Xiao Xun'er's Anomaly (Bonus Chapter for 50 Recommendation Votes)

Alchemy is a task that consumes both mental and physical energy, and it truly tests one's mental endurance—at least, that was what Xiao Yan believed when he was refining pills.

But when he personally witnessed Old Man Yao refining a batch of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid with just a single palm, out of thin air, Xiao Yan realized how green he really was.

Even without a Medicine Cauldron, Old Man Yao could firmly fix the medicinal liquid in midair without leaking a trace of its Medicinal Properties, and the Bone Chilling Flame he controlled obeyed his will like a puppet on strings, releasing fire exactly as he commanded.

From these details alone, it was clear just how powerful Old Man Yao's Soul Power was and how extraordinary his alchemy skills were.

Just as Xiao Yan finished watching Old Man Yao's entire refining process, a voice suddenly rang out in his mind.

"Ding! You have learned the refining method for the Two-Grade Pill, Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid. Would you like to use 1000 Energy Value points to upgrade this pill's proficiency to the highest quality? Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid (1/1000)."

"No."

Silently rejecting the system's proposal in his mind, Xiao Yan knew that the higher a pill's proficiency, the smoother the refining process and the better the quality of the finished product. When proficiency maxed out, it meant he had fully mastered the refining method for Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid and could never fail.

But he still refused—first, because he didn't have that many Energy Value points, and second, because with Old Man Yao's guidance, this proficiency would skyrocket on its own, making it a waste to spend Energy Value here.

"Ding! Due to observing a Grandmaster Alchemist refining pills, your Second Grade Alchemist proficiency has increased by +100."

A hint of joy appeared on his face as Xiao Yan calmly picked up a set of medicinal ingredients for Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, preparing to imitate Old Man Yao's method and refine it himself.

But with one careless move, the first herb he tossed into the Pill Furnace was burned to ashes.

Xiao Yan didn't get discouraged. Instead, he picked up a second herb and began purifying the medicinal liquid, with Old Man Yao hovering above the furnace, constantly correcting his alchemy techniques.

"Ding! Due to receiving guidance from a Grandmaster Alchemist, your Second Grade Alchemist proficiency has increased by +105."

"Ding! Due to receiving guidance from a Grandmaster Alchemist, your Second Grade Alchemist proficiency has increased by +201."

"Ding! Due to receiving guidance from a Grandmaster Alchemist, your Second Grade Alchemist proficiency has increased by +160."

These system notifications kept ringing out, and within just one hour, thanks to the rapid surge in proficiency, Xiao Yan's pill-refining techniques grew increasingly mature, no longer inferior to some seasoned Second Grade Alchemists.

After fully completing three batches of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid under Old Man Yao's guidance, Xiao Yan's alchemist proficiency had surged by nearly two thousand points in that short time.

"You have successfully refined three batches of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid. Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid proficiency has increased. Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid (240/1000)."

Another system notification echoed in his mind—the proficiency for Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid had indeed risen! Three batches had added a total of 240 proficiency, meaning each successful batch granted 80 proficiency.

Now, looking at his Secondary Profession panel, the alchemist proficiency bar showed a significant change.

"Secondary Profession: Alchemist (Second Grade) Experience (1320/5000) Refinable Pills: First Grade Pills: Click to expand Second Grade Pills: Click to expand Can spend 3680 Energy Value points to advance to Third Grade Alchemist."

A smile spread across Xiao Yan's face at the rapid proficiency gain. Thank goodness he had apprenticed himself to Old Man Yao, a Grandmaster Alchemist. If he'd had to slowly fill this massive alchemist proficiency pit with his pitifully few Energy Value points in the early stages, it would have driven him to tears.

Seeing his disciple able to refine the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid—a pill nearing Grade 3 difficulty—so quickly, Old Man Yao nodded approvingly. "Han'er, your alchemy talent truly exceeds this teacher's expectations. The finished quality of your Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid is nearly perfect. Even skilled hands among ordinary Second Grade Alchemists might not match your craftsmanship."

"This teacher flatters me. It's still this teacher's excellent instruction."

Xiao Yan smiled modestly.

"If you were as stupid as a pig, then no matter how well this teacher taught, it would be useless." Old Man Yao chuckled, stroking his beard, then turned to look at Xiao Yan, who was staring blankly at Xiao Yan's alchemy.

"This round of pill refining was just to give you an early look at how an alchemist works. Since you've seen it, go ahead and start training your Dou Disciple now."

"Phew—I didn't expect an alchemist's work to be so mentally draining. It seems that without a certain level of strength, you might not even have the stamina to refine High-Grade Pills, right?" Xiao Yan said with some trepidation.

"Xiao Yanzi, you've stumbled onto one of the necessary conditions for becoming a High-Rank Alchemist."

Old Man Yao said with a smile, "To refine high-grade pills, you indeed need matching formidable strength.

Otherwise, during alchemy, a lapse in stamina could destroy the pill and blow up the furnace, wasting all your effort. Or, when refining a High-Grade Pill, you need enough strength to withstand the Pill Lightning, or you'll end up with both the pill and yourself destroyed!"

"It seems High-Rank Alchemists don't have it easy either."

Xiao Yan cleaned up the residue from the Medicine Cauldron, took out the recipe for the Second Grade Pill, Chongyuan Pill, and began studying it on his own.

"Ding! You have learned the refining method for the Second Grade Pill, Chongyuan Pill. Would you like to use 1000 Energy Value points to upgrade this pill's proficiency to the highest quality? Chongyuan Pill (1/1000). Effect Description: Increases cultivation speed by one-third, effective only for Dou Practitioners."

Holding up the Chongyuan Pill recipe, Xiao Yan gave Old Man Yao a slight nod. "Teacher, I'll trouble you."

"Let's begin..."

Old Man Yao nodded as well, starting his alchemy guidance for Xiao Yan.

This alchemy work lasted for over a week.

During this week, Xiao Han continuously experimented with various new pill formulas, and his alchemist proficiency skyrocketed. However, it seemed he had reached a bottleneck in his understanding of alchemical knowledge, as the proficiency gains from Old Man Yao's teachings began to gradually decrease.

Moreover, Xiao Han discovered that continuing to refine First Grade Pills no longer provided him with Rank 1 Alchemist proficiency; it only improved his familiarity with First Grade Pills themselves.

Thus, after guiding Xiao Han for four days, Old Man Yao returned to teach Xiao Yan, leaving Xiao Han to practice alchemy on his own.

After holing up for seven days, Xiao Han felt it was time to stop alchemy, so he tallied the results of this week.

Nearly fifteen thousand various First Grade Pills and close to three thousand Two-Grade Pills—all were Xiao Han's handiwork.

Having spent the same amount of time, his alchemy speed had doubled—this was the overwhelming advantage of a Second Grade Alchemist when refining First Grade Pills!

"Xiao Han Gege!"

Exhausted, Xiao Han emerged from the training room to see a graceful, ethereal young girl smiling at him, holding a food box in her hands.

"Xuner? Why are you here?"

Looking at the Gu Clan princess in surprise, Xiao Han stretched and yawned.

"Does Xiao Han Gege not welcome Xuner?"

The young girl smiled faintly, lifting the food box. "Xuner heard that Xiao Han Gege was coming out of seclusion today, so I specially made some snacks."

"Then many thanks. Have you been waiting long?"

"Not that long."

Xiao Han took the food box from Xuner with a smile, opened it, and sniffed. "Such a fragrant aroma. I never expected you, who rarely cooks, to have such hidden culinary skills."

"As long as Xiao Han Gege likes it, that's good. Xuner specially learned from Qinglin, and I ruined quite a few ingredients during practice." Xiao Xun'er tucked a strand of hair behind her ear shyly as she saw Xiao Han unreservedly praising her cooking.

Walking with Xuner to the stone table in the separate courtyard, Xiao Han was about to pick up his chopsticks when he suddenly looked up at Xiao Xun'er with a smile. "Usually, you call me Cousin Xiao Han or Brother Han, and you call Xiao Yan 'gege.' Why did you change to calling me 'gege' today?"

"Xiao Han Gege is so sensitive about a mere form of address," Xuner said, blushing as she lowered her head, intertwining her fingers.

After a long moment, she raised her reddened face, looking at Xiao Han like a puppy that had done something wrong. "Is it... not allowed?"

Stunned by the beautiful and charming young girl looking at him with such eyes, Xiao Han was momentarily dazed—a rare occurrence for him.

"What's up with this girl today? Isn't she supposed to like Xiao Yan?"

Although he had always been good to Xiao Xun'er, it was merely the affection of an elder brother for his younger sister. Despite Xiao Xun'er's beauty and gentleness, Xiao Han swore he had always treated her with pure sibling affection since childhood.

"Did you put on makeup?"

Looking closely, Xiao Han noticed that Xiao Xun'er was clearly wearing light makeup. If he hadn't observed carefully, he might not have noticed at all.

"Xiao Han Gege noticed?"

Whether it was an illusion or not, Xiao Han felt that Xiao Xun'er seemed a bit happy after he said that.

"Yeah, you look very beautiful today."

"Was Xuner not beautiful on other days?"

Xiao Xun'er puffed out her adorable cheeks, pretending to be angry.

"Xuner is always beautiful, but today you're as moving as a fairy."

"Hmph, you caught on fast."

Xiao Xun'er took out a bamboo tube filled with an iced drink from her storage ring. It was said to be a beverage made from a mix of several low-grade medicinal herbs and fruit juice, very popular among the younger generation.

Needless to say, this was another new product introduced to this world by Xiao Han, the Business Genius.

Xiao Han picked up a bite of food and put it in his mouth, his eyes lighting up. "Delicious dishes. Xuner, your skill is no less than Qinglin's. You must have put in a lot of hard work, right?"

"It's not that much. But as long as Xiao Han Gege likes it, it's worth it." Holding her face in her hands, Xiao Xun'er happily watched Xiao Han eat the snacks, making him feel strangely uneasy.

"When something is abnormal, there must be a reason. What is this girl up to, suddenly acting like this?"

Lowering his head to eat, Xiao Han pondered various possibilities. After the previous incident with the gift of a technique, Xiao Han had confirmed that Xuner's feelings for him were genuinely deep sibling affection, and his earlier conspiracy theories could be dismissed.

However, because of the Gu Clan, Xiao Han still had some doubts about Xiao Xun'er.

But when he inadvertently looked up at Xiao Xun'er, he noticed something off in her gaze.

This look... it was the same look Qinglin gave him when he whispered sweet nothings.

That look was called...

—The look of liking someone!

Damn! What's going on? I've only been away for a little over a month—what happened?