Chapter 324: Ninety-Seven Percent is Failure

Chapter 324: Chapter 324: Ninety-Seven Percent is Failure

Chapter 324: Ninety-Seven Percent is Failure

Meanwhile, in another magnificent estate situated in the Imperial Capital.

"Your Highness!" Zorak reported, his head bowed. "Grandmaster Korryn has arrived in the capital."

Second Prince Arien heard the report with an unreadable expression.

"He has finally come," Arien murmured.

Zorak looked up, his expression eager. "Your Highness, we already know that Grandmaster Korryn deeply dislikes the Crown Prince. Should we dispatch an envoy to welcome him immediately? If we can publicly extend a hand of friendship now, it will undoubtedly pull his Pavilion entirely to our side!"

Arien thought for a while, his eyes solemn.

But then he shook his head.

"No," Arien commanded strictly. "We will do no such thing. Do not send anyone for now to establish any visible contact."

Zorak froze in bewilderment. "But Your Highness, is this not the perfect opportunity to strike a blow against Prince Lucius?"

"You are not thinking about the bigger picture, Zorak," Arien replied coldly, "My father has issued the Royal Decree declaring that the Pavilion is suspected of harboring demonic arts. Right now, Grandmaster Korryn is standing on a razor’s edge. To the throne, he is still a suspected criminal."

Arien walked to the window overlooking his estate.

"I truly need his support," Arien admitted, "But if I were to openly welcome him now, I would be associating with a man branded as a threat to the dynasty. it would be seen as an act of defiance against my father’s decree."

He turned his head to look at Zorak.

"Lucius is currently waiting for me to make a mistake just like that. If I move now, he will use it to turn my father’s wrath entirely upon me."

Arien let out a quiet exhale.

"Therefore, we will just watch for now. If Korryn wins tomorrow, the Emperor’s suspicions will be completely cleared, and I will personally throw him the grandest banquet this city has ever seen. If he loses... then he was never worth my time to begin with."

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At the exact same time, deep within the sacred alchemy sanctuaries of the Royal Palace.

At the very center of the room sat a massive, gold-inlaid cauldron radiating the overwhelming pressure of a False Emperor Grade Artfiact.

Sitting cross-legged before this majestic furnace was a white-bearded elderly man.

Alchemy Emperor Marcellis.

He was regulating the violent essence within the cauldron, his hands moving with the natural grace of a man who had done this exact task throughout his life.

*Lord Marcellis!"

An attendant rushed into the sanctuary, dropping to both knees, completely ignoring the blistering heat.

"Speak," Marcellis ordered, his ancient eyes not even moving from his cauldron.

"He has arrived!" the attendant gasped. "Grandmaster Korryn’s skiff has entered Solathane City."

The flames beneath the golden cauldron flickered wildly for a split second.

Marcellis slowly lowered his hands, letting the spiritual flame stabilize automatically.

He turned his head, his sharp, ancient eyes showing no emotion.

"I was hoping he would come," Marcellis replied, "Tomorrow, before the eyes of the entire dynasty, I will show him that a flickering firefly can never compete with the blazing sun!"

-----------------

Meanwhile, far away from the grandeur of the Royal Palace.

The white-gold skiff descended gracefully into a lavish private estate.

Vulcan had spared no expense.

The estate was heavily surrounded by layers of defensive arrays that could easily repel the spiritual probes of wandering Domain Masters.

The moment the skiff touched down, Rhain stepped off the deck.

Trailing respectfully behind him were Vulcan, Luka, Dex, Ives, Ezra, the dozen recruited Domain Master guest elders, and his seven subdued slaves.

"Master," Vulcan spoke, stepping forward to open the doors of the main pavilion. "The perimeter is secured. We will personally guard every single entrance and exit. You can rest assured that no one will take a half-step inside this courtyard without our knowledge."

"Good," Rhain nodded calmly.

He walked inside, his dark grey eyes sweeping over the luxurious but empty interior.

"Lock down the entire residence," Rhain commanded without turning around. "Do not let anyone in, no matter who they claim to be. If anyone comes knocking, tell them I am resting and will see them tomorrow at the duel."

"Understood, Grandmaster!" The nineteen Domain Masters bowed in perfect unison.

Rhain didn’t linger in the main hall.

He walked straight toward the inner chamber of the residence.

BANG!

Rhain stepped inside a room, and the doors clicked shut behind him.

Rhain stood in the center of the silent room.

With a flick of his wrist, a flash of spatial light illuminated the room.

THUD!

The starlight-infused Emperor-Grade Purple Moon Mystic Furnace crashed onto the floor, radiating an ancient aura.

Rhain slowly sat down cross-legged on the cold floor.

Fwoosh—!

A spark of fire ignited at the tip of Rhain’s right index finger.

But it was not the majestic blood-red fire that could incinerate everything.

It was a pale blue, ordinary spiritual flame, conjured purely from his condensed essence.

The entire Solathane Dynasty had watched the Inner Palace Contest.

Everyone had seen Rhain Voss unleash the Red Tribulations Heavenly Flame in the contest.

If "Grandmaster Korryn" were to summon that exact same Heavenly Flame tomorrow in front of the Alchemy Emperor, Crown Prince Lucius, and the millions of spectators... his carefully crafted dual identity would be instantly shattered.

He could not use it.

Rhain tossed the pale blue flame into the base of the Purple Moon Mystic Furnace.

For the past week, this single restriction had been his greatest hurdle.

Without the overwhelming purity and destructive heat of the Red Tribulations Heavenly Flame, the refining process had become exponentially more grueling.

The Heavenly Flame naturally devoured the microscopic impurities within medicinal herbs, essentially doing half of the heavy lifting for him.

Using an ordinary spiritual flame, every single impurity had to be meticulously burned away through manual control.

Because of this severe handicap, the baseline quality of his pills had been visibly affected during his recent practice sessions.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

He casually threw a handful of Mystic grade herbs into the Emperor-Grade cauldron to begin another test.

The moment the herbs entered, Rhain pushed his vast, ocean-like Soul Power to its limit.

His dark grey eyes instantly ignited with a piercing golden light.

Eyes of Truth!

With the golden light piercing directly through the starlight-infused metal of the furnace, Rhain meticulously watched the sluggish melting process of the herbs.

’Increase the temperature by exactly three degrees on the left side,’ Rhain calculated rapidly, adjusting his essence flow to force the ordinary flame to burn hotter.

’Suppress the elemental clash on the right.’

Buzz—!

The innate array matrix of the Purple Moon Mystic Furnace activated, radiating a soft purple hue that forcefully stabilized the volatile energies clashing inside.

But even with the Emperor-Grade artifact, Rhain’s brow quickly furrowed.

The mental strain required to synchronize a subpar spiritual flame perfectly with an Emperor-Grade cauldron was astronomical.

Rhain had no idea what kind of pill Alchemy Emperor Marcellis and the Royal Court would demand him to refine tomorrow.

If they maliciously chose an obscure, notoriously difficult pill that required high temperatures to extract the core essences... an ordinary spiritual flame would struggle immensely.

He had to compensate for the flame’s inherent weakness with perfect execution and mental control.

For the next few hours, Rhain repeatedly adjusted the temperature, testing the exact limits of how far he could push the ordinary flame without scorching the fragile herbs or leaving hidden impurities behind.

He refined batch after batch, refusing to pause even for a single breath.

"Condense!" Rhain gritted his teeth, his massive spiritual sea crashing down upon the liquid essence within the furnace.

CLANG!

The heavy lid of the Purple Moon Mystic Furnace blew open.

Five glowing pills shot into the air, landing neatly into his waiting palm.

Rhain immediately inspected them with his Eyes of Truth.

’Ninety-seven percent purity,’ Rhain evaluated coldly, a trace of deep dissatisfaction flashing in his eyes.

For any other Grandmaster Alchemist in the dynasty, ninety-seven percent purity was a divine miracle.

But for Grandmaster Korryn—the man whose entire reputation and commercial empire was built upon the perfection of one hundred percent purity—it was a catastrophic failure.

If he produced a ninety-eight percent pure pill tomorrow, the Alchemy Emperor would undoubtedly seize upon that minuscule flaw to publicly declare him a fraud.

It would give the Royal Court the perfect justification to tear down his Celestial Elixir Pavilion.

There was no room for even a miniscule error.

"Again."

Rhain closed his eyes, starting another process of refining.