The courtyards Bai Yunfei resided in had even more people gathered there now. There weren"t just the trainees now, even Soul Sprites and soul cultivators above that were here.
Among those gathered here in the courtyard were w.a.n.g 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 ma.s.s. 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.
“Is…is it finally over! Did he succeed?!”
“It"s finally over? Is this what"s supposed to happen when the fireseed is formed? Isn"t this a little too much?”
“No…there"s no way this is normal. Not even a Soul Exalt should have a sight like this…is this really a person trying to become a Soul Sprite?”
“Is this the sign of a new genius?”
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 "spectacle".
The trainees had only a limited perspective on what was going on. Elder Cheng, w.a.n.g 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.
“Kai Wen, Jiadi…is it just me? I…I can"t sense any sign of him being a Soul Sprite!”
Confused by the lack of energy waves a Soul Sprite should"ve had, w.a.n.g Tong turned his head to his companions to have them confirm his confusion.
But Kai Wen shook his head. He didn"t know either. “I don"t either.” Bu Jiadi replied, “He"s not a Soul Sprite. I think…Tang Long failed to breakthrough?!”
Failed to breakthrough.
The eyes of everyone there widened. How could this be?!
“Failed?! But…but how!!”
Elder Cheng was the most noticeably surprised one. “That can"t 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 shouldn"t have been…Tang Long shouldn"t have failed!”
“Creak…”
The doors opened then to reveal a rather stunned-looking Bai Yunfei.
“Late-stage Soul Warrior…he really didn"t succeed!”
Everyone"s fears were confirmed the moment they laid eyes on Bai Yunfei.
This person…really didn"t become a Soul Sprite!
“.....”
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. “Elder Cheng,” He hesitated to speak, “I…”
Elder Cheng placed his hand onto Bai Yunfei"s shoulder before he finished speaking. Sending his soulforce into Bai Yunfei"s body, the elder began to sense for Bai Yunfei"s power.
“There…there really isn"t…” Elder Cheng looked almost crestfallen. He could tell by the fluctuations within Bai Yunfei"s 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.
“Everyone…return to your own tasks at once!!” 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 elder"s 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. “How could it have failed…just how could it be?”
He had been expected earlier. The ma.s.sive amount of elemental energy gathered here should"ve 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.
“Tell me, Tang Long. What happened? How did you fail?” He leveled a pitiful look at Bai Yunfei.
“I…I don"t know. I thought I succeeded at first, but then the elemental fire suddenly disappeared. I really don"t know what happened…”
He was extremely disappointed too. He wasn"t as knowledgeable as everyone else when it came to matters of cultivation like this, but that didn"t mean he didn"t know this was something to be disappointed over.
Bai Yunfei did feel the waves of energy enter his body during his attempt, but he didn"t know where it ended up afterward.
w.a.n.g Tong and the others looked rather sorrowful as well. “Brother Tang Long,” He gave Bai Yunfei a comforting slap on the shoulders, “the path of cultivation is a long and difficult one. Disappointment is a very common emotion to encounter. As long as you work hard, there"ll be another chance in the future…”
“Big brother w.a.n.g Tong…what…what should I do in the future then?” Bai Yunfei sighed. He was looking forward to becoming a Soul Sprite and learning the esoteric arts of Alchemy. If he succeeded, he would"ve been one step closer to healing the damages to his soul and recovering even more memories of himself.
But now…what do I do?” Bai Yunfei asked. He thought that today would be the day he"d become a Soul Sprite and begin his instructions in Alchemy. But now…
If he wasn"t a Soul Sprite, then he wasn"t eligible to begin learning Alchemy. And if he couldn"t do either, that meant he wouldn"t get stronger. All in all, this was a result he felt completely depressed over.
Depressed didn"t 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.
w.a.n.g Tong and the others seemed to notice what he was thinking. “I"ve said it before, brother Tang Long. The elder has forbidden anyone from going out from the city. Returning to the village will be…impossible for now.
“But it"s not the end of the world that you failed,” He smiled. “you can remain here and prepare for the next time. Should your special circ.u.mstances resolve itslef and you still want to return to the village, I"ll be more than happy to bring you back there myself.”
Bai Yunfei"s mouth dropped one for a moment as if wanting to say something, but it closed in the end. He nodded. What w.a.n.g Tong said made sense to him…
—————————
Alone in a certain room, Bai Yunfei sat right next to the table there. He stared at the Yun"s Soul Ring without at all flinching.
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.
“h.e.l.lo, Tang Long. I"m here for a woodseed pill, sorry for the trouble.” 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. “Alright, I"ll be out with it in one second.”
He took the jade slip from the male"s 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. “Elder Yu, a person is here for a woodseed pill.”
The elder"s 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 Yunfei"s 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-fas.h.i.+oned jade slips nearby with a curious look.
“Congregating pill…a low-earth tier medicine Soul Sprites can take to improve their rate of training…”