Bone Spirit Cold Flame

"Hehe, Master." Having completed the apprenticeship ceremony and just risen from the ground, Lin Yu's respectful expression had barely lasted before he changed his tune. He stepped forward with a grin, a perfectly measured hint of cunning in his voice. "You said it yourself just now: as long as I have a soul cultivation technique, I can advance to the Spirit Realm. Even if you don't have an Earth Rank technique, you should at least give me a few Mysterious Rank ones, shouldn't you?"

As he spoke, his dark eyes gleamed with earnest anticipation. He had already kowtowed and called him Master, so asking for a few gifts surely was not too much, right?

At those words, Xiao Jinghou was stunned for a moment. Then his snowy brows shot upright, his beard bristled with fury, and his old face turned red. "What do you mean, if I don't have an Earth Rank technique, I should give you several Mysterious Rank ones? What do you think soul cultivation techniques are, cabbages? Several of them?"

The more Xiao Jinghou thought about it, the angrier he became. His chest heaved several times, but after looking at Lin Yu and then at Han Shanshan beside him, who seemed ready to pounce over and act cute again at any moment, he finally snorted heavily. He took out a jade slip engraved with a mid-level Mysterious Rank soul cultivation technique from his Storage Ring and tossed it into Lin Yu's arms with ill grace.

"Just this one. Take it or leave it!" Xiao Jinghou turned his face away, unwilling to spare another glance for this greedy little brat.

Lin Yu caught the scroll with both hands, delight surging in his heart. The smile on his face brightened further as he clasped his hands and bowed again, pride and sincerity strangely mingled in his voice. "Hehe, thank you, Master!"

"Taking advantage and still acting cute!" Xiao Jinghou flicked his sleeve and turned his back on Lin Yu, leaving him with a retreating figure that seemed to say, "Out of sight, out of mind."

Yet beneath that back, aside from irritation, there was clearly a trace of stiffness from being amused by his disciple but unable to laugh.

That night, Lin Yu moved into an independent courtyard under Han Shanshan's arrangements.

Before long, familiar footsteps sounded outside the courtyard gate.

"Yes, it worked. Though I'm only a nominal disciple," Lin Yu said with a nod, his tone calm yet solemn.

He paused, his gaze falling on Yao Chen. The corners of his lips lifted slightly as he continued, "Master is a ninth-tier alchemist. I recommended you to him as well. As long as you take first place in this Alchemy Duel Convention, he'll accept you as a nominal disciple too."

"You actually took the Grandmaster as your master?!" Dan Huchen was naturally the first to cry out in shock.

His eyes widened, and his fierce face was filled with unbelievable astonishment. His mouth hung open wide enough to fit a fist.

Watching the colors shift across Dan Huchen's face, Lin Yu's smile grew more pronounced, a teasing glint flashing in his eyes.

He folded his arms and said at an unhurried pace, "That's right. From now on, you should call me Martial Uncle, Nephew Huchen."

Dan Huchen's mouth twitched violently.

An exceedingly complicated expression appeared on his fleshy face.

His lips moved several times, and the veins at his temples throbbed faintly.

After several breaths of silence, Dan Huchen finally forced three words through gritted teeth. "Martial Uncle Lin."

His voice was so soft it was nearly inaudible, as if it had been scraped out of the depths of his throat. It was completely unlike his usual booming voice.

Yao Chen and Feng Xian stood nearby, watching the entire scene clearly.

Feng Xian was the first who could not hold it in. He burst into laughter, hurriedly raising a hand to cover his mouth, though his shoulders continued shaking uncontrollably.

Though Yao Chen usually showed few expressions, a rare smile appeared on his face as well.

Dan Huchen's expression turned even more gloomy as he looked at these gloating fellows.

The Alchemy Duel Convention was held in Sacred Pill City as scheduled. Alchemy geniuses from every region gathered together, while flames of every color shone against one another across the arena.

Lin Yu did not participate. With his strength as a high-level seventh-tier alchemist, joining the Alchemy Duel Convention would have been rather like bullying others, and his mind was elsewhere.

Yao Chen, however, refined an exceptional sixth-tier pill at the Alchemy Duel Convention.

Lin Yu watched everything from the spectators' seats, the corners of his lips rising slightly.

He directly brought him to the secluded chamber where Xiao Jinghou was in closed-door cultivation.

Xiao Jinghou had already given his word, so he immediately accepted him as a nominal disciple as promised.

After that, Lin Yu devoted himself to cultivation within the Pill Tower.

A year quietly passed amid the daily routine of pill refinement and cultivation. Lin Yu's Dou Qi cultivation steadily entered the realm of a five-star Dou Emperor, while his soul power finally broke through from Mortal Realm Great Perfection to the Spirit Realm.

By his calculations, the whereabouts of the Bone Spirit Cold Flame would be exposed in two more years.

He placed the pill formulas for the Blood Lotus Pill and the Earth Spirit Pill that he had gathered into the Fusion Panel and silently said, "Fuse."

Light flashed, and a brand-new formula for a seventh-tier Blood Spirit Pill appeared in his sea of consciousness.

After putting away the formula, he habitually glanced at the remaining Fusion Points on the Fusion Panel, and his pupils abruptly contracted.

After saving Fusion Points for so many years, he finally had enough to exchange for the Spatial Ancestral Talisman.

Lin Yu took a deep breath, suppressing the wild joy in his heart, and chose to exchange for it without hesitation.

Fortunately, Ancestral Talismans purchased through the Fusion Panel could be refined and used directly, without undergoing those near-death trials of Ancestral Talismans.

Over the next few days, Lin Yu remained indoors, gathering every medicinal ingredient needed for the Blood Spirit Pill before opening his furnace to refine it.

A seventh-tier pill was no longer a challenge for him. Before long, a pill crimson from end to end, with a faint blood-colored glow flowing over its surface, was successfully refined.

With all preparations complete, Lin Yu got up to find Han Shanshan.

He crossed the corridors of the Holy Tower's inner district and found Han Shanshan in an alchemy chamber.

"Senior Sister, I heard the Godfall Icefield has the Bone Spirit Cold Flame. Do you want to go together?" Leaning against the doorframe, Lin Yu asked bluntly.

Han Shanshan raised her head at his words, her delicate brows lifting slightly. She set down the damaged ancient scroll in her hand, surprise flashing through her eyes. "Bone Spirit Cold Flame? Where did you get that information? Still, a place like the Godfall Icefield really could produce the Bone Spirit Cold Flame."

She rose to her feet, folding her arms across her chest as she looked Lin Yu up and down.

After spending the past year together, she had grown increasingly fond of this extraordinarily gifted "junior brother."

"So, Senior Sister, are you coming with me or not?" Lin Yu pressed with a smile, his tone carrying a familiar casualness.

Han Shanshan rolled her eyes at him and answered decisively, "I'm going!"