The Limit

"That good-for-nothing became a Third-Rank Alchemist? Impossible. Absolutely impossible!"

His biological father rejected the news at once. He had become a Dou Wang expert before turning fifty. How could he have misjudged him?

"It must be a rumor spread by someone with too much time on their hands. Half a year ago, that good-for-nothing was only at Seventh Stage Dou Qi. How could he possibly be a Third-Rank Alchemist?"

"But, Family Head, the people outside sound so certain..."

"Hmm?"

"Understood. This old servant will go set the record straight."

"Good. Go on."

Prejudice was a mountain in people's hearts. No matter how hard one tried, it could not be moved an inch.

Zhu Qian had once found it hard to believe that someone could be born with such powerful Soul Power.

The boy was not even a Dou Shi, yet his Soul Power already approached that of a Fifth-Rank Alchemist.

But Zhu Qian had seen it with his own eyes. He had no choice but to believe it.

More astonishing still, the boy worked hard and was eager to learn. Once Zhu Qian pointed out a mistake, he never made it twice.

After only a few days of instruction, his alchemy had improved by leaps and bounds.

Zhu Qian knew the limits of his own teaching. He was not that exceptional; otherwise, the Han Family School would not have students who had been there for five or six years.

What was truly remarkable was the boy's ability to learn and his self-discipline.

As the sun set, Zhu Qian watched Wu Bai finish refining a Fourth-Rank Pure Heart Pill.

The entire process was a pleasure to watch. Not a single thing went wrong.

"You don't need to come here anymore."

Wu Bai stopped putting away the Medicine Cauldron.

"Elder Zhu, did I do something wrong?"

"No. I simply have nothing left to teach you—at least when it comes to alchemy."

Wu Bai fell silent for a moment, then nodded slowly and bowed deeply to Zhu Qian.

Watching Wu Bai leave, Zhu Qian let out a faint sigh.

He had lied. Zhu Qian still had plenty he had not taught him, but those skills could not be passed on lightly. Only a Personal Disciple could learn them.

Yet with Wu Bai's talent, his Soul Power would catch up to Zhu Qian's in less than two years. Why would he take an "ordinary" old man like Zhu Qian as his master?

Zhu Qian regretted not paying more attention to what was happening at the school.

By the time he had heard about Wu Bai, the boy had already refined Qi Gathering Powder.

If Zhu Qian had found out sooner, he might have had the nerve to take this genius as his disciple.

After Zhu Qian's guidance, Wu Bai's alchemy had improved visibly. Ordinary Fourth-Rank Pills no longer posed much of a challenge.

But he did not want to slip back into his old bad habits. Over the following days, he spent plenty of time practicing until the right techniques became second nature.

Wu Bai also knew he would soon be leaving for Jia Nan Academy in the Black-Corner Region, so he threw himself into refining a large stock of consumable pills.

Once he left the Han Family, there would be no wealthy patron willing to supply him with Medicinal Herbs for free. He would have to pay for them himself...

The thought made Wu Bai work even harder.

That day, Wu Bai was on fire. Five consecutive batches of Fourth-Rank Pills came out at top quality.

His success stirred the youthful ambition buried deep within him.

He wanted to test his limits!

Wu Bai pressed his lips together. The crimson flame obeyed his will, steadily raising the temperature inside the Medicine Cauldron.

Once the heat was right, Wu Bai tossed in the Purple Heart Flower first.

The seemingly delicate purple blossom slowly withered in the crimson flames. Its petals deepened in color, and a rich, dark-purple medicinal essence began to flow out.

Next came the Barrier-Breaking Grass...

The extraction went smoothly, but every Alchemist knew the real difficulty lay in combining the refined essences.

The more Medicinal Herbs involved, the harder it became. Some even had conflicting properties. Each addition increased the difficulty of combining them exponentially.

Drip...

A bead of sweat the size of a bean fell from Wu Bai's chin and splashed onto the floor.

More drops followed, so quickly they nearly formed a stream.

Wu Bai's face turned pale. His chest heaved harder, and his breathing grew ragged.

Yet a light blazed in the depths of his eyes, too bright to look at directly.

Crimson flames reflected in his pupils. It seemed they were burning not the pill, but his will.

After an unknown stretch of time, a faint purple glow appeared in the depths of Wu Yan's eyes. It swiftly brightened, lighting up the entire room.

A few breaths later, the Medicine Cauldron released a great cloud of purple fragrance that filled the room.

The scented mist drifted near the ceiling, like layer upon layer of purple clouds.

Fifteen minutes later, Wu Bai looked at the pale-purple pill in his hand, no larger than a longan fruit. He let out a long breath and slowly closed his eyes. The weight on his mind had finally lifted.

He placed the pill in a jade bottle, then forced himself to stay alert and formed the Cultivation Hand Seal.

The massive Dou Qi Vortex suddenly spun faster as refined Dou Qi poured into it.

At last, it reached its limit. The entire vortex trembled lightly, and color visibly returned to Wu Bai's face.

Wu Bai opened his eyes and clenched a fist. "Six-Star Dou Zhe. I'm almost fifteen, too..."

In ten months, he had advanced from a One-Star Dou Zhe to a Six-Star Dou Zhe. The few days it had taken to rise from Ninth Stage Dou Qi to Dou Zhe were hardly worth counting.

That rate of cultivation was not especially brilliant. It was above average, certainly, but no more than that.

Compared with true geniuses, he still lagged far behind.

If he were one of those cultivation prodigies, would he be an eight- or nine-star Dou Zhe by now? Perhaps even a Dou Shi?

Lying on his bed, Wu Bai mulled over the question until sleep took him.

The next day.

Han Yue had never seen Wu Bai so bleary-eyed. It made her admire the young genius's self-discipline even more.

He had achieved so much before reaching adulthood that no one would have blamed him for getting a swelled head. Instead, he had only worked harder at his cultivation.

That was something she could learn from!

"The Han Family Year-End Test is today. Do you want to come watch?"

"Sure. Wait while I change."

Now that his brain had caught up, Wu Bai glanced down at the clothes he wore underneath his outer robe and felt a little embarrassed.

Half asleep, he had taken off his outer clothes. When he got up, he was still so groggy that he had invited Han Yue in without putting them back on.

A chill of belated fear ran through him. Thank goodness he did not sleep naked, or he would have thoroughly humiliated himself today.

"Come on, Teacher. Why didn't you warn me?"

"It's not as if you were naked. What are you afraid of? Besides, that girl's hardly a stranger." The Yellow Springs Demon Saint's teasing voice sounded in Wu Bai's mind. He was plainly enjoying the spectacle.

"Uh..."

Wu Bai's face darkened. How is she not a stranger?