A Member of the Inner Academy

"Haha, Lin Ming Little Fellow, you got here pretty fast!"

After two soft chuckles, a voice called out. Hearing the voice calling his name, Lin Ming stepped out of the forest. Elder Liu was sitting beside him, looking at Lin Ming with a smile on his face.

"Lin Ming greets Elder Liu." After emerging from the forest, Lin Ming clasped his hands in greeting to Elder Liu.

"No need for formalities, come and sit down. Lin Ming, you are the first to emerge from the forest and arrive here. Your other classmates will probably need another two days to all arrive. Once you are all here, I will take you all into the Inner Academy. In the next two days, you can keep me company and chat!" Elder Liu said, and seeing that Lin Ming was still standing there, he gestured for Lin Ming to come and sit down.

Knowing that everyone had to be present before entering the Inner Academy, and following Elder Liu's advice that it would take two more days, Lin Ming obeyed Elder Liu's words and sat down next to him.

After Lin Ming sat down, Elder Liu poured Lin Ming a cup of tea and casually asked, "I heard from Old Huo Lin Ming you can now refine Tier 4 Medicinal Pill. I Lin Ming what your Pill Formation is?"

When Elder Liu asked him a question as if it were a casual conversation, Lin Ming put his teacup on the table and replied.

"Elder Liu, Lin Ming was fortunate enough to refine a Fire Cleansing Pill half a year ago. Since then, under Elder Huo's guidance, he has also refined several Tier 4 Medicinal Pills, and a few have been successfully refined. Based on the Pill Refining he has done in the past six months, Lin Ming's Pill Formation Rate for ordinary Tier 4 Medicinal Pill is about 50%."

"Pfft! What?"

Elder Liu, who had just taken a sip of tea, spat it out instantly upon hearing Lin Ming's words, his face filled with shock as he exclaimed with his mouth wide open.

Perhaps realizing his lapse in composure, Elder Liu composed himself and looked at Lin Ming again, asking, "You're getting old, your hearing is getting a bit off. By the way, Lin Ming, what was the Pill Formation Rate of your pill-forming technique?"

Faced with Elder Liu's question, Lin Ming had no choice but to reply, "Aside from the top-grade Tier 4 Medicinal Pill, Lin Ming can guarantee a 50% Pill Formation Rate for ordinary Tier 4 Medicinal Pill. As for those I'm familiar with refining, the Pill Formation Rate is even higher."

"Haha, what a promising young man! Lin Ming, judging from your appearance, you must have only recently come of age, right?" Elder Liu said with a smile.

"I'll be seventeen in six months," Lin Ming said, stating his age. The reason he didn't say he'd only come of age six months ago was because Lin Ming felt Elder Liu was already praising Lin Ming; if he directly said he'd only come of age this year, wouldn't that seem a bit arrogant?

The current response conveys the same meaning, but it sounds like an exaggeration, carrying a sense of humility.

"To have achieved so much at such a young age, you have a very promising future!"

"Lin Ming, if you have any questions or encounter any trouble in the Inner Academy, you can come to me. I'm quite idle in the Inner Academy, and sometimes I just want to do something," Elder Liu said with a smile after a Lin Ming.

Elder Liu's biggest concern now, having become an elder of the Inner Academy, is improving his cultivation. Therefore, his claim of having nothing to do is merely a pretext to show that Lin Ming's visit won't bother him. This is a blatant expression of goodwill.

Lin Ming could certainly hear Elder Liu's obvious expression of goodwill. That's just how it is; when you have value and can help others, kindness will always surround you.

The only thing Lin Ming could gain the respect of these old men was his alchemy skills. Therefore, while accepting Elder Liu's kindness, Lin Ming also expressed his willingness to offer assistance.

"Elder Liu, then Elder Liu Lin Ming will be in your hands from now on. As a junior, please don't hesitate to ask for anything from me. Just don't mind that Lin Ming alchemy skills are not as good as Elder Liu Elder Huo's."

Elder Liu was very pleased with Lin Ming's words, as evidenced by the increasingly radiant smile on his face. Elder Liu then added, "Lin Ming, you don't need to be so modest. Even at your age, Old Huo still doesn't know how to Pill Formation. With your talent, surpassing Old Huo is only a matter of time."

"Elder Huo's knowledge is so vast that it would take Lin Ming countless years to reach Elder Huo level. In just a few years, he could only grasp the Elder Huo," Lin Ming replied to Elder Liu.

"Haha, Old Huo's luck is truly unbelievable; he managed to recruit you Lin Ming, as his student..."

Lin Ming and Elder Liu continued their conversation, and during the nearly one-day conversation, Elder Liu explained many things about the Inner Academy to Lin Ming.

This allowed Lin Ming to learn more about the Inner Academy than just the general details in the original story; Lin Ming also gained a considerable understanding of many specific and minute details.

A day passed, and it wasn't until the afternoon of the next day that the other trainees who had entered the forest began to emerge. Cheng Chen was the first to leave the forest after Lin Ming.

After Cheng Chen left the forest, Elder Liu called him over to wait. Once everyone had arrived, they entered the Inner Academy together.

Not long after, Zuo Rulong and Su Xue also emerged from the forest and arrived at Lin Ming's place to wait for the rest of the group to arrive.

Before nightfall, another ten or so people joined the waiting line. By the end of the day, the line had grown to more than twenty people, nearly half of the fifty people who were to enter the Inner Academy.

Based on the current frequency of students emerging from the forest, all students in Lin Ming's cohort who are entering the Inner Academy will be able to leave the forest and enter the Inner Academy before sunset tomorrow.

The fact that Lin Ming and the other students who entered the Inner Academy were able to gather within the same day or two, leaving the forest and arriving at the gathering place at the edge of the forest, was also related to the senior students who participated in the Fire Energy Hunt Competition.

The Dou Qi Continent is so vast that it's unimaginable. With such a large area, it's natural that there would be all sorts of strange and wonderful people and things.

With such a large number of participants, all sorts of situations are bound to arise. It's not surprising at all that there are a few people among these students who have poor sense of direction or are bad at getting around.

The senior students participating in the Fire Energy Hunt Competition, while primarily responsible for seizing Fire Energy from the newcomers for their own benefit, also have the duty to supervise the newcomers entering the forest and keep them informed of the overall progress.

For those students who have a poor sense of direction or are unsure of their bearings, these veterans who participate in the Fire Energy Hunt Competition, in addition to vying for Fire Energy, will also guide them to the correct location.

Before noon on the second day after Lin Ming left the forest, all fifty trainees who had entered the forest emerged and arrived at the gathering place.

"Haha, everyone, I'm very pleased to see that you've all arrived here. From this moment on, you are officially Inner Academy Member, and the building you see ahead is the location of the Inner Academy, which is also where I will be taking you next."

"Before we entered the forest, I told you about the twenty people from the Inner Academy behind me. They entered the Inner Academy a year earlier than you, and among the fifty people who entered the Inner Academy in their year, they were all ranked at the bottom."

"After a year of training in the Inner Academy, those people were able to defeat most of you, and at the time, many people were still unconvinced."

"Now I want to ask you again, are you convinced now?"

"The Crystal Card you were given before the competition had five Fire Energy on them. How much Fire Energy do you have left on your Crystal Card now?"

"Out of fifty people, only Lin Ming was able to store the five Fire Energy perfectly. Is that what gave you the courage to be defiant back then?"

"The Fire Energy Hunt Competition is just a small test before entering the Inner Academy. Before you freshmen arrived, those who participated in the Fire Energy Hunt Competition were just at the bottom of the Inner Academy."

"Even the lowest-ranking members of the Inner Academy can wipe out almost all fifty of you. So those of you who are arrogant, you'd better keep your pride to yourself until you have the strength. Otherwise, once you enter the Inner Academy, you'll understand how gentle these people were to you during the Fire Energy Hunt Competition."

After Elder Liu finished speaking, many of the students present felt deeply ashamed. In the forest, they had been subdued by the senior students with almost no power to resist, and then their three Fire Energy Points were stolen.

Of course, a few people's fighting spirit grew even stronger after Elder Liu finished speaking. They believed that what those who entered the Inner Academy could do, they could also do. So these people were already looking forward to the wonderful days of rapidly improving their strength in the Inner Academy.

"Before we head into the Inner Academy, there's one more thing I need to mention. Lin Ming, come out here," Elder Liu said again.

Upon hearing Elder Liu call his name, Lin Ming approached Elder Liu and addressed him, "Elder Liu."

Elder Liu Lin Ming and then said, "As the first person to leave the forest, and with all five Fire Energy Points on his Crystal Card intact, I, on behalf of the academy, award Lin Ming twenty Fire Energy as a reward."

After Elder Liu finished speaking, he took out a crimson Crystal Card and then gestured for Lin Ming to take out his Black Crystal Card.

Elder Liu's instruction, Lin Ming had no choice but to comply. He took out the Black Crystal Card he had obtained before the competition. Then, Elder Liu swiped his Red Crystal Card across Lin Ming's Black Crystal Card, and the number on Lin Ming's Black Crystal Card changed from five to twenty-five.

After everything was settled, Elder Liu looked at the students and said loudly, "Now, all of you follow me. We're going into the Inner Academy!"