What Did Any of This Have to Do with Anything?

"It worked. It really worked."

Lin Xulun murmured, his eyes shining brilliantly as he stared at the jade bottle in Xia Yu's hand.

Xia Yu looked at the jade bottle in his hand, then reached back and kneaded his lower back.

After more than six full hours, he was utterly exhausted, sweat beading on his forehead.

While refining the pills, there had been no sweat on his body. The moment any appeared, it evaporated.

At that moment, Xia Yu felt incredibly fortunate.

He had come close-just a hair's breadth from failure.

The Origin Force in all three small worlds had been completely exhausted.

Fortunately, he had already reached the final step. He had gathered the pills using nothing but his physical strength.

If his body had not been reasonably powerful by now, he probably would not have lasted.

Feeling Lin Xulun's burning gaze, Xia Yu casually tossed him the jade bottle.

He himself walked toward Seventh Princess An Qing and said with a smile, "Greetings, Seventh Princess."

An Qing looked at him with a rather complicated expression.

Only after a while did she slowly say, "You really do make me more curious by the day."

Xia Yu smiled without saying anything.

"I looked into your background. Aside from your missing parents, you grew up in Huai City and never left it. Yet you managed to defeat me across two major cultivation realms, and you can even refine supreme-grade King Tier pills. You have quite a few secrets."

An Qing's face was full of curiosity.

Xia Yu smiled and shrugged. He would not answer that question.

Everyone had their own secrets. Only something known to oneself alone was truly a secret.

Once it was told to a second person, it was no longer a secret.

Seeing Xia Yu's expression, An Qing seemed a little disappointed. "All right. I was just curious."

"Everyone has their own secrets. I was being a little presumptuous. I'm sorry!"

As she spoke, An Qing even bowed slightly to Xia Yu.

That left Xia Yu momentarily stunned. He smiled and said, "You're too courteous, Seventh Princess. Please take some trouble over my older sister's condition!"

An Qing raised an eyebrow. "Certainly."

With that, she held out her hand.

Xia Yu's smile instantly froze.

After thinking for a long while, he said, "Seventh Princess, you're Great Xia's foremost princess. I'm just a nobody from Huai City. Surely I don't have anything you would find worth having?"

"So you want me to help for nothing?"

"Well... how about this? Once my sister recovers, whatever you want, Seventh Princess, or whatever you want me to do, I, Xia Yu, will brave boiling water and raging fire without hesitation!" Xia Yu's expression grew solemn and serious.

The corners of An Qing's lips lifted, amusement shining in her eyes.

"That's more like it. Let's go."

An Qing turned and left.

Had anyone else seen An Qing looking like this, they would surely have been astonished.

Was this still the same cold, aloof Seventh Princess?

Shen Yuxuan stood rooted to the spot. He suddenly felt that something was decidedly off.

When the Seventh Princess had faced him earlier, she had been polite, but there had clearly been a sense that she was keeping him a thousand miles away.

Yet when she faced Xia Yu, she gave him an entirely different impression.

Especially that final smile-its beauty was beyond compare.

Most importantly, he had never seen the Seventh Princess act like this before.

"Senior Brother, let's go."

Looking at the dumbstruck Shen Yuxuan, Xia Yu reminded him, then stepped forward to leave.

"Stop!"

Suddenly, a sharp shout rang out behind Xia Yu.

Xia Yu turned back and looked at Lin Xulun in bewilderment.

He had been the one who shouted just now. Xia Yu wondered what had gotten into his Martial Uncle Lin.

Feeling several startled gazes on him, Lin Xulun finally realized that he had sounded far too excited.

How embarrassing!

It's fine. I need to stay calm!

As long as I'm not embarrassed, everyone else will be.

Lin Xulun gave a dry cough, walked up to Xia Yu, and suddenly bowed deeply.

"Please teach me alchemy, Teacher!"

Those words shocked everyone present.

Xia Yu looked utterly bewildered. He genuinely suspected he had misheard and asked quietly, "Martial Uncle Lin, what did you say?"

Lin Xulun was stunned as well. Was I not clear enough?

He coughed, cleared his throat, and bowed deeply again.

"Teacher Xia Yu, please teach me alchemy!"

Xia Yu was certain now that he had not misheard. Martial Uncle Lin had called him his teacher?

He wanted Xia Yu to teach him alchemy?

But if he became Martial Uncle Lin's teacher, their generational hierarchy would be thrown into chaos.

Seventh Princess An Qing and Shen Yuxuan both looked shocked.

Who was Lin Xulun?

Who in the Capital City did not know Lin Xulun, the only master who stood infinitely close to becoming an Emperor-Rank Alchemist?

Many of the pills in the imperial palace had been refined by Master Lin.

The vast majority of the finest pills in the entire Great Xia Dynasty had been personally refined by Master Lin.

Countless people begged on their knees for a single supreme-grade King Tier Spirit Pill from Master Lin.

After all, a supreme-grade pill often meant having an extra life.

Master Lin deserved much of the credit for the Dao-Seeking Academy's continued survival.

A master renowned throughout Great Xia was actually bowing to a sixteen-year-old boy and asking to become his student. If others heard about this, they would probably lose their minds.

After thinking for a moment, Xia Yu said, "Martial Uncle Lin, you're my martial uncle. If you call me your teacher, my master will beat me to death."

"Your master?" Lin Xulun frowned.

The next moment, he seemed to reach a decision and strode away.

"I'll go find your master. If he dares refuse, he'll never hear the end of it from me!"

Watching Lin Xulun's retreating figure, Xia Yu looked completely innocent.

This...

Shen Yuxuan was the first to recover. With an odd smile on his face, he said, "Come on! There's a good show waiting for us."

"Su Deyu, get out here!"

Lin Xulun's voice had already rung out while he was still in midair.

It instantly resounded throughout the entire Dao-Seeking Academy.

Lin Xulun had made up his mind. No matter the price, he would take Xia Yu as his teacher.

He knew very well that he was only half a step away from becoming an Emperor-Rank Alchemist.

Yet that mere half step had held him back for fifty whole years.

Watching Xia Yu refine pills this time had deeply moved him.

He had also recognized Xia Yu's pill-refining method. It was a legendary method from ancient times: the Tremor Art.

That technique had been completely lost!

As someone obsessed with alchemy, how could he possibly remain unmoved before such a pill-refining method?

Besides, even if he could not learn that method, taking one step further and becoming an Emperor-Rank Alchemist would change his entire life.

Hearing Lin Xulun's shout, Su Deyu felt his heart jolt inside his room.

This is bad!

He just did not know how much trouble that brat Xia Yu had stirred up.

After all, there were very few things that could make Lin Xulun this angry.

The Pill Academy was the Dao-Seeking Academy's god of wealth. Nothing could be allowed to go wrong there.

He glanced at Xia Yao, then turned and walked out.

The moment he stepped through the door, his face was wreathed in smiles.

"Junior Brother Lin, you're a magnanimous man. Xia Yu is still a child. Calm down! Calm down!"

"My Confucian Academy will cover whatever losses the Pill Academy suffered. As I said, he's still a child. Mistakes in his words and actions are inevitable. Junior Brother Lin, please don't let anger harm your health."

"Come, come. I still have some good tea. Let's have a cup together and cool your temper! Afterward, I'll make Xia Yu carry thorn branches on his back and come beg your forgiveness!"

"Beat him or scold him as you like! Junior Brother Lin, you must take care of yourself!"

Before Lin Xulun could say anything, Su Deyu rattled off a whole torrent of words.

Lin Xulun was completely dumbfounded!

What did any of this have to do with anything?