Coming Clean

"Not bad. I refined it!"

Hearing Yao Lao's surprised question, Xiao Bai's expression remained calm, and he nodded lightly in admission.

Xiao Xun Er's eyes lit up, her heart filling with delight. He really had succeeded. Her Xiao Bai Gege was still as outstanding as ever!

She had wanted to ask just now, but she had not quite dared to. She had been afraid he had failed, and that asking would be like tearing open his wound. Now, she could finally set her mind at ease.

At the side, Xiao Yan watched his teacher's astonished expression and was also somewhat shocked. He had asked his teacher before, so he knew that for tens of thousands of years in this world, only those with Fire and Wood Attributes had been able to refine pills. There had never been an exception.

Brother Bai had opened a new precedent on the Dou Qi Continent. While Xiao Yan was happy for him, he also felt a little awkward. He remembered that last time he had even pitied Brother Bai a little and comforted him by saying that if he wanted pills refined in the future, he could come find him.

Now Brother Bai had already successfully refined a pill, while he was still at the Dou Zhi Qi stage. Forget refining pills; he could not even release the flame needed for pill refining.

Thinking of this, Xiao Yan rubbed his nose. Even with how thick-skinned he was, he could not help feeling his face heat up slightly.

Seeing Xiao Bai's calm, unruffled manner, Yao Lao felt a little stifled and somewhat suspicious.

"Is this brat showing off, or does he not know how great an impact Thunder Method Pill Refining would have on the Dou Qi Continent?"

One had to know that this brat had a record. Even his disciple would occasionally complain to him:

"Sometimes when I see Brother Bai looking so calm and composed, I want to go up and punch him, just to see what kind of reaction he'd have. If I could beat him, I would've done it long ago!"

Yao Lao shook his head, casting aside his thoughts, and said seriously:

"Xiao Bai, do you know what kind of impact this Thunder Method Pill Refining would have on the alchemy world if it spread?"

"I'll tell you. Countless Fire-Wood alchemists would want to kill you. Your Thunder Method Pill Refining has already shaken their status on the continent. Of course, there would also be countless Thunder Cultivators who would madly worship you—or else want to kill you too, so they could obtain your inheritance!"

"So this old man won't ask you about this method. But in the future, you'd best be careful. Before your strength is sufficient, you absolutely must not expose it!"

At this point, Yao Lao also sighed with some emotion. The instant he had seen Xiao Bai answer yes earlier, even he had felt the impulse to make a move, let alone other alchemists.

If it were someone else, Yao Lao would definitely have found a way to eliminate them, because he was also a beneficiary of the current alchemy system, and one of those at the very top.

But this person was Xiao Bai, a young man he admired greatly. If this brat had not been unwilling, he truly would have wanted to take him as a disciple.

Not only that, but Xiao Bai was also this current disciple's elder brother. If he truly did that, who knew if he would be stabbed in the back again in the future?

Besides, never mind the girl at the side—even Xiao Bai himself was someone he had no absolute confidence of defeating right now!

Thinking of that wisp of seemingly harmless Black-Red Thunder, Yao Lao shuddered outright. Just that tiny trace had made him sleep for two months.

If there were a little more, he was afraid he might sleep forever and never wake again!

Hearing Yao Lao's words, Xiao Bai felt no ripple in his heart. Did he not know these things? He did. He had already considered them long before he plotted for Yao Lao's Rank 8 Alchemist inheritance.

Although once he succeeded, this pill-refining method would not be replicable by other Thunder Cultivators, it still could not withstand two words.

Human nature!

Those alchemists and Thunder Cultivators would not care whether this method could be replicated. They would only be willing to believe what they saw.

That was why Xiao Bai had wanted to obtain the Rank 8 Alchemist inheritance from Yao Lao.

He wanted to solve the inheritance problem once and for all, lest he have to search here and there for scraps in the future, increasing the risk of exposure.

With Yao Lao's alchemy inheritance, he would almost never need to worry about this aspect again in the future.

As for coming clean to Yao Lao today, one reason was that he truly wanted to ask about the pill, and the second was also to test Yao Lao.

Because among the few people in the small courtyard today, Xiao Bai knew he could not hide the fact that he had succeeded in refining a pill.

Since he could not hide it, he might as well expose it earlier and take a look at Yao Lao's attitude.

From the looks of it now, the result was not bad. Things had not reached the worst step he had imagined.

"Many thanks for your guidance, Senior. Xiao Bai will remember it!" At this moment, Xiao Bai smiled faintly and nodded to Yao Lao.

Hearing this, Yao Lao said no more. With Xiao Bai's intelligence, even if he had not thought of it just now, now that Yao Lao had reminded him, there should not be any problem.

Turning his head, he instructed Xiao Yan, "After we leave today, don't go spouting nonsense about your Brother Bai's matter, understand?"

Xiao Yan said with a solemn expression, "Don't worry, Teacher. I'll let Brother Bai's matter rot in the bottom of my heart. I absolutely won't reveal a single word of it!"

Yao Lao nodded. As for that little girl over there, there was no need for him to say anything. She would be even less willing than they were to see anything happen to Xiao Bai.

Looking again at the pill in his hand, Yao Lao said to Xiao Bai with great curiosity:

"This pill of yours is something this old man has never seen before. It clearly has a poor medicinal scent, yet it contains the energy fluctuations of a Fourth Grade Pill. Calling it first grade seems to look down on it, but calling it fourth grade, its medicinal strength is obviously insufficient. It really is miraculous!"

"I don't really care what grade it is. The main thing is its function!"

At this point, Xiao Bai hesitated a little. He glanced at the little girl beside him and found it somewhat hard to say aloud.

Xiao Xun Er was listening with rapt attention. Although she was not an alchemist, her understanding of pills was second only to Yao Lao among those present.

She was very interested in this miraculous pill refined by Xiao Bai Gege and was just about to properly learn about it, but unexpectedly, he stopped speaking and instead looked at her. This made her a little puzzled.

Seeing her confusion, Xiao Bai did not speak. He merely patted her little head lightly, then directly transmitted his voice to Yao Lao, recounting the scene of the pill being used on the rabbit.

At first, Yao Lao was somewhat surprised as to why Xiao Bai, who had been speaking perfectly fine, suddenly used soul voice transmission. But after hearing Xiao Bai's account, he pondered for a moment, then blinked at Xiao Bai with a somewhat teasing expression and laughed.

"Haha. Xiao Bai, you truly are an odd genius! You actually managed to refine Blood Coagulation Powder into something with that kind of effect!"

Beside them, Xiao Yan was completely baffled. Brother Bai had not even finished saying anything! Yet Teacher seemed to already know. What was going on?

Xiao Xun Er, on the other hand, seemed thoughtful. She gave Xiao Bai a strange look. Judging from his expression just now, was there something he could not let her know?

And that Soul Fluctuation just now—wasn't that soul transmission?

From what that old man said, that effect—what kind of effect was it that she wasn't allowed to know about?

And why did that old man's smile give off such a lecherous feeling?

After that, she saw Xiao Bai Gege constantly speaking with that lecherous old man through transmissions. The old man was all smiles, while Xiao Bai Gege first frowned, then seemed to come to a sudden realization.

"Many thanks for your guidance, Senior!" Xiao Bai said, cupping his hands toward Yao Lao.

"No matter, no matter. You simply don't understand enough about medicinal properties and pharmacology. Otherwise, there would be no need for this old man to explain these questions—you would be able to figure them out yourself, haha!"

Yao Lao lightly stroked his beard and said to Xiao Bai with a smile.