Chapter 373 The New Tower Master Arrives in Black

The news spread faster than anyone could have imagined.

Within a few short days, news that the Spirit Clan's Small World had been breached and their ancestral grounds were empty had spread throughout the Central Plains.

In teahouses, taverns, Sects, and noble families, people everywhere were discussing this event.

“The Spirit Clan is gone? That was an Emperor Clan! An Emperor Clan with a Legacy spanning tens of thousands of years!”

“Exactly... an entire clan, gone just like that, without even a sound.”

“Who on earth did it?”

“Who else could it be? The Gu Clan and the Hun Clan are accusing each other, both saying the other did it. The Yan Clan and the Medicine Clan have also spoken up, saying it was the Hun Clan.”

“The Hun Clan? Why would they wipe out the Spirit Clan?”

“Who knows... how could we ever guess the affairs of those Emperor Clans?”

Discussions rose and fell; some were terrified, some were curious, and most were simply watching from the sidelines.

The Emperor Clans were existences standing at the very Peak of the Fighting Qi Continent.

If even such behemoths could disappear without a trace, what safety was left in this world?

Ancient World.

Gu Yuan sat on the main throne of the great hall, clutching a message jade talisman, his expression grim.

He was among the first to know about the Spirit Clan matter.

The ones who had breached the Spirit Clan's Small World were scouts sent out by the Gu Clan.

When the scout returned, he knelt in the hall, his Face deathly pale and his voice trembling as he spoke.

“Gone... all gone... not a single person left...”

Gu Yuan didn't speak then; he simply waved his hand, dismissing the scout.

Now, sitting on his throne, several secret reports from various locations were spread out before him.

The Spirit Clan, Shi Clan, Medicine Clan, Yan Clan, Lei Clan... every report marked the movements and recent anomalies of each clan.

“Hun Tiandi,” he whispered the name, his tone icy.

The Elders standing in the hall didn't dare to breathe loudly, only venturing to steal glances at the Clan Chief's Face.

“Heighten our vigilance.” Gu Yuan put down the reports and stood up, standing with his hands behind his back. “From this day forward, the Gu Clan enters a state of combat readiness. All clansmen traveling outside are to be recalled immediately.”

The Elders responded in unison, “Yes!”

Soul Realm.

Unlike the solemn atmosphere of the Ancient World, the sky of the Soul Realm remained its usual murky gray, with no sun or moon, indistinguishable between day and night.

Hun Tiandi sat in the deepest part of the great hall, a message from the outside world spread across the desk before him.

After reading it, he casually tossed the jade talisman onto the table, the corners of his mouth curling into a slight arc.

“That old fellow Gu Yuan really can't sit still anymore.”

Void Swallowing Flame, condensed into a human form, stood in a corner of the hall. That clump of pitch-black flame flickered a few times as a raspy voice spoke: “The Shi Clan's side is ready.”

Hun Tiandi nodded, his gaze piercing through the hall doors toward the murky gray sky in the distance.

“Wait a bit longer.” He leaned back in his chair, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest. “We will act once the Gu Clan has focused all its attention on the Spirit Clan incident.”

Void Swallowing Flame didn't speak, but the pitch-black flame flickered even more violently.

Pill City.

Shen Wen had little interest in the struggles between these Emperor Clans.

The Spirit Clan being gone had nothing to do with him. He couldn't stop the Hun Clan from wiping out whoever they wanted.

He only needed to develop steadily and safely while those Emperor Clans were fighting tooth and nail.

However, it wouldn't hurt to cause some trouble for the Hun Clan. He had Cao Ying send some information to the Gu Clan, letting them know that the Hun Clan didn't just consist of their clansmen.

There was also the Void Swallowing Flame, which was one of the Hun Clan's true trump cards.

Now that he had Zhu Kun watching his back, many things he couldn't do or didn't dare to do before were now possible.

Otherwise, what would be the point of letting Zhu Kun out?

On this day, while he was in Old Man Shennong's medicine garden pondering over a batch of Ninth Grade Pills, Old Monster Lin suddenly arrived.

The old man walked into the garden leaning on his cane, sat down across from Shen Wen, and got straight to the point: “The Little Pill Tower wants you to become the Tower Revered Master.”

Shen Wen's movements paused as he looked up at Old Monster Lin.

Old Monster Lin continued, “You are now a Ninth-Grade Alchemist and the son-in-law of the Void Ancient Dragon. Your status, position, and strength are all sufficient.

The Cao family and the Dan Family are your people, and I am your Revered Master. None of those old fogies in the Little Pill Tower have any objections.”

He paused, his tone carrying a hint of a smile: “So, are you interested?”

Shen Wen was silent for a moment before putting down the medicinal ingredients and leaning back in his chair.

Pill Tower Revered Master.

That was the true controller of the Pill Tower, with a status higher than the Three Great Powers and authority covering the entire Pill Tower system.

From Alchemy to resource distribution, from external negotiations to internal personnel, the Tower Revered Master's word was law.

If he sat in that position, the Pill Tower would truly become his.

Those resources, channels, and connections would all be for his use.

“I accept,” Shen Wen nodded.

Old Monster Lin smiled, patted him on the shoulder, and stood up to walk out of the medicine garden.

“Then it's settled. I'll have people prepare and announce it to the continent on an auspicious day.”

The news of the new Pill Tower Revered Master taking office spread throughout the Central Plains amidst the aftermath of the Spirit Clan incident.

The announcement was personally drafted by Xuan Kongzi. The wording was concise, without any flowery embellishments, just a straightforward fact:

Shen Wen, Ninth-Grade Alchemist, will assume the position of Pill Tower Revered Master effective immediately.

The moment the news spread, the Central Plains went silent for a heartbeat before erupting into a frenzy.

“Ninth-grade? How old is Shen Wen?”

“In his early twenties, I think... A Ninth-Grade Alchemist? You didn't mishear?”

“That's right, Ninth-grade. He refined a Ninth-Grade Treasure Pill at the Pill Gathering, and even the Black Demon Lightning appeared. How could that be fake?”

“But if he's the Tower Revered Master, what about the Three Great Powers of the Pill Tower?”

“The Three Great Powers are still the Three Great Powers, but the Tower Revered Master is the Tower Revered Master. The Three Great Powers manage the overt affairs of the Pill Tower, while the Tower Revered Master manages the entire Pill Tower. The status and authority are different.”

“A twenty-year-old Tower Revered Master... In the thousands of years since the Pill Tower was founded, this must be the first time, right?”

“Isn't it just...”

Discussions rose and fell; some were amazed, some were skeptical, and others watched coldly from the sidelines.

But regardless of what outsiders said, the internal reaction of the Pill Tower was surprisingly unanimous.

The Cao family went without saying; Cao Ying was Shen Wen's primary wife, and the entire Cao family had long since considered him one of their own.

The Dan Family was the same; although Dan Chen was only a concubine, the Old Ancestor of the Dan Family doted on this granddaughter and, by extension, was naturally close to Shen Wen.

As for the Elders of the Little Pill Tower, most were old friends or juniors of Old Monster Lin. With Old Monster Lin's Face involved, no one would jump out to object.

Furthermore, Shen Wen was a Ninth-Grade Alchemist.

In the Pill Tower, Alchemy was the hard currency.

Ninth-grade meant he already stood at the Peak of this profession.

Those old fogies who had lived for hundreds of years and refined pills their whole lives had mostly never even touched the threshold of the ninth grade.

Now that a young man in his early twenties had surpassed them, what right did they have to object?

Shen Wen's inauguration ceremony as Tower Revered Master was held in the main hall of the Pill Tower.

The ceremony was simple: take the Tower Master Command Token, light three sticks of incense before the ancestral tablets, and then turn to Face the Elders and guests in the hall to say a few polite words.

Shen Wen took the Tower Master Command Token; it was a palm-sized token, pale gold in color, with the Pill Tower emblem carved on the front and an ancient character for 'Command' on the back.

The moment the token touched his hand, a warm power surged from it, flowing through his arm and into his body.

That was the Soul imprint left in the token by successive Tower Revered Masters, representing the Pill Tower's thousands of years of Legacy.

Shen Wen closed his eyes, sensing it for a moment, then opened them and turned to Face the crowd in the hall.

“From this day forward,” his voice wasn't loud, yet it clearly reached everyone's ears, “the affairs of the Pill Tower are mine to manage.”

The hall went silent for a moment, followed by a chorus of scattered responses.

Xuan Kongzi stood at the front of the crowd, looking at Shen Wen with a complex expression.

The youth who had been brought to him by Old Monster Lin to be looked after was now standing at the very top of the Pill Tower.

Meanwhile, he, Tian Leizi, and Xuan Yi—these old fogies—had instead become his subordinates.

Tian Leizi was more open-minded, standing beside Xuan Kongzi with his arms crossed and a smile on his Face.

Xuan Yi stood between the two, her gaze fixed on Shen Wen, the corners of her lips curling slightly.

Old Monster Lin stood by the ancestral tablets, watching Shen Wen's back as he took the Tower Master Command Token, his eyes reddening slightly.

He remembered the scene when he had picked up that infant in the Northwest; back then, he only felt the child had spirit and would surely be successful when he grew up.

He hadn't expected the child to reach this stage today.

Shen Wen put the Tower Master Command Token into his storage ring, turned to look at Old Monster Lin, and nodded slightly.

Old Monster Lin also nodded without speaking.

After the ceremony, Shen Wen sat in the Tower Revered Master's residence on the highest floor of the Pill Tower, with several scrolls sent from various places spread out before him.

The daily affairs of the Pill Tower would be handled by the Three Great Powers. The matters of the Little Pill Tower were watched over by those Elders.

He didn't need to do everything personally; he only needed to nod or shake his head on certain key matters.

He flipped through the scrolls, signing what needed to be signed and returning what needed to be returned, then leaned back in his chair to rest with his eyes closed.

Just then, a soft knock came from the door.

“Come in.”

The door was pushed open, and Xuan Yi walked in.

Today, she wore a pale green alchemist robe, her hair piled high. Her complexion was much better than before, with no trace of her injuries visible.

She sat across from Shen Wen and placed a jade talisman on the table.

“A message from the Starfall Pavilion.”

Shen Wen opened his eyes, picked up the jade talisman, and probed it with his Soul Power. After a moment.

Yao Chen.

He looked at Xuan Yi and said, “Is there some issue with this message, Aunt Xuan?”

“I know about this message.”

Shen Wen spoke; it seemed Xiao Yan had already made gains in the ruins.

He had helped Yao Chen reconstruct his Physical Body and had even stepped into the Half-Saint realm.

“You know?” Xuan Yi stared intently at Shen Wen, a sudden inexplicable panic rising in her heart upon hearing that Shen Wen knew about Yao Chen.

Would he know that she had once confessed her feelings to Yao Chen? Although nothing had happened, she was worried Shen Wen would mind.

Shen Wen glanced at Xuan Yi's expression; he could sense her mood. He casually sealed the room.

Xuan Yi was stunned for a moment before feeling a force lift her toward Shen Wen.

“What, is Aunt Xuan worried that I...” Shen Wen pulled Xuan Yi into his arms. This bold move startled her, but the various thoughts she had accumulated over these days were suddenly released.

“Aunt Xuan...”

Seeing Xuan Yi's blushing Face, Shen Wen pressed her down onto the desk. The influence of the Soul union affected not just Xuan Yi, but Shen Wen as well.

Suddenly, within the Tower Revered Master's office, the spring scenery bloomed...