The aftermath of Zhao Yan and Liu Qingcheng's breakthroughs still echoed through the Azure Sky Sect like a silent storm. Their success marked a shift in the heavens—a sect once mocked was now surging toward power.
But in Qin Chen's eyes, this was just the beginning.
With the core disciples and several elders empowered, there remained one final pillar that had yet to be reforged.
The Azure Sky Sect Master.
Inside the Sect Master's personal cultivation hall, the atmosphere was different from every other place in the sect.
It was ancient.
Still.
Powerful.
The walls pulsed faintly with Dao runes carved from ages past. Floating orbs of golden light moved in slow, deliberate circles above, releasing a serene glow. The pressure here wasn't heavy—but it was absolute.
Qin Chen entered silently, offering a respectful bow. "Sect Master."
The Sect Master, dressed in his formal azure robes, looked up with a faint smile. "You've done more for this sect in a few months than I have done in years."
Qin Chen shook his head lightly. "Only because you kept it alive long enough for me to do something."
The Sect Master's lips curled slightly. "Careful. Too much humility after all that glory will confuse the elders."
Qin Chen allowed a slight grin. "I thought you preferred modest disciples."
"I prefer effective ones." He motioned to a table behind him. "Come. Let me show you the culmination of centuries of hoarding."
Qin Chen stepped forward as the Sect Master opened six layers of intricate seals protecting a jade trunk.
Inside—
-Abyssal Flame Marrow – pulsating with black-red fire that burned without heat.
-Voidheart Lichen – so faint it seemed like mist, drawn from hidden realms between dimensions.
-Heavenly Soul Ironleaf – shaped like a curved blade, infused with pure spiritual metal essence.
-Draconic Pulse Root – beating like a second heart, containing the blood essence of a peak ancient beast.
-Nine-Realm Glacial Lotus – ice-petaled, suspended in a time stasis talisman to prevent spiritual detonation.
-Stellar Flame Sand – crushed from celestial debris, glowing with star-forged light.
Qin Chen stared at the ingredients, expression solemn.
"These are…" He inhaled slowly. "They're not just for Soul Transformation… they're beyond."
The Sect Master nodded. "I don't want to stabilize my realm, Qin Chen. I want to shatter its limits. I want to reach the absolute peak of Soul Transformation… in one leap. But there can be no mishaps, these are the resources the Sect has been saving for countless years."
Qin Chen's eyes flickered. "That… will be dangerous."
"Not with you here."
Qin Chen met his gaze, then bowed slightly. "Then I will give you the perfect pill to match that ambition."
Several Hours Later – Deep within the Alchemy Hall
The chamber had been sealed with seven ancient formations. Elder Mu and the three Core Elders stood outside, watching with strained expressions.
Inside—
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The cauldron glowed brighter than ever before, the flames within no longer golden-purple—
—but white.
White flames, sovereign and pure, devoured the impossible ingredients as Qin Chen stood before them like a god of creation.
His hands moved with practiced fluidity.
-The Draconic Pulse Root was ground into a dense elixir and added first.
-The Flame Marrow screamed when it entered, but his Sovereign Fire tamed it.
-The Glacial Lotus melted unnaturally fast, infused with star-sand to stabilize the soul.
-The Voidheart Lichen and Stellar Flame Sand mixed into a formless haze that only someone with extreme soul control could manipulate.
These ingredients were beyond what was required to simply form a perfect-grade Soul Ascension pill that Qin Chen had been planning on refining.
However, Qin Chen thought of it as an interesting challenge rather than an inconvenience.
Beads of sweat were dripping down Qin Chen's forehead, as he was attempting to create something unique and unprecedented, touching upon the uppermost limits of Grade 5 Alchemy.
Then suddenly.
Ding!
[You have created a Gradeless – Perfect Soul Sovereign Pill!]
The entire chamber froze.
Even the system sounded… impressed.
Qin Chen took the glowing pill in hand. Its outer shell shimmered with faint silver-gold runes that danced like constellations. The soul pressure it emitted was so dense that space trembled around it.
He stepped out of the chamber.
Elder Mu fell to one knee. The three Core Elders instinctively took a step back.
Qin Chen approached the Sect Master's personal cultivation peak—and offered the pill with both hands.
"Sect Master," he said quietly, "this will take you to the apex of Soul Transformation. Beyond that… your path will be yours alone."
The Sect Master stared at the pill for a long moment, then slowly took it. "With this… I may live long enough to see this sect ascend beyond the Northern Wilderness."
He swallowed it.
Then—
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Heaven itself responded.
The skies went dark across the entire region.
The sect's protective formation activated automatically, shielding the inner peaks from the terrifying pressure that exploded outward.
A giant silhouette formed in the sky.
A projection of the Sect Master's soul.
It wasn't human.
It wasn't beast.
It was a celestial being—half man, half flame-dragon, with eyes like burning stars and wings of blazing energy that stretched across the horizon.
It's heart-palpitating aura was rapidly rising.
Merely a few minutes later.
From within the projection, a thunderous voice echoed.
"This… is the limit of Soul Transformation?"
BOOOOOOM!
Lightning crashed from the void.
It wasn't heavenly tribulation—it was spatial rejection. The heavens themselves refusing to let the Sect Master grow stronger within the Soul Transformation realm.
He grinned through the pain. "Then push harder!"
Qin Chen stood beneath the lightstorm, arms crossed, watching with narrowed eyes.
The projection roared one last time.
Then, with a shattering explosion of radiance—
It vanished.
And the Sect Master descended… slowly… glowing with divine might.
His aura?
Soul Transformation Peak.
Not shaky.
Not unstable.
Perfect.
That night, the sect fell into silence.
And in that silence, every disciple, every elder, every outsider watching from afar felt it.
The Azure Sky Sect… had changed.
Forever.