Shortcomings

After several days, Wu Bai finally finished refining the eight Dou Ling Pills.

He had taken the money, so of course he had to deliver.

Besides, refining medicine was good for him too, especially after his long seclusion had sent him soaring from One-Star Dou Ling to Eight-Star Dou Ling.

These days of intensive refining saved Wu Bai a great deal of time, giving him fine control over his newfound strength.

After a few more bouts with his teacher to grow accustomed to it, he could resume his cultivation.

But...

"To be safe, I won't go into the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower for the next few months. My cultivation has risen so fast that I'm starting to feel a little unsteady."

Wu Bai shook his head and handed his purple crystal card to Han Yue.

"Use my cultivation chamber for the next few months. Don't be stingy with the Zen Heart Pills. If you want to cultivate on the ninth floor for long stretches, you won't hold up without one. And their effects are gentle; the academy's experts probably left them there on purpose."

Han Yue listened to his instructions and nodded obediently, making no attempt to argue or decline.

She was with Wu Bai; the two of them were one. There was no need for hollow courtesies.

Wu Bai didn't need to worry about Baiyue's affairs. Han Yue had arranged everything in advance.

Early the next morning, Wu Bai escorted Han Yue to the cultivation chamber on the ninth floor.

Once the owners of the eight Dou Ling Pills had collected them, Wu Bai slipped out of the Inner Academy unnoticed.

He went to the Swamp in the Magical Beast Forest.

Wu Bai and the Yellow Springs Demon Saint faced each other, both suspended in midair.

With his movement technique, Wu Bai could remain aloft for five or six breaths.

When Wu Bai brought his palms together, understanding flashed in the Yellow Springs Demon Saint's eyes. It was the familiar opening.

Cikong struck first at several times the speed of sound. The Yellow Springs Demon Saint tilted his head slightly. A slender blue-white streak lingered before his eyes, and a piercing Sonic Boom exploded behind him.

With his extraordinary Soul Power, the Yellow Springs Demon Saint understood this move of Wu Bai's through and through.

He critiqued it as they fought.

"Not bad. As your cultivation grows, your command of this move gets better and its speed keeps rising. Most Dou Wangs wouldn't react in time if you used it right in front of them."

"Unfortunately, you're fighting your teacher."

As he spoke, the Yellow Springs Demon Saint shifted casually, drifting clear of Wu Bai's attack.

None of Wu Bai's varied attacks so much as touched the Yellow Springs Demon Saint's clothes. They only left a few charred trees nearby.

Once they closed into melee, Wu Bai lasted only a few minutes before the Yellow Springs Demon Saint kicked him in the backside.

About to plunge into the swamp, Wu Bai hurriedly activated his movement technique and floated back into the air by the skin of his teeth.

"Boy, compared with your talent for refining medicine, your talent for fighting falls a fair bit short."

The Yellow Springs Demon Saint patted Wu Bai's shoulder, though there was no dissatisfaction on his face.

"Right. So if I can settle things from a distance, I shouldn't get into a close fight..."

Wu Bai couldn't do much about it. Other children had learned how to fight hand-to-hand from their elders when they were in their teens.

He hadn't even had the chance to watch. His biological father had driven him away outright.

"On that front, you could train more with that girl. She's quite good in a fight."

In the Yellow Springs Demon Saint's view, Han Yue was far better than Wu Bai at close combat.

At the same Dou Qi level and with the same physical strength, Wu Bai might not last twenty moves against her.

But!

In the real world, there were no ifs.

Most fights came down to overwhelming an opponent with a higher cultivation level. If one slap could end it, who needed close-combat experience?

Besides, compared with a talent for refining medicine, combat experience was much easier to make up for.

It took just two words: take hits.

Wu Bai was an Alchemist, after all, so it wouldn't matter if the blows were too light or too heavy. One Tier 6 Healing Pill could mend even broken arms and legs on the spot.

And given how that girl felt about the boy, she probably wouldn't have the heart to hit him hard anyway.

Back at the Inner Academy, Wu Bai began considering which Medicinal Herbs he could combine to help temper his body.

Sheet after sheet covered in writing burned to ash. Wu Bai propped his face on his hand and pondered the properties of various Medicinal Herbs.

The Yellow Springs Demon Saint was gratified to see it.

No one was born knowing everything. If you couldn't do something, you had to find a way to shore up that weakness.

If someone really was born knowing everything, would they even be human?

Strengths and flaws, talents and shortcomings—that was what made a person human.

Wu Bai's strengths included a humble heart. He didn't grow complacent easily, and he listened to others.

He had flaws too: he was a glutton who loved good food, and a lecher who liked touching that girl's legs.

His talent lay in refining medicine.

His shortcoming was his lack of close-combat experience. That still needed honing.

The Yellow Springs Demon Saint silently summed up his assessment of his student and reached a conclusion: the boy's strengths and talents were excellent, while his flaws and shortcomings were minor and could be remedied.

Most importantly, the boy knew his own shortcomings and understood how to play to his strengths while avoiding his weaknesses.

Take it slowly. Shore up those weaknesses bit by bit. Even if we run out of time, I can step in myself when things turn dire.

The Yellow Springs Demon Saint continued thinking.

One more year. Next year, I'll see if I can revive that youngster. My disciple can't go on using a Beast Flame forever. When it comes to handling Heavenly Flames, he's the one who...

The next day, Wu Bai finally devised a suitable Medicinal Formula.

It wasn't high-grade. Strictly speaking, it was only around Tier 2 or 3.

"But I created this Medicinal Formula myself. That's worth commemorating! First, though, I need to make a batch and see how well it works."

Wu Bai stood and stretched.

He was about to go out when he sensed two presences approaching. One was roughly as strong as he was: a high-level Dou Ling.

That high-level Dou Ling radiated a strong fiery aura. He must have spent plenty of time cultivating in the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower.

Soon, two figures appeared outside the villa.

At Wu Bai's nod, they entered one behind the other.

The one in front wore a badge bearing a white crescent moon against a black night sky, with six bright stars around it—the emblem of Baiyue.

Those six stars represented Wu Bai's status as a Tier 6 Alchemist.

Wu Bai vaguely remembered him. He was one of the five young men from the Han Family.

The Gray-Clothed Youth behind him had a striking fiery red glint in his eyes. He had likely cultivated in the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower for too long, and Fire Poison had already entered his body.

"Leader, this is Lin Yan, a Nine-Star Dou Ling ranked thirteenth on the Strong Ranking."

"So you're an expert from the Strong Ranking. Please, sit."

Wu Bai nodded slightly and gestured toward a seat.

Meeting someone as important as a Tier 6 Alchemist for the first time, Lin Yan couldn't help feeling nervous.

"I wouldn't dare call myself anyone important in your presence."

"No one is born important. I wasn't either. Sit down, make yourself comfortable, and tell me what's going on."