Nine Astra Skies

The crowd was restless. It was already a hundred and fifteen breath counts. There was no way Ye Chen could redo his drawing.

Ye Changxuan hit his chest in disappointment. Ye Chen's circle seemed rather outstanding. He could have competed with Mo Teng's drawing. Why did he have to destroy it?

Yun Yiyang was watching anxiously from afar. He heaved a sigh of relief when Ye Chen decided to scrap his drawing. Moments later, he detected another sudden movement from Ye Chen's palm.

Both Mo Feng and Mo Teng were equally nervous just watching the movements on Ye Chen's table. It was a roller coaster of emotions that kept them at the edge of their seats.

Li Xu looked on in bewilderment. Again, the powder circulated in the air, spiraling and forming into the image of a strange-looking creature. The ravenous speed at which the picture was drawn left many in awe.

A lifelike picture soon settled on the table. That was a hundred and twenty breath counts. The drawing was complete! Ye Chen opened his eyes. A glimmer of light flashed across his eyes. If one had used their Astral Body to probe further, one could see the afterimage of a five-clawed dragon.

"Time's up!"

The floor was pin-drop silent the moment the words were spoken.

The crowd looked at what was beneath Ye Chen's palm. It seemed like a snake that had the antlers of a deer with a scaly body, five claws surrounded a group of clouds. They could not make out the image but it was certainly lifelike and very impressive. It was so mystical and realistic as if it was about to spring to life and fly out of the table.

Ye Changxuan, Mo Feng, Mo Teng, and even Yun Yiyang were dumbfounded. Neither of them spoke, only fixing their eyes on Ye Chen's table.

"What's that?" Li Xu asked after taking a moment to process the event. His question was as good as the rest.

The creature that Ye Chen had drawn looked strange and no one had ever seen it before. It was so realistic and believable.

"This is a dragon. It's a Divine Beast that resides deep in the ocean and can fly nine hundred miles into the sky. It's a powerful being that can swallow lands and rivers whole," Ye Chen explained. Had the people of this world had not seen a dragon before?

"A dragon?" The crowd was all ears. Some were skeptical. The word "dragon" was associated with a different meaning, one that was not of a creature.

"Have you ever seen such a Divine Beast, Ye Chen?" Li Xu inquired. If he had not seen one, he could not have recreated such a vivid drawing right down to its scale.

"Nope. Only in my dreams." Ye Chen smiled sheepishly.

Li Xu looked at Ye Chen in surprise. Some folks had dreamed about a powerful martial art technique and some were murdered in their sleep. Li Xu had a degree of knowledge of certain things. He was aware that certain Celestial Beasts could invade mankind's dreams through the use of Astral Body. Could that dragon Ye Chen spoke of had done the same?

Li Xu inspected the "dragon" on the table. According to Ye Chen, it was a powerful creature capable of swallowing lands and rivers whole. How interesting. The dragon had a deer's antlers and a snake's body but it looked menacing as well. It did not seem weird. Surely, this was not a creature collated from different images.

"Why does the dragon not have an eye?" Someone from the crowd asked.

Li Xu noticed that too. There was no eye at where the eye socket should be. He looked at Ye Chen for an explanation.

"There's a story called the Dragon's Eye. I'm afraid it'll spring to life if I give it an eye," Ye Chen calmly explained.

Worried that giving the dragon an eye would cause it to come to life? The crowd was startled. What an arrogant statement! However, none commented on his arrogance. Ye Chen's image of a dragon was a testament to his godlike control over his Celestial Chi. Coupled with Ye Chen's outstanding fire elemental cultivation system, the boy was sure to excel in Alchemy. Could the Donglin County be seeing the birth of an apothecary too?

This was a promising apothecary right here! The crowd could barely contain their excitement so much so that it was difficult for them to catch a breath.

Yun Yiyang, who was at the side looked at the picture underneath Ye Chen's hand. He looked pale and his eyes spoke of fear. There were no amount of words that could describe how he felt. Yun Yiyang had never thought Ye Chen's Celestial Chi control could be so good. After all that had happened, Li Xu would surely dote on Ye Chen. Master Apothecary Xuanyi would surely view him differently too. When that happened, would the Yun Clan even have a place in the Xiwu Empire?

"No matter the cost, we must dispose of Ye Chen before he gets to Master Apothecary Xuanyi!" Yun Yiyang's killer instincts were on. Yun Yiyang dared not take matters into his own hands as he was afraid that he would stir some unnecessary trouble should he offend Master Apothecary Xuanyi. Instead, Yun Yiyang came up with an evil plan.

Mo Feng would have never expected the tables to turn. It looked like the Earth Quintessence Pill was no longer theirs. What was more infuriating was that his grandson, Mo Teng, was far from competent compared to Ye Chen, which meant Li Xu might not even consider him any further. Ye Chen's talents were amazing and he had no way to show his bitterness. It would be unfortunate if his bitterness had offended a future apothecary. The word "apothecary" would not stop ringing in his head and he could not help but feel disappointed.

Mo Teng was dumbfounded. He only wanted to cry out loud.

"The Dragon's Eye? How interesting!" Li Xu smiled with approval. He was ecstatic. Li Xu was not expecting to find a prodigy in Donglin County. Before Li Xu came here, a sibyl from the Oracle Sect had informed him that he was going to get lucky. Li Xu had not expected himself to get this lucky. The sibyl's fortune telling was truly legit! Just imagine how happy Master Apothecary Xuanyi would feel if he met Ye Chen.

Ye Changxuan did not expect any of this. By the time he had reeled in from all that was happening, the people were flocking over to congratulate him. Ye Changxuan thought that he was going to have to congratulate Mo Feng but now, it was Mo Feng who was coming up to him to do so.

"Congratulations, Lord Ye. Looks like the Ye Clan has a prodigy."

"Lord Ye, the next time the Ye Clan has any matters that need help with, the Xu Clan of Donglin will be at your service!" That came from Xu Jian of the Xu Clan. Xu Jian was trying to appease them. The Xu Clan was a level above the Ye Clan in power and were far weaker than the Yun Clan.

Why would the Xu Clan ever butter the Ye Clan's *ss?

The rest of the crowd responded similarly. The Xu Clan was such an opportunist. The Ye Clan had a talented individual. With a prodigy like Ye Chen, in ten or twenty years, he would probably break through the Tenth Level or even become a Venerable One. Ye Chen might even be a Master Apothecary!

A Master Apothecary, what was it like being one?

A string of words appeared in the crowd's minds. Strong and powerful, someone who had traveled far and wide, had countless of followers and disciples, richer than the entire country, could easily produce many Ninth Level combatants, and behaved as he pleased wherever he went!

It would not be too late to befriend Ye Chen when it was his turn to be a Master Apothecary. For now, they had to get on the Ye Clan's good side!

The crowd thought how could they just let Xu Jian get away with the strongest man?

"Lord Ye, the Li Clan pledges their loyalty too."

…

Now, all the elder chiefs and lords were presenting themselves to Ye Chen to express their goodwill. There were even fifteen to sixteen Ninth Level combatants who did the same too!

Previously when the Ye Clan butted heads against the Yun Clan, the Yun Clan was backed up by the Second-Rank Prince of Donglin. Most elder chiefs and lords kept their distance from the Ye Clan. Now, things were starting to look up. With Li Xu noticing Ye Chen, why would the Yun Clan ever think to lay their hands on them? In ten years, the Ye Clan would be largely different from what they were now. They were on their way to being a powerhouse. One slap and even the Second-Rank Prince of Donglin's Palace was done for! Every lord and elder chief were trying to flatter Ye Changxuan, hoping to build an alliance with the Ye Clan. The Ye Clan had turned into an overnight sensation!

All the Ninth Level combatants were pledging their loyalty. Ye Changxuan could not help but feel flustered. In his lifetime, he had never experienced such glory. The Ye Clan had never experienced such glory. Ye Changxuan bowed down to every gesture. Even an old and steady man like him could not contain his excitement. Ye Changxuan felt a thousand times lighter now. He glanced at Ye Chen. All of this was thanks to him!