The grand stone gates of the Sacred Orchid Institute cast long shadows in the morning light, like a gateway to another world.
Xiao Tianhao stood in the long line of applicants, wearing a relatively neat, close-fitting hemp outfit he had bought for 15 Demon Spirit Coins.
He drew a deep breath. The air carried the freshness of grass and trees, along with an indescribable sense of energy-this was hallowed ground for Demon Spirit Masters.
The assessment was long and rigorous.
At the soul force testing platform, Xiao Tianhao drove the Void Derivation Art at full power, guiding the warm current in his dantian as his mind reached toward the testing crystal like invisible tendrils.
The crystal remained still at first, then erupted with brilliant white light. The instructor overseeing the test smiled with delight and recorded the assessment: "Exceptional talent."
The basic physical assessments that followed left everyone dumbstruck!
He lifted the stone block in the strength test with ease; he sprinted a hundred meters as swiftly as a cheetah; during the reaction test, his movements were so precise that they seemed to have been rehearsed thousands of times!
His physique, far beyond that of an ordinary person, was the accumulated power of the Crimson Blood Fox's refined blood and the tempering of the Void Derivation Art finally bursting forth!
"Freak..." someone muttered.
An applicant with powerful soul force was one thing, but one whose physical abilities were also absurdly strong was rare even in the history of the Sacred Orchid Institute.
In the end, his formidable physique and powerful soul force earned Xiao Tianhao a place on the Sacred Orchid Institute's list of top-ranked new students.
Before the bustle of enrollment had even faded, Xiao Tianhao began cultivating like a madman.
By day, he devoured the institute's open foundational courses with ravenous hunger:
"An Introduction to the Soul Sea," "A Guide to Basic Physical Techniques," "General Knowledge of the Demon Spirit Continent," "Identifying Low-Grade Medicinal Herbs"... this knowledge opened the gates to a world beyond the ordinary.
Night was when his true cultivation began.
The room was deathly quiet. His exhausted roommates had long since fallen asleep.
Xiao Tianhao sat cross-legged on his bed and sank his awareness into the space within the Profound Space Pearl.
Without hesitation, he swallowed the two drops of Crimson Blood Fox refined blood, crimson as gemstones!
Boom! Boom!
Two vast, pure currents of warmth exploded inside him!
A torrent of energy several times stronger than the Scorpion-Tailed Tiger's essence blood surged through every limb and bone!
His muscle fibers felt as though they were being smelted, while his bones gave off a succession of fine, teeth-grating sounds as they were tempered!
Driven by the full force of the Void Derivation Art, the faint warm current in his dantian devoured this pure energy like a frenzied vortex, growing and condensing at a visible rate!
Every surge of energy brought tearing pain.
Sweat soaked his clothes, slipped down his temples, and dripped onto the bed boards, spreading into dark stains.
Xiao Tianhao clenched his teeth. Pain twisted his face, but an unyielding flame burned in his eyes.
Stronger! I have to grow stronger, faster!
After an unknown stretch of time, the scorching torrent in his abdomen finally began to subside.
An unprecedented sense of power filled his entire body!
The warm current in his dantian had grown, and the azure vortex rapidly expanded! His soul sea grew larger!
The range of his mental perception also expanded to several dozen meters around him. He could clearly "see" the dust in the cracks between the stone slabs.
His soul force had reached 99!
He was only one final step away from Bronze Rank!
Just then, deep within the Profound Space Pearl's space, a speck of golden light suddenly flared in the chaotic, starlit void formed from boundless runes-utterly different from the earlier inheritance of Venerable Void Derivation!
This golden light was neither grand nor majestic. Instead, it carried a profound aura of ceaseless life, nurturing and transforming all things.
The golden light burst apart, becoming countless tiny streams of runic information resembling the veins of medicinal leaves, and poured into Xiao Tianhao's consciousness!
Agonizing pain struck again, though it was much milder than last time.
Countless fragments of profound knowledge-medicinal properties, chief-and-deputy ingredient combinations, energy extraction, pill fire control, and spiritual array inscription-seared themselves into his mind like brands!
At their core lay an inheritance called the Origin Pill True Explanation!
An alchemist!
The Profound Space Pearl actually concealed the lifetime inheritance of a powerful alchemist!
Moreover, the core of this inheritance was intimately connected to the Profound Space Pearl's source power of "purification"-tracing things back to their origins and refining the essence of all things!
Wild joy engulfed him!
Alchemists held such exalted standing in Glory City!
A single high-quality pill was worth a fortune! This was truly charcoal delivered in a snowstorm!
"Tianhao! Hurry up! The 'Herb Maniac's' class is about to start!" Wang Hu, a tall, thin boy who shared his dormitory, called anxiously from outside the door.
Xiao Tianhao suppressed his excitement, quickly straightened his robes, and rushed outside.
The "Herb Maniac" Wang Hu spoke of was Liu Feng, an eccentric instructor in the Sacred Orchid Institute's Herbology Branch.
He was known for his harsh teaching and exacting standards, but his expertise in low-grade herbs and basic pharmacology was universally acknowledged as first-rate.
A rich medicinal fragrance filled the vast herb garden.
With a nest of disheveled white hair atop his head, Instructor Liu Feng pointed at an emerald-green herb with serrated leaf edges, spraying spittle as he spoke:
"Zi Yun Grass! Open your eyes wide and look carefully! Slightly cooling in nature, it primarily clears the meridians and neutralizes dry heat! It's a basic principal ingredient in Clear Heart Powder and Blood-Activating Salve!"
"But take note! Its roots and stems contain an extremely concealed trace of 'bone-eroding' yin energy. If handled improperly or used excessively, it can cause stagnation in the meridians at best, and a decline in cultivation at worst!"
His lightning-sharp gaze swept over the new students below, who were silent as cicadas in winter. "So, to extract its essence, you must simmer it over a gentle flame for at least twelve hours! Add three drops of Dewglow Water to neutralize the yin energy!
"If anyone dares use a fierce flame to save time, I'll skin him alive!" The stern warning made every new student shrink back.
Something stirred in Xiao Tianhao's mind.
The inheritance fragments of the Origin Pill True Explanation contained a much deeper account of Zi Yun Grass:
Its "bone-eroding" yin energy was not useless. If separated and guided through a special technique, then combined with powdered fire-type demon spirit crystal cores, it could unleash a stronger "barrier-breaking" property, yielding twice the results with half the effort when breaking through bottlenecks!
However, the separation technique required extraordinary precision. The slightest mistake would produce a deadly poison.
Instructor Liu Feng's "gentle flame and Dewglow Water" method was the safest, most reliable approach taught by the institute, but it also wasted some of the herb's potential.
He instinctively turned toward the back row.
A boy in orange-yellow clothes was staring intently at the Zi Yun Grass in Instructor Liu Feng's hand, his eyes focused.
Nie Li!!
Xiao Tianhao recognized him at a glance.
Although the present Nie Li still looked young and inexperienced, far from possessing the composure and commanding presence he would have after his rebirth, the concentration and curiosity in those eyes were exactly the same!
"Hmph! Nie Li! Why are you staring into space? Do you disagree with Instructor Liu Feng's explanation?" a grating voice rang out.
The speaker was a well-dressed, arrogant-looking boy in the front row named Shen Yue. He came from the Sacred Family's direct line and wielded considerable influence among the new students.
He had long disliked how Nie Li, a boy from a declining noble family, always acted as though everyone else was drunk and he alone was sober.
His train of thought interrupted, Nie Li frowned and calmly withdrew his gaze. "No."
"No? You seemed awfully enthusiastic about waving your hands around!" Shen Yue sneered, deliberately raising his voice.
"You have a red soul sea, and you think you're fit to study alchemy? Go home and farm already! Stop making a spectacle of yourself here!" Several lackeys beside him burst into mocking laughter.
The noble-born new students around them also looked at Nie Li with varying degrees of contempt and pity.
Nie Li had a red soul sea and struggled to gather soul force. At the Sacred Orchid Institute, he was even worse off than some commoners.
Nie Li quietly clenched his fists inside his sleeves until his knuckles turned white. His face remained expressionless, but a restrained edge flashed deep within his eyes.
Xiao Tianhao also frowned slightly.
Shen Yue... the Sacred Family... sooner or later, I'll deal with this vicious dog who bullies others behind his masters' power.
He had been an ordinary person in the real world, too, and hated people who used their power to bully others most of all.
Late at night, in the dormitory.
After confirming that all his roommates were fast asleep, Xiao Tianhao silently rose and spread a straw mat in a corner to insulate himself from the cold floor.
He took out the cheapest medicinal pot available, bought that day at the institute's general store for a dozen or so Demon Spirit Coins, along with a few basic ingredients:
Several ordinary specimens of Zi Yun Grass, a small piece of cheap dried Fire Lizard meat containing a trace of fire elemental energy, and a pinch of discarded Scorpion-Tailed Tiger bone powder he had secretly collected from the edge of the institute's herb garden.
Based on the Origin Pill True Explanation inheritance, his own capabilities, and the materials available, he had devised the simplest, safest formula possible-Red Bone Body Tempering Powder.
The dried Fire Lizard meat would serve as a catalyst to awaken the Zi Yun Grass's potential, with the Profound Space Pearl's power needed to strip away its yin energy. The dense earth-element power of the Scorpion-Tailed Tiger bone powder would then balance the medicinal properties and temper his physique!
He lit a small piece of charcoal and set the medicinal pot over it.
His expression solemn, Xiao Tianhao sank his awareness into the Profound Space Pearl and drove the Void Derivation Art at full power!
His cultivation was insufficient to project soul force and control fire. His only reliance was the Profound Space Pearl's subtle power of "purification" and "guidance"!
First, he placed the dried Fire Lizard meat at the bottom of the pot.
The charcoal flames licked the clay pot, slowly raising the temperature within.
The dried meat sizzled, releasing a faint trace of fire elemental energy.
Xiao Tianhao's gaze sharpened. He picked up a stalk of Zi Yun Grass and quietly drew the Profound Space Pearl's power into his fingertips!
An invisible, exquisitely fine pulse of purification seeped through his fingertips into the Zi Yun Grass!
Like the most precise scalpel, it carefully cut away and separated the stubborn strands of icy "bone-eroding" energy buried deep within the leaf veins!
The process demanded tremendous mental effort. Fine beads of sweat instantly covered his forehead.
The separated icy energy was silently absorbed by the Profound Space Pearl and annihilated.
The purified Zi Yun Grass's emerald leaves seemed even more translucent. The faint chill in its medicinal aura had vanished entirely, replaced by a strange vitality brimming with life!
Xiao Tianhao swiftly dropped the purified Zi Yun Grass into the medicinal pot.
Sizzle!
The herb touched the scorching bottom of the pot and instantly dissolved into a small pool of emerald medicinal liquid.
Guided by the energy of the dried Fire Lizard meat, the "barrier-breaking" vitality released after the yin energy was stripped away did not turn violent. Instead, it blended perfectly with the medicinal liquid!
Immediately afterward, he sprinkled the pinch of Scorpion-Tailed Tiger bone powder evenly into the pot!
The ocher bone powder disappeared into the emerald liquid like a clay ox sinking into the sea.
The somewhat restless energy inside the pot quickly became steady and condensed as the bone powder's dense properties balanced it!
Xiao Tianhao held his breath, his awareness locked firmly on the changes within the medicinal pot as he used the Profound Space Pearl to make minute adjustments to the charcoal's temperature.
Time passed second by second. Under the gentle flame, the emerald medicinal liquid continued to concentrate, gradually turning a deep, rich ink-green.
It released a peculiar medicinal fragrance, mingling the freshness of grass and trees with the solidity of earth and stone, without the slightest trace of icy cold or scorching dryness!
It worked! Red Bone Body Tempering Powder!
Xiao Tianhao quickly removed the heat and carefully scraped the thick, paste-like layer of ink-green medicinal powder from the bottom of the pot into a washed stone mortar.
The medicinal powder felt slightly warm to the touch and emitted pure, gentle fluctuations of energy.
Without hesitation, he scooped up a small spoonful and swallowed it!
Boom!
As the medicinal powder entered his abdomen, a power far gentler than the refined blood, yet deeper and more substantial, instantly spread through him!
It was as though countless warm, powerful hands were simultaneously massaging and tempering every bone, fascia, and internal organ in his body!
Nourished by the medicinal power, the stable silver vortex of soul force in his dantian suddenly spun faster, growing more condensed and substantial!
At the vortex's center, a brilliant bronze speck of starlight suddenly flared like an ignited spark! Though faint, it burned with unwavering resolve!
Bronze One-Star! A breakthrough!
A sense of power several times stronger than before surged from every limb and bone!
His five senses instantly sharpened. He could even faintly hear the soft snores from the neighboring dormitory!
The range of his mental perception also expanded beyond ten meters!
Xiao Tianhao snapped his eyes open. Deep within his pupils, bronze star radiance seemed to flash and vanish!
I did it!
With the aid of alchemy, he had finally crossed the threshold to become a Bronze Demon Spirit Master!
Though he was only at one star, this step held extraordinary significance!
It meant he had truly embarked on the path beyond the ordinary and gained the strength to begin establishing himself in this world!
He looked out the window. The Sacred Orchid Institute slumbered in the night.
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