Infinite Potential System

"Is that a Heavenly Tribulation?" one of the Alchemists asked with a hint of nervousness.

Elder Tianshen was both excited and serious at the same time. The scale of the clouds were quite small, but there was no mistaking that this was in fact a Tribulation.

William was quite familiar with Heavenly Tribulations, but he didn't expect one to appear after refining such a low Tier pill. Is it because my process was perfect according to the System?

It was the only explanation.

Elder Arthur stood up with a sense of urgency. "Disciple William, I suggest you prepare yourself. The tribulation is targeting you!"

William already expected this. He nodded without much concern while keeping his attention focused on the sky.

The clouds fully gathered, generating mass amounts of electricity and focusing it on a single point. The Alchemists in the room watched closely as the first lightning bolt with strength at the peak of the Qi Refinement Realm crashed down on William.

-Discovered Heavenly Magic: +1 Potential Point

William's Hard Skin Talent absorbed most of the damage from the first lightning bolt. The remainder entered his body and fought with his Lightning Mana until the Heavenly Lightning dissipated.

So, a Heavenly Tribulation is also made up of Mana?

William's understanding of the world deepened. Yuming's explanation that everything consisted of Mana clicked inside his head. It seemed that while Qi was a necessary energy for Cultivation, it originated from Mana, which was very unique for a Cultivation system.

Elder Tianshen and the others were surprised to see William completely unharmed after being struck by Heavenly Lightning. Even if it was only the first bolt, William didn't have any Cultivation. How could a normal person effortlessly take a strike that would kill any Qi Refinement Cultivator in one hit?

William noticed the surprise in their eyes and came up with a quick excuse. "Uh, I train my body. This is nothing."

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"A body Cultivator huh? It makes sense now.." the other disciples understood. It also explained how William could run so fast when making deliveries the last few days.

The second lightning bolt formed, crashing down with strength at the Foundation Establishment Realm. Once again, William tanked the hit with his body and used the Lightning Element to offset the rest of the damage.

This time however, William noticed that his C Rank Lightning Element was actually losing to the Heavenly Lightning. He had to expend quite a bit of Mana to continuously battle with the Heavenly Lightning, only succeeding after half a minute.

Will realized that the next strike would probably cause some actual damage to him. He decided to upgrade his Hard Skin Talent from C to B Rank using 100 Potential Points to prevent any issues.

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TALENT UPGRADED

Hard Skin: (C --> B)

Next rank up: 250PP

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William felt the pores on his skin tightening up, while the skin cells multipled tenfold. They compressed together until they formed a tight wall of cells not visible to the naked eye that would be difficult even for a sharpened sword to pass through.

Only the Elders noticed any change in William, but they assumed it was a secret skill prepared specifically for a time like this.

They watched as the third Heavenly Lightning strike crashed against William with great force, but this time all of its power was dissipated by William's Hard Skin Talent.

-Survived a Heavenly Tribulation: +10 PP

-Survived your first Heavenly Tribulation: +50 PP

The dark clouds dissipated, allowing Elder Tianshen to finally inspect the Soul Refinement Pill.

He was surprised to see six pills, but his eyes bulged when he saw the golden star markings on each pill.

"Th-this!"

Elder Arthur felt something was up. "What is it, Tianshen?"

Elder Tianshen's lips trembled. He wiped some sweat off his forehead, then carefully wrapped each pill in a special cloth from his Space Ring.

He showed the pills to the judges first, who looked at each pill with great interest. The surprise on their faces was obvious when Elder Tianshen pointed out the golden stars.

The other Alchemists had finished their refinement a while ago, so they waited eagerly for William's evaluation. Any pill with a Tribulation had to be good.

Elder Arthur finally stood up after much deliberation. "You've perfectly refined Tier 2 Soul Refinement Pills. Your initial score would have been 100 points, but we will award an extra 5 for refining six pills. Your score is 105 points!"

The room echoed with murmurs from the Inner Core Disciples. 105 points was unheard of, even if it was only a Tier 2 pill. Even Yuming and Lu Bingying only scored 97 and 98 points respectively in the first phase. After all, it was incredibly difficult to perfectly refined a pill, no matter the Tier.

Elder Tianshen brought the pills back to William. "I'll give you two of these since you have been a great help to my research."

"Thank you Elder." William took two pills and set them on the nearby table.

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-Refined a pill: +1 PP

-Refined your first pill: +1 PP

-Refined your first Tier 2 pill: +5 PP

-Perfectly refined a pill: +2 PP

-Perfectly refined your first Tier 2 pill: +25 PP

...

-Unlocked Title: +1 PP

-Alchemist (Uncommon): You have perfectly refined one unique pill, making a name for yourself among your Alchemy Peers. Pills of all Ranks will be 5% easier to refine.

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The wave of Potential Points made up for William's expenditure from upgrading the Hard Skin Talent. Additionally, he received a new title that will improve his chances of winning the later stages of the competition.

William was the last Alchemist to finish, so Elder Arthur started the next phase immediately. "We seem to have a good batch of Alchemists today, since over half of you passed the first phase. The second phase won't be so easy.

You will be refining a Tier 3 pill this time, and only the top ten scorers will proceed to the final phase. Choose any pill you'd like, but keep the value of the ingredients to a minimum, we don't have infinite resources." Arthur looked at William with the last sentence.

"You have an hour. You may begin!"

William sensed Elder Fuxi's angry stare as he looked at the empty slip of paper before him. He spent two points asking the System to recommend a pill for him to refine.

-The Host should consider either the Core Formation Pill or the Tier 3 Mana Gathering Pill. Both options are cheap and only moderately difficult to refine.

William went with the Mana Gathering Pill, since it was basically a more powerful Mana Regeneration potion. He could use these when he became a Cultivator in the future.

Elder Fuxi inspected the ingredients on William's list suspiciously, but found no issues with it. "It seems you've learned a little respect. Your list is approved."

Elder Fuxi sent Yuming to gather William's ingredients list, which was only a few pieces of Mana Grass, a Lifeshroom, and a jar of Spirit Water.

William got to work immediately, filling the cauldron with Spirit Water. He mashed the Mana Grass into a mush, then poured it into the cauldron.

He sliced the cap of the Lifeshroom off, then threw that into the cauldron and discarded the stem. While he stirred the ingredients under a moderate flame, William felt a slight assist from some unnatural force within his body, guiding his control of the flame and improving the accuracy of his stirring.

So this is the effect of my Alchemist Title, huh? Very useful. William was once again thankful for the System's help. A few upgrades to the Alchemist Title and William might be able to refine pills in his sleep!