A bountiful haul, entering the Inner Academy

"I really did come to the right place!"

Delight lit up Lin Chen's face as he raised his hand and opened the two jade boxes.

The jade box containing the Ice Spirit Cold Spring was filled with crystal-clear liquid. A thin layer of solid ice covered its surface, wreathed in white mist and radiating an aggressive chill.

In the other jade box lay a gray stone the size of a thumb, its surface as smooth as jade. A speck of deep blue light flickered at its center, wriggling slightly like a living insect.

It was none other than the Naling needed to refine Heavenly Flames!

"Tsk, tsk. A Naling is a treasure that can only be extracted from a high-grade Storage Stone. High-grade Storage Rings are already rare on the Dou Qi Continent. This Naling is probably worth no less than a seventh-tier pill."

Lin Chen happily tucked the Ice Spirit Cold Spring and the Naling into his Storage Ring, then opened the final jade box with considerable anticipation.

Inside lay a jade-green Storage Ring, antique and elegant. Intricate patterns adorned its surface, vaguely forming a towering jade-green willow tree. Ten thousand silken branches drooped down, weaving together into three large characters.

"Jade-Green Ring!"

"It's actually a high-grade Storage Ring..."

Lin Chen froze for a moment, then picked up the Jade-Green Ring and examined it closely.

As everyone knew, high-grade Storage Rings were exceedingly rare on the Dou Qi Continent, so each had its own unique name. Yao Lao's Bone Flame Ring and Han Feng's Nether Sea Storage Ring, for instance, were their respective signature possessions.

One could say that, aside from a medicinal cauldron, a Storage Ring was an alchemist's second identity. Seeing the ring was like seeing its owner. Every outstanding alchemist was bound to possess a high-grade Storage Ring uniquely his own.

Lin Chen extended his soul power into the Jade-Green Ring without encountering any resistance. Clearly, whoever had left it behind had not protected it with a soul imprint, deliberately leaving this opportunity for someone destined to find it.

The space inside the Jade-Green Ring was vast, at least ten times larger than an ordinary low-grade Storage Ring. Different racks stood on its left and right sides.

On the left was a rack for medicinal ingredients, with a dozen or so jade boxes of varying sizes neatly arranged upon it. Their surfaces were densely engraved with sealing patterns, clearly intended to preserve their medicinal potency.

On the right, densely packed pill formulas filled seven shelves, corresponding to the ranks of first- through Seventh-Rank Alchemists. As Lin Chen swept his soul power over them, many familiar formulas came into view.

Third-tier Windwalk Pills, fourth-tier Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pills, fifth-tier Dou Ling Pills, Sixth Grade Misfortune-Breaking Pills and Emperor's Extreme Pills, seventh-tier Instant Qi Pills and Life Devouring Pills...

"There's quite a lot here..."

Lin Chen counted carefully. Among the pill formulas passed down on the shelves, each tier from first through Sixth Grade had several dozen varieties. They covered a dazzling array, including quite a few unusual formulas he had never even heard of.

Only the seventh-tier formulas were particularly scarce, numbering little more than a dozen. Clearly, this alchemist's progress had been especially difficult upon reaching the seventh tier. Yet the fact that he had still left behind such a substantial legacy showed the goodness of his character.

"There are three cultivation scrolls mixed in with the seventh-tier formulas on the top shelf. Were they put there deliberately, or by mistake?"

Curiosity appeared on Lin Chen's face as he retrieved the three green cultivation scrolls beside the Life Devouring Pill formula.

They were labeled "Azurewood Myriad Life Art," "Azure Flame Asura Blade," and "Thousand-Leaf Heaven-Burning Palm"—a standard legacy consisting of one cultivation method paired with two Dou Techniques.

"Azure Flame Asura Blade, Earth Tier Mid-grade, a fire-and-wood-attribute Dou Technique. Wood feeds the flames, and once mastered, it can rival an Earth Tier High-grade technique?"

Clicking his tongue in wonder, Lin Chen lowered the green scroll in his hand and said with feeling, "This senior certainly held nothing back. He even left out a Dou Technique of this caliber. Even a Dou Zun expert would covet it."

Next, he picked up the Dou Technique named Thousand-Leaf Heaven-Burning Palm. Finding that it was merely an ordinary Earth Tier Low-grade Dou Technique with nothing particularly special about it, he casually returned it to the Jade-Green Ring.

Only then did he pick up the cultivation method named "Azurewood Myriad Life Art."

"Something's odd about this cultivation method. It actually focuses on the wood attribute. Don't alchemists primarily cultivate the fire attribute?"

Lin Chen studied the cultivation scroll in his hand with considerable curiosity, roughly determining its attribute from the aura it emitted.

Then he pressed it against his brow and examined it carefully.

A moment later, a gleam of understanding flashed through Lin Chen's eyes, and he murmured to himself, "So that's how it works. This isn't an ordinary wood-attribute cultivation method, but an extraordinary art for nurturing life. It can absorb the vitality of plants to nourish one's own vitality and extend one's lifespan. Anyone who cultivates it can live a hundred years longer than ordinary people at every realm!"

"So that's it. So that's it! The Life Devouring Pill consumes vitality and shortens one's lifespan, while this cultivation method replenishes vitality and extends one's lifespan. Using the two together is equivalent to having a Dou Wang expert with a hundred years left to live attempt to break through to the Dou Emperor realm. How could he fail?"

"No wonder. This man truly possessed a talent capable of ordering heaven and earth. To think he could devise such an unusual cultivation method to overcome the Life Devouring Pill's drawbacks. I really mustn't underestimate the people of this world."

"But could a mere Dou Zong expert really have created a cultivation method like this?"

A trace of doubt flashed through Lin Chen's eyes, but he shook his head and put the cultivation method into his Storage Ring.

After another round of searching, he found a bottle of Sixth Grade Earth Spirit Pills and a bottle of Life Devouring Pills on the top shelf of the medicinal ingredient rack on the left. Only then did he stop.

Thoroughly satisfied, he patted the dust off himself and stored all his gains in the Jade-Green Ring.

Lin Chen slipped on the Jade-Green Ring, which he had polished until it gleamed, then swept his sleeve and buried the iron coffin back in the pit.

Only then did he hum a little tune and head out of the valley, swaggering as though he would not acknowledge even his own kin.

Half a month later,

Behind Jia Nan Academy, a boundless sea of trees stretched across an endless mountain range. Occasionally, the low roars of magical beasts echoed through the woods, casting the entire forested range into a grim, deadly stillness.

Just then, a formation of griffins flew in from the distance and landed in a broad clearing.

Bang!

Hu Gan, who stood at the head of the group, swept his sleeve. A thick ribbon of Dou Qi struck the space before him with precision. Ripples spread outward, finally forming a spatial gateway seventy or eighty feet across.

"Go on in. The Inner Academy is inside. You're an alchemist, so report to Old Man Huo first. He'll make arrangements for you."

Hu Gan pressed a Blue Fire Crystal Card into Lin Chen's hand and patiently gave him instructions.

"I understand, President. Don't worry. I'll come back to visit you often."

Lin Chen chuckled and accepted the Fire Crystal Card. He glanced at Liu Fei and the others, whose faces showed their envy, then turned and stepped through the spatial gateway, disappearing from sight.

I remember my cousin saying that academy rules give every new Inner Academy student only five points of fire energy, so they can only receive the lowest-grade black Fire Crystal Card. Yet Lin Chen gets a Blue Fire Crystal Card right from the start. He really is something else.

Vice President Hu Gan is far too partial.

At the sight, envy flashed across Liu Fei's face, and she felt rather sour inside.

"All right, you should go in too. Remember, strength reigns supreme in the Inner Academy. Don't let a moment's wounded pride drive you into a dispute. Focus on improving your strength first—that is the proper path."

Once Lin Chen had left, Hu Gan's expression grew serious. He reminded the group once more and ushered them all into the Inner Academy before sweeping his sleeve, turning, and leaving.