SUPREME ARCH-MAGUS

Kent, Yun Rou, and Lin Lin finally reached the grand arena of the Sacred Pill Ascension Grounds. The Half Moon Inn now felt like a distant memory, replaced by the solemn hum of reverence.

The trio stood momentarily frozen at the edge of a sea of cultivators.

The arena was no ordinary stage—it was a hundred-step jade pill platform, carved out of a single mountain slab and shaped like a blooming lotus, each step wide enough to seat dozens. And every seat—every stair—was filled.

Alchemists from every corner of the Immortal World had gathered here today. White-robed elders with long flowing beards, arrogant young geniuses with radiant clan emblems, and even beast clans in their humanoid forms—all faces turned toward the central altar below.

“I didn’t expect this many people,” Lin Lin muttered, eyes wide.

“I told you we overslept,” Yun Rou replied with a sigh, her tone somewhere between exasperation and amused defeat.

They quietly climbed to one of the topmost tiers, nearly a hundred stairs above the base. Their position gave no direct line of sight to the stage below—but hovering in the air was a massive Aurora Projection Screen, shimmering like a celestial veil. It allowed those in the back to see everything as if standing right in front.

Below, nine elders stood in a perfect circle around a massive cauldron suspended mid-air. Each one wore the Immortal Cauldron Insignia embroidered in golden thread over violet robes. Their presence radiated ancientness—like the timeless silence of volcanoes before an eruption.

A hush swept the crowd as the central elder, his beard cascading like a waterfall of snow, stepped forward and raised a single hand. With a flick of his finger, a nine-colored flame blazed into life above the cauldron.

His voice echoed, not through sound but through spirit, resonating within the minds of all present.

“Welcome, young sprouts and ancient roots alike. Today, you bear witness to the creation of a Sage Grade Spirit-Conscious Pill. A pill… with soul. A pill… that can choose its master.”

The crowd stirred with excitement. Even from afar, Kent’s sharp eyes caught the faint trembling of the cauldron. It wasn’t because of instability—but because the pill soul was already awakening inside it.

“The foundations of alchemy are not in flame or herbs,” the elder continued, as each of the nine elders lit their own unique alchemy fire—scarlet, azure, jade, golden, obsidian, violet, white, emerald, and one that shimmered with lightning.

“It begins with balance—the sacred triad: Flame, Will, and Intent.”

One elder, a woman with eagle-like eyes, took the next lead. “Today, you will see more than theory. You will understand that pills are not burned—they are coaxed into being. Each herb has a memory. Each root, a heartbeat.”

As she spoke, she flicked her sleeve, and eleven different spiritual herbs floated above her hand, each pulsing with visible energy. “These are Blood-Soul Lilies, harvested under the eclipse. Without the proper resonance, they explode under heat.”

The herb was dropped into her flame, and instantly the fire flared and hissed. But it did not burn. Instead, it began to dance.

“The fire must match the herb’s personality, or it will rebel,” the elder said.

A younger disciple seated near Kent muttered, “How is that even possible…?”

Kent, without turning, murmured, “It is possible. Because real alchemy… is a conversation.”

Lin Lin looked sideways at him, surprised. Yun Rou, though quiet, nodded faintly. She had seen Kent’s flame. She knew his words weren’t arrogance—but experience.

The elders took turns, slowly layering herbs into the cauldron, explaining as they went. They demonstrated cleansing cycles, separation spirals, and reconvergence arrays, all of which allowed them to not only purify individual herbs but also enhance them beyond their natural potency.

One elder even whispered ancient incantations to harmonize two otherwise clashing herbs.

“It’s more than mixing ingredients,” he said. “You must mold them until they become willing companions inside the cauldron.”

Hours passed. The scent of alchemical steam floated high above like sacred incense, carrying hints of floral, metallic, and earthen notes. By now, a spiritual embryo had formed inside the cauldron—its shape hazy but pulsing with life.

And then, it happened.

With a synchronized motion, the nine elders placed their palms forward and poured their alchemy will into the cauldron. The fire raged into a pillar of divine light. Everyone on the platform leaned forward instinctively.

Inside the projection screen, a pill slowly rose from the cauldron—white and gold, glowing with a radiant hue, and floating upright. No one said a word.

And then the pill… began jumping like a ball.

The collective breath of a million cultivators was stolen away.

“A Sage Pill with a born spirit…” whispered Yun Rou, her voice shaking. “It’s real.”

The central elder spoke one last time.

“This is alchemy, in its truest form. Not the practice of profit or pride. But the art of life creation. A path that walks hand in hand with the heavens. Remember this moment, for most of you will never see it again.”

Thunderous applause followed.

Yet Kent sat silently, eyes narrowed, heart unmoving.

He was inspired, yes—but more than that, he was challenged.

He had seen the top… and he felt it in his bones.

One day, I will create a pill whose spirit speaks my name the moment it gets consciousness.

The silence that followed the completion of the Sage Pill was sacred.

It floated gently above the cauldron like a newborn star—a small glowing orb, no larger than a pearl, but pulsing with incredible vitality. Its surface shimmered with shifting colors—golden one moment, silver the next, with occasional flashes of deep violet, like thunderclouds buried inside crystal. But what made it otherworldly… was its gaze.

Yes—this was no ordinary pill.

It had it’s own consciousness.

Conscious. Curious. Intelligent.

A spiritual hush fell across the Sacred Pill Ascension Grounds. The millions gathered now held their breath as the Sage Pill floated higher above the cauldron, slowly rotating mid-air. All nine elders watched in expectation—no, in certainty. This pill had been their creation. It should, by the laws of spirit-sympathy, choose one of them.

But then it moved.

Softly. Unhurriedly. Away from the cauldron.

“Hmm?” Elder Qing Hou frowned, his fingers forming a retrieval seal—but the pill dodged, as if irritated.

Another elder extended a gentle hand, murmuring, “Little one, return to your origin…”

The pill hovered before him for a moment.

Then turned.

And ascended.

Gasps rippled through the crowd. The aurora screen shifted to follow the pill’s movement. It floated higher, over the heads of the elders, slowly climbing past the first ten rows of elite clan heirs seated on the lower steps. Many of them immediately reached up, sending strands of spirit energy to entice it.

“Choose me!” shouted one arrogant heir from the Fire Lotus Clan, his hand glowing crimson.

“I am an Alchemist King!” another girl in sky-blue robes said, stretching her arm with grace.

The pill paused before her, tilted slightly… then spun once—and moved on.

More cultivators tried to catch its attention. Dozens. Scores. Some even rose from their seats, murmuring ancient mantras, unleashing spiritual affinity arts. The crowd grew restless. Murmurs echoed everywhere.

“It rejected them all…”

“Wait—it’s rising again!”

Now it climbed even further—past the middle stairs, where the silver-robed elders sat, past the elites of the White Crane Pavilion, past sect masters and beast clan alchemists—until it reached the topmost seats. The furthest row. Where the three latecomers from the Half Moon Inn sat, nearly hidden among the clouds.

Kent, Yun Rou, and Lin Lin stood completely still.

“…Is it… coming here?” Lin Lin whispered, clutching Yun Rou’s sleeve.

The pill paused mid-air. It was level with them now. Slowly, gently, it rotated. Facing them.

Its glowing surface pulsed. The colors danced like moonlight rippling across water. And then—suddenly—it shot forward.

Lin Lin flinched.

Yun Rou raised a defensive barrier, reacting on instinct.

But the pill ignored them both. It stopped—just two inches before Kent Hall’s chest.

The world… froze.

A million pairs of eyes looked up.

Kent did not move. He looked at the pill, and the pill… looked back.

In that moment, something unseen passed between them. Not words. Not power. But a subtle resonance—as if two ancient strings had been plucked at the same time, in two different corners of the world, and yet sang the same note.

All the screen were displaying Kent’s face.

The pill lowered itself.

And gently landed in Kent’s open palm.

A beam of radiant golden light exploded upward the instant contact was made, illuminating Kent’s silhouette against the skies. The Aurora Screen flashed blindingly before fading, then focused on one thing only: the young man with black robes, unassuming eyes, and a calm expression—holding a divine pill that had chosen him.

Gasps erupted.

Shouts followed.

“Impossible! He wasn’t part of the refinement!”

“He’s not even listed among the top disciples!”

“Who is that brat?!”

But the elders were silent. Shocked. Staring. And one of them—Elder Yuancheng—whispered, “No… The pill did not choose based on participation… It chose based on destiny.”

A pill spirit, born of divine flames, does not follow rules. It follows its will.

Yun Rou glanced at Kent, her heart hammering. “Kent… What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything,” he murmured, looking down at the orb. It now rested like a sleeping child in his palm, glowing faintly. “Maybe… it was looking for someone like me.”

“You’re not even a registered alchemist,” Lin Lin added in disbelief.

Kent smiled faintly. “Then I guess this pill just made me one.”

Far below, in the elders’ circle, discussions had already begun. The nine flame masters looked grim, their pride stung.

“We must investigate him,” Elder Qin Jian said coldly. “This is no coincidence.”