to lower her voice, her words still reached everyone's ears in the quiet arena, causing them to chuckle wryly.

To carve pill patterns onto a seventh-grade elixir is an incredibly difficult task, to say the least.

Cao Ying had clearly anticipated this as well.

She gazed at the silent Hun Ruoruo and smiled, conveying her thoughts telepathically:
"Like Dan Chen, I have a somewhat special physique. I could tell from the beginning that you are not a true alchemist. If I'm not mistaken, the sixth rank should be your limit, right?"

Hun Ruoruo was somewhat surprised, but said with great interest:

"As expected of a top student who studied at the Little Pill Tower, you can even calculate the grade of my pills. You are right, I can indeed only refine grade six pills."

She paused here, a mischievous glint appearing on her previously cold and aloof face, her eyes gleaming with cunning:

"Unfortunately, I don't need to demonstrate my alchemy skills to deal with these people."

For some reason, Hun Ruoruo claimed that she was not dealing with Cao Ying, who was on the opposite side of her.

"If the type is specified, I'll choose healing medicine."

The light, airy words rang out, and Elder Sheng's expression immediately turned serious. He raised his hand and swung it down, shouting:

"The rules are set. I hereby declare the competition officially open!"

"."

Seeing that the other party remained quite calm, Cao Ying frowned slightly, but her conviction remained unwavering:

"No matter how powerful you are, you can't do what you can't do. Even if you try to force them to change their minds with your strength, you still can't change the fact that you lost the bet."

Having said that, Cao Ying no longer hesitated. She raised her hand and a ball of flame, resembling a blood-red sun, suddenly rose up. As the flame rose, tiny figures could be vaguely seen flashing through it.

The moment the fire was unleashed, it caused a stir in the arena. Only the elder of the Cao family, who was seated at the head of the table, stroked his beard with satisfaction and looked smug.

"Is this the Blood Demon Fireworks?"

There were quite a few discerning people in the audience who quickly noticed the origin of the flame in Cao Ying's hand and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"It is said that the refining of this fire requires the blood of nearly a thousand fire-attribute magical beasts, making it a man-made 'myriad beast spirit fire.' The Cao family is indeed incredibly wealthy!"

However, just as everyone was still marveling at the alchemical fire cultivated by the Cao family, the expressions of those closest to the arena suddenly changed drastically, and flames began to leave their bodies uncontrollably.

"What's going on? Did the Cao family cultivate their artificial strange fire into a real strange fire?"

Flames of various colors burst forth from the body at this moment, then converged uncontrollably in the center, bowing down from afar as if subjects were paying homage.

The next moment, a faint blue light suddenly shone, instantly replacing all the colors in the hall.

"Strange fire?!"

(End of this chapter)