Today's Talent Selection: Choose One of Three

After hearing Yao Ling's words, Xiao Yan agreed without the slightest hesitation, saying that he was willing to take her as his master.

"Master, please accept your disciple's bow."

Seeing Xiao Yan agree so readily, Yao Ling was very pleased, and a faint smile appeared on her face.

In her eyes, although Xiao Yan's current strength was hardly impressive, his temperament was good and his talent was far from poor. He was a promising seedling worth nurturing.

"You've already reached the level of a One-Star Dou Zhe, and your cultivation foundation is fairly solid. Here's what we'll do: prepare a few medicinal ingredients and return here first thing tomorrow morning. I'll personally teach you alchemy."

Hearing this, Xiao Yan immediately nodded and committed her words to memory.

But just as he was about to ask which medicinal ingredients he needed to prepare, Yao Ling suddenly put away her smile, her expression turning solemn.

"There's one more thing you must remember: don't reveal my existence to anyone, not even those closest to you."

"You must promise me this."

At Yao Ling's warning, Xiao Yan nodded and agreed without asking any further questions.

After all, Yao Ling's identity was unusual, and she was now nothing more than a soul. If outsiders learned of her existence, it would indeed bring considerable trouble.

Once Yao Ling had finished giving her instructions, her figure flickered, turning back into a spectral silhouette that returned to the Storage Ring.

After Yao Ling returned to the ring, Xiao Yan stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and left the rear mountain. Since he had agreed to learn alchemy first thing tomorrow morning, his most pressing task was to gather all the medicinal ingredients she had mentioned.

After leaving the rear mountain, Xiao Yan first returned to his courtyard, found a sheet of paper, and wrote down the names of the medicinal ingredients one by one.

Then he left through the Xiao Clan's gates and headed toward Wutan City's Market District.

Although Wutan City was no great metropolis, its Market District was quite lively, with all manner of shops and stalls lined up one beside another.

Xiao Yan spent most of the day wandering through the Market District, visiting more than a dozen herb shops before finally gathering most of the ingredients he needed. Several of them were uncommon in Wutan City's Market District and could not be bought in ordinary shops.

In the end, Xiao Yan finally found the remaining ingredients at a long-established herb shop, though they cost him quite a few gold coins.

By the time he had prepared all the medicinal ingredients, the sky was gradually growing dark.

Carrying bundles of medicinal ingredients of every size, Xiao Yan returned to his courtyard, ate a simple meal, and went to bed early.

The night passed quickly. At the first glimmer of dawn the next morning, Xiao Yan climbed out of bed and quickly washed up.

Then he picked up the medicinal ingredients he had prepared the day before, left his courtyard, and headed straight toward the clan's rear mountain.

The morning air was especially fresh along the way, and a thin veil of mist still drifted through the woods on the rear mountain.

When Xiao Yan reached the stone where he had sat the day before, his surroundings were still silent, without a soul in sight. He laid out his medicinal ingredients one by one, arranging them neatly on a nearby stone as he waited for Yao Ling to appear.

Just then, a system notification suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[Today's selection: choose one of three. Please select your talent.]

[Option one: ordinary talent.]

[Option two: worthless talent.]

[Option three: heaven-defying comprehension.]

Upon seeing the three options, Xiao Yan's gaze settled on the third without the slightest pause.

Heaven-defying comprehension-the name alone made its significance clear.

On the Dou Qi Continent, a person's talent often determined the ceiling of their cultivation, while their comprehension determined how quickly they cultivated. An ordinary cultivator might need months or even years to fully grasp a cultivation method, while someone with heaven-defying comprehension often needed only a few days, or even a few hours.

Such a gap might not be apparent in the early stages of cultivation, but in the later stages, the difference would be as vast as that between heaven and earth.

Thus, Xiao Yan decisively chose the third option, heaven-defying comprehension, almost without a thought.

[Selection successful. Your comprehension will receive a heaven-defying boost, granting you exceptional insight into both alchemy and cultivation.]

After reading the notification, the corners of Xiao Yan's mouth lifted slightly. Just then, the Storage Ring on his finger trembled faintly, and a familiar spectral silhouette slowly emerged from it.

Yao Ling appeared before him, looking as ethereal and untouched by the mortal world as ever.

After appearing, Yao Ling first lowered her gaze to the medicinal ingredients laid out on the stone, then looked up at Xiao Yan and nodded slightly.

"You've gathered all the ingredients. I can see you put quite a bit of care into this."

With that, Yao Ling raised her hand and gave a gentle wave, and an Ancient Medicine Cauldron flew out of the Storage Ring.

"Watch closely. Today, I'll personally refine a first-grade pill. Pay careful attention to every step, so you don't make any mistakes when it's your turn."

Hearing Yao Ling's words, Xiao Yan held his breath and fixed his eyes on the cauldron, not daring to let his attention wander for even a moment.

Yao Ling's movements were swift yet remarkably steady. She placed the medicinal ingredients into the cauldron one after another, adjusting the strength of the flames as she went. The entire process flowed like drifting clouds and running water, completed in one seamless sequence that was a pleasure to watch.

Before long, a faint medicinal fragrance wafted from the cauldron, and a smooth, round pill flew out and landed in Yao Ling's palm.

"Taking this pill will improve the results of your cultivation."

As she spoke, Yao Ling handed the pill to Xiao Yan. Then she took another portion of the medicinal ingredients and placed it before him.

"Now it's your turn. Refine a pill yourself, following the steps I just showed you."

Hearing this, Xiao Yan stepped forward without hesitation and took the ingredients. Then he began refining them according to the steps Yao Ling had just demonstrated.

At first, Xiao Yan's movements were somewhat awkward, but with the system's heaven-defying comprehension aiding him, he could grasp the key points with barely a moment's thought. During the refining process, the system also provided notifications.

[Heaven-defying comprehension detected in the host. Analyzing and improving the pill formula.]

[Improvement successful. The current pill's efficacy is comparable to that of a third-grade pill.]

Upon seeing the notification before him, Xiao Yan froze for a moment.

Meanwhile, Yao Ling, who had been quietly watching from the side, was utterly stunned when she saw the pill gradually taking shape inside the cauldron!