News of Xiao Fan's victory over Bai Shan soon spread throughout the academy.
No one had expected a freshman who had enrolled only a few days ago to defeat one of the academy's foremost prodigies.
After that battle, none of the other students in the Outer Academy were foolish enough to bother Xiao Fan again.
Xiao Fan's daily life returned to spending his days in the Dou Technique Pavilion and honing his Alchemy skills.
Inside the pill refinement room, Xiao Fan stared at the medicinal ingredients that had once again turned to ash in the cauldron, and his expression darkened.
"I didn't make any mistakes this time, either. Last time, the golden sharp flower extract was too concentrated, which upset the balance of the ingredients inside the pill and caused the refinement to fail. This time, I added a little fake water to dilute the proportion of golden sharp flower. By all rights, it should have worked!" Looking at the ashes in the cauldron, Xiao Fan shook his head helplessly.
"Refining a fifth-grade pill is too difficult. I've tried so many times, and even my closest attempt failed just before success because of the energy fluctuations."
When the refinement of a fifth-grade pill neared completion, powerful energy fluctuations would arise. Only after weathering their interference could one truly be said to have refined a fifth-grade pill.
What Xiao Fan was currently attempting was a fifth-grade pill called the Tearing Pill. After consumption, it could briefly enhance the tearing effect of one's attacks. Its function was relatively simple, and it was considered one of the easier fifth-grade pills to refine.
Even so, Xiao Fan had spent nearly half a month on it without succeeding. After all, there was a clear dividing line between fourth-grade and fifth-grade Alchemists. Shaking his head, Xiao