Refining Pills

Xiao Ling's agreement to help refine medicinal ingredients made Zi Yan visibly happy. She looked vibrant and spirited, as though a sky full of stars shimmered in her eyes, making her enthusiasm infectious.

Her lively eyes shifted slightly, revealing a crafty gleam.

Carefully, she took out a rather strange-looking medicinal ingredient from her Storage Ring. Its surface bore obvious bite marks, as though some creature had taken a bite out of it. It gave off a faint fragrance, and upon closer inspection, its color seemed slightly dull, as if it had lost some of its original luster. Yet despite its imperfect appearance, it exuded a mysterious and enticing aura.

Zi Yan said with a grin, "Hurry up and refine this into delicious pills for me."

The moment Xiao Ling saw the medicinal fruit, he understood what it was: a Sky Jade Fruit, the main ingredient for refining Dou Spirit Pills and a relatively rare Sixth-grade medicinal ingredient.

Looking at the tooth mark on it, Xiao Ling's mouth twitched as he could not help asking, "Don't tell me you bit this?"

He casually took the Sky Jade Fruit and gently placed it into the medicine cauldron he had prepared earlier. Drawing upon the Beast Flame within his body, he continuously fed it beneath the cauldron. A blazing mass of Beast Flame instantly rose up, licking at the bottom of the cauldron. The flame was extremely hot, yet perfectly controlled. It would neither burn the Sky Jade Fruit nor fail to slowly extract its essence. Once the medicinal essence inside had turned into liquid, he casually took several sugar pills from his Storage Ring and tossed them into the cauldron, making the pills taste better.

"This kind of refining is really simple. I'm afraid any alchemist capable of melting medicinal ingredients could make it."

Xiao Ling took out a porcelain bottle and beckoned casually. Several milky-white pills flew into it. The energies within these pills had not been neutralized, so humans could not consume them directly. At best, the medicinal effects would be greatly reduced; at worst, one would explode and die. Only a high-bloodline magical beast like Zi Yan could ignore such issues.

Seeing this, Zi Yan immediately pounced over and snatched the bottle of pills from Xiao Ling's hand. She impatiently pulled out the stopper, took out a pill, and tossed it into her mouth.

At once, a stream of pure energy spread through her body, increasing the Dou Qi within her. The faint sweetness lingered pleasantly in her mouth, putting her in an excellent mood. Narrowing her eyes, Zi Yan shouted excitedly, "It's so delicious! I'll never have to eat those awful pills again!" After saying that, she took out another pill and stuffed it into her mouth, chewing with loud smacks.

Sitting beside her, Xiao Ling watched in amazement at the Ancient Void Dragon's powerful body. Consuming medicinal ingredients so brutally was not something humans, or even ordinary magical beasts, could digest.

"Ancient Void Dragons are terrifying indeed."

Before long, Zi Yan had eaten all the pills as though they were candy beans.

Patting her flat little belly, Zi Yan felt that she could still eat a little more. She stared brightly in Xiao Ling's direction. Though she said nothing, the meaning in her eyes was obvious. Is there any more? I still want to eat.

Spreading his hands, Xiao Ling said helplessly, "If you want to eat, bring me medicinal ingredients and I'll refine them for you. If you don't have any ingredients, I'm not going to use my own stock to make pills for you. You even stole my Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pill before."

Scratching her head, Zi Yan said somewhat embarrassedly, "Then I'll go look for medicinal ingredients. When I'm hungry, I'll come find you to refine pills. What's your name? It'll be easier to find you next time."

Xiao Ling replied with a smile, "My name is Xiao Ling. I'm a new student this year, and I'm also the chief alchemist of the Supreme Freedom Gate. You can go find the gate master, Lin Xiuyai, and join our faction. That way, it'll be much easier for you to find me."

Zi Yan nodded seriously. "Xiao Ling, I'll remember you. That Lin Xiuyai or whatever, I'll go find him later and join your Supreme Freedom Gate."

After saying that, she vanished from Xiao Ling's sight in a flash, impatient to search for medicinal ingredients.

Watching Zi Yan's departing figure, Xiao Ling shook his head.

What an adorable thousand-year-old loli.

After getting to know Zi Yan, life gradually became more interesting.

Zi Yan came to play with Xiao Ling every day, bringing along medicinal ingredients for him to refine into pills.

As she had said before, Zi Yan joined the Supreme Freedom Gate and became its senior disciple.

When the Inner Academy's older students heard the news, they found it utterly unbelievable.

That was the Inner Academy's renowned Brute Force King. Hadn't everyone always said that she had a violent temper and a naturally brutal disposition?

Yet she had actually joined a faction founded by new students, leaving everyone deeply surprised.

Some older students had originally intended to come cause trouble for the Supreme Freedom Gate, but those thoughts immediately vanished. They could not afford to offend the fierce Brute Force King. Getting beaten so badly that they were bedridden for ten days or half a month would be considered a light punishment.

With Zi Yan's addition, the Supreme Freedom Gate entered a period of rapid development. Many students with decent strength and outstanding talent chose to join the Supreme Freedom Gate. Anyone with eyes could see that this faction had already gained a foothold in the academy and had a bright future ahead. Once its strength grew further, the requirements to join might become far stricter, and they might not be able to join even if they wanted to.

Xiao Ling was very satisfied with this situation. He now rarely had to worry about Fire Energy in the Inner Academy. As long as he casually refined a few pills while practicing Alchemy, he could earn a large amount of Fire Energy.

Interestingly, when Zi Yan came to ask Xiao Ling to refine pills one time, she happened to see Xiao Xun'er feeding Sixth-grade Pills to Rayquaza in Xiao Ling's courtyard. Her jaw immediately dropped, and she became incredibly envious.

It was as if some switch had been flipped. Xiao Ling often saw Zi Yan clinging to Xiao Xun'er and begging to be fed, which amused him greatly.

Xiao Xun'er did not care about a few pills. Feeding one was feeding, and raising two was raising. After all, she was the Gu Clan's young lady—she could afford it.

Zi Yan did not remain glued to Xiao Xun'er all the time. The main thing she ate each day was still the pills Xiao Ling refined for her. In Zi Yan's words, Xiao Ling's pills simply tasted better.

The days passed peacefully, one after another, yet that calmness was touched with a few splashes of color.

If Xiao Ling had to cultivate alone like an ascetic, he would definitely become bored after a long time. Having a group of like-minded friends along the path of growth was quite heartwarming.

In the Inner Academy, everyone's strength improved at a rate visible to the naked eye, all thanks to the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower. Xiao Ling's cultivation speed also greatly increased because of it. However, as his own realm gradually rose, cultivation became increasingly difficult, like climbing a towering peak. Therefore, even with the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower's support, it was impossible for him to break through a realm every few days in such an absurd manner.

Moreover, Xiao Ling did not intend to use his draw opportunities during this period. Before reaching the Dou Wang realm, his strength was in a stable period of growth. Once his body had fully developed and he possessed the ability to protect himself, he would use those opportunities. By then, using those treasures to venture outside would certainly be of great help.

While his cultivation steadily improved, Xiao Ling's Alchemy also advanced enormously. As he grew older and his body developed more fully, Tai Yi Hun Jue helped his Soul Power improve noticeably as well. Refining pills became increasingly effortless for him, and his pill success rate was much higher than even the Inner Academy elders'. Unfortunately, Jia Nan Academy's Alchemy Department lacked a deep foundation. The academy's highest-ranking alchemist was only Elder Huo, a Rank 5 Alchemist. As Xiao Ling's Alchemy became increasingly refined, the help the academy could provide dwindled until he could only explore on his own. Xiao Ling did not mind this at all. After all, a great opportunity still awaited him in the Xiao Family of Wutan City. Once he obtained that opportunity, his Alchemy would certainly improve by leaps and bounds.