Novel Full Chapter 1100 - 1100: Awakened Cauldron Spirit!
The Winter Autumn Leaf touched the surface of Kent’s potion, and the courtyard seemed to hold its breath. For an instant, nothing happened—then the veins of the leaf blazed. Not golden, as expected. Not even a shade of amber or silver. It turned a radiant, blinding white—pure, immaculate, almost divine.
Gasps erupted, followed almost instantly by laughter.
“Hah! White? That’s not gold—it’s nothing!”
“The heavens laugh at him again! He brewed dust water!”
“Divine? More like dead!”
The mocking voices rang louder as disciples pointed, smirking. Even some elders frowned, confused. The Yellow Blossom River Prince tilted his head, disappointment flashing again across his sharp eyes. “A failure, then,” he murmured.
But Lady Kim did not laugh. Her hand trembled as she lifted the glowing leaf higher. For even as it shone, tiny sparks of lightning crawled across its veins, crackling faintly, whispering like a hidden storm. Her eyes widened. “This… this is not ordinary. What… what rank of potion is this?”
She turned sharply toward Kent, her voice taut with disbelief.
Kent’s face was calm, his gaze steady. “Vice Matriarch, do you think I am an idiot? Do you think I would stand here, before all, and brew something other than what was demanded? You asked for Nine Lotus Bewitching Potion. I brewed Nine Lotus Bewitching Potion. But it seems your leaf cannot comprehend it.”
The mocking disciples paused, caught by the weight in his voice.
Kent’s tone grew sharper, cutting through the courtyard like a blade. “If you lack the skill to judge my potion, then leave it. I have no time for blindness. I came here to win—but if my work is ignored, I will sell this potion to one who knows its value. And I will earn not three thousand, but far more.”
He lifted his hand. With calm precision, he poured the shimmering liquid from the cauldron into a glass vial. The potion glowed faint white, arcs of lightning flickering inside like imprisoned stars.
The crowd erupted in commotion.
“Is he serious? He dares insult Lady Kim!”
“He’s afraid! He’s trying to run away with his failure!”
“Selling a fake potion? Hah! Who would buy such filth?”
The prince’s attendants whispered urgently. “Your Highness, it is just arrogance. He wants to flee with dignity.”
“Yes, his potion is clearly unstable. Ignore him.”
The prince leaned back slowly, his gaze thoughtful, but his lips pressed in a thin line. He, too, believed Kent was masking failure with defiance.
Lady Kim’s eyes, however, did not leave Kent. Her pride stung, but there was a weight in her chest she could not deny. Slowly, she spoke, her voice cool but heavy. “Even if you did not excel, Kent King, you will stand here until the results are announced. This is the Academy. Learn manners. We do not bend to arrogance.”
Murmurs of agreement spread through the disciples.
“Exactly. Golden Heir or not, he should learn humility.”
“One tournament win, and he thinks he’s the sky?”
“Countless heirs have stood where he stands. Who is he to claim he is different?”
Kent turned his gaze on her. His voice was low, steady, yet it struck the hall like thunder. “You speak of countless heirs, but I am not one of them. I am not Yun Fei. I am not Lady Ruo. I am not another faceless name. I am Kent King. And the sky does not bow its head just because blind eyes refuse to see its light.”
He turned, without waiting for her reply, and walked away.
The courtyard roared with noise.
“Arrogant beyond measure!”
“He dares walk away before judgment!”
“Disrespect!”
“Hey, dumb fellow!” one senior disciple jeered, emboldened by the crowd. “You forgot your cauldron! What, afraid to carry your trash with you?”
Mocking laughter followed.
But Kent stopped. Slowly, he turned his head, his eyes locking onto the speaker. His gaze sharpened like a sword unsheathed, and for a heartbeat, killing intent rolled out of him—vast, suffocating, cold as death.
The mocking disciple froze, his face draining of color. He stumbled backward, crashing into those behind him. “Wh-what killing intent is this?! He’s not… normal…”
Gasps rippled again, the crowd’s laughter choking into uneasy silence.
From the dais, the Yellow Blossom River Prince narrowed his eyes. His heart gave a small, unexpected tremor. “That… intent. This man is dangerous. Too dangerous for someone so young.”
And then, the impossible happened.
The battered bronze cauldron Kent had left behind—cracked, ugly, mocked by all—suddenly lifted from the ground. Slowly, deliberately, it rose into the air, hovering a foot behind Kent’s back. Its dragon-carvings glowed faintly, their eyes lit with spirit fire. It followed him, step for step, as if alive.
The courtyard froze.
“No… way…”
“Impossible! A cauldron moving on its own?”
“Even spiritual treasures need control. But this… this is like it’s choosing him!”
Lady Kim’s face paled, then flushed with shock. Her lips parted, whispering almost to herself. “This cauldron… it’s awakened. The treasure spirit inside… has awakened.”
The air trembled with disbelief.
An elder muttered hoarsely, “A sentient cauldron… this hasn’t appeared in the Academy in centuries.”
“This boy…” another whispered. “What monster is he?”
Behind the prince, the old man with the long beard—who had stood silent all this time—leaned close. His voice was low, like the hiss of the river itself. “Your Highness. That is no ordinary vessel. The spirit has awakened. If nurtured… it could become a divine cauldron, one capable of refining elixirs no man alive has seen.”
The prince’s composure shattered for a heartbeat. His eyes widened, then narrowed, burning with sudden hunger. He leaned forward, staring at the hovering cauldron that followed Kent like a loyal beast.
“That cauldron… I must have it,” he whispered, his voice thick with desire.
All around, disciples gaped as Kent’s calm figure strode away, the living cauldron following silently at his back. He did not look left, did not look right, did not acknowledge their shock. His steps were steady, his gaze fixed forward.
The sky above rumbled faintly, lightning still whispering through the alchemy clouds.