Under the watchful gaze of countless eyes, Xiao Yan rose slowly. Thunder roared across the sky, and flashes of lightning streaking through the heavens cast bright light upon his young face, yet he remained remarkably calm. As Xiao Yan stood, Cao Ying, Dan Chen, and the others shifted their attention from the thunderclouds above to focus on him. Cao Ying stared at Xiao Yan’s slender figure with a mixture of admiration and contemplation. She knew well that his talent in alchemy was no less than her own—this, for a proud woman, was the first time in years that she had bestowed such high praise upon a peer of his age. It spoke volumes about how much she valued Xiao Yan. Dan Chen, pale-faced, paused her gaze on Xiao Yan as well. Though they had interacted before, she had never expected him to truly reach this point. "Hmph..." The elderly master glanced at Xiao Yan, a cold smirk playing at the corner of his lips, and a low hum escaping from his nostrils, showing little regard for the young man. "This one claims to be a disciple of Yao Chen—how much of Yao Chen's true teachings has he actually absorbed?" The gray-haired elder, known as the 'Qinghua Oddity' by Xuan Kong and others, now fixed his gaze on Xiao Yan, murmuring to himself. Despite the countless eyes watching him, each filled with varying emotions, Xiao Yan remained utterly unbothered, his expression calm and his eyes steadily focused on the cauldron within. After a moment, he took a deep breath and then suddenly swept his sleeve with force. "Clang!" As his sleeve moved, the lid of the Wàn Shòu Cauldron was launched skyward, radiating a tremendous surge of energy that surged forth and struck the cauldron's inner wall with a thunderous, resonant sound. Though the cauldron offered resistance, a portion of the energy fluctuations still radiated outward, causing several stone platforms near Xiao Yan to burst with a loud "pop," scattering stone fragments everywhere. "Boom!" As the colossal energy waves spread, the Ten-Thousand-Beasts Cauldron suddenly began to tremble violently, and then, in the midst of stunned silence, a towering column of emerald flame shot skyward with a sharp hiss. The flame column soared high, its intense glow visible clearly within a hundred li, and the subtle energy ripples within the flame caused many of the stronger warriors to feel a deep sense of awe. "This kind of fluctuation…" Master Xuankong's gaze remained fixed, his voice calm as he murmured, "must also be an eighth-rank pill. The boy has indeed held back his strength before—though it remains to be seen how many colors of pill lightning he can summon?" As Xuan Kongzi's words settled, an unusual mist at the far end of the celestial fire pillar swiftly coalesced, and after a while, took on the form of thunderclouds. The entire audience held their breath, countless eyes fixed intently upon the swirling thunderclouds in the sky. Under this collective gaze, the clouds churned, gradually revealing two distinct hues—several shades of green and silver. "Two colors—two distinct thunderclouds!" murmurs of astonishment rose throughout the plaza. "Wait—those clouds are still swirling, and more colors are emerging!" Just as the initial waves of surprise had begun to rise, a fresh series of exclamations suddenly echoed across the scene. Hearing these exclamations, many people were startled, quickly focusing their attention on the thunderclouds swirling high in the sky. Indeed, beneath the blend of green and silver hues, a streak of red began to emerge gradually. After a while, the red grew increasingly vibrant, eventually reaching a concentration that was no less intense than the other two colors. Once the red had fully appeared, the swirling motion of the thunderclouds gradually slowed and finally settled into a stable, vivid tri-color formation. "This guy... how is this even possible?" Song Qing stared in wide-eyed astonishment at the magnificent tri-color thunder clouds above, feeling dizzy and disoriented. He was well aware of Xiao Yan's alchemy skills, which were at most seventh-tier advanced—how could he possibly produce an eighth-tier pill, especially one that had summoned tri-color thunder clouds! Such an achievement was far beyond what Cao Ying could match. "Has he been concealing his true abilities all along?" Cao Ying and Dan Chen, standing at a distance, were equally stunned, their eyes reflecting a sense of awe—Xiao Yan's performance had certainly exceeded their expectations. After a moment of shock, the awe gradually subsided. Cao Ying gazed steadily at the young man beneath the thunder clouds, his proud gaze now finally flickering with a touch of new admiration. For so many years, this woman who had enchanted countless outstanding men with her ethereal charm, finally felt a deep, stirring resonance within herself—this very moment, beneath the thunder, in the young man before her. "Three-colored Thunder Pills... Heh, Xuan Kongzi, you've lost again." On the elevated platform, the graceful woman gazed at the three-hued thunder clouds above, then turned her gaze to the slender figure on the stone dais, offering a gentle smile and speaking softly. "Ah, no surprise—no matter now, I still can't quite match him," Xuan Kongzi said, his eyes lingering on the sky for a long while before finally returning, his expression tinged with a mixture of admiration and regret. "As for Xiao Yan, he holds a truly bright future—indeed, one day, he may surpass even me, surpassing me in brilliance and surpassing me in stature." The older man, with his dark complexion and previously stern demeanor, finally broke his reserve, offering a rare, appreciative smile. Xuan Kongzi and the beautiful woman both nodded gently. Xuan Kongzi glanced over, suddenly turning his gaze toward the position where Qinghua, the old monster, and Mu Gu, the elder, stood. With only these two remaining, their outcomes would now determine the champion of this year's Dan Assembly. "I wonder who will ultimately prevail..." Qinghua's elder smiled, then turned his gaze toward the elderly master, Mu Gu, who had remained motionless throughout. His eyes narrowed slightly—he could sense that this man was no ordinary figure, and there was a subtle, almost familiar sensation lingering in his mind... This feeling lingered for a while before being set aside. Fixing his gaze on the cauldron before him, he raised his sleeve and with a sweeping motion, sent the lid of the cauldron crashing down. Gazing at the thundercloud that finally solidified into three distinct hues, slowly ceasing its rolling motion, waves of astonishment rose across the plaza. The three-hued Dan Thunder of Qinghua, only slightly different from Xiao Yan's, shared the same characteristic—both were composed of three colors with remarkably similar intensity. To the naked eye, it was indeed difficult to discern which was superior. "The old man's alchemy has clearly improved—three-hued Dan Thunder is no longer just a mere achievement," murmured Xuan Kongzi and the others, nodding slightly with a gentle smile. "Now, it's just that one remaining..." The beautiful woman turned her gaze to the final figure—the old Mu Gu elder—and spoke slowly. Upon hearing this, Xuan Kongzi and the others nodded in agreement, though for some reason, a subtle sense of unease quietly stirred within them. When the three-colored Dan Thunder from Qinghua's elder took shape, the audience was first stunned, then spontaneously gathered at the final stone platform, where a figure in black robes sat cross-legged. Amidst this sea of attention, Master Mu Gu's face slowly curled into a strange smile, and then he rose slowly, his gaze cold and sharp, first fixing on Xiao Yan, before shifting to the others—his eyes filled with scorn. Noticing this gaze, the others immediately felt their hearts sink. "Hah! Hah! Xuan Kongzi, I'm sorry—seems like this year's Dan Conclave champion will have to be mine after all... Hah!" Seeing the others' visibly somber expressions, Master Mu Gu could no longer suppress his unusual laughter. This time, his laughter finally shed all reserve, becoming the very familiar voice that Xiao Yan had heard the night before. With the laughter fading, Master Mu Bone flicked his finger, sending forth a column of light so intense it resembled a laser piercing through the heavens, stirring vast waves that surged upward and reached the sky. "Hah! Even disciples trained by Yao Chen aren't much better than this..." The towering light column rose skyward, and the cold, resonant laughter of Master Mu Bone gradually deepened the somber expression on Xiao Yan's face.