Tier 2!

Lin Lan pointed out the problem, and when Zhao Li heard him, he looked toward the Medicine Cauldron.

Inside the Medicine Cauldron, the various scraps left from the Medicinal Ingredients he had refined earlier still held a little unusable energy under the perception of his Soul Power. It was precisely the interference from that energy that had affected the Medicinal Power and caused the failure at the final moment.

"Actually, under normal refinement, you had already succeeded. But you didn't notice the influence of the other energies inside the Medicine Cauldron. When refining pills, your grasp of the medicinal properties of all kinds of Medicinal Ingredients is extremely important."

Just then, Lin Lan's voice came over. Moments like this were the best time to give guidance.

Without waiting for Zhao Li to speak, Lin Lan continued:

"Little Li, pill refining doesn't just require you to be familiar with the pharmacological properties of individual Medicinal Ingredients. You also have to understand the conflicts, neutralization, stimulation, and other pharmacological effects between different Medicinal Ingredients. These aren't things you can learn and master overnight. You need to accumulate them over time. Remember, an alchemist doesn't merely make use of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. He must also use all kinds of Medicinal Ingredients to fully stimulate them, producing effects far beyond what those Medicinal Ingredients could achieve on their own."

Zhao Li nodded and committed his teacher's words to memory. "Teacher, I understand."

Everything he had learned before had been theory. From now on, he would have to turn theory into practice through continuous pill refining, constantly discovering problems and solving them.

"Your talent is extremely outstanding, and you're willing to work hard. It won't be long before you become a true alchemist. If you have enough Medicinal Ingredients to practice with, you'll soon reach the limit that your current Soul Power can achieve."

Lin Lan, who had already been shocked several times today, naturally knew how terrifying Zhao Li's talent for refining pills was. Combined with his solid foundation, the only things that could limit Zhao Li's improvement were Soul Power and Medicinal Ingredients.

"Hehe, it's all because Teacher taught me well and had me build a solid foundation early on."

Zhao Li laughed, exchanging a round of mutual praise with his teacher.

"All right, keep refining. Perhaps on your very first attempt at pill refining, you'll manage to produce this Qi Recovery Pill."

Lin Lan neither confirmed nor denied it.

As time passed, Zhao Li finished refining all the Medicinal Ingredients and prepared for the final pill-condensing step. He lowered the temperature of the flames and threw the Medicinal Liquid in. His Soul Power sensed everything in fine detail, and he even split off a wisp of attention to watch the outside world, refusing to let even the slightest change escape him.

Time flowed by. Zhao Li watched the pill take shape, let out a breath of relief, and stored it away. A wave of exhaustion swept over him, but it was suppressed by the joy of having successfully refined a pill.

The most important step in pill refining was manipulating the flames. Zhao Li had broken through repeatedly lately, and with National Martial Arts Body Cultivation, his control over himself had already become extremely precise. That was what led to his success on his first attempt at refining pills.

Filled with joy, Zhao Li looked at Lin Lan and asked:

"Teacher, I should count as a First-Grade Alchemist now, right?"

Seeing his disciple so happy and delighted, Lin Lan did not pour cold water on him at this moment.

"Not bad. This Qi Recovery Pill ranks in the upper-middle range among first-grade pills. Since you were able to refine it, you're more than capable of passing the Alchemist Guild's assessment, obtaining a First-Grade Alchemist Badge, and truly becoming an alchemist."

Then he warned, "You mustn't become arrogant, either. This is only the first step. There's still a much longer road ahead. As your master, I can only bring you onto this path. At most, I can help you walk it a little more smoothly."

"Teacher, this disciple understands."

Zhao Li already knew that the Dou Qi Continent was vast. His tiny achievement was nothing even in the Great Qian Empire, let alone across the entire continent.

"Cultivate and recover first. Your dou qi is fine, but if you don't have Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures specifically for restoring the soul, then your Soul Power can only gradually recover through rest."

Lin Lan looked at Zhao Li, who was still excited but somewhat tired, and knew that although his first pill-refining attempt had succeeded so smoothly, his Soul Power consumption had been rather high.

Hearing this, Zhao Li took out the Qi Recovery Pill he had just refined, swallowed it, sat cross-legged, and began cultivating.

"With this kid's talent, if his Soul Power can keep up, catching up to me won't be a problem. Unfortunately, I don't have a cultivation method for Soul Power, so it can only grow naturally as his Cultivation Level breaks through. Sigh, if only I had won the Pill Conference Champion back then..."

Lin Lan watched Zhao Li enter a cultivation state and thought to himself, feeling somewhat regretful. Back then, if not for...

After a long while, Lin Lan came back to himself and put away his thoughts. "Why think about all that? Who knows how long it'll take this kid to reach the seventh grade? When the time comes, it'll be time to let him go out and make his way. Children and grandchildren have their own fortunes. In the end, I can't bring him to that kind of brilliance..."

After an unknown amount of time, Zhao Li opened his eyes. Feeling that his dou qi had improved and his mind was full of energy, he said, "Teacher, I feel great now. Shall we continue learning a new Pill Formula? Why don't we make it a little harder and give me a Tier 2 one? Hehe!"

"You brat, do you really think pill refining is a game? Master first-grade pills properly before saying that."

Lin Lan laughed and scolded him, then took out the first-grade Pill Formulas he had prepared and gave them all to Zhao Li. Inwardly, however, he thought, This kid is practically a monster. The material I originally prepared for him to study over three months might be completely drained in less than one...

Zhao Li took the Pill Formulas and began reading them. After a long while, Zhao Li once again threw Medicinal Ingredients into the Medicine Cauldron...

The sun rose and the moon set, the cycle repeating. One month later.

Zhao Li looked at the Tier 2 Energy Accumulation Pill in his hand, feeling somewhat proud. He knew that this Energy Accumulation Pill was among the top tier even among Tier 2 pills and was extremely difficult to refine. Since he had successfully refined it, he could now firmly step into the level of a Second-Grade Alchemist.

Advancing from a First-Grade Alchemist to a Second-Grade Alchemist in just one month—his talent was truly solid.

"As expected of me. A heaven-sent prodigy. This talent is so amazing even I'm a little scared. Should I set another small goal? For example, first becoming an ordinary, unremarkable Seventh-Grade Alchemist?"

Zhao Li stopped his wild thoughts, held up the pill, and waved it at Lin Lan.

"Teacher, look. I succeeded."

"It's only a Tier 2 Pill. What's there to show off about?"

Over the past month, Lin Lan had long since grown used to Zhao Li occasionally producing all sorts of shocking achievements. He even had a feeling that it would be abnormal if this kid couldn't do such things.

"Hehe, that's different. How could I compare with Teacher?"

Zhao Li chuckled, then asked:

"Teacher, now that I count as a Second-Grade Alchemist, when are we going back?"

Hearing this, how could Lin Lan not understand that this kid wanted to go to the Alchemist Guild for certification and show off in front of others?

But his first stage of teaching had indeed come to an end, and it was about time to return. He immediately said sternly:

"Little Li, if you want to go to the Alchemist Guild to certify your rank, then either you're only allowed to certify as a First-Grade Alchemist, or you change your appearance completely."

Zhao Li froze when he heard this, then quickly reacted. This continent had never lacked Geniuses, but not every Genius could grow up successfully. He had indeed gotten carried away, and he took this as a warning.

"Thank you for the reminder, Teacher. This disciple knows his mistake."

Looking at Zhao Li, Lin Lan sighed inwardly again. What a sensible child.

"As long as you understand. When you're away from home, keep an extra eye out. We should go back too. We'll rest and reorganize for a while first. For the next stage of teaching, we'll be going into the Myriad Beast Mountain Range."