Chapter 54: Nothing More Than an "Ordinary" Alchemist

Before seeing the person, his voice was already heard! As Cao Xuan focused his gaze, a beautiful woman clad in azure battle armor appeared before him.

The sect's assessment had just ended not long ago, and the matters regarding the Azure Cloud Assembly had already been discussed. Normally, Senior Brother Yu would not summon the peak masters without good reason.

Thus, Master Li Zhiyun of Zhiyun Peak assumed that some demonic force was stirring up trouble again.

"Junior Sister, mind your image! Didn't I tell you to wear plain robes in the Azure Cloud Hall and remove your battle armor?" Yu Qingsong spoke in the tone of a senior admonishing his mischievous junior, leaving Master Li Zhiyun with a helpless expression.

"Here? I'm not wearing anything underneath!" she retorted.

"Enough, enough!" Yu Qingsong waved his hand impatiently. "Find your own seat!"

"Heh, Senior Brother, are we preparing for a fight? Leave it to us of the Exorcism Peak, there's no need to call anyone else!"

"All you ever think about is fighting. No wonder you can't find a Dao companion, Junior Sister Li!" A languid voice drifted closer from behind her.

"Yu Wan, you—" Master Li began to flare up, but soon scoffed, "Why bother competing with a widow!"

Soon after, two middle-aged cultivators entered the hall, their eyes fixed and serene, quietly taking their seats.

Before him now stood two men and two women—the four great peak masters of Azure Cloud Sect: Li Zhiyun of Exorcism Peak, Yu Wan of Talisman Peak, Wang Tie of Artifact Refining Peak, and Yuan Dan of Alchemy Peak.

Seeing that a quarrel was about to break out, Yu Qingsong rubbed his beard in exasperation.

He signaled discreetly, and Yuan Dan quickly stepped forward, "Senior Brother, is there some major event in the sect that prompted you to summon us?"

"Or has something changed regarding the Azure Cloud Assembly?"

As expected, when the matter seemed related to the Assembly, Yu Wan and Li Zhiyun both snorted and ceased their argument.

Yu Qingsong felt a headache coming on. As the great elder of the sect, he was several centuries older than the four peak masters, and their tangled affairs were no secret to him.

When they were younger, Yu Wan had fallen for a senior brother, but that brother preferred the fiery-tempered Li Zhiyun. Naturally, Li Zhiyun had no interest in him.

A messy love triangle ensued. Though Yu Wan eventually won that senior brother's heart, his wavering nature gradually soured her affection for him.

During a later mission, that senior brother perished. Yu Wan wasn't overly grief-stricken, but her resentment toward Li Zhiyun intensified.

Li Zhiyun, being the prodigy of Exorcism Peak, couldn't tolerate being targeted for no reason.

The two feuded for a century, eventually both becoming peak masters. Their high positions kept them apart, and as new generations replaced the old within the sect, the animosity gradually faded.

Yet whenever the peak masters gathered, the lingering tension remained, no matter how much they had cultivated their tempers—a reason why Yu Qingsong avoided calling such meetings unless absolutely necessary.

Yuan Dan, unlike the others, took note of Cao Xuan, smiling at him with a nod.

He saw the two-stripe token at Cao Xuan's waist, marking him as an inner disciple and alchemist of his own peak, though he had no idea why the sect leader had summoned him.

He instinctively swept Cao Xuan with his spiritual sense, suddenly startled, "Wait—a cultivation at the early Foundation Establishment?"

Cao Xuan felt the probing spiritual sense and instinctively let his true energy surge in defense, but quickly calmed himself.

Yuan Dan gave Cao Xuan an apologetic look. As a peak master, he normally wouldn't be detected by a mere Qi Refining disciple.

But among Foundation Establishment cultivators—even between the early and late stages—mutual probing was generally avoided.

Inside the sect, such things might be tolerated; outside, a hot-tempered cultivator might respond with violence.

To probe someone's cultivation with spiritual sense was like stripping them bare and examining their body.

A high-level cultivator investigating a low-level one without being noticed was acceptable; between equals, it was a direct provocation.

Cao Xuan understood this was an unintentional act from the peak master and stood respectfully.

Yuan Dan seemed to realize something, his eyes flickering, and at that moment, Sect Master Yu spoke, "There he is, standing right before you!"

"Do any of you four ‘busy ones’ remember him?"

As the sect master gave no further detail, everyone looked at Cao Xuan. Aside from Yuan Dan, the other three peak masters swept him with their spiritual senses.

Cao Xuan's face paled. Although he had used a supreme-grade Foundation Establishment pill, solidifying his Dao foundation perfectly with Qi gathered from ten layers of Qi Refining, his spiritual sense was still no match for the three late-stage Foundation Establishment peak masters.

Their spiritual senses collided with his; despite suppressing his own, Cao Xuan's mind was shaken.

"An inner disciple at the early Foundation Establishment?"

"He looks quite young!"

"But I don't recall him."

Each peak master spoke in turn, retracting their spiritual senses.

"Senior Brother Yuan, is he one of your Alchemy Peak prodigies?" asked Wang Tie with a smile.

Yuan Dan nodded, "Yes, he should be from our peak, but I've been in closed cultivation for years and don't remember this disciple well."

"But since you called one of our alchemists, is there some plan?"

The three other peak masters—frowning, smiling, or cold—paid little attention to Cao Xuan, who was unfamiliar even to Yuan Dan.

The four peak masters, except for major matters, were immersed in seeking the Golden Core Dao, and only particularly gifted disciples would catch their attention, perhaps being promoted or taken as personal apprentices.

Yuan Dan's unfamiliarity suggested that, despite his youthful appearance, Cao Xuan wasn't an extraordinary prodigy.

A twenty-year-old achieving Foundation Establishment looked as young as a fifty-year-old doing the same, but their talent was incomparable.

Yu Wan and Li Zhiyun showed no interest in Cao Xuan, but Wang Tie smiled and asked, "How should I address you, young man?"

"To break through to Foundation Establishment at such a young age—you have great promise. I have high hopes for you!"

Even at fifty or sixty, with a lifespan of two hundred, one still had more than a hundred years to nurture their Dao foundation.

Not to mention becoming a peak master, in a century one could easily become a late Foundation Establishment elder of a peak.

"Disciple Cao Xuan, greetings to the peak masters," Cao Xuan replied. Since the four had not introduced themselves, he simply addressed them as peak masters to avoid error.

"Enough," Sect Master Yu Qingsong waved impatiently. "I can’t count on you anymore!"

He tossed out an artifact for testing bone age. "Cao Xuan, grasp the artifact!"

Cao Xuan, uncertain, obeyed.

Instantly, an aura swept his body and returned to the artifact.

A light screen projected into the air, displaying the unique numerals of Xuanhua Continent: 19.

The peak masters, previously indifferent—some even sipping hot tea—were suddenly transfixed by the two digits they saw.

"Pfft~"