Bronze One-Star power surged through Xiao Tianhao's body. He clenched and spread his fingers, feeling the explosive strength contained in every inch of muscle.
With a slight stir of his will, the silver Soul Force vortex tinged with blue in his dantian obeyed as readily as his own limbs. It flowed through his meridians into his palm, gathering into a thin, almost tangible halo of energy.
Faint though it was, it was undeniably real-the hallmark of a Bronze Rank Demon Spirit Master: projecting Soul Force outside the body!
Outside the window, the Sacred Orchid Institute's morning bell had just rung, its distant tones echoing between the mountains.
Xiao Tianhao quickly put away his crude pill-refining equipment and carefully hid the remaining Red Bone Body Tempering Powder in the Profound Space Pearl's space.
Today was basic physical combat class, and his first official appearance at the institute since breaking through to Bronze Rank.
He pushed open the weathered wooden door of his dormitory in Section E, and the cool morning air washed over his face.
In the distance, a group of boys in matching gray training uniforms were heading toward the training grounds in twos and threes.
Xiao Tianhao swept his gaze over them and immediately picked out Nie Li, whose slightly frail figure brought up the rear.
Before his rebirth, Nie Li was still merely a mocked "good-for-nothing" with an abnormal Soul Sea. Yet the sharpness and contemplation that occasionally flashed in his eyes set him apart from the oblivious boys around him.
"Nie Li!" Xiao Tianhao strode forward and greeted him first.
Nie Li turned around, slightly surprised. Once he saw who had spoken, a flicker of puzzlement crossed his eyes.
Although he and Xiao Tianhao belonged to the same intake, the new students from each dormitory section generally kept to themselves and rarely interacted.
"You are...?"
"Xiao Tianhao. I'm a new student this year, just like you." Xiao Tianhao gave him a friendly smile.
He deliberately suppressed his Bronze Rank aura to look like an ordinary student. "I heard you know a lot about medicinal herbs and their properties. I wanted to ask you a few questions."
The wariness in Nie Li's eyes eased a little, but his scrutiny deepened. "I wouldn't presume to advise you. I've only... read a few books."
His tone was casual, yet he unconsciously touched the bulging bag at his waist, which held his books on medicinal herbs.
"Can the 'bone-corroding' yin energy in Zi Yun Grass really only be neutralized with gentle heat and Dewglow Water?"
Lowering his voice, Xiao Tianhao posed the question he had prepared long ago. "I've always felt that if the yin energy could be separated and guided, it might have other remarkable uses."
Nie Li stopped dead in his tracks!
He turned and stared at Xiao Tianhao with eyes blazing like torches, as though trying to see through his soul.
This seemingly ordinary question struck straight at the heart of his recent private research!
Only after countless failed experiments had he vaguely discerned a way to use Zi Yun Grass. How could this stranger before him...
"You understand medicinal theory?" A note of urgency crept into Nie Li's voice.
"A little."
Xiao Tianhao smiled and took a small oilpaper packet from his robe. Inside was a pinch of dark green powder-diluted residue from the Red Bone Body Tempering Powder.
"I tried preparing this according to some ancient texts. The results are decent, but I keep feeling something is missing."
Nie Li accepted the packet and cautiously sniffed it. His pupils abruptly contracted!
This powder's scent... it was seventy percent similar to the Barrier-Breaking Powder he had envisioned! Yet it was purer and more stable! He snapped his head up. "Where did you-"
"Watch out!" Xiao Tianhao suddenly seized Nie Li's shoulder and yanked him aside!
Whoosh!
A sharp whistle cut through the air beside Nie Li's ear!
Crack!
A sharp stone buried itself deep in the tree trunk behind them, striking with enough force to shake several leaves loose.
"Oops, my hand slipped." Shen Yue swaggered over with several lackeys, a malicious smile on his face.
"Isn't this our 'genius,' Nie Li? What, researching how to poison people with toxic weeds again?"
A cold gleam flashed through Nie Li's eyes, but he forced down his anger and said nothing.
At this point, he lacked the means to clash head-on with the Sacred Family.
Xiao Tianhao, however, stepped forward and stood in front of Nie Li. "Shen Yue, the training grounds are over there. You're going the wrong way."
His tone was calm, but he deliberately released a trace of Bronze Rank Soul Force pressure!
Shen Yue's arrogant expression froze instantly! He stared at Xiao Tianhao in disbelief. "You... you've broken through to Bronze Rank?!"
The lackeys behind him also backed away two steps as though they had seen a ghost.
How could this penniless new student have reached Bronze Rank before heirs of noble families like them?
"Just luck." Xiao Tianhao spoke lightly, but his Soul Force pressure grew stronger. "Now, will you move aside?"
Shen Yue's face turned livid, and his clenched fists crackled. Under the Bronze Rank pressure, however, he ultimately did not dare strike.
He glared viciously at both of them. "Just you wait!" With that, he slunk away with his lackeys.
Nie Li watched Xiao Tianhao's back, a complicated look flickering through his eyes.
This classmate who had suddenly appeared not only understood medicinal theory but had already reached Bronze Rank... why would he approach a "good-for-nothing" like him?
"Thank you," Nie Li said quietly, though he still maintained a certain distance.
"It was nothing." Xiao Tianhao withdrew his pressure, as though his earlier sharp edge had only been an illusion.
"By the way, I've been researching a new medicinal powder formula, and I need a reference for the balancing ratio between Silverleaf Grass and Fireweave Fruit. I heard you know someone named Lu Piao who has some rare medicinal herbs?"
Nie Li was even more surprised. "You know Lu Piao?"
"I've heard of him," Xiao Tianhao said with a smile. "He's a young master from a noble family in Glory City. Getting a few herbs shouldn't be difficult for him. How about... introducing us? I can offer this as a meeting gift."
He took out another small jade vial. Inside was a drop of Crimson Blood Fox refined blood-a diluted version, but enough to make any Bronze Rank Demon Spirit Master green with envy.
Nie Li stared at the crimson liquid radiating pure energy, his breathing quickening.
This was definitely something good!
If he could figure out its composition... He gritted his teeth. "All right. After class this afternoon, meet us at the abandoned herb garden on the back mountain."
The sun sank westward, and weeds flourished among the broken walls of the abandoned herb garden.
Xiao Tianhao leaned against a dead tree and waited patiently.
The Profound Space Pearl grew slightly warm against his chest, as though sensing something.
Footsteps approached. Nie Li appeared at the garden's entrance with three figures.
One was a slightly chubby boy with quick, alert eyes, wearing luxurious clothes covered in dust-clearly Lu Piao.
The others were a dark-skinned boy built like an iron tower-presumably Wei Nan-and the resolute-faced Du Ze, core members of Nie Li's little team before his rebirth!
"So you're Xiao Tianhao?" Lu Piao walked up with an easy swagger.
His small eyes gleamed as he sized Xiao Tianhao up. "Nie Li said you've got something good? Let me make this clear first-ordinary stuff won't catch this young master's eye!"
Xiao Tianhao smiled faintly and tossed him the small jade vial.
Lu Piao fumbled to catch it. He opened it, looked inside, and immediately sucked in a breath. "This is... Crimson Blood Fox essence blood? No, wait! It's ten times purer than ordinary essence blood! Where did you get this?"
Wei Nan and Du Ze leaned closer as well, their eyes full of shock.
They all knew quality when they saw it and naturally understood the value of this drop of blood.
"I made it myself," Xiao Tianhao said, stunning them. "I have a special purification method."
As he spoke, he released the fluctuations of his Bronze One-Star Soul Force and took out another small vial containing unfinished Red Bone Body Tempering Powder. "This is my work too."
Four pairs of eyes widened at once!
Bronze Rank!
And he could prepare medicines!
Just where had this fellow who had appeared out of nowhere come from?
A sharp gleam flickered in Nie Li's eyes. He suddenly asked, "What do you want?" He knew all too well the weight of such a "meeting gift." There was no such thing as a free lunch.
"Cooperation." Xiao Tianhao looked straight into Nie Li's eyes and spoke each word distinctly. "I can provide technical and resource support. In exchange, I need your medicinal herb supply channels and connections."
Lu Piao and the other two all turned to Nie Li. The true heart of this secret little group had always been him.
Nie Li remained silent for a long time, then suddenly asked a seemingly unrelated question. "What attribute of Demon Spirit crystal core do you think best complements the yin energy in Zi Yun Grass?"
A test!
Xiao Tianhao understood immediately. Nie Li was testing his actual knowledge.
He answered without hesitation. "Not fire, and not water, but lightning! Lightning governs the vanquishing of evil and can fully awaken the yin energy's 'barrier-breaking' property. But you need a Purple Lightning Marten crystal core of at least Silver Rank as a medium, or it can easily spiral out of control."
Nie Li's pupils contracted sharply!
This answer matched the conclusion he had reached through countless experiments without the slightest discrepancy!
But he had never even told Lu Piao and the others about his idea of using a Purple Lightning Marten crystal core!
"Who... are you, really?" Nie Li's voice trembled slightly.
"At any rate, I'm not your enemy," Xiao Tianhao said meaningfully.
In the lingering sunset, the five young men's shadows stretched far across the ruins.
At last, Nie Li extended his hand. "Here's to a good partnership."
Xiao Tianhao clasped that hand, feeling its strength and warmth against his palm. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. The first step was a success!
Late that night, Xiao Tianhao sat alone, cross-legged on the dormitory roof.
Moonlight spilled like water over the Sacred Orchid Institute's sprawling buildings.
He toyed with a dried slice of extremely poor-quality Fireweave Fruit he had just obtained from Lu Piao in a trade, while his consciousness sank deep into the Profound Space Pearl to continue studying the inheritance fragments of the Origin Pill True Explanation.
Suddenly, a strange spatial fluctuation came from somewhere within the institute!
It was extraordinarily subtle. Without the Profound Space Pearl's sensitivity to the power of space and time, he would never have noticed it.
Xiao Tianhao's eyes snapped open, his gaze shooting like lightning toward the source-the Sacred Orchid Institute's library!
"At this point in time... could it be?" In his astonishment, he abruptly accelerated!
Without hesitation, Xiao Tianhao leaped from the roof, melting into the night like a shadow as he raced toward the library.
The Profound Space Pearl grew hot against his chest, as though responding to something.
The library had long since closed and lay pitch-black.
Yet with his Bronze Rank perception, Xiao Tianhao clearly caught the extremely faint traces of movement lingering at a second-floor window!
There was someone... or rather, something.
"Nie Li... has he returned through rebirth?" Xiao Tianhao murmured, excitement gleaming in his eyes.
He deliberately kept his distance, observing from afar.
History was following its established course-the future legendary expert had returned to this point in time with the memories and experience of his previous life! (The butterfly effect)
But this time, Xiao Tianhao was no longer a spectator. He was a participant!
With the Profound Space Pearl and his pill-refining inheritance, he would become Nie Li's most dependable ally!
The inheritors of two supreme space-time treasures would join forces and surely rewrite this world's destiny!
Beneath the moonlight, Xiao Tianhao's lips curved into a confident smile.
He turned and left, his silhouette melting into the darkness.
Tomorrow, when the reborn Nie Li saw him again, he would discover that this mysterious "partner" introduced far more variables than he remembered!
And that was precisely what Xiao Tianhao wanted-not to be a lackey dependent on the protagonist, but a kindred spirit standing shoulder to shoulder with him!
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