Sixth-grade Pill Recipe

Han Xian grabbed one of his underlings by the neck and gave him a thorough scolding.

He had sent his men to investigate Alchemists who might threaten his future position in the Inner Academy. Once they identified them, he could choose whether to recruit or suppress them in advance, preventing anyone from threatening his status in the Medicine Gang after he entered the Inner Academy. He had not told them to pay attention to every Alchemist they came across.

"Boss, don't let his country-bumpkin appearance fool you. He hasn't even watched a Fifth-grade Alchemist refine pills before, but I've investigated his background. He really did refine a Third-grade Pill before, which was why Elder Huo from the Alchemist Department agreed to specially admit him and registered him for the assessment that would let him enter the Inner Academy early."

Han Xian's underling cried injustice. He truly had been following Han Xian's orders and doing exactly what he had been told.

Han Xian frowned. "You're saying that kid had never even seen a Fifth-grade Alchemist refine pills, yet he reached the level of a Third-grade Alchemist at his age?"

Han Xian's underling nodded. "That seems to be the case."

"What pill did he refine when he joined Jia Nan Academy?"

"A Third-grade Qi Replenishing Pill."

"A Qi Replenishing Pill? What was its quality like?"

"I heard the quality was quite good."

Han Xian rubbed his forehead, his expression turning unpleasant. "Quite good, huh? The Qi Replenishing Pill may not be some high-grade pill, but for someone his age to refine one of such good quality... this is becoming troublesome."

After learning that Su Luo had joined Jia Nan Academy by refining a Third-grade Qi Replenishing Pill, Han Xian's eyes held less disdain and more wariness.

He had looked down on Su Luo because Su Luo had been so excited watching a Fifth-grade Alchemist refine pills, as though he had benefited enormously from it. That was enough to show that Su Luo's teacher was not of a high grade—at most, a Peak Fourth-grade Alchemist.

As someone who, in the original work, had reached the level of a Peak Fourth-grade Alchemist at a young age and competed on the same stage as Xiao Yan, Han Xian's teacher possessed Alchemy Skill in no way inferior to that of Gu He, the Pill King of the Jia Ma Empire.

The crushing gap between their teachers had doomed Han Xian to feel superior to Su Luo.

However, the moment he learned that Su Luo had already become a Third-grade Alchemist at such a young age and could refine Qi Replenishing Pills of seemingly excellent quality, very little of Han Xian's contempt remained.

Even after being led astray by a poor teacher, Su Luo had reached the third grade at this age. Such talent was enough to make Han Xian take him seriously, even regard him with deep apprehension.

"Boss, what should we do? If he passes the Alchemist Department's assessment and joins the Inner Academy, then enters the Medicine Gang, will the position your senior brother promised us—no, promised you—still be there?"

Han Xian's expression instantly darkened. In the original story, he had already been the Medicine Gang's leader for years, but the current timeline was simply too early, so he was still in the Outer Academy.

But remaining in the Outer Academy did not mean he paid no attention to matters in the Inner Academy. Although Inner Academy members were strictly forbidden from telling the Outer Academy about the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower, Han Xian had a senior brother in the Inner Academy, so he knew more or less some inside information.

The Heavenly Flame Refining Tower could not be discussed openly, but the Inner Academy possessed something called Fire Energy. The Medicine Gang relied on alchemy to earn large amounts of Fire Energy to aid cultivation. Such matters were not laid bare in public, but hints were quietly leaked here and there. As long as they kept their mouths shut, no one would usually investigate too relentlessly.

The prestige of Alchemists remained valid to a certain extent even within Jia Nan Academy.

That was precisely why Han Xian knew about the Medicine Gang and understood how much help it could offer him after he entered the Inner Academy.

But those benefits did not come without conditions. His senior brother was indeed the current leader of the Medicine Gang, but if Han Xian wanted to become a Hall Master the moment he entered the Inner Academy, then swiftly take over the Medicine Gang as its new leader after his senior brother completed his studies at Jia Nan Academy, his Alchemy Skill had to be recognized by every Alchemist in the Medicine Gang.

The strong of the Dou Qi Continent only acknowledged those stronger than themselves, while Alchemists only acknowledged those whose Alchemy Skill surpassed their own.

"Don't join the Medicine Gang in the Inner Academy before reaching the fourth grade. Otherwise, if you lose an alchemy contest and embarrass yourself, it will be troublesome." This was the warning Han Xian's senior brother had given him.

Han Xian had always obeyed that warning and had not rashly gone to the Inner Academy. After all, if an Alchemist who had lost to someone else later became the Medicine Gang's leader, then Alchemists challenging his position would likely come in an endless stream.

In fact, his senior brother had suffered precisely such a loss. Although his senior brother clearly possessed the best Alchemy Skill in the Medicine Gang, he still could not turn it into a place where his word alone was law.

Still, no matter how incapable the Medicine Gang was of becoming his senior brother's sole domain, Han Xian's senior brother was ultimately its leader. To a certain extent, he could still find ways to give his junior brother some preferential treatment.

As long as Han Xian won the Outer Academy Alchemist competition and then reached the level of a Fourth-grade Alchemist, there would be no issue with his senior brother directly making him a Hall Master. Afterward, as long as Han Xian did not suffer any defeats, it would not be difficult for him to become the Medicine Gang's new leader after his senior brother stepped down.

Of course, that was only if nothing unexpected happened.

Su Luo's identity as a Third-grade Alchemist was not much in Han Xian's eyes, but if Su Luo continued growing, then with the Medicine Gang not being a place where his senior brother's word alone was law, Han Xian was no longer certain that he could become its leader and enjoy its resources.

The other Hall Masters of the Medicine Gang had always been unconvinced by his senior brother because his senior brother had once lost to someone around his own age. Under such circumstances, if his senior brother announced near graduation that he intended to hand the Medicine Gang over to Han Xian, it would surely provoke a wave of opposition. Then someone might call Su Luo out to compete with him in alchemy.

Without even having an outstanding teacher, Su Luo had forcibly raised his Alchemy Skill to the third grade at fifteen or sixteen. In a few years, Han Xian truly could not be sure whether he would still be able to defeat Su Luo.

"No. We absolutely can't let that kid grow any further. Otherwise, once he enters the Inner Academy of Jia Nan Academy as an Alchemist Department student, what place will there be left for you or me as the Medicine Gang's leader or Hall Masters?"

"Boss, this is Jia Nan Academy, and we aren't particularly skilled at fighting. Wouldn't that be a bad idea?" Han Xian's underling said quietly.

Han Xian rolled his eyes at him. "What are you talking about? Do you think I don't know this is Jia Nan Academy? And who said stopping him from growing necessarily means taking action? You and I are both Alchemists. Why would we go around fighting?"

"Then what do you mean, Boss...?"

"We just need to find a way to cut off his cultivation resources. A Third-grade Alchemist at fifteen or sixteen is at exactly the age when he's young and hot-blooded. What do you think will happen if someone challenges him at that time?"

Han Xian's underling thought for a moment. "He might not agree, though?"

"There's a high chance he won't. But what if we add this as the wager?"

As he spoke, Han Xian took out a pill recipe scroll, making his underling suck in a sharp breath. "The Earth Core Body Tempering Pill! A Sixth-grade Pill Recipe!"