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**
"Ling Xiao, oh Ling Xiao, you brat. You've truly thrown a difficult problem at this old man."
Chrysanthemum Douluo thought to himself as he stared down at Ling Xiao.
At this moment, Yue Guan knew full well that things had already reached this point. If he did not allow Ling Xiao to challenge the Elephant Armor Formation, word would spread.
The people of the world would undoubtedly assume he feared that Ling Xiao would most likely lose. Consequently, the impact of Ling Xiao's previous victory over Huyan Li would be severely diminished.
For Spirit Hall, even though they had won the previous match, it would still be a form of defeat. The Elephant Armored Sect, on the other hand, would turn defeat into a moral victory, losing with honor.
He no longer had a second choice.
So be it—he would just have to see whether Ling Xiao truly had the confidence to break the Elephant Armor Formation.
He only hoped the boy would not disappoint him.
With this thought in mind, Chrysanthemum Douluo looked intently at Ling Xiao and said seriously, "Very well, Ling Xiao. This seat grants your request. However, you must remember the responsibilities and tasks you bear upon your shoulders."
"Yes, Ling Xiao will definitely keep them engraved in his heart," Ling Xiao replied with a look of joy as he bowed respectfully toward Yue Guan.
With the heavy stone in his heart temporarily set aside, Chrysanthemum Douluo turned his gaze toward Huyan Zhen and said, "Sect Master Huyan, please give the order. I believe that for the Elephant Armored Sect, this can also be considered a fine opportunity."
"Mm." Huyan Zhen nodded, then looked toward Huyan Shan and the others on the square.
"Ah Li has consumed a significant amount of soul power from his clash with Ling Xiao. Once they have recovered, the seven of you shall face Ling Xiao together."
"Yes, Sect Master!" The seven brothers, including Huyan Li, chorused their response together.
After speaking, Huyan Zhen caught the eye of the Third Elder, Huyan Heng, who was standing beside him. He muttered something under his breath with barely audible sound, seemingly transmitting his voice via soul power.
The latter instantly understood Huyan Zhen's meaning and nodded. This elderly man, whose hair was somewhat greying but whose physical build was incomparably robust, took a few steps forward to the front edge of the high platform.
He extended his right hand and flipped his palm.
The storage ring on his finger flashed with light, and two small jade bottles—one white and one purple—appeared in his hand. Immediately following that, he threw them out steadily using his soul power, landing them precisely into Huyan Li's hands.
"Inside the white jade bottle are Tier 4 Qi-Restoring Pills. The two of you may each consume one and refine its medicinal properties to prepare for the upcoming battle."
At this point, Huyan Heng paused slightly, a trace of regret flashing through his eyes before he continued, "As for the other jade bottle, it contains a Tier 5 pill, the Spirit-Restoring Purple Pill."
"This pill can mend injuries sustained by a Martial Soul. Once you consume it, Ah Li, your Martial Soul will be restored to its original state without any lingering defects. That way, you too can fight with all your might."
Ling Xiao was more than familiar with Qi-Restoring Pills, so he was not surprised upon hearing about them. After all, whenever he had been injured in the past, he had consumed quite a few of them.
The efficacy of this pill was outstanding; it could not only heal physical wounds but also replenish soul power and physical stamina, making it a masterpiece among healing-type pills.
Although it was only a Tier 4 pill and its grade was not considered exceptionally high among all types of medicinal pills, it was highly practical and deeply favored by Soul Masters.
Once it appeared at an auction, it would inevitably be completely bought out, making it extremely sought-after. However, regarding the other kind of pill—the Spirit-Restoring Purple Pill—Ling Xiao could not hide his trace of astonishment.
Not only was this pill ranked at the fifth grade, making it incomparable to ordinary medicine, but its efficacy was specifically to repair injuries to the Martial Soul rather than a Soul Master's physical flesh.
Consequently, it was extremely rare, and the alchemists or factions that possessed its recipe could never be considered numerous. On the Douluo Continent, a Tier 5 pill could already be classified as precious.
Compared to a Tier 4 pill, which possessed a certain level of energy fluctuations and a rich medicinal aroma that could even condense into a tangible mist, a Tier 5 pill exhibited much more pronounced energy fluctuations upon its formation.
In fact, for pills at the peak of the fifth grade, the immense energy contained within could even generate physical ripples of energy.
For Soul Masters who did not hail from major sects, they would often have to cultivate to the Soul King realm before it was even possible to come into contact with a Tier 5 pill.
Even then, they might only catch a glimpse of it up close and would not necessarily have the means to acquire it. Generally speaking, the strength of a Tier 5 alchemist was at least above that of a Soul King.
However, their value was far from what a five-ring Soul King could compare to; they were fully capable of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with a five-ring auxiliary-system Soul Master.
If their alchemy skills were sufficiently exquisite and they mastered numerous pill recipes that were exceptionally effective and precious, then only an auxiliary-system Soul Master with a top-tier Martial Soul could compare to them.
As for food-system Soul Masters—apologies, but among the three rare professions that possessed auxiliary utility—alchemists, auxiliary-system Soul Masters, and food-system Soul Masters—as to which of the former two ranked first, it generally varied from person to person.
Depending on the alchemy skills, pill recipes, and different Martial Souls, the results could differ vastly. However, it was universally acknowledged that food-system Soul Masters always ranked third.
This point was beyond dispute.
After all, food-system Martial Souls relied far too heavily on soul rings, making it far too dependent on luck. Furthermore, their own Martial Souls offered absolutely no path for independent research; their abilities were basically locked to death by their soul rings.
Within the same realm, there was almost zero growth potential or adaptability. Even high-ranking food-system Soul Masters only had those few abilities attached to their soul rings back and forth, which was far too monotonous.
At best, they possessed quite an advantage when dealing with lower-ranking groups in terms of mass supply and pricing. At the high-end level, they could never stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the former two.
On the foundation of a Tier 5 pill, medicine designed for repairing Martial Soul injuries was considered even more precious.
If this were any other traditional cultivation world, things like medicinal pills would naturally find those that increased cultivation or broke through bottlenecks to be the most precious, with healing types taking a back seat.
But on the Douluo Continent, due to the unique nature of the Soul Master profession, everything was rooted in the Martial Soul. Moreover, the cultivation realms prior to the Titled Douluo stage were directly tied to the aptitude of one's Martial Soul, meaning there were virtually no bottlenecks.
Therefore, pills that increased cultivation or broke through bottlenecks were not considered particularly precious. Descendants of major factions rarely used them, and certain genius Soul Masters with exceptionally high aptitude basically never consumed them.
Even if they did, the number of times they used cultivation-boosting pills in their entire lifetime could be counted on one hand. Instead, healing-type pills and pills that boosted combat power occupied the mainstream.
Among these, pills capable of repairing Martial Soul injuries were the most precious. After all, the Martial Soul was the very foundation of a Soul Master and was intricately linked to the soul, containing infinite mysteries that were not inferior to the soul itself in the slightest.
Even to this day, people had yet to unravel all the secrets of the Martial Soul. When it came to healing, restoring injuries to a Martial Soul was never any less difficult than mending injuries to the soul itself.
Therefore, among all medicinal pills, those that treated Martial Soul injuries were the most precious, even gaining a half-step advantage over pills that restored the soul.
This was simply because there were not particularly many ways for the soul to be damaged—mostly resulting from mental attacks or soul skill backlashes—which was nowhere near as common as a Martial Soul sustaining damage from intense combat.
Although the Elephant Armored Sect was ranked among the Seven Great Sects, their attraction to alchemists was not particularly strong due to the nature of their Martial Soul and their cultivation style.
On top of that, the Diamond Mammoth Martial Soul could not be linked to alchemy in any way whatsoever. Therefore, the number of alchemists within the Elephant Armored Sect was quite small, and this single Tier 5 Spirit-Restoring Purple Pill could truly be described as incomparably precious.
**
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