"Teacher Shen has let Wei Yi start refining pills."
"He's starting to refine pills after just one day of study? Isn't he reaching too high...?"
"He must have asked for it himself. He dares to study alchemy without even a shred of patience? Heh, his prospects are limited. He doesn't deserve to inherit Teacher Shen's mantle at all."
"Where is he refining pills? Let's go take a look."
"In room one, I think. Come on, I'll go with you."
News that Wei Yi was attempting to refine pills soon spread throughout the entire left courtyard.
Almost ninety-nine percent of the people treated it as a joke.
How could someone who had only studied alchemy for one day possibly refine pills? If alchemy were that simple and easy, wouldn't alchemists be everywhere on the streets? They wouldn't be so rare, nor would their status be so high.
Amid an endless stream of mockery, everyone flocked to alchemy room one, eager to watch the spectacle of Wei Yi failing.
"Ruomei, let's go take a look too."
Hearing her friend call to her, a pretty young woman raised her head.
Wei Ruomei came from a collateral branch of the Wei Lineage. She was the most talented alchemist among this group, and if Wei Yi had not appeared, she would have been the likeliest candidate to inherit Shen Qiulan's mantle.
"All right, let's take a look."
Wei Ruomei had a quiet disposition and rarely joined in the excitement, but this time, for some unknown reason, she agreed as though moved by an unseen hand.
Perhaps she could not accept it and felt that she was the most suitable person to inherit Teacher Shen's mantle.
"He's already started. It looks like he's refining Body Tempering Pills."
"They're probably the only pills he knows how to refine."
"But his movements are so practiced. Could he have practiced before...?"
Everyone discussed it.
Wei Ruomei stood among the crowd, and she keenly noticed this as well.
Wei Yi's movements were practiced-indeed, extraordinarily so, hardly falling short of her own.
Was this really a newcomer who had only studied alchemy for one day?
Her heart was full of doubts.
She was not the only one puzzled. Many others were equally confused, including Wei Yi's mother, Shen Qiulan.
But as Wei Yi's mother, she naturally knew that he had only just begun studying alchemy. In fact, he had only reluctantly agreed to study it at her insistence.
What she could not understand, however, was how his alchemy movements could be so practiced.
The game system was undoubtedly to blame for this.
It was just like those martial techniques: once he learned them and raised their levels, Wei Yi could master them with ease.
With his alchemy at LV7, Wei Yi was extremely practiced at refining first-grade pills, just like a seasoned alchemy apprentice.
"Honeysuckle, Nine-Spirit Grass, winter mushroom powder, morning dew, and fragrant leaves..."
Wei Yi had firmly committed the Body Tempering Pill recipe to memory.
The entire process proceeded in an orderly manner.
His control of the heat was also quite practiced.
As the simplest first-grade pill, Body Tempering Pills did not take long to refine. After two incense sticks' worth of time, a batch was successfully completed.
"Mother, please inspect them."
Wei Yi removed the batch of pills as he spoke to Shen Qiulan.
As a fourth-grade alchemist, Shen Qiulan had a wealth of experience. In fact, watching Wei Yi's refining process had already allowed her to roughly predict the final result.
Nevertheless, she nodded, then instructed Wei Ruomei, who stood nearby,
"Ruomei, go inspect them."
Wei Ruomei nodded lightly, fetched a damp cloth, and opened the alchemy furnace. A rich medicinal fragrance immediately wafted out.
Everyone present could not help widening their eyes.
After examining them, Wei Ruomei spoke with a trace of shock in her heart. "Ten Body Tempering Pills have emerged from the furnace. They're of excellent quality, and essentially all of them are fit for normal use."
Without a doubt, this batch of pills was a success.
Shen Qiulan had given Wei Yi five chances, but he had only needed one.
"Ding! Player Wei Yi has successfully refined a batch of Body Tempering Pills. Alchemy experience +300."
As the game system notification sounded, Wei Yi could not help smiling.
"Mother, do I need to keep refining?"
Wei Yi asked with a smile.
"Is this really your first time refining pills?"
Shen Qiulan frowned, unable to keep herself from asking doubtfully.
"Of course. I've always stayed at the academy, and the True Martial Academy has nowhere to refine pills."
"As for the Lineage, Mother, when have you ever seen me come to the left courtyard?"
Wei Yi answered without hesitation,
"Besides, I don't know how to refine anything except Body Tempering Pills. Even for those, I used the refining processes of my senior brothers and sisters yesterday as a reference."
At these words, everyone present could not help blushing.
Although Wei Yi had used them as a reference, his refining process was far more practiced than theirs. Truly, the blue extracted from indigo had surpassed the indigo itself.
"No wonder your refining techniques, though practiced, contain so many obvious mistakes-and basic ones that only beginners would make, at that."
At that moment, Shen Qiulan suddenly spoke, seemingly having found the answer to the doubts in her heart.
Her words made the others even more ashamed. They all but wished they could find a hole in the ground to crawl into.
"You succeeded on your first batch. It seems your talent for alchemy far exceeds even my expectations."
"Had I known, I should have started teaching you alchemy years ago."
At this point, Shen Qiulan could not help feeling some regret.
It was as though she had held back her own son's future.
"The rest of you may leave. Ruomei, stay a moment." Shen Qiulan waved her hand and promptly gave her instructions.
No one dared to delay, and they quickly scattered like birds and beasts.
Only Shen Qiulan, Wei Yi, and Wei Ruomei remained in alchemy room one.
Wei Ruomei was somewhat puzzled, unsure why her teacher had asked her to stay. But since Shen Qiulan did not explain, she would not ask unnecessary questions.
Shen Qiulan first turned to Wei Yi and said,
"Since you've fulfilled my requirement, you may refine pills on your own from now on."
"Of course, you must still report which pills you intend to refine and how many, and obtain my approval first. Otherwise, if you waste precious alchemy materials, I won't be able to answer to the Lineage."
"No problem. As long as the value I create exceeds the cost, there shouldn't be any restrictions, right?"
Wei Yi asked with a smile.
What he wanted was not the pills, but the experience points that came with refining them.
"As long as you can ensure a pill success rate above forty percent, there won't be any problem."
Seeing Wei Yi so brimming with confidence, Shen Qiulan could not help smiling too.
Then she turned to Wei Ruomei and asked, "Ruomei, are you willing to become the disciple who inherits my mantle?"
"Ah?"
Wei Ruomei was immediately stunned.
She looked at Shen Qiulan, then at Wei Yi, seemingly unable to understand.
"I did originally intend for Yi'er to inherit my mantle. But with talent like his, I won't be able to teach him for long, and I don't want to hold him back," Shen Qiulan explained with a sigh.
"If you're willing, I'll personally teach both of you from now on."
"I'm willing."
Wei Ruomei nodded at once.
She was no fool and naturally would not miss such an opportunity.
Hearing her agree, Shen Qiulan smiled happily as well. She turned to look at her son, both gratification and regret in her eyes.
She was gratified that Wei Yi's talent for alchemy far exceeded her imagination, and that his future achievements would certainly surpass hers.
Her regret was that she could not become her own son's alchemy master. Generally, a person had only one alchemy master, and she did not want to occupy that precious place and hinder Wei Yi's future development.
In her view, only a true master of alchemy was qualified to become her son's alchemy master.