Dark Undercurrents

Once he officially began refining medicine, Xiao Yan's expression turned solemn and serious. Alchemy placed the utmost importance on focus; without clearing one's mind of distractions and devoting oneself wholeheartedly, one could never achieve much on the path of alchemy. Xiao Yan naturally would not make such a mistake.

When the people outside saw the alchemists in the testing grounds finally light their furnaces, the noise grew even louder.

"Look! It's starting, it's starting!"

"Tsk, tsk, chances to watch alchemists refine pills are rare indeed."

"Look at that one in the northeast corner. That's Han Xian, a senior from our Alchemy Department. He's only in his early twenties, yet he's already a Third-Grade Alchemist!"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at Han Xian and began praising him.

"So this is Han Xian. I've heard of his great name for ages, but this is the first time I've seen him in person. He truly is an impressive young man!"

"Indeed. A Third-Grade Alchemist at twenty—give him a few more years of cultivation, and he might become a Sixth-Grade Alchemist! Such an alchemy master would be even more respected than a Dou Emperor!"

"Our Canaan Academy's Alchemy Department doesn't even have a Sixth-Grade Alchemist, does it? Wouldn't that make Senior Han Xian one of Canaan Academy's top geniuses?"

Everyone wore eager, admiring expressions, but Lu Mu, standing amid the crowd, could not help curling his lip.

Leaving aside how much he already disliked Han Xian's conduct—always calling himself the leader and meddling in the affairs of Alchemy Department students—when it came to alchemy itself, Lu Mu believed that by the time he reached Han Xian's age, he would not fear him at all.

Others might not understand, but Lu Mu knew perfectly well. Improvement in alchemy depended heavily on one's teacher. Han Xian might have reached the third grade at such a young age, but if he failed to find a good teacher later on, he might not even reach the fifth grade!

Lu Mu glanced at the other person in the pill-refining grounds. Previously, no one had been able to stand against Han Xian, so he had no choice but to bow his head. But now that someone stronger than Han Xian had appeared, and Han Xian did not have much time left to throw his weight around in the Outer Academy, the resentment Lu Mu had accumulated was becoming difficult to suppress.

"Seniors, then you don't know the full story. Our Alchemy Department actually has another genius, one even Senior Han Xian cannot compare to."

The moment those words fell, the crowd erupted into discussion.

"What? There's a student stronger than Han Xian?"

"Impossible. Han Xian is the strongest in the Alchemy Department at third grade. Who else could there be?"

"That's right, kid. Even if you're a preparatory student of the Alchemy Department, you can't just spout nonsense!"

Seeing that everyone's curiosity had been thoroughly stirred, Lu Mu decisively stepped forward and shouted.

"Spouting nonsense? No one understands the Alchemy Department better than I do! This senior must not know of my title, Lu Mu, the Canaan Know-It-All!"

After taking the opportunity to advertise himself, Lu Mu returned to the subject.

"Everyone, look at the alchemist in the center of the grounds. That is the genius I mentioned, someone stronger than Senior Han Xian—a Second-Grade Alchemist, Xiao Yan!"

"Don't be fooled by the fact that Xiao Yan is only a Second-Grade Alchemist and seems weaker than Han Xian. In truth, Senior Xiao Yan only joined the Alchemy Department within the past year. He had only been exposed to alchemy for one year, yet he rose from a complete novice to a Second-Grade Alchemist!"

"Not only that, do you know how old Senior Xiao Yan is this year? He isn't even twelve! Now that is what you call a genius!"

The people outside the grounds cried out in shock. The information about Xiao Yan was far more astonishing to them than what they had just heard about Han Xian.

"Twelve? You're not joking, are you?"

"But look at his face—he really does seem very young..."

"Wait! He joined a year ago, and a Second-Grade Alchemist means Dou Master strength. And the name Xiao Yan... Could it be—"

Lu Mu was not surprised that someone had guessed it. Xiao Yan's deeds had caused quite a stir back then. Though the buzz had quickly faded because Xiao Yan was simply too low-key, a slight reminder was enough for people to recall it. He immediately stopped keeping them in suspense.

"That's right—the Xiao Yan with Super S-rank aptitude!"

The students all recalled the rumors from back then, and the scene grew even livelier. With everyone's excitement ignited, Lu Mu seized the chance to act as an outside commentator.

"Everyone, please look inside. The most important thing for us alchemists when refining medicine is to remain utterly focused. Look at Senior Xiao Yan's expression—how calm and concentrated he is! I've only seen that kind of immersion when watching elders refine medicine!"

"Ooh! Everyone, pay attention. As far as I know, the formula being tested is one the students have never seen before. Yet look at Senior Xiao Yan's refining—he is so composed and at ease! It is clearly his first time refining it, but there has not been a single failure in extracting the ingredients!"

"Here it comes, here it comes! He's reached the pill-forming stage, and Senior Xiao Yan is the first to get there again! Will he succeed in one try?!"

Someone beside him could not listen any longer and said, "You can't see anything through the flames in that cauldron. How do you know he's forming the pill? You're just making things up..."

For low-grade pills without any notable phenomena, unless a high-grade alchemist observed with spiritual power, no one could tell which stage the refinement inside the flames had reached. It was only natural for Lu Mu's confident commentary to arouse suspicion.

But Lu Mu refused to back down. "Heh heh, I really can't see the pill, but I can see Xiao Yan. His movements and expression reveal it—his pill is almost complete."

Seeing Lu Mu so certain, the man could not say much more and could only let him continue.

At this moment, Han Xian, standing within the grounds, cast a glance toward the spectators and committed the endlessly talking Lu Mu to memory.

If he had been refining medicine normally, he naturally would not have listened to extraneous noise. But Han Xian was merely putting on an act, so he had heard every word Lu Mu said.

"Hmph. I'll deal with you later!"

Although Han Xian intended to teach Lu Mu a lesson, he also felt that the kid had some skill. At the very least, his judgment matched Han Xian's: Xiao Yan was about to form the pill.

And at this very moment, an alchemist would be most focused on the pill—in other words, most vulnerable!

"Cough! Cough!" Han Xian seemed to inhale some smoke and coughed softly twice, but the other six immediately understood.

"Huh?"

"Damn it!"

As two people in the grounds shouted loudly, the medicine cauldrons before them began to shake violently. Outside, Lu Mu promptly gave his commentary.

"This is bad. It seems Senior Chen and Senior Li have run into problems with their refining. They may be about to fail!"

Boom!

Boom!

"Ah! Their furnaces exploded! That is not something often seen when refining low-grade pills. This is bad! They're too close together—it will affect Xiao Yan, who is currently forming his pill!"

Though they were very close, the flames inside Xiao Yan's medicine cauldron only flickered slightly before immediately returning to normal.

"Whew, it seems nothing happened. Senior Xiao Yan's side is very stable..."

Han Xian revealed a sinister smile. Of course, he knew the furnace explosions would not affect Xiao Yan. Besides, an impact of this degree could at most cause Xiao Yan's refinement to fail.

The real plan was—

Han Xian shook his foot, and an inexplicable sensation linked him with every student in the grounds except Xiao Yan. The others had long been prepared and poured in their spiritual power.

This was an array Han Xian had obtained from his clan. It was originally meant to gather the spiritual power of several alchemists in one place to assist in pill refinement. Its flaw was that the increased power was difficult to control steadily, much like a three-legged race, making it a rather useless technique.

Yet this brat had unexpectedly found another use for it, turning it into an attack!

The spiritual attacks of low-grade alchemists were very weak. Even if Han Xian gathered everyone's strength now, it would be difficult to break a Dou Practitioner's defenses in a frontal assault.

But Han Xian had chosen the perfect opportunity, using the disturbance caused by the exploding furnaces to conceal the activation of the array.

Then, while Xiao Yan had no time to defend himself, this spiritual attack would be enough to throw his spiritual power into chaos. It would not kill him, but it would certainly leave Xiao Yan bedridden for two or three years. Then Han Xian would no longer need to fear him becoming an obstacle!

Han Xian guided the power toward Xiao Yan's medicine cauldron—attacking Xiao Yan directly would leave evidence behind, but attacking the spiritual power within the cauldron could be concealed perfectly. When the time came, Xiao Yan's injuries could simply be blamed on the backlash from a failed refinement!