The courtyards Bai Yunfei resided in had even more people gathered there now. There werenāt just the trainees now, even Soul Sprites and soul cultivators above that were here.
Among those gathered here in the courtyard were Wang Tong, Kai Wen, and Bu Jiadi. Like the trainees, the three of them were absolutely shocked at the amount of elemental fire gathered in the area.
Before, the elemental fire was simply resting in the area, stagnant as more and more of it was added to its mass. Now, the elemental fire was swirling around like a violent maelstrom and being drained into the room Bai Yunfei was in. It was a mesmerizing sight that caught the attention of everyone that was looking at it.
āIsā¦is it finally over! Did he succeed?!ā
āItās finally over? Is this whatās supposed to happen when the fireseed is formed? Isnāt this a littleĀ tooĀ much?ā
āNoā¦thereās no way this is normal. Not even a Soul Exalt should have a sight like thisā¦is this really a person trying to become a Soul Sprite?ā
āIs this the sign of a new genius?ā
Chatter was being started once again. Louder than the chatter before Bai Yunfei started his attempt, everyone was talking loudly and curiously as they watched this amazing āspectacleā.
The trainees had only a limited perspective on what was going on. Elder Cheng, Wang Tong, and the others, however, were different. Experienced by their time and training, each and every single one of them had a hard time believing what was going on.
āKai Wen, Jiadiā¦is it just me? Iā¦I canāt sense any sign of him being a Soul Sprite!ā
Confused by the lack of energy waves a Soul Sprite shouldāve had, Wang Tong turned his head to his companions to have them confirm his confusion.
But Kai Wen shook his head. He didnāt know either. āI donāt either.ā Bu Jiadi replied, āHeās not a Soul Sprite. I thinkā¦Tang Long failed to breakthrough?!ā
Failed to breakthrough.
The eyes of everyone there widened. How could this be?!
āFailed?! Butā¦but how!!ā
Elder Cheng was the most noticeably surprised one. āThat canāt be, how could he fail?! There was so much elemental fire, and for so long, how could that possibly be a failure? The fireseed pill shouldnāt have beenā¦Tang Long shouldnāt have failed!ā
āCreakā¦ā
The doors opened then to reveal a rather stunned-looking Bai Yunfei.
Everyoneās fears were confirmed the moment they laid eyes on Bai Yunfei.Ā
This personā¦really didnāt become a Soul Sprite!
āā¦..ā
The first thing Bai Yunfei saw were the trainees staring wide-eyed in curious shock at him. He looked away. Elder Cheng and the others were all staring grimly at him, causing him to feel at odds with himself. āElder Cheng,ā He hesitated to speak, āIā¦ā
Elder Cheng placed his hand onto Bai Yunfeiās shoulder before he finished speaking. Sending his soulforce into Bai Yunfeiās body, the elder began to sense for Bai Yunfeiās power.
āThereā¦there really isnātā¦ā Elder Cheng looked almost crestfallen. He could tell by the fluctuations within Bai Yunfeiās body that the elemental energy gathered here earlier were no longer in him. In essence, that meant Bai Yunfei had failed to become a Soul Sprite. He was still just a Soul Warrior like before.
āEveryoneā¦return to your own tasks at once!!ā The elder whirled around. It was high time for the others to return to their own business.
A few of the people there were puzzled by the unexpectedly serious look on the elderās face, but none of them dared question anything. One by one, they all left the courtyard so that only a few remained there.
Now that most of the people were gone, elder Cheng found the timing appropriate to let out a disappointed sigh. āHow could it have failedā¦just how could it be?ā
He had been expected earlier. The massive amount of elemental energy gathered here shouldāve heralded an incoming genius. He had high hopes for Bai Yunfei, but now it seemed like his hopes were dashed, and now his sorrows were as deep as those initial hopes.
āTell me, Tang Long. What happened? How did you fail?ā He leveled a pitiful look at Bai Yunfei.
āIā¦I donāt know. I thought I succeeded at first, but then the elemental fire suddenly disappeared. I really donāt know what happenedā¦ā
He was extremely disappointed too. He wasnāt as knowledgeable as everyone else when it came to matters of cultivation like this, but that didnāt mean he didnāt know this was something to be disappointed over.Ā
Bai YunfeiĀ didĀ feel the waves of energy enter his body during his attempt, but he didnāt know where it ended up afterward.
Wang Tong and the others looked rather sorrowful as well. āBrother Tang Long,ā He gave Bai Yunfei a comforting slap on the shoulders, āthe path of cultivation is a long and difficult one. Disappointment is a very common emotion to encounter. As long as you work hard, thereāll be another chance in the futureā¦ā
āBig brother Wang Tongā¦whatā¦what should I do in the future then?ā Bai Yunfei sighed. He was looking forward to becoming a Soul Sprite and learning the esoteric arts of Alchemy. If he succeeded, he wouldāve been one step closer to healing the damages to his soul and recovering even more memories of himself.Ā
But nowā¦what do I do?ā Bai Yunfei asked. He thought that today would be the day heād become a Soul Sprite and begin his instructions in Alchemy. But nowā¦Ā
If he wasnāt a Soul Sprite, then he wasnāt eligible to begin learning Alchemy. And if he couldnāt do either, that meant he wouldnāt get stronger. All in all, this was a result he felt completely depressed over.
Depressed didnāt even begin to describe him right now. He even felt like going back to the village so he could forget about this and resume his ordinary livelihood there.
Wang Tong and the others seemed to notice what he was thinking. āIāve said it before, brother Tang Long. The elder has forbidden anyone from going out from the city. Returning to the village will beā¦impossible for now.
āBut itās not the end of the world that you failed,ā He smiled. āyou can remain here and prepare for the next time. Should your special circumstances resolve itslef and you still want to return to the village, Iāll be more than happy to bring you back there myself.ā
Bai Yunfeiās mouth dropped one for a moment as if wanting to say something, but it closed in the end. He nodded. What Wang Tong said made sense to himā¦Ā
āāāāāāāāāĀ
Alone in a certain room, Bai Yunfei sat right next to the table there. He stared at the Yunās Soul Ring without at all flinching.Ā
The sudden sound of footsteps caughth is attention. He jerked his hand away in time for him to look at the door where a young man in green robes came walking through.
āHello, Tang Long. Iām here for a woodseed pill, sorry for the trouble.ā He took a jade slip out towards Bai Yunfei as if to show proof of his request.
Snapping out from his previous thoughts, Bai Yunfei gave the man an apologetic smile. āAlright, Iāll be out with it in one second.ā
He took the jade slip from the maleās hand and retreated into the connected room. Inside of the room sat an elderly man with his eyes closed. Stopping in front of the man, Bai Yunfei bowed. āElder Yu, a person is here for a woodseed pill.ā
The elderās eyelids opened slowly to stare at Bai Yunfei. A glint of light briefly crossed his eyes before something behind the elder creaked. A drawer on the wall had suddenly opened up for a large white bottle to come flying out.
Grabbing the bottle, the elder exchanged it for the jade slip in Bai Yunfeiās hand before closing his eyes and returning to rest.
Bai Yunfei bowed respectfully and backed out from the room. Closing the door behind him, he turned to face the male and handed him the bottle. The two spoke a little longer before the other male left the place.
Now alone again, Bai Yunfei sat back down at the same table he was at. He looked at a few of the old-fashioned jade slips nearby with a curious look.Ā
āCongregating pillā¦a low-earth tier medicine Soul Sprites can take to improve their rate of trainingā¦ā