Fourth-Tier Alchemist! [Please keep reading!]
After defeating the students who came looking for trouble, Xiao Yao thought there would be more to come, such as the older ones showing up after he had beaten the younger ones.
As a result, things went smoothly. Sometimes, when he encountered students who had previously come to cause trouble inside the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, they would all keep their distance and dare not approach him.
This surprised Xiao Yao somewhat.
Because within the Inner Academy, powerful forces were deeply entrenched.
There are lone wolves in the Inner Academy, but they are few and far between.
That guy's ability to break through to the Dou Ling is already quite impressive; there's definitely a force that would be willing to recruit him.
After all, any force within the Inner Academy that possesses Dou Ling expert is enough to be considered a second-rate force.
It is clear that powerful cultivators at the Dou Ling are not found everywhere in the Inner Academy.
As for top-tier forces, they need at least three to four Dou Ling) to oversee them.
Therefore, Xiao Yao thought that the guy might have been trained by a top-tier organization.
After being defeated by himself, he remained silent.
Xiao Yao was pleased with this, as it saved him from further trouble.
Xiao Yao's previous plan was to eliminate any potential hostile forces once and for all.
But since there was nothing, Xiao Yao wouldn't go looking for trouble, and continued to busy himself with cultivation, alchemy, reading, and other things.
Unbeknownst to Xiao Yao, the student who was defeated by Xiao Yao originally intended to seek revenge on Xiao Yao by asking his own faction's leader to intervene.
Upon hearing Xiao Yao's name, the leader of their own faction's expression changed drastically, and they immediately rejected the idea.
Seeing that the student was outwardly compliant but inwardly resentful, the leader directly led him to the hillside where Xiao Yao had previously detonated the Sun Magic Core.
Upon seeing the deep pit, even the arrogant student couldn't help but swallow hard, feeling a chill run down his spine.
He was even relieved that Xiao Yao hadn't used that move on him, otherwise he might have been reduced to ashes.
He happened to be cultivating inside the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower when the golden light shot into the sky that day, and therefore did not witness that scene.
He heard the rumors that followed, but remained skeptical.
After all, rumors are rare; if they've been passed through two or three people, and are even 70% true, that's already quite a feat.
But now, having seen the traces left by that battle with his own eyes, he finally believed it.
This is why Xiao Yao wasn't subjected to further trouble.
Ultimately, it was Xiao Yao's impressive record that intimidated these people.
In the Dou Qi Continent, the strong are respected, and this is the most practical manifestation of that principle.
In the Inner Academy's Alchemy Department, Xiao Yao looked at the materials laid out on the table and carefully checked them again.
Today is the day he officially attempts to refine a fourth-grade elixir— the Qi Gathering Powder.
The Qi Gathering Powder can help condense the Dou Qi into Dou Qi Vortex, and is considered a breakthrough item for the lowest level.
Don't assume that it's easy to refine just because it's used for the lowest level of cultivation.
The grade of elixirs often depends on the difficulty of refining them, and grade four is already quite high.
Xiao Yao took a deep breath and looked at Elder Huo beside him.
Elder Huo smiled and nodded at him.
By now, Elder Huo had a vague idea that Xiao Yao must possess a special talent.
After successfully refining the pill, he was able to refine the same pill again with an extremely high success rate.
This is why Xiao Yao repeatedly asked him to guide him through the entire process of refining the medicine.
Now that Xiao Yao is refining new pills, Elder Huo will naturally have to give him personal guidance.
However, by now, Xiao Yao's alchemy skills are sufficient to attempt to refine fourth-grade pills.
Often, Xiao Yao doesn't need Elder Huo to give him direct guidance; he only needs a few pointers on key points or areas where he's prone to failure.
Xiao Yao transformed his Dou Qi into flames, warmed the medicine cauldron, and refined the medicinal herbs... His series of actions were fluid and seamless.
During the refining stage, Elder Huo only gave a few casual pointers, and Xiao Yao completed the process smoothly.
The next step is the fusion phase!
Within the golden flames, the medicinal essence extracted from the Ink Leaf Lotus surged.
Xiao Yao then slowly poured the emerald green medicinal liquid extracted from the Snake Saliva Fruit into it, allowing it to blend with the other ingredients.
The two medicinal liquids with different properties suddenly reacted violently, producing strange noises, and wisps of white vapor escaped from the flames.
"Don't hesitate, increase the flame temperature to a light purple level!"
Elder Huo reminded him from the side.
Xiao Yao immediately controlled the flame temperature to soar to a light purple level, and the wisps of white vapor that were originally escaping suddenly increased.
The medicinal liquid churned continuously in the golden flames, but as time passed, the white vapor gradually diminished, and a rough-looking pill slowly took shape in the golden flames!
Seeing this, Xiao Yao breathed a slight sigh of relief. The formation of the pill's initial shape meant that the fusion stage was more than halfway complete.
Then, Xiao Yao controlled the temperature of the flames to lower it, slowly nurturing the nascent pill.
Then, Xiao Yao picked up the second-tier Water Attribute Magic Core that he had prepared beforehand, threw it into the medicine cauldron, and was enveloped by another golden flame.
After initially removing impurities from the surface of the Water Attribute Magic Core, Xiao Yao then added a 20-year-old Spirit Gathering Grass.
The Spirit Gathering Grass neutralizes the raging energy within the Water Attribute Magic Core.
In the end, the Water Attribute Magic Core transformed into a pure, pale blue energy that flowed slowly within the golden flames.
Pale blue energy surged within the golden flames, creating a stunningly beautiful sight.
Xiao Yao had absolutely no interest in appreciating it. His soul perception continuously flowed into the cauldron, controlling the pale blue energy to guide the nascent pill.
He carefully controlled the pale blue energy and poured it into the embryonic form of the pill.
This step requires an extremely high level of perception and control over energy. Even Xiao Yao dared not be careless in the slightest, and a layer of fine sweat appeared on his forehead.
As the last wisp of pale blue energy flowed into the embryonic form of the pill, Xiao Yao controlled the temperature of the flames to continue nurturing it.
As time went by, the originally pitted and uneven rudimentary pill became round and full, emitting a faint blue glow.
Seeing this, Xiao Yao finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It worked!
Having refined it to this extent, it can already be considered a success.
However, to achieve perfect quality, continued nurturing is definitely necessary.
Xiao Yao naturally wanted to do his best to do better, so that the quality of the pills he refined next time would definitely not be lower than this time, and at the very least, it would be the same quality!
With this in mind, Xiao Yao continued to nurture it with flames for another fifteen minutes before slowly stopping.
Xiao Yao activated the medicine cauldron, and a round pill interwoven with blue and green light flew out and landed in a warm jade bottle that had been prepared beforehand.
Elder Huo, who had witnessed Xiao Yao's alchemy process from the sidelines, couldn't help but clap softly in praise:
"Excellent! Congratulations, Xiao Yao, you have successfully refined a fourth-grade pill, making you a true Fourth-Tier Alchemist."
"If we disregard age, considering your rate of improvement—going from a complete novice to a Fourth-Tier Alchemist in just three or four months—is nothing short of a miracle!"
"Looking across the entire Dou Qi Continent, I cannot know for sure. But at least in terms of the history of the Alchemy Department of the Jia Nan Academy, there is no one else whose growth rate can rival yours!"