Classifying Medicinal Pills
Hearing that Elder Huo shared the same opinion, Lin Ming felt even more confident.
Tier 4 Medicinal Pill may sound like just Third-Grade Pill with one grade added, but the difficulty is completely different. Pills are also divided into high, medium, and low grades.
First to third-grade pills are classified as Low-Grade Pills. Even the most talented Alchemist can eventually reach the level of Third-Grade Alchemist through gradual training. The only difference is the amount of time required.
But when it comes to Tier 4 Medicinal Pill, things are different; Tier 4 Medicinal Pill are considered Mid-Grade Pills.
Refining Mid-Grade Pills requires imbuing them with "qi". During the refining of Mid-Grade Pills, Medicinal Fragrance is produced, which is a manifestation of this "Pill Qi".
Therefore, to refine Mid-Grade Pills, one needs a relatively strong Alchemist's refining skills. It's not something that just any alchemist can achieve.
The alchemy skills here are a comprehensive skill. Some Alchemist may be stronger in fire abilities but weaker in other aspects. Alchemist may have stronger Spiritual Strength, so weaker fire abilities are acceptable. But here, it's only a relative weakness.
To put it more simply, it's like taking the college entrance exam in your past life. To get into a top-tier university, you need to achieve the minimum score for all subjects.
Some people excel in science subjects like math and get higher scores; others are better at humanities subjects like language arts.
But those who can get into top-tier universities, even if their subjects are relatively weak, are not that bad; they are just weaker compared to their strong subjects.
Those who specialize entirely in a particular subject will find it virtually impossible to achieve good results in the normal college entrance examination and get into a good first-tier university. Of course, if you can get full marks in all other subjects, that's a different story.
Refining a mid-grade pill of the 4th Grade is similar to getting into a top university; you need to achieve a high overall score.
As for High-Grade Pills, only those of Tier 7 and Above can be called High-Grade Pills.
High-level pills cannot be described simply as inanimate objects.
High-Grade Pills possess Spirituality unique to living beings. Once refined, they are subject to Heaven and Earth Pill Lightning that destroys them and prevents their creation.
After the Alchemist used certain methods to block the Pill Lightning, the pills that possessed Spirituality would even escape on their own to avoid being swallowed.
Therefore, refining High-Grade Pills requires extremely high levels of alchemy skills, Soul Ability, and strength from the Alchemist. Just think that there isn't a single Seventh Grade Alchemist openly known in this vast Northwest Continent, which gives you an idea of the difficulty.
To become a high-level Alchemist of Tier 7 and Above is, without exaggeration, like winning the Nobel Prize in one's previous life.
The above classification of understandings of elixirs is a summary of Lin Ming's views based on his own knowledge, reading books, and the explanations of Master Toso and Elder Huo.
It was with these understandings that Lin Ming felt he could refine Tier 4 Medicinal Pill after his Spiritual Strength improved. He had been hovering on the edge of becoming Tier 4 Medicinal Pill refiner before, but now that his Spiritual Strength was stronger, he had definitely crossed the threshold of 4th Grade Alchemist.
"Elder Huo, do you have any recommendations for the Tier 4 Medicinal Pill that I have refined?" Lin Ming asked after hearing Elder Huo's words.
With such a powerful Fifth Grade figure around, Lin Ming could save himself the trouble of finding medicinal herbs. He wasn't stupid, so of course he would make use of it.
Furthermore, Elder Huo is in charge of all the academy's pills, so he naturally knows which Tier 4 Medicinal Pill sell best in the academy. Therefore, it would be even more perfect if he could make some money while Pill Refining.
Without money, Lin Ming wouldn't have gotten the Purple Crystal Wings, and he wouldn't have gotten any of the subsequent benefits. So money is essential in any world.
"Take this! Go back and think about it carefully. Refine it when you're confident." A scroll of pill formula was taken out of Elder Huo Storage Ring and shot straight at Lin Ming.
Upon receiving the pill formula, Lin Ming scanned it with his Spiritual Strength, and the information within the formula was transmitted to Lin Ming.
Fire Cleansing Pill, Tier 4 Medicinal Pill, has the effect of clearing accumulated Fire Poison from the body. Required ingredient: One stalk of Ming Jue Grass...
After understanding the pill formula, Lin Ming realized why Elder Huo had given him this formula to Pill Refining. The Inner Academy of the academy possessed the Heavenly Flames, the Fallen Heart Flame, so the demand for pills that could clear Fire Poison was naturally much greater.
Lin Ming might need the Fire Cleansing Pill after he goes to the Inner Academy, so whether for sale or personal use, the Fire Cleansing Pill is an excellent Tier 4 Medicinal Pill.
So after Lin Ming finished sensing the formula for the Fire Cleansing Pill, he said to Elder Huo, "Elder Huo, I'll go back and study the details of the Fire Cleansing Pill for a few days before I come back to refine Fire Cleansing Pill."
"Alright! Lin Ming, you've just returned from a mission, you must be tired. Go back and rest! As for your suspicions, I'll have someone investigate."
"If the academy really has traitors among its own people, humph!"
Seeing the resentful look on Elder Huo's face, Lin Ming could understand it very well. Elder Huo had spent his entire life in the academy; the academy was his home. If it were just a simple act of embezzlement, he would let it go, after all, everyone has to consider their own livelihood.
However, Elder Huo could not tolerate someone betraying the academy's information for their own benefit and sending people to kill the students.
"Elder Huo, don't be angry. I believe the academy will be able to find out the truth, and those who want to harm the academy will definitely be caught," Lin Ming said reassuringly.
"Haha! The old man still trusts the academy's ability to handle things. Alright, Lin Ming, you can go and rest now!" Reassured by Lin Ming, Elder Huo smiled again and said.
"Then, Elder Huo, I'll be heading back now." Lin Ming stood up, bid farewell to Elder Huo, and left.
After descending to the ground floor and chatting with Steward Yang for a while, Lin Ming returned to his small courtyard in the Alchemy Department. Since there were still a few days before the start of the semester, Lin Ming decided to stay there for the time being.
After taking a shower, Lin Ming returned to his room and began to organize his gains from the past month.
His biggest gain from this trip was obtaining a quarter of the fragment of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame map. This fragment was originally the most difficult to obtain in his mind.
According to the original novel, the character wouldn't be born until several years later, when Xiao Yan arrived in the Black Corner Region. At that time, obtaining the item would require competing with Old Yao.
Lin Ming was still very wary of Old Yao, a Tier 8 Alchemist. Therefore, Lin Ming would avoid direct confrontation and refrain from provoking them.
As for the other two fragments of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame map, they're easy to obtain. I can get them after I finish my cultivation in the Inner Academy.
Anyway, one is in a cave in Green Mountain Town, and the other is with Elder Hai; they won't run away.
Then he acquired the Flying Fighting Skill: Purple Crystal Wings.
Having the ability to fly makes things much more convenient, whether for traveling, escaping, or fighting. Originally, Lin Ming planned to refine the Flying Fighting Skill inside the Pure Lotus Demonic Flame Fragment Map when he went to Green Mountain Town to collect it.
But now that he has obtained the Flying Fighting Skill ahead of time, that is of course even better. If Lin Ming had followed his original plan, he would have left the Inner Academy a few years later, returned to the Jia Ma Empire, and then gone to Green Mountain Town to find the cave and obtain the Flying Fighting Skill to refine.
By then, he would have at least been Dou Ling, and might even have become Dou Wang. Flying Fighting Skill wouldn't be as useful to him then as they are now.
Therefore, Lin Ming was more than willing to acquire the Flying Fighting Skill ahead of time. This doesn't even take into account the other improvements the Purple Crystal Wings would bring to Lin Ming.
The Purple Crystal Wings enhanced Lin Ming's Spiritual Strength, opened the final meridian of the Blazing Sun Saber Technique, allowing Lin Ming to directly master the Blazing Sun Blazing Sun Saber Technique, and also provided an additional boost to it.
Even if you gave Lin Ming the Purple Cloud Wings from Green Mountain Town to replace the Purple Crystal Wings, he still wouldn't trade them.
Finally, there's cultivation. Although he's been away for almost a month, Lin Ming's cultivation hasn't fallen behind. He's now gathered a few more drops of energy in his dantian.
At this rate, I should be able to advance to the Seven-Star Dou Master level in about a month. Then, by the time of the Inner Academy Selection Tournament six months later, I should be able to reach at least the Peak Dou Master level. Such a speed of advancement is enough to leave most people far behind.
In the Inner Academy Selection Tournament, Lin Ming didn't necessarily have to win first place, but he definitely had to secure a spot in the top five.
The top five in the Inner Academy Selection Tournament will have the opportunity to enter the academy's Library Pavilion and choose a treasure. Lin Ming wouldn't miss such an opportunity.
After sorting out the spoils of this trip, Lin Ming began to study the Fire Cleansing Pill.
Since we're going to refine the Fire Cleansing Pill next, we naturally need to carefully consider the details of its refinement. Every Alchemist aims for success before Pill Refining.
Lin Ming was no exception. So now that he had time, he needed to thoroughly understand the extraction requirements of each ingredient in the Fire Cleansing Pill, as well as the methods and details of combining them.
These are crucial to the success of the refining process. Fortunately, the Fire Cleansing Pill formula given to Lin Ming by Elder Huo contained his annotations on refining the Fire Cleansing Pill. This would make the Fire Cleansing Pill much smoother for Lin Ming.
With this help, Lin Ming planned to thoroughly understand the Fire Cleansing Pill in the next few days, so that he could successfully refine it on his first try.
This way, we won't let Elder Huo's help go to waste, and we can also save on some medicinal herbs. The herbs for one Fire Cleansing Pill cost around 200,000 Gold Coin, which is equivalent to a quarter of the Gold Coin Lin Ming currently has. So being able to save on them is quite good.
These past few days, Lin Ming has been staying at home in his small courtyard in the Alchemy Department. Apart from cultivating his cultivation, he spends most of his time figuring out how to refine the Fire Cleansing Pill.
Sometimes, when I get tired of pondering elixir formulas, I'll practice my Dou Technique in the courtyard to stretch my body.