CHAPTER 93: SOLAR DOME ARENA

"What was that?" Cai Hui drew a cold breath.

Liu Wei simply smiled and waited for Cai Hui to continue walking.

Cai Hui stared at Liu Wei for a while and her face flushed.

She hastily faced forward and walked, trying to hide her reddened face and racing heart.

He sure is handsome!

Her mind was preoccupied by Liu Wei’s handsome face that she was walking subconsciously.

Until... They finally arrived outside the Sunfire Plaza.

...

The Radiant Cauldron Assembly was located at the Sunfire Plaza, a vast circular plaza at the heart of the Alchemy Association’s compound, directly beneath the Solar Dome Array, which magnified the sunlight into warm spiritual light for cauldron refinement.

Once they arrived at the entrance, Cai Hui gave the recommendation token to Liu Wei as she presented her own alchemist token to the guards.

The guards bowed respectfully to Cai Hui, for they knew the future of the Alchemist Association.

Cai Hui smiled and walked forward, leading Liu Wei to enter inside the Sunfire Plaza.

As Liu Wei admired the vibrant plaza—bustling with people, street vendors, and even kids wearing clothes designed for the Kingdom of Jinwu—Cai Hui initiated a conversation with him after finally calming herself.

"The venue will occur in the Solar Dome Arena."

The moment Cai Hui mentioned the venue, Liu Wei just in time saw a colossal hemispherical dome.

Cai Hui continued, "That dome is made out of Suncrystal Glass, a rare alchemical material forged from sand melted under concentrated sunlight."

They arrived at the entrance of the Solar Dome Arena and presented their token to ensure they were participants.

As expected, the guards bowed deeply and respectfully at Cai Hui, which made the latter embarrassed.

She forced herself to enter and what Liu Wei saw inside awestruck him.

Liu Wei saw translucent golden light, catching sunlight and turning it into shimmering rays that drift inside like dancing spirit threads.

There was Sunfire Array Lattice etched between glass layers; these glowing lines form a pattern resembling a three-legged Golden Crow when viewed from above.

But what really caught his eyes was the Grand Pill Furnace at the heart of the arena.

It towered at 8 meters tall, shaped like an ancient three-legged cauldron.

It was covered in elegant engravings of flames, sun sigils, and alchemic diagrams.

When Cai Hui caught Liu Wei staring at the Grand Pill Furnace, she beamed a smile and said, "The Grand Pill Furnace is the symbol of the Alchemy Association. It was said that a legendary beast, the three-legged Golden Crow, gifted it to the first president of the Alchemy Association.

Since then, only the Master Alchemist was able to use it, but they rarely used it. They would rather utilize it as the symbol of the Alchemist Association, not wanting it to be their own personal cauldron."

Liu Wei nodded and replied, "So, it simply means this Grand Pill Furnace symbolized as a pill furnace for every alchemist in the Alchemist Association?"

"Yes." Cai Hui nodded.

Liu Wei smiled. He could not help but compare it to his personal cauldron and admitted it was indeed better... but as a personal cauldron, he would confidently admit his was definitely better.

Liu Wei admired it for a bit and then changed his focus on the floor arranged as a vast circular field with what seems to be refinement stages.

Before he was able to ask what those were, as he already had an idea it was the platform for those participants, Cai Hui clarified it to him.

"That is the rotating refinement platform. Each refinement stage is a raised platform carved from Spirit-Pattern Jade Stone. It has a circular diameter of 2-3 meters for personal space. They are also inscribed with a stability array that stabilizes cauldron vibrations and heat intensity.

Those surrounding low guard-rails are there to prevent qi turbulence from affecting the spectators."

Cai Hui paused as Liu Wei listened attentively.

She continued, "During the tournaments, the platforms can rotate slowly in a majestic spiral, symbolizing the rotation of the heavenly sun and the flow of spiritual flames. This also ensures spectators get equal views of all contestants."

Liu Wei asked, "Are they automatic? Or is someone controlling each of them?"

Cai Hui replied, "There is, the judges. You see the floating platform suspended at the upper-middle height of the dome?"

Cai Hui pointed with her finger and Liu Wei raised his head and glanced at it, nodding.

Cai Hui said, "That’s the Judge’s Pavillion. From there, Senior Alchemists and the Master Alchemist oversee everything. They regulate flame nodes, apply protective arrays, score each refinement, and intervene when accidents occur, whether explosions, qi deviations, or runaway flames.

Furthermore, The pavilion is supported by eight light beams connected to the dome’s formations, giving the illusion it "stands on sunlight.""

Liu Wei nodded.

He said, "You mentioned flame nodes, is that what’s beneath each refinement stage? It looks like an advanced array-core."

Cai Hui was in awe and asked, "You know about arrays, Big Brother Liu Wei?"

Liu Wei tilted his head sideways and furrowed his eyebrows. If that’s not an array, then what is it?

Cai Hui noticed his reaction despite not staring at her, so she hastily explained.

"I mean, array practitioners are rarer than alchemist practitioners, so I’m just surprised. After all, the Alchemist Association invested a lot to invite array masters just to construct those refinement stages."

Liu Wei nodded.

Cai Hui said, "As for your questions earlier, yes. Beneath each refinement stage lies what they called Spirit Flame Node.

It provides uniform flame intensity to all contestants, eliminating equipment advantages. The Judges can adjust each node, so they can raise, stabilize, or reduce output instantly. It can also prevent flame explosions from harming participants, redirecting runaway qi into the ground. Furthermore, nodes glow in different colors depending on the flame quality a contestant produces. Pure blue for exceptional purity, bright gold for intense yang, and red for unstable or chaotic qi.

That’s why this system is one of the main reasons independent alchemists flock to the competition — no wealth or fancy furnaces are needed to compete fairly."