Nine Revolutions Golden Pill

"Not bad. Your soul power has already reached the seventh-grade intermediate level." Yao Lao stroked his beard in satisfaction, his eyes smiling as he looked at Xiao Yan.

"With seventh-grade intermediate soul power, combined with the three months you've spent honing your alchemy, you should be able to refine Emperor's Extreme Pills much more efficiently than before. You should even be able to refine peak sixth-grade pills now.

"If you could obtain a Heavenly Flame, you'd have a chance of breaking through to become a Seventh-Rank Alchemist. Even without one, someone with your aptitude should reach the seventh rank within a year at most."

At the thought, Yao Lao's old face bloomed like a chrysanthemum.

A sixteen-year-old Seventh-Rank Alchemist-surely that would count as the most terrifying record in a thousand years.

"It's just a Heavenly Flame. I'll slaughter my senior brother and swallow his Sea Heart Flame. Problem solved." Xiao Yan gave a sinister cackle.

"Why do you always harbor such murderous intent toward your senior brother?" Yao Lao frowned.

"He's crooked at heart, and he's been coveting the Flame Mantra for ages. Old man, believe me or not, if someone tempted him with enough benefits, he'd sell you out in a heartbeat, even though you've been both a teacher and a father to him."

Xiao Yan sneered.

"Feng'er may have strayed a little, but I raised him from childhood, after all. He wouldn't do that." Yao Lao shook his head.

"Besides, brat, do you think your own heart is so upright?"

If Han Feng was a petty villain lurking in the shadows, then Xiao Yan was a bandit operating in broad daylight. If something caught his eye, he asked for it. If they refused, he took it by force!

"Heh." Xiao Yan chuckled and said nothing more.

Yao Lao had raised Han Feng with his own hands, after all. Deep affection was inevitable.

As for Han Feng, Xiao Yan would kill him sooner or later. Although he couldn't do something like betraying his closest kin, he wasn't necessarily any less ruthless than Han Feng. Even without any other reason, the Sea Heart Flame alone gave him a motive to go after Han Feng.

Besides, he'd always disliked Han Feng. If he killed him, so be it.

To get anything done, first kill the bleeding hearts.

The first three months of the Pill Tower's Youth Class focused on theoretical foundations, but once those three months passed, the emphasis shifted to practical work.

"Students, after three months of theoretical instruction, you should all have a wealth of theoretical knowledge. With that in mind, I hope you can independently develop a pill recipe of your own.

"The recipe needn't be particularly high-grade, but ideally, it should be your own creation. If you truly feel you aren't capable enough, you may improve upon the work of your predecessors."

A powerfully built middle-aged man dressed in white stood in the Alchemy Plaza, smiling at the young geniuses gathered there.

Despite his burly frame, his face carried the authority of someone long accustomed to a high position, along with a deeply scholarly air. He felt rather like an academic administrator from Xiao Yan's previous life.

He was a peak Seventh-Rank Alchemist whom everyone called Elder Li. Supposedly, he was only one step away from reaching the eighth rank, making him a figure of some standing even within the Pill Tower.

Upon hearing the elder's assignment, the youngsters' faces fell.

Everyone knew that alchemists' pill recipes were generally the product of countless experiments. Both flame control and medicinal dosages required strict precision. A hair's breadth of error could turn a pill into poison.

Even Xiao Yan frowned slightly at the assignment.

"Hehe, students, think it over carefully. Once you have an idea, feel free to try it boldly. I'll be here to guide you, and if you have any questions, I'll explain as much as I can."

Elder Li spoke with complete confidence. Though he wasn't an eighth-rank alchemist, his understanding of the medicinal properties of low- and mid-grade pills was astonishing. Even ordinary eighth-rank alchemists might not be his match.

This, too, offered another glimpse of the Pill Tower's formidable foundations.

Seeing the miserable expressions on the youngsters' faces, Elder Li revealed an inscrutable smile.

He rarely got to teach a few lessons, so naturally, he had to show off his learning properly. If a few geniuses admired his talent and switched to studying under him, he'd have struck gold.

As he was thinking this, he heard a whoosh. Turning to look, he saw that Xiao Yan had already lit his furnace.

"Student Xiao Yan, you've lit your furnace already. Have you come up with an idea so quickly?" Elder Li's eyes lit up. If he could give Xiao Yan some guidance, he'd have something to brag about in the future.

Just imagine: once Xiao Yan became a Ninth-Rank Alchemist, he could say, "I was the one who guided him in developing pill recipes in his youth." How glorious would that be?

Xiao Yan nodded to him, then glanced back at Dan Chen before smiling and tossing a sixth-tier magical beast's magic core into his medicinal cauldron.

Elder Li's expression changed, and he blurted out, "Student Xiao Yan, I only asked you to create or improve any old pill recipe. Why would you use a sixth-tier magical beast's magic core for an experiment?"

Although every elder of the Pill Tower had a few sixth-tier magical beast magic cores on hand, they weren't cabbages growing by the roadside. Even a Seventh-Rank Alchemist would feel the sting for a while if he ruined one during refinement.

"Teacher, I'm improving a sixth-grade pill, so naturally, I need a sixth-tier magic core to refine it." Xiao Yan smiled faintly.

"A sixth... sixth-grade pill..." Elder Li's lips couldn't help twitching. He'd intended to have these brats refine second- or third-grade pills so he could show off a little. He'd never expected Xiao Yan to jump straight into modifying a sixth-grade pill recipe.

Elder Li had lived for over two hundred years, yet he had personally created only two sixth-grade pill recipes and successfully modified just three.

A sixth-tier magic core, snow moon clear, emperor's extreme immortal vine, azure cloud ascension leaf...

Watching Xiao Yan toss in one precious ingredient after another, Elder Li couldn't stop his lips from twitching.

Those precious ingredients were valuable enough to refine a seventh-grade pill. Using them for an experiment was rather extravagant.

While Elder Li's lips twitched, Dan Chen, standing nearby, watched with delight written all over her little face. Her crystal-clear, peach-blossom eyes were filled with affection as she gazed at Xiao Yan.

Over those three months, she had fallen completely into Xiao Yan's hands.

What Xiao Yan was refining now was precisely the upgraded Emperor's Extreme Pill they had discussed many times. It made Dan Chen feel valued.

By contrast, Cao Ying stood to the side with an icy expression. Although Xiao Yan hadn't treated her as coldly over the past three months, things had never returned to the way they had been at the beginning.

For some reason, Cao Ying kept finding herself inexplicably hoping that Xiao Yan would once again act like an utterly shameless rogue in front of her.

While Xiao Yan refined his pill, the other students initially scratched their heads in thought. As time passed, they began lighting their flames one after another.

Most of them, however, were refining second- or third-grade pills, which finally brought a hint of a smile to Elder Li's face.

At last, it's my turn to show off...

An inscrutable smile appeared on his face once more as he cheerfully guided the geniuses one by one.

He looked like a kindly teacher of profound learning.

"Shi Hao, what pill are you planning to refine?" Elder Li smiled at the little boy who loved drinking Beast Milk.

The boy had thick eyebrows and large eyes, but his features were cute and his figure slightly plump. He was everyone's darling in the Youth Class. Xiao Yan, in particular, took special care of this child who would one day stand alone in dominion over the ages.

"Elder Li, I want to modify the Nine Revolutions Qi-Connecting Pill recipe and turn it from a first-grade pill into a second-grade pill." Shi Hao hadn't yet reached puberty, and his voice was still that of a little boy.

"Haha, good. Although you're only improving a first-grade pill, that still makes you a genius at your age. Tell me, what name are you planning to give your new pill?"

Elder Li patted the little fatty's head in satisfaction. Now this was the sort of child who gave him a chance to show off. Just look at Xiao Yan-he'd left Elder Li at a complete loss.

"I'm going to call it the Nine Revolutions Golden Pill!" Shi Hao said happily.

The smile on Elder Li's face froze instantly...